Greetings in Christ Jesus, fellow soldiers.
When we last left off with the historical account of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, Boaz had left to secure the redemption of these two broken, yet believing, women. By grace through faith, these two women enjoyed the temporary security offered by Boaz, but still needed to be delivered from their perpetual state of bondage. They needed a redeemer--one who, because he was bound to them by blood, would purchase them out of their state of slavery. At the end of ch3, Boaz left to make sure that would be the case. Now the women must rest, trusting in one bound to them by blood to secure their freedom.
Now this redemption would come at a cost, which is made apparent to us in the reaction of the other redeemer, who we'll playfully call "Dude-man." When at first Boaz tells Dude-man about the opportunity to redeem some land, Dude-man, being the wise investor, jumps at the opportunity. But there's a catch, Boaz informs Dude-man, you'll also have to marry the Moabite widow Ruth in order to perpetuate the line of her family. At this point, Dude-man balks and walks out of the pages of Scripture without ever even being given a name.
Why did Dude-man balk? Because he was asked to love, and love comes at a cost. As soldiers, you all know this truth. At least in part, is not love for your country, your families, and your fellow soldiers that you put on the uniform? There is a reason why soldiers often pull pictures of their spouses or children from their pockets (or now, on their phones) when they find the sacrifice difficult. They remember in the faces of their loved ones that "love is stronger than death."
The cost to Dude-man would be that of his inheritance. By purchasing the land and making the widow Ruth his wife, he would in a sense be agreeing to spend money on a land that will not even remain in his immediate family. Rather, it will pass on to Ruth's children. At the end of the day, such a redemption would only truly benefit the two widows and cost Dude-man greatly.
This is what makes Boaz pursuit of the redemption of Ruth and Naomi so remarkable. There is nothing in it for him. It will come at great cost. Yet he will not rest until it is accomplished. For a man who looks upon these two outcasts with compassion and love, he feels the call of his bond of blood to redeem them out of their state of misery and death and deliver them into a state of redemption and hope.
Is this not a beautiful reflection of what God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--did for His people through the redemptive work of Christ? Out of the Father's eternal love for His people, He sent His Son to purchase His people from their wretched state by His own blood. Only by His wounds would you be healed. You could offer nothing to the equation, except resting and waiting upon Him. And it was not like you were inherently lovable. Paul tells us in Rom. 6:7-8 that you would scarcely die for a righteous man, though perhaps you might for a good man. But God demonstrates His love for us in this--while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And our sin is what created the cost for Jesus Christ. He would have to bear the sufferings of our sin-stricken world and bear the curse and just wrath of God upon our sins in His own body. Yet, in redeeming us through this blood-bond, Christ has purchased us from death and delivered us unto life--a life cloaked in His own righteousness.
This is the cost of redemption. Paid in a small earthly part by Boaz; paid on behalf of God for a sinful people by Jesus. Yet the cost of this redemption also comes with great reward. Look at how things change for Ruth and Naomi. On the surface, the change is obvious--Boaz unites himself to Ruth and together live life anew. There is also a deeper change, and for this, we have to take another look at the book as a whole within the larger, historical, redemptive purposes of God.
There is a larger problem coming out of the book of Judges and into the book of Ruth than simply the fact that "everyone was doing what was right in his own eyes." More than simple idolatry and immorality, the rampant, widespread evil seemed to threaten the very promise of God that one day, Eve's seed would crush the head of that serpent--a seed who would come from Abraham and would bless the nations. This promised seed, linking Eve to Christ throughout human history, was now under attack from Satan and the wickedness of the human heart. What of the chosen line?
This is why the camera zooms in from the book of Judges to this small, pitiful family in the book of Ruth. While the world, including God's people, seemed to be going to Hell in a handbasket, God would silently continuing His saving purposes through a chosen line to Christ through a small, insignificant family. In His ordinary providence through ordinary people, God would working out his extraordinary, eternal rescue plan for His people.
This plan seemed to again come under threat in the beginning of Ruth, when there seemed to be no hope of another generation springing forth from Naomi (as she readily confessed in ch1!). This is why it is so important to "perpetuate the name of the dead" (v5, 10). God would use the earthly redemption of these women to continue His line of promise. In sync with this overarching plan, the people bless Boaz "for the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman" (v12). And, indeed, it was the LORD who made it happen. We are told in v13 that using Ruth's previously dead womb, the LORD gave her conception. What we have here is a continuing theme from the OT of God raising life from dead wombs to continue His line of promise.
And in light of this overarching plan, notice the subtle but startling shift in v14. and 15. The women bless Naomi, who has not been left this day without a redeemer. They praise Ruth, a worldly-weak instrument of God's grace who turned out be much more than the greatest of man's strength. But pay particular attention to who is highlighted as Naomi's redeemer in v15--"for your daughter...has given birth to him." What? Naomi's redeemer is the product of Ruth's womb?
Indeed He is. Look at the genealogy that closes this book. It was not put there by accident (nor is any genealogy for that matter). Step by step here, we are shown how the chaos of Judges, through God's grace to this one, humble family, will give rise to the mighty king, David. David would be used to perpetuate this promised line to Christ, of which he was told that he would have an offspring who reign eternally over an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam. 7). Thus, the genealogy doesn't stop with David.
In Matthew 1, we watch the genealogy leading up to David (including Boaz and Ruth!) and then watch it continue to unfold up until our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yet the genealogy would not even stop with the Son of God, for in being given the name Jesus ("he saves"), He will save His people from their sins (v21). Thus, a vast multitude, gathered throughout time and from all the world, would become the fruits of the promises made--and now fulfilled-by Jesus Christ.
What does this mean for us? It means that like Ruth and Naomi, we are not without a redeemer. And with the Son of God as our Redeemer, we need not fear the trials and suffering endured by Ruth and Naomi, nor need we ever lack hope. For Christ has paid the wages for our sins by His own death and life to the full has been given to us. So now, like Ruth, we walk by faith into whatever perils and dangers await us, not only sustained by the love of our precious families, but secured for all time in the love of God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ and poured upon us by the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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