Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
During my junior high school years, we lived in south-central Kentucky about 15 miles south of the Dogpatch Trading Post, a tourist trap based upon the “Li’l Abner” newspaper cartoon series. The cartoon included a character named Sadie Hawkins, the homeliest girl on earth for whom Sadie Hawkins Day is named.
To get her a husband, Sadie’s father initiated a race in which bachelors got a head start on being chased by spinsters. Like running from a lion, you needn’t be the fastest, but you wanted to be faster than spinsters in pursuit.
Originally, Sadie Hawkins Day fell on various dates in November, but apparently the single men wised up and designated it to be Feb. 29 so they’d only get chased every four years.
God designed males and females to be attracted to each other and potentially form a permanent marriage bond (Genesis 2:18-24; Proverbs 5:18-19; Ecclesiastes 9:9; Matthew 19:3-9). Li’l Abner avoided being caught on Sadie Hawkins Day, but eventually conceded and married the lovely Daisy Mae in a cartoon wedding highly celebrated in the media.
While contemplating today’s article, I read about Ruth and Boaz and realized that, at her mother-in-law’s advice, the recently widowed Ruth made a discreet Sadie Hawkins ploy to gain a husband (Ruth 3:1-13). The entire short book of Ruth is intriguing because, among other things, the concept is brought out about the kinship-redeemer who, under Mosaic Law, was to buy back land sold out of poverty to make sure the inheritance remained in the family to whom it had been assigned (Ruth 2:19-20; Leviticus 25:23-28).
Although not specifically stated anywhere I could find in the Mosaic Law, Ruth’s case not only involved redeeming her deceased husband’s land and maybe her father-in-law’s entire property, it also was used here to fulfill the levirate law that actually preceded the Mosaic Law for a surviving brother to provide an heir if his brother died without one (Genesis 38:1-10; Deuteronomy 25:5-10). I’d bet Boaz was more interested in Ruth as a wife because of her family commitment and industry in providing for her mother-in-law than for her land and providing an heir, especially since Boaz and Ruth are listed in Jesus’ genealogy rather than either Ruth’s father-in-law or her deceased husband (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-37).
Like Ruth, anyone can choose Israel’s God as their own God, based on his terms to attain his righteousness under the new covenant (Acts 10:34-35). While Sadie Hawkins Day comes around once every four years for spinsters to chase bachelors, every day is the day to chase God as our kinsman-redeemer and father, which is what he wants (2 Corinthians 6:1-2, 14-18; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Peter 3:8-9). In this way, we become children of God’s promise to Abraham to have an eternal inheritance with him (Genesis 15:1-7; Hebrews 6:13-20; 11:8-16; 12:18-29; Galatians 3:26-29; 4:6-7).
Have you reached out and “caught” God as your kinsman-redeemer and father on his terms (Hosea 2:16-20; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:1-9; 21:1-27; 22:12-17)?
Leonard Lauriault is a member of the Church of Christ in Logan who writes about faith for the Quay County Sun. Contact him at [email protected].