The Hope for the Future: Christ

The Book of Ruth ends with the genealogy of Perez of the line of Judah: "Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David (Ruth 4:18-22).

Note especially verses 21b-22: "Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David," confirming the statement about the birth of Obed to Ruth and Boaz in verse 17b, which reads, "And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David." This is what gives the Book of Ruth its significance. Ruth's great-grandson was David, the greatest king in the history of Israel. It was through the line of David, in fulfillment of prophecy, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born in Bethlehem. Isaiah says that the Savior will be "a shoot (that) will come up from the stump of Jesse… the Spirit of the LORD will rest on him" (Isa. 11:1-2, NIV).

God was never in doubt as to what He was doing. He was silently accomplishing His purposes in the godly line of David, which would one day come to its complete fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is our hope! Jesus is our kinsman-redeemer! Remember, it was by His Incarnation that the Son of God became our kinsman so that by His sacrificial, atoning death He might also become our Redeemer. All of our needs and problems find their solution at the Cross of Christ and in His glorious Resurrection.

So, the Book of Ruth points ahead to Christ, the hope for the future. We are encouraged to rely on the character of God as revealed in His Word. Isaiah asks, "Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness and has no light?" (Isa. 50:10a). And he answers, "Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon his God" (v. 10b).

We are to judge, not by what we see of our circumstances, but by what we know of the unchanging character of our God. The only way that can happen, is to have our minds soaked in Scripture and our thinking informed by the certainty of God's sovereignty being exercised in love and grace, right now, in the circumstances of our daily lives.

Boaz and Ruth were ordinary people who lived faithful lives. In the same way, God wants you to be faithful. Trust Christ, the hope for your future. He is our "kinsman-redeemer," our Savior. He is our Lord, our God. As Isaiah says, "Trust in the name of the LORD and rely upon (our) God" (Isa. 50:10b). Amen.

The Answer to the Problem: A Son

In Ruth 4:11-17, the story turns to the real answer for the problem that Naomi and Ruth faced. That answer? A son! Without a son being born to Ruth and Boaz the redemption is incomplete. And so, as the story continues, all the people proclaim, "We are witnesses. The LORD make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the LORD will give you from this young woman" (v. 11-12).

The people pronounced a blessing of fertility on Ruth (v. 11a), that she would be like Rachel and Leah, who had twelve sons between them (Gen 29:31-30:24). Then they pronounced a dual blessing on Boaz: First, literally, "may you have standing" (v. 11b) or "may you prosper" (v. 11b), referring to wealth, and second, that he "be famous in Bethlehem" (v. 11b).

Verse 12 expands on the idea of being "famous in Bethlehem" (v. 11b). It is the offspring of Boaz and Ruth that will bring fame to this family. It is the birth of their son and all who follow that are in view here. "Perez" was the more important of the two sons born to Judah by Tamar, as he is an ancestor of the people of Bethlehem of the tribe of Judah. Not only do they long to see a son raised up for Elimelech, but a famous line of descendants from Boaz himself, as a reward for his faithful, compassionate love and kindness. They ask for God's blessing to be poured on the man who has acted faithfully for the preservation of the family line, by granting him a famous dynasty—a prayer that was abundantly answered.

It was to Bethlehem that Samuel, the prophet, came (1 Sam. 16:4) to anoint David, the great grandson of Boaz and Ruth, to be king over Israel. It was about Bethlehem that the prophet Micah later proclaimed: "Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting" (Micah 5:2). And so it was to Bethlehem that Joseph from Nazareth came with Mary, under the decree of Caesar Augustus, to be registered, and in Bethlehem that the Savior of the world was born (Luke 2:1–12).

"So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son" (v. 13). Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz, the true "kinsman-redeemer!" Obed is being referred to throughout verses 14-15, and he is clearly regarded as the "kinsman-redeemer." "Then the women said to Naomi, 'Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him'" (vs. 14-15).

As one commentator put it: "The child was the real kinsman-redeemer, a word that here has the broad sense of 'deliverer' and 'helper'… Only through the child was the yoke of affliction that the Lord had laid on Naomi completely removed." (David Jackman, quoting Goslinga, The Preacher’s Commentary, Vol. 7: Judges, Ruth, [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1991], 349)

The problem is taken care of. The need is met. A son is born who is the true "kinsman-redeemer" for Naomi. So she cares for her grandson, Obed, and helps raise him (that is the literal thought of verse 16): "Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him."

Obed, meaning "servant," indicates that this son would serve his grandmother as her "kinsman-redeemer" in the sense that he would take care of her in her old age. And so, as we look back we can see God's answers to prayer in the birth of the son, Obed, and then, as we look forward to David, we see it even more dramatically. Obed was "the father of Jesse, the father of David" (v. 17b). That is what God had been working toward behind the scenes all along.

The birth of a son to Ruth, a "kinsman-redeemer" for Naomi, is the ultimate answer! And it all points to the future, not only to the birth of David, but certainly to the birth of Jesus in the line of David. Jesus is the Son born that first Christmas morning to be our redeemer! What a glorious truth to keep in mind as we prepare in the weeks ahead to celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior, Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Heart of the Matter: Redemption

W. Gary Phillips, in his commentary on Ruth, offers the following summary on all that has taken place: Pretend you are an ordinary field worker in Bethlehem during the days of the judges, specifically at the time of Ruth. What events would you have observed?

First, you would have seen two women walk past your fields into town—one of them obviously a foreigner. Naomi was an embittered woman who described herself as someone whom God delighted in tormenting. It was clear to all that she had nothing—except a widowed Moabite daughter-in-law (Ruth 1). Then you would have been surprised by two things: First, you would have been impressed at the hard work undertaken by this young Moabite widow. And second, you would have been surprised because the country squire, Boaz, kept looking in her direction, providing more "supervision" of that part of the field than normal (Ruth 2).

Some weeks later, on your way back to town after the grain was harvested, if your eyes were sharp, you might have noticed Ruth, no longer in her mourning clothes, quietly going in the wrong direction—out from town toward where all the harvested grain was being kept overnight. But if you knew Boaz was there, you would know that she (a young woman alone at night) would be kept safe (Ruth 3).

And now, as you are on your way through the gate to the field to start transporting the grain, you notice a crowd gathered. You look closer, and all the elders are there—very unusual for this time of day—and then you see Boaz with another man in the middle of them, surrounded by a crowd of townspeople pressing against one another, every one of them trying to get close enough to hear what is happening. It turns out to be a fascinating legal mini-drama. This chapter of Ruth records the "court transcript" (Ruth 4). (W. Gary Phillips, "Reading an Ancient Court Transcript," Holmon Old Testament Commentary: Judges, Ruth, [Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 2004], 345)

David Jackman, in his commentary on Ruth, assesses the situation in Ruth 4 as follows: From one point of view, Naomi's story is like anybody else's in Israel in the days of the judges, "when there was no king in Israel" (Judges 21:25a). Elimelech made his decisions on the basis of what he thought would be best for himself and his family. He did "what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25b). It brought his wife to the brink of ruin, eventually, but he could not have foreseen that. Her only way out was through her foreign daughter-in-law, whose loyalty to her because of her loyalty to God, paved the way for the kinsman-redeemer to rescue them both. (David Jackman, The Preacher's Commentary, Volume 7: Judges, Ruth, [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1991], 341)

At first glance, this might seem to be an ordinary and limited story of one family’s crisis. Yet it merits a whole book of the Bible, indicating that the revelation it contains is necessary to our understanding of the mind and purpose of God. The necessity and provision of redemption is at the very heart of God's plan. Not only that, it is the plan of His heart!

You cannot study the final chapter of Ruth without taking notice of the fact that Boaz, the "kinsman-redeemer," is the only possible solution to the problems faced by Ruth and Naomi. He takes the initiative in bringing about the act of redemption (v. 1). He pays the price (vs. 8–9). He publicly claims his own (vs. 9–10). He provides a name and an inheritance where before there was only ruin (v. 14). He restores and sustains Naomi, even in old age, through the birth of Obed (v. 15). Ruth and Naomi could have done none of these things themselves. They were entirely dependent on the covenant-faithfulness and personal compassion of Boaz, their "kinsman-redeemer." They were entirely dependent upon grace.

Through the lens of the New Testament, we can see that what God did for Ruth and Naomi through Boaz, He has accomplished for all of us who have received His mercy in Christ. We too, have suffered from the absence of a king in our lives. Actually, we have taken over the throne in our lives which rightly belongs to God alone. We too, need a redeemer as we suffer the just consequences of our sin and rebellion. We are equally unable to save ourselves, and no other kinsman could possibly meet our need. "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law" (Gal. 4:4-5).

By His Incarnation, Jesus, the Son of God, became our kinsman so that by His sacrificial, atoning death, He might also become our Redeemer. All our needs and all our problems find their ultinate solution at the Cross of Christ, and in His glorious Resurrection. Christ Jesus is our "kinsman-redeemer." This is the ultimate lesson of the Book of Ruth.

Ruth 4:1-10 goes right to the heart of the matter—redemption. That is what this story is about—redemption. As the story resumes in Ruth 4:1, Naomi's prediction that Boaz is a man of immediate action (Ruth 3:18) is fulfilled, as he heads for the town gate. Indeed, the indication is that he did this as soon as he got back to Bethlehem from the threshing floor.

"The gate" (Ruth 4:1) was really the center of the community's life; there cases were heard and contracts were made. The "elders" (v. 2) dispensed justice, the poor waited for help, and the ordinary people met one another to exchange news at "the gate" of the city. It had much the same function as the village square in medieval Europe. Everyone had to pass through "the gate," so it was the obvious place to go in a small community if you wanted to be sure of meeting someone. (Ibid, 343)

For Boaz to fulfill the role of the "kinsman-redeemer" for Ruth and Naomi, he first had to find out the intentions of the closer relative (Ruth 3:12). So when he came by, Boaz asked him to sit with him (v. 1) and he gathered the elders (v. 2) to serve as witnesses. And so he presents his case in verses 3-4a, saying: "Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold (or "is selling") the piece of land which belonged to our brother (or "relative") Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you.'" The relative replied, "I will redeem it" (v. 4b). He must have thought that he would gain by buying the land. This seems to be somewhat of a surprise, but not to Boaz. He was prepared.

He goes on in verse 5 to remind this relative of the additional condition that must be met: namely, he must marry Ruth and provide an heir for Mahlon. He said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance" (v. 5). Boaz probably hoped to discourage the kinsman from buying the land by reminding him that the purchase of the land obligated the kinsman to marry Ruth, though he gave the kinsman every opportunity to do just that.

It turns out that this "closer relative" would have none of it. He replies, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it" (v. 6). In the end, he refused his right of redemption in the hearing of the elders. So, in keeping with the custom of the day, he "took off his sandal and gave it to (Boaz)" (v. 7) to confirm the agreement. Again he told Boaz, "Buy it for yourself" (v. 8).

Boaz then announces to all who are present: "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" (vs. 9-10).

With compassion and kindness, Boaz accepts the role of "kinsman-redeemer" with regard to Elimelech's property, which had passed to his sons, and he marries Ruth to provide a legal heir for the family. Only in verse 10, are we finally told that Ruth had been Mahlon's wife.

Boaz began and ended his remarks with the same words: "You are witnesses this day" (vs. 9a, 10b). It may be that the writer of the Book of Ruth wanted to suggest that if a mere human being could love an outcast, redeem her, and bring her into fellowship with himself, then God certainly could love all the outcasts of the world, redeem them, and bring them into fellowship with Himself. That is the heart of the matter—redemption!

We are the outcasts God seeks to redeem! If you will confess Christ Jesus as Lord, "and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Rom. 10:9). Jesus shed His blood on the cross and died for your forgiveness. He rose again from the dead the third day to give you life, abundant and eternal. Just believe and trust in Him. Amen.

Boaz's Example: Reflect God's Character

Boaz was flattered by Ruth's kindness in seeking him out. He blessed her for it: "Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter," he said (Ruth 3:10a). And he added, "You have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning" (v. 10b). This is a reference to Ruth's kindness to Naomi in not forsaking her. It pleased him that she turned trustingly to him rather than to a younger man, "whether poor or rich" (v. 10c). It is increasingly clear that Boaz interpreted Ruth's bold actions as a request for marriage.

Boaz comforted Ruth as he promised to do all that she requested of him: "And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request" (v. 11a). He told her that everyone in Bethlehem knew that she was a woman of noble character ("a virtuous woman," v. 11b). The same phrase is found in Proverbs 31:10, which says, "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies." It might be said that Ruth was well known as a Proverbs 31 woman! No greater compliment can be made. So Boaz assured Ruth that all would know there was nothing wrong in the fact that she had come to him with the request to marry him.

In verse 12, Boaz told Ruth, "It is true that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I." He went on in verse 13 to say, "If he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives!" No one was compelled to act as the "kinsman-redeemer." However, because there was another who was first in line to act as such, Boaz, being a true man of God, would check out the situation and then, if appropriate, would be Ruth's "kinsman-redeemer." He would strictly follow God's Word. Truly a man reflecting God's character. Ruth couldn't ask for a better man.

Ruth remained at Boaz's feet till morning, but arose to leave before daybreak with Boaz's encouragement, lest it be known that "a woman" had spent the night there (v. 14). He knew that if it became known, people might assume the worst, and Ruth's reputation, as well as his own, might be ruined. But before she left, Boaz filled her shawl with "six ephahs of barley" (v. 15), most likely a simple gift reassuring Ruth that, as a man of God, he will provide, which also served as a message for Naomi.

Upon returning home, Naomi inquired as to what had happened and Ruth filled her in (v. 16). She said, "These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, 'Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law'" (v. 17). These are the last recorded words of Ruth in the book. The message? Her "empty" days were about to end.

The final verse of the chapter is another great statement concerning the character of Boaz: "Then she said, 'Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day'" (v. 18). On learning what had happened, Naomi advised, "Sit still" (NKJV, KJV), or "Wait" (NIV), "until you find out what happens" (NIV). Literally, "Wait until you find out how the matter will fall." She was convinced that Boaz was the kind of person who would not rest untill the matter was settled that day—the matter of the right of the nearer kinsman. The final chapter will prove she knew her kinsman well. Boaz was truly a man of God. He was a man who knew God, trusted God, and walked with God, following His every lead. He was a man who reflected God's character.

In addition, Naomi's advice to "wait" (v. 18), reveals a stance of faith—a confident, expectant belief that only God could bring about the fulfillment of the "kinsman-redeemer" for Ruth. She would trust Him.

Missionary John Paton never forgot his father's deeply ingrained habits of daily devotions. Day after day, he would hear his father praying in the next room of the little cottage where he lived, and even as a boy of six, he noticed the bright countenance his father perpetually wore. He later said that while the outside world might not understand the light on his father's face, "we children knew that it was a reflection of the Divine Presence in which his life was lived." ("A Reflection of the Divine Presence," Nelson's Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations, & Quotes, [Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2000], 377)

That is a description of Boaz; a man whose life was a reflection of the Divine Presence. When you learn to follow God's lead, your life will be one of following God's Word, trusting in God's protection, and reflecting God's character, His divine presence. May those three characteristics describe you. Amen.