The Land or the Lady?
- Sure enough, Boaz goes out to find the potential husband first thing in the morning. He heads into the city and finds the guy at the gate.
- Boaz arranges for the man to come talk with him and ten elders in the city. This is serious business.
- He tells the other kinsman that Naomi is looking to sell some land that belonged to her husband (oh, does Naomi own land? This is the first we're hearing of it).
- Boaz lets him know that he can buy the property, but if he's not interested then Boaz is next in line. Your call, dude.
- The guy says, Sure, I've been looking to get into real estate. Ah, but this deal comes with some baggage.
- If he decides to buy the property he also gets Ruth as his wife. He'll also have to get her pregnant with a child that will be raised as dead-husband Mahlon's. Oh, that's quite a bit of baggage.
- Okay, so this deal isn't turning out to be the bargain the other man thought it would be. He turns the whole thing down and tells Boaz to go for it.
- To seal the deal, one of the guys takes off his sandal and gives it to the other. Who needs paper contracts, right?
- Then, Boaz declares that he'll step in. He gets the land and he gets the girl.
- All the elders nod in agreement. It's cool with them. It's witnessed by ten people, so it is done. They offer all kinds of blessings for the newlyweds and wish them well. Boaz, you may kiss the bride.
Weddings and Other Major Life Events
- Ruth and Boaz tie the knot. Swoon.
- Soon, Ruth gets pregnant and has a son. Double swoon.
- Naomi is thrilled and realizes that God hasn't totally screwed her over. He's given her a grandson and a daughter-in-law who's pretty darn awesome (she's better "than seven sons" the women in town tell her—that's pretty high praise).
- Naomi even breast-feeds the baby (don't worry, Ruth is probably cool with it). The women in town name him Obed.
- The story goes onto say that Obed became the father or Jesse who was the father of King David (yeah, that King David).
- So little old Ruth is actually the great-grandmother to one of the most awesome, celebrated kings in Jewish history. Not bad for a non-Jewish girl from Moab.