Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Ruth and Boaz: Not quite happily ever after?

I was being a dork last night and looking up "Ruth and Boaz marriage" mainly to see if there were any blogs of that same nature. Well, there were no blogs (as of yet ;) but there were a bunch of articles on Ruth and Boaz. Many of them referenced this article which was an article from 1906 on Jewish history.  

Picture of Boaz and Ruth from the internets
Apparently after Ruth and Boaz tied the knot, the story didn't end with: "And they lived happily ever after." because Boaz died the day after his wedding according to the above article. 

Wait... What? 

According to the article, Ruth was 40 and Boaz was 80. So the exertion needed to make Obed very well could've made him very... dead. 

That would leave Ruth and Naomi once again alone. They'd have access to all of Boaz' assets after that, but still, Ruth and Naomi would have raised Obed by themselves. 

The book of Ruth ends with Naomi praising God. Reading that in the context of Ruth being widowed a second time makes that statement more poignant. Though their kinsman-redeemer was physically gone, God gave them Obed and a house where they could raise him. God provided for them in Boaz' field. And out of Boaz and Obed's line, the true Redeemer of the world would be born. 

Because this story isn't just about Ruth and Boaz, but about Christ, it does end happily ever after. 
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6 comments:

  1. 2xA Ron6:07 PM

    I wouldn't put TOO much stock in the apocryphal sources. The article seems to add all sorts of dubiuosly colorful details (such as Boaz having sixty children who were all killed by Samson for an unintentional slight).

    Still, good to keep in mind that however your Ruth and Boaz story ends, it's a good ending because it ends with Christ!

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  2. Katie8:28 AM

    Haha! That's why I say "according to the article" implying that it might not be accurate.

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  3. Rachel Greco 2:38 PM

    That's so interesting. I didn't know Boaz might have died after they got married. But that's so true; we have a reason to rejoice in our suffering because our God is so much bigger!

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  4. Katie11:08 AM

    We-ell, as my friend Pen-Name said, that article might not be 100% true. I guess we'll just have to ask the happy couple once we get to Heaven because even though he did croak - at some point - they have been reunited for over....2000 years! Whoa - MIND BLOWN!

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  5. Unknown8:44 PM

    If its not in the Bible i wouldn't put any stock in it. The Bible eas inspired by the Holy Spirit. Articles adding to whats not in the holy scriptures is dangerous and not good.

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  6. Anonymous3:14 AM

    "So the exertion needed to make Obed very well could've made him very... dead." Abraham was much older than Boaz when he had to "exert" himself in order for the promised child Isaac to be born. So nope, I don't buy that.

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