Neville Goddard on Ruth 4:1-12 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Ruth 4 in context

Scripture Focus

1Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

2And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

3And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's:

4And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

5Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

6And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

7Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.

8Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe.

9And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi.

10Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

11And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Bethlehem:

12And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.

Ruth 4:1-12

Biblical Context

Boaz arranges a kinsman to redeem Naomi's land and Ruth's future, publicly confirming Ruth's marriage to Boaz and preserving the dead's lineage.

Neville's Inner Vision

Take Ruth 4:1-12 as a parable of your inner economy. The gate where Boaz sits is the threshold of awareness; the kinsman who passes by is a stale pattern of lack you must outgrow. Boaz gathers ten elders—the complete circle of your beliefs—so that the new ruling can be witnessed. The land of Naomi to redeem is your life’s field, Naomi’s return from Moab signifying a shift from an old identity to a renewed purpose. When the man says he will redeem but fears it would mar his inheritance, you hear the truth: you cannot possess a future you are not willing to release from your past. The shoe-removal act is a sign that you have laid aside a former constraint, and the declaration Buy it for thee seals your conversion. The blessing of Rachel and Leah and the house of Israel is the unfolding lineage of your new state of consciousness. You are the inheritor; the dead are your past limitations; the living seed is your present I AM self.