Boaz: Stepping Out In Redemption, Ruth 4
- Michael Dennis
- Aug 1, 2010
- Series: Jesus in the Old Testament
Welcome to North Village Church my name is Michael and it is good to see you guys this morning. We are going to continue our series “Finding Jesus in the Old Testament.” We have looked at Abraham, Joshua, David, and this morning we are going to look at Boaz in the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth is after Judges and before 1 and 2 Samuel.
Up to this point we have looked at the life of Abraham and we are challenged to step out in faith because like Abraham, our faith is ultimately in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Then we looked at the life of Joshua and we are challenged to step out in courage. Sometimes when step out in faith we do so with timidity and doubt, but Scripture teaches us we can step out in courage through Jesus Christ.
Then we looked at the life of David and we were reminded that we can’t do any of this in our own strength. We can’t wallow in our sin, try to do it on our own, that if it is going to be a step of faith and courage then it has to be through the power of Jesus Christ.
This morning we are going to look in the book of Ruth at a man named Boaz. Boaz is going to be used by God to step into a really painful situation and he becomes a picture of redemption that ultimately points to Jesus Christ.
Redemption is a theme that runs throughout all of Scripture and it simply means to pay the price, to take responsibility, to be a rescuer and when we read the book of Ruth we see
a story about two ladies (Naomi and Ruth) who have found themselves in the midst of tragedy and they are in desperate need of a redeemer.
We are going to look at Ruth chapter 4, the end of the book, but for us to understand chapter 4 we need to hear the whole story. The book opens at a time in Israel’s history that is spiritually dark. People were doing what they thought was right in their own eyes, there was a famine in the land, people are searching for food and when the story opens the focus of the story is on a man named Elimelech.
Elimelech and he is married to Naomi and they have two sons. Because of the famine and desperation for food they end up moving their family to Moab, a neighboring country. This is a big deal because the Moabite people were considered the enemies of Israel who trace their lineage all the way back to Genesis when Lot sleeps with his daughter and she births a son named Moab. Which always makes family reunions a little awkward when it starts off with incest. Israelites and Moabites are enemies.
The trip to Moab was intended to be a short trip to find food, however, they end up setting up life in Moab. They get homes, their sons marry Moabite women, and by verse 5 of the first chapter of the book the family is in the midst of tragedy. The husband dies, the two sons die, and by verse 6 the story zeroes in on Naomi. She is in a foreign land, lost her husband, lost her two sons, she is alone, and now responsible for two Moabite daughters-in-law named Orpah and Ruth. She is in a painful place.
At first glance we might not see the tragedy, but this is a time in history where women were very vulnerable. They didn’t have government assistance they could turn to for provision, they didn’t have police to turn to for protection, they had little to no position as women in their culture, and
they were very vulnerable.
Can you imagine your family in the midst of stress and chaos, looking for work, looking for food, moving to a foreign land like Arkansas? Then having to live in Arkansas! While you are there you loose your spouse, your kids, and wondering, “God what are you doing?” This is where Naomi is! She is in need of a rescuer. Maybe some of us here this morning are in that place. Thinking about our finances, our relationships, our marriage and we are looking to God thinking, “God what are you doing?” We see our brokenness and we are in need of redemption.
When Naomi finds herself in this place she decides to go home to Israel. She looks to her two daughters-in-law as Moabite women and tells them to go home to their family and start new lives, but one of them is determined to stay with Naomi and her name is Ruth. When Ruth decides to stay with Naomi she is taking a huge step of faith by attaching herself to Naomi. First, Ruth is a Moabite and considered an enemy of Israel. If she goes to Israel there is little chance she will marry again. She is leaving her extended family in Moab to spend more time with her mother-in-law. This is a huge risk.
When Ruth and Naomi get back to Israel they are broken physically and spiritually. Naomi is mad at God, Ruth is in a foreign land. They don’t have any money, food, shelter and Ruth goes to Naomi and asks permission to glean the fields for food to take care of Naomi. She is basically panhandling. In Israel’s culture the field owners would allow the poor to glean the edge of the field because it was a reminder that it wasn’t their field. They were simply stewards of God’s provision so Ruth goes along the edge of the fields looking for scraps.
In God’s sovereign plan Ruth begins to glean the fields and the owner of the field walks by and sees Ruth. His name is Boaz, which is just a great name. As I was studying the passage this week I thought I should have named my son Boaz. Isn’t that the coolest name ever? Boaz Dennis.
Boaz comes on the scene and immediately begins to show care and concern for Ruth. It wasn’t typical for a man to even talk to a woman, much less a woman in the field. She was a foreigner, an enemy, dirty, sweaty, yet Boaz becomes a physical picture redemption by showing concern and care for Ruth and Naomi at a time when they are at risk of being raped, murdered, abused, and Boaz provides protection from other men, food, water, encouragement and Naomi refers to Boaz as a kinsmen redeemer.
A kinsmen redeemer is described in Leviticus as someone who would step into to restore the family from financial hardships, tragedy, and pain. They are a picture of redemption provided by God to provide for people who are in need of rescue. They would secure their land so they would have a place to live, make money, protection, and Boaz is prepared to step in as a picture of redemption for Naomi and Ruth. I know some of us at this point are thinking, “What does Boaz get out of this?”
This is not a win for Boaz. When he does this he is committing to marry Ruth who is an older woman, a foreigner, an enemy, widowed, completely needy, and doesn’t bring anything to the table, but a mother-in-law from the previous husband. There are better options. There are also legal hurdles, social hurdles, it is a hassle, and he already has plenty of responsibilities in taking care of his land. This is a huge risk for Boaz. So many times we make decisions based on which is easiest, the path of least resistance, however, the easy way is not always what God wants. Sometimes God wants us to do some hard things and Boaz steps up as a picture of redemption, and in chapter 4 we see the climax of the story.
Look at chapter 4 verses 1-2 to see what Boaz has to do to become a picture of redemption for Naomi and Ruth.
1 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. 2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
The “gate” would have been the formal area where the men or elders of the town would have gathered to discuss local business and politics. At first glance this just looks like some guys standing around the water cooler at the office, but culturally this is more of a courtroom scene where judicial matters are handled and Boaz wants to determine legally who will be the kinsmen redeemer for Ruth.
In verse 1 we see that there is a another guy. There is someone who is legally responsible to care for Naomi and Ruth and we don’t know his name, but he would have known about Naomi and Ruth, he would have known about their pain, hardship, loss, and he doesn’t do anything. This guy is the opposite picture of redemption. This would be like someone hurting in our family or our church or our community and not doing anything to help. Having thoughts like, “At least it wasn’t me.”
Boaz has gathered the influencers of the city to legally step in as a picture of redemption for Naomi and Ruth. Look at verse 3:
3 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. 4 "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."
Naomi has found herself in such tragedy and loss she is looking to sale the land that has been in her family and Boaz is having to go through all the legal troubles to see if this closer relative wants the land and at the end of verse 4 he says he wants it! Boaz knows he doesn’t care about Naomi and Ruth, but just the land and then we see verse 5:
5 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."
What is Boaz doing here? He is really smart. He really cares for Ruth and he knows this other guy just wants the land so he reminds the other guy in front of the legal party that if you want the land you also have to care for Naomi, Ruth, and their descendants. Look at verse 6:
6 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."
The land sounded great, but he didn’t want to the responsibility of Naomi and Ruth, and their descendants. It would cost too much. It would jeopardize his own inheritance and he didn’t want to take the risk so he passes and it allows Boaz to step in as a picture of redemption.
If you look at the rest of the chapter Boaz ends up marrying Ruth, they have children, they are esteemed in the community and Boaz takes something that was of little value and pays the price so that Ruth and Naomi are restored to a place of protection, provision, and position.
Boaz is a great story, but only because Boaz’ story ultimately points to Jesus Christ who is also a redeemer and there are two primary observations we can take away from the book of Ruth this morning when we talk about a picture of redemption:
The first is that we have a redeemer in Jesus Christ. All of us have sinned against a Holy and Righteous God and it results in physical and spiritual death. We might not be in the midst of a physical famine like Ruth, but all of humanity is in the midst of a spiritual famine and our only hope is faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Just as Boaz looked upon Naomi and Ruth and saw a people who were hurting, helpless, hopeless and he responds. Also Jesus looks upon all of humanity and sees a people who were considered enemies of God, wanted nothing to do with Him, and had nothing to offer and Jesus responds. Jesus isn’t like the unknown relative who heard of our pain and overlooks it, but Scripture teaches us while we were yet dead in our sin Jesus responds. No matter what tragedy we might find ourselves in this morning we have a savior who responds.
Not only does Boaz respond, but he responds and pays the price. He finds Naomi and Ruth in tragedy and financial ruin and Boaz takes responsibility and pays the price. Also Jesus not only responds to us, but finds all of humanity deserving of death and He pays the price on the cross with His life and dies a death that we deserved.
It is Boaz’s financial wealth that enables him to make the sacrifice and it is the righteousness of Christ that enables His death to be the perfect sacrifice and pay the full price for our redemption so that all who place their faith in Him are redeemed.
In the midst of Ruth’s redemption she doesn’t do anything but receive the gift from Boaz. Boaz does all the work. Just as our redemption in Christ is a gift, Jesus does all the work. Our only response is to repent of our sin and trust the finish work of Jesus death on the cross. We trust in Jesus to do all the work, just as Ruth trusted in Boaz. The life of Boaz is a life that points to the picture of redemption that is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Redemption is what marks our faith. So many in our culture think of Jesus tend to think of religion and religion isn’t anything like redemption. Religion is us seeing our spiritual famine, our relational famine, our financial famine and thinking if I do certain things then God will love me and remove this famine. That isn’t redemption, that is religion. That is me going to my kids and saying, “If you do these things and not these things then I will be your father and love you.” If not, then I won’t be your father and I won’t love you. That is horrible. That is why so many people hate God because we can never do enough. Redemption is when God doesn’t demand for us to love Him, but demonstrates His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, while we were enemies, while we were in the middle of rejecting Him and He dies for us so that through faith in His death, burial, and resurrection, He gives us a new heart so that we can live for Him.
The second observation is that our lives are a picture of redemption. It doesn’t just stop with our redemption, but God invites us to be a picture of redemption, like Boaz, so that when we can look at the people God has put around us and we can respond. Not because our lives are so great, but because, like Boaz, our lives can point to Jesus. This is a theme throughout all of Scripture.
Sometimes we can look through Scripture and see people doing things and wonder, “How did they end up in the Bible?” These guys are messed up. Multiple wives, multiple failures and we forget Scripture is a story of redemption of God taking messed up people and redeeming them for their good and His glory.
This is what He is doing with us today. We think God is looking for good religious people to do some good things. No, He is looking for willing people to step out as a picture of redemption. Like Boaz we have people that are hurting around us all the time. In our family, our church, and our community and through Jesus Christ we can respond.
It would have been easy for Boaz to overlook Ruth in the field that day, it would have been easy to feel too busy, it would have been easy to dismiss them because it will cost a lot of time, money, and energy, but he gets to step in as a picture of redemption.
There are three primary contexts where we can see this in life and it is our neighborhood, our work and our hobbies. Our neighborhood is a place where there are a lot of opportunities to be a picture of redemption. Naomi and Ruth lived in Boaz’s neighborhood and when he saw them he started talking with them and an opportunity came up. We can open up our home, invite people over for dinner, get involved in their life, ask about their marriage, their dreams, their goals; and maybe some are going to push back and say that it is just being nosey. I guess if you started off with, “My name is Michael, tell me about the struggles in your marriage.” That would be weird. But these are people you live next to, children go to the same school, see them when you are walking your dog, and you are taking normal social steps to get involved in the life of the people that live around you to be a picture of redemption.
Our work is another place. I know some will push back and say no at my job, I would get me fired. I would never do that. I guess if you stood up on your cubicle and started preaching at people you might get fired, but taking the time to get to know the people you work around isn’t going to get you fired. Boaz met Ruth in the fields, at his job, and he told his men to keep Ruth safe and not hurt her. He spoke up. He could have not said anything and stood around with the other guys and made jokes about the Moabite woman in the field, but he spoke up.
One of the biggest reasons we started this church was the thought, “What if everyone in our church committed to going throughout their week / day and made themselves available to be a picture of redemption?” What would that do to our community? It started off with 4 of us, then 10, then 20, and today we have about 75 adults and what if that numbered multiplied and we just made ourselves willing. What would that do for our community, our schools, and our city?
The last one is our hobbies. Our hobbies is where we work out, where we walk our dogs, ride our bikes, where we play, the bars we go to and watch games. Sociologist call it our 3rd place. We live, we work, and we have a 3rd place. Where is your 3rd place? Most of our time, energy, and resources are being spent in one of these 3 places. We didn’t end up there by accident. God gave you the desires you have to relax and play and live and work and he has put you around people to be a picture of redemption to them.
What if you just made a list of people in those areas? You could probably make a list of 20-30 people and you could just start praying for those people. Start getting to know those people. You might be the only picture of redemption in the lives of those people. Most pastors are going to try to get you to bring those people to church. You can, it is always more fun for me to talk to more people, but honestly if our church got to 1000 people and we never came close to living out a picture of redemption then we would have failed.
Look back at the text. Skip down to verse 16 we see what happens when Boaz steps out as a picture of redemption. We see Boaz marry Ruth, esteemed by the people, have children and look at verse 16:
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 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.
David is the future king of Israel that we talked about last week, but more importantly David is in the same family line of Jesus so that when you read Matthew chapter 1, we see the name of a Moabite woman who was completely helpless and had nothing to offer, but because of redemption her life is radically changed.
That is what God does. He is taking all our junk and sin and as we bring it to Him, admit we are sinner, trust in Jesus work on the cross, and follow Him, then He invites us into this story of redemption. We have no idea what God will do. We never know what a difference it will make. We never know what will happen.