Ruth
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“Physical suffering is hard, but the really brutal stuff is relational suffering,” says Paul Miller, author of “A Loving Life: In a World of Broken Relationships,” published last spring. “People are living with the kind of relational suffering that they wouldn’t have had 200 years ago when physical suffering was much greater.” In our culture, Miller says, there are millions of “modern day widows,” whether divorced, abandoned, isolated, or surviving death like the biblical widow Ruth. These are men and women whose mouths are bitter with the taste of love gone bad. Confronting their suffering, Miller asks: How do you love when you don’t get love in return? How do you endure in the midst of suffering? He uses the journey of Naomi and Ruth to illustrate Gospel love. “We tend to think of love as a feeling, or a state, or a relationship,” he says. “It’s helpful to see it as a pilgrimage that contains surprises, and that I’m not in control of.” While each pilgrimage of love may take a very different route, Miller says that the shape of the path is always the same. The shape of the loving pilgrimage begins with life, goes down into death, and then upward to resurrection, explains Miller. “It’s a J-curve. Jesus lives a J-curve. He describes his life as a seed dying and rising again. … Gospel stories are possible only because God actively shapes history, bringing life where there is death.” The Gospel path of humility is illustrated in Ruth, who again and again demonstrates her committed love to Naomi despite rejection, fear, and loneliness. “The central idea of the book of Ruth is hesed love … the Hebrew idea that combines love and commitment. Hesed is one-way love. When you love with hesed love, you bind yourself to the object of your love, no matter what the response is,” says Miller. “I call it love without an exit strategy.” As we follow this path of hesed love, like Ruth, we soon realize it’s impossible outside of relationship with our heavenly Father. “You endure the weight of love by being rooted in God. Your life energy needs to come from God, not the person you are loving,” Miller writes. “The more difficult the situation, the more you are forced into utter dependence on God. … You know without a shadow of a doubt that you can’t love. That is the beginning of faith — knowing that you can’t love.” For more information visit SeeJesus.net. 
According to many scholars, the book of "Ruth" was originally part of Judges. The book of Ruth, is set in the period of the Judges. From the opening sentence, which is in classical story-telling style, the narrative is a model of excellence. The opening six verses set the stage for all that is to follow, recording the migration of a Hebrew family from Bethlehem in time of famine, the marriage of the two Hebrew sons to Moabite women, and the death of the male members of the group. The remainder of Chapter 1 records the return to Bethlehem of Naomi, the bereaved wife and mother, with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. The magic of the narrator's art is clearly seen in Ruth's statement in 1:16-17, which has been recognized as one of the most beautiful expressions of human affection and relationship. In the second chapter the meeting of Ruth and Boaz, a relative of the dead Hebrew males, is explained and in the next two chapters Ruth wins Boaz' love and marries him. The male child born from this marriage is received as the child of Naomi and as the one through whom the name of Ruth's deceased father-in-law, and hence her dead husband, would be carried on. According to an appendage, the child was the grandfather of King David. |
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Ruth 1:1:
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehemjudah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons." |
This is a time of apostasy, warfare, decline, violence, moral decay, and anarchy. Naomi and her family were living in an era of anarchy. The Popular argument was "Everyone is doing it! Why shouldn't I?" But, not everyone was doing it. Boaz did not go to Moab. He stayed where he was, and God later used him to rescue Naomi and Ruth
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The first word of the book of Ruth ("Now") links the book of Judges to the book of Samuel. Exodus is joined to Genesis by the word “now.” Leviticus is linked to Exodus by the word “and.” Numbers is merged with Leviticus also by the word “and.” Deuteronomy is attached to Numbers by the word “these,” and thus the Pentateuch becomes one grand and glorious unit. Joshua is joined to Deuteronomy by the word “now.” Judges is also linked to Joshua by the word “now,” and Ruth is linked to Judges also by the word “now.” The sixty-six volumes which compose the Holy Bible constitute one great, grand and glorious whole. It is impossible to grasp fully the import of any one book without understanding, at least in a measure, the preceding book or books. The treasury of truth known as the Bible has come from God and is a divine unit.
“IT CAME TO PASS”
There is always something coming to pass when God is around. Stagnation is impossible when God is present. The presence of God saves us from melancholia and monotony. The book of Ruth opens in the times of the Judges which was a time of anarchy, bolshevism, communism, strife, lawlessness and wickedness, every man doing “ that which was right in his own eyes.” The closing chapters of the book of Judges set forth in no uncertain terms exactly what happens when God lifts His hand and allows man to go his own way. The times of the Judges was the worst period in the history of the people of God. Each person was a law to himself, and all standards of truth and righteousness were disregarded. The horrible crimes chronicled in the book of Judges were made possible because God had been despised, His Word dishonored, and holiness rejected. Preachers and people alike were selfish and impure. Crime and chaos are always the result of the rejection of God’s counsels. Law and order are impossible so long as men do that which is right in their own eyes. In the last analysis, the choice is always between Christ and chaos. To reject Christ and refuse obedience to Him is to invite chaos and ruin. The days of the Judges were dark, dreadful and dreary days. They were exceedingly trying times. Moses and Joshua were dead. Unfaithfulness prevailed and famine followed
“IT CAME TO PASS”
There is always something coming to pass when God is around. Stagnation is impossible when God is present. The presence of God saves us from melancholia and monotony. The book of Ruth opens in the times of the Judges which was a time of anarchy, bolshevism, communism, strife, lawlessness and wickedness, every man doing “ that which was right in his own eyes.” The closing chapters of the book of Judges set forth in no uncertain terms exactly what happens when God lifts His hand and allows man to go his own way. The times of the Judges was the worst period in the history of the people of God. Each person was a law to himself, and all standards of truth and righteousness were disregarded. The horrible crimes chronicled in the book of Judges were made possible because God had been despised, His Word dishonored, and holiness rejected. Preachers and people alike were selfish and impure. Crime and chaos are always the result of the rejection of God’s counsels. Law and order are impossible so long as men do that which is right in their own eyes. In the last analysis, the choice is always between Christ and chaos. To reject Christ and refuse obedience to Him is to invite chaos and ruin. The days of the Judges were dark, dreadful and dreary days. They were exceedingly trying times. Moses and Joshua were dead. Unfaithfulness prevailed and famine followed
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Ruth 1:19-21:
So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was stirred by their arrival. ‘Is it really Naomi?’ the women asked. ‘Don’t call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Instead, call me Mara, [meaning bitter] for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why should you call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy? |
Did the Lord make her life bitter?
Naomi blamed God for making her life bitter and empty. All she could see was that she no longer had what she loved. Her bitterness reflected a heart of unbelief in the justice and sovereignty of God. She held on to the anger for what had been done to her and stood in judgment over God. In the entire text, we see nothing of Naomi’s quest to understand the purpose of God in her suffering. We only read that she was angry and bitter for what she had lost.....Bitterness hardens your heart on the inside and your features on the outside. It also defiles those around you because it is contagious.
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Naomi came to Bethlehem after ten years in Moab. Ten years that had consisted of famine, the loss of her husband's land, a move to an idolatrous nation, the death of her husband, the death of a son, then the death of another son. She had lost everything, and it seemed that things couldn't get any worse. She was angry and bitter. She felt that the Lord had given her a raw deal. She said, "Don't call me Naomi. Call me Maw-RAW. Don't call me Sweetness anymore. Call me Bitter." When difficulty came, her trust in God left. When things got bad, she got bitter.
This is where we must stop and reflect. We must pause for some perspective. God had not forsaken Naomi. At the risk of giving away the story, God has nothing but good in His heart toward her. He has plans to restore her husband's land to her. To bless her abundantly, and to continue her family name to King David and ultimately to Jesus Christ. But these were the steps that the Lord had to take to bring this about.
Maybe today you're feeling like a Maw-RAW. You're angry because God allowed someone you loved to die. You're upset because He allowed you to enter into financial difficulty. You're mad at God because things haven't happened the way you'd hoped. You're bitter because it seems that the very hand of God is against you, and nothing is going right. As if you've not been blessed, but cursed.
Let me assure you,
[SOURCE: Ron Daniel: http://rondaniel.com/library/08-Ruth/Ruth0101.html]
This is where we must stop and reflect. We must pause for some perspective. God had not forsaken Naomi. At the risk of giving away the story, God has nothing but good in His heart toward her. He has plans to restore her husband's land to her. To bless her abundantly, and to continue her family name to King David and ultimately to Jesus Christ. But these were the steps that the Lord had to take to bring this about.
Maybe today you're feeling like a Maw-RAW. You're angry because God allowed someone you loved to die. You're upset because He allowed you to enter into financial difficulty. You're mad at God because things haven't happened the way you'd hoped. You're bitter because it seems that the very hand of God is against you, and nothing is going right. As if you've not been blessed, but cursed.
Let me assure you,
[SOURCE: Ron Daniel: http://rondaniel.com/library/08-Ruth/Ruth0101.html]
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Ruth 2:1-3:
There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. |
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Ruth 4:
Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; .....and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down. 2 And 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 close relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next 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 buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.” 6 And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything: one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel. 8 Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” So he took off his sandal. 9 And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate.You are witnesses this day.” 11 And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 May your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman.” 13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! 15 And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. 17 Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; 19 Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; 20 Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; 21 Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; 22 Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. |
If there is one foundational truth that we learn from the book of Ruth it is, as William Cowper puts it in his famous hymn, that the people of God are met with many “frowning providences” throughout the course of their lives. The story of Ruth begins with famine, exile, sin, barrenness and death. During the period of time in Israel’s history when the judges ruled, a dark and depraved time in which people did what was right in their own eyes, a famine struck the town of Bethlehem, a famine so severe that it drove a man named Elimelech, his wife Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, to leave the promised land for the pagan lands of Moab. After arriving in Moab, we saw that the hard hand of God’s judgment fell upon Elimelech’s family. Elimelech, the family patriarch dies; Mahlon and Chilion take for themselves Moabite wives; and after 10 years of childlessness, Mahlon and Chilion die, leaving Naomi all alone, with two Gentile daughters-in-law, in a land of exile and death, with no hope of offspring to continue the family line; and this fact is really the major problem of the book that needs to be resolved- Naomi is an old woman, Ruth is a barren widow, the name and identity of Elimelech’s family stands on the brink of total destruction. And so even in spite of the blessing of Ruth, Naomi’s loving, faithful, devoted daughter in law; in spite of returning to Bethlehem where the Lord had provided food for his people, Naomi concludes chapter 1 with a lament- “The Lord has dealt very bitterly with me, I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty.” Naomi had experienced firsthand the black side of God’s providence and the conclusion she drew is that the hard hand of God’s judgment was the final word in her life. And the book Ruth begins this way- it begins with the black side of God’s providence- with the emptiness of Naomi- because the purpose of the book of Ruth is to set before us how the Lord restores Naomi from emptiness to fulness through the characters of Ruth and Boaz. The story of Ruth is almost like a miniature version of the story of the Old Testament. The story of the Old Testament is the story of God establishing his typological kingdom in Israel out of the chaos of sin, particularly out of the chaos of exile. The story of the book of Ruth reflects the larger story of the OT- it is the story of God establishing his kingdom in Israel out of the chaos, barrenness, and exile which marked Naomi’s life through the work of the kinsman Redeemer Boaz and his great grandson King David. The book of Ruth begins with desolation and ends with new creation; it begins with death and ends with resurrection; it begins with slavery and ends with redemption; it begins with anarchy and ends with monarchy. And so it is to chapter 4 that we turn our attention this morning and the one big idea I want us all to understand and rejoice in this morning- the one central and foundational truth that we are able to derive from chapter 4 is that the Lord secures our redemption and establishes his kingdom among us through the redemption purchased by the divinely appointed kinsman Redeemer. The Lord frees us from our bondage, secures for us an unimaginably great and glorious inheritance, restores us to fullness, and raises us to life through the redemption purchased by a faithful, obedient, Torah-keeping Redeemer . And this reality of redemption or we might say God’s work of restoration through redemption is really the theme of this chapter and so we will look at this idea of redemption from 2 perspectives: First, Redemption Accomplished (v. 1-12) , Second Redemption Applied (v. 13-22). And the first thing I want us to notice here is the redemption accomplished by Boaz. If you remember from chapter 3, Ruth had essentially proposed marriage to Boaz in a very unusual manner. We saw that Boaz accepts this proposal, but we also saw that there is an obstacle to this marriage. Boaz tells Ruth in chapter 3 that there is another blood relative closer to Naomi that held the right of redemption before Boaz. As we have seen already, there was a particular arrangement made under the Mosaic law that if a man died without any children, the dead man’s brother (called the kinsman redeemer or go’el) could marry the childless widow in order to raise up offspring for the dead husband and thereby preserve the name of the man who had died. Now one of the big problems in the book of Ruth is that Naomi and Ruth have been reduced to emptiness and this emptiness consists in the fact that, from Naomi’s perspective in chapter 1, there is no one who could possibly marry Ruth and continue the family line. We saw in chapter 3 that Boaz is indeed willing to marry Ruth, but now there is this obstacle of the other redeemer who holds the right of redemption. And you might say- okay, why is this an obstacle? There are now two Redeemers who could step in and restore Naomi’s family! Isn’t this good news for Ruth and Naomi? However, it is an obstacle because we [the reader] don’t want just any Redeemer to marry Ruth! We want Boaz- faithful, loving, kind, generous- Boaz to marry Ruth and restore Naomi’s family to fulness. And so in the beginning of chapter 4, Boaz sets out to resolve this conflict. We are told in v. 1 that Boaz goes to the gate of the city which was the place where business was conducted, kind of the ancient equivalent to the town hall or the courthouse, and as he goes to the gate, the narrator tells us that “behold, the Redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by.” Boaz approaches this man and then addresses him. The ESV and most English translations render Boaz’s words to the other redeemer like this: “Turn aside, friend, sit down here” but that’s actually not the best translation. The word translated “friend” is actually 2 rhyming words in Hebrew- Peloni Almoni- and the best translation is actually not “friend” but “so-and-so.” “Turn aside Mr. So and So” or we might say today, “turn aside John Doe or “Hey Mister- Turn Aside and Sit Down.” Now Boaz certainly would have known the name of this relative and yet, curiously, the storyteller refuses to give him a name. And we have to ask ourselves, “Okay, why does the storyteller do this?” and I think there is at least one big reason. The reason why the storyteller refuses to even dignify this other redeemer with a name is because this redeemer, as we find out in just a few verses, refuses to carry on the name of Elimelech by redeeming Ruth. He’s an unfaithful redeemer! The book of Ruth is all about the need to restore and redeem the name of Elimelech and because Mr. So and So refuses to do redeem Elimelech’s name, he himself is not worthy of a name. So Boaz, after telling Mr. So and So to turn aside, gathers together the elders of the city who would serve as witnesses to this transaction, and then we learn in v. 3-4 that Naomi is seeking to sell some of the land that belonged to her husband Elimelech. In Lev. 25 we are told that if a poor person was forced to sell their land because of their poverty, it was the responsibility of his nearest relative- the go’el- to step in and actually buy back the property which now belonged to this third party. The most likely situation is that Elimelech, before leaving Moab, had sold his property to someone else and Naomi, the poor relative, is in need of a go’el, a Redeemer, to purchase the land back. And so Boaz is giving Mr. So and So the opportunity to step in as the go’el and do this. Mr. So and So decides to purchase the field- it’s a good deal, the fruitfulness of the field would likely compensate for the price paid for it, why not purchase the field? There is a catch, however, that Boaz has failed to mention- “Oh and by the way” Boaz says “when you buy this land, you also have to buy Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate his name and inheritance.” All of a sudden those dollar signs begin to disappear from before Mr. So and So’s eyes. This might not be such a good deal after all! Purchasing Ruth meant that Mr. So and So would become responsible for raising up another son in order to carry on the name of Elimelech, not his own. Purchasing Ruth meant that the land would remain in Mr. So and So’s possession only until this other son became old enough to claim it. Add to this the social stigma attached to marrying Ruth, an unclean Gentile, an enemy of Israel- all of a sudden this deal doesn’t sound so good anymore, does it? And so Mr. So and So changes his mind. In v. 6 he says that He cannot not redeem the land [why?] lest his own inheritance be impaired. He tells Boaz to take his right of redemption. He is an unfaithful and self-seeking Redeemer unlike Boaz who takes the right of redemption and redeems everything that belonged to Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion. Boaz is worthy of a name; Mr. So and so is not. The narrator then zooms out of the story and records this custom in which the unwilling redeemer would remove his sandal and hand it to the one purchasing his right of redemption. And so the last great conflict of the book- the right of this other redeemer- is resolved. Ruth and Boaz can now be joined in marriage; there is a faithful redeemer in Bethlehem who will continue the name of Elimelech. The elders and the people then bless Boaz, praying that he might be renowned in Bethlehem, that the Lord might make Ruth like Rachel and Leah, that his house might be like Perez, the son of Judah. In other words, they are praying that God might use Boaz and his offspring to continue the Abrahamic line; that he and his offspring might be God’s appointed medium to bring blessing to his people and to the world; and this is an anticipation of what we find out in just a few verses when this prayer is marvelously answered. Now lets step back for a minute and try to look at the big picture that the storyteller is setting before us in this opening scene because it’s easy to get caught up in many of the legal details and miss the bigger picture. What is the storyteller doing in this opening scene? He is painting a portrait of the faithful, obedient, law-keeping character of Boaz and setting up in stark contrast with with the unfaithful and self-seeking character of this nameless redeemer. Boaz, as we saw at the end of chapter 3, does not rest until he deals with this obstacle of the other Redeemer. But notice how he does it- he doesn’t deal with this obstacle by taking what rightfully belongs to this other Redeemer; he doesn’t bypass the law of God or take short cuts; he doesn’t allow his love for Ruth to soften his commitment to doing things God’s way- no, quite the opposite. Boaz is intent upon acquiring Ruth according to the letter of God’s law and he does it comprehensively and selflessly. He gathers the witnesses, he offers this other man the opportunity to redeem Ruth, he faithfully carries out his responsibilities as the kinsman redeemer no matter the cost. As one writer puts it, Boaz is a model of the faithful King of Israel, who according to Ps. 72, renders justice to the poor and satisfies the needy. More than that Boaz is a picture or an anticipation of how God will secure the redemption of his people through the promised Messiah. We learn from Boaz that the redemption of God’s people can only be secured through the faithful, rigorous, comprehensive, selfless obedience of a Redeemer, a Redeemer worthy of a name, a Redeemer who humbles himself, who empties himself, who gives of himself for the sake of the helpless, the foreigner, the alien, and the exiled no matter the cost. And in this way, Boaz provides us with a striking and beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Redeemer of God’s elect, whose complete, comprehensive, rigorous and selfless obedience to the will of his Father secured a full redemption for his people; whose obedience to law of God secured for him the name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9) The redemption purchased by Christ for us is comprehensive and complete: he has purchased us out of our bondage and slavery to sin and Satan; he has removed our guilt by satisfying divine justice; he has removed the curse and sting of death; he has redeemed our bodies; he has redeemed our souls; his redemption extends to the creation itself. This redemption purchased by Jesus Christ was also selfless: though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Boaz paid a mighty price to redeem the name and inheritance of Elimelech and yet the price paid by our beloved Savior was infinitely greater. He sealed our pardon with his blood. I think one of the reasons our hearts, even as believers, often remain cold and unmoved by this good news of redemption through Jesus Christ is that sometimes we really don’t view ourselves like Naomi- as helpless, spiritually barren, completely dependent upon the willingness of a Redeemer to provide for our needs. We don’t view ourselves as foreigners and aliens like Ruth, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12). But apart from Christ and the redemption purchased by him and applied to us by the Holy Spirit we are spiritually dead, lifeless, children of wrath, alienated, estranged, condemned. Like Ruth and Naomi we are spiritual exiles, completely unable to save ourselves apart from the perfect obedience and satisfaction of a Redeemer. And so I ask you, have you entrusted yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ, have you closed with him by faith? Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ: are you continually entrusting yourself to the Lord Jesus Christ every day? Are you deriving all of your sufficiency from Christ? Are you clinging to Christ, resting in Christ, communing with Christ, delighting in Christ? Are you resting in his righteousness or are you trusting in your own? Is redemption through the consummate kinsman Redeemer your only plea, or are you trying to work your way out of the slave market of sin by your own obedience to the law of God? Ruth and Naomi were entirely dependent upon faithful Boaz for their deliverance; we are completely dependent upon our faithful Savior for our deliverance. We never outgrow our need for the redemption purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ. May it be our prayer that as John Newton writes in one of his letters, every day might show us more and more of our own heart and more of the power, sufficiency, compassion, and grace of our adorable Redeemer. The second thing I want us to notice in this chapter is the redemption that is applied to Naomi and Ruth and it is in these verses that we finally see the resolution of the central problem of the book- that of Naomi’s emptiness. And we see, in these verses a remarkable series of reversals. Notice 1st, the reversal of Ruth’s barrenness. In v. 13, we are told that the Lord applies the redemption purchased by Boaz in miraculously giving Ruth a son. Notice in v. 14 it is the Lord who gives her conception. Now this might not seem all that remarkable if you forget that in chapter 1, Ruth, during the 10 years that she was married to her husband, was barren. And so the Lord miraculously opens Ruth’s womb and gives her a son. But then the focus shifts away from Ruth and onto Naomi and the divine reversal of her emptiness. The narrator essentially tells us that Ruth’s son is really Naomi’s son- the Lord has given Naomi a redeemer (v. 14). Notice the words of the women in v. 14. These words of blessing recorded here in chapter 4 parallel the words uttered by the women in chapter 1 and the cry of bitterness from Naomi. Do you remember back in chapter 1, the women of Bethlehem say among themselves as Naomi returns from Moab “Is This Naomi?” and Naomi responds by telling them not to call her Naomi (which means sweet) but Mara which means bitter. The women of Bethlehem are longer saying “Is this Naomi?” (as they did in ch. 1) but rather in v. 14: “Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a Redeemer.” Naomi’s bitterness has been replaced by blessing! And notice that this Redeemer in v. 14 is not Boaz but the child born to Ruth. This child is Naomi’s Redeemer! The prayer that the elders and the people had just offered up to God a few verses earlier is marvelously fulfilled in v. 14 as Ruth gives birth to a son- a Redeemer- whose name will be renowned in Israel. Notice also how the birth of this Redeemer brings restoration and nourishment to Naomi in v. 15 -“he shall be a restorer of life to you and a nourisher of your old age.” In other words, the miraculous birth of this child brings with it nothing short of resurrection life for Naomi. Chapter 1 begins with death- the death of Elimelech and the death of Naomi’s sons. Chapter 4 concludes with resurrection- the restoration which the birth of this child brings to Naomi and her family. And so the narrative portion of the story concludes with a description of this little child sitting upon Naomi’s lap in v. 16. It’s a visible picture of the complete reversal of Naomi’s situation. The child is named Obed and and then in v. 16 the narrator provides us with a surprise ending. He tells us that Obed was the father of Jesse who was the father of David. And it is at this point that we really understand the significance of this whole story; we see why it was so important that Elimelech’s family line be preserved. God was at work through this family to bring on to the scene of history the greatest King of Israel- King David. God was working, through this seemingly insignificant little family, in the darkest period of Israel’s history, to establish his typological kingdom in their midst, to usher in the long awaited eschatological kingdom in the person of Jesus Christ. We see, then, that when viewed in light of the whole drama of redemption, the message of the book of Ruth is that the Lord was preparing the way for the birth of the true King, the Lord Jesus Christ, who would redeem us from our bondage to sin and establish his everlasting kingdom among us. In the midst of the darkness, chaos, and anarchy of sin emerged a Messiah-Son who has graciously established his redemptive rule over a rebellious people through the purchase of a full redemption- a redemption unimaginably greater than anything Boaz, Obed, or David could accomplish. Jesus is our “greater than Boaz,” Jesus is our “greater than Obed,” Jesus is our “greater than David,” and he delights in filling empty souls with his soul refreshing presence. I think we learn an important lesson from the way that this book ends regarding the life of the believer and the character of what Rutherford calls “the black side of God’s providence.” One of the lessons that we learn from the way that the book begins and ends; from these remarkable series of reversals; is that the life of the believer is not a straight line to glory. Who would have thought that God was using the bleak, dark, tragic circumstances of chapter 1, full of famine, exile, death, and barrenness, to bring to on to the stage of history Israel’s greatest King and ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ? Who would have thought that Naomi’s emptiness would be reversed in such a profound way through the faithfulness of Boaz, the devotion of Ruth, and the birth of a Redeemer? And yet, through all of the twists, turns, dangers, toils and snares, the Lord was carrying out his good and gracious purposes for Naomi and this is no less true for us today. The Christian life is full of many twists and turns and obstacles and trials of various kinds. But if we belong to Jesus Christ- though we are met with dangers, toils, and snares- though troubles assail our souls and dangers afright- we can be assured that God is sovereignly working, through all the events in our lives, to bring us to our final, glorious inheritance through the promised Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. At the end of Naomi’s wilderness road full of setbacks and tragedies and seemingly impossible circumstances was the infant Redeemer- Obed- who would restore to her everything which she had lost. And at the end of our wilderness road full of set backs and tragedies and seemingly impossible circumstances is the imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance purchased for us by the blood of our kinsman Redeemer. And so this story ends with a genealogy. Look with me at v. 18-22. “Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.” There are a number of things we could point out in this genealogy but I want to point out just a few things. Notice that back in v. 12, the elders and the people pray that God would make Boaz’s house like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah. And then Perez is mentioned yet again in v. 18- he was the great, great, great, great grandfather of Boaz. And you ask- okay who was Perez and why is that important? Perez, you might remember, was one of two twins, born out of the incestuous relationship between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar who dressed up like a prostitute and deceived Judah so that she might have a son (Gen. 38). This means that Boaz himself, a descendent of Judah and Tamar, was the product of an incestuous relationship. And remember that Ruth is a Moabite. The nation of Moab emerged out of an incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughters. And then notice Salmon, Boaz’s father, is also included in the genealogy. Who is Salmon? Salmon, according to Matthew’s genealogy, was the husband of Rahab the harlot. Rahab, according to this genealogy, was the mother of Boaz. Are you beginning to see a pattern? And we ask ourselves why so many notorious sinners? Why hang out the dirty laundry of adultery and incest and uncleanness for all to see? Why would God use such filthy, abominable, heartbreaking sins to establish his kingdom in Israel and prepare the way for the coming of his Son? And the answer is that God wants to put on full display, before all the world to see, that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more! As Iain Hamilton writes “The God of the Bible is a God whose grace bursts every conceivable notion of undeserved kindness and says to people ‘no matter how bleak and black and dark and godless your circumstances, I’m able to make all things new.” And if there is one foundational lesson that we can take from this book, it is this truth, that God loves sinners, that God delights in saving and restoring the lowest of the low. What Jerome wrote of Matthew’s genealogy is equally true of the genealogy provided here at the end of this book: “In it none of the holy women are included, only those whom the Scriptures blame, in order that He who came in behalf of sinners, Himself being born of sinners, might destroy the sins of all.” --Sacramental Piety |