Ruth goes through a custom to declare her willingness to marry Boaz. Boaz marrying Ruth is also a legal transaction involving land. She is supposed to have a son who will inherit Elimelech’s land. The transaction must be witnessed by the elders at the town gate. There is a relative who is more closely related to Ruth and should have been the one to marry her, but apparently he is less godly than Boaz. He’s willing to get the land, but not the wife. He was interested in getting the land and passing it to one of his sons, not having a son through Ruth and giving the land to him. At the end we are given the detail that the marriage is in the lineage of David, a future king of Israel, which also means they are in the lineage of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).
God turns another problem into a bigger solution than anyone could have anticipated. Ruth and Naomi can’t even provide for themselves and God turns that into a future king of Israel and eventually Jesus, who will save everyone from their sins. Like Rahab, Ruth is one of the rare women mentioned in the lineage of Jesus and is not an Israelite. For those of you looking for a spouse, don’t miss the qualifications of Ruth and Boaz. They were people who depended on God and did the right thing even when inconvenient. Boaz was kind, generous and protective. Ruth was loving, faithful and hard-working. Those things don’t sound very romantic but form a better basis for a great marriage!