As preached by Zach Thompson.
1. As God worked redemption through Boaz, He was working redemption for us.
2. So receive His redemption and live as one who is redeemed.
Good afternoon Christ Fellowship!
This week, we will be finishing our series through the book of Ruth. We will be in Ruth chapter 4.
In our text today, where there has been tension and emptiness, we will see resolution and fullness.
In the beginning of the book of Ruth, we saw Naomi return empty from Moab. Her husband and sons and had died, and her daughter in law Ruth was the only good thing she had left. So in the sight of the entire town, Naomi rejected her old name that meant pleasant and changed her name to Mara which means bitter.
After arriving in Bethlehem, Ruth went out into a field to glean some grain so that they could eat, and by God’s providence, she meets Boaz. Boaz knows that Ruth has abandoned everything to support Naomi, so he is incredibly generous with her. He allows her to harvest far more than her fair share during the harvest, and soon, we find out that Boaz is one of the family redeemers. He is one of the men who was close enough as a relative to help restore their family name.
In chapter 3, we saw Naomi hatch a plan to get Boaz to redeem them. Ruth goes to him and asks him to redeem them, and Boaz signals to Naomi that he would make sure it happened by sending them 6 measures of barley.
Then the last thing that we saw in our text last week was a statement of faith from Naomi. “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
And that brings us to our text for today.
If you are able, please stand in honor of the reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant word.
Ruth 4:1-22
“Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went into her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”
Let’s Pray
I played a lot of sports growing up. For several years, I played baseball. And when you are really young, you don’t start out with anyone pitching to you. They just want you to get the basic mechanics of the game down, so they make the ball as easy to hit as possible. They just put the ball on a big stick so it just sits there in the same spot – T-ball. I don’t have too many memories of T-Ball, but one is prominent in my mind. It’s vivid. I can still see the field from my little 5-year-old perspective. The video that plays in my mind is way closer to the ground than I am used to. I can smell that distinct dirt that you find at the baseball field. I was probably 5 or 6 years old. I was standing at 3rd base, and someone had just struck out. I was holding a baseball player pose with my glove because I wanted to look like I had any idea what I was doing. And I remember looking down at my shoes. And I thought about how my mom had taken me to get those shoes just for this league that I was in. And then I thought, “Wow, I look super cool.”I felt pretty good about myself. I just stared at my shoes thinking about how cool I looked in those shoes. And then “clink!” The next batter had hit the ball.
Luckily, he hit it down the opposite baseline, so it didn’t hit me in the face or anything. But still, it woke me up. For that split second, I was absolutely terrified because I was caught staring at my feet when I should have been involved in the game. That moment is seared into my memory.
My prayer for each person in this church is that this series through the book of Ruth has been like the clink of that bat hitting the ball. I hope that it has woken you up to these truths in a way that reminds you can’t just stand there.
We’ve been talking about God’s providence a lot over the last couple weeks. God is working everything together for the good of his people and for his own glory. He is active in the world, and he always has been.
Throughout the book of Ruth, it has been clear that God has good purposes that extend beyond our understanding. In the events that cause great pain and tempt our hearts toward bitterness, God has good purpose. In the mundane things that feel like drudgery, God has good purpose.
But I find myself wondering. How many of us hear this, but we are acting like that 5 year old version of me standing at third base. Just staring at our own feet and oblivious to the fact that the game is still happening. You are in the game.
These truths that we’ve been talking about. They aren’t just ideas. They aren’t just wishful thinking for you to put on a coffee mug. And they aren’t for someone else.
They are for you.
And this is part of our first point today.
As God worked redemption through Boaz, He was working redemption for us.
As God worked redemption through Boaz, he was working redemption for us.
This is less a single point and more a summary of what I hope to demonstrate as we look at the text today. Boaz is the redeemer in the book of Ruth, but it’s clear that God is the one who is orchestrating every moment.
We’ll have two points on the screen today, but the first point is going to last way longer than the second point, so we are going to break it into two parts. We’ll start with that first phrase “As God worked redemption through Boaz”, then after that, we’ll talk about the second phrase, “he was working redemption for us.”
As God worked redemption through Boaz,
We see this really clearly in the text. This is the climactic moment that the book of Ruth has been driving toward.
God uses Boaz to accomplish this beautiful narrative arc that starts with tragedy and bitterness, but it ends with fullness and resolution.
Boaz is the clear actor here, but the text also makes it clear that God is moving everything here.
God is working redemption through Boaz.
The scene opens at the city gate. The city gate would have been the place where business was conducted. Boaz was not going out to lounge for a while at the spot with his favorite view. He was there to make something happen.
The other redeemer walks by, so Boaz tells him to sit down,
This is a moment similar to when Ruth just happened to wander into Boaz’s field, the other redeemer just happened to walk by on the day that Boaz happened to be sitting at the City gate.
God did that. God is guiding each moment here. God is working this redemption through Boaz.
Next Boaz gathers 10 of the city elders to witness this interaction because this is going to be a legally binding interaction.
Now, as we have gone through the book of Ruth, we have had a lot of opportunities to talk through cultural context. This book is a great example of how important it is to understand the context where the book is happening.
We mentioned this last week, but the concept of a Kinsman Redeemer was a provision from the mosaic law especially in Leviticus 25 and 27. The Redeemer was obligated “to secure the release or recovery of persons or things by the payment of a price.”
And the closer someone was related, the higher their obligation to help. Hence the term Kinsman Redeemer.
Three qualities allowed someone to be a Kinsman redeemer.
They had to be willing, capable, and qualified.
Willing, capable, and qualified.
So they had to be willing to agree to do it. They had to have the means to do it (which usually meant money). And they had to be qualified, which was usually a measure of how closely they were related.
In the case of Boaz, he was willing and capable, but there was one other man who is more qualified. So Boaz had to check on whether or not he was willing and capable.
In verse 3, Boaz presents the opportunity for redemption to this other kinsman, redeemer, but he only mentions the land.
Look in verse 3, “Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.”
And what does the other Redeemer say? “I will redeem it.”
Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
And in this moment, our hearts kind of sink. Don’t they? That’s because we are more concerned with the love story than we are with Ruth’s redemption. Boaz didn’t think like we do. Some people think that Boaz is subtly haggling here. Trying to bargain this guy into letting Boaz redeem Ruth, but I haven’t found anyone really convincing with that argument. It seems like you have to assume that Ruth and Boaz are madly in love to get there.
So why didn’t he just tell the guy about Ruth from the beginning? It’s actually a matter of legal precedent. Boaz started with the land because there was a clearer legal obligation for the redeemer to redeem the land than there was to provide offspring. The redemption of the land and the redemption of Ruth were two separate legal issues that Boaz is trying to push into one. He was starting with the legally safe ground of redeeming the land, then when the other guy answered affirmatively, he moved to the legally less firm ground of talking about providing children.
You see, the passages in the Mosaic Law about kinsman redeemers don’t explicitly call out an obligation to help provide offspring. That was a different practice called Levirate marriage, where a brother would help provide children with his wife if his brother died without offspring. Boaz is extending the category of redeemer to include the category of Levirate marriage.
And listen, this isn’t just about the blessing of children. What is the reason that Boaz gives in verse 5? “In order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
It’s to keep his relative's line from dying out. It’s to keep his name alive.
Do you remember when Ruth was in Boaz’s field? He could have just let her glean like any other poor person. It would have been allowable under the law, but he didn’t just do what was allowable. He did what was right. He went above and beyond to love his neighbor.
And that is what he is doing at the gate as he negotiates with this other redeemer. He is seeking to ensure that whether it’s the other guy or himself, they go above the minimum requirements of the law. This is an upright man.
But how does the other guy respond? Look in verse 6, “Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
He starts out quickly saying yes, then at the mention of providing offspring for Ruth, he just as quickly says no.
Do you know why? It was because it wouldn’t benefit him.
There are a few ways you can work that out, but this is probably what happened. Back when Naomi and her husband left Bethlehem, they didn’t just immediately pack up and leave. They probably would have sold their field in an attempt to provide for themselves before they left. So the field was actually in the possession of someone else while this was happening. Whether it was the other guy or Boaz, one of them was going to have the right and responsibility to purchase that field back so they could keep it in the family.
If the other redeemer only bought the field, then he would get to keep it without ever having to give it away, but if he has to provide offspring for Ruth, then when that child came of age, he would have to give the field away along with all of its proceeds.
Redemption was costly. And it usually benefitted the redeemed more than the one who did the redeeming.
So the other guy bows out, and Boaz steps in. They make it official with that weird sandal ceremony. I wish we had just a bit more time to talk about that. But summary version is that Boaz secures the right to redeem Ruth, and the city elders give him a blessing in 4:11-12 that the Lord would make this woman like the women who produced the 12 tribes of Israel, and that his house would be like the house of Perez (the son of Judah and Tamar). The house of Perez was fruitful despite almost breaking because a man named Onan refused to fulfill the very responsibility that Boaz was embracing.
And this is where the author starts to draw direct lines for us that God has been working this entire time. First, look in verse 13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.”
Who gave her conception? The Lord did! This is a woman who had been barren for 10 years, and God opens her womb.
God did that.
Then look at the blessing in verse 14. “The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!”
Who provided the redeemer? The Lord did!
This is a concurrent action. Boaz is redeeming Ruth and Naomi through his marriage to Ruth, but the Lord is redeeming Ruth and Noami through Boaz.
Boaz is a redeemer, but he is only an instrument in the hands of the true redeemer.
And the last we see of Naomi, she has received this blessing from the women of the town. In the same way that her bitterness was public, now her blessing is public. And the Lord gets glory for it. If you’ve publicly complained about God, don’t hide it if he gives you a resolution.
In verse 15, the women say, “He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.”
Do you know what “Obed” means? It means “Servant.” Surely, these women were thinking of how this child would grow up and help care for Naomi and Ruth. That’s why they call him “a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.”
But as we hear about this offspring promised as a servant, we have to think about the one who would ultimately come from this line. The one who came not to be served, but to serve. The restorer of life. The nourisher in our need.
And that brings us to the second half of this very long point.
As God worked redemption through Boaz,
He was working redemption for us.
As God worked redemption through Boaz, he was working redemption for us.
As God worked this redemption, he knew exactly what he was doing.
Look at that last line of verse 17 that we didn’t read. “They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” This book firmly plants David in the line of Judah. Judah, who was promised that a scepter would rise from his line. A promised offspring.
As we consider David, we must consider the Messiah who is great David’s greater son.
Consider the providence of God in our own redemption. God worked a redeemer for Ruth and Naomi because he was preparing for a redeemer who would ransom all who believe from the futility of their sin.
Humor me for a moment and picture a great tapestry. It’s expansive and intricate and beautiful. It stretches like a billboard across the sky. Now take that massive tapestry and zoom in on a small piece of it. And take that small piece of it and put it under a microscope. The story in the book of Ruth is like what you can see in that microscope. You can see the intricacies of the fibers and the way they are woven together, but in God’s providence, he has orchestrated every moment in history into that tapestry. So that every moment would move toward our redemption and his glory. And God has never stopped moving each moment for his purposes.
So let’s examine some of the fibers in this story in light of the entire tapestry.
Consider how the redemption that Boaz enacts here points us to Christ.
Christ was willing, capable, and qualified to redeem us. He showed that he was willing when he took on flesh and as he continued to walk toward the cross. He showed he was capable and qualified because he was God in human flesh. An infinite being in finite flesh. He lived the perfect life. He died for our sin. He was raised from the dead.
He was willing, capable, and qualified to redeem us.
Or consider another reality. Just like Boaz made a legal agreement, Jesus satisfied the demands of the law. He redeemed us from the curse of the law (Gal 3;13). He made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins and counted righteous in the eyes of God. Ransomed from the futile ways of our forefathers (1 Pt 1:22-25). Redeemed from lawlessness (Tit 2:11-14).
Or consider another thread from our story. Your redemption was costly, but he was willing to pay whatever price for your sake. He spilled his blood to pay for your sin, and he absorbed the very wrath of God to redeem you from the filth and consequence that was yours. There was a good reason that Jesus asked that the cup would pass from him.
Or consider another thing. Just like Boaz wanted to help keep their household line from breaking, Jesus is building a spiritual house from living stones, “to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pt 2:4-5)
Or another thing. Just like Boaz, Jesus isn’t in this for a quick fling. He is seeking your true and lasting redemption. He wants an inheritance for you that will last. Your eternal good.
Listen, Naomi’s redemption was an earthly one. She got offspring and honor from the redemption that Boaz gave her. But Jesus offers forgiveness and righteousness and an unshakeable inheritance of eternal life dwelling in the full presence of the God who has redeemed us for himself.
Boaz is just a shadow. The substance is Christ. Jesus is the true redeemer.
This is the specific truth that I fear will catch you staring at your super cool baseball shoes. Wake up! This is for you! And that brings us to our next point.
As God worked redemption through Boaz, he was working redemption for us.
So receive his redemption, and live as one who is redeemed.
So receive his redemption, and live as one who is redeemed.
Did you notice what Ruth does in our text? She does almost nothing. In fact, She literally doesn’t talk in our text today.
Back in chapter 3, she couldn’t redeem herself. And she knew it.
And it drove her to ask Boaz for redemption
And what about you? Do you think that when you stand before God, he is going to look at you and be impressed?
He knows the dark corners in all of our souls. The things that you have thought and desired. The things that you try not to think about because they make you uncomfortable. God knows all of it, and on that day, if any of us stand before him and we are without Christ, he will not be impressed. All of us deserve hell.
But thanks be to God that he hasn’t left us alone.
In chapter 3 of Ruth, she asked Boaz to redeem her, and he did the rest. The only other time that Ruth even spoke was to relay a promise from Boaz at the end of chapter 3. She hears his promise, and then she just waits for him to fulfill his promise.
Friend, Jesus has already done the work of redemption. If only you come to him, it is already paid.
Your sins can be forgiven, and you can be made truly worthy and truly righteous by the works of Jesus.
Right now, it’s like you are starving to death and standing outside a restaurant where every expense has been paid, but because of your pride, you will stand outside until you die.
Just ask him. Go to him in prayer and throw yourself at his feet and tell him that you can’t do it and that by yourself you’ll never do it. And ask him to spread his wings over you.
And he’ll do it. He doesn’t turn away those who come to him.
And when you come to him, embrace the promise. You are redeemed. This is the gospel. Your sin no longer has a hold on you. For you, death becomes a toothless enemy.
I asked a question earlier that I didn’t answer. What does Ruth do in our text today?
This it. She lived as one who was redeemed. That’s all that was left for her to do.
When Boaz fulfilled his promise to redeem her, she lived as one who was redeemed. She became his wife and had a child. That’s it. She lived in the redemption that he had bought for her.
And Christian, this is the call on you today. Live as one who has been redeemed.
After you’ve been redeemed, that’s all that’s left. Just live as one who belongs to Christ.
“As you received Christ as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col 2:6-7)
You have been redeemed! Don’t forget the cost of your redemption. Pursue godliness.
“put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander” (1 Pt 2:1)
“be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:” (1 Pt 4:7-10)
Live as one who is redeemed.
Let me close with one last thought. We have said that Boaz points us to Christ, but he also shows us what it looks like to live as someone who is redeemed. He is a man worth emulating. He isn’t looking to do the bare minimum and see what he can get away with. He wants to honor God and love his neighbor in truth and with fullness.
But notice the other man. The other redeemer, who was so concerned to preserve his inheritance and preserve his name. Did you notice? He is the only major character in the story who doesn’t have a name. The English here calls him “friend,” the Hebrew word is more vague. It could be translated as “Mr. So and So.” It’s the same word that’s used to express when someone goes to “such and such” a place.
He was so concerned with securing his own inheritance, that his name was forgotten to time. We have no idea who he actually was.
That man became a living parable for us. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Mt 16:24-26).
Brothers and Sisters, be concerned with the work of redemption. Look to our heavenly inheritance and live as one who has been redeemed.
May we always remember and reflect the redemption that God has bought for us.
Let’s pray.
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