But Naomi and Ruth were not yet home free.  There was a fly in the ointment of Naomi's plans -- another man was a closer kinsman to Elimelech than Boaz.  Perhaps this other man would intervene and wreck the romance?  (No doubt he was a wretched old pruneface).  Boaz offered him the right of redemption of Elimelech's land.  The man was willing to redeem the land.   Then Boaz revealed that marriage to Ruth went with the property.  The man reconsidered: he wanted the land, but not the woman. (Maybe it was Ruth who was the pruneface).  He realized that the land would not be a part of his estate, but would belong to any son that he and Ruth had.  So he relinquished his right of redemption in favor of Boaz, which was Boaz' plan all along.

         

So the guy gets the girl, and the girl gets a son (Obed), and the son gets the land, and Naomi gets social security in her old age (Ruth 4:15).  Ruth also received another blessing, this time from the elders of the community:

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          "May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel" (Ruth 4:11).
 
           This was probably a pretty standard blessing of the bride at Israelite weddings, but saying it to Ruth showed how completely she was accepted into the community.