Then 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 inheritance."

his

And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: take thou my right of redemption on thee; for I cannot redeem it." (Now this was the custom 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 neighbor: and this was the manner of attestation in Israel.) Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for thyself." So he drew off his shoe.

Then Boaz said to the elders, and to 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. Moreover 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."

And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses.

"The Lord make the woman who is come into thy house Like Rachel and like Leah,

Which two did build the house of Israel;

And do thou worthily in Ephrathah,

And be famous in Beth-lehem;

And let thy house be like the house of Perez,

Whom Tamar bore to Judah,

Of the children whom the Lord shall give

Of this young woman."

So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife; and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi:

"Blessed be the Lord,

Who hath not left thee this day without a near kinsman,

And let his name be famous in Israel.

And he shall be to thee a restorer of thy life,
And a nourisher of thine old age;

For thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee,
Who is better to thee than seven sons,

Hath borne him."

And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.

And the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi"; and they called his name Obed [Worshiper].

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

RUTH

She stood breast high amid the corn,
Clasp'd by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun,
Who many a glowing kiss had won.

On her cheek an autumn flush,
Deeply ripen'd;-such a blush
In the midst of brown was born,
Like red poppies grown with corn.

Round her eyes her tresses fell,
Which were blackest none could tell,
But long lashes veil'd a light
That had else been all too bright.

And her hat, with shady brim,
Made her tressy forehead dim;
Thus she stood amid the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks:

Sure, I said, Heav'n did not mean
When I reap thou shouldst but glean.
Lay thy sheaf adown and come,
Share my harvest and my home.

-Thomas Hood

HR

ESTHER

"The time is out of joint; O cursed spite

That ever I was born to set it right!"

OW sad and despairing this wai! of Hamlet! Buffeted about by conflicting duties and counter-running loves, lashed on by conscience and baffled by circumstance, thoughtful, moody, irresolute, he moved pathetically in a maze of deepening tragedy, till duty and death coalesced and slew him.

Place over against this "O cursed spite that ever I was born" of Hamlet, these ringing words of Mordecai, "Who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" and we have in the contrast the clue to the tragedy of Hamlet and the victory of Esther. For the time seemed hopelessly "out of joint" for all Israel when Esther, rising in magnificent decision to the challenge of Mordecai, took her life in her hand, and with it the fate of her people; approached the king unbidden, when to do so ordinarily meant death; won his favor, and turned to victory the expected massacre of the Jews, despite the irrevocableness of the king's sealed decree.

The cause of all the trouble seems to have been the age-old hatred between Jews and Amalekites. Beautiful Esther was queen in place of the deposed Vashti, and Mordecai her uncle sat at the king's gate. The scattered Jews, though under Persian rule, were faring pretty well and might now have fared better, had not a certain Haman, an Agagite, risen in power and favor with the king. As chief court favorite he naturally began to receive and enjoy the fawning and the flattery of courtiers and attendants and subjects in general. Of course a proud Jew like Mordecai would on no account do obeisance to a hated Amalekite! And of course an Amalekite in power would not rest until he had crushed the arrogant and hated Jew. Thus it came about that the weak-willed and flatteryloving king was prevailed upon to issue a decree to the entire realm, that on a certain day all loyal subjects everywhere should turn upon what Haman called a troublesome and traitorous sect of people known as Jews, and utterly destroy them.

Consternation and despair spread like a storm cloud over the Jewish sky. Legalized massacre lay ahead of them, with no possible way of escape!

Then it was that Mordecai approached Esther, laid the situation before her, and bade her boldly seek the king and his favor. Appalling as was the woeful plight of her people, she yet shrank in dismay at the thought of venturing unbidden into the presence of the king and thereby courting immediate death. But no sooner did she express her dread of the

issue than Mordecai, placing the inevitable alternatives of the situation. before her again, required her to choose the way she would take. If, he argued, the decree were carried out, she would herself perish with her people; she could not possibly escape. If, on the other hand, she sought the king of her own accord, there was indeed the danger of immediate execution; but there was also the chance of the favoring scepter being extended to her, and with it the opportunity to plead her nation's cause. Should she in the face of all this refuse to attempt the rescue of her people, then deliverance would arise from another place; but, he added, "Who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

That final appeal was a master stroke! The response was splendid. With true Jewish piety she urged the observance of a three-day feast, and then with queenly dignity announced her decision: "So will I go in to the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish!" Thus Esther ventured-and won.

How swift and dramatic the whole narrative! Glowing with Oriental extravagance and color, brilliant with contrasting shadows and lights, ominous with subtlety and intrigue, vibrating with love and jealousy, hatred and fear, hope and suspense, and all the flatteries and deceits of a Persian court, progressive in movement and satisfying to Jewish readers in its total outcome, the whole book is a veritable drama of deliverance, founded upon Israel's faith in the sure protection of Jehovah, and turning upon the life venture of Esther in behalf of her endangered race.

Esther indeed shares with Haman the old spirit of vindictiveness and race prejudice. To love one's neighbor and hate one's enemy was counted virtue in her day. We honor her heroism and make full allowance for her provocation. But the standard that seemed praiseworthy to "them of old time" has been forever superseded by the Teacher of Nazareth; and they who follow him seek rather for the final extinguishing of all race hatreds in the all-inclusive brotherhood of the kingdom of God.

ESTHER

PERSONS OF THE NARRATIVE

Ahasuerus, king of Media and Persia
Vashti, deposed queen of Ahasuerus
Esther, made queen by Ahasuerus
Mordecai, a Jew, and officer of the court
Haman, a prince, favorite of the king
Zeresh, wife of Haman

Memucan, a courtier of the king

Hegai, a chamberlain, keeper of the women

Shaashgaz, a chamberlain

Bigthan and Teresh, chamberlains, conspirators

against the king

Hatach, a chamberlain, messenger of Esther

Harbonah, a chamberlain

Chamberlains, women of the royal house, princes of the

kingdom, maidens in attendance, royal couriers

PLACE

Shushan, or Susa, capital of Persia

TIME

In the reign of Xerxes, 484-465 B.C.

ESTHER'S RISE TO POWER

A GREAT KING PREPARES A POMPOUS FEAST

WOW it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus" (this is
Ahasuerus who reigned from India even to Ethiopia,

N

over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces), that in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace,48 in the third year of his reign, he made a feast to all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him; when he showed the riches of his glorious kingdom and the honor of his excellent majesty many days, even a hundred and eighty days.