Roche Coleman Ministries: The Infusion Broadcast

Roche Coleman: And that was done for two primary reasons. Number one, it was to provide a lineage for the deceased man. You see, lineage was very important in the Israelite culture. Why? Because property and all of the assets were distributed and passed down through the lineage. This is why it is so important about name and identity recognition. This is why it is so important that children also, I'm convinced, they need to have their father's name. It's identity.

Also, it helped deter potential, and I don't want to use this word, intermarrying, what I would say is marrying within the same lineage or family. I wish there was a law that forced all children to have to have the name of their biological father. It would be healthy for our society, and it gives children their identity. They need that.

Announcer: This is the Infusion Broadcast with Roche Coleman Ministries. Thanks for tuning in to join us. Before Dr. Coleman brings today's lesson, I want to take a moment to share a special request with you. We're a listener-supported program and have taken this step of faith to bring these broadcasts to you each weekday and also make them accessible to a global audience online.

Dr. Coleman's goal is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and to uplift and encourage believers in their walk with God. Friends, we do live in the last days with the rapture of the body of Christ expected to happen soon. I hope our mission resonates with you to share Christ's love with many more people. We'd appreciate a generous one-time gift or a monthly contribution to meet airtime costs.

You can contribute online at RocheColemanMinistries.org, or if you'd prefer, mail a check to Roche Coleman Ministries, 594 Sawdust Road, Suite 185, The Woodlands, Texas 77380. And we thank you very much for your support. Today, Dr. Coleman comes to the climax of the story of Ruth, continuing to highlight the historical and theological principles that he challenges us to apply to our lives in the same way that Boaz conducts his life. Dr. Coleman brings part one of this message on spiritual maturity.

Roche Coleman: We are in the book of Ruth again. We are in chapter four, and we're going to see if we can get Ruth married tonight and get her across the jump the broom and all that good stuff. Just been enjoying this little book. I mean, four chapters, but it is loaded with so much robust theology. And that's the beauty of the book, one of the things I love.

And so what I want to do is I want to make sure that we kind of put a bow on this. I hope we can get through it. Ruth is where we are. Let's pray; we're going to dive in. Father, we love you. We thank you for today, for mercy, for grace, for your compassion and kindness. Lord, guide us and give us your understanding today as only you can. And Lord, for what you do, we'll be certain to give you praise and glory. We thank you and we love you, and we ask it all in the mighty and majestic name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Ruth, how the Lord gave her favor, and Boaz promised to give her that which she desired. But he had to go through the proper protocol. And this is one of the things again we love about Boaz. Boaz, he functions in a manner that's consistent with the law. He's not just a renegade and just doing things according to his desires. He's not operating in his flesh, in his humanity.

He functions in many ways like a type of Christ. And what I mean by that is, remember Jesus came and he said, "I didn't come to break." He said, "I come to fulfill the law." And so Boaz, in this act that he performs for Ruth, he fulfills the law. He understood the law of the Israelite culture that God had given to them, and he does not try to circumvent it. He's in alignment with what the law required. And this is the great thing.

Remember he had promised Ruth that he was going to provide security for her, and he does this immediately. And then remember Naomi here, and we were kind of quick with this, but Naomi even says he'll do what he promised. She says, "Wait, my daughter," verse 18, "until you know how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest until he has settled it today." So there was an assurance and a comfort that not only Ruth could have, but also Naomi had. And what is it based on? The character of Boaz. I love this.

Now, let's get to chapter four and what we see here is what he's going to do. The first thing he does is he goes to the gate. And when you see gate, remember this is the place where commerce is transacted. This is your city hall, your government, your municipalities, things of that sort are handled there. He goes there and then he sits there and he's waiting.

I love how the Bible says this. It's almost like the narrator is there narrating the event and he says, "Behold," like all of a sudden, happenstance, here comes this close relative just coming through. No, it's not by happenstance. This is providence. Remember we talked about the providence of God. God is providentially working in the circumstances to bring this to fruition. And that's the thing we have to remember with our lives. There's no chance; it's all providentially orchestrated by a sovereign God. Here he is.

The close relative is there. Boaz spoke as he was passing by, and so he said, "Turn aside, friend, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down. Boaz says, "Hey, come over, come over." He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here," so they sat down. Boaz understood the law. You need a witness to what you're doing. That way if there's some discrepancy or if there's some challenge or question to the veracity of the matter, there are witnesses.

And what we're going to see is we have the elders here of the city. They're there in verse two, but it's not just going to be the elders. We're going to see as we go through, there are going to be people in the gallery back there listening. They're kind of ear-hustling and checking out what's going on as well. But don't gloss over this. Don't gloss over this because what happens is he teaches you how to negotiate.

There are principles here. And so often we read stuff and we go through, but you've got to watch. Watch his approach. It's the end-around; it's not the direct approach. It's like he's been reading Sun Tzu, the Art of War. Watch, here it is. He said to the close relative, "Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belongs to our brother Elimelech." He says, "Hey, Naomi's back. Elimelech is deceased. The boys, Mahlon and Chilion, are deceased."

And he says, "So I thought to inform you, saying buy it before those who are sitting here and before the elders of my people. If you 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'm after you." And he said, "I will redeem it." Notice this emphasis on redeem keeps coming up. It's repetitive. Why? Because in the redemption, there are qualifications and things that are necessary. We saw those, the qualifications for redemption. We talked about how you had to be willing, you had to be related, you had to be able to redeem. All of those qualifications for redemption.

And so this close relative is, and he says, "Hey man, she's back," and he gives him this information pertaining to Naomi. But notice what he withholds. He doesn't tell him the full story. He gives him Naomi only, right? Watch. And the man says, "Hey, I'll redeem it." He's like, "Yeah, that sounds like a good deal."

Guest (Male): Yeah, Naomi's back, Elimelech's deceased, the boys deceased. I can get Naomi, don't have to have children with her because she's in her senior years. She couldn't have children, probably. And he said, so yeah, that sounds like a good deal. And he already understood the law. He knew, I'm going to get the land, I probably have to take care of Naomi a little bit financially maybe something, but there is not much obligation, and I get to maintain my own inheritance and keep moving on with that.

Roche Coleman: And look what happens in five. Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance." He says, "Wait, also there's something else oh, I didn't tell you."

Why didn't he begin with this about Ruth and raising up a child and all of this? Because he wanted to test the close relative and see how badly the close relative really wanted to redeem it. You got me? And so he puts it that way. He gives him a chance to answer and then he says, "Oh, by the way, something I forgot." He didn't forget. He knew exactly what he was doing. This is smooth. I like Boaz. He understood the art, he understood the process, and he figured that this would happen.

Several things I want to point out about levirate marriage. I'm not certain this is a classic case of the levirate marriage either. And I want to say that because once you look at the qualifications, it's not a what we would call a one-to-one correlation. There are some discrepancies here. However, the levirate marriage out of Deuteronomy 25, this is the concept of when the nearest kinsman of a man dies without a son, he has to marry the widow.

That nearest kinsman, a man's married to a woman, say John marries Mary. John dies. John and Mary did not have children. So the closest relative male has to marry Mary and raise children with Mary. The firstborn son is considered the one who would continue the lineage. Right? And so that's what the law required according to Deuteronomy 25.

And that was done for two primary reasons. Number one, it was to provide a lineage for the deceased man. You see, lineage was very important in the Israelite culture. Why? Because property and all of the assets were distributed and passed down through the lineage. This is why it is so important about name and identity recognition. This is why it is so important that children also, I'm convinced, they need to have their father's name. It's identity.

Also, it helped deter potential, and I don't want to use this word, intermarrying, what I would say is marrying within the same lineage or family. I wish there was a law that forced all children to have to have the name of their biological father. It would be healthy for our society, and it gives children their identity. They need that. I see this principle in a biblical manner; it helped the society function in the proper manner.

But we have now just skewed all principles of identity, lineage, and now instead of taking the male's last name, they're just taking whoever's name. We're just going to take mom's last name. I believe in a few years, I'll give it at the max ten, that people will marry and they will not take the man's name, they would take the woman's name. I believe we'll be there in ten years. You see them hyphenating the names.

All of that is, to me, I'm going to say this, I believe it's pure rebellion against the identity and against the role that God has established for marriage, for family, and for the roles of men and women. It is nothing more than rebellion. The two should become one. Two names means you have two different identities. And no, you have one according to the biblical mandate. Now, if you want to operate outside of the covenant parameters of God, then you hyphenate your name and you do whatever you want. But at the core of this is rebellion. That rebellion has metastasized throughout society. And I don't care how much you hyphenate, no, the two should become one.

Number two, security for the deceased man's wife. Economics, social status. Remember now, the culture, the widow did not receive the same status, the same placing, honor, and respect. She had no one to defend for her. And so as a result of that, this was detrimental to the children. So now being married, it elevates everybody within the society. It helps them, and it brings a level of stability, and it sustains the family.

Remember in Genesis 38 that's what happened. Remember we saw that sordid event going on with Judah and Tamar, where Tamar had to dress like a harlot and deceive him because he didn't want to give Shelah to Tamar because the other two boys had died. The oldest boy died, then the second boy's like, "I don't want to inseminate her," and instead he released on the ground, wouldn't inseminate her, and then the Lord killed him, the second brother. And so then the third one, Judah's like, "Oh no, you're not going to get my third son."

And so she disguised herself, dressed up like a harlot. Judah goes into her and has a child by her. All of this happened to continue the lineage, but this was not God's way. God had provided a means, but what happened? It was rebellion on the boy, the second son, and then rebellion on the father, Judah. You see, rebellion never produces anything good. Eventually, it catches up. Just watch and wait; that rebellion eventually God will manifest and show you this is why I told you to do it this way.

And so this is similar to this in Ruth, but not identical. And the reason why I say that is because Boaz is not really in line. And so he slightly skips the nearest for this to happen, so it's not the quintessential levirate marriage. But nevertheless, it mimics it in many ways.

He asks him again, "You're going to have to take Ruth, raise up descendants so they can get an inheritance." And the close relative in verse six says, "Hey man, I'm out. I can't do it." He changed his tune quick. It did not take him long. Now, there are those who would argue, look what he says. "I will jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself. You may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it."

He keeps referencing, using redeem, because that's what this is about, redemption. Notice a couple of things I want you to catch through this text. This closest relative, we never get his name. His unwillingness to function in the divine role that he falls in. God has placed him in this role to be the redeemer, and he should have stepped up and fulfilled it. But he refused. Rebellion.

And so, as a result of this, he shifts Boaz into the position to fulfill what he was unwilling to do. We must understand that there are those who just refuse to do what God has called them to do. And so what happens here is with this closest relative, he functions like this foil to Boaz to make Boaz elevated in prominence, and it diminishes the closest relative in prominence. It pushes Boaz even up higher in the area of status and his willingness to serve as a redeemer. It distances them apart and sets them apart and makes him an even greater person. And it is because he was willing to do what God called him to do.

So often there's a reluctance on all of us. There are times where God calls us to do things like, "Oh Lord, I don't want to do that one." But the Lord sometimes will call us to do tasks that may seem impossible, but with the power of God, all things are possible.

Guest (Male): Okay, great question. So what happens is this. So the first son would be the recipient of the assets. So that means the assets that he would potentially acquire in the marriage, instead of going to the redeemer, the closest relative, they go to the son. The first son that he has by Ruth. So Ruth's son, the first son, would acquire all of those assets. The land, the house, whatever investments. And so he's saying that might also put his inheritance in jeopardy for his lineage, and he didn't want that. And he also would lose some probably because he has to maintain the assets of Ruth that comes through Elimelech, and it might cause his to diminish and some of his value and his worth would diminish. And he's like, "No, I want mine to go, and I want to keep it for any children that I would have. I don't want them to go to another man, another family." It's totally a selfish and self-absorbed perspective.

Roche Coleman: Yeah, as long as I don't lose, it's not going to cost me anything. "What is this going to cost me? If it's going to cost me something, no." And I mean, I love the realistic beauty of the story of how it shows us our true humanity. You cannot teach the Bible with this always prosperous, blessed, favorable; that's not how that works in life. I wish it would.

But here's the thing what he did not factor in, and this is the part that I think he missed. If you obey God, can God not bless and give you even more? I don't believe he thought it through from that perspective that God could bless and give more. He missed it. Because who said you're going to lose? Who said you won't get the increase, the overflow, the former and the latter rain? Who said you won't? But you don't give it a chance to see what God might do by trusting him.

I believe this was purely economic because what does he say in the text? He says, "My inheritance will be jeopardized." He immediately gives his reasoning. And Boaz is excited about it. He's not mad. Then they go to the custom. Let's look at it. Strange customs for us from the 21st century, but this is the custom they used to demonstrate the transfer of this property and these rights.

Announcer: Thank you, Dr. Coleman. What a lesson in negotiating in a God-honoring manner. Boaz follows the law of the land while procuring security for Ruth. There's a lot to think through on the many lessons in this short book.

And if you'd like to review the entire series or have a friend or colleague listen, all our resources are available online at RocheColemanMinistries.org. Now, if you have any questions, please email us at info@RocheColemanMinistries.org or call us. Our number is 346-386-4621. I want to leave you with this thought: If we obey God, will he not bless us?