Part 11: Redemption

INTRODUCTION

Tonight, we are in part 11 of our series on the Book of Ruth.

If you recall, we can divide the chapters as follows:

In Chapter 1, we see the weeping of Ruth,

In Chapter 2, we see the working of Ruth,

In Chapter 3, we see the waiting of Ruth, and

In Chapter 4, we see the wedding of Ruth.

The theme of chapter 4 is redemption!

15 times in chapter 4, the Bible deals with “Redemption.”

The word redeemed appears 8 times,

The word redeeming appears 1 time,

The word buys appears 1 time,

The word purchase appears 1 time,

The word buy appears 3 times...

Now, all of those words can be and are used interchangeably with the word redeemed or redemption.

If ya’ll remember, in order to be a Kinsman Redeemer, you had to meet three criteria.

You had to be worthy…Only a near relative could do this.

You had to be willing...

You had to be wealthy…That is, you had to be able to redeem!

We have already looked at how Boaz met all of those criteria, and so does our Lord Jesus Christ!

Now, the work of the kinsman redeemer was:

To redeem from bondage...

Leviticus 25:47–50 AV

47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger’s family: 48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49 Either his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. 50 And he shall reckon with him that bought him from the year that he was sold to him unto the year of jubile: and the price of his sale shall be according unto the number of years, according to the time of an hired servant shall it be with him.

In these verses, you will notice that if a brother became poor and sold himself to a stranger or sojourner, one of his brethren near kinsmen could redeem him “if he be able” to do so.

To redeem from poverty...

Leviticus 25:25–28 AV

25 If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26 And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; 27 Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. 28 But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubile: and in the jubile it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.

In these verses, we find the law of the kinsman redeemer relative to poverty. If one of the Israelites had become poor and he had sold his earthly possessions, his near kinsman could redeem them for him.

To redeem from the dead...

Deuteronomy 25:5–6 AV

5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

Thus far, we’ve seen our Kinsman Redeemer buying back the lost liberty and possessions of man. But there’s one more duty for the kinsman to perform and that was to redeem the name of the dead.

Ruth, the Gentile, was to marry Boaz that not only the lost property might be restored to Ruth, but also “to raise up the name of the dead,” in verse 10.

As Boaz did these things for Ruth, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done all this for God’s children.

He has redeemed the inheritance we lost in Adam.

He restored that which he took not away.

He has purchased our liberty.

By his blood he freed us from the curse of the law.

And by the power of his grace he has broken the iron fetters that held us in slavery to Satan and to sin. By the power of his grace, by his omnipotent Spirit, our Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is raising up the name of the dead in this world.

The chief lesson concerning the raising up the name of the dead is that God is greater than death!

Philip Mauro wrote, “He is ever the God of Abraham ‘Who quickeneth the dead and calleth those things which be not as though they were,’ and that after death has done its worst, God can bring back the dead again, and place them, more securely than ever, ‘in the lot of their inheritance.’”

“If we look in a comprehensive way at the work at which the Son of God undertook when He stopped to assume the relation of near Kinsman, or Redeemer, to the perishing human race, we can readily see that it embraced, indeed, individual salvation for all who trust in Him; but that it also contemplated, as it were, the recovery and restoration of man’s inheritance and the bringing back of the human family itself from the dead, and the placing of that family, fully restored in every way from the effects of sin and death, upon their inheritance, to enjoy it forever!”

Thank God tonight for the provisions to restore a condemned race, a cursed earth, and a crushed hope!

Now, ya’ll remember in our text from last week, there was a nearer kinsman that I told you I’d be preaching about later…

Ruth 3:9–12 AV

And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

The previous chapter left us at a dramatic point. Ruth and Boaz were obviously in love and wanted to get married, with Boaz exercising the right of the kinsman-redeemer. Yet, there was a kinsman closer to Ruth and he had priority. Would he claim the right of kinsman-redeemer towards Ruth, and keep her and Boaz from coming together?

Here in chapter 4, we’ll see how all this plays out.

I want you to notice three things out of tonight’s text :

THE PLACE OF REDEMPTION

Ruth 4:1 AV

1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

The morning after the night before, Boaz goes up to the city gate and sits down.

All sorts of legal matters were all conducted at the city gate. It was a large place for people to assemble in, like a modern-day courthouse.

It was also the best place to find someone. Everyone in the city regularly passed through this gate, so Boaz sits here to wait for the other potential redeemer to come through, and he did...

We have already heard about this other possible redeemer..

Ruth 3:12 AV

12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I.

So, now, we see that a meeting was about to take place, here at the place of redemption...

THE PROCEEDINGS OF REDEMPTION

THE SUMMONS TO THE PROCEEDINGS

Ruth 4:1 AV

Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.

The nearer kinsman had to be summoned by Boaz to take care of this matter of redemption, for the nearer kinsman knew nothing about the matter.

Boaz looks at the fellow and greets him...

Boaz is ready to get down to business, and he wasn’t wasting any time at all...

THE SELECTION OF THE PROCEEDINGS

Ruth 4:2 AV

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.

All important business transactions need witnesses of some sort to verify the transaction. This is to protect both parties in the transaction so that if one of the parties tries to renege on the deal after it has been made, the witnesses will force him to keep his word or else experience judgment.

The number 10 in the Bible is the number of testimony.

Boaz wants to protect his testimony, therefore, he transacts business here right in front of the witnesses.

These witnesses are also a type of the Holy Spirit right here.

Boaz is doing things the right way, and he was protecting both parties.

Boaz is doing this whole thing right...

Notice these witnesses are elders...

The word elder denotes aged, experienced, and very qualified!

These witnesses and elders represent the Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is well qualified to witness anything!

THE PROBLEM OF REDEMPTION

Ruth 4:3–4 AV

3 And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: 4 And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.

No doubt it was difficult for Boaz to admit that the nearer kinsman was in line instead of himself.

This would be like a few days before your wedding and someone else steps into the mi and takes your bride.

This all certainly speaks of honor and humility when it comes to Boaz, but it speaks the opposite of this nearer kinsman.

When learning of the land available, the nearer kinsman swiftly promised to buy it. He did not ask for time to think it over, but readily promised to buy the parcel of land from Naomi.

The nearer kinsman liked adding more property to his holdings. That the swiftness reflected poorly on his character is also supported by our next observation of the promise,

Notice that there is no gratitude on the part of the near kinsman.

In this promise from the nearer kinsman to redeem the land, there is not one word of thanks or appreciation to Boaz for informing him of the opportunity. This lack of gratitude in the nearer kinsman reflects poorly on his character. After being informed of this opportunity, he at the least should have showed some gratitude to Boaz. After all Boaz was giving him opportunity to increase his holdings. But the nearer kinsman is like too many folk in every age who are so greedy that they have no time to show appreciation to those who have helped them attain their improved situation.

His answer is pretty much, “NO!”

CONCLUSION

We will look at Mr. Such-A-One in detail next week, but the big question today is not do you know Boaz in the book of Ruth, but do you know the heavenly Boaz?!