Ruth 4: Ruth’s Reward

 

Introduction

In the best films in cinema there is usually a common theme: a complication that must be overcome before the story can reach its dramatic conclusion. And in all the classic works of literature there is usually a plot twist that ensures a tense but ultimately satisfying ending. Think of the numerous plot twists in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, for example; and yet the great detective always solves the crime.

In Ruth 4 we have a glorious resolution to our story that would rival any work of classical literature. In Chapter 3 we have encountered a complication, a classic plot twist. Ruth discovered, to her surprise, that there was another kinsman-redeemer closer in line than Boaz. And we were left to wonder: will Ruth end up with Boaz or with this mysterious stranger instead?

But today we get our happy ending- Ruth and Boaz are married and Naomi’s life is filled once again. In Chapter 4 we see that Boaz is willing to bear the sacrifices to make Ruth his wife. And then we see how Boaz’s sacrifice brings blessings to Naomi and Ruth.

However, the choice of a husband and the provision of an heir are not the only issue that will be resolved in this final scene. The narrator has another plot twist to spring on us at the very end of the book: this story has not just been about God providing for Ruth and Naomi, but God is also paving the way for the True Redeemer all His People need. This is not just a story of God’s loving-kindness to Naomi and Ruth. It is about God’s covenant faithfulness to His People in every generation.

And so, in Chapter 4, we see:

The Redeemer and the Costly Redemption

The Blessings of Being Redeemed

The Redemption Yet to Come

As this story draws to a close we see that God is always at work in the lives of His People for their good and His Glory. And this is a glory that is most wondrously displayed in His provision of a Redeemer and a costly redemption.

So, we must firstly consider the actions of Boaz: The Redeemer and the Costly Redemption.

Today’s passage begins with all our expectations for Ruth and Boaz thrown into doubt because of Chapter 3 verses 12 and 13- the bombshell revelation of another potential redeemer who takes priority over Boaz. However, Chapter 3 ends with words of hope (from Naomi of all people!):

“Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

So, today we witness how this man, Boaz, settles the matter.

In verses 1 to 10 of Chapter 4 we see Boaz act with intentionality and honour to ensure the redemption of his people. And we see that this is a redemption that comes at great cost. But Boaz is the one who is both able and willing to redeem no matter the cost.

As the chapter opens, we see that Boaz wasted no time in seeking a resolution on Ruth’s behalf. In verses 1 we read:

Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

Here we see that Boaz cares about what happens to his people, and he is active in his pursuit of their redemption.

And God honours Boaz because ‘at just the right moment’ the alternative redeemer appears.Notice, again, how God is always at work in the lives of His People.

So Boaz, seeking the redemption of his people, acts with intentionality and he also acts with honour: he seeks to honour God’s People and God’s Law. In verses 2 to 4 we read of how Boaz goes up to the town gate (the place where business was properly transacted) and ensures there are ten witnesses to guarantee any legal decision made. Boaz wants to ensure that things are done right in the sight of man and of God.

And so, with everyone in place and with God’s law firmly on his heart, Boaz broached the subject of their kinswoman Naomi and her future. In verses 3 to 4 Boaz is really saying something like this:

‘Naomi has a field. She needs to sell it to raise money to live on. If there were a kinsman redeemer, however, he could buy that field and keep it in the family. Of course, the buyer would ultimately get to add the property to his own inheritance, provided that there are no children involved. You are first in line … are you interested?’

This is a very promising opportunity indeed. The kinsman-redeemer instantly agreed.

At this point the tension mounts. We are wondering: will Ruth end up with this random interloper, or will she end up with Boaz?

Then Boaz springs a surprise. We could read verse 5 like this:

‘”Oh, by the way,” says Boaz, “One more thing: When you acquire the field, along with it comes Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the dead man whose field it was. You must marry her in order to raise up a child for the dead man, a child who will inherit the field when he grows up.’

All of a sudden, the kinsman-redeemer changes his mind. In verse 6 this other character, called Mr. So-and-So in the original language, backs away from the deal as fast as he can.

It is good to pause here. It is good to ponder the purpose of including the complication of Mr So-and-So.

His lack of willingness to perform his covenantal duty brings home to us the true cost of what Boaz is about to do. Mr So-and-So realises that if he performs his duty he will not end up with a piece of prime real estate but a series of debts which could end up bankrupting him. Not only would he have extra mouths to feed but, if Ruth has children, he will forfeit the land he has heavily invested in in the first place!

Mr So-and-So’s role, then, is to help us grasp the costliness of what Boaz will do. Had Mr So-and-So not been included in the story we might have assumed that what Boaz does, he does lightly or out of romantic love.

Instead, we see that Boaz is the redeemer who will redeem his people whatever the cost to him personally. And he is prepared to do this without hesitation. Boaz displays true covenant-kindness, loyal commitment to his people, no matter the cost to himself. In doing so he points us to the great covenant God, who at greatest expense redeemed His People.

In these verses we see a redeemer and the costliness of his redemption.Here we see a redeemer who acts with intentionality and honour. Here we see a redeemer who is able and willing to sacrifice for his people.

In the Book of Ruth redemption is costly. While the story is a ‘feel good’ story that ends happily, this happy ending comes at a cost. Boaz puts it all on the line for Ruth and Naomi.

Boaz, then, represents the nature of grace ultimately found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Redeemer who pays a far costlier redemption price- He pays the ultimate cost for our redemption. Jesus is the true Redeemer who willingly took on human flesh and paid the required redemption price: death on a cross.

Christ, and only Christ, was willing to pay this price- He was not compelled by our worthiness but by our need and God’s grace. This is the rich, boundless grace we celebrate in this Christmas season.

So, in this story we learn of a redeemer and a costly redemption. In this story we are also told of…

The Blessings of Being Redeemed

In many films there is a final scene where the conquering heroes have one last moment together to bask in the glory of victory. Before our narrator ends this story he gives Boaz, Ruth and Naomi one last moment in the spotlight. In verses 11 to 17 one by one the main characters of our drama leave the stage with the sounds of blessings ringing in their ears.

In verses 11 to 12 the townspeople pronounce a blessing upon Boaz:

Then the elders and all those at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

Here is a blessing that calls on God to honour Boaz and Ruth, a man and a woman who had chosen to honour God when all around them people were choosing to honour themselves.

In verse 13 the Covenant God comes to the aid of His People, not now with food, but with the conception and birth of a son. And here we see a divine reversal in the life of Ruth. All that she had given up in Chapter 1 is given back to her.

To follow God she had given up her identity, her security, and her hopes for the future. Now, in God’s time and by God’s grace, she is now a wife, a mother and a key figure in the lineage of grace. Ruth had come to know a precious truth: God is no man’s debtor.

In verses 16 to 17 the story closes with a touching domestic scene.In the grandson on Naomi’s lap Naomi now had a descendant to carry on the family line and a kinsman-redeemer who would provide for her needs in her declining years.God had brought Naomi back empty to fill her life with His loving-kindness.

In the blessings bestowed on Boaz, Ruth and Naomi we learn two vital lessons. Firstly, God honours those who honour Him. Boaz, faithful to God’s ways in a time of moral depravity, would ultimately be honoured for generations to come; his name is remembered to this day.

So, whatever we may endure in this life, whatever we must sacrifice in obedience to God, we have the hope of eternal reward. And, as we seek to honour God with a life of holiness, God will honour us with the joy of wholeness and a clear conscience.

Then, secondly, we see that the blessing of being redeemed is fullness of life in Christ. In the lives of Ruth and Naomi we see how those emptied by God were also made full again by Him.

In salvation we are emptied of self and sin so that we can enjoy the fullness of Christ. In sanctification God graciously continues to empty us so that He can fill us.

In Christ we have fullness of joy in the forgiveness of our sins, the glorious assurance of a cleansed conscience and the promise of fullness in the resurrection. The riches we have in Christ, the blessings of being redeemed, allow us to face the future with hope and holiness.

We are a People who can look to… The Redemption Yet to Come.

At first sight the closing verses of the Book of Ruth may seem to be a bit of an anti-climax. We may be left wondering: why end this wonderful, drama-filledlove story with a family tree?

Well, remember this is a story where names are important. It begins with a series of names in Chapter 1, and it ends with a flurry of names in Chapter 4. And genealogies are never just a list of names. Instead, in the Bible, a genealogy both tells a story and teaches us theology. So, the final words of the Book of Ruth are, arguably, the most important in the book and contain its deepest message.

Indeed the final sentence sets the previous four chapters in an entirely new light; in verses 21 to 22 we read:

²¹ Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, ²² Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

This is storytelling at its very best. Here we are taken completely aback at this final, revealing piece of information. This list of names is, in fact, David’s family tree! Yes, THAT David- King David! King David whose royal line would lead to King Jesus.

In this genealogy we are pointed to the ultimate story of redemption. In this family tree of David, we see God at work to fulfil His purposes and keep His promises. And these final verses reveal marvellous aspects of God’s gracious nature. Here we see that we have a God who truly is a friend of sinners and sovereign in redemption.

First, in Christ we have a God who truly is a ‘Friend of Sinners’. As we read through this list of names it reminds us that God dwells where the world sees only shame or cause for rejection.

Boaz’s father was Salmon, who married Rahab, the prostitute who saved the spies at Jericho. Boaz continues the line of Judah by marrying Ruth, a Gentile woman from one of Israel’s ancient enemies, Moab. And Judah, the head of the line from which the messianic King would come, initiated that line by impregnating Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law. So the line of Christ is complete with shocking grace; God using the least and the least likely to work out His plan of Salvation.

Secondly, we see that God is sovereign in redemption. He has always been at work to redeem His People.

This genealogy shows us the Lord’s sovereignty over our private and seemingly ordinary decisions,such as Ruth’s decision to go with Naomi and worship the God of Israel. Little did she know when she set out from Moab that day that she would become great-grandmother to Israel’s King David, ancestor to David’s Greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Kinsman-Redeemer of all of God’s people.

Remember that this family tree reappears in the opening Chapter of the New Testament, in Matthew 1 verses 5 to 6. For this family tree is not only part of King David’s family tree; it is part of the family tree of King David’s greater Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! In that sense, no Ruth, no Saviour. Truly God worked everything together, over hundreds of years, for the ultimate good of those who love Him.

So, God is always working out His purposes in the big and small details of life. And God is always working out His purposes for the good of His People and the Glory of His name. Our God leaves nothing to chance, and He is always working in the lives of His People both for their benefit and the blessing of others. We may wonder what God is doing in our life right now but we trust that God is at work not just to bless us but for us to be a blessing to others.

 

Conclusion

As we draw our studies in the Book of Ruth to a close, we should take note that this wonderful story is not really a sweet romance between Boaz and Ruth. Something much more profound is going on. What shines through in this story is covenant love that is costly and life-giving. There is the loving-kindness of Ruth for Naomi and the loving-kindness of Boaz to Ruth and Naomi. And these deeply endearing examples of loving-kindness are the instruments the Covenant God uses to work out His salvation purposes for His People.

And so, as we look back on the book, our hearts should be overwhelmed by the beauty of the loving-kindness of God to us in Christ. And we should also be challenged. May we be a People who appreciate the cost of our redemption, the love of our redeemer and the blessings we have received. And may we be a People who display to the world the loving-kindness of our God for His Glory.