Boaz kept his promise, and early the next morning he came to the city gate, the place where the Israelites transacted public business. He found the relative who was nearer than himself and also invited ten of the city elders to serve as witnesses. Boaz presented the matter to that relative: Naomi wished to sell the field that belonged to Elimelek, and as the nearest relative he had the first right of redemption. The man at first said he was willing to redeem the land, but when Boaz further explained that redeeming the land also required taking the Moabite woman Ruth as his wife to preserve a name for the deceased on the estate, the relative changed his mind, saying it would harm his own inheritance, and he gave the right of redemption to Boaz. According to the custom of the time, the man removed his sandal and gave it to Boaz as a token of the transaction. In the presence of all the elders and the people, Boaz declared that he had purchased all the property of Elimelek and his sons, and had also married Ruth. All who were present blessed them. Later Ruth gave birth to a son, whom they named Obed. The women of the neighborhood rejoiced for Naomi, praising her loving daughter-in-law Ruth as better than seven sons and saying that she had given birth to this child for her. Naomi held the child in her arms, her heart filled with gratitude and joy. Obed later became the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David. Thus a foreign woman from Moab, through faith and loyalty, was incorporated into the most honored royal lineage of Israel.
Boaz kept his promise; at the city gate he publicly redeemed the land and took Ruth as his wife, so Elimelek's inheritance would continue. Ruth, a Moabite outsider, was woven into Israel's lineage because she feared the LORD and humbly obeyed — becoming an ancestor of King David and of the Lord Jesus. God's plan of redemption transcends a person's identity and origin; when we take refuge under His wings, He watches over and lifts up our family.
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