Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative?”
a. Then Naomi her mother-in-law said: The time of the harvest was over, and certainly Ruth and Boaz had been around each other much in the weeks covering the barley and the wheat harvest (Ruth 2:23). They had much opportunity to get to know each other.
i. However, according to the customs of the day, we can’t say that Ruth and Boaz were “dating” in the way we think of “dating” in our modern culture. They were not paired off as a couple with one-on-one time with each other; rather, they spent their time together in the context of a group - the men and women who worked for Boaz in the harvest.
ii. From God’s perspective, there is much in the “dating game” that works against forming healthy, lasting relationships. For many people, dating means the continual making and breaking of casual romantic relationships - patterns that teach us more how to end relationships than how to make them last.
iii. Additionally, dating can be a relatively superficial way to get to know someone. Each person in a dating relationship tends to put on a mask for the other. For example, many women have been deceived into thinking a man is a good, nice man because he is nice to them in a dating relationship. Of course, he is! Often, he’s nice because he wants something in that dating relationship. A better gauge to measure the man or the woman is to see how they act towards others in a group setting - because sooner or later, that is how they are going to treat you.
iv. So over the period of the harvests, Ruth and Boaz got to know each other pretty well - by seeing what kind of people the other was around a larger group.
b. Shall I not seek security for you: Naomi knew that Ruth could best be taken care of if she was married, so she suggested that she appeal to Boaz for marriage.
i. The Hebrew word for security in verse one is the same word for rest in Ruth 1:9, where Naomi hoped that her daughters-in-law would find rest and security in the home of a new husband. This Hebrew word (manowach) speaks of what a home should be – a place of rest and security.
c. Now Boaz... Is he not our relative: One might easily think that this was inappropriately forward of Naomi to suggest this to Ruth. It is possible to think that Naomi plotted with Ruth to make her a man-trap, to go out and hunt down a reluctant Boaz for marriage. Not at all; Naomi’s suggestion to Ruth was rooted in a peculiar custom in ancient Israel - the meaning behind the Hebrew word goel.
i. This was the point in Naomi’s question about Boaz: Is he not our relative? She reminded Ruth that Boaz was their family goel.
ii. The goel - sometimes translated kinsman-redeemer - had a specifically defined role in Israel’s family life.
· The kinsman-redeemer was responsible to buy a fellow Israelite out of slavery (Leviticus 25:48).
· He was responsible to be the “avenger of blood” to make sure the murderer of a family member answered to the crime (Numbers 35:19).
· He was responsible to buy back family land that had been forfeited (Leviticus 25:25).
· He was responsible to carry on the family name by marrying a childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
iii. In this, we see that the goel, the kinsman-redeemer, was responsible to safeguard the persons, the property, and the posterity of the family. “Words from the root g’l are used with a variety of meanings in the Old Testament, but the fundamental idea is that of fulfilling one’s obligations as a kinsman.” (Morris)
d. Is he not our relative: Since Boaz was a recognized goel for the family of Elimelech - the deceased husband of Naomi and father-in-law of Ruth - Ruth could appeal to him to safeguard the posterity of Elimelech’s family and take her in marriage. It may seem forward to us, but it was regarded as proper in that day.
i. If Boaz did not fulfill this duty towards Elimelech (though he was now deceased), then the direct family and name of Elimelech would perish. Perpetuating the family name of Elimelech (and every man in Israel) was thought to be an important duty. These protections showed how important it was to God to preserve the institution of the family in Israel - and that it is also important to Him today. (Guzik)
Family taking care of family
As we can see here in this verses and commentary, family was taking care of family.
I recall the stories of my great grandparents taking care of my great great grandparents in their elder years. When my grandparents were elders, my wife and I took care of my paternal grandmother and my father and mother took care of my maternal grandmother. When their health became unmanageable at home we relied on a nursing home. The Amish seem to care for their elderly the old fashioned way.
What caused a societal change on how the elderly is cared for?
Blessings
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