Ruth 4
This is a difficult statute for us to understand in our time and culture. However, keeping it helped to maintain order and justice in the communities of ancient Israel, as we see in Ruth 4. When this law of inheritance, which included marriage to the wife of the deceased by his nearest unmarried kin, was properly observed, all questions about property were taken care of in a single stroke.
Any man who refused to marry his deceased relative’s wife thus put in jeopardy both her purity and the stewardship of the family’s property. Again, this may not make sense to us, but in ancient Israel it was an essential rule for maintaining order and justice in communities.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.