“I will redeem it.”

The Marriage of Ruth

4 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. ² 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 closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. ⁴ So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” ⁵ Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, 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.” ⁶ The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”

⁷ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. ⁸ So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. ⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. ¹⁰ 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, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹ All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³ So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴ Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. ¹⁵ May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David Began Here

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, ¹⁹ and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, ²⁰ and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, ²¹ and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, ²² and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

If you're not familiar with the story of Ruth it would be good to read it in it's entirety. The woman Naomi has lost her husband and her two sons and returns to her original homeland with Ruth, her daughter-in-law. In Ruth 1:19-21 we see the condition of Naomi.

So they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred because of them, and the women said, "Is this Naomi?" 20She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21"I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?"…

The story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz is much more than a nice ending to a difficult situation. It is not like some fairytale where they all lived happily ever after. This is a story of redemption and restoration. Boaz, as the kinsmen redeemer is a type of Christ. The redemption and restoration he brings is a prophetic foreshadow of the ultimate redemption and restoration we have in Christ. Boaz's act of redemption required that he sacrifice himself. The family that he raised up was to be reckoned to Mahlon. In Naomi, a Jewish woman and Ruth a Moabitess we see the picture of redemption for both Jews and Gentiles.

Romans 1:16 says:    For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.

We see also in the text that everything was done according to the law. Boaz fulfilled the requirements of the law bringing the situation to the other relative. The other relative was unable to redeem. He would have redeemed the land and property but was not able to redeem Ruth. In the same way the old covenant and the law was about blessing and cursing that came through obediance or disobediance, but it was unable to change or redeem the hearts of men. As Boaz fulfilled all the legal requirements to redeem Ruth and Naomi, Jesus says:

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 

What the law could not do, namely change, redeem and restore, Jesus, as the fulfillment of the law did completely.

The final thing I want to look at in this story of redemption is to see again just how complete the redemption and restoration of Christ is. We see at the end of the text:

The Line of David Began Here

¹⁶ Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. ¹⁷ The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

¹⁸ Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, ¹⁹ and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, ²⁰ and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, ²¹ and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, ²² and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

So not only was Boaz a prophetic foreshadow of the redemption and restoration of Christ, but the actual line of Christ, the lineage through which the redemption of the world come includes, Boaz and Ruth. If we look at just the ten generations that are mentioned here we can see the tremendous redemption and restoration that comes through Christ. Look first at Perez. Perez was the child born to Judah, through his daughter-in-law(1 Chronicals 2:4), a forbidden relationship. Yet Perez is included in the line of Christ the redeemer. We've already seen that in Naomi and Ruth we see the picture of redemption for both Jew and Gentile. Let's look a little deeper though and see what else is covered in the redemption of Ruth. Ruth was a Moabitess. Who were the Moabites? Genesis 19:36-37   tells us this: 

Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. ³⁷ The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.

The Moabites, Ruth's ancestors were born of an incestuous relationship, yet Ruth is included in the line of Christ, bringing redemption to and through those born under sin. That's the beauty of the lineage of Christ that we see recorded in scripture. We see redemption from all types of sin, murderers, liers, adulterers, prostitutes, on and on. Sinful  people in the lineage of the one without sin. Through children there is an opportunity for redemption and restoration. God says that He no longer holds the sins of the father against the children.

No matter what the circumstances of your birth or life, Jesus Christ is the redeemer and the one who restores. The world might say that you or a child you know was an accident. But God makes no accidents. Each new generation, each child that is born is and holds an opportunity for redemption. As a grandparent that is a wonderful truth to know, that through this new generation God has provided an opportunity for redemption of past mistakes. Each child that is born holds a hope for the future and an opportunity for redemption and restoration of the past.

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, my Redeemer and Holy Spirit. Thank You for the wonderful picture we have of redemption and restoration in scripture. Thank You that you have blessed me not only with my own redemption but that You have allowed my eyes to see the precious children that represent the hope for the future and bring fullness of restoration to my life. Bless these, my precious grandchildren and all my own children as well. May they all come to know, love and serve You, my Redeemer and theirs also.    Amen