Ruth, a story of redemption - Write yours

Ruth 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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.”

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.

The story of Ruth is a story of redemption. It was not Ruth though who was redeemed. In the text it says:  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. 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.”  So it was the line of Mahlon, Ruth’s first husband, the son of Naomi which was redeemed. It was the faithfulness of Ruth to Naomi which led to the opportunity for redemption. I love that this story of faithfulness and redemption is also part of the lineage of Christ, the redeemer of all. The text says:   Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse.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. Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron,  and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.   So, from the redemption of one family came the redeemer of all. Even more amazing is that when we look at the line of Christ, when we look at those who were used to bring about the redeemer of all mankind, we will see in their lives every sin from which people must be redeemed. Ruth, as the account tells us, was a Mohabitess. In Genesis 19:36-38 we see the origin of the Mohabite people. It says:  Both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. The firstborn bore a son, and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day.As for the younger, she also bore a son, and called his name Ben-ammi; he is the father of the sons of Ammon to this day.  We see also, from today’s text, that the line of David, from whom the line of Christ came, is traced through the child of Boaz and Ruth. We know that David himself was an adulterer and a murderer. Yet it was through Solomon, the child born to David by Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, that Christ’s line is traced. Look at Matthew 1:1-6 to see more of the line of Christ. It says:  The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:  Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram. Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon. Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.  In Genesis 25, we see that Jacob deceived his brother Esau in order to obtain his birthright. In Genesis 27, Jacob deceived his father Isaac to steal the blessing of Esau. Of all the son’s of Judah, it was Perez, who was conceived in deceit to Tamar, the widow of Judah’s son, as she posed as a prostitute, who was part of the line of Christ. There were no perfect people. Romans 3:10-12 says:  As it is written,“There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.”     So, for the redeemer to be born through the line of natural men, it was necessary that they themselves, from whom He came, would need the redeemer to come. Their lives demonstrate the power of redemption over every sin.

We see the story of redemption told in the account of Ruth and in the line of Christ. It is though really a story or stories within the greater story or redemption. From Genesis to Revelation, the entire Bible is the story of God’s plan to redeem all of creation and man, His most treasured creation. The tree which Adam and Eve ate from to bring about the curse, was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. With the awareness of evil, came the choice to choose good or evil. Throughout history people have chosen evil over good. Christ came that people could choose redemption over condemnation. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.     In Revelation, we are shown a time when Christ will come again and finally and fully remove evil. Finally, God’s plan, the story of redemption will be complete. All of creation will be renewed and restored. Revelation 21 says:  Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” …  I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it;  and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.   We each have the privilege and the responsibility to write our own story of redemption. We each can be part of having our name written in the Lamb’s book of life. Like Adam and Eve, we have been given the knowledge of good and evil. Like every other person who has lived from the beginning of creation, none of us are perfect. We all need the Redeemer. John 3:16 says:  “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Thank You Heavenly Father for the stories of redemption within the Bible, the story of Your plan for redemption. Thank You for sending Your Son, born of people in need of a Savior, to be their Savior and Redeemer. I believe in Jesus, Son of Man; Son of God. By Your grace may my name be written in the book of life.     Amen.