Redeeming Grace Series

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.”