Ruth returned before dawn. Naomi welcomed her with arms crossed and eyes full of curiosity.
"How did it go, my daughter?"
Ruth recounted every word, every look, every grain of barley Boaz had given her.
Naomi smiled. "Wait, my daughter, until you see how the matter turns out. That man will not rest until the matter is settled today."
Meanwhile, Boaz went to the town gate, where elders gathered. He called the other redeemer.
"Naomi is selling the land that belonged to Elimelek," Boaz said. "Will you redeem it?"
"I will," the man replied.
Boaz nodded. "But on the day you buy it, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite."
The man hesitated. "Then I cannot redeem it. I might endanger my own estate."
Boaz lifted his sandal. "You are witnesses today that I have bought all that belonged to Elimelek… and taken Ruth to be my wife."
Reflection:
"Those who honor God will never be denied what is divinely theirs."
—Psalm 37:4