We get there because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie.
The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change.
And again, I don't think it exists.
So as Christians, as much as we want to be countercultural,
marriage is something that is very countercultural today,
that we can make a stand at what it means to be Christians and to be married if we are married.
That's not to say that we can't be single and be Christians.
But if we are married, that is an opportunity to reflect something different back into the culture.
And I just say that by passing, because we are talking about marriage here this morning.
But let's look at the text.
And so we're going to see here the cost.
We're also going to see it happens at a gate, and it also happens in a seat,
and it also has to do with a shoe.
You say, what do all those things mean?
Well, in verse 1 it says,
So the gate in Bethlehem, as in the gates in Israel at the time,
where basically you would have had the town behind the gate,
so everybody's protected behind the wall.
And all the streets are going to be really narrow,
to the point where actually sunlight might not even get behind the streets.
So the only open space is at the space in behind, directly in behind the gate.
And that's where obviously you would have had all your commerce, your shopkeepers.
It was also basically a metaphorical town hall.
It's where the elders of the town sat.
It's where they discussed matters of importance.
And it's also where they decided legal matters.
Matters like marriage.
Matters like the selling of property.
And so that is why Boaz heads for the gate.
And it just so happens that when he gets there,
the person who he's looking for just also happens just to come by,
just at the right moment.
Because that's, God is involved and Boaz doesn't have long to wait.
And here he is, the man is coming.
If you want to do a little survey of what gates mean in the Old Testament,
you can have a look at Proverbs 8.3 or 22.22 or 1 Kings 22.10.
And it talks about, you know, kings sitting, making decisions at the gate.
Or, you know, your husband being well known and well respected at the gate of your people.
So it's the place where the elders have sat.
And he says, he finds this guy.
It says, come over here, my friend, and sit down.
And that maybe disguises a little bit what the text actually is trying to say.
And so I'm going to ask you a question.
Please don't raise your hand.
But you can maybe nod to me if you know the answer.
Does anybody know who Randolph Peter Best is?
Okay.
Well, you know, that's good.
Because if you do know, it spoils the conclusion.
But if I was to mention John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr,
and I was to say to you, does anybody know who Randolph Peter Best is?
You might make a guess that it was the drummer before Ringo Starr,
before the Beatles became famous.
He's the nobody.
He's that guy over there that missed out on being world famous.
And that's a little bit here what the text is maybe hiding here in the NIV.
It's more like saying, hey, you there, Mr. So-and-so.
Him over there, that guy, the guy with no name.
Come over here and sit down.
The text doesn't actually give this man, this other guardian redeemer, a name.
In fact, as we see in the text, he's actually more concerned about his own name,
and yet the Bible forgets his name.
Maybe it's a lesson there to us that, you know,
if we're concerned with our own life and our own inheritance, we might lose it.
Isn't that what Jesus said?
He who loves his own life in this world will lose it.
But if you give up your life in this world, you will have one through him.
So in contrast to that, I want to ask you, does anybody know who Oscar Schindler is?
And hopefully there's some educated people at least who have seen a film,
and they know that, you know, Oscar Schindler,
he's credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust.
He's someone that did a great deed.
He's someone that did a good thing,
and as a result, history, rightly and correctly,
remembers him as being someone that at great personal cost
rescued people from their death.
And then Sir Boaz has his redeemer.
He has the other person.
He has the other person who you flagged up to Ruth
that was a problem in the whole idea of marriage and redeeming the land.
And so Boaz then, in verse 2,
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said,
sit here, and they did so.
So to me, Boaz must have been someone who was well-respected
to early in the morning go and lynch ten elders and say,
you know, come on, you need to sit down.
I've got something to sort out.
And they were to say, oh, yes, Boaz.
And they came and they sat down.
And this other individual, whoever he is,
he came and he sat down.
So they went to the gates,
the place of where authority,
and they came and they sat down
where power would be brokered
and they would be able to create a legal transaction.
So Boaz shows that he's respected
and that everybody agrees just to come and sit down.
And he came and they had to have it.
It numbers ten.
There's no information that says that ten is a legally required number around this time.
But history, as it goes on,
so if you are going to have a synagogue
and you want to constitute a Jewish prayer meeting,
you need today what they call a mignon.
You need ten men.
So there is a historical context of this,
this number ten,
that it's an important number to be able to clarify
or make the transaction legal.
So here we are.
And he's going to then bring about,
why are we here, Boaz?
They're all sitting down.
They're all eager.
They want to find out what on earth this is all about.
So then in verse 3 he says,
then he said to the guardian redeemer,
Naomi, who has come back from Moab,
is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
And so the text there is an idea,
has sold or is selling.
There is the prospect that the land is actually owned by someone else
and it needs to be purchased back again.
That's the idea of the text.
Undoubtedly the land is probably in use.
Nobody is going to leave a nice piece of land
in an agricultural economy.
They're not just going to leave it lying there.
They're going to take it and use it.
And so it's interesting.
It's at the end of the harvest
when all of the crops would come in
that this legal transaction is coming to take place.
And so he goes on and he says,
because I thought I should bring the matter to your attention
and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here
and in the presence of the elders of my people
and if you redeem it, do so.
But if you will not, tell me so that I will know,
for no one has the right to do it except you
and I'm nixed in line.
So he goes on and he says,
look, here's the fact.
You are the legal person.
You're the person that needs to reject
before I can purchase it.
And so he gives him the offer and says,
do you want to accept it?
And of course, he says,
quite heartily, very quickly, he says,
I will redeem it, he said.
He's a man of few words,
is Mr. So-and-so.
But he has good financial sense.
It's the prospect of being a hero
and also expanding his portfolio.
He's going to gain land.
He's going to gain land from a widow
who has no prospect of offspring.
He's going to gain land from a widow.
And so that's going to be,
if you like,
it's going to expand his own estate.
It's going to expand his own piece of real estate.
And it means that he's going to pass that on
to his own children.
And so he sees it as a great financial opportunity
and it makes good sense.
And to be honest,
I think if we put ourselves in that situation,
that's exactly what our response would be.
I don't think he's doing anything wrong
by wanting to do this.
Naomi's going to have money.
He's going to seem like a good guy.
He's going to keep the land in the tribe.
But sadly, Naomi and Elimelech's name
is going to be, if you like,
blotted out from the history of Israel.
He's going to lose his inheritance.
But Boaz isn't prepared for that.
So Boaz rightly then
tells him about the other side of the bargain
and he decides to throw a spanner in the works.
In verse 5 it says,
Then Boaz said,
On the day that you buy the land from Naomi,
you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,
the dead man's widow,
in order to maintain the name
of the dead with his property.
I'll highlight to you,
it doesn't really affect the text,
but I highlight it to you just for the purposes.
It's not completely clear in the original text
whether Boaz is saying,
You go ahead and redeem the land.
I'm going to marry
Ruth the Moabite.
And the reality of that is,
if Boaz marries Ruth the Moabite
and produces an heir,
then the land that he's just bought
is going to have to revert back
to the heir.
Or whether or not he's saying
that you're going to have to marry
Ruth the NIV,
in a lot of translations that's what they take.
I just highlight that to you in passing,
just in case you come across it
in your studies.
But it doesn't affect the outcome
or the overall meaning of the text.
So the whole purpose here then
that is being raised then by Boaz
is saying that,
okay, buy the land today,
but you're going to have this other issue
to sort out in the future
with Ruth the Moabite
and her potential offspring.
And so what then is the Redeemer going to do?
So at this the Guardian Redeemer said,
then I cannot redeem it
because I might endanger my own estate.
You redeem it yourself.
I cannot do it.
And so he backs out of the whole deal.
He says, the cost is too great.
I can't do this.
You know,
I have my own inheritance to think about.
I have my own family line to think about.
If I do this,
this might mess that whole thing up.
And so he says, I'm out.
Deal or no deal?
He says, no deal.
So he was a Guardian Redeemer.
He only wanted to go so far.
He only wanted what was in it for himself.
He only liked the deal
while he was benefiting from it.
I think there's a lesson here to us also
in terms of there's lots of things out there
that say to us
that they are the answer to our solutions.
There's lots of self-help books.
There's lots of religious ways.
There's lots of people that say
that if you do this,
if you exercise more,
meditate more,
you know,
be positive in your thinking
or worship this God
or have that philosophy,
that you will have a better life.
But really and truly,
they're a little bit like this
Mr. So-and-so,
this Guardian Redeemer
who,
it's really
only surface.
It's really only beneficial
to the people
selling the philosophy.
So,
just as Orpah,
if you remember in chapter 1,
highlights the great,
shows that Ruth
is making such a great sacrifice
to go with Naomi
and to choose
Israel's God
over the God of the Moabites.
If you like,
Orpah is the foil
that highlights
Ruth's great transaction.
So here,
we have
Mr. No-name.
And what is he highlighting for us?
He's highlighting
what great cost
Boaz is making
to his own personal account.
But before we get to that,
we have this little strange
transaction
to deal with.
In verse 7,
it says,
Now in earlier times in Israel,
for the redemption
and the transfer of property
to become final,
one party took off his sandal
and gave it to the other.
This was the method
of legalizing transaction
in Israel.
So,
please don't,
you know,
if you're selling anything,
take off your shoe
and hand it to someone.
Today,
that doesn't mean anything
and it won't do anything.
There is the idea
that, you know,
it's where you place
your foot is yours.
The idea of walking into the land
and owning the land.
Some people think
the idea is coming back
from that.
And so,
by giving the sandal,
you're saying,
you know,
what was mine
or what is mine by right,
I'm now passing on to you.
I'm not sure I like this idea
of holding somebody's dusty sandal
and, you know,
having to take it.
But anyway,
that's what they were doing.
And so,
that's the meaning here.
I suppose today
it's like a handshake
or, you know,
a spit and a handshake
or I don't know whether you,
you know,
children do pinky promises,
you know,
they have witnesses here.
Please witness this transaction,
you know.
Today,
we go into the solicitor's office
and, you know,
we buy a house.
We sign our name,
sign here,
please sign here,
please sign here
and you end up,
you know,
you've signed,
you know,
I don't know how many signatures
if you've ever bought a house.
You will understand that.
You have to sign for the mortgage.
You have to sign,
sign,
sign.
There we go.
So,
this is the signing,
this is the legalizing here,
that's why he needed the ten elders
and so they're all here.
So,
the guardian redeemer said to Boaz,
buy it yourself
and he removed his sandal.
Off you go.
And so,
we have the shoe,
the transfer of rights,
the purchase of property.
So,
he is free to marry Ruth,
he's free to purchase Naomi's property
and the deal is confirmed.
And so,
there was
the great cost
to Boaz.
So,
everything that the other redeemer
was rejecting,
Boaz is saying,
I'll pay.
I don't mind if it infects my inheritance,
I don't mind.
See,
Boaz is thinking with his heart,
he's thinking with
the law behind him,
he's saying that this is the right thing to do.
If you're ever stuck
and you wonder what thing you should do,
be like Boaz.
I think I can,
the wee stick man that runs around Facebook,
you know,
be like whatever it is.
You should really think about this
and be like Boaz.
Boaz decides things
based on whether they're the right thing to do.
And if you do things based on
whether it's the right thing to do,
I would say more often than not,
you will be doing the right thing
and that's a good way to make your decisions.
And that's what Boaz is doing.
He's saying it's in the law.
It's the right thing to do
regardless of my own
inheritance,
regardless of whether it means
I gain from it,
it's the right thing to do.
And so,
we have the heart
of the redeemer.
We have had the cost.
He's going to buy the field.
He's going to take on
two extra mouths to fill.
He's going to want to take Ruth
as his wife,
but why does he do it?
And so we have,
these three things,
we have selfless action,
we have covenantal action,
and we have loving action.
You see,
what Boaz is doing
is not without emotion,
but it's covenantal.
It's what the law said.
And it's his love for God's law.
It's his love for God.
And it's his love for Ruth.
It's his love for Naomi.
But it's also his love
for the wider family,
for the deceased,
for Elimelech,
for Malon,
for Killon,
Killion.
And we find that in the text.
And this is the last we hear
from Boaz.
So in the rest of the verses,
Boaz doesn't speak.
These are, if you like,
Boaz's final words to us
in the book of Ruth.
Verse 9, it says,
Then Boaz announced
to the elders and all the people,
Today you are witnesses
that I have bought from Naomi
all the property
of Elimelech,
Killon,
and Malon.
And I have also acquired
Ruth the Moabite,
Malon's widow,
as my wife,
in order to maintain
the name of the dead
with his property,
so that his name
will not disappear
from among his family
or from his hometown.
Today you are my witnesses.
So he tells us,
he says,
I have a love,
I have covenantal love.
He is concerned
about other people's names.
He is concerned
about other people's inheritance.
He wants to keep
the property for others
and not himself.
It is a selfless act
of redemption.
Boaz doesn't gain anything
out of this
except financial burden.
And even into the bargain
he has to marry
a foreigner.
Ruth,
the Moabite.
But does it remind us
of someone else?
John 3.16,
For God so loved
the world that he gave.
God so loved
the sinful,
dirty,
stinking world
that didn't love him.
A world that was,
if you like,
his enemies,
that needed help,
that needed rescuing,
that needed redemption,
that he sent
his son.
Christ came
in a selfless
act of redemption.
John 12.25-26,
Is anyone who loves
their life
will lose it,
while anyone
who hates their life
in this world
will keep it
for eternal life?
Whoever serves me
must follow me,
and where I am
my servant will also be,
and my Father
will honor
the one
who serves me.
Is there a heart
in how Boaz
is serving
this family
that says
it's something
that we should do
as Christ laid down
his life
you know,
we should lay down
our lives.
Let's lose our life
for Christ
just as Boaz
decided to,
it cost him
to be a redeemer.
You see,
redemption
costs,
it costs an awful lot.
On the scale of things,
Boaz's redemption
wasn't as costly
as Christ's,
but still,
it cost him a lot.
Greater love
has no one than this
than to lay
down one's life
for one's friends.
And Boaz,
and that is
laying down his life.
He is,
he's risking
his own inheritance.
So what happens then?
What,
what,
it all happens.
It goes through.
Everybody's a witness.
And,
what's the response?
What's the response
to Boaz's redemption?
What do the people say?
What do the elders
at the gate,
what is the people
in the,
you know,
what do they think
of this marriage
between Boaz,
this prominent,
high-standing man
in Israel,
in Bethlehem?
What do they,
what do they,
they think about him
taking on
a Moabite widow
and redeeming Naomi?
Well,
it says,
in verse 11,
it says,
then the elders
and all the people
at the gate said,
we are witnesses.
May the Lord
make the woman
who is coming
into your home
like Rachel and Leah.
Now,
we read that
and we think,
that doesn't mean anything.
But really,
this is the first time
that Ruth
isn't called
a Moabite.
This is
Ruth the Moabite
being
associated with
Rachel and Leah,
if you like,
the mothers
of Israel.
These are the,
from these women
come
the sons
of Israel.
It's from them
that comes the nation.
And in that,
they're embracing Ruth
and saying,
she's one of us.
And not only that,
they're saying,
we hope that she is
as influential
and as well renowned
as Rachel and Leah.
That people will know
the name of Ruth
the Moabite.
See,
there's something special
taking place here
and they're saying that
God is involved.
We want God to bless
this union.
We want God
to bless
Ruth.
This Moabite
who together
built up the family
of Israel.
May you have
standing in a
Pephra
and be famous
in Bethlehem.
May your name
be great.
Mr.
No name
has gone,
but will history
remember
the act of Boaz?
Will history
remember
Ruth
and this act
of redemption?
And so they
are hoping
that there will
be blessing
that God
would make
their name
great
and that they
would be
significant
future blessings
not just for
Bethlehem
but for all
of Israel.
And then we
have this
other figure,
this other
character.
In verse 12,
through the offspring
the Lord gives you
by this young woman
so they're
anticipating baby.
May your family
be like that
of Perez
and Tamar
who bore
to Judah.
And the question
you're answering
is who are
those people?
And that's
very interesting
also.
If you go back
into Genesis
and you find
the story
of Tamar
and Perez
and Judah
so I'll tell
it to you
in brief.
Tamar
was
another
Gentile lady.
She was another
person outside
of Israel
and she married
one of Judah's
sons
and he died.
Then
she married
in the
Leverite marriage
idea
his brother
married her
also.
But he didn't
want to continue
on with the
idea that his
son would then
be considered
his brother's
son so he
made sure
that they
didn't have
children and
so he died.
Judah blamed
Tamar for
both her son's
death and so
he sent her
away.
He had a
third son
and he
didn't give
in to her
in marriage.
And as a
result Tamar
then dresses
up as a
prostitute and
tricks Judah
into sleeping
with her.
And from the
result of that
Perez is born.
So that might
be a lot of
information to
take in
quickly and we
don't want to
preach the
Genesis and
Tamar story but
that is the
background to
what they're
saying here.
you see
Tamar
everything about
that situation
was wrong.
So it just
was completely
wrong but God
blessed it.
And out of that
that Gentile lady
she actually is
one of the
descendants of
Boaz.
Next week we'll
find out how
significant all
of these people
are in terms of
their descendants
and even into
the line of
Christ.
But they're
saying may you
be blessed,
may you be
remembered like
Tamar and
Perez.
So they're
expecting
significance from
their offspring.
And also
they're saying
that we're
accepting her
just as we
accepted the
Gentile Tamar
and her
offspring as
our own so
we will accept
the offspring
of Ruth the
Moabite.
and this is
huge.
This is way
beyond the
expectations if we
remember in
chapter 1.
Naomi was
like go home.
Don't come
to me to
Bethlehem.
Go home.
Go back.
And Ruth's
like no no I'm
coming with you.
I want to
follow your
God.
I want to
stay with you.
And so I'm
going with you
to Bethlehem.
But no one
could have
foreseen or
expected that
here in
chapter 4
everyone in
Bethlehem is
embracing Ruth
as someone who
could be a
blessing to
the nation
of Israel.
And so we
have the
cost.
And so the
people they
are their
witnesses.
They pronounce
blessing and
they want to
be significant
in the family
in Bethlehem.
They're going
to be significant
people.
But this
story doesn't
it really
does just
scream the
gospel.
When we
think about it
and we take a
step back
doesn't it
remind us
of Christ?
John
chapter
1 John
sorry
chapter 2
verse 2
says he is
the atoning
sacrifice for
our sins
and not only
for ours
but for the
sins of
the whole
world.
See Jesus
sat in a
seat of
power.
See after
he died
on the
cross and
paid for
the salvation
of sinners
he rose from
the dead.
And it
says in
Hebrews 10
he says
but when
the priest
had offered
for all
time one
sacrifice for
sins he
sat down
at the
right hand
of God.
You see
Jesus is
sitting he
has made
it a
legal
possibility
for us
to be
free of
guilt.
A legal
possibility
for us
to be
cleansed.
A legal
possibility
for us
to be
set free
from sin.
For us
to be
forgiven.
Jesus
sat down
because it
was finished.
The work
that Jesus
did on
the cross
is permanent.
It had
witnesses.
It was
public.
And it
was because
for God
so loved
the world.
It was
based in
the love
of sinners.
I don't
know if
that makes
you happy
this morning.
It makes
me extremely
happy.
That Christ
has
sacrificed
everything
for us.
It says
in 2 Corinthians
for you
know the
grace of
our Lord
Jesus
Christ
that though
he was
rich yet
for your
sake he
became
poor
that so
through his
poverty we
might become
rich.
See the
cross just
doesn't
forgive our
sins it
actually brings
us into
the family
of God.
It brings
us into
his presence.
See there's
room for us
in the
family of
God.
There's
room for us
in God's
presence.
Through
Jesus Christ
there's room.
Through
Boaz
there was
room for
with the
Moabite
there was
room for
her in
Bethlehem.
So we
have Jesus
he's a
better
redeemer.
Boaz is
good but
Jesus is
better.
In fact the
book of
Hebrews is
really all
about that.
That verse
where Jesus
sat down.
Jesus is
better than
the angels.
Jesus is
better.
He's a
better high
priest.
He's
better.
He's
better because
he is
the last
sacrifice.
He's
better because
he was
able to
pay for
our sins.
And so
Jesus paid
the greatest
cost.
So does
forgiveness,
does the
forgiveness of
our sins
cost us?
And the
answer to
that, yes
it does.
It cost
Jesus his
very life.
Yet it is
freely offered
to us if
we come to
him in
faith.
Let us
pray.
God
will
in
peace.
Peace.