Genesis 38 reads,

It should be noted that Tamar the widow was indeed a lonely woman. For she should have been given to Shelah as wife, after Shelah was fully grown, but she was not.

On account of her loneliness she purposed to play the prostitute, doing so with her father-in-law, seeing that it was her father-in-law who had authority to give her to Shelah as wife, but he had refrained from so doing. In this she also exploited the loneliness her father-in-law was then experiencing, on account of his being a widower. For in such a state of loneliness it is more likely that one may succumb to sexual temptation than when one is not lonely! And succumb to sexual temptation Judah did. And play the prostitute Tamar did.

It is clear, even as Judah acknowledged in his words, that had he given Tamar to Shelah his son she would not have played the prostitute. In other words, Tamar's sin of prostitution was occasioned by Judah's unrighteousness in not abiding by Yahweh's word, that Shelah receive her as wife and that she bear seed for his elder brother Onan. It is therefore seen that by not abiding by Yahweh's word in one aspect of life, human beings inevitably violate Yahweh's word in another aspect of life, thereby compounding upon disobedience to Yahweh! It is therefore implied that to avoid compounding on sin against Yahweh, his word should be abided by always.

It should also be noted that a widow should not, if at all possible, remain alone without a husband. For by being lonely she is likely, in the course of time, to succumb to sexual temptation, thereby playing the prostitute. Yahweh's way of minimising her violating his word in this regard is to impose a duty upon her brother-in-law to take her as his wife. By being his wife she will indeed have her sexual desires fulfilled and will not be led to prostitution on account of seeking the fulfilment of unfulfilled sexual desires.

It should also be noted that a woman who is not living in a man's household is liable to being abused or exploited by those who prey upon such women. Even though Tamar was in her father's house, and therefore presumably under his protection and being provided for by him, she was not being provided for sexually, seeing only Shelah was to sexually provide for her. By Tamar not being provided for sexually she succumbed to the temptation of playing the prostitute. It should therefore be acknowledged that it is indeed likely that a woman who is not provided for sexually, even though protected and otherwise provided for by a man, will succumb to sexual temptation. To minimise the probability of her succumbing to sexual temptation she should indeed be taken as wife by a man, and have not only the protection and provision that comes from a man, but also the sexual gratification that ought to come from a husband. In other words, wherever possible, women should not live alone, but should live with a husband. Living without a husband is effectively an invitation for sexual sin and sexual exploitation, such as by prostitution.

It therefore appears that once a widow has mourned for her late husband, she should indeed become the wife of another man. If she did not bear her late husband a son she should indeed become wife to one of his brothers, to bear seed to the name of her late husband. By becoming another man's wife she minimises the opportunity of her being exploited or oppressed by the unrighteous, and also minimises the opportunity of her succumbing to temptation to have sex with those she should not.

Leviticus 22:10-13 reads,

It should be noted that a childless widow can indeed be received back into her father's house and be considered a full member of that house, while a widow who has borne children cannot be considered a full member of her father's house even if she returns. A widow who has borne children should therefore be married by another man, for her own protection, provision and sexual needs, and also for the protection and provision of her children.

It should also be noted that Tamar's return to her father's house, while she was childless, was in harmony with Yahweh's law here mentioned. It therefore appears that Judah was aware of this aspect of Yahweh's law, later recited to his descendants.

Ruth 1 reads,

The book of Ruth is a book about two widows, Naomi and Ruth, though a third, Orpah, is briefly mentioned.

Naomi was left desolate, not only a widow, but also, subsequently, a childless widow, without physical descendants!

Ruth 1:6 notes the manner Yahweh visited his people in their affliction of famine. He provided them with food. Therefore, the manner one visits another who is experiencing affliction is by alleviating that affliction that is being experienced by the other. Where a widow is undergoing the suffering or affliction of desolation, being without husband and/or children, the manner of visiting her in her affliction is by providing her with a husband and/or children. And where the woman has passed the age of childbearing, but has children, a manner of visiting her in her affliction is by providing her with grandchildren.

Ruth 1:8 notes that Naomi understood Yahweh's law as applied to childless widows, even as was manifested by Judah with respect to his daughter-in-law Tamar. That is, a childless widow can indeed return to her father's or mother's house, and from there, be given afresh as wife to another man. The widow who cannot return to her father's or mother's house is the one who has already borne children to her husband. As those children belong to her husband, to perpetuate his name, she ought to remain in the wider household of her husband's family members and look after his children in this setting. For those children belong to her late husband's family, and not to another family. It therefore appears to me that a man among her late husband's family, probably her husband's brother, ought to take her as wife and protect and provide for both her and her children, his brother's or kinsman's children.

Not only did Naomi understand Yahweh's law with respect to the role of widows, she also understood human nature, even that of widows. She knew that, ideally, with respect to Yahweh's levirate law, a childless widow should be married by a brother of the deceased man. Nevertheless, when the brother is but an infant, it is extremely difficult for a widow to wait many years while the boy matures and comes of age. That long waiting period can easily result in the widow forsaking her husband to whom she is betrothed by going after another man. It is not easy for a woman to live alone without a man, especially after she had become accustomed to living together with a man as a husband.

It should also be noted that Naomi understood that with marriage it is not always the case that a man should be older than the woman. For Naomi acknowledged that it was possible for her to bear sons who would then be husbands to her two widowed daughters-in-law. And if this had happened those women would probably be at least twenty years older than their husbands! Even in the case of Shelah and Tamar, Tamar was older than Shelah, for she had already reached the age of marriage, and had already been widowed twice. But Shelah had not yet reached the age of marriage at the time Tamar was widowed the second time. Therefore, as far as Yahweh's word is concerned, it is not the case that a man must always be older than his wife. The wife can be older than the husband. And even if such is the case the normal provisions in Yahweh's word concerning how a wife should relate to a husband continue to apply. And the husband must indeed, fulfilling his role, protect and provide for his older wife.

Even though Naomi thought herself too old to have a husband, she also acknowledged that old widows do indeed harbour hope that they too will have a husband even in the widowhood of their old age. In other words, companionship is not the preserve of only young people. Even old people need companionship. An old widow suffering from desolation therefore needs to be visited in her desolation even as a young widow needs to be so visited.

It should be noted that Naomi's affliction was not only desolation, but also economic deprivation. For she left the land of Israel full and in the company of her husband and sons, but returned to it empty and bereaved of her husband and sons. Naomi's affliction was typical of that undergone by widows - desolation and economic deprivation.

Ruth 2 reads,

It should be noted from Ruth 2:8-9 that not only did Boaz start providing for Ruth's sustenance, he also provided her with protection, instructing his young men not to lay a hand on her. Boaz had commenced to perform for Ruth the role performed by a husband, providing her with both protection and provisions.

The reason Boaz was favourable towards Ruth was the reputation Ruth had acquired as a result of her works of faith. In other words, those who serve Yahweh project a good reputation for themselves on account of their works for Yahweh. And, as a result, they gain favour among other servants of Yahweh.

It seems to me that Yahweh had separately commanded Boaz and Ruth to meet, commanding Ruth to glean from Boaz's field, and commanding Boaz to protect and provide for Ruth. Even though it is not recorded that Yahweh separately commanded each of them as described above, the experience of Yahweh commanding the widow in Zarephath, to feed the prophet Elijah many days, attests to this (1 Kings 17). For the widow in Zarephath did not consciously receive Yahweh's command to act in the manner that she did. Nevertheless, Yahweh specifically told Elijah that he had commanded the widow in Zarephath to feed Elijah many days, showing that there are times Yahweh subconsciously commands various people to act in various ways, and act in those ways they do.

Ruth 3 reads,

It should be noted that it is Ruth who proposed to Boaz that he marries her, in fulfilment of Yahweh's levirate law, whereby a near kinsman marries a childless widow to perpetuate the name of the deceased. It is therefore not the case that it must be the man who proposes marriage to the woman. Even a woman can propose marriage to a man. And when a woman proposes marriage to a man, especially if the basis of her proposal is founded in some aspect of Yahweh's word, it should not be said that the woman is behaving inappropriately.

It should also be noted that Boaz was much older than Ruth, for he repeatedly referred to her as "my daughter", indicating that Ruth was about the age of his daughters, presuming that he had daughters. And seeing that the pleasure Boaz derived in Ruth selecting him as her husband was indeed great, it is indeed my view that it is not inappropriate for there to be a significant age difference between a husband and a wife, even where a husband is about the age of the woman's father.

Earlier on it was seen that it is not inappropriate for a woman to be older than her husband, even in a case whereby she is old enough to be his mother, as Ruth would have been had Naomi borne a son whom Ruth waited for in marriage. Now it is seen that it is not inappropriate for a man to be significantly older than his wife, even in a case whereby he is old enough to be her father. It is therefore the case that the respective ages of the prospective husband and wife is irrelevant in determining the appropriateness or not of the marriage. For just as the man can be older than the woman, so also can the woman be older than the man!

Seeing that Ruth was a widow, and seeing that she had perceived that she should be wife to Boaz and duly proposed to him that he marries her, it appears to me that when a widow or other unmarried woman perceives the same with respect to some man, she should indeed propose to him that he marries her. She should not feel that it is inappropriate for her to propose to him. There is no inappropriateness in a woman proposing to a man that he takes her as his wife. Therefore the widow who desires to be wife to a man, especially when her desire is founded in some aspect of Yahweh's word, should indeed propose to him that he take her as his wife.

It should also be noted that there are situations whereby a man may not feel that it is appropriate for him to propose to a woman that she becomes his wife, such as in this case with Boaz. For Boaz thought that Ruth was more likely to select a man closer to her age, rather than be married by an old man. And he therefore did not want to impose any pressure on her to become his wife, or act in a manner which could be misinterpreted that he was exploiting a desolate and economically weak widow, who was also a sojourner in Israel. It therefore seemed fitting that the proposal in this case came from Ruth rather than from Boaz.

Ruth 4 reads,

It should be noted that even though the other near kinsman desired to purchase Elimelech's land, when he realised that there were conditions attached to the sale of that land that he was uncomfortable about he chose not to purchase the land. His failure to exercise his right of purchase over Elimelech's land seems to me to affirm my view that it is Yahweh who brought together Boaz and Ruth. For Yahweh knew the mind of this other near kinsman, knowing that he did not yet have a descendant to succeed to his name, as seems indicated by his reply among the men sitting at the gate of the city. For had he already a descendant succeeding to his name it is not likely that he would have forsaken his right to purchase Elimelech's land. Therefore, Yahweh knowing that this other near kinsman would forsake the right to purchase Elimelech's land, and therefore also the right to marry Ruth, Boaz would indeed marry Ruth, thereby realising his object in bringing together Boaz and Ruth.

It should be noted that Yahweh visited both Naomi and Ruth in their affliction of widowhood. Ruth he visited by giving her to Boaz as wife, and also giving them a son, to succeed to Mahlon and Elimelech's name. Naomi he visited by giving her a grandson, to succeed to Mahlon and Elimelech's name. Their desolation was therefore ended. Their economic deprivation was also ended, for Boaz both protected and provided for them. And Naomi found great solace and companionship in nursing her grandson. Yahweh truly visited the widows Naomi and Ruth in their affliction of widowhood, using Boaz as his instrument in so visiting them.

Learning from Yahweh, Boaz, Naomi and Ruth, servants of Yahweh should indeed visit widows in their affliction. The man in a position to become husband to a widow, providing her with both protection and provision, should indeed do so. The widow who perceives a man who can indeed become her husband, protecting and providing for her, should indeed propose to him that he may marry her. And provided all concerned parties act under Yahweh's guidance, Yahweh's will indeed will be done!

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