Deurpost

TEXT: Ruth 1 – 4
PREACHER: Marc La Porte
DATE: August 16, 2009

King Solomon writes in Proverbs 25:2 that “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” So, God conceals certain things and it is for us the glorious task to search and find them. Jesus said in John 5:39 to the Jews, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.” So, Jesus says that the Scriptures, all of Scripture, testifies of (announces, declares, points to) Him.

JESUS: OUR ULTIMATE REDEEMER

• One of Jesus’ accomplishments on the cross was that He redeemed us (Luke 1:68, Eph. 1:7, Rom. 3:23-24, 1 Cor. 1:30)
• What is redemption?
  • Redemption means being liberated, freed, or rescued from bondage to a person or thing;
  • The prototype for redemption is the Exodus story (Ex. 6:6)
• Like the people in Moses’ day were slaves who could not free themselves from their slavery, we are/were all slaves to sin;
• Like the Israelites, we need God to show up in power and liberate us to a new life, free from the bondage of sin;

BOAZ: THE KINSMAN-REDEEMER

• In the story of Ruth, Boaz is called the goel (or go’el), in other words: the kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 2:20; 3:9; 3:12; 3:13; 4:1; 4:3; 4:4; 4:6; 4:8; 4:14)
• Now this goes back to two places in the Law:
  • The first is the “Law of Redemption” explained in Lev. 25:47-50:
    • Provision was made in the Law for the poor person who was forced to sell part of his property or himself into slavery;
    • The next of kin could step in and “buy back” what his relative was forced to sell;
    • The next of kin had the responsibility of redeeming his kinsman’s lost opportunities;
    • If a person was forced into slavery, his redeemer purchased his freedom;
    • When debt threatened to overwhelm him, the kinsman stepped in to redeem his homestead and let the family live;
    • When death came at the hands of another man the redeemer acted as the avenger of blood and pursued the killer;
  • Secondly, the “Law of Levirate Marriage” explained in Deu. 25:5-10:
    • Provision was made in the Law for a widow with no children;
    • She could go to the next of kin and claim him to redeem her and take her as wife to raise up children for the family;
• In order to be a kinsman-redeemer, four things were required:
  • He must be a kinsman;
  • He must be able to redeem (i.e. not a slave);
  • He must be willing to redeem (i.e. he was not obligated);
  • He must redeem all that is necessary to complete the redemption;
• Let’s see how this fits the story:
  • Boaz was a kinsman (Ruth 3:12a)
  • Boaz was a rich land owner (Ruth 2:3b)
  • Boaz was willing to redeem (Ruth 3:11a)
  • Boaz redeemed all that was necessary to complete the redemption (Ruth 4:9-10)

BOAZ A TYPE OF CHRIST?

• Jesus is our next of kin through the incarnation (Phil. 2:7-9; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:17; Heb. 4:15);
• Jesus was able to redeem us (2 Cor. 8:9; Heb. 1:2-3);
• Jesus was willing to redeem us (John 10:17-18; Tit. 2:14; 1 Jh. 1:7; 2:2; Heb. 10:12; 4:16; 2:17; Mk. 10:45);
• Jesus paid the full price for our redemption (John 19:30)
• Also, Boaz is portrayed as the lord of the harvest, and Jesus, in Matthew 9:38, calls Himself the Lord of the Harvest;

Can we say that as a redeemer, Boaz is a type (model/example) of Christ who redeemed us?

RUTH: THE BRIDE OF BOAZ

• What does Ruth ultimately become to Boaz in the story? His wife, his bride (Ruth 4:13a)

THE CHURCH: THE BRIDE OF JESUS

• What is the Church to Jesus? His bride (Eph. 5:31-32)
• Not only that, but Ruth was also a Gentile, a foreigner, an outcast. She had no right to redemption, according to the Law, since she was a foreigner. However, that didn’t bother Boaz. Like the Bible says in Ephesians 2:13, “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.“
• The Law forbade a Jew (like Boaz) to marry a Gentile, especially a Moabite like Ruth (Deu. 7:1-3, 23:3)

Can we say that as a bride, Ruth is a type (model/example) of the Church?

NAOMI: DRIVEN OUT OF HER LAND

• Naomi is driven out of the promised land into the land of the Gentiles (Ruth 1:1);
• Very few of her family survives (Ruth 1:21a);
• Elimelech went to Moab with Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion; but only Naomi returns!

THE NATION ISRAEL: DRIVEN OUT THEIR PROMISED LAND

• Who in the Bible is exiled out of the Promised Land and returns with only a few? The nation Israel (Deu. 4:27; 2 Kgs. 17:6a)

Can we say that as an exile, Naomi is a type (model/example) of the nation Israel?

THE NEARER KINSMAN: CAN AND WANTS REDEEM NAOMI’S LAND, BUT WON’T BECAUSE OF RUTH

• The nearer kinsman could fulfill the law of redemption to redeem Naomi’s land;
• The nearer kinsman could not fulfill the law of levirate marriage to redeem Ruth, because this would jeopardize his inheritance;
  • How a marriage to Ruth would mar his inheritance is not explained, but there are two possibilities:
    • He already had a wife and children and the birth of a son by Ruth would introduce dissension in the household over the inheritance; or (more likely);
    • Having a wife but as yet no children, he feared that if he produced a son by Ruth, there would be no one to perpetuate his own name and inheritance;
• Hence, the nearer kinsman couldn’t redeem Naomi either (because the kinsman-redeemer needs to redeem everything);
• Now Boaz, probably because he did not have a wife nor children (but maybe also because of his love for Ruth or maybe because he himself is a product of marriage outside the law – Mat. 1:5 says that Boaz’s mother was Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho), is able to fulfill the whole law and redeem Ruth, and thereby also Naomi;

THE LAW: CAN AND WANTS TO REDEEM ISRAEL, BUT WON’T BECAUSE OF THE CHURCH

• Why did the nearer kinsman not redeem Ruth?
  • It was not because he was not allowed to, but because he was afraid of risking his own inheritance;
  • In other words, it was his flesh (sinful nature) that kept him from redeeming Ruth;
• Remember that one of the requirements of the kinsman-redeemer is that he has to be willing
• The nearer-kinsman wasn’t willing, because of his flesh!
• Let’s read what Romans 8:3-4 says: “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.“

Could it be that the nearer kinsman is a type (model/example) of the Law?

DID YOU NOTICE THAT?

• In chapter 2, Ruth (Church) is introduced to Boaz (Jesus) through an unnamed servant (Ruth 2:5-6)
  • Jesus says in John 16:13 that the Holy Spirit “will not speak on His own initiative”, i.e. He remains unnamed;
  • See also Genesis 24 where (in the story) an unnamed servant introduces Rebekah to Isaac;
    • The servant is named outside of this story, namely Eliezer (which means ‘comforter’);
• In the story, Naomi (Israel) and Boaz (Jesus) never meet;
  • Naomi (Israel) only learns of Boaz (Jesus) through Ruth (the Church);
  • Ruth (the Church) learns of Boaz’s (Jesus’) ways through Naomi (Israel);
  • “He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” (John 1:11)
• In order to bring Ruth (the Church) to Boaz (Jesus), it was necessary for Naomi (Israel) to be exiled from her land (Rom. 11:11-12; Eze. 36:24)
  • Naomi (Israel) had to be in exile until Ruth (the Church) was ready (Rom. 11:25-26)
• No matter how much Boaz loved Ruth, there was nothing he could do until she declared herself. It was her move;
  • No matter how much Jesus loves us, He awaits our response;
  • How about you? Have you asked your Goel to do His “kinsman-redeemer” part for you?
• According to the law, it was Ruth who was to confront the nearer kinsman, yet Boaz stood in Ruth’s place;
• Likewise, Jesus stood in our place to redeem us;

TWO MORE SPECULATIVE OBSERVATIONS

• Naomi returns, with Ruth, to the land at the beginning of the barley harvest;
  • The barley harvest is traditionally associated with the time of Passover (as that’s when the barley ripens);
  • Barley has a soft shell, which you cannot step on or it will crush. That’s why with barley they throw it up in the air and let the wind separate the outer shell from the meat (which is the barley grain itself);
  • Some believe that this is a picture of the rapture of the Church before the Great Tribulation;
    • This picture is enhanced by Ruth laying safely at Boaz’s feet during the threshing of the wheat. (Ruth 3:13);
• The end of chapter 2 we read that Ruth is to stay close to Boaz until the end of the wheat harvest (Ruth 2:23);
  • The wheat harvest is traditionally associated with the time of Pentecost (as that’s when the wheat ripens);
  • Wheat is very hard, and they would take step on a board that you hook to an animal and go over the wheat to crush it in order to separate the chaff from the wheat;
  • That board is called in Latin a ‘tribulum’ from which we get the word ‘tribulation’;
  • There is no ‘tribulum’ (board) used with the barley harvest;
  • Hence, some believe, that the wheat harvest is a picture of the Great Tribulation;
  • It is interesting that the Jews traditionally read the book of Ruth during the Pentecost celebration (which also happens to be the birth of the Church);

CONCLUSION
So what can we conclude from this treasure hunt? Is looking at the story like this helpful?

• Well, if we look at the Bible as a whole we could say that its main theme is redemption (except for a few chapters in Genesis, Psalms, Job and Isaiah about creation), which means that in effect every story in the Bible is a story of redemption. The ultimate of course being the story of Jesus in the gospel and its finale in Revelation. Every story is thereby also in many ways foreshadowing and anticipating the story of Jesus;
• Going beyond the text itself and go a layer deeper:
  • Gives us a deeper and more thorough insight into Jesus’ ultimate redemption, and the intense cost of it (Mat. 5:17-18)
  • Leaves us more in awe of God and the inspiration of the Bible (Ps. 19:7-8; 2 Tim. 3:16);
  • Gives us more insight into God’s sovereignty, because He uses real people, real pain, real stories, yet through that also tells His bigger ultimate story of redemption at the cost of His son!