Boaz Goes to Action

“And Boaz said to the elders and to 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.’”

Now the redeemer had played his role; the airplane was gone and the people were left with the noise in their ears while everyone’s eyes turned toward Boaz. But Boaz was not one of those who seek to keep people’s attention riveted on his own person; he turned their eyes toward the redeemer and said: You are witnesses this day that I have bought all, etc. Now you have all seen how he took off his sandal!

Boaz made use of the opportunity and used the redeemer’s own sign as a sign against him. This was in all probability not the way the redeemer had thought this matter would unfold, but that is how it ended. The sign was not allowed to be used for the indulgence of the flesh; rather, it became a weapon that was used against him.

Boaz knew the redeemer; he knew that the field and all the goods were buried deep within his heart, in spite of his grand display of taking off his sandal. He fully understood that he wanted to get rid of Ruth, and that because of her he had to renounce his right of redemption of all the goods. Boaz took the appropriate measures accordingly. He also began with the fields and all the possessions, and he asked the elders and all the people to witness that now they were his, that he had bought them. The redeemer had relinquished his right to them and had taken off his sandal as a sign that the matter had now been dealt with. It was of no use for him to come with any objections afterwards.

Our heavenly Boaz, Jesus Christ, acts likewise. He begins with whatever clings most tightly to the heart. The amazing thing was, though, that Boaz came to possess that which the redeemer longed to possess with all of his heart. This is how our heavenly Father deals with us. If we care for a poor Ruth, He will give us an inheritance together with her. We should consider that the earth exists for the sake of man, and that man does not exist for the sake of the earth. Therefore, the one who takes care of people will inherit the earth with them, but he who only wants to have the earth and not the people will receive absolutely nothing. However, this knowledge was hidden from the redeemer, for which reason he really should not have been called “redeemer,” seeing that he himself was bound.