Title: I Have Closer Relatives
Ruth 3:12-13
Yea, I have a kinsman closer to you than I am to take over your inheritance, and I have a relative closer to you than me. Stay here tonight, and it is good that in the morning he will carry out the responsibility of the one who will inherit it, and he will carry the responsibility of the one who will inherit it. If you do not intend to fulfill the responsibility of the one who will inherit it, as the Lord lives, I will carry the responsibility of the one who will inherit it to you. You shall lie down until morning.
Boaz comforts and praises Ruth, who is trembling in fear, and acknowledges Ruth's words.
3:12 1st verse, "Surely I will take away your inheritance."
"As you said, I must be the one to own the business," he admitted, adding a new fact.
3:12, "Surely, I have a relative closer than I am who will take over your inheritance or who will take over.
The one who will take over the business has a relative closer than himself. Ruth's father-in-law Elimelech had a closer relative than Boaz. Boaz is not a person who hastily on his own just because he wants to. A person who puts the rights of others first. I'm not the kind of person who works by tricks. He was a person who wanted to do things the right way, the right way.
Why has our society today become such a difficult and unsafe society to live in? This is because there are many people who live with the belief that all they need to do is earn money, do whatever they want to take care of their greed, do whatever they want, do not think about other people, and whether or not others die. Isn't that the result of the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store? You must not live solely on your own point of view.
However, there are people who live by using the evil idea that the world has become so evil that we should not only think of ourselves but live while thinking of others.
Yesterday I came home a little late, and the atmosphere is strange. When I asked why, he said that from time to time I get anti-communal, anti-threatening phone calls to my house, and that call came again. Whatever the reason, you should help yourself with 50,000 won a month. He's a thug, but if he doesn't do that, he'll turn everything upside down. Even after helping once or twice, they keep asking for 50,000 won a month. If it's frustrating and difficult, I'd like to tell a story like that. So this morning, I prayed, "Lord, what would you say to that person when he is so frustrated? May God have mercy on him so that he can live a just life without doing that."
Also, what that person said is, like the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store, you never know when the apartment will collapse, but what do you do with it? Sell it and help the poor. Is that apartment mine? If it's just that person, I'll endure it. Not one or two people. If you forget, 30 minutes on the phone is fine, or an hour is fine. It's okay if I answer the phone, but how scared would it be if my family or children answer the phone when I'm not there? Boaz lived not only thinking about his own desires, but also thinking about the rights of others first.
3:13, "Stay here this night, if in the morning he will carry out the responsibility of the one who will take the inheritance to you, and he will do the responsibility of the one who will take the inheritance. As I live, I swear that I will do to you the responsibility of the one who will take the inheritance, and lie down until morning."
Boaz gives Ruth some instructions on what to do. Naomi expected that Boaz would tell Ruth everything she was going to do.
3:4, "When he lies down, know where he is lying, and go in, take up the quilt at his feet, and lie down there, and he will tell you what to do."
Just as Naomi expected, Boaz instructs Ruth what Ruth should do.
First, he said, "Stay here tonight." It is very dangerous for a woman to go alone at night. So I told him to stay here. Also, it is easy to misunderstand when someone else sees Ruth coming out of the threshing floor in the middle of the night, after all. You'd think she was a bad-tempered woman. There are men in the threshing floor, wouldn't it be a bad idea to see a woman there? I was told to stay here tonight to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding.
In the next verse it says, "In the morning he". Who is "he" here? He is a closer relative than Boaz. "It's good if he wants you to fulfill the responsibilities of the one who is in charge of the business." It is better if that person fulfills their responsibilities. Does this indicate what Boaz's only concern was? It is not about fulfilling one's wishes or desires. Ruth and Naomi are doing well.
With great love for her pride, Naomi prayed for Ruth's marriage. Ruth wanted to marry Naomi to inherit the inheritance of her deceased husband rather than her own interests. On the other hand, Boaz is also a very devoted man. We are willing to fulfill our corporate responsibility. It was for the sake of the two poor widows, Naomi and Ruth, that Boaz wanted to marry Ruth, not for his own gain or happiness. How beautiful are the hearts of these three people who think of others before me?
When we decided to hold the Olympics in Tokyo, we needed a big stadium. So I bought all the houses around and built a big gym. One of those houses was only built three years ago. It was a pity, but it had to be destroyed. When the workers were tearing down the house, a lizard came out of the roof. But the lizard was pierced by a large nail and was unable to move. Perhaps a carpenter hit a big nail for the roof when he built the house, and it happened to be stuck in the lizard's tail.
But, strangely, the lizard is alive for three years. People thought it was strange. How do lizards survive? It was really curious. People watched. Then, after a while, a fellow lizard appeared with food. Then he feeds the lizards that are stuck in the nail and stays with them for 30 minutes. Again, it is the set time, so they come to eat and feed them, and wait another 30 minutes before leaving. That's how the lizard survived while still being immobilized.
Even a silent creature loves and cares for its fellows, but I don't know why we humans, who are called the lords of all things, are so self-greedy. We should learn to help others through such things and to think about the position of others. If we live like Boas, our society will become a good society where we can live in peace. Boaz didn't do it on his own just because he wanted to, but he put the other person first and put the other person first.
?쏧f he will not carry you the responsibility of the one who will take the inheritance, as the Lord lives, I will carry on you the responsibility of the one who will take the estate.??It is good if that person, who is a close relative of the company, fulfills the responsibility, and if that person does not do it, it is his turn after that, so he will do the responsibility. What happens if you don't take responsibility for it? ?쏛s the Lord lives,??means that God may punish me if I do not fulfill my responsibilities.
"You shall lie down until morning."
Ruth must have stayed up all night. Laying down with a foot blanket, could you keep your eyes closed? You must have stayed up all night with a pounding heart. "Now, close your eyes, rest in peace." How grateful are your words of consolation?
We too should pray that God will have compassion on us so that we can become a society where everyone can live in peace. It is not right to do it expediently to achieve any purpose. Boaz went straight to Seoul, not Moro. The proverb that you can only go to Seoul if you go to Moro is incorrect. I need to fix it. "You don't have to go to Seoul, let's go straight." It should change like this. And all results must be left to God.
Then God will guide our way. It may not seem like it right now, but God will surely lead us. With that in mind, we must walk the right path. First of all, I hope that you and I who pray so that we can become ourselves who can walk on the right path and become a society.