Ruth 4:1-2 Friend

 ”Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.“ ‭‭Ruth‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Now Boaz went: The previous chapter left us at a dramatic point. Ruth and Boaz were obviously in love and wanted to get married, with Boaz exercising the right of the goel - the kinsman-redeemer. Yet, there was a kinsman closer to Ruth and he had priority. Would he claim the right of kinsman-redeemer towards Ruth, and keep her and Boaz from coming together?

b. Boaz went up to the gate: The gate of the city was always the place where the esteemed and honorable men of the city sat. For an ancient city in Israel it was a combination of a city council chamber and a courtroom.

i. The city gate was “A kind of outdoor court, the place were judicial matters were resolved by the elders and those who had earned the confidence and respect of the people... a place for business and as a kind of forum or public meeting place.” (Huey)

c. The close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by: Boaz surprised Ruth in Ruth 3:12 by telling her there was a nearer kinsman than himself. Now this man came by the city gates as Boaz sat there.

i. Because Ruth had quietly gone back home after being at the threshing floor at Boaz’s instruction (Ruth 3:14), Boaz’s approach to this nearer kinsman was planned as a complete surprise to the other man. Clearly this was a tactical advantage to Boaz.

d. Come aside, friend, sit down here: Literally, in the ancient Hebrew, when Boaz greeted the nearer kinsman he called him “Mr. So-and-so.” The writer of Ruth never identified the name of the nearer kinsman because he was not worthy of the honor. He declined to fulfill his obligations as the nearer kinsman to Ruth. (Guzik)

Friend

Have you ever had a friend while growing up and believed that they were really close only to find out that they weren’t?

I believe in the western world that the word “friend” is too loosely used. 

Here’s a biblical example of a real friendship!

”Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.“ ‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Not a friend!

“Doubtless Boaz both knew his name, and called him by it; but it is omitted by the holy writer, partly because it was unnecessary to know it; and principally in way of contempt, as is usual, and a just punishment upon him, that he who would not preserve his brother’s name might lose his own, and lie buried in the grave of perpetual oblivion.” (Poole)

To be a friend or not, we may never have a chance to have our name mentioned in the Bible but the real question is, will it deliberately be left out?

Blessings