A Cinderella Story?

Ruth 4:1–22 NASB95

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. “So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.” Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. “Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. “Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which 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 enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. “May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

Most of us are saps for stories that have happy endings- We like watching movies where the good guy gets the girl, where justice prevails, and where dreams come true. We like watching sports games where the under-dog rallies, where the mistakes are minimal, and where the Patriots lose…;)

The book of Ruth ends in such a way. We have read the account, so let us briefly review that which has taken place:

Boaz is given the right to redeem Naomi/ Ruth (4:6) The drama and anxiety that we ended chapter 3 with is resolved - and to our liking.

Mr. No-name, the man who was the closer relative, evidently did not want to take another wife home with him… BTW- this is not a bad example. I am confident that bringing home an extra wife is a bad idea- even if you do get an extra piece of land in the deal.

The whole town appears to applaud this news (4:11-12)

Can you imagine these folks watching that conversation? It seems as though they are rooting for Boaz and pronounce blessings upon him and his future family

they are praying that God will do something historical and magnificient - even as He did through Judah.

Boaz marries Ruth, Ruth conceives and gives birth to a son. This is given to us as a summary statement. One verse that resolves the whole book.

Don’t miss this- Ruth was unable to conceive before- Remember she was married 10 years and was unable to have a child... she was barren. But God enabled her to conceive.

Boaz was happy, Ruth was happy, Naomi was happy....

We have to be careful here because, in our day of entertainment, we might be tempted to take the book of Ruth and write it off as a Cinderella story that has a feel-good ending. We might be tempted to say that this book has no real theological or practical significance.

But this morning, I want us to ask and answer the question of WHY God gave us this book? We believe that ALL scripture is God-breathed and is beneficial for our teaching, correction, and encouragement- So what is the point of this book?

It is NOT simply for our entertainment… even though there are many here today that love a good romantic story. Especially around Valentine’s Day… you bunch of saps! ;)

It is NOT given to promote some sort of sense of heroic masculinity where Boaz is to be viewed as the hero rescuing the damsel in distress

Why do we have the book of Ruth?

I believe that there are at least three reasons that God gave us this biography.

To Encourage Us

Throughout Scripture and experience, we see that the life of the believer is not a straight line to glory, but eventually we will get there.

Throughout Scripture and experience, we see that the life of the believer is not a straight line to glory, but eventually we will get there.

Here’s what I mean: Just because we are Christians- people who love and live for the King of kings, it does not mean that our lives are easy or that we will not face tough times. In fact, we should see that a dominant theme in Scripture is perseverance.

Naomi and Ruth were godly women- they were living according to the Law of Moses and heartache still came. They stepped out in faith and returned to Bethlehem, and they still had to labor and toil to survive. They trusted God to provide and acted in faith pursuing Boaz and still had to live in the tension of the unknown.

Yet, eventually, they were able to recognize God’s goodness. The day-to-day was difficult, but the bigger picture was glorious!

And let me just point out something here- this book is titled “Ruth,” but as we have noticed it is a story about Naomi. Naomi is the one who cried in desperation that the LORD had forgotten her. Naomi is the one who gave guidance to Ruth in her acts of faith, and Naomi is the one whom we see being blessed by the women of Bethlehem at the end of Ch. 4.

The real encouragement here is not that we will not experience pain or loss, but rather that we will be sustained through it. It is not that we will have everything we want, but rather that God will provide what we need. It is not that we can measure the depths of God’s riches toward us but rather that we can be assured that He is with us, He is for us, and He is working His plan out in our lives.

The book of Ruth gives us encouragement as we travel the road of life.

To Connect Our Lives to God’s Purpose

God uses the ordinary, mundane, faithful steps of man to accomplish great things.

Let me draw your attention to v. 17- (Read)

This boy was the father of Jesse, who was the father of David- Israel’s greatest king.

God used these women, in their faithful struggle through life to bring about a grand blessing - not just for the family, but for the nation. And we can see in David, that he no doubt learned of the faithful suffering of his great-grandmother and as we read the psalms, some of David’s writings, we can almost feel the truths that echo through the lives of Ruth and Naomi.

David, of course, points us to a greater king- the KING of Kings! The perfect king and redeemer of my life.

Imagine if Naomi and Ruth had been apathetic toward God- what if they had decided not to trust Him? What if they had stayed in Moab or refused to act according to God’s Word?

We have this story of Ruth and Naomi so that we can connect our ordinary faithfulness to God’s big plan.

Never let someone tell you that your daily family devotions do not matter

Never believe that your attendance in church has no meaning

Never fall into the trap of thinking that God is not concerned with your ordinary life

He has a plan to use your faithfulness for His glory, and you may not live to see it.

The book of Ruth encourages us and connects our everyday faithfulness to God’s purposes. And finally, the book of Ruth was given in order:

To Illumine the Gospel

The book of Ruth gives us a picture of the hope and redemption through Jesus Christ.

Now, you might be thinking, “I may have dozed off at some point… did we read about Jesus in the book of Ruth?”

Well, not exactly, but I remember (and maybe you do too) reading about the risen Jesus walking alongside some disciples and explaining how the whole Old Testament testifies of Him () … Such is the case with Ruth. Let’s examine the elements together:

Let’s examine the elements together:

There is a need for redemption.

Naomi & Ruth were helpless and hopeless. They could not earn redemption. They had to rights nor means in which they could redeem themselves. They were stuck.

Likewise, we are helpless to redeem ourselves. We deserve God’s justice, which places us at enmity with God. We cannot earn freedom. We cannot buy our way out of this mess. We are sinners in need of a Savior.

God Desires to Redeem.

Naomi and Ruth acted in faith based on God’s word that God Himself had made a provision for them.

Jesus said that He desires for all to come to Him in repentance and enter into eternal life.

God Made a Way to Redeem.

For Naomi and Ruth, it was Boaz who had the right and means by which to redeem them so their family name would not be blotted our of the history of Israel.

For us, Jesus Christ has the right and means by which to redeem us so that our names will not be blotted out of the book of life. He has the right as the righteous lamb of God and the means that was His body, broken for us- His blood poured out for us that we might live!

God brought redemption and blessing

Ruth wed Boaz and bore a son who would bring about a heritage of God’s blessing for His people. Naomi saw that God had not cut off her family, but rather made her family one that would forever be called blessed.

As believers, You and I have been given the Holy Spirit as a promise and seal of the blessing that is yet to come. We have been adopted into the family of God and are called His children!

If you are here today and you have not accepted Christ’s redemption, let me ask you, “What will you do? How will you be healed from your brokenness? Friend, only by the blood of Jesus can you be saved!”

Here in a moment, we will partake in the Lord’s Supper- a reminder and symbol of the redemption offered by Christ. Before we do that, I’d like to invite you to reflect upon the redemption offered through Christ. Have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Would you like to do that today? I would love to share with you how you can make that step. As God leads, you respond.

Let us pray.