And all the people that were in the gate and the elders said, [We are] witnesses. Jehovah make the woman that cometh into thy house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel; and acquire power in Ephratah, and make thyself a name in Bethlehem;
Boaz has just told the town he has bought Elimelech's land and taken Ruth as his wife. The people at the gate answer with a blessing — but why do they name Rachel and Leah?
The blessing is not a private wish. Every Israelite town had elders who handled its public business, and a redemption needed them as witnesses.
Every city had elders. As the responsible members of the community, they could act in all matters of the common good, and people could call on them in any emergency… To confirm the redemption of an inheritance, the elders were called together to be witnesses. Ruth 4:1-12.
Nothing here is done in secret. One writer sees a larger picture in that open dealing:
Nothing is "done in a corner." No righteous demand is ignored, and no necessary claim is set aside. The same law that testified against the nation which turned away from God will also testify to the righteousness of Him who, on the basis of grace, restores to Himself the remnant who repent and believe.
To build a house means to have children. Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob, and eight of Israel's tribes came from their sons.
Their desire for the childless young widow was that she might now be fruitful like Rachel and Leah. From their sons came the eight principal tribes of the nation of Israel. Rachel was the much-loved wife of Jacob and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She died in childbirth, and her grave was near "Ephrath, which is Bethlehem" (Gen. 35:19). That may be why the citizens of Bethlehem named her before her elder sister, Leah.
Another writer explains the order of the names differently:
The history of the people will begin once again, so to speak, with this poor Moabite. It will start again on the basis of grace. Here it is not Leah but Rachel, the beloved wife, the wife of Jacob's free choice, the one for whom he had served so long, who comes first. In every respect and detail the Book of Ruth fixes our gaze on grace.
Ruth came from Moab, a people Israel counted unclean and rejected.
Though the daughter of an unclean and rejected people, she is given a place equal to the chief mothers in Israel. Like Rahab before her, the Hope of the nation comes through her, according to the flesh (Matt. 1:5); and she is given a standing equal in dignity with that of Rachel herself. Ruth 4:11. She had no natural kinship with Israel; but, through grace, she is grafted into Israel.
The men at the gate went beyond what the law of Sinai demanded:
But all the elders and the people in the gate rose above the harshness of the law of Sinai. In their wedding blessing they sought the peace and the prosperity of the new household, naming first the poor woman from Moab and then the wealthy man of Bethlehem. It was indeed a glimpse of that true Light which, coming into the world, would give light to every man, Israelite and Gentile alike (John 1:9).
Ephrathah is the older name of Bethlehem. The two names belong to one town — the town where Rachel was buried. The crowd's wish for Boaz was answered far beyond what they asked.
They desired for Boaz that he, already a man of wealth, might gain further power through the redeemed inheritance and have an even more famous name in Bethlehem. God answered this prayerful hope in full and glorious measure. By this marriage Boaz became the ancestor of Israel's Messiah, Who in due time was born in Bethlehem, small though it was "among the thousands of Judah" (Micah 5:2).
(Some translations say "acquire power in Ephrathah." The ESV says "act worthily in Ephrathah.")
Their prayer that a house be "built" reaches past Boaz's own family:
The elders and people (Ruth 4:11) pronounce a blessing upon Boaz, but the Spirit of God leads them to use words which can only be fulfilled when Messiah comes. "Build the house of Israel." Their Messiah is our Lord Jesus. He will build their house and in the future day do infinitely more than restore the glory of Solomon.
- Witnessed. The gate was the town's court. The elders stood as witnesses to the redemption, so nothing was done in secret.
- Blessed. The people asked God to make the new wife fruitful like Rachel and Leah, the mothers from whose sons the nation grew.
- Widened. Grace grafts an outsider in: a woman from a rejected people now stands beside Rachel.
- Named. God answered the wish for power in Ephrathah and a name in Bethlehem when the Messiah was born in that small town.
- Built. "Build the house of Israel" reaches past Boaz to Christ. He will do more for Israel than Solomon's glory ever showed.
and let thy house become like the house of Pherez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman.
The witnesses at the city gate end their blessing on Boaz by reaching far back into Judah's family history. It is a strange page of the past to choose as a model, and the closing words hand the whole future over to the LORD, who gives the children.
The name would have carried an obvious meaning for people in Bethlehem.
The record always puts Perez, the son of Judah and Tamar, before his twin brother Zerah, so he held the right of the firstborn. In David's reign the family of Perez held the highest rank in the tribe of Judah, and it seems to have stood out for its fruitfulness and vigour. This rapid growth explains why the people spoke of "the house of Perez" at the marriage of Boaz.
The wish for Boaz was that his standing would grow through what he had just redeemed. The answer went far past anything the crowd at the gate had in mind.
Boaz was already a man of substance. They wanted him to gain further power through the redeemed inheritance, and to hold a still more famous and honoured name in Bethlehem. This prayerful hope received a glorious and supreme answer. By this marriage Boaz became the ancestor of Israel's Messiah. In due time He was born in Bethlehem, small though it was "among the clans of Judah" (Micah 5:2).
Ordinary townspeople speak, but their words carry a weight they could not measure. They ask that Boaz's line be settled like Perez's — by God's choosing, not by merit.
The Holy Spirit places prophetic words in their mouths… The history of the people will begin once again, so to speak, with this poor Moabite woman. It will start over on the basis of grace… May Boaz's offspring, like Perez, be established according to the election of grace!
The blessing skips Judah, the great tribal father, and lands on Tamar's son. That choice runs against every human instinct.
Why not begin with his father, Judah? His was the greatest of the tribes of Israel. But it was through Perez, son of Tamar, that the promised blessing had to come. God led His line of promise through the base things of the world, and took up those whom men would spurn. This was to magnify His grace and exalt His name. How unlike man, who thinks the greater the aim, the better the means must be. Not so with God. He uses base things, and things that are not, as His instruments or channels to carry out His word.
Boaz and Ruth receive the same favour, without the shame of the older story.
They also refer to Tamar and her children. Looking back at that history, we find it a sadly blotted page. Sin seems written all over it, yet there is a faith that desires the blessing and, like Jacob, will get it by scheming. Here is the blessing without the stain, but still reminding us of grace shown to a sinful and unworthy people.
The law of Sinai was severe, and Ruth was a Moabite. The people at the gate name her first and the wealthy landowner second.
But all the elders and the people in the gate rose above the severity of the law of Sinai. In their wedding blessing they sought the peace and prosperity of the new household, naming first the poor Moabite woman and then the wealthy Bethlehemite… The words of the people of Bethlehem meant more than they knew. They held a hidden prophecy of "Jesus who is called Christ." His genealogy from Abraham stands at the beginning of the New Testament in forty-two generations, and the tenth name recorded is "Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth."
Tamar's name is not hidden. The people speak it aloud at a wedding, and it stands later in the family line of Christ.
The history of Tamar shows us, in God's own marvellous way, how Christ comes into connection with Judah. So her name appears in the Lord's genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew. Hers is the first of four women's names there, and their presence shows the grace that has stooped to take up men… With Tamar it is her sin that stands out, as with Rahab it is her faith. For Ruth to come in, the sentence of the law has to be set aside. And Bathsheba shows us grace triumphing even over a believer's sin.
- Grace chooses. The blessing asks that Boaz's house be like Perez's — a household settled by God's choice, not by any claim of its own.
- Grace stoops. God ran the line of promise through Perez, not Judah. He took up what men would spurn, to magnify His grace and exalt His name.
- Grace widens. The people rose above the law's severity toward Moab. They named the foreign widow first in their blessing.
- Grace cleanses. Tamar's story is a blotted page. Boaz and Ruth receive the same grace without the stain.
- Grace ends in Christ. The wish for a famous name in Bethlehem came true beyond measure. Boaz became an ancestor of the Messiah, born in that same town.