REDEEMING GRACE
TEXT: Ruth 4:1-12
Introduction
1. "Certainly, we should be very active in seeking God, and Jesus himself called us to 'ask, seek, knock' in order to find him. Yet those who enter a relationship with God inevitably look back and recognize that God's grace had sought them out, breaking them open to new realities." - Tim Keller
2. The book of Ruth is a quiet story tucked into the Old Testament—a story without thunder, earthquakes, or kings. Yet in this small, domestic narrative we find one of the most powerful pictures of God’s grace and redemption.
3. Ruth 4:1–12 brings the story to its climax at the city gate, the place where decisions were made, justice was administered, and futures were shaped.
4. But it also points to a hill outside of the city gate where Christ redeemed the world.
5. Read Ruth 4:1-12
Transition: Let’s follow the story of…
I. Redemption at the City Gate
A. We’re finally coming to the pinnacle of the Book of Ruth. In vv. 1-4 it says, “Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by, so Boaz called out to him, “Come over here and sit down, friend. I want to talk to you.” So they sat down together. 2 Then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. 3 And Boaz said to the family redeemer, “You know Naomi, who came back from Moab. She is selling the land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, then buy it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don’t want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you.” The man replied, “All right, I’ll redeem it.”
1. Just as Naomi said, Boaz acted quickly in settling the matter with the other family redeemer.
2. He goes to the city gate, which was the place where important matters were resolved by the leaders in the community.
3. It also served as a place where people conducted business agreements.
4. Boaz waited for the closer family redeemer to make an appearance. Once the other redeemer arrives, Boaz asks him to come over so they could have a conversation.
5. You’ll notice he refers to him as “friend,” and this is probably a deliberate decision on the part of the writer, because it was shameful to not fulfill the role of the family redeemer.
6. Once the man sat down, Boaz calls for ten men who were there to serve as witnesses in what was a business proposal.
7. The elders would hear the proposal, weigh the evidence, and make their decision.
8. Then Boaz got to the point and mentioned the need to redeem the property owned by Elimelech.
9. So, he asks the man if he was willing to redeem the land. Boaz asks him to make his intentions clear before the people gathered there. The man responded by saying, “Alright, I’ll redeem it.”
B. But then in vv. 4-5 we read, “Then Boaz told him, “Of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband’s name and keep the land in the family.” 6 “Then I can’t redeem it,” the family redeemer replied, “because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land; I cannot do it.”
1. Now that the man agreed to redeem the land, Boaz tells him, “Not so fast!” He reminds him that buying the land is only part of the requirements of the family redeemer in this case.
2. He also had to be willing to marry Mahlon’s widow, in this case it was Ruth.
3. In addition to the land, the family redeemer had to also marry Ruth and have children with her so that the family line could continue.
4. For the other man this changed everything. He said, that after considering the requirement to marry Ruth, that he could not redeem the land.
5. Some scholars believe this is because the man would have to use his own children’s inheritance to buy the land and the land would go to Ruth’s son as the legal heir of Elimelech.
6. Others see it as he didn’t want to intermarry with a Moabite woman. Whatever the reason, he chooses not to do it.
C. Now the writer gives us a little behind the scenes information. In vv. 7-8 it says, “Now in those days it was the custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party. This publicly validated the transaction. 8 So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal as he said to Boaz, “You buy the land.”
1. The writer tells us that in those days when someone was transferring the rights to a piece of land to another person, he would take off his sandal and give it to the person purchasing the land.
2. This was a symbol of the transfer of the land.
3. So, in the presence of the community leaders, he takes off his sandal and hands it to Boaz and tells him to buy the land.
4. This also cleared the way for Boaz to marry Ruth.
D. Then in vv. 9-10, Boaz takes the initiative. It says, “Then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, “You are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband and to inherit the family property here in his hometown. You are all witnesses today.”
1. Boaz says to the elders that they were witnesses of this transaction and that he would purchase the land from Naomi, and that he had also acquired Ruth to marry her.
2. Furthermore, he says his intention was to have children with her in order to carry on the family line.
3. He reminds them that they were witnesses of this fact.
4. While the writer doesn’t come out and say it, he was suggesting if Boaz could marry an outcast from another country, redeem her, and bring her into fellowship with himself, God could love outcasts of the world, redeem them, and bring them into fellowship with Him.
E. Then the proposal is completed in vv. 11-12, “Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, “We are witnesses! May the LORD make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended! May you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 And may the LORD give you descendants by this young woman who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah.”
1. The leaders respond to Boaz with what must have been a customary phrase.
2. They claim, “we are witnesses.”
3. Then they declare a series of blessings on Boaz.
4. They ask the Lord to bless Ruth as He did Rachel and Leah, the mothers of the twelve tribes of Israel.
5. Then they bestow another blessing on Boaz that he would be famous and prosperous in Ephrathah and Bethlehem.
6. This ought to sound familiar to us. “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf.” (Micah 5:2).
7. This entire book has led us to this one vital point, God used Ruth to prepare the way for the Messiah, God’s own Son.
Transition: This should remind us that we received…
II. Redemption at Calvary
A. God’s grace is often shown to us in ordinary places.
1. “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, 10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Lk. 2:8-12).
2. Ruth’s redemption began at a small town called Bethlehem, but so did ours.
3. Jesus came to that same little town, when he was born as a human being to save the world from our sin.
4. There was no thunder or earthquakes here either, but the earthquake and thunder would come later.
5. And talk about ordinary! They angels said they would find Him lying in a manger. In case you didn’t know, a manger is a feed trough for animals like cows and sheep.
6. Jesus came to an ordinary town, and lay in an ordinary place, so He could redeem us.
7. It didn’t end here, but it certainly started here!
B. Redemption requires a high price.
1. “Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, 52 and tombs opened. The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead.” (Matt. 27:50-52).
2. Remember, I told you the earthquake would come!
3. Our redemption required a high price. The highest price of all; the life of our Savior.
4. “And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Heb. 9:27-28).
5. Jesus came to earth not just to be born, but to give His life as a ransom for all of us.
6. He paid the price so that we could be redeemed.
7. I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain
That I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed”
Conclusion
What’s the point preacher? Ruth was redeemed because Boaz was willing to pay the price for her, but Jesus paid a much higher price so we could be redeemed. Accept what Jesus has done for you and receive the redemption He is offering you.
