by John O’Malley
“Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down” (Ruth 4:1).
The morning that brought the dawn of hope for Ruth brought also a day of commitment for Boaz. Boaz rose early; it would be hard to believe he went back to sleep after Ruth left the threshing floor. He dressed himself and began the short journey into the city to meet with a kinsman nearer than himself. The thoughts that went through his mind are unknown. However, having second thoughts or hesitancy would not be amongst them, as the text indicates he went to the city and sat in the gate.
From the days of Moses and the giving of the law in Deuteronomy, God made provision for Boaz and Ruth’s legal matters. Any decision with legal significance was held in the gate of a city. Here, the elders and city officers would convene and render just decisions for the people. Boaz waited in this gate. This became a gate of hope for the redemption of the widow and, ultimately, the redemption of the world.
Boaz arrived at the city gate and sat down to wait. Boaz’s time of waiting at the city’s gate is unknown. Naomi’s statement to Ruth that Boaz would handle it today, coupled with Boaz’s decision to leave promptly for the gate of the city, helps us to know that he was willing and able to be the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth.
Any who have sat by hope’s gate know how slowly time passes. Ruth was home, sitting and waiting for news of redemption. Boaz was in the gate of the city, waiting to offer himself as a redeemer. Naomi sat, waiting for hope to fully dawn in her heart as her husband’s nearer relative would decide the fate of their land and the heritage of her husband’s name. The world yet to come, including our own generation, waited for the answer that day as the redemption of all mankind sat just outside hope’s gate.
Our Eternal Boaz sat in Heaven’s gate, our gate of hope, waiting for the time of our redemption to come. Our hope arrived in the fullness of time as the Consolation of Israel was virgin born and presented in a temple in Jerusalem. Jesus’ ascension to heaven now places Him as sitting at the right hand of the Father, Who is our gate of hope, awaiting the final redemption of our bodies to be with Him.
Let us not despair as we wait for the final redemption. Many men do not know of the redemption of the soul. They sit by a gate called Hopelessness without knowledge of Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer. In the next twenty-four hours, will you tell someone at the gate of hopelessness of heaven, hope, and our Goel?
Think about it...