-- Friday, 9/17/10 -- THE RIGHT APPROACH - Ruth 4:1-8
J.R. & Bonnie Ricks
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THE RIGHT APPROACH – Ruth 4:1-8 NIV
Boaz was no dummy… He had been watching Ruth ever since she showed up to winnow his fields, and he obviously wanted her as his wife. Probably, he noticed her looks first – in the natural course of events, that’s the first thing any of us sees in someone. And Ruth was beautiful. But Boaz had also noticed Ruth’s character… her devotion to Naomi… her willingness to do whatever it took to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table, no matter how demeaning the work might be.
By all evidence, even before Naomi cooked up her scheme to have Ruth lie at Boaz’ feet, Boaz was thinking about marrying Ruth. But there was a problem… Although Naomi had assumed that Boaz was the nearest relative, making him the proper man to be their kinsman-redeemer, Boaz knew that someone else was the rightful kinsman-redeemer. And by all rights, Boaz would lose any right to marry Ruth. But, like we said earlier, Boaz was no dummy…
Boaz knew that the right approach could make all the difference in the outcome of the situation. So he took that right approach. Instead of just confronting the man with the situation, and giving him the opportunity to take Ruth as his wife, Boaz approached the man first with the fact that there was some land that had belonged to Naomi’s husband that was now up for sale. As kinsman-redeemer, that man had the right to redeem that land for his own. And when told about it, he jumped at the opportunity… (Leviticus 25:25 NIV) But then Boaz “dropped the other shoe”…
Once the man had committed to redeeming the land, Boaz told him that if he redeemed the land, he also had to take the widow of the dead man as his wife! The kinsman-redeemer didn’t like this at all, and instantly said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it." (Ruth 4:6 NIV) The kinsman-redeemer had done exactly what Boaz wanted him to do – give up all rights to his position as kinsman-redeemer, leaving the way open for Boaz to not only redeem the land, but to marry Ruth. Boaz’ “right approach” had gained him what he was seeking all along!
Every day, you and I are presented with situations with which we have to deal. Not all are life-changing… in fact, most are not all that significant at all. But in every situation, there is a right and a wrong approach to dealing with it.
Jesus tells us to be “…as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16b NIV) … not just in spiritual matters, but in all matters of life. While we are not to be “of” the world, we do have to live IN it, so we have to be wise in all things, including the way we choose to approach the different situations of life.
How do we find this wisdom? By asking for it. If you’re confronted with something you don’t know how to handle, ask the Lord to show you! He will! And every time, you’ll find that His way is always the right approach.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” James 1:5-8 NIV
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