Contemplative Bible Reading

Ruth 4:9-10 (New Living Translation)

9 Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”

Boaz was a good man. He showed kindness to many people beyond what was required in the law. He was kind to Naomi, a widow with no sons and a daughter-in-law widow from Moab.

As shown above, Boaz married Ruth the Moabite widow. How good is that? Well, Ruth was a Moabite. The Moabites showed disdain of the people as they came out of Egypt. Moabites were prohibited from entering the Temple.

Boaz married an outsider.

Was that wrong? Many people could have considered it wrong. It was probably wrong for Naomi’s sons to marry Moabite women. God chose the people and wanted them to avoid entanglements with other people, i.e., outsiders.

Good came from this marriage. King David descended from this marriage. That was good. Still, Boaz did something that was questionable. Who am I to judge? Who am I to judge the actions of a person I see today? I don’t know the future. I don’t know what might happen in four generations. I have plenty of worries in my own life.

Boaz is kind to the widow Naomi and the widow Ruth. Pray that good comes of it. Same advice today.