Suffering, yet...

Introduction:

· “Yet”: so close to the joy, yet so far? Is there joy in our world

LET’S LOOK AT THE COST OF THAT REDEMPTION, THE GIFT OF REDEMPTION, AND FINALLY THE PROMISE OF A REDEEMER.

I) The Cost of Redemptive Love (vv. 1-8)

A. Redemption Requires Paying a Price

i. A redeemer had identify with His people

1. The law required that a close family member redeem

2. Why? You had an obligation to care for your “kin”, family

ii. The redeemer would pay a financial or personal price to care for a family

1. Redeemers: pay debt, marry a widow, or avenge a murder

2. Boaz asks the nearest family member to buy the property (vv.1-4)

B. Redemption Requires Risking Reputation

i. An Unnamed Redeemer will not redeem for fear of his reputation

1. He’s interested but won’t because he doesn’t want to marry Ruth (vs. 6)

2. Why? His reputation is at stake, and he wants to preserve his name

ii. God’s Redemptive Love is a Pattern for Us

1. What this means: “Love, as long as it won’t cost me much.”

2. It is the name of the sacrificial lover that God preserves (vv. 10-11)

3. APPLICATION: What does our love look like?

Transition:

II) The Gift of Redemption

A. God Brings His people Through the Crucible of Adversity

i. First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage (vv. 13-15)

1. Happily ever after: Ruth is married, Naomi a (grand)mother (vs. 16)

2. From Mara to Rejoicing: God has turned mourning into joy (vs. 14)

ii. God gave: A Restorer of Life and a Nourisher of Old Age

1. We view hardship as an interruption; God uses the furnace to refine us

2. APPLICATION: It may be hard to see now – but God redeems hardship!

B. God Provides Love That is Greater than Anything in the World

i. Love that is better than Seven Sons

1. The women had lost all that was dear but gained something better!

2. God met Naomi with HIS love shown through Ruth (vs. 15)

ii. The Crucible of Adversity

1. Sometimes God will take all that matters so we see HE is sufficient

2. EXAMPLE: JET’s wheelchair makes her rely more on Jesus! –

WE TOO CAN SAY THIS BECAUSE WE TOO CAN KNOW THIS REDEEMER.

III) The Promise of the Redeemer

A. Jesus is our “Kinsman…”

i. Jesus is a redeemer who enters our experience completely (Heb. 4:15)

Hebrews 4:15 ESV

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

1. Jesus had to be a human o he might be one of us, bearing our sin

ii. The Incarnation means that Jesus relates to our weaknesses

1. As our “kinsman” Jesus experiences the same struggles we all do

2. EXMAMPLE: Illness, weakness, temptation, etc.

3. “Man's maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother's breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.” -- Augustine

B. Jesus is our “Redeemer…”

i. Jesus rescues us from the power of sin

1. As redeemer, Jesus pays our debt to sin so that its penalty may not hang over us

2. APPLICATION: the freedom of knowing sin no longer hangs over us

ii. Jesus loves us with a love that truly satisfies

1. All of the treasures of this world will never fully satisfy –

2. But the love of Jesus is better than seven sons

Conclusion: