Redemption Accomplished (Ruth 4)

The gate of a city or town was where the civic elders or leaders would meet and make decisions about important matters. Individuals with an issue would go there for the matter to be settled. So that is where Boaz went to find out if the individual who was a closer relation to Naomi would purchase her property so that it would remain within the family.

If Naomi the aged widow was alone, it would have been a straightforward situation for the relative because she could not bear children and the man would have nothing to lose and a lot to gain by purchasing her field. Eventually she would die, and her inheritance would belong to his family. But in this case purchasing the field also meant having to take Ruth as his wife to continue the family line. The man was unable to do this because it would cause problems regarding his inheritance. He was perhaps a widower who already had children who would get his inheritance on his death, but they would lose out if he married Ruth because her children would take from what he planned to leave to his children. Therefore, because of that difficulty, he did not want to marry Ruth and so he freely gave up his right to the inheritance connected to Naomi. Boaz was probably the oldest unmarried relative, and he did not have the problem of the other relative.

We have here an example of how quickly and easily God can solve what seemed an enormous difficulty. In addition to the above stated problem, who would want also to take on responsibility of looking after a Moabite woman? The Lord was at work ensuring that the man made his choice and so opened the door for Boaz to come in. Yet we can but notice how fragile the cause of God can be. From one point of view, the coming of the future Saviour depended on this man saying no when the offer was put to him by Boaz.

The significance of the sign (4:1-10)

The process was followed by a public demonstration that a deal had been made. It was a pre-writing society, so visible signs were used instead. Everyone watching the man giving his sandal to Boaz would know the significance of his action and the onlookers became witnesses that an agreement had been reached. That practice is a reminder of the importance of visible signs because when understood correctly they have powerful voices.

Israel had numerous signs, although we tend to highlight the rite of circumcision and the feast of the Passover, no doubt because of their links to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They had various other public engagements for people to practice, including other feasts of thanksgiving. So let me mention some details connected to one of our two major signs for us to see its significance.

What does the Lord’s Supper signify? Here are three details. First, since it is a meal, to points to spiritual feeding on the life and death of Jesus. Even as a person tastes various things in a meal, so participants in the Lord’s Supper use their minds and hearts to taste what Jesus did for them when he offered up his life as an atoning sacrifice. 

Second, as a meal shared by those united to one another through faith in Christ, it points to the wonderful reality of membership of the family of God. It highlights their unity as brothers and sisters of Jesus, and it also points towards the great family gathering that will take place throughout the eternal ages in the shared inheritance of the new heavens and new earth.

Third, the meal has a particular focus, which is to concentrate on Jesus. The term ‘remember’ had a covenant emphasis in Israel, and Jesus was commanding his followers to remember him. He commands it because he knows what is good for them in a spiritual sense, but the Supper is a place for recognising his authority, and we do that by focusing on him.

The importance of our signs should help us appreciate the importance of the other man giving his sandal to Boaz, and of Boaz’ verbal acceptance of what was signified. The people of Bethlehem certainly saw its significance because they responded with a wonderful statement of blessing.

The blessing that was given (4:11-12)

When a blessing is given in the Bible, those giving it usually choose the biggest thing around to show how big their desire is for the recipient of the blessing. God himself did this with Abraham when describing the number of his descendants – the Lord referred to the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. No one can know the number of them, and the same is true of Abraham’s spiritual seed – at the end of the day, it will be a number that no one can count.

God desired that his people would know how much he wanted to bless them, so he instructed Aaron what to say to them by way of blessing, and we still use those words today. ‘The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them”’ (Num. 6:22-27).

On this occasion, the people of Bethlehem went back to their origins. They linked Ruth to the two wives of Jacob (Leah and Rachel) and then they linked Boaz to the son of Judah (Perez) from whom they traced their ancestry as a tribe. It is as if they were saying to Boaz to realise that God could provide for him and Ruth, that he could keep the great promises with them that he had kept with Rachel, Leah and Perez. As far as Ruth was concerned, she had come from the east into Israel even as Rachel and Leah did.

Boaz was also reminded that he had to continue to live worthily in order to know ongoing divine blessing. This reminder was not given because they thought that Boaz was in danger of departing from the upright lifestyle he had been pursuing. Their words were intended as an encouragement for him to continue being a role model in the community, and an admittance that the community needed men like him as leaders.

The obvious aspect of a blessing is that it is verbal. Peter reminded his readers of this when he wrote, ‘Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil”’ (1 Pet. 3:9-12). Peter points out that giving a blessing is the path to receiving blessing from God, with the blessing mentioned here being that of answered prayer.

The answered prayer (4:13-17)

The author of the book points out that Ruth later gave birth to a son named Obed, and surprisingly he is the one who will comfort Naomi in old age, which could point to the possibility that Boaz was an old man when his son was born. The name Obed means servant. Whether there was something prophetic in the practice of the naming being done by the women is not said by the author. Yet it does seem to be the case that the birth of the son of the stranger (Ruth) pointed to him having a special attitude towards God.

We can see from the outcome that usually we have no idea of how big God’s answer to a prayer can be. When the elders and people of Bethlehem pronounced a blessing on Boaz, they were looking ahead a couple of generations and limited their aspirations to Bethlehem. But God had in mind something far bigger because Obed was in the line from which the monarchy of Israel would yet come. We are not told if Ruth had other children, but when God gave a child in answer to the prayers of the people he was thinking about the great king who would yet be born, David, the man after his own heart with whom he would make a covenant about the Messiah. The extra features of this divine answer are an illustration of Paul’s comment that God can answer our prayers far above that we can ask or imagine.

We can also recognise that in some way answered prayer is connected to the person and work of Christ. When the people here prayed for a blessing on Boaz and Ruth, they would not have realised that the answer to their prayer was connected to the coming of the Messiah. We have already noticed that the answer stretched to the time of David, but it is astonishing to see it reaching much further forward, to the coming of Christ. Answered prayer is always linked to the activity of Jesus because it comes through him.

And sometimes the answer reveals truths about Jesus. The genealogy here involves three women that would also be found in the genealogy of Jesus. Terah was an outcast who had been despised by Judah; Rahab who married Salmon the prince of Judah was an outcast from the city of Jericho but who became a worshipper of the true God; Ruth was an outcast from Moab but who found herself also drawn into the royal line. They tell us that outsiders are welcome into the family of the Saviour.

Some lessons

The first lesson is to recognise competitors for the role of redeemer. A redeemer was the person who could give a future inheritance to one who had lost it or did not have it. There were two possible redeemers for Ruth, but only one devoted redeemer for her. This option is a picture of what we all face in a spiritual sense because there is a conflict for our souls between Jesus and whoever or whatever else is trying to hold on to them. Only Jesus is a devoted Redeemer, determined that sinners like us would share his inheritance forever. Other options do not really care whether we opt for them or not. When it comes down to it, the alternatives cannot deal with the obstacles, but Jesus like Boaz does not regard obstacles as a reason for not wanting to help us.

Second, it is notable that the author does not give us the name of the person who refused to take on Ruth as wife, even although he would have been a prominent person in Bethlehem. One way to be forgotten is to refuse an opportunity of helping someone for whom God has great plans, as was the case with Ruth, and seems to have been unrealised by this man. He put himself first and lost out. Now no one knows who he was. Of course, eventually everyone gets forgotten, but those who serve Jesus are never forgotten by him, and the great Day will reveal that to be the case.

Third, as we come to the close of our study in this book, we should consider what it says to us about divine providence. Naomi had wandered away from Israel, but through adversities she had returned empty, a situation that she connected to the will of God, even suspecting that she could never get out of it. But God had his eye on her, and eventually she confessed with gladness that the Lord had filled her with blessing.

Ruth had grown up in a pagan country. No doubt she had many natural virtues, but humanly speaking she was far away from the God of Israel. The only believer to have a real influence on her was a sad old lady, but in that lady Ruth saw something of another world, and she discovered that she wanted to go there with all her heart. The outcome for her was amazing, not only in the great change in her personal circumstances, but also in the role she was called to play in the development of God’s kingdom.

Boaz was a thoughtful man and among his thoughts would be those connected to who would receive his inheritance. If things remained as they were, it would pass to another relative who may not have shared his outlook in life or his faith in the God of Israel. Yet God in providence took care of those concerns and brought Boaz to a good place.

What about Orpah? She made her choice to go back to her roots, and while her choice did not take her out of divine providence, it looks as if her choice took her outside of the providential range where spiritual blessing would be found. She kissed those who were travelling to heaven, but chose to go in another direction, a route that was very sad because it was part of the broad road that led to destruction.