Now Boaz went up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
3 And he said unto the near kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s:
4 and I thought to disclose it unto thee, saying, Buy it before them that sit here, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is none to redeem it besides thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.
6 And the near kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it.
7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man drew off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.
8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
9 And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
10 Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that is come into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Beth-lehem:
12 and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman.
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son.
14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel
15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.
16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it.
17 And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez begat Hezron,
19 and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
20 and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
21 and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
22 and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

The gate was a very significant place in the Palestinian cities. People met there to do business transactions and also where court was held and resolved by the elders of the city. It was very important during this time frame that land was kept in the family. The closest relative that could be the kinsman redeemer listened to what Boaz said would be expected as the kinsman redeemer and he turned down the opportunity when he realized that he would have to marry Ruth. I think it is interesting that Boaz mentioned that Ruth was a Moabitess because the Levitical law stated in Deuteronomy 23:3:

“An Ammonie or Moabit shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.”

The witnesses saw the first man hand off his sandal to Boaz which was a custom of declining the land ownership to him. Boaz then offered to become the kinsman redeemer since he was the next in line. The kinsman redeemer is a wonderful picture of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who redeemed us by dying on the cross for our sin. Following the Law would never save us but would actually condemn us and Jesus knew that. Jesus knew that the only way we could be saved was by him dying on the cross for our sins and for us to confess our sins and ask Jesus into our hearts. Boaz's speech was a way of saying that the name of the deceased would live on in the community. And all of the witnesses gave their blessings Boaz and Ruth marry and God blesses them with a child and they named him Obed. Obed later became the father of Jesse who would later become the father of King David. I am so thankful that Jesus was willing to live on earth and die on the cross for my sins. He is my redeemer and I am so thankful for His love, grace and mercy.

Things to Think About:

1) 1) Why do you think the closest relative was not willing to become Ruth's redeemer?

2) Can you think of a time where you were thankful that you had someone to support you like Naomi had with Ruth?

3) Do you think this chapter can guide you in your everyday life?