God's Plan Involves More Than Just You Ruth 4

Have you ever wondered if the small decisions you make today will matter 100 years from now?

For many of us we can barely get beyond today or this month without anxiety setting in or feeling the weight of challenges before us. We worry about paying bills, raising children, making it through difficulties, and accomplishing our goals. But what if God is working on a timeline far bigger than ours?

Or let’s frame it this way. Do you know the impact that you are having in the life of the people around you?

The people who shaped your life the most likely had no idea what impact they would have generations later.

That is exactly what we find in the book of Ruth. Ruth and Boaz were simply trying to be faithful to God in the circumstances before them. Ruth wasn't trying to change history. Boaz wasn't trying to establish a royal lineage, spoilers for the end of the chapter... Naomi wasn't trying to influence the future of a nation. They were simply trusting God one step at a time.

Yet what they could not see was that God was writing a story much bigger than any of them imagined. Their faithfulness would eventually lead to King David, and ultimately to Jesus Christ Himself.

Ruth 4 reminds us of a truth we often forget: God's plan is never just about us. He is weaving our lives into a story that reaches far beyond what we can see, far beyond what we can understand, and often far beyond our own lifetime.

Read Ruth 4:1–22 “Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.” So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,  Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”

1. God’s Grace Through Faithfulness vs. 1-12

Judges, Ruth (1) Boaz’s Preparation for Court Action (4:1–2)

In 3:13, when Boaz had suggested to Ruth that he would take action in the morning, he had invoked the name of Yahweh in an oath as a sign of his determination to resolve the issue quickly. Now Yahweh ensures the quick resolution of the matter by sending him by the gate just as Boaz was sitting down.

We see God’s work of faithfulness in 2 ways:

a. A Divinely Appointed Conversation vs. 1-6

peloni’ almoni=mr. so and so

b. A Gift Beyond The Present vs. 7-12

Making the comparison to Tamar is remarkable as we read in Genesis 38. Obviously there is the connection of importance with Judah, but also that she too was a Gentile welcomed into the family of God. She lost her husband and no children, but the solution to both women end there. Ruth sought a righteous way of resolution whereas Tamar did not.

2. God’s Grace Through A Child vs. 13-22

Esther and Ruth The Man with No Name

The one who married Ruth received not merely a woman of character with an impressive work ethic and the ability to lift and carry eighty pounds of grain, but he also received a place in God’s plan.” Iain Duguid

The Lord acted to bring redemption. I imagine this story had lasting impact on David as he navigated his life. As his circumstances took him to different areas, he could trust the Lord because his family was and forever is marked by God’s hesed. The lineage of David to Jesus is marked by the hesed love of God, even in broken relationships. In Matthew 1, we see Boaz was born through another outsider and that was the relationship of Salmon and Rahab.

The story concludes that God’s plan is beyond just the story of a single family. It is a story that is linked to the redemptive work and story laid out in all of Scripture.

Judges, Ruth Epilogue: The Genealogy of the Royal Line (4:18–22)

This book and this genealogy demonstrate that in the dark days of the judges the chosen line is preserved not by heroic exploits by deliverers or kings but by the good hand of God, who rewards good people with a fulness beyond all imagination.” Daniel Block

Next Steps:

When we consider the lasting legacy of Boaz and Ruth, you must consider that God’s plans are better than we can ever imagine and likely will never be fully known in this life. God calls us to faithfulness to Himself.

Consider this week how your work can have a lasting impact for generations because of the God you serve.