Ruth 4:13-22 – Living a grace rewritten life

Publicly Boaz firmly made his commitment to Ruth. He fulfilled his Levirate responsibility and married Ruth. They then had sexual relations and Ruth conceived and gave birth. Her first marriage was a barren one and she did not bear Mahlon any child. This marriage to Boaz was a fruitful one because God blessed it and opened her womb. Enabled by God, she conceived and a son was born. In four chapters we find Ruth progressing from a widow to becoming a wife. She played four roles in this book. She was first a widow shown in chapter 1, then a worker in chapter 2, and a woman in chapter 3 and finally a fruitful wife in chapter 4.

In chapter 1, Naomi left Bethlehem with great hope and anticipation. But the turn of fortune forced her home and she returned empty. She lost not only her husband Elimelech but also her two sons, Chilion and Mahlon. From her earlier miserable experiences came the theme of bitterness. Naomi meaning sweet or pleasant became Marah or bitter. But in these last ten verses of the book, we see the emergence of a new theme – joy and hope. The birth of Obed by Boaz and Ruth brought satisfaction, security, and hope. He would be his mother and grandmother’s redeemer, restorer and sustainer. The women of Bethlehem praised Ruth who had been to Naomi a great blessing. Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law outweighed the worth of seven sons. So, out of the ashes of Naomi’s life came a new hope. She returned empty to God but He had restored her. She was once again full of hope and full of blessings.

So, Naomi took the newborn son of Ruth and laid him on her lap and nursed him. This is possibly an indication that she was the one who would finally be responsible for raising him. She was accepting her role as guardian to the newborn, who came to be recognized as the son of Naomi rather than Ruth’s. They gave Naomi the honor and privilege of naming the child and she called him Obed, meaning one who serves. He went on to become the father of Jesse, the father of King David. This would make Ruth the great-grandmother of David. The book of Ruth shows us that David came from the solid line of an Israelite. But it also shows us that he came through the womb of a Moabite woman, who bravely gave up her all to become a lover of Yahweh.  

The birth of Obed had helped to fix Ruth’s role firmly in the history of Israel. Through him, Ruth became connected to the royal family. From Obed came Jesse, who fathered King David, from whose line came Jesus, the Messiah. Ruth’s brave act gave her a place in the genealogical account of our Lord Jesus Christ. She was one of the women honored in Matthew’s account of the ancestors of Jesus our Lord.  The life of Ruth is a story of the power of grace. It was with the grace of God had re-written her life. Like Ruth, God takes us out of our fallen life and with grace, rewrote our lives. And He continues to do so. The grace of God will now sustain us through the journey of life.  He will change the course of our meaningless life to bring us into a meaningful, fruitful, and fulfilling path of a great and glorious life. The question is: will we let Him do it? The choice is obvious!    

Ruth 4:7-12 – Redeemed to pursue His presence

Boaz met the anonymous relative of Elimelech to settle the legal rights of the kinsman-redeemer. The latter had the first option since he was the closest relative. But he had declined the opportunity, since redeeming Elimelech’s land included marrying Ruth. Not wanting to jeopardize his own property, he surrendered his rights. The way they transferred the legal right was for him to remove his sandal and pass it on to Boaz. And he did so in the presence of the ten witnesses invited to witness the ceremony. So, Boaz boldly declared to all present that he had acquired from the hand of Naomi the estates of Elimelech and his two dead sons, Chilion and Mahlon. In so doing he had also acquired Ruth, the wife of Mahlon so as to fulfill the Levirate law of propagating descendants for him so that his name would not be erased from the land. 

Boaz did it cheerfully and so all the people at the gate affirmed his action and collectively resounded by saying, “we are witnesses.” They then pronounced a blessing first on Ruth, then on Boaz. They then prayed in unison for Yahweh to make Ruth as fruitful as Rachel and Leah, from whom the whole house of Israel came forth. Though Boaz was already rich and well known, they prayed for that to increase. They also prayed that he would be like Perez, the son of Judah. Why? It is because he was the offspring of a Levirate marriage. Perez was the child of Judah by a very unusual circumstance. For more detail do read Genesis 38.   

The way Boaz so willingly went about to redeem Ruth, reminds us of how willing Jesus also is to redeem us. For our redemption, Jesus set His eyes toward Jerusalem like a flint. Luke 9:51 said that he was determined to go to Jerusalem. He went willingly, deliberately and purposefully. According to Hebrews 12:2, Jesus “Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross….” He was pleased to go to the cross to ensure our redemption. Boaz also showed two reasons why he went about the task to secure the redemption. Firstly, it’s because he had a deep love for Ruth. Secondly, because he wanted to bring life out of death. Without Boaz being willing to be the kinsman-redeemer, Elimelech’s line would be wiped out. Boaz’ action preserved life, so also are we preserved because of Jesus our Kinsman-Redeemer. It is for the same two reasons,  His love for us and His desire to see our life preserve that Jesus our kinsman-redeemer came to redeem us. And like John said in his letters to the early church, “We love Him because He first loved us.” And He died to make us God’s children forever. In Christ, we are redeemed and liberated to pursue our destiny in Him. We do so by fixing our eyes on Him, the author and finisher of our faith. He was joyful to bring us into God’s presence, let us be willing and joyful to enjoy God’s presence.  

Ruth 4:1-6 – Relationship, resource and resolve

Boaz was a trustworthy man. As Naomi had rightly concluded about him, he immediately jumped into action. True to his promise to Ruth, early the next morning, he was found sitting at the gate of the city. This was the hub of social life in those days, where many legal transactions would take place. Before Boaz could do anything, he had to ensure that the anonymous relative who had the first priority to redeem the property of Elimelech relinquished his rights to do so. When that anonymous kinsman was spotted, addressing him with a friendly term, Boaz called him and they both went aside to settle the issue. Ten elders of the city were also invited to be witnesses to the transaction. The possible reason why the author of the book kept the close relative’s name anonymous was perhaps to spare him the embarrassment.

In verses 3-4, Boaz notified that closest relative that Naomi who had returned from the land of Moab, had to put up her husband’s property for sale. He wanted him to know because he had the first right to purchase it. Boaz was hinting to him that he himself was interested in buying over the land, but the first option belonged to that anonymous kinsman. Immediately, that closest relative jumped on the offer, not knowing that purchasing the field meant that he had to marry Ruth as well. When told that buying the field would include marrying Ruth, he declined. To him, marrying Ruth would jeopardize his own property. So, he turned down the opportunity.

Three conditions must be present before a redemption could be enacted. Firstly, there must be a relationship between the redeemer and the redeemed. Secondly, the redeemer needs to have the resource, and thirdly, he must have the resolve. The closest relative was qualified on two counts, he had the relationship and the resource, but he lacked the resolve. Like Ruth, our redemption from the dominion of the world also requires a relationship. According to Philippians 2:5-8, Jesus our Lord became like one of us. He left His throne in heaven and came to earth and took on human flesh. Though He shares the exact nature of God all along, He chose to divest and empty Himself for our sake. And He humbled Himself and became like one of us so that He could be our Redeemer. Our Lord is now the closest relationship we have. His blood flows through our vein. He sticks closer than a brother.

Besides having a relationship with us, our Lord also has the resource and the resolve. In fact, He is the only one with the resource to set us free. Our redemption requires a price and only the Lord Jesus could pay. And He paid that hefty price on the cross for our redemption. He was made to be sin on our behalf. He is the unblemished lamb that bore our sin and brought our redemption. And finally, our Lord has shown great resolve to bring about our redemption. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that “…Jesus, the author, and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” He resolutely went to the cross to provide for our freedom from the guilt and condemnation of our sin nature. Above all relationships, we must treasure ours with Jesus, our Lord. We must love, worship and serve Him always. Then we must thank Him not only for what He has done for us but also praise Him for Who He is. He has been so resolutely gracious towards us, let us live resolutely for His glory!

Ruth 3:14-18 – In Christ we are assured

Boaz was an honorable man known for his godliness. His opening greeting to his workers was “May Yahweh be with you.” He had a great relationship with his workers. It’s no wonder that he was such a likable person. So, his kindness towards Ruth didn’t come as a surprize. He accepted Ruth's request to come under his covering and assured her that he would do what’s necessary to settle with another close relative who had the right to redeem her. Then he invited her to remain with him on the threshing floor that night. Boaz was not a man who entertained a spur-of-the-moment relationship, so he was not proposing a tête-à-tête. He was genuinely concerned for Ruth and did not want her reputation to be tarnished. So, both of them woke up before sunrise and he advised her not to let anyone know that she had been at the threshing floor. He then poured out on her cloak six measures of barley and gave it to her. Ruth then departed to her home.  

When Ruth returned home, Naomi eagerly asked her how things went that night. She was probably eager to know how Boaz responded to her plan for her daughter-in-law. She wanted to know whether her plan had worked. Ruth then told her what transpired that night saying that Boaz had shown her great favor. Not only that, he had also extended the same courtesy by measuring out six measures of barley for Naomi. This was a positive gesture to indicate that he was willing to accept the responsibility to redeem her. Naomi than counseled Ruth to be patient for she knew Boaz would not rest until he had settled with the anonymous kinsman regarding this issue. She was confident that Boaz would do his best to bring the transaction to a close.

Boaz, as we have said, is a type of Jesus, our trustworthy Lord. Redemption is His specialty. He came with the expressed purpose of redeeming us from the curse of the fall. Like Ruth who approached Boaz to be redeemed, we have also come to our Lord to be redeemed. As Ruth went back with deep assurance of his promise, provision, and persistence working to ensure her rest, so our Lord Jesus is also doing that for us. We are recipients of His promise and provision. And He will persistently work in our lives to ensure that complete rest is restored to us. Here’s an assurance that the Apostle Peter gave us. In 1 Peter 1:3-5, he said, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Yes, we are recipients of the promises and provision of Christ, and He is patiently and persistently working in our lives to make us more complete in Him. Oh! What a wonderful Saviour! 

Ruth 3:6-13 – At the feet of Jesus, our Lord

Obediently, Ruth did everything Naomi told her to do. All perfumed and dressed up, she went to the threshing floor where Boaz would spend the night. As soon as Boaz had eaten his fill and his heart was merry he went to sleep. As soon as he had fallen asleep, from the shadowing dark night, Ruth emerged, approached him, after uncovering his feet, lay down at his feet.    

In the middle of the night, Boaz woke up with a startle, finding a woman lying at his feet. Soft and warm, Ruth was found at his feet. But in the cover of darkness, he didn’t recognize her. The thing he did was to ask the obvious question, “Who are you?” Quickly, Ruth identified herself and requested that he spread his covering over her as he was a kinsman-redeemer. She was asking for him to take the corner of his garment over a maiden as a token in marriage. This is a request to fulfill his levirate duty of marrying her and continue the Elimelech line.

Boaz did not hesitate in accepting Ruth’s proposal, so he promptly proclaimed a blessing over her. He knew that for Ruth to do what she did was most admirable, for she must have known that he was considerably a much older man. So, he told Ruth not to fear for he was more than happy to do his duty. Ruth, he knew, was a virtuous woman and the whole town could attest to that fact. Hence, he was more than happy to accept her proposal. There, however, was a little snag. For there was a closer relative to Elimelech, who would have the first option to do the duty of a kinsman-redeemer. Boaz knew this had to be settled between him and that closer relative. Boaz assured Ruth that he would do his duty and marry her if the anonymous relative turns down the right to perform his levirate duty.  

Let’s consider the life of Ruth for a moment. She could have chosen to take her life in many different directions. For her husband was dead and she was no longer bound by marriage to remain with Naomi. Yet with a single-minded resolution, she chose to stay with her dead husband’s mother to serve her and her God. She could have spent the rest of her life chasing pleasure and fun and other more enjoyable but sinful stuff. But she chose to be loyal to Naomi, without so much as a hint of a mistrust. Many would have walked away and find a new life elsewhere, but not Ruth. Most remarkably, she did not even consider her own disadvantage and obediently followed Naomi’s instruction to lay down at the feet of Boaz. Like Ruth, we too have the freedom of choice to camp anywhere in the world. But let us wholeheartedly choose the feet of Jesus. Good as some of the offers of this world may seem, they are nowhere near to being at the feet of Jesus. And as Ruth discovered that her whole life changed at the feet of Boaz, we too will realize the amazing transformation as we place our life at the feet of Jesus. May the sitting at His feet, enjoying His presence and finding our peace and security in Him be our daily quest in life.

Ruth 3:1-5 – An invitation to rest

The moment Naomi heard that Boaz had been treating Ruth so kindly, she must have conceived a plan for the future. She then proposed a bold move for Ruth to take. The reason she felt she needed to make this move was the compelling moral obligation she felt toward her.  Naomi wanted to find her “a resting place” meaning a marriage. Ruth had been working very hard and her place should not be in the field among the hired workers of Boaz. She deserved a home. Naomi knew that Boaz was a good man, a God-fearing man. She knew that he would be more than qualified to be the kinsman-redeemer as stipulated in the law to take Ruth and continue the family line.

Naomi concluded that Boaz would be spending the night keeping watch over the barley harvest at the threshing floor. She knew that he would be sleeping over at the threshing floor, so she hatched a plan to find Ruth a resting place. So the mother-in-law instructed her to bathe, anoint herself with aromatic oil and dress up. Ruth was to go down to the threshing floor but keep away from Boaz until he had finished his evening meal and gone to sleep. She was to approach him when he had fallen asleep, uncover his feet and then lie down there. Naomi was confident that Boaz would take the necessary step to be the kinsman-redeemer.  

Ruth was confident that her mother-in-law knew best and was willing to do whatever it took on her part to be a dutiful wife. For Naomi to do what she did, meant that she was assured of her daughter-in-law’s chaste and good behaviour. She also knew that Boaz was a deeply religious man and would not take advantage of Ruth. What he needed was a gentle nudge to help remind him to perform his duty, by marrying Ruth and fulfil his obligation as a kinsman-redeemer to a dead relative.

The word rest is significant in the journey of a Christian. Rest speaks of a place of security, comfort and a state of peace and restfulness. Like Ruth, we all need a resting place. And the best resting place can be found in Jesus our Lord. He is our kinsman-redeemer. We need to find Him and abandon ourselves at His feet. Our Lord has given us an invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” He is waiting for us to respond to His invitation. Let’s pull away from the mundane and needless activities of life, and find rest in our soul by being with the Lord. 

Ruth 2:18-23 – Redeemed to serve

In these verses, we are introduced to the Old Testament social structure of a kinsman redeemer. He was usually the closest relative to the family. Boaz was such a man since he hailed from the same tribe as Elimelech. In the Old Testament laws, we see the responsibilities of a kinsman-redeemer being defined. Firstly, in Leviticus 25:25, it is stipulated that he had the right to recover the forfeited property of a relative. Secondly, in Leviticus 25:47-49, we are told that when a relative had become a slave, it is the duty of the kinsman-redeemer to ensure his liberty. Thirdly, in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, when a brother died without leaving a male heir, a kinsman-redeemer was to marry his widow and help the dead relative to raise children in his name. In Numbers 35:29, the kinsman-redeemer was also responsible to avenge the murder of a dead family member of a relative.

Having been richly blessed, Ruth returned to the city with all the yield that she had reaped from the field of Boaz. Generously, she shared whatever she had brought back with Naomi, her mother-in-law. Amazed by the plentiful harvest she brought back, Naomi pronounced a blessing over her. This is probably in recognition of her hard and diligent work. She, at the same time, inquired about the owner of the field that Ruth had harvested from. When told that it was Boaz, Naomi responded by pronouncing a blessing over Boaz. For he was a close relative of her husband Elimelech, and hence, was a kinsman-redeemer.  

Ruth then excitedly narrated to her mother-in-law how kindly Boaz had treated her. He even invited her to stay close to his servants till the end of the harvest. Of course, Naomi was thrilled by the news. She was confident that Boaz, who was a righteous man would protect Ruth and not allow her to be harmed or bullied so long as she remained to work in his field. So Ruth was protected by Boaz and she stayed close to all his maids who were working in the field. She even worked through the barley harvest and when the wheat harvest came along, she continued to work in Boaz’s field. Verse 23 is telling. We are told that all the while she stayed committed to Naomi, her mother-in-law.  

What can we take away from these six verses? Just as Boaz invited Ruth to stay and worked in his field, so also has the Lord Jesus our kinsman-redeemer invited us to work in His field. Hear what He says to us in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.^” Then in the first part of verse 38, He commissioned us saying, “I sent you to reap….” Beloved, we are called to go and glean in the Lord’s vineyard. There are so many people ready for the Gospel but the laborers are few. Let’s hear God’s plea for workers. And as we obey His call to serve, let us adopt the work attitude that Ruth had. She stayed in the field continually and worked till the task was completed. Yes, we must emulate her attitude.