4) The Kinsman Redeemer

We’re coming to the end of Ruth chapter 2 where a Moabite widow under the curse of the law went out one morning looking for grace, and she discovered more unmerited favor than she could have ever dreamed of. And she did it all on behalf of her spiritually wounded mother-in-law, Naomi.

Now let’s continue now in verse 19 where we see Naomi’s reaction to all that Ruth has brought home:

19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.

Ruth, being a first-time gleaner, may not have understood the significance of the abundance she brought home, but Naomi certainly did. The first words from her mouth after Ruth displays her haul is, “Where did you glean today?”

And then Naomi uses a word we have not heard from her before in this story – blessed. When she first returned to Bethlehem and her old neighbors were gathering around, she said Call me Mara, for the Lord hath dealt bitterly with me. Her life had been characterized by such bitterness that she said, “Just change my name to Bitter!”

But now she has gone from bitter to blessed all because of the grace that Boaz, her kinsman, has shown toward her and her daughter in law.

Any time we lose sight of the grace of God at work in our lives, we become prone to bitterness. Hebrews 12:15 even warns us to look diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. The answer to bitterness is looking diligently to see God’s grace, and Naomi has certainly seen it now!

She says, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. It’s clear to Naomi that someone has gone out of their way to send Ruth home with such abundance. And when Ruth identifies him as Boaz, Naomi immediately recognizes the significance of who he is and what it means for her desperate family.

You know, to these women who had been living in such poverty, a bushel of grain seemed like a fortune. But it was a mere foretaste, a “first fruits” of what would be in store for them by the end of the story.

And the fruit of the Spirit that believers now experience is only the first fruits of all that is in store for us when we come into our eternal inheritance.

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

Naomi utters a prayer for God’s blessing on this good kinsman – Blessed be he of the Lord. She’s obviously excited over his interest in them.

Then she makes a curious statement, saying that the Lord hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead.

Of course, God’s kindness to the living, to Ruth and Naomi, is pretty evident in the generosity that has been shown them today. But how has Boaz’ interest in them been a kindness to Naomi’s dead husband and sons?

We might imagine Ruth giving Naomi a puzzled look as she says this, because Naomi hastens to explain, The man is near of kin to us, one of our next kinsmen. That’s her explanation for how the Lord has shown kindness to her dead husband and sons.

The word “kinsman” that Naomi uses here is the Hebrew word “Goel”. There are other Hebrew words for a close relative, but Goel is specifically a relative who acts as a “Kinsman Redeemer”. This is the first time it appears in the story of Ruth, and it bears some explanation, because it is one of the most important elements in this entire story. If you don’t get the concept of the Kinsman Redeemer, you’re going to miss some of the most important lessons in the rest of this book.

The Law of Moses provided a way for anyone who had fallen on hard times to be delivered. In Leviticus 25:25 and following, God said that if an Israelite had waxed poor and lost his inheritance (that is, he had to sell off his property), then his brother, or other near kinsman, who was in a position to redeem the lost property, could require the buyer to sell it back to him. The kinsman would redeem the property for whatever amount his brother had sold it, adjusted for deflation according to the law of the jubilee. The Kinsman Redeemer could then restore the lost property to his brother.