Saturday, September 12, 2015

NAOMI WAS NOT RUTHLESS; NEITHER SHOULD YOU BE

NAOMI WAS NOT RUTHLESS ; NEITHER SHOULD YOU BE! Naomi, the Moabite, was neither wanton nor ruthless in effecting her insinuating betrothal to Boaz; she was, instead, compliant with her widowed mother-in-law, Ruth's, effective instructions in every particular, so such so, that she soon came to be both noticed and favored by Boaz, Naomi's near kin. Boaz's barley fields had been gratefully gleaned by Naomi, who trailed his harvesters, as sustenance for herself and for Ruth. After seeing her demeanor and due diligence at work, he heaped much barley upon Naomi, as well as other diverse forms of succor, even as he successfully and publicly, bargained for the familial and tribal right to wed her over the entitlement of another elder, with a superior, unredeemed claim, in accordance with Israeli custom. There is yet much wisdom in the Book of Ruth, now, for dependent widowed women, for unprotected single women, and for unmarried men, respecting the propriety of instructions given and received in matrimonial matters in good faith.