And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.” (Ruth 4:9-10)
Notice the phrase: “You are witnesses this day”
This explains why a marriage ceremony is important, and why it should be recognized by the civil authorities. Boaz had a love for Ruth that was public, a love that wanted to be publicly witnessed and registered.
Very often people ask me, “Why a marriage ceremony is important? “Can’t we just be married before God?” But there is something severely lacking in a love that doesn’t want to proclaim itself; that does not want witnesses; and that does not want the bond to be recognized by the civil authorities. That love falls short of true marital love.
Then there are those who say, “Well, if we were on a desert island and no one was there to marry us, could we still be married before God?” “Yes – on a desert island. But you aren’t on a desert island. There are witnesses and civil authorities for you to proclaim your commitment of marital love to. God wants you to do it!”
When he slept with her, the Lord enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. (Ruth 4:13)
Notice, it was the LORD who blessed Ruth so that she could have a son
The neighborhood women started calling him “Naomi’s baby boy!” (Ruth 4:17 MSG)
God turned the sorrow of Naomi into joy. The Lord always restores His people.