The Berean

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"These [in Berea] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." - Acts 17:11
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Ruth 4:1-11

(1) And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. And he said to him, "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, "Come sit down here." And they sat down. (3) And he said to the near kinsman, "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's. (4) And I thought to disclose it to you, saying, 'Buy it before those who live here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem it. But if you will not redeem, tell me so that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you—and I am after you.' " And he said, "I will redeem." (5) And Boaz said, "In the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you acquire Ruth of Moab, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance." (6) And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. You take my right of redemption to yourself, for I cannot redeem it." (7) Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm everything. A man took off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor. And this was a testimony in Israel. (8) Therefore the near kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he drew off his shoe. (9) And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, from the hand of Naomi. (10) Moreover Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day." (11) And all the people in the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, for these two built the house of Israel. And may you do worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem.

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This scene is typical of how most cultures, not only the Hebrews, have understood the idea of witnessing. These ten elders of the city—and, if we read between the lines in verse 11, all the people who were drawn to this event that Boaz set up—observed the negotiations and the transaction of the sandal between Boaz and the unnamed near kinsman. If there were ever a need for proof that Boaz had indeed jumped through all the legal hoops through which he needed to jump to procure the land of Elimelech and the hand of Ruth, he had ten expert, irreproachable witnesses from among the elders of the people. In fact, he had probably dozens more who had seen all this take place because it most likely took place at the gate of the city.

So, many people were able to see what had transpired and could testify that everything had been done above-board. In a way, these people functioned like today's notaries who witness a legal transaction, put their seal on a document, and sign it, verifying that, "Yes, I indeed saw this transaction take place, legally and above-board, etc." This is how witnessing is done, and this is what many, if not most, of the occurrences of the Old Testament Hebrew words for "witness," 'ed and 'ud (the noun and the verb, respectively), connote.

What happened here in Ruth 4 is very interesting in the fact that Boaz is a type of Christ. Boaz here chooses ten elders—Jews—respected men of the town to witness what he did. Remember, since this took place in Bethlehem, these Jews were probably kin of David. In fact, Boaz himself was David's great-grandfather, but these people were all one big extended family, the family of Judah. Boaz took ten of them, ten men whose eyewitness testimony could not be gainsaid in any way, and these men then witnessed his redemption of the land and Ruth.

What is interesting is that Jesus did exactly the same thing, except that He chose twelve men of Judah from Galilee. They would do the same for Him, telling all who would hear that He had indeed redeemed His people. Luke 24:44-49 shows that this is exactly what He did. While the normal, legal idea of witnessing appears in the New Testament, Jesus makes use of it to confirm the facts of His life and death to the whole world through His witnesses, the apostles.

— Richard T. Ritenbaugh

To learn more, see:
Principled Living (Part Five): Witnessing of God



 

Topics:

Boaz

Boaz and Ruth

Boaz as Type of Christ

Witness

Witnessing for God




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