Why Did Boaz Die?
There is an old Jewish legend that declares that Boaz died the next day after his marriage to Ruth. This would have happened after they had been together one night, which was long enough for the conception of Obed.
Does this seem entirely too strange an ending of the love story to you?
SILENCE ABOUT BOAZ
I was shocked to find this out and wondered if it could possibly be true.
The bible is actually silent about Boaz after he was wed to Ruth.
There is a lot of talk of how Naomi held Obed in her arms and felt blessed to have such a grandson. We feel the relief of Ruth and Naomi with the fact that now Ruth would have the inheritance that had once belonged to them in the first place, free and clear and without debt. That land would honor the name of her deceased husband and be passed on to Obed.
God’s blessings seem to be showered on these two women who apparently lived happily ever after, but what about Boaz?
A CLOSET FULL OF “WHAT IFS”
I will warn you that from this point forward this lesson is filled with “what ifs” and theory.
In the end I will present my own personal opinion, which again is simply a theory.
None of the facts in my own theory are proven beyond a reasonable doubt; they are simply one explaination of what might have been.
I only offer this discussion in light of the fact that the bible and the Jewish commentataries where I can usually find good solid answers are completely silent. I’m giving you my own thoughts which are simply based on past studies. It would be wise to note that I am not a historian.
So chew up the meat and spit out the bones. Think hard about what you read and judge for yourself. Do not take these words today as final answers, but only as ONE POSSIBILITY as to why things could have happened as they did.
ONE POSSIBILITY
With that warning I will continue with the thoughts of today’s lesson.
It seems possible that the facts about Judge Ibzan being Boaz are most likely true. If so, this means we can think further into the history of Boaz assuming that he most likely WAS Judge Izban.
Judge Izban only ruled as a judge over Israel for seven years. Boaz/Izban met Ruth many, many years after that part of his life had ended. As a matter of fact, in the time when he was judge he married many other foreign women and had children by them. Those children began to grow up. However; by the time Boaz met Ruth, all of his grown children had died.
Over time Boaz had become rich, prosperous and old. It appears from the story of Ruth that he had spent his later years studying Torah. Also, it seems he had become a much wiser man than when he was younger and judging Israel. For all of these reasons he was well respected and honored in Bethlehem. I’m sure the fact that he had once been a Judge did not hurt this reputation at all.
THE PLAN OF AN AMBITIOUS JUDGE
Judge Izban, later called Boaz, was known for thinking-outside-the-box. His ideas were not typical and usually not traditional. During that time when Boaz reigned as Judge Izban, he devised a plan to increase his kingdom by having children and giving them in marriage to other clans. In order to do this he married many foreign wives.
In theory, this made the mixed families friendlier to Isreal. Judge Izban was continuously mixing people-groups in order to help them understand one another better.
The scriptures mention that Judge Izban (assumed to be the later Boaz) eventually made 120 engagements and weddings for his 60 sons and daughters to people of other lands. The sons and daughters supposedly helped their mates and their families to understand and honor the ways of Israel. Supposedly this increased peace. That was the goal of this plan that Judge Izban concocted.
A MIX OF CULTURES WITH ISRAEL
This plan of Judge Izban/Boaz had greatly increased his wealth and prosperity. He thought it helped Israel as well. Those were his thoughts though. Through the mixing of the cultures, all of Israel’s land was expanded. Each expansion held off or prevented war among the two parties. They actually brought about a short time of peaceful existence between all of the peoples living within the land.
However; that was simply a plan of a man, one that Judge Izban/Boaz had devised in his own mind. It wasn’t God’s plan at all.
GOD’S PLAN VS. THE PLAN OF IZBAN
Boaz, at that time, did not yet know the plan that God had in store for him. He thought his life’s purpose was simply to be a judge who increased the wealth, prosperity and territory of Israel by siring the 60 children from foreign wives, with which he would increase his territory by giving them in marriage to other clans.
As it happened though, ALL of those 60 children died before Boaz died.
Can you imagine living through the death of 60 of your children in one lifetime and being the last person of your family to bear your name in spite of the fact that you had brought 60 lives into the world? Some sages say the children of Izban died because Izban had followed his plan instead of listening to God.
That was the sad state of Judge Izban/Boaz long before he met Ruth.
It all happened because he had made his own plans, but didn’t understand the purpose that God had planned for him.
TAKING THE DETOUR INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING GOD
God had a plan for the son of Boaz, but it did not include using all of the other sons and daughters that Judge Izban had produced in order to further his kingdom and his wealth.
Being father to so many children had been ONLY Judge Izban’s plan. This plan had included using other wives from foreign lands. God had never suggested that this be done.
As a matter of fact, God’s plan was just the opposite. Israel was to be increased through it’s own generations.
God’s plan had only planned for Boaz to father one child. That one child would be very significant to Israel.
THE BLESSED CHILD OF BOAZ
Almost like in the story of Abraham, the blessed child came very late in Boaz’s life. He only happened into this world after Boaz married Ruth. Even then, Boaz’s child with Ruth would be by liverate marriage in which he would maintain the name of Ruth’s first husband, who was native born to Israel.
This child (Obed) was the one blessed child of Boaz that mattered for increasing God’s Kingdom, called Israel.
It was not the children from the kingdom/rulership of Izban/Boaz over his own property with his own plan that mattered in the end.
Again; it is clear that Obed would actually be carrying on the family name and lineage of Elimileck and Mahlon, not the name and lineage of Boaz. The older and wiser Boaz understood and obeyed God in this plan when it was finally revealed to him.
Obed would be the one and only child born of Boaz who would live, grow up and prosper.
Through the name of Ruth’s first husband which Boaz had redeemed as a Kinsman Redeemer, Obed was the first of those who were of the generation of King David, who was of the generations leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ.
BOAZ WAS ALLOWED A ROLE IN GOD’S PLAN
God did not grant Boaz first lineage, but he allowed him to play an important role in bringing the proper lineage about. As an older and wiser man now, Boaz was happy just to be a part of God’s plan. This was a lesson he had learned the hard way, at the point of reaching old age.
This birth of Obed happened long after Boaz’s days as a judge of Israel were over. By the time of the birth of Obed, three other judges had ruled Israel since Boaz.
One of those three judges was Sampson.
STRANGE POSSIBLE TIES BETWEEN BOAZ AND SAMPSON
Men typically try to find answers when strange stories like this form history over the courses of time. So much of it feels like one big riddle to solve. Here is a link to another lesson on Samson, just in case you missed it: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/watch-out-for-the-little-foxes/. That lesson contains many of the details we are referring to today. We studied several lessons on Samson while we were studying The Book of Judges.
Now, as we are going through The Book of Ruth we have stopped to ask why things transpired in the strange ways that they did?
For instance, it was said that all of Boaz’s children were cursed because he had not invited Manoah (the Father of Sampson) to his wedding feasts for all of his many sons and daughters. Manoah had cursed him for this.
This is an odd riddle that falls right in the middle of this story of the life of Boaz. Why would Manoah want to curse Judge Izban/Boaz for not including him in his children’s wedding celebrations?
THE CURSE OF MANOAH
One possibility comes to mind. It concerns all the things that happened to Sampson. Here is another link to a previous lesson which we wrote in our Judges study about Izban:https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/ibzan-reigns-as-judge/. Again, the past lesson includes details we do not have time for today.
Was Boaz the rich landowner who had fathered the girl from Moab that Sampson fell in love with and persuaded his parents that he MUST marry, despite their difference in nationalities?
I do not read of the parents of Sampson being invited to his wedding party with the Philistines. At first I thought it was Sampson who didn’t want them to come; but maybe it went further than that.
I suppose (IF Boaz WAS the father of Sampson’s bride-to-be in the story) that he and his foreign wife might have left Sampson’s family out of the invitations because they knew they might not be comfortable. Devout Nazarites would not want to participate in some of the foreign rituals that the foreign wife of Judge Izban/Boaz had planned for her daughter. (There would be wine.) Also, Sampson’s parents were followers of God and they would be especially uncomfortable around idols.
All of these details COULD have been possible because during the time that he was known as Judge Izban, it was confirmed that Izban/Boaz had many foreign wives. He deliberately chose them because of his plan for increasing his kingdom by mixing the people by marriages in order to bring about peace.
God had forbidden this, but Judge Izban seemed not to know it. It seemed that in order to keep peace at home and continue to implement his plans, that Izban might have let the foreign wives do whatever they wished with the wedding planning.
THE OBVIOUS QUESTION
So we must ask the obvious question:
Could the mother of this girl that Sampson fell in love with have been one of Izban’s/Boaz’s many foreign wives during his time as judge?
That would mean that when Sampson returned (after being away because he was angry at the woman he planned to marry for telling the answer to his riddle to his attendants) that Boaz had given up on him coming back to wed his daughter.
The plan of Izban for wedding feasts galore needed to continue in a timely manner, so he had given her to one of Sampson’s groomsmen from Philistine. Judge Izban didn’t want anything interfering with his wedding party arrangements! He even offered Sampson a sister of the other girl to replace the woman he had fallen in love with. (Yes; this sounds so much like the story of Jacob.)
ONE THING WORTH CONSIDERING
The one thing that seems to discount this theory is that when Samson heard this news, he tied foxes tails together and set them on fire, burning down the lands of the nearby Philistines. He was angry and getting his revenge. The Philistines in turn, burned down the house of Samson’s father-in-law-to-be and supposedly killed the father and daughter/bride-promised-to-Sampson in the fire.
That was the sad news that was given to Sampson.
ANOTHER “WHAT IF”
But what if Izban/Boaz had secretly escaped the fire?
There is a possibility that this could have happened and no one would have known. Since his life was obviously in danger, I can understand him keeping his idenity a secret for awhile. Maybe he might have even changed his name to Boaz?
Boaz could have returned to live in Bethlehem and escaped all of that trouble for awhile. All of his wealth would have continued in his name, but he would have been safer than if he had continued living near the Philistines, who wanted their revenge.
Boaz could have reclaimed all of his lands much later in life.
What if that were the case?
MAYBE THE ANSWER TO THE DEATH OF BOAZ
We have no way to really know, but this theory (which is only the author’s personal opinion) would solve the mystery as to why Boaz died after only one night after he was married to Ruth.
You see, at that point he would have fulfilled his purpose and destiny from God by bringing the son called Obed to life on their wedding night. He would have produced the son from Israel who would be in the direct lineage of King David and eventually Jesus Christ.
It seems that Boaz died the very night that his life’s destiny and purpose were fulfilled.
If Boaz had lived however, the curse of Manoah would have come upon Obed. He would have died before Boaz, like all of his other children.
Instead God had let Boaz die and Obed live.
The destiny of Boaz was fulfilled. A kingdom’s lineage was set in place. Naomi and Ruth were cared for. All of Israel was well on the way to Salvation.
Little did anyone know or realize what was going on.
Sometimes God works very quietly behind the scenes.
WHAT IS YOUR THEORY?
What do you think?
Are you beginning to see why Benjamin Franklin was so taken with this story of Ruth?
Could this possible theory, taken from the many details of the stories we have already studied, all tie together in such a way? I’m not claiming that this lesson is total gospel truth. I’m just proposing a possible answer as to why Boaz died the day after he married Ruth.
Can you come up with a better answer?