Boaz, though not
the nearest kinsman, on being made acquainted with the circumstances of
the case by Ruth, generously took up the cause; and the nearest of kin
having relinquished his claim, he redeemed the property with it; and,
with Ruth's own free consent, took her to be his wife. Her individual
concurrence is apparent throughout the whole transaction. No one had any
right to sell at all, or otherwise to dispose of her, except by her own
wish.
The rape of the Benjamites is sometimes referred to in terms expressive
of the desire to cast opprobium upon the teachings of the Bible.
Unfortunate as was the condition of the Benjamites on this occasion,
they had no more sanction for what they did from the law of Moses, than
had Ahab for destroying the prophets of the Lord. Neither was the order
of the Jewish elders for the massacre of men and elderly women, and the
saving of the four hundred young women to make up the deficiency of
wives still existing in this tribe, in any sense chargeable to the
Divine law.
We might with as much propriety hold the Gospel responsible for the
Massacre of St. Bartholomew, as to hold the law of Moses responsible for
the acts of the Israelites. The Mosaic precepts concerning adultery and
divorce might at first sight appear to give more latitude to men than to
women, and therefore to be partial; but when we accept the
interpretation given by our Lord, the apparent partiality vanishes.
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