Trinity Baptist Church July 1, 2007
Ruth: God Redeems
The best is yet to come
Ruth 4:1-22
I love a good read. And I really like stories with good endings. The book of Ruth gives us both. We’ve seen what a great piece of drama it is. Ruth is one of the Bible’s shorter books -- it only has 85 verses. If you did the homework I assigned when we started, you discovered that you can read through the book in about 20 minutes. But tucked into it is serious Truth about Jesus Christ.
We observed when we began that Ruth follows the book of Judges -- and its events happened In that same time frame. But Ruth’s events, compared to the ones in the book of Judges couldn’t be more different. Reading Ruth after reading Judges is like walking a river bank littered with thousands of common rocks and then suddenly stumbling on a rare gemstone.
I read a story involving this little book. Benjamin Franklin, who never professed to be a Christian, still understood how excellent and valuable the Bible is. According to the story, he was in Paris, representing the new American Republic. Franklin was dismayed to hear supposedly educated Frenchmen ridiculing the Bible. Some even expressed contempt for anybody who would read it.
Franklin decided he’d test how well they knew the book they condemned. He told some of them that he had obtained a copy of an ancient manuscript. He invited they to come to his apartment one evening where he would have a dramatist read the manuscript. Those polished and educated people came. The reader read the “manuscript“ with great ability. When he finished, Franklin’s guests gushed with praise for the old manuscript. The most critical man among them proclaimed it was a better story than anything they had ever read or heard. They asked how to get copies.
Franklin shocked them beyond belief when he said, with a twinkle in his eye, they had heard read one of the 66 Biblical books for which they had such contempt.
They had heard this book of Ruth, with God’s name omitted, and a few other minor alterations so they wouldn’t suspect it was the Bible that was being read to them. The beauty of the book is gripping. The story contains tears and toil and triumph.
In chapter 1, Elimilech and Naomi left God‘s land and people and promise and went off to a pagan country to find provision. The husband and two sons died there, leaving three widows behind. Naomi and one daughter-in-law made the trek back to the land of Israel, arriving like a two beggars with no hope. But in chapter 2, hope was restored.
Ruth demonstrated faithfulness and love -- she went out t glean in the barley harvest to help meet their needs. She moved and God directed. She came to the field of Boaz and it was there that God demonstrated to Naomi and Ruth that He had not abandoned them.
At the close of harvest in chapter 3, Ruth sought out Boaz in the dark of night. She approached him with a bold request -- that he fill the role of kinsman-redeemer. Like we saw, if he were to take that role it would include him taking Ruth to be his wife. In her approach and words, she asked that he do precisely that.
At the close of chapter 3, Naomi told Ruth, “Wait my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.” (Ruth 3:18)
Today, in chapter 4, The matter gets settled
We’ve said from the start, Ruth is a story of redemption. At the threshing floor, Boaz promised Ruth that redemption would happen. In chapter 3, verse 11, he told her, do not fear, I will do for you whatever you ask. He informed her that there was a relative closer than he -- and that the other relative would have first opportunity to redeem the land and Ruth -- but again, he promised in verse 13, if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives.
Naomi and Ruth have come to know Boaz, and the depth of his character. He said he would do it -- and that’s why Naomi tells Ruth, the man won’t rest today until he gets it done; that’s precisely what happens.
* Boaz at the city gate
4:1 -- The morning following the encounter at the threshing floor, Boaz goes straight to the city gate. The city gate was the equivalent of the town hall or court house. Business and legal affairs were handled there -- out in the open -- in the light of day and in the presence of many witnesses. Maybe we should take a lesson! Not nearly as much had to be written down because of the public nature of the transactions and of the witnesses who were there to hear all that was said and done.
Boaz arrives and immediately, there’s the other relative. Again, that just happens like Ruth just happened to glean in the field of Boaz and meet him there. God is always in the details!
The relative’s name is never mentioned in the book -- even though other important names are given and sometimes even explained. In the NASB, Boaz calls him friend. The King James refers to him as such a one. The Hebrew term can’t be translated well into English, but it does rhyme -- telling us the writer is pointedly keeping this man anonymous. The Hebrew is “paloni elmoni”. We would call him man “Mr. So and So” or John Doe.
Boaz calls him over to sit down. The implication is there is a vital issue to discuss. Boaz shows more initiative and leadership. He calls and gathers 10 elders from to sit as witnesses.
Boaz gets straight to the point. Everyone present would know that the widow Naomi had returned to the community. If it wasn’t clear by now, it is now by what Boaz says: Naomi is in dire financial straits. The land which formerly belonged to her husband must be sold so that provision can be made for her long-term.
A couple of observations: if Naomi in fact owned this land now, that would be unusual enough. But secondly, if she’s prepared to sell property owned by the family for generations, that tells everyone how desperate her need is. In other words, the family name and line of Elimilech are dangling by a thin thread -- and it’s held by two poverty-stricken, childless widows.
Tragedy is guaranteed, unless something is done.
The thing to be done, under the Law, was that the land be bought by the closest relative. Mr. “No-Name” is the next one in line -- Boaz spells that out to him. He holds before him his duty to be the family redeemer. To do anything else would normally bring shame.
But even while Boaz presses him to make a decision on the spot -- he also gives him an out. Look at verse 4, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it and I am after you.
The relative does makes a quick decision. He tells Boaz, I will redeem it. Boaz was obviously prepared for that response. So he announces something the relative hasn’t considered.
On the day you buy the field you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.(3:5) Land and marriage go hand in hand, so the legacy can be maintained. Boaz knew what he wanted, and he’s playing a shrewd hand to press the man to change his mind. He does just that.
He says, well, that might jeopardize my own inheritance. He may say that because he knew this land will never really be his -- it officially would remain with Elimilech’s family line. So the money he’d pay would not come back to him like with any other land investment.
But on top of that, now he realizes he’d also need to care and provide for not one but two widows -- and he’d need to raise up a son with Ruth in order to provide for the family’s long term inheritance. It’s also likely he doesn‘t know Ruth’s character like Boaz does. As far as he‘s concerned she‘s just a recent Gentile arrival from Moab. And all three men in the family have died -- maybe God’s hand is against them all. “I just am not able to do it,” he says.
Great. That settles the matter then. Mr. So and So uses the outward symbol that he’s passing the right of redemption over to Boaz. He takes off a sandal and hands it to him. Buy it for yourself. In front of him and the witnesses, Boaz quickly declares that he hereby does precisely that. Notice the past tense -- it‘s a “done deal” -- I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimilech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. Moreover -- I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance…. (4:9, 10)
All the witnesses hear and are agreeable with this determined decision of Boaz. They bless him -- they ask God’s blessing on his house and his new bride -- they request rich, good blessings like God had so often poured out on others. They ask God for His provision and that Boaz might prosper and that the family line will continue.
* The marriage is completed and a son is born
Right after the town hall meeting, Boaz marries Ruth. And blessing comes to the married couple. We read, God opened Ruth’s womb and provided them a son. But then notice the intriguing thing. The attention suddenly shifts from Boaz and Ruth -- to whom the son was born -- back to Naomi, the grandmother. Look at what the village women say in verse 14-- blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today….then drop to verse 17. You find the neighbor women saying, A son has been born to Naomi!
Why is the focus placed on Naomi? Why focus on the grandmother as if she’s the one who now has this son? John Piper says, to remind us that “the life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there!” Remember, the book began with Naomi’s losses. It ends with her gains.
At the end of chapter 1, Naomi had told these same neighbor women, “don’t call me Naomi -- instead call me Mara, call me empty”. Why? Because I left Bethlehem full but I came back empty. Call me empty. The women are insisting to her now -- that’s not true, Naomi.
That long, twisted road you took still ended in a good place. God never abandoned you.
He has still provided; He has still redeemed.
* A heritage is assured
Notice there the women call her Naomi’s grandson her redeemer. Just like Boaz was the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth, so this little guy will be the kinsman-redeemer for Naomi.
How’s that possible? First, he’ll restore Naomi’s vitality for life. He’ll remove her shame and embarrassment of not having any children or grandchildren. Secondly, he will sustain her in her old age -- in that culture, he will be the one who will work hard to care for Naomi’s needs during the last years of life. Naomi takes the baby on her lap. They name him, Obed -- the name means “the servant”, showing us the kind of role he will fill.
And then we get the rest of the story.
* The line of David and Jesus
Up until now, Ruth has been a living, breathing illustration of what love and redemption look like -- we been treated to a picture of how deeply God cares for people -- even wayward people -- and he shows it in His providence and steadfast, loyal love. But then all of a sudden, the writer tells us there’s more to the story than we could have ever imagined. We’ve been looking at these past events. But verse 17 fast forwards, and gives us a long view. It also tells us one of the primary reasons this little book is part of Scripture.
He, [Obed] was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (4:17) That’s it.
This account is vital for us to have, because Ruth -- the foreigner -- Ruth, who committed herself to her mother-in-law, and to her people and her God -- Ruth, who came to Bethlehem from pagan Moab -- is the great-grandmother of King David of Israel, the man after God‘s own heart. And, here in the little town of Bethlehem, where King David’s grandpa was born, David would also be born, and much later, the King of Kings and Savior, the Son of David, would also here be born into the world.
The mention of David’s line communicates something more. God providentially works even in the middle of a perverse godless generation to preserve a godly family line through whom the Messiah would come. 70 decades before David was born, God powerfully weavs the threads of history together, to the smallest details of human activity, and accomplishes His purpose. He called an unbelieving Gentile woman to Himself in a pagan country. He reversed the bad decisions Elimilech and Naomi made. He worked in spite of a marriage between a Jewish son and a Gentile woman.
God drew Ruth to Himself -- and she became faithful where her mother-in-law had not been. And her faithfulness, and Boaz faithfulness, laid the foundation for the faithful godly heritage that would become David’s.
There’s still one more detail. You should know that Ruth’s name is mentioned in only one other place in God‘s Word -- in Matthew chapter 1 -- it appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The staggering thing you’ll discover there is, Ruth is one of five women who were part of the line of Christ. And the list is not at all the sort of women we’d expect. There is Tamar, whose husband died, and who subsequently deceived her father-in-law into sleeping with her, by dressing as a prostitute -- so she could raise up children. Also in that list is Rahab, from Joshua 1 and 2. She actually was a prostitute, as well as a Gentile -- but she was the one who in faith, hid Israel’s spies who came to see the promised land. She converted to Judaism and was the great-great-grandmother of David. The there’s David’s wife Bathsheba -- she committed adultery with David, but yet her second son Solomon followed David to the throne and also entered into Christ‘s line. Finally there is Mary, the mother of Jesus. Even though she was a godly teenage woman from a rural town, she spent a lifetime with a charge hanging over her head -- that she was pregnant before she was married.
The point is this: God has always been in the business of redeeming people.
Long before our Redeemer came, God redeemed lives -- not only in Israel and but outside it as well. People assumed to be without hope and without merit, God redeemed, again and again. He does the same today.
That brings us to some Implications we should consider as we complete this little book of Ruth.
1. God delights to extend redemption.
This book is about redemption. Redemption, not primarily of land, but the redemption of people. People outside the scope of what most people would have thought outside of
God’s working.
Moab. Hopeless, godless pagans who sacrificed their children by fire to an idol.
A sinful couple who turned their backs on God and went out and got what they deserved.
The poor, the widows and the disinherited. Scripture reminds us, God’s ear is not heavy that He cannot hear; His arm is not short that it cannot save. People who look hopeless to others never are to God. Just like in our case.
We need the reminder that redemption flows from God’s kindness and grace. It’s never earned nor deserved. It is freely given because our God is a Redeemer. Boaz is again a powerful illustration as he went about settling things. He was willing to do it; the choice was his since he was not the nearest relative. He was calculating in his plan. He had the redemption details figured out before he ever went to the city gate. And he was determined. His promise would be fulfilled. Ruth would be redeemed. A striking picture of Christ, Who was willing and determined to redeem us and to make us His own. He went about settling the matter for us. It doesn’t matter where you were -- and it doesn’t matter where you are even today, God delights in redeeming.
Secondly,
2. God restores in redemption.
4 weeks ago, we read the prophet Joel, who wrote that God will restore the years the locusts have eaten. When Elimilech and Naomi wandered off from God and God’s people and God’s promise, they fell under the discipline of God. No question about it. We can say with good authority that the men of that family died because of bad choices.
But God wasn’t finished working. The past does not predict or control the future when God redeems people. We think it’s too late. It isn’t. We think the sin is beyond forgiveness and grace. It isn’t. We think our history describes the whole truth about us. But God is never confounded by what was once true in your life. Ruth stands to testify, when God redeems, He gives nobodies a name -- and when God redeems, He gives the disinherited an inheritance.
And then we discover God has only just begun.
3. Redemption foreshadows God’s glorious design.
Those last verses in chapter 4 tell us, beyond God’s wonderful work on behalf of Ruth and Naomi -- beyond the great picture of redeeming love Boaz presents -- the best is yet to come. Even future King David isn’t the end of the story. Because a Redeemer is coming.
Jesus would come, through the line and from the house of David, to redeem His people. John would proclaim over Him, behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) God’s Redeemer has come. And God’s redemption only begins when we put our faith in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. God’s design is not only to redeem our past but to secure our future. The path is rugged, but the destination is secure. The best is yet to come.
Steps I will take
What can we carry away from the book of Ruth?
Obviously, first, if you’ve never come to know the Redeemer, that’s the first order of business. That matter needs to be settled. Jesus has come and died in your place, and for your sin. He has provided fully and freely, by His grace for your rescue. What is necessary is for you to simply trust in Him and in His death for you. He calls you to faith in Himself alone. I can only urge you to do that today.
Secondly, the Psalm says, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. One of the great tragedies in the modern church is our faulty memory.
We’ve forgotten who we are. The redeemed. And we’ve forgotten Whose we are. We belong to the Redeemer. It’s our task to get the word out about the Redeemer. You’ve got an opportunity today to learn how to do that; if you’ll stay for a while after we’re finished and enjoy lunch together, you can learn some motivation and some skills in sharing the story of redemption with people who need it. Don’t count yourself out. Don’t assume you should not be part of that great worldwide effort. God gave you the assignment.
