Redemption: God's Providence in His Plan

Welcome and Encouraging Words

Good afternoon Restoration Church. Always a joy to worship Jesus with you. I welcome you all with the love of Christ. Thank you for being here today. Same goes for those of you watching online. I pray the service has been and continues to be an encouragement to your heart, mind, and soul.

Update on Brenda: Her procedure went well on Thursday. She’s back home recovering. Her body sensations are starting to return and she’s pretty happy about that. When you’re put on strong anesthesia, you lose some sensations afterwards as some of you are familiar with. Continue to pray for her and she’s looking forward to joining us in the near future as God allows.

There are a few things that I used to say very early on when we started that I haven’t said in a while and I want to start reminding us of them again. Some of you may know this, but one of the main reasons we started Restoration Church was to develop a church culture where the things we say and believe about our faith are rooted in the wholistic understanding of the Bible. Meaning we don’t espouse an interpretation of a part of the bible that contradicts with another part. But instead we pursue an understanding of the bible that is not just through a cherrypicking adventure but understanding what one part has to do with the other part and vice versa. Using the whole to understand the parts rather than looking at the parts in isolation.

That is why we preach through the old and new testament books, and through entire books of the bible. Context matters. Context in verses, in chapters, and in books.

That’s one of our distinctives.

And I hope that you are seeing that through the preaching of the scriptures and that you can take that with you to pracitce in your personal study.

Alright we’re jumping back into the book of Ruth. We are almost done. I hope this little book has been a blessing to you as well as maybe even challenged you a little bit.

Introduction 

When was the last time you gave up something big for the sake of love? How hard was it to let go? Did you end up regretting it or were you glad to did it?

There are stories of parent sacrificing a dream so their children can thrive. I remember my dad being unable to complete his Master's degree due to the demand of caring for his boys. There are stories of people putting aside their own comfort so another can flourish. 

These are all stories of real love in action and we admire them because we know that real love has to cost us something. And we admire that someone is willing to experience that cost.

Modesta and I were watching a show yesterday when a woman loved her fiancee so much she was willing to give up her inheritance to be with him.

Today, as we come to Ruth 4:1–12, we see the final chapter of Ruth’s story—but more than that, we see the heart of God’s story. A story of costly, visible love. A story of redemption. 

And that’s what we’ll look at in two simple truths:  1) Redemption is costly (vv.1–6)  2) Redemption is public (vv.7–12) 

Let us pray.  

Redemption is Costly – 4:1-6 

Ruth 4:1–6 CSB

Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz said, “Come over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you do not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I want to redeem it,” he answered. Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.” The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

Boaz kept his word to Ruth and proceeded to make a play for her. He sought to engage with the man who has first rights to be a redeemer.  

We learn in 4:1, that Boaz went to the “gate of the town and sat down there.” In ancient times, the city gate as they are often called, was the center of city life. It’s where you get the most crowd because that’s where the marketplace is. It is where legal transactions and proceedings take place. In other words, it is the economic and legal life of the city.  

Boaz and the family redeemer sat together on a seat in this public city gate and brought over ten elders of the town. The elders are needed to be witnesses but by the time this meeting was over, the onlookers had also gathered.  

The focus of this legal proceeding is redemption. But it is not the redemption we were expecting. From Ruth 3, we expect that Boaz will talk about Ruth but he doesn’t. He brings up a land. A land that we had not heard of until now.  

He tells the man that Naomi is “selling the portion of the field that belonged to Elimelech” or more precisely, “Naomi is giving up the rights of the field.” The field has most likely already been sold by Elimelech before going to Moab.  

Remember, I mentioned last week that one of the laws God gave Israel was that they could sell their property and themselves to pay off their debt, but the property can be redeemed back into the family by a family member. If a family member redeems the land it goes back to the person who sold it.  

You redeem it but don’t get to keep it.

You can begin to imagine what a sinful heart will do with this law. A sinful heart would say “Why should I pay to redeem something you lost because you didn’t make good financial decisions, and on top of that I don’t get to keep it?” 

The law was not intended to be for personal benefit but a sinful heart does good only when it can perceive a personal benefit in return.

Boaz tells this family Redeemer that Noami is giving up the rights to the land and if he were to redeem it, it would be his own.

This is like the perfect situation. He gets to redeem the land and keep it because Elimelech has no living children who can claim a right to it and Naomi is giving up her rights to the land. This deal is a no brainer. It’s deal that sounds too good to be true.

Without hesitation the man said he would redeem it.  

Church, redemption is easy when it requires no loss. When you give something up, but you don’t actually lose anything, then is it really a sacrifice? 

You do know it is possible to give something up but not actually lose anything?  

You can give up money to buy something that yields more money than you spent. We call that investment.  

But real redemption and sacrifice require real loss—for the good of someone else. 

A sacrificial act is not merely a call to give something up; it also involves losing something in the process. And it is precisely that loss that makes it a sacrifice.  

The redeemer wants to redeem the land. He is probably salivating as he imagines how much his net worth would soon increase. An additional land to place additional workers to reap additional harvest. Business is about to boom.  

But then Boaz drops a surprise in 4:5. He drops as a sideshow what is actually the main entree.  

He tells the redeemer there’s a clause to Naomi’s renouncement of rights to the land.

Friends, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true.

Part of the redemption of the land involves redeeming Ruth in the process so that “Elimelech’s name would continue on the property.” 

That changed the redeemers’ calculation in 4:6. He said “I can’t do it for myself or I will ruin my own inheritance.” 

The heart of this law that God gave was for the well-being and protection of others. The people of Israel were meant to live out what God had done for them when he redeemed them from slavery to Egypt. But what happens when we’ve made it out of the gutter? We sometimes ignore the gutter.  

God wanted Israel to have a rhythm of reminder that they too were redeemed when they couldn’t redeem themselves by giving them a law that encourages them to redeem those who were unable to redeem themselves.  

But the family redeemer is concerned more about his own business and life than he is about Ruth. He is going to lose something that he doesn’t want to lose. He knows if he takes Ruth and she bears a child, the child would have the right to not only the land he is about to purchase but also his other stuff. His inheritance was of greater value to him than the redemption of Ruth.  

Redemption is costly.

Our redemption was also costly. Boaz stepped in when the man refused. He foreshadows the greatest kinsman-redeemer who is Jesus. We’ve been seeing hints since chapter 2, but here in chapter 4 it is clear.  

Jesus gave up himself on our behalf so we can be redeemed. It was a costly redemption that involved false accusations, humiliations, beatings and mockery, ending in a public display on a cross.  

In the costly redemption, he also experienced a loss. Jesus, in His humanity, experienced the full weight of abandonment. Not a loss of His divine nature—but a loss of felt communion with the Father.  

He cried out on the cross before he took his last breath, “my God, my God why have you forsaken me.” “Elí, Elí, lemásabachtháni?” That is a cry of abandonment. A cry of feeling far from God. 

Like, Boaz, Jesus was willing to give everything up so we can have life. It was not a suicide mission, it was a redemptive mission. It was love that compelled him.  

Paul wrote in Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  

That’s the difference between Boaz and the family redeemer. Boaz had love for Ruth, the family redeemer had love for himself.  

Could you imagine if Ruth was standing by with her future on the line but was rejected because the man loved his stuff more than her well-being? 

Where does your love lie today? Is it set on acquiring more for yourself—or is it willing to let go, for the sake of someone’s good? 

Does it extend to giving up your time so you can help others hear about the hope that is found in Jesus? 

That takes us to our second point. Redemption is public. 

Redemption is Public – 4:7-12 

Ruth 4:7–12 CSB

At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel. So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.” Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his hometown. You are witnesses today.” All the people who were at the city gate, including the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem. May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

Boaz and the family redeemer performed the customary tradition for ratifying a legal deal. They exchanged sandals. In our day, we simply sign contracts.  

But this deal between Boaz and the family redeemer didn’t take place as a backroom deal. It was a public display. The elders of the town were witnesses and so were the people of the town. We see the word witnesses show up three times in 4:9, 10, and 11. This deal is meaningless if no witnesses were present. Everyone saw in public the redemption of Ruth and there wouldn’t be a surprise when they see Ruth in the arms of Boaz the next day.  

They all would know that Ruth had been redeemed.  

Jesus died publicly for our redemption so we too can live out our redemption publicly. 

Just like the people of Bethlehem saw publicly that Ruth had been redeemed, do people know that we have been redeemed by a loving and holy God? 

We have public baptism for this very reason but what about beyond that? 

Do we hide our faith or do we let it shine? How does our behavior serve as a witness to the watching world that we are different?  

Or do we simply look just like the world in our pursuits of earthly treasures?  

If someone followed you around for a week, would they know you belong to Jesus?  

Our faith is meant to be displayed—at work, online, and in friendships. 

Conclusion 

There is no greater gift in life than the gift of redemption through Jesus. 

A redemption that cost Him everything—His dignity, His blood, even His closeness with the Father—so we could gain everything: forgiveness, freedom, and a new family in Him. 

If you’re here today and you’ve never trusted this Redeemer—the One who gave it all for you—today can be the day you respond to His costly, redeeming love.  

He’s not asking you to clean yourself up or earn His love. He’s simply calling you to receive what He has already paid for, with His own blood. 

Just as Ruth was not redeemed in secret, Jesus didn’t redeem us in secret either. He died publicly. He rose gloriously. And calls us to live visibly. 

If you belong to Jesus, here’s the big question:  What does the way you live say about the redemption you’ve received? 

Let me leave you with these two questions:  1) In what ways have you loved stuff more than people?  2) How is God calling you to go public with your redemption—so that others may see your life and be drawn to the Redeemer? 

May we be a people marked by costly love and public faith, just like our Savior. 

 Benediction

May you go knowing that you are redeemed— not by works, but by the costly love of Jesus. Live boldly, love sacrificially, and let your life declare the goodness of your Redeemer.

Go now in the name of the Father who planned your redemption, the Son who purchased it, and the Holy Spirit who seals you in it— to love and live as the redeemed people of God.

Amen