Santa Clara, California
Recently, as I was studying the book of Ruth in preparation for a lecture in Old Testament Survey, something arrested my attention that I had never noticed before—a shoe. That’s right, a shoe caught my attention. It was the shoe of the near kinsman who could have bought Naomi’s property and married Ruth. When he heard that Ruth came with the deal, he declined, because he was already married. He encouraged Boaz to do the part of the kinsman, and Boaz gladly obliged.
What a beautiful story! An older man living comfortably in the midst of his great wealth and surrounded by his servants is still single. We don’t know how many times he might have nearly gotten married. Perhaps his heart had been broken a time or two by some fair maiden whose head was turned by another man. Regardless, he lived alone, no doubt aching for companionship. A young widow is so dedicated to her mother-in-law that she makes one of the most startling vows ever recorded in all of human history.
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Though this is quoted and sung very beautifully at weddings, Ruth said this to her mother-in-law. Amazing!
This young widow, realizing that she and her mother-in-law would starve to death if she did not do something about it, went out to glean in the fields. God led her to the field of Boaz, the wealthy land-owner, who happened to be single and a near kinsman to boot (if she were to keep her vow to follow Naomi’s God, she could only marry a near kinsman to her deceased husband). Boaz is immediately impressed with her work ethic and her humble, selfless attitude. He directs his men to let fall “handfuls of purpose” for Ruth. In other words, “If you see that Ruth is gleaning behind you, drop some extra on purpose!”Ruth goes home with so much barley that Naomi is amazed.
When Naomi finds out where Ruth came upon such bounty, she immediately sets about a match-making scheme that actually calls for Ruth to propose to Boaz. Boaz is flattered that this wonderful, young woman is interested in him, but told Ruth that she would have to wait until he could conduct the official transaction in the gate of the city. There was also one kinsman who was nearer than he, and Boaz would have to give him the right of first refusal on the land and the wife.
The near kinsman forgoes his right to the land and to Ruth because he is already married. To signify his decision, as was their custom, he removed his shoe and gave it to Boaz. Of course, Boaz and Ruth got married and they lived happily ever after, and that is the best part of the story, but I started thinking about the shoe.
What happened to that shoe? Perhaps I am a little too sentimental, but I imagined that the shoe would have been very important to Boaz. It was likely somewhat worn, perhaps it was old, and tattered, and dusty. But it held a tremendous significance for Boaz and Ruth. It meant that their relationship was possible. I imagined that it would have been placed on a shelf somewhere in their home as a reminder of all God had done to bring them together. I could see it, an ornate hutch in the grand entryway with expensive china and silver place settings, a hunting trophy or two, and an old shoe. “What’s with the old shoe?”a guest might ask. “That’s Reuben’s shoe. He was the nearest kinsman to Naomi, but gave the privilege to me.”
I believe that there are some major turning points in life that deserve special recognition and need to be memorialized with special reminders. There are several memorials set aside in Scripture. In the Old Testament, the children of Israel placed twelve stones in the Jordan River and twelve more along the banks, so the generations to come would remember their crossing just before the battle of Jericho. In the New Testament, Jesus instituted the elements of the Lord’s Supper as a memorial of His sacrificial death for us.
There are several events in my life that I try to remember every day. I want to keep them fresh in my mind. My salvation experience is one of them. I still have my New Testament that I used as a boy and I take it out and look at my dad’s handwriting in the front, commemorating the day that I received Christ as my Savior.
I suppose it is possible to be too sentimental, but there are some things that need to be remembered. Usually something simple can serve as a reminder. In my office, I have reminders from several trips that I have taken. The simplest (and the most special to me) is a small stone. I picked it up on a trip that my wife and I took some years ago now, but every time I see that small stone, I remember with great fondness the wonderful time that we shared together on that trip.
Do you have reminders that you have put in place to keep some event, decision, or relationship constantly before you? If not, maybe you could start with a shoe!
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