In v1 the text says Boaz goes to ‘the gate’ because the gate is the center of town which served as a town hall and a courthouse, this gate was where all the things that matter happened. So, Boaz wakes up from his eventful evening at the threshing floor, and goes to the gate to take care of business. I bring this up today not just for fun or for a pre-sermon storytime, but purposefully because in Ruth 4 we see Boaz having a sort of Midas touch of his own. There are varying accounts of what happened to Midas at this point but this legend has had a large enough impact on the world that today we have as part of our culture’s vocabulary the phrase the ‘Midas touch’ referring to someone who seems to do well with anything they set their hands to do. He loved this gift at first and rejoiced, but as the myth goes, Midas prepared a great feast to celebrate and as soon as he touched his food it turned to solid gold. Midas was a greedy man who never had enough so he wished for the ability to turn anything he touched into gold. It is said that King Midas worked out a deal with the god Dionysus in which he was granted one wish. In Greek mythology there is a figure named King Midas.
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