The Book of Ruth 4 - A Joyous Conclusion
Who doesn’t love the fairy-tale ending? We need a happy ending with all the circumstances in the world around us. We could all use hope. Ruth’s story starts with no evidence of God’s faithfulness and care, but it ends somewhere so differently.
Ruth 4
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.” “I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” 6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
This is the difference between how we might do it and how God does it.
Ruth 4
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Redemption isn’t subtle. It isn’t behind closed doors. It’s loud and proud.
Ruth 4
11 Then the elders and all the people 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 family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
The Public Proclamation
Perez was the great grandfather of Boaz. He was the product of an incredible scandal, but God made good out of it and redeemed it. And now Boaz is doing the same thing.
Ruth 4
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.
This is a very public proclamation before the people. It’s a celebration. There’s something incredibly lacking in love that doesn’t want to proclaim itself. But Boaz does that with Ruth, and God does it with us. There’s no shame or embarrassment. It’s joyful and public.
Ruth 4
When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth wasn’t even Jewish or entitled to redemption. She was a woman in a male-dominated culture. She was powerless, vulnerable, and a Moabite, but Boaz steps in.
We aren’t entitled to redemption, we are dead to our sins. We are powerless, but God steps in.
Ephesians 2
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
This is a great place to roll the credits on the story of Ruth’s redemption and our story of redemption. But there’s more to Ruth’s story and our story too.
Ruth 4
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
The Risk of Obedience
Boaz and Ruth are obedient in the story of redemption. Ruth takes the risk. Boaz pays the price.
What Boaz did was risky. Allowing Ruth to glean in his field and protect her from harm is one thing, marrying her was very different. There was a risk to foreign gods when one married a foreign woman. It meant that Boaz was responsible for the behavior of any children or descendants. It also meant they’d be entitled to a large portion of his estate if something happened to close family members.
Part of being a kinsman-redeemer wasn’t just about land, property, or marriage. It was about trying to produce a male heir. This is why that closer relative in the story bails when he becomes aware that this isn’t just about property. It was about Ruth the Moabite. But Boaz takes the risk in obedience.
Obedience always has an impact. There’s a downstream result you might not see now or ever.
The Payoff
Noami grows old and dies. Ruth and Boaz grow old and die. Even Obed grows old and dies. They never see David. They didn’t see the impact of their obedience, and they weren’t obedient because they could see the result.
But the catch for us is that we want to see the thing and then do the thing. But there’s even more of an impact.
Matthew 1
6 David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
The list goes on for hundreds of years. Good times, then exile, then silence. Where is God in all of this? God is working through the people.
Matthew 1
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 17 When we are obedient, we are grafted into God’s story of redemption.
The other potential guardian-redeemer isn’t even given a name. But Ruth and Boaz are named. They are remembered in the ultimate redemption story.
So, the story goes from the prohibition that seemed so final in Deuteronomy 23 to the valley of despair to this amazing story of redemption. Ruth, being redeemed, and then becoming a link in the chain of the ultimate redemption story is how this story ends.
It’s not about doing something to get something. We have to live our lives and not be able to see what happens after the credits roll.
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Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
Ruth 4
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.” “I will redeem it,” he said.
5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” 6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
This is the difference between how we might do it and how God does it.
Ruth 4
7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.
9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”
Redemption isn’t subtle. It isn’t behind closed doors. It’s loud and proud.
Ruth 4
11 Then the elders and all the people 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 family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
The Public Proclamation
Perez was the great grandfather of Boaz. He was the product of an incredible scandal, but God made good out of it and redeemed it. And now Boaz is doing the same thing.
Ruth 4
13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.
This is a very public proclamation before the people. It’s a celebration. There’s something incredibly lacking in love that doesn’t want to proclaim itself. But Boaz does that with Ruth, and God does it with us. There’s no shame or embarrassment. It’s joyful and public.
Ruth 4
When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
16 Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. 17 The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth wasn’t even Jewish or entitled to redemption. She was a woman in a male-dominated culture. She was powerless, vulnerable, and a Moabite, but Boaz steps in.
We aren’t entitled to redemption, we are dead to our sins. We are powerless, but God steps in.
Ephesians 2
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
This is a great place to roll the credits on the story of Ruth’s redemption and our story of redemption. But there’s more to Ruth’s story and our story too.
Ruth 4
18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab,
20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.
The Risk of Obedience
Boaz and Ruth are obedient in the story of redemption. Ruth takes the risk. Boaz pays the price.
What Boaz did was risky. Allowing Ruth to glean in his field and protect her from harm is one thing, marrying her was very different. There was a risk to foreign gods when one married a foreign woman. It meant that Boaz was responsible for the behavior of any children or descendants. It also meant they’d be entitled to a large portion of his estate if something happened to close family members.
Part of being a kinsman-redeemer wasn’t just about land, property, or marriage. It was about trying to produce a male heir. This is why that closer relative in the story bails when he becomes aware that this isn’t just about property. It was about Ruth the Moabite. But Boaz takes the risk in obedience.
Obedience always has an impact. There’s a downstream result you might not see now or ever.
The Payoff
Noami grows old and dies. Ruth and Boaz grow old and die. Even Obed grows old and dies. They never see David. They didn’t see the impact of their obedience, and they weren’t obedient because they could see the result.
But the catch for us is that we want to see the thing and then do the thing. But there’s even more of an impact.
Matthew 1
6 David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,
The list goes on for hundreds of years. Good times, then exile, then silence. Where is God in all of this? God is working through the people.
Matthew 1
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 17 When we are obedient, we are grafted into God’s story of redemption.
The other potential guardian-redeemer isn’t even given a name. But Ruth and Boaz are named. They are remembered in the ultimate redemption story.
So, the story goes from the prohibition that seemed so final in Deuteronomy 23 to the valley of despair to this amazing story of redemption. Ruth, being redeemed, and then becoming a link in the chain of the ultimate redemption story is how this story ends.
It’s not about doing something to get something. We have to live our lives and not be able to see what happens after the credits roll.
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
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