Ruth II Lesson 4

Ruth II Lesson 4

Boaz and The Elders

Lesson Text: Ruth 4:1-2

1. Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the ______ ______ of whom Boaz had spoken came by. (1)

2. So Boaz said, “Come aside, ______ , sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. (1)

3. And he took _____ _____ of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. (2)

The time setting of our lesson was during one of the better times in Israelite history. It was during a “good” side of the cycle that we read about in the book of Judges. If you will recall, Judges rotated good times and bad times. The good times were when they had a judge, they were trusting in God and trying to be good. The bad times consisted of rebellion against God accompanied by a season of punishment until they repented.

This cycle happened over and over throughout the book of Judges. We can assume that this was a “good time” because they had just come out of a famine. Famines were one of the ways God punished them and brought them to their knees. We can read about the abundance they were experiencing, and gather from the atmosphere that it was a time that they were walking in accord with God.

Rabbit Chasing Time

Please find:

4. Two passages in Judges indicating times of peace because the Israelites were in harmony with God.

5. Two passages in Judges indicating rebellion.

6. Two passages in Judges indicating God’s punishment for rebellion.

7. In Ruth find verses indicating the time after Naomi returned to Bethlehem was a time of peace, abundance and harmony with God.

We can look back over the history of our own country and see a nation which, in its beginning, upheld high values and morals but as time marched on these values slowly eroded and have almost vanished away. We know from looking back over history, Jewish and otherwise, how rare are the “good times”, the times when people as a whole walk in harmony with God.

Boaz was enjoying one of those brief windows in Jewish history as he walked to the city gates to present his case. Wise elders were available to sit at the gates, ready to judge custom and legal matters. Two things made this “good era” possible. One was the fact that there were men who, having lived good lives, knew the laws and customs so well they could be trusted to wisely sit in judgment over the citizens of the city. The other thing that made it possible was the fact that the citizens respected their elders and authority. Such an environment cannot exist without leaders willing and able to lead, and without people willing to seek and follow wise counsel.

As history unfolded and progressed toward the time of Christ, respect for elders diminished and an era eventually came when elders no longer sat at the city gate. Take a look at these passages which indicate this:

8. The face of the LORD scattered them; He no longer regards them. The people do not ______ the priests Nor _____ ______ to the elders. (Lamentations 4:16)

9. Princes were hung up by their hands, And elders were not _______ . (Lamentations 5:12)

10. The elders have ______gathering at the gate, And the young men from their music. (Lamentations 5:14)

By the time Christ began His ministry elders reemerged as a group with authority but not on the side of righteousness. They were a part of the Jewish political machine, puffed up with pride, living in rebellion toward God and bent on destroying Christ:

11. From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the _____ and _____ ______ and _______, and be killed, and be raised the third day. (Matthew 16:21)

In His Church, Christ desired that we be led by the wise counsel of godly elders. A congregation is so blessed that has elders sitting at her gates.

Boaz received sound counsel and judgment from the elders at the gates of his city. He happily departed after the elders pronounced the following blessing and prophecy concerning his marriage to Ruth:

12. And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are _______ .(Ruth 4:11)

13. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who _____ ___ ______ of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. (Ruth 4:11)