The Passing of The Sandal

Ruth 4:8-11 -  So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon.  I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"  Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem.

 

Boaz did not wait to speak to his relative about redeeming Naomi’s land and marrying Ruth to carry on Elimelech’s name.  He gathered the needed witnesses…presented the facts of the exchange….and listened quietly while the man told him to redeem Naomi’s land and daughter-in-law himself. It was to Boaz’s great delight that the man passed his sandal in public acceptance of the deal. And the townsfolk that were present pronounced a special blessing on this union.  They prayed that God make Ruth abundantly fertile…as their ancestors Rachel and Leah and been.  They prayed that God continue to bless Boaz with great wealth because of his kindness to Naomi and Ruth.

 

It takes a special man to take on a wife…knowing that the first child they conceive will not bear his own name. His heart of love went deeper than the surface love most of us experience these days…for not only did he have a sense of family in redeeming Naomi….he was willing to give his firstborn child to her ..so her husband’s name would carry on in the nation of Israel. It is such a sweet and real picture of the love Christ has for each of us.  Boaz marries Ruth…and gives his firstborn child’s name that of Elimelech ….just as God gave his only son to be sacrificed on that cross so long ago to save me from my sins. The passing of the sandal…began a great line of family history …that produced the great King David…and generations later…the Messiah.

 

I will never look at my summer shoes the same anymore…those sandals I love to wear have taken on new meaning.  They are a reminder now that I am not my own keeper…that I have publicly pronounced my love to Christ…and need to pass my sandal in public every day…to show all those around me that I have been redeemed by Christ. It is also a reminder of how short I fall of this model of selfless love…and how I should pray daily for God to instill in me more of the passion that Boaz had to love others before himself.

 

Father…you amaze me more and more every time I open your word. I thank you for the sweet love story of Ruth and Boaz…and how it reminds me of the selfless love you gave to me when I was only 14.  Renew the passion I had once to love you more that I love myself…and be more like Ruth…a true servant …giving her life completely to Naomi and allowing God to use her to produce the ancestors that would produce the Christ.  Build in my heart the same love that Boaz had for his family…and use me Lord to redeem others…and tell them about your great love….that saves us from our sins. Show me how to take off my sandal…and pass it to others…and start a fire in my community that spreads to others…and produces fires in them as well. Amen.