We are continuing our study on Ruth. In week one, we learned the importance of supporting, and caring for our family, just like Ruth took care of Naomi. Last week we learned how the Moabites came into existence.
We are going to continue our study on Ruth, and discover the importance of Boaz as the kinsmen redeemer.
Ruth Chose Obedience Despite the Danger
Ruth took a huge chance when she came to Israel as a Moabite.
She took an even greater chance when she chose to gather grain for her and her mother-in-law.
We see a glimpse of some of the dangers she faced when she spoke to Boaz the first time.
“Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” Ruth 2:8-9 (ESV)
The danger of being attacked was a very real possibility for Ruth. We see how God protected Ruth. She chose to follow Yahweh and care for not only a widow, but her family. Boaz respected the risk that Ruth took, and I believe God put a spark in Boaz when he first saw his future bride. It’s clear that he took special notice of Ruth from the first time he saw her. I think that his spirit already knew she was going to be his wife.
Boaz fulfills his calling as Kinsman Redeemer
Some time passes. Boaz was able to see the kind of woman Ruth really was. She was a woman who didn’t give up. She persevered in gathering the barley for herself and Naomi. Day after day after day Ruth was faithful in the job she was given.
Boaz watched as Ruth took care of the other women around her. I have no doubt that she was the kind of woman who cared for everyone around her. When she saw a need she met the need.
The time came when it was time to make it known that Ruth was also interested in Boaz. He needed to know he had a right and even a duty to marry Ruth.
“He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.” Ruth 3:9-12 (ESV)
God’s System of Carrying on Family Names
The Lord set up a system where if a man married a woman and died before a son could be born, then the woman was to marry the next closest relative and have a son who would be considered the son of the deceased man.
Since Ruth married and didn’t have children, and both her husband and brother-in-law died, the responsibility fell to the next closest relative.
Clearly, Naomi knew that Boaz was a close relative. This is why she directed Ruth to go to Boaz’s field and finally make it known that Ruth needed a kinsman redeemer.
I am certain that Boaz really wanted to marry Ruth by this point in time. Still, he was a man of integrity. He knew there was a man who was of closer relation, and wanted to give that man a chance to do what God commanded.
Thankfully for Ruth and Boaz, that man didn’t want to marry Ruth and be the redeemer. We know that they did get married.
Lineage
Something I find so cool is that Ruth is actually King David’s great grandmother. That makes her in the lineage of the ultimate redeemer, Jesus.
God took a really bad choice: the choice of two daughters to rape their father and have a incestual child with him, and God did what only God can do. He turned it around to be for the good of his people.
God brought an outcast, a widow from a forbidden nation, and brought her to a man of integrity to bring her into his family and blessed her to be kin to Jesus, our savior.
What’s even more interesting is when you learn of the heritage of Boaz. Did you know that Rahab was his mother? Yes, the same Rahab who was the prostitute in Jericho who helped hide the spies and was rescued from the destruction of her people.
Why was Boaz so willing to marry a Moabite woman? Could it be because he saw first hand the transformation God can do to a woman who chooses to disconnect from the evil bloodline she was born into and be transplanted into the bloodline of the one true God?
I’m sure Boaz heard stories about the life his mother led before surrendering to the one true God.
This means that the ancestors of Jesus include a prostitute and a woman born from incest.
Do you see why Jesus had such a heart for the prostitutes and those who were considered outcasts?
What is a Kinsman Redeemer?
Let’s talk now about what a kinsman redeemer is.
“A kinsman-redeemer …means the closest blood relative who willingly regains the possession of something or someone by paying their redemption price.” (Bible Info)
There were times when someone, who was poor, sold their family land in order to provide for their family. The Lord’s heart was that all of his children would have ownership in the land he gave them. Ownership promotes good stewardship in people.
Youtube Channel
I’ve been watching a Youtube channel where these contractors go into rentals or abandoned houses to get them ready for their clients to either rent out or sell. It’s shocking the condition people leave rental houses in. They will draw on the walls, punch holes in the walls and doors, steal things like appliances from the home, and leave a disgusting mess. Why do they do this? Because it’s not their problem. They have no ownership over the place. These people hold no pride in the place they are living in. They have no skin in the game.
This is Why God Values Ownership
The Lord knew this tendency in people and I believe this is why land ownership was so important to him. So when someone had to sell part of their land in order to survive, he provided a few ways to allow that person to redeem the land. One was to wait for the year of Jubilee. This happened every 50 years.
This is a time when everything was reset to the original way. Land sold would be given back, slaves were released of their obligation.
Can you imagine if this happened here in America? Every 50 years all loans were forgiven. In one way this would encourage more debt accumulation, but think about the risk the banks and credit card companies would take. They wouldn’t be so free to give away money to people who can’t afford it. In the end all the risk would be on the banks and credit card companies. They would seriously think before handing out mortgages, and loans. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea!
The Other Way to Redeem Land or People
We touched on this earlier. God didn’t want people to be forgotten, and even for a few people to own all the land. God honors people and the positions he gives to them. So if a man died without a son to carry on the family name, he provided a way to have his name redeemed by another family member.
Jesus is Our Kinsman Redeemer
Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. There are qualifications to being a kinsman redeemer.
1. A kinsman redeemer had to be a close family member.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” Colossians 1:15 (ESV)
“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Romans 8:29 (ESV)
Jesus is our closest relative because is the firstborn. From him came many brothers. When we come into the family of God, we become like Ruth, who although she came from the wrong family became a physical ancestor of Jesus. It doesn’t matter what our background, the bloodline we come from, or anything else. When you give your life to Jesus as savior, you become redeemed by your closest relative, Jesus.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” John 1:1-3 (ESV)
In the post, Jesus is the First and Last, Brett established that Jesus is the word. Jesus is the creator of all things. All things come from Jesus. You were created in Jesus before you ever took your first breath.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
Because you were created in Jesus, he has to be your closest relative. You can’t get any closer than being created in someone. This is also how Jesus could come to the earth as a man and redeem all mankind. His kinship meets this qualification.
2. The kinsman redeemer had to be willing to be the redeemer.
We see this in the story of Ruth. There was a man who was a closer relation to Naomi and her husband. However, he was unwilling to marry Ruth and redeem her and the land. Therefore, Boaz stepped up and willingly married Ruth and redeemed her and the land.
Jesus willingly came to the earth as a man to redeem you.
“looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
“who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:14 (ESV)
Jesus saw/sees you as so valuable that he joyfully and willingly came to the earth as a man to suffer and die for you. Better yet, he rose back to life to give you eternal life!
3. The kinsman redeemer needed to be able to pay the price for the redemption.
There was a real cost to redeem a person or piece of land. The kinsman redeemer needed to have the resources to pay the redemption price and pay for the upkeep of the land or to care for the woman and future children they would have.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,” Psalm 24:1 (ESV)
“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” Psalm 50:10 (ESV)
“Therefore David blessed (Aleph Tav) the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty,
for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.” 1 Chronicles 29:10-11 (ESV)
Did Jesus have enough wealth to buy back his people? Absolutely! Not only does he own everything in heaven and in the earth, he possesses the only substance that has the power to wash our sins away. His blood.
Jesus is our closest relative in the sense that we are all created in him and for him. Jesus joyfully and willingly chose to become our redeemer. Furthermore, Jesus is the only one who possesses the determined price to redeem you and I. Jesus is the perfect kinsman redeemer.
I just love how Boaz is a type of the Messiah and an example of what the future Messiah, aka our kinsmen redeemer, would be like. Next week we will conclude this study with a look at where the Aleph Tavs are in the story of Ruth. Remember we have determined that the Aleph Tav is Jesus showing up in the Old Testament!
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