And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down.
(Ruth 4:2 ESV)
We live in a culture that’s constantly chasing what’s new. The latest technology, the newest trend, the cutting-edge perspective. But in all our searching for new ideas, wisdom often seems in short supply. When Boaz needed witnesses for one of the most important decisions of his life, he didn’t go looking for the newest voices. He went to the city gate, gathered ten respected elders, and asked them to sit down.
The Hebrew word translated elders here is zaqen (זָקֵן), pronunced zah-KANE. At its root, it literally means beard — as in, one who has grown a beard. While the word originally referred to someone advanced in years, it came to describe respected leaders within the community. These men were valued for their wisdom, experience, judgment, and integrity. They helped settle disputes, preserve justice, and guide the people.
We sometimes treat aging like it’s a problem to be managed with the right vitamins, the right skincare routine, the right retirement plan. But the Hebrew world saw it differently. Getting older wasn’t a loss; it was an accumulation. Every painful life experience, every grief endured, every difficult decision all added up to something valuable.
The value of zaqen is not merely age. After all, some people grow older without growing wiser. Rather, biblical eldership is rooted in character, faithfulness, and experience that is shaped by walking with God. The years of a zaqen have produced a wisdom that younger people genuinely lack. Not because young people are foolish, but because some things can only be learned by living through them.
Think about what Boaz was doing in Ruth 4. He was redeeming a widow, honoring a covenant, restoring a family line, and he needed witnesses who understood the weight of that. He needed people who had seen enough of life to grasp what was at stake.
That’s still true today. Churches need zaqen. People who have walked through enough to know that God was faithful then, and He’ll be faithful now. Families need zaqen. Grandparents and older aunts and uncles who can be there during the difficult moments and say, “I know this is scary, but I’ve been through something similar and here’s what I’ve learned.”
If you’re younger, seek out the wisdom of godly elders. Listen to those who have weathered the storms, endured hardships, and remained faithful to Christ.
If you’re older, know that God has placed you in a position to be a zaqen for others. Your experiences, lessons learned, and faithful example may be exactly what someone else needs. Don’t disappear into the shadows. Your years are a valuable resource. The community still needs you sitting at the gate.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for the gift of zaqen, for the men and women who have sat at the gate of our lives. Give us the humility to listen to them. And for those of us who are getting on in years, help us not to shrink back. Remind us that our presence still matters and You’re not done using us yet. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Alan Smith
Reprinted with permission from Alan Smith’s Thought For the Day