Kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest, about two months.
! And she lived with her mother-in-law.
So beginning in the final verse of chapter 1 to the final verse of chapter 2, we see that God has provided.
He has been providential in his care for Naomi and Ruth.
Now they have some temporal provision, but how long will this last?
I have no idea how much grain she may have gleaned and how long that may have lasted, but it's finite.
It's not going to last forever.
How are Naomi and Ruth, these two widows, to be cared for long term?
Now, we don't tend to read the narrative this way, but original readers of it, and for many centuries beyond,
would have been concerned what happens next for these two women who are without a livelihood because they have no husbands.
Chapter 3 begins with a plan hatched by Naomi to see Ruth married.
She gives Ruth very careful instructions, and Ruth agrees to do exactly what she says.
And so we see a short little summary of that in Ruth chapter 3 and verse 7.
When Boaz had eaten and drunk, he's at the threshing floor dealing with, processing the harvest.
And his heart was merry.
He went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
Now, a brief note at this point.
Last week, I stated that this was not a salacious act, is the word that I used,
by which I meant that we should not think that anything suspect was happening here.
A problem that I find being an avid reader is that sometimes I write with words
that I realize in the moment of saying them out loud may not be the clearest word.
This happens to me very often.
I read a word and I go, oh, I could have used a better, simpler word in that place.
So I seek to quickly insert a synonym to give the meaning.
If you ever see me fumbling and like my brain is shutting down,
it's because I'm Rolodexing through words that I want to insert into that spot instead.
I'm going, no, not that one.
That's less clear.
And finally, something comes out of my mouth, which is sometimes helpful and sometimes not.
Last week, as I was searching for a word synonymous with salacious,
I grabbed the word, hear me carefully, hinky with an H.
Hinky from somewhere in the recesses of my mind.
And it's a word that means suspect.
And I think I picked it up from Scooby-Doo back in the days.
Fred used that word a lot in that cartoon.
Some of you thought I said kinky with a K, which means sexually deviant.
So it sort of applies, but wasn't at all what I intended to communicate.
I would never use that word in a sermon or perhaps ever,
unless, of course, I am using it to tell you that I wouldn't use it.
Now, that said, if you know me well, you likely assumed I wouldn't use such an odd word in a sermon,
if you know me well.
If so, you may even know me better than my own wife,
who did not hear me say hinky and thought it was a strange word choice.
So anyway, my apologies for the lack of clarity.
I do want to use my words very, very carefully.
So, hinky.
It was not hinky.
All right, back to our summary.
So we see in chapter 3, verse 8, that Boaz wakes up.
He's startled.
I think the fair assumption is that his feet are cold.
So he pulls him underneath his blanket,
and it startles him awake.
And he turns over, and a woman is laying at his feet.
And he says in verse 9,
Who are you?
And she answered,
I am Ruth, your servant.
Spread your wings over your servant,
for you are a redeemer.
She calls back to chapter 2,
to that blessing that he had uttered over her.
She had come for the protection of the Lord under his wings,
and she says to him,
Spread your wings over me.
Again, she's seeing that God's providence uses human agency,
and she's bringing his own words to mind.
Boaz promises that she will be redeemed,
but that he first must address a man that has a closer right to redemption,
a closer relative to Naomi.
The chapter concludes with Naomi's assurance
that Boaz will settle the matter that very day,
which is exactly what he will do in chapter 4.
So chapter 3 sets up the stage for the next scene in chapter 4.
Rather than read the entirety of the chapter at once,
and then make comments,
I want to just walk through the text.
It has a really nice and clear, distinct outline to it,
and kind of make notes.
And I'm going to do that in the following outline.
In chapter 4, we see four redeemers.
So this is the outline we'll follow.
Number 1, the nearest redeemer.
Number 2, Boaz the redeemer.
Number 3, Obed the redeemer.
And number 4, I know you can't see my notes,
but all capital letters, the redeemer.
The redeemer.
So let's begin chapter 4 in verse 1.
Before I start to read, let me remind you, beloved,
this is God's word to us,
written for his glory and our good.
So we all do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
So the first point, nearest redeemer,
verses 1 through 6.
Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there.
And behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by.
So Boaz said,
Turn aside, friend, sit down here.
And he turned aside and sat down.
And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said,
Sit down here.
So they sat down.
Then he said to the redeemer,
Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab,
is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative,
Elimelech.
So I thought I would tell you of it and say,
Buy it in the presence of those sitting here
and in the presence of the elders of my people.
If you will redeem it, redeem it.
But if you will not, tell me that I may know,
for there is no one besides you to redeem it,
and I come after you.
And he said,
I will redeem it.
Then Boaz said,
The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi,
you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,
the widow of the dead,
in order to perpetuate the name of the dead
in his inheritance.
Then the redeemer said,
I cannot redeem it for myself,
lest I impair my own inheritance.
Take my right of redemption yourself,
for I cannot redeem it.
So the very first redeemer that we're looking at,
the nearest redeemer,
is a rather poor redeemer altogether.
In fact, he doesn't do the work of a redeemer.
He seems to be juxtaposed against Boaz.
Boaz is presented to us as an honorable man,
and his character continues to be put on display
in chapter 4.
First, we see him keeping his promise to Ruth.
He told Ruth he was going to do something,
and he did it immediately.
He goes to the gate,
and if that seems like a strange place for him to go
and to have such a meeting,
it was a common place that these types of affairs were transacted,
because people came in and out.
It was a place you would run into people,
and this kind of thing could take place.
So he does it.
He does the very thing he said he would do.
Naomi's confidence at the end of chapter 3 in him
is not unfounded.
Secondly, we see him following the law and customs
of the Israelites.
This nearest redeemer, right?
This unnamed man.
He's not even given a name in the text.
He's just simply called friend, right?
He doesn't take up the right,
the privilege, I would suggest,
the thing that he was meant to do,
but rather passes it on to Boaz.
At first, he is glad to have the benefit of Elimelech's land.
But when Boaz informs him of the further obligation to Ruth,
he is unwilling to be financially sacrificial
for the sake of these two widows.
Now, I am no expert on all of these laws,
and a lot of commentators have different ideas.
Most of them say,
we're not exactly sure what's happening here.
So it's helpful not to get bogged down in the details
of exactly what's going on.
But what's probable is that this would have been
a temporary redeeming,
so it would have gone back into the ownership of the family,
and that if he were to have a son with Ruth,
then that son would have been entitled to the land.
So he would have spent something of his estate
to gain some temporary benefit of this land,
but then that land would have left him.
And so he doesn't want to put that in jeopardy.
He is entirely financially driven, right?
Not willing to be sacrificial for the sake of these two women,
as Boaz has expressed that he is, right?
So a few things about these redemption laws,
as well as, we can read about those in Leviticus 25,
as well as some laws about leverite marriage,
which is a Latin word which means brother marriage.
It had to do with when somebody was widowed,
the brother was obligated to marry the widow
to keep the line of his brother going on.
I want to just read a quick little short summary.
I read this to you last week,
but again, it's helpful to us.
Some things that we can understand about this.
Firstly, when an Ezrealite family became very poor
and had to sell their land to survive,
the nearest male relative, called the kinsman redeemer,
had the responsibility of rescuing them from poverty
by buying their land back and restoring it to the family.
And this was called the redemption of property.
If they become so poor
that they've had to sell themselves into slavery,
a rich relative had to rescue them by buying their freedom.
This is the main thing we think about
when we think about redemption,
the redemption of Christ,
because it's called that also in Leviticus chapter 25.
Also, which I just mentioned,
if a man died leaving his widow without children,
which is where we found Ruth and Naomi,
their nearest male relative had to step in and marry his widow
and enable her to have children
so they could inherit their father's property
and keep it in the family.
Also, this was called redemption.
But nowhere in the Old Testament
are the redemption property laws
connected to the Leverite laws.
So it had either become customary
or, and this is the explanation I most like,
because it just feeds the story well,
Boaz was extending the spirit of both laws
to ensure the care of Ruth and Naomi.
I just imagine there's a bit of tone,
and hear me clearly, this is imagination,
but a bit of tone in his response
when this Redeemer is willing to take the land,
and he says,
yeah, but you're also going to be obligated
to take Ruth as your wife.
And the Redeemer says,
oh, well then, well then, I won't.
But perhaps it was baked into their custom of the day.
Boaz very, very masterfully, right,
leads this negotiation to the result
that he's looking for.
He doesn't desire for this Redeemer
to redeem the land and to marry Ruth.
He desires to do this.
He is finding himself loving this woman, Ruth.
So it brings us to our second Redeemer, Boaz.
We see this in verses 7 down through the first part of 13.
So remember, the initial Redeemer,
the nearest Redeemer,
has refused to redeem,
and has said,
take my right of redemption yourself,
for I cannot redeem it.
Now, this was the custom in former times in Israel
concerning redeeming and exchanging.
To confirm a transaction,
the one drew off his sandal
and gave it to the other,
and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
So when the Redeemer said to Boaz,
buy it for yourself,
he drew off his sandal.
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people,
you are witnesses this day
that I have brought from the hand of Naomi
all that belonged to Elimelech
and all that belonged to Chilion and Malon.
Also Ruth, the Moabite,
the widow of Malon,
I have bought to be my wife,
to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance,
that the name of the dead may not be cut off
from among his brothers
and from the gate of his native place.
You are witnesses this day.
So in their day,
this was the legal transaction, right?
The paper is drawn up and it is signed,
is what we're seeing happen here.
Verse 11 says,
Then 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 house
like Rachel and Leah,
who together built up the house
of Israel.
May you act worthily in Ephrathah
and be renowned in Bethlehem.
And may your house be like the house of Perez,
whom Tamar bore to Judah
because of the offspring of the Lord
will give you by this young woman.
So they utter blessing, right?
That there would be a family
that would come from this marriage.
And the first part of verse 13 says,
So Boaz took Ruth
and she became his wife.
Now, Boaz, I believe,
should be understood typologically
to teach us something of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So whenever you hear us use this kind of language,
typology is the looking at things
in the Old Testament
that prefigure,
that give us shadows,
some reflection,
some hints of the antitype,
which is the fulfillment.
So there's type and antitype.
The type is the,
the antitype is the fulfillment
of the type.
It wants to show us something of Christ.
Now, many preachers make this
the entire point of the book of Ruth,
and I don't think that it is.
The entire point.
As I have said,
I believe that God means for us
to carefully consider his providence
as the major theme of this book.
But we should not miss
what the inspired author is doing
with Boaz.
Remember, this author,
we're not sure who he is,
but this narrator is sitting down
and under the inspiration of the Spirit
is carefully recording
some interesting facts
about the life of Boaz.
Typology can be a bit tricky,
and it should be done carefully.
While all roads in the Bible
lead to Christ,
we want to be careful
not to find him
where he is not found.
Some critics of typology
will say that we should only
understand something typologically
when the New Testament writers do so,
and there's many cases of this.
These instances,
without a doubt,
are the clearest,
but I do think
we can reasonably draw
additional typological connections.
I think we see one here.
Boaz serves as a shadow
of the ultimate Redeemer
for a handful of reasons.
Just think together.
First, he is from the tribe of Judah,
just as Jesus is.
He is from Bethlehem,
just as Jesus is.
He is honorable.
Now, we know, to be sure,
that Boaz was not a perfect man.
He didn't keep the law perfectly.
Only Jesus Christ
has ever kept the law perfectly.
But he's presented in this text
as an honorable man.
We don't see any of his failures
in the text,
and I think that's by design.
Not that we would think of him
as perfect,
but that our gaze
would go to the perfect one.
Not only is he
keeper of the law,
he's also gracious
in his provision.
He not only keeps it,
but he goes beyond it.
He's abundant in the way
that he cares for Ruth
and Naomi.
He rescues Naomi and Ruth
from certain destitution.
They would have found themselves
as slaves of some sort
just to survive.
And at his own expense,
he keeps them from that.
And then lastly,
he makes for himself.
He says,
also,
Ruth the Moabite.
He calls her that,
and he's clear about it.
The narrator shows us this,
and I think we're meant
to see that connection.
Now, we have the clearer picture
of Christ.
So, how does a faint picture
serve us?
What are we to do
with this information?
Well,
as we admire
a man like Boaz,
and I think we have reason
to admire a man like Boaz,
we should,
in higher measure,
set our affections
on Jesus Christ.
As we think about,
oh, this man, Boaz,
who is so very generous,
and does this rescuing,
this redeeming work
on behalf of Naomi
and of Ruth.
We have a greater redeemer,
which we'll think about together
in just a few moments.
I think this is what it's meant
to do for us
as we are warmed
by this kind of activity.
It's supposed to then
turn red hot
in affection
for Jesus Christ.
So, that's Boaz,
the redeemer.
Thirdly,
we see Obed,
the redeemer.
The last part of verse 13
and into verse 17.
After Boaz has taken Ruth
as his wife,
verse 13 says,
and he went into her,
and the Lord gave her conception,
and she bore a son.
Then the women said to Naomi,
Blessed be the Lord
who has not left you this day
without a redeemer,
and may his name
be renowned in Israel.
He shall be to you
a restorer of life
and a nourisher
of your old age,
for your daughter-in-law
who loves you,
who is more to you
than seven sons,
has given birth to him.
Then Naomi took the child
and laid him on her lap
and became his nurse.
And the women of the neighborhood
gave him a name,
saying,
A son has been born
to Naomi.
They named him
Obed.
This narrative
does not make much
of the fact
that Ruth and Malon
had been married
for ten years,
about ten years,
the text says,
before his death,
and they had
no children.
Perhaps he was unable
to impregnate her,
his name means sickly,
after all,
or perhaps she was unable
to conceive
his original audience.
That would have been
an oddity to them
as they read it.
Many couples in our day
decide not to have children.
That's just a decision
that they make.
They're not going
to have kids,
but this was not so
in Ruth's day.
Ruth and Malon
would have been trying
to have children,
progeny,
from the very first days
of their betrothal,
and yet they had none.
And it would have been assumed
that Ruth was unable
to conceive,
that she was barren.
So, Obed's conception
is meant to be seen
as especially blessed.
In a long line
of barren women
conceiving children
that play a very important part
in God's redemptive plan,
God here clearly intervened
in this child's birth.
In fact,
the narrator says there
in verse 13,
and the Lord
gave her conception.
We also see
that Boaz and Ruth
do not name Obed,
but rather the women
of Bethlehem
name him.
It highlights
the significance
of this little boy
and God's work
in the life
of this little family
for the sake
of his people.
So how is it
that he's a redeemer?
We're not reading
that into the text.
It says it right there.
The women say
that Naomi
has not been left
without a redeemer.
Obed is a redeemer
to her.
He's rescuing her
from that emptiness
that she declares
to have
when she shows up
in chapter 1.
Her family
had all.
Her family
carries on.
And she's now
a grandmother.
And we see
this beautiful
little picture
of affection,
the child being
laid in her lap
and her caring
for him.
This little boy
is significant
and we're going
to see why
the narrator
takes us right
to why
his name
means worshiper
or servant
of God.
The women
of Bethlehem
name him.
So that's
the third
redeemer
in the text.
Obed,
the redeemer.
And now
we arrive
at the
most important
redeemer.
So number four,
the,
all caps,
redeemer.
Beginning in
verse 17
and to the end
of the chapter
we see this
kind of double
announcement.
He was
the father
of Jesse,
the father
of David.
Obed
is the
grandfather
of King
David.
And then
again,
it launches
back into
it.
Verse 18
and expanded
a ten
person
genealogy.
Now these
are the
generations
of
Perez.
Perez
fathered
Hezron.
Hezron
fathered
Ram.
Ram
fathered
Amenadab.
Amenadab
fathered
Nashon.
Nashon
fathered
Salmon.
Salmon
fathered
Boaz.
Boaz
fathered
Obed.
Obed
fathered
Jesse.
And Jesse
fathered
David.
And the
book ends
at that
point.
This is not
the only
genealogy in
the Old
Testament,
but it's
the only
book in
the Old
Testament
that ends
with the
genealogy.
And it's
leaving us
hanging there
at that
point.
We know
why.
That's a
wonderful
thing.
I'm so
glad that
we know
why.
Early
readers of
this,
pre-Christ
readers of
this would
have seen
the
significance
end with
King
David.
Oh,
Obed is
the
grandfather
of
King
David.
Naomi,
poor
Naomi,
taken off
with her
husband and
two sons,
widowed,
returns with
her daughter-in-law.
The story
unfolds,
this love
story that
we see,
and oh,
look at
this.
She gets
to be the
great-grandmother
of King
David.
But there's
something so
much more
significant going
on here that
we have the
privilege of
understanding.
You see,
in 2 Samuel
chapter 7,
in verse 16,
just to keep
it brief,
there's much
to be read
there,
and I
encourage you
to do
so.
Nathan,
the prophet,
says to
King David,
on behalf
of God,
your house
and your
kingdom
shall be
made sure
forever
before me.
Your throne
shall be
established
forever.
And we
understand that
the Davidic
covenant is
fulfilled by
Jesus Christ.
One that
came from
King David
would be the
ruler that
would rule
forever and
ever and
ever.
That one is
King Jesus
who sits on
a throne now
ruling over
all things.
It's what we
call his
session.
Seated at the
right hand of
the Father
and nothing
escapes his
attention or
control.
All things.
I think we're
singing a couple
of songs this
morning about
that.
He reigns
even now.
So we see
the Redeemer
at the end
of chapter
four.
And the
redemption that
he brings to
us is not
just a temporal
redemption,
although God
is caring for
us as well.
In his
providence,
he cares for
every detail
of our
days.
But it's a
much grander,
much more
important redemption
that's being
accomplished by
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Paul says in
Ephesians
chapter 1
and verse
7,
in Jesus
we have
redemption
through his
blood,
the forgiveness
of our
trespasses
according to
the riches
of his
grace.
We are
delivered from
slavery,
from destitution,
from lostness
in sin,
from being
utterly cut
off from the
blessings of
God.
This picture of
these two
widows not
knowing where
their next meal
may come from,
the possibility
that they become
slaves is only a
little tiny picture
of the reality
of who we are
apart from
the redemption
of Jesus Christ.
Christ.
We needed
him to
offer up
himself
to pay
that eternal
debt
that we
owed
because of
our sin.
Paul says
here in
Ephesians
1
7
that we
have
the
forgiveness
of our
trespasses,
that debt
taken
away.
By faith
in Christ,
the church
is wed
to Christ.
We are
delivered
from our
spiritual
destitution
and final
destruction.
We are
cared for
spiritually
and
temporally.
The book
of Ruth
reminds us
to look
to the
loving kindness
of our
God
in the
person
and work
of Jesus
Christ,
regardless
of the
circumstances
that we
walk in.
He loves
you,
and he
is working
providentially
for you.
Now,
at the
beginning of
our study
of Ruth,
I did
something so
shocking,
so many
of you
said,
by having
a visual
image.
I pulled
out of the
front of my
Bible a
little origami
sparrow.
I promise
I'm not
going to
become this
guy.
There will
be no
multimedia
presentations.
This is as
fancy as it
gets for
me.
But I
have this
little
origami
sparrow
in the
front of
my
Bible,
which
reminds
me,
I told
you,
and I'll
tell you
again,
to look
at the
birds of
the air
in the
Sermon on
the Mount.
You can
see in
this creased
paper the
form of a
sparrow,
assuming that
you can see
it from
where you
are.
It's
formish,
the best
form I
could make
of a
sparrow.
But how
it takes
this form
is not
quite
clear.
Some
of the
folds
just
don't
make
sense
as
you're
making
them.
It
comes off
odd,
some of
these
folds,
but then
they become
more and
more
clear,
and it
becomes the
shape of
a
sparrow.
If you
were to
take it
and carefully
unfold it
and fold
it back
again,
you would
begin to
understand
how it
is that
it comes
to take
this
shape.
how we
understand
providence
is a
bit
like
this.
We
don't
often
understand
how
God
is
working
in
the
circumstances
of our
life,
but often,
not always,
but often,
we are allowed
glimpses of
how all
that he
does
is for
our good
and his
glory.
When we
don't get
to see
those glimpses
for ourselves,
we get
the benefit
of seeing
them in
the lives
of others
like
Naomi
and Ruth
and Boaz
and the
lineage
that
follows.
So just
for the
comfort of
your own
soul,
we think
about
providence
being unfolded.
I want to
take you
to two
texts,
just a
brief
closing.
So if
you will
please join
me in
Matthew
chapter
10.
I want
to show
you
something
rather
astounding
in parallel
recordings
of what I
want to
assume is
the same
teaching,
but it
could be
that Jesus
taught this
way multiple
times and
in multiple
ways and
therefore it's
recorded that
way,
but any
way you want
to slice
it,
these are
inspired
texts and
so we can
know that
it's recorded
this way
on purpose.
Let me show
you this.
He says in
Matthew
chapter 10
beginning in
verse 29,
this is Jesus
speaking,
are not
two sparrows
sold for
a penny?
This would
have been
for sacrifice
in the
temple.
Are not
two sparrows
sold for
a penny?
The least
of all of
the sacrifices
that could
be bought.
There was
an allowance
for this
for the
poorest of
people.
They could
buy two
sparrows
for a
penny.
And not
one of
them,
Jesus says,
will fall
to the
ground
apart from
your father,
his providence,
his control.
But even
the hairs
of your
head are
all numbered.
Fear not,
therefore,
you are of
more value
than many
sparrows.
So this
cheap bird
that's being
sold is
cared for
by the
father.
We are
much more
than that
is what
Jesus is
teaching us
here.
Now,
Matthew 10,
keep your
hand marked
there and
turn to
Luke chapter
12.
The record
here is
almost identical
so I won't
read it in
its entirety,
but there's
one very
notable
difference.
Remember
Matthew 10,
29 says,
are not
two sparrows
sold for
a penny?
Luke 12,
6 says,
are not
five sparrows
sold for
two pennies?
So we have
in the one
case,
two sparrows
for a penny,
in the other
case,
five sparrows
for two
pennies.
And so,
if you do
the grocery
shopping in
your home,
you already
know,
there's a
free sparrow.
There's one
thrown in.
Two for
one,
or five
for two.
There's an
odd sparrow.
Even
that sparrow,
right,
the God
providentially
cares for.
Do you ever
feel like the
odd sparrow?
I do.
The story
of the
book of
Ruth is
a glimpse
of God's
providence
for even
the odd
sparrow
unfolded.
May we
remember it,
recognize
its grand
significance,
and take
great courage
from it.
I hope it's
been good for
your soul
as it has
been for
mine.
Let's pray
together.
here.