Fellowship in the Word

Bil Gebhardt: That’s what happened in Bethlehem. The Son of God, fully God, becomes fully human as well. Now He’s one of us. He’s our kinsman and He’s our redeemer. You see, He paid for it. Boaz paid a price for it, but nothing like what Christ paid. You see, Christ paid the price for you and me. He redeemed us, each one of us. He paid the price. What was the price? Becoming sin on the cross, experiencing the wrath of God unlike what anybody in the world would have ever experienced anything in their life. Why did He do it? Just like Boaz, because He loved you. That’s why.

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter.” That’s because he’s much older than her. He says, “Listen closely, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field. Furthermore, do not go outside of this one, but stay here with my maids. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. While you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what my servants drink.”

He’s worried about her. A Moabite woman all by herself gleaning could fall onto very bad times. She could be attacked. He knows that. She doesn’t have much safety at all doing this, so he wants to protect her. She fell on her face and, bowing to the ground, she said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me since I’m a foreigner? I don’t belong here. Why would you do that?”

There’s only one reason he would do this: grace. This is grace. A Moabite doesn’t deserve this at all. She’s getting what she doesn’t deserve. And you’ll see why as we get near the end of the book here. He bestows grace on her. And often for us, even when we come to Christ, it’s almost like, “Wow, Lord, why? Why me? Why would You do this?” We’ll see as this goes on, it becomes a very clear picture.

So after he says all that and she says that, Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of her husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and came to a people that you did not know previously.” Then he says this: “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” That’s a spiritual answer. You’re here because of Him, and He will protect you, and He’s using me to help protect you. Boaz was an extremely spiritual man.

Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants. I don’t deserve this. I’m a foreigner.” At mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come here, that you may eat the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” And so she sat beside the reapers and she was served roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. And she arose to glean, and Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves. Do not insult her.” Now she’s right up with the front of the gleaners. Boaz said, “Don’t touch her, let her get up front there.” He likes her. He really likes her and he wants to protect her.

“Also, you should purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean and do not rebuke her. Why don’t you get a bundle of grain, pull a few out, and lay them down behind you so she can pick them up? I want her to really do well with this.” So she gleaned in the field until evening and she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was an ephah of barley. She had a bushel or two of barley. Now usually you get just a little bowl or two. She got a bushel or two. And so she took it up and went into the city and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.

And her mother-in-law then said to her, “Where did you glean? Where did you work today? Who took notice of you?” And so she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man whom I worked for today is Boaz.” And now Naomi becomes a Jewish mother. She’s thinking. Naomi said to her daughter, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Now Naomi said to her, “This man is our relative. He is one of our closest relatives.” And then Ruth the Moabitess said, “Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until you have finished all my harvest.’”

And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids so that others will not fall upon you in another field.” They knew how dangerous it would have been for her. And so she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, and she lived with her mother-in-law. Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you that it may go well with you? I got a plan. I got a plan. I want you to listen. You’re my daughter. Is not Boaz our kinsman with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.” The harvest is finished, and now they’re going to be winnowing. It’s a time of great celebration.

“Wash yourself, therefore, anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes. You better look good for tonight, girl.” That’s not usually what you think of at the end of a harvest, but Naomi has other plans in mind. “Go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. It shall be that when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down, and then he will tell you what you shall do.” Now you might think, “What is going on here? Something a little shady?” No. This is a marriage proposal. That’s what this is. The woman’s going to make it.

Wow. Now Ruth doesn’t even understand this, but Ruth said, “All that you say, I’ll do. I’m devoted to you.” So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he’s a little tipsy. He’s feeling really good about the harvest, everything. It says he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, and she came secretly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and he bent forward, and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, “Who are you?” And she said, “I am Ruth, your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” Now she tells him, “Will you marry me or not?” Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness as even better than the first.” Now watch: “By not going after young men, rather poor or rich. I’m way too old for you, and you came and proposed to me? And I like you. In fact, I think I’ll make my point later; I think he loved her.”

“Now my daughter,” he said, “Do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. Now it is true that I am a close relative. However, there is a relative closer than I. I want to marry you. I’d love to marry you, but I can’t necessarily marry you because there’s one relative who’s closer than I am to Elimelech. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good. Let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

So she lay down at his feet until morning and arose before one could recognize another, and he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Wait right before dawn, would you get up and go ahead and go now? I don’t want anyone to think ill of you or of me. They’ll think something was going on funny. Nothing was going on at all. It’s time for you to leave. And again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it and he measured out six measures of barley and laid it on her, and she went into the city. Now it’s a big—she looked like Santa Claus, okay? She’s got six measures. This would be a whole giant cloak full of it heading back to Naomi with all this barley. That’s an amazing thing. Notice how gracious he is.

When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” And she told her all that the man had done for her. And she said, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” And she said, “Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest until he has settled it today. I know what that big gigantic heap of barley is. He wants to marry you, and he’s going to go after it today. That’s how much he wants it.”

So chapter four. Now Boaz went up to the gate of the city and sat down there, and behold, a close relative of whom Boaz had spoken was passing by. He said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” I don’t know how long since the last time they talked. Now he went to the gate for a reason. It’s the only place you could have formal meetings. The streets are real narrow. There’s no big place to meet. So all of the men of the village, especially the elders, always went out to the gate of the city. Most of the merchandising and sales occurred outside on the gate. The gate’s a big area.

So he gets this other relative who’s never named here and he gets him to sit down here. Now it says he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here too,” and they all sat down. He’s after something here. And then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell a 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.’ And 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 the guy said, good Jewish businessman, “I’ll do it. There’s money to make here. I’ll redeem it.”

I think Boaz knew how to set this up. Then Boaz said, “Oh, by the way, this is the small print. On the day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” That changes everything. Closest relative said, “Wait, wait. I cannot redeem it for myself because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself so that you may have my right of redemption. I cannot redeem it.”

Now the reason he said that so fast is the way this worked. If they had children, if he married her and she had children, those children of his—a boy child—will get the property of Elimelech. It won’t belong to this other relative; it’ll belong to them. He didn’t like that at all. He didn’t care for that at all. The other thing that happened, which is kind of interesting here, is that in Israel at the time, if you owned a piece of land, it was to stay with your family forever, always. Now what if you went into hard times? You could borrow against it. You could actually put a lien against your own property and say, “Could you loan me so many shekels?” And a guy would. Now if you could pay him back, you would and then you’d have your property back.

But say you couldn’t pay him back. Every time you celebrated the year of jubilee—that’s every 50 years—the property automatically went back to you. It’s automatic. That way that family never loses their land, and no other family can accumulate everybody else’s property. So consequently, the way this whole thing worked—I don’t know how close the year of jubilee was. I’m guessing by the guy jumping on it, it wasn’t next year because he realized it’d go right back. But he said, “I can’t do this. I’m not going to marry a Moabitess, you know?” And he might have even been more practical than that. “Look, I got a wife at home. Two? No. I’m not going to do that. I’m not going to jeopardize my own inheritance,” he said. “My own kids—this could get out of hand for me.”

So Boaz, delighted, says—now this was the custom of the former times in Israel concerning redemption and the exchange of land. To confirm any matter, the man then removed his sandal and gave it to another. This is the manner of the attestation in Israel. So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” and he removed his sandal. This is called notarizing. That’s what that means. Everyone’s listened to them talk, ten witnesses, and then he said—but you guys could always go back. So he said, “Give me your sandal,” and he gives him his sandal. Once Boaz has the sandal, it’s a done deal. It’s notarized. It’s legal. “I didn’t like it that way. I changed my mind.” “I got your sandal right here.” That’s closed. That’s why they exchanged the sandal. That’s why he took the sandal.

So consequently after that, he says—then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the land of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and 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 his birthplace, as you are witnesses today.” All the people who were at the gate 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, which is part of Bethlehem, and become famous in Bethlehem.”

Notice who they brought in: Rachel and Leah. Who’s Rachel and Leah? Jacob’s wives. They are foreigners and they’re Jacob’s wives, and the 12 tribes come basically mostly from them. “So you’ll be like that. This will be great.” “Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord is given you by this young woman.” So we run the whole story and it says, “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into 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.”

Oh boy, it does. “And may he also be to you a restorer of life and sustainer in your old age for your daughter-in-law who loves you and is better to you than seven sons has given birth to him.” There’s the comparison between men and women from a woman’s point of view. That girl was worth ten guys, seven guys. That’s how great she’s been. Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the neighbor women gave him a name. He’s being named now by the ladies there. “A son has been born to Naomi.” So they called him Obed. He is the father of Jesse and the father of David. There’s the king. His name is Obed, it means servant. He’s going to be the servant of God.

He says, “Now these are the generations to Perez. To Perez was born Hezron, to Hezron was born Ram, to Ram Amminadab, Amminadab was born Nahshon, to Nahshon Salmon, and to Salmon and Rahab was born Boaz, and to Boaz Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse was born David.” See, the king idea is all solved now. Now what’s interesting and fascinating about this to me, this whole thing, is this: What’s this book about? There are things we saw in the book. One, don’t try to make a lot of choices when you’re going through really dark times. That’s one lesson. Two, God cares for needy people like Naomi and Ruth. You’re a child of God; God cares about you. Three, He uses willing people like Ruth and Boaz to accomplish His will in life. That’s clear. And four, it says He rewards the people who demonstrate love for God and love for others, like Ruth and Boaz. They both loved other people and God.

But that’s not what the story is really about in the end. It’s about one thing. It’s about you and me. That’s what this story is. This is a story about salvation. You see, I left something out here. There are 84 verses here, but there is one word that’s used over and over again. It’s the Hebrew word *Goel*, sometimes translated redeemer, sometimes kinsman-redeemer, sometimes relative. There’s 25 references to *Goel*. All this is happening because of the kinsman-redeemer. Did Ruth deserve this? No. But she got it by grace. Secondly, why did Boaz do this for her? Not only that he was a kinsman-redeemer, there’s another reason: he loves her.

Now there’s a kinsman-redeemer that comes way down the road here. His name is Jesus Christ our Lord, the ultimate kinsman-redeemer. He first is a kinsman. That’s what happened in Bethlehem. The Son of God, fully God becomes fully human as well. Now He’s one of us. He’s our kinsman and He’s our redeemer. You see, He paid for it. Boaz paid a price for it, but nothing like what Christ paid. You see, Christ paid the price for you and me. He redeemed us, each one of us. He paid the price. What was the price? Becoming sin on the cross, experiencing the wrath of God unlike what anybody in the world would have ever experienced anything in their life.

Why did He do it? Just like Boaz, because He loved you. That’s why. I love you. I want to redeem you. I’ll pay any price for you. See, that’s what this story is all about. It’s an amazing story in and of itself. But Ruth had one thing that she had to do in order to be the benefit of this story: she had to believe. You see, her sister did not. She went back to the gods of the Moabites. Ruth could have gone that too. It wouldn’t be a story then. But Ruth did believe. And that’s for you and me. That’s exactly our part of this whole thing. Christ is the kinsman-redeemer for everybody, but you have to believe.

You see, we don’t ever get in collectively. I use the analogy—it’s not a very good one, but I’ll try it again. I use the analogy that heaven—let's imagine heaven’s a lot like the Superdome. The Super-Superdome. And everybody in it’s having a great time, which means it’s not like our Superdome because some Sundays are not so good. But the point of it is is that everyone’s having a great time. How do you get in? Every person has to go through the same thing. It’s called a turnstile. How many people can pile through at a time? One. Just one. Each person has to come in on their own.

And that’s the way it is with saving faith. You have to come in. It has to be a choice and a decision that you make. And so I invite anyone who’s never made that decision, that you make that decision. Because Jesus Christ is our kinsman-redeemer. Boaz is just simply a wonderful story about that, but the reality of it is it’s just that he is a type or a shadow of Jesus Christ to come. Jesus Christ loves you enough to redeem you as your kinsman-redeemer, and He was willing to pay the ultimate price for you. But you have to show your trust and faith in Him. That’s the story of the Book of Ruth. It’s a wonderful story, but it means more than what we read on the surface. Join me in prayer.

Father, this little book in the Old Testament, it’s a wonderful story and it’s about love and all those things, but it’s such a picture. Written likely 1,100, 1,200 years before Christ showed up. But even then, You were telling the world and telling Israel and telling everybody, we all need a kinsman-redeemer. And You sent Him, Your Son, our Savior, who became one of us. He lived that perfect life so He could be that substitute. He paid that price and then He became sin on the cross for each and every one of us.

Father, thank You so much for Jesus Christ our Lord and His sacrifice. Father, we who have faith in Him and trust in Him are redeemed, but we should also forever be grateful and be filled with gratitude because our kinsman-redeemer has done everything for us that we could never do for ourselves. It’s in His name that we pray. Amen.

Jason Gebhardt: You’ve been listening to Pastor Bil Gebhardt on the radio ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you’d just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That’s oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online. At that website, you will find not only today’s broadcast but also many of our previous audio programs as well.

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