Ruth: Redeemed!

Ruth – Redeemed!

Ruth 4:1-10

Ruth 4:1–10 ESV

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.”

1. Introduction – Today we hit the climax of the book of Ruth. Everything we have looked at for the past 10 weeks has been leading us to this point.

a. The struggles, the bitterness, the pseudo-resolutions, the rendezvous at the threshing floor…

i. The emptying of our characters…all of that has been leading us to this point where our main characters will experience redemption and fullness.

1. We’ve seen mini-redemptions along the way – God provided food to famine ravaged Bethlehem.

a. Ruth left her country and people in order to go with Naomi. Ruth gleaned in Boaz’s filed and brought home an incredible amount of barley.

i. But all of those things only meet the widows’ need for good.

2. They are deeper needs here – they are widows and they need security and protection that only a husband can provide.

a. And there is no male heir to carry on Elimelech or Mahlon’s names…no male heir to inherit the family land.

ii. Remember – one of the worst things that could have happened in ancient Israel is to have your name forgotten – no male heir to carry on the legacy and work the family land.

1. And what we’ll see next week is that God had big plans for this family line – so it couldn’t die off.

a. But there is no child…how is the family line going to continue? well – that question…and the resolution to Ruth and Naomi’s problems will be answered in our passage today.

iii. Remember last week, there was a little bit of tension introduced…how will that be resolved? Hear God’s Word – Ruth 4:1-10.

1. So here’s what we’re going to do today. This passage breaks down into 2 distinct parts.

a. Vv.1-4 where the meeting at the gate commences.

i. And vv.5-10 where the drama and tension of the story is resolved.

iv. We are going to look at each section, we’ll look at the historical details and we’ll finish off with some application for our lives today.

2. At the Gate – In last week’s passage, Boaz promised Ruth he would take care of the family redeemer business in the morning.

a. Their rendezvous happened at night, Ruth stayed the night and went back home early in the morning.

i. And when we hit the beginning of chapter 4, we have no reason to think Boaz delayed at all.

1. The events we just read happened the morning after the night at the threshing floor.

b. So in the morning, Boaz makes his way to the city gate. In ancient Israel, the city gate was not only there for protection, but it was where official business was conducted.

i. Ancient readers would have recognized that when Boaz when to the gate and sat down – he was there to settle a legal matter.

1. And look at what happens – as soon as he sat down – the closer redeemer that he mentioned to Ruth – just so happens to walk by.

a. We’ve witness this before. Earlier in the story, Ruth just so happened to glean in Boaz’s field. And now, as Boaz sits down to settle a family matter…the exact family member he was seeking walks by.

2. Obviously neither of these events happened by chance or happenstance, they happened by God moving and working in the seemingly mundane…working all things together for the good of his people and the glory of his name.

ii. Boaz stops this closer redeemer – he assembles the town elders and other witnesses…and Boaz beings the proceedings.

c. Boaz begins – Naomi is selling the land that belonged to Elimelech.

i. Now – this is a simple statement, but it is a problematic one – how can Naomi be selling this land?

1. Why, if they had this land when they returned from Moab – was Ruth forced to glean?

a. Why did they not simply work their own land?

ii. Well, if you’ll recall from a few weeks ago, in ancient Israel – land didn’t ever change hands.

1. Elimelech was still the rightful and ancestral owner of the land – however here was dead and so were his heirs.

a. And in that society, the widow was unable to physically possess the land. Naomi couldn’t be the rightful owner.

i. So when Boaz says Naomi is selling the land – remember she is actually selling the right to future harvests in order to survive…or in the case, in order to preserver Elimelech’s name in Israel’s history.

2. Land passed down from father to son. However, a provision was made in Numbers 36, where if a man dies with no sons, the land can be passed down to his daughter.

a. But that daughter had to marry inside her father’s tribe so that the land remained in the extended family.

i. But Naomi’s situation was more complicated – it seems apparent that she had somehow inherited her husband’s land.

1. However, because she was past child-bearing years, she would die childless.

b. If she simply sold the land, the year of Jubilee would not be able to restore the land to Elimelech’s name – because Elimelech had no living offspring to inherit it.

i. Because of all this – the land would then pass out of his immediate family and Elimelech’s name would pass out of Israel’s community.

1. The land would remain in the possession of the whoever bought it…even past the year of Jubilee.

iii. So in order to keep the land in Elimelech’s name, Naomi needed a relative to purchase the future produce…but she also needed a male heir so that the land stay in Elimelech’s name…so his name would live on in Israel.

1. But since Naomi was beyond childbearing years – and because Ruth was also a widow in need of an heir to carry on Mahlon’s name – the kinsman redeemer could do both – redeem the land and marry Ruth to produce an heir…though Boaz conveniently leaves that part out at first.

iv. Since Naomi couldn’t own the land…and since at the moment there was no male heir – the family redeemer clause in God’s Law was enacted.

1. And at this point I want us to pause and marvel at how incredible God’s Word is.

a. For most readers of the Bible, we hit Leviticus, Numbers or Deuteronomy…and we struggle through it. When we hit those books, our plan to read through the Bible comes to a sudden halt.

i. Those are hard books to get through. But isn’t it incredible that God makes a provision for a family redeemer in one book…and then in the book of Ruth we see how this law plays out in real life?

1. We saw it earlier in the gleaning laws. God gave this provision for people to glean in fields…and then we see those laws in action in Ruth’s story.

a. It is simply incredible how exquisitely written God’s Word is.

d. Anyway, back to the proceedings at the gate. Boaz lays out the case…Naomi is in need of redemption.

i. And Boaz, being an honest, righteous, worthy and law-abiding man – knew he wasn’t first in line in the pecking order of kinsman redeemers.

1. In order to alleviate the stress in Ruth and Naomi’s life – he enacts the redeemer legislation…and gives this closer redeemer the right of first refusal.

ii. Only the man doesn’t refuse…he sees this as a sweet real estate deal…an opportunity to possess more land…so he tells Boaz and the witnesses that he will act as family redeemer.

1. At this moment…the story doesn’t seem to be going the way we want it to.

3. The Trump Card – We don’t know why Boaz withheld the part about Ruth at first…but he did.

a. After the first in line redeemer said he would redeem Naomi and take possession of the land.

i. Boaz slips in the part about also taking possession of Ruth and producing offspring to perpetuate the name of the deceased.

1. And for reasons we are going to explore in just a few minutes – the part about Ruth is too much for this first line redeemer.

a. He cannot or will not marry Ruth. He cannot or will not produce offspring with her in order to perpetuate the name of the dead.

ii. And then a very strange custom takes place. And what I want you to notice is that the narrator had to explain this to his audience.

1. Apparently at the time the book of Ruth was written, this was no longer a custom in Israel.

a. The first in line redeemer took off his sandal and gave it to Boaz. Here’s why.

iii. If say, years later, someone was disputing that Boaz or his offspring really owned the land…

1. Boaz and his family had 2 sources of proof.

a. They could point to the witnesses that heard the testimony and were witness to the verbal agreement between the two parties.

i. But Boaz or his family could also pull out this sandal as proof that the first in line redeemer relinquished his right to the property…and to Ruth.

1. With the exchange of the sandal…the first in line redeemer told Boaz to redeem the property and Ruth.

2. And in vv.9-10, Boaz recounts to the witnesses all that took place that morning at the gate.

4. What’s Going On – Those are the details of the event – but what is really going on here?

a. Well – there is a contrast in characters being made.

i. On the one hand, we have Boaz – the text goes out of its way to show us how generous, righteous, and worthy he is…history has remembered him well.

1. Compare him with the first in line redeemer….we don’t even know his name.

a. In fact, in the original Hebrew, it goes out of its way to avoid naming him.

i. In Hebrew, the first in line redeemer is referred to as ‘peloni almoni’

1. And that Hebrew expression roughly translates into English as “Mr. So and So” or maybe we’ll call him Joe Schmo.

ii. The point is this…while history has remembered Boaz well…the narrator paints a beautiful picture of him…he’s generous, kind, goes out of his way to help others.

1. He is a man who is not interested in personal gain, but he is interested in helping others – no matter how much it might cost him.

a. And so, compare that to the first in line redeemer – how has history remembered him?

i. It hasn’t! History hasn’t even remembered his name…but it has remembered his character…and it isn’t pretty.

iii. First off – he is pictured as greedy. He was more than willing to redeemer Naomi’s land when he only heard about the physical property.

1. He wanted to add the land to his real estate holdings. When he thought his land would help him build up his own empire…his own little earthly kingdom…he was all for it.

a. When he thought that he could redeem only the land…possess it, work it…then pass it down to his offspring, he was more than willing to act as family redeemer.

iv. However, when he found out about Ruth, when he found out about producing offspring to perpetuate the names of the dead…

1. When he found out that the land wouldn’t stay in his family but would be passed back to Elimelech’s line…

a. When Joe Schmo found out that this redeemership would come at great personal cost to him…he was out.

i. Only looking out for number 1 – no regard for the interests of others.

2. He acted selfishly, only thinking about himself, his interests…his little kingdom.

b. The contrast between Boaz and Joe Schmo extends beyond characteristics and points to motivation.

i. Mr. Joe Schmo was motivated by greed. He was motivated by his own bottom line.

1. How was this acquired property going to benefit me?

a. How will it increase my profit margin? How will it help my kids’ future?

i. How will it help me become a Bethlehem real estate mogul?

ii. But remember, in ancient Israel, the bottom line wasn’t supposed to be the bottom line.

1. In ancient Israel, it wasn’t about how much wealth one could amass.

a. The bottom line in Israel was not personal wealth and prosperity…the bottom line – what society was to be all about was covenant faithfulness…love…hesed.

i. And that’s what motivated Boaz.

2. He knew that acting as a redeemer would cost him. He knew the land would pass back into Elimelech’s line at the appropriate time…with no real benefit to him.

a. He knew that he would have to put a granny flat on his house for Naomi.

i. He knew that he would have to go to little league games or dance recitals and school concerts…

1. He knew he would have to pay college tuition.

ii. But even though he knew the cost…he counted the cost…and he acted anyway.

1. He acted in the way that God instructed his people to act.

iii. Boaz cared about keeping God’s instructions, because he knew that this was the avenue for ministering to real people with real needs…and so advancing God’s redemptive plan though his life.

1. God has instructed his people…and through those instructions, we minister to people…we meet needs, both physical and spiritual…and through that we advance God’s kingdom in the world.

5. For Us Today – And what about us today? How does a passage about a court case at a city gate apply to our lives today?

a. Well, this passage forces us to think about kingdoms. It forces us to think about motivations.

i. Whose kingdom are we building? What motives us to do what we do?

1. There’s a verse in the SM that we studied last year…Jesus says this, “Seek first God’s kingdom and his righteousness…and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

ii. That verse, along with this scene – ask us the question – which kingdom are we building?

1. Are you trying to pad your own stats? Trying to advance your own agenda …build your own portfolio?

a. Are you trying to build your own personal empire? Increasing your own personal bottom line?

i. Mr. Joe Schmo in our passage today was motivated by those things…and history has all but forgotten him – we don’t even know his name.

2. But we remember Boaz…who acted generously towards others.

b. You see – a lot of times are motivated by the ‘and all these things’ part of the verse. We want the goodies; we want the big bank account.

i. We want to expand our name, our renown, our kingdom…but this scene tells us that that will lead nowhere.

1. We must make eternal investments. Reaching out to people in need. Caring for the sick, the lonely, the outcast.

a. We must do what the first part of the verse says…Seek first God’s kingdom.

i. That means, putting others before ourselves. It means not storing up treasures on earth, but heavenly treasures instead.

2. Seeking God’s ways first will be radically counter-cultural…putting God’s kingdom first will probably come at great personal cost…but it will be worth it in the end…not because history will remember us, but because we will have been faithful to God in doing the things he has called his people to do.

a. Because we died to our own selfish wants and desires and put the advancement of God’s kingdom above all else.

c. Each of us should take a long hard look in the mirror and ask this question…what kingdom am I advancing? My own? Or God’s?

1. If you are motivated by selfish ambition or motivated by greed, I would invite you the confess that to God today. Lay it before him…hand over your selfishness to him and being putting his kingdom first.

a. If you are motivated by God’s kingdom first – I would invite you to keep at it- keep advancing God’s kingdom first – and continue to put yourself at God’s disposal.