Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Ruth 3

The story takes an interesting turn. Naomi talks Ruth into taking advantage of a drunk Boaz, so that she might have a home.

Ruth waits until Boaz is drunk and lies down to sleep, then she lies next to him and uncovers his feet, which is often another word for genitalia in the Old Testament. Did Ruth uncover his... you know what, or was it really his feet? I don't know, but either way it was a marriage proposal from Ruth to Boaz. A proposal to a drunk man. This whole scene was orchestrated by a scheming mother in-law. It reminds me of a Shrek movie, as long as it was really his feet.

Boaz praises her for not going after a younger man but can not agree to taker as his wife yet. There is another man that has a legal right to her first, someone who is a closer relative to her dead husband. If he wants to have Ruth has his wife, Boaz can't do anything about it.

What happened to love?

What kind of a story is this?

This marriage would have been one of dependence, not romance. She needs him and he agrees to care for her.

I'm so glad marriages today are of two equals. I'm so glad we have stories of how we fell in love and had butterflies in our stomachs.

But I'm glad that we have a God we can depend on. A God who doesn't have to be drunk to take care of us.

A God whose feet were uncovered and nailed to a cross.

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