The House That Ruth Built
Notes
Transcript
Text: Ruth 4
1 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.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
3 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.
4 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.”
5 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.”
6 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.”
7 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.
8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
9 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.
10 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.”
11 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,
12 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.”
13 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.
14 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!
15 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.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 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.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
PRAY
Introduction: Building a house
Introduction: Building a house
When you think of building a house, what image comes to mind?
Depending on the kind of house you think of, maybe it’s bricks, wood, or maybe you think of things like a foundation, the roof, basement, or siding.
I don’t think we have any super big baseball fans here, so you might not be familiar with the phrase, “The House That Ruth Built”. This phrase originally referred to Yankee Stadium, the home of the New York Yankees for many, many years. “Ruth” in that phrase refers to Babe Ruth, one of the greatest stars of baseball in the first half of the 1900s. Babe Ruth set the all-time Home Run record at 714 that stood for decades, and his power hitting was a major reason for the success of the Yankees, so although he did not actually build Yankee Stadium, his name is associated with it because of the role he played in making that team a success. That’s why it’s called, the house that Ruth built.
Now today we’re not here to talk about that Ruth or that house. With the message title, we’re referring of course to the Ruth in the book of Ruth, and the house that she built. But in what sense did Ruth build a house? Hopefully you’ll see that by the end of the message.
Let me ask another question. This book of Ruth ends with David, so let’s skip ahead to David for a minute. In 2 Sam 7, David expressed a desire to build a house for the LORD. When David thought of building a house for the LORD, what image was in his mind? He was thinking of a temple, a beautiful place for the presence of God to dwell among His people.
But God told David that he was not the one to build that house. His son would do that. Instead, God promised, “David, I will build you a house.” (2 Sam 7:11) What did God mean by that? God was referring to David’s family line. It may help to know that in Hebrew, the word for “build” and “son” are very similar (ben and banah), so that one sense of building is adding sons. God was promising a line of sons, ultimately culminating in THE SON of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.
This goes all the way back to God’s promise in Genesis 3:15 that He would raise up the seed of the woman who would defeat the serpent and his seed and restore humanity to God. This is one reason that we’ll see that the genealogies were so important for the people of God in the Old Testament. They were keeping track of a line of sons, tracing through Adam, Seth, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and eventually David, in expectation that one day God would ultimately bring about the final, greatest son who would conquer sin and death and save His people.
So when God promised David a house, He was promising David that this line of descent going down to the Messiah would go through David’s family.
Later, David’s son Solomon wrote in Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” It seems from the context of that Psalm that the house Solomon has in mind is probably not a physical building or even the temple, but the house made up of sons forming the line of descent to the Messiah (v. 4 talks about how children are a blessing from the LORD…). God is at work to build that house in fulfillment of His promise, and although humans play a part in that, ultimately it can only succeed if God causes it to succeed.
So ultimately, we’ll see that God is the one who builds the house. But He chooses to do so through this outsider, Ruth the Moabite. God uses her to build up the house that leads to King David and ultimately the Messiah, resulting in salvation for the world.
The Redemption (v. 1-10)
The Redemption (v. 1-10)
1 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.
The town gate is where men transacted their business, so Boaz has gone up early to sit there and wait for this other man, the first redeemer in line, to pass by.
It seems that almost immediately after Boaz gets there, this other guy happens to come by just at the right time.
Notice that this man is referred to as “the redeemer”, indicating that this was his role and responsibility to carry out the redemption. He’s referred to that way multiple times in this section.
So Boaz sees him, speaks to him and says, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.”
The word “friend” here is actually two words in Hebrew: peloni almoni. They’re rhyming words in Hebrew, and scholars don’t know exactly what they mean, but it probably has the sense of so-and-so, such-and-such, or perhaps even a made-up name like Joe Schmoe. The NET Bible actually translates this as “John Doe,” which I think captures the point of this verse: we don’t know the man’s name. His name is lost to us, and may have been lost to the author of Ruth as well, but the author is calling him Peloni Almoni to emphasize the fact that we don’t know his real name. He’s a John Doe, a Joe Schmoe, a Mr. Nobody. Why? As we will see, because this man fails to fulfill his role as a redeemer, his name is forgotten.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
3 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.
4 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.”
So what has happened here is that Elimelech and Naomi have been gone for more than ten years. Now Naomi comes back, and she’s older —10, 15, or 20 years perhaps. And so now she’s probably realizing that as a widowed older woman she can’t properly care for the property of her family. So what God provided for situations like this was a kinsman redeemer, the nearest family member of the husband who had died, who would redeem the property.
And when that person accepts the property, that person also accepts responsibility for taking care of those who are connected to the property. So this would take care of the real estate and of Naomi at the same time. But there’s someone else Boaz hasn’t mentioned to him yet.
But this man seems interested in the property and agrees to redeem it. But then,
5 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.”
6 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.”
We don’t know why the concepts of the redemption of the land and the levirate marriage are being combined here as the responsibility of one person. That doesn’t seem to be what the Law of Moses teaches exactly, but these men both assume that that’s the case, so maybe that was their interpretation of it at the time.
So Boaz says, if you want the land, you also have to marry Ruth and have a son with her who will carry on the name of her deceased husband.
Then the redeemer changes his mind — no, I’m not going to do that, you go ahead Boaz. And he gives the reason, “lest I impair my own inheritance.” We don’t know how this would endanger his own inheritance, but what is clear is that this man is acting selfishly, not lovingly. He’s more concerned about his legacy, his property, and not concerned about showing love to his family members.
The author seems to imply that this was his responsibility and that he is refusing to fulfill that responsibility. And because he did, his name is forgotten. He’s just peloni almoni, Joe Schmoe.
7 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.
8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
The author explains this custom regarding legal transactions, and it seems to share some details with the passage from Deuteronomy 25 about the brother who refuses to marry his brother’s widow — but here, it signals only a legal transaction, and there does not appear to be a public shaming involved.
But now this man has signaled by word and deed that he does not intend to fulfill his responsibility as the redeemer, and so Boaz will take his place and be the redeemer.
9 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.
10 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.”
So Boaz finishes the transaction by calling on not only the ten elders he had gathered but also all the other people there to act as witnesses.
And he tells us his motive in v. 10: to perpetuate the name of the dead, that the name of the dead may not be cut off.
This shows us what a loving man Boaz is. He is entering into this covenant of marriage with Ruth as an act of love toward
Ruth
Naomi
Elimelech
Mahlon and Kilyon
and of course he had demonstrated love in his treatment of this other family member, the one who was supposed to be the redeemer.
OT319 Book Study: Ruth His Reiteration of the Observer’s Legal Role
Boaz is taking care of everybody. What a man.
Boaz is such an amazing picture of Christ for us in this book. And his faithfulness and love are rewarded, as we’ll see, by becoming part of the family line of David and eventually the Messiah.
And this act of covenant love and faithfulness sets off a series of profuse blessings in the following verses:
The Blessing (v. 11-17)
The Blessing (v. 11-17)
Blessing for Ruth comes first
11 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. …
First of all, their blessing invokes the name of the LORD — may Yahweh make this woman fruitful; this reminds us once again of the sovereignty and providence of God in all things. He is the bestower of all good things.
Their blessing reminds us also of Israel’s beginning, by mentioning Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob and mothers of his children who became the 12 tribes of Israel. Together, the people say, these women (Rachel and Leah) built up the house of Israel.
Once again, the building of the house means the addition of sons to the family line — the family line through whom ultimate redemption will come.
So these people are wishing for Ruth that she may be part of the family line that will lead to the great final Redeemer. And the end of the book tells us that’s exactly what happened.
The house that Ruth will build will bring about King David and ultimately, the Lord Jesus Christ. Behind it all is God of course, because unless the LORD builds the house, those who labor do so in vain.
The last phrase of v. 11 and verse 12 are a blessing for Boaz:
… May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 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.”
May you act worthily uses the same word that we’ve already seen used to describe Boaz’s character — he is a worthy, valiant, noble man. The people are wishing that he may continue to act in such a way.
Then the next phrase is interesting — and be renowned in Bethlehem — the Hebrew literally says, “and call out/proclaim a name in Bethlehem”; it’s not clear in the Hebrew whose name is to be renowned or called out or proclaimed. Is it Boaz? Is his name to be renowned? Or perhaps Yahweh, the LORD? Or is it the son he’ll have with Ruth?
Then the people reference Judah and Tamar and their son Perez, whom we read about in Genesis 38. There are many similarities between that story and this, but here it seems to be drawing attention to the fact that just as Tamar became part of the family of Israel and brought forth a son who is carrying on the line of the Messiah, so Ruth is becoming part of the family of Israel through her union with Boaz, and they are wishing for the fruit of a son to carry on that line.
Once again, God’s decisive role in all this is recognized — the offspring (seed) that Yahweh will give you by this young woman. He’s the one who ultimately brings about new life, who forms life in the womb. Unless the LORD builds the house…
13 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.
The phrase he went in to her indicates the consummation of their relationship, and it confirms to us that nothing inappropriate happened back in chapter 3 as some suggest.
Once again, the LORD is credited as the one primarily responsible for the blessing of children here. The LORD gave her conception. So often the Scripture reminds us that God opens wombs and He closes wombs. He allows life to form in some cases and in other cases He does not allow it.
The LORD gave Boaz and Ruth the blessing of a son.
3 Behold, children [Hebrew, SONS] are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.
The blessing continues now with a blessing directed to God Himself:
14 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!
15 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.”
Praise the LORD! He visited His people with bread in chapter 1 — physical sustenance; now He visits His people again by providing a redeemer for Naomi, and one who will form part of the line leading to the Messiah.
Notice that no longer is Boaz being referred to as a redeemer, but it is his son with Ruth (who hasn’t been named yet). Their son will take Boaz’s place as the family redeemer once Boaz is gone. If Boaz dies before Naomi and Ruth, this son will provide for and protect the family, and he’ll be responsible to raise up seed of his own to carry on the family name.
This son of theirs, say the women in v. 15, will be a restorer of life to Naomi — the loss of her husband and sons was like the death of their family line, but now God has raised up a descendant to bring their family back to life.
He will also be a nourisher of Naomi’s old age — the one who will care for her when she is old.
I mentioned before the the verb “love” is only found once in the whole book, and this is the place. It is Ruth’s love for Naomi that is highlighted.
And we probably all know this, but I think it’s important to mention that love is a verb. It’s not primarily a feeling or a desire, but action taken for the good of another, often self-sacrificial action demonstrated to others for their good. Ruth displays that love in the way she treats Naomi throughout the book, and of course Boaz also demonstrates this kind of love.
And even though Naomi had lost her two sons, the women say that they were replaced by a woman worth more than 7 sons.
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 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.
The whole story has been leading up to this, concerned with the question, “How will we get to David out of the terrible period of the judges?” How can God keep His promise and keep the line of the Messiah alive in the midst of such darkness and suffering. This is the story of how God did exactly that.
The House (v. 18-22)
The House (v. 18-22)
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
Why does the book end with a genealogy?
our eyes may be tempted to glaze over the lists of names we find in the Bible, but Paul affirms to us in 2 Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable — useful for our Christian lives, to bring us to the maturity God desires — and this includes genealogies.
It may seem like doing our devotions from a telephone book, but these names are important and communicate important truths to us.
As we’ve mentioned all along, this is the whole point of the story of Ruth — to bring us out of the darkness of judges into the light of the monarchy and King David, and to the ultimate hope of Redemption found in his greater Son, the Lord Jesus.
The fact that there are 10 names in this list connects it back to the two 10-member genealogies we have in Genesis 5 and Genesis 11, both of which also trace the line of descent of the seed of the woman. Genesis 5 starts with Adam and ends with Noah; Genesis 11 starts with Noah’s son Shem and goes down to Abraham; and this genealogy in Ruth 4 traces the line from Abraham’s great-grandson Judah’s son Perez down to David. Each of these genealogies ends with a man in covenant with the LORD, through whom God will bring about the fulfillment of His promise of redemption.
The inclusion of the genealogy here at the end of the book not only gives us information about how we get to David, but it also indicates the faith of the author and the believers among the people of Israel that God is at work to fulfill His promises. They didn’t know the end of the story yet, but they knew that through this line of male descendants, God would someday keep His promise and redeem His people.
They trusted God’s promises, and we must too.
Lessons from Ruth
Lessons from Ruth
Trust God’s Providence
Trust God’s Providence
God’s hand of providence is all over this story. Through the hardships, suffering, and death in chapter one, the chance encounter of chapter 2, the wily scheming plan of chapter 3, and the legal transaction in chapter 4, and ultimately culminating in the continuation of the family line of the Messiah — in all these things we see the hand of God, guiding, working, sometimes obviously, other times behind the scenes, but always working to bring about His good purposes.
Trust God’s Love
Trust God’s Love
At the beginning of the story, Naomi struggled to believe that God was good, that the LORD really loved her. Through the kindness of both Ruth and Boaz, Naomi experienced God’s love for her. God had never stopped being good to her, never stopped loving her. She just needed to learn to trust God’s love — to believe that God is always up to something good, whether we can see it at the time or not. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. Take refuge in His love and goodness. Trust God’s love.
Imitate God’s Love
Imitate God’s Love
Naomi’s experience of God’s love came through other people — specifically, Ruth and Boaz. They were living examples of the steadfast love of the LORD in their treatment of everyone around them.
We too are called to love, to allow God’s love to flow through us to others, so that they can also experience His love.
John tells us in 1 John 4:12
12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
When we demonstrate self-sacrificial love, others see God in us. God is invisible, but He becomes visible through us when we love. So let’s imitate God’s love, like Ruth and Boaz, so that others around us may also experience His great love.
PRAY
