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Outlines on the Book of Ruth
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Introduction: As indicated in our last lesson, Ruth, who represents a growing child of God, found that her lot was continuously improving. Although she had already found much improvement, it was nothing to compare with what she was about to receive. She was about to marry the mightiest man in Bethlehem-judah. It was a marriage she could claim by faith, and it illustrates well the difference between knowing the promises of God and acting upon those promises.

A. Naomi called Boaz "our Kindred," Verse 2, and Ruth said to him in Verse 9, "thou art a near kinsman." Boaz admitted in Verse 12 "I am thy near Kinsman. "

1 . The word "Kinsman" is from the Hebrew word "goel" which means to redeem according to the laws of kinship. The next of kin was to perform certain duties as prescribed by law.

2. The law said in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. And it shall be, that the first born which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. "

3. So, as near kinsman, Boaz had certain legal obligations to Ruth.

B. There were four things a kinsman was required to do:

1. As Deuteronomy 25:5 says, he was to marry the widow of his childless kinsman, and raise up children in the name of his dead kinsman.

2. Leviticus 25:25 says he was to redeem the sold inheritance of his poor kinsman.

3. Leviticus 25:47-49 shows that he was to ransom his poor kinsman, who had fallen into bondage, by paying the price of redemption.

4. Also, according to Deuteronomy 19:12 with Numbers 5:5-8, a kinsman, or goel, was to avenge a trespass against another kinsman, especially a slain kinsman.

C. Ruth's claim on Boaz was that she was the widow of one of Boaz' near kinsman, Chilion. But also, Naomi had sold a parcel of land which belonged to her husband. Boaz was also obligated by law to buy that parcel back, provided he had the means by which to do so. Ruth 4:3 records the words of Boaz who said, "Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's." So, in this particular case there was a widow to be married and a parcel of land to be bought back, (redeemed).

D. In order to be in a position to redeem, a kinsman must be able to meet certain qualifications:

1. He must be a blood relative. Leviticus 25:48-49 will show that the redeemer had to be an uncle or an aunt or "any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family." Boaz was a close kin of Chilion and Naomi, thus he qualified as a redeemer. From Ruth 3:12 it becomes evident that the nearest kinsman should have the first chance to redeem. If he could not or would not, then the next nearest kinsman would have the next chance at redemption. There was a nearer kinsman in Naomi and Ruth's case than Boaz; but as we shall see, he could not redeem them. Thus the power and right of redemption fell squarely upon the shoulders of Boaz alone .

2. In order to redeem, the kinsman must also have the money to purchase the forfeited inheritance. You will see from Ruth 4:4-6 that the kinsman redeemer had to come up with all the money that was charged against the sold property. If he couldn't do that, the right of redemption passed to the next nearest of kin. In Ruth and Naomi's case, the nearest of kin was unable to redeem them and the property, and thus he said to Boaz, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it," 4:6. Thus, the right of redemption became evermore f i rm ly Boaz' alone.

3. The kinsman must also be willing to buy back the forfeited inheritance and to marry the wife of a dead kinsman. As Boaz pointed out to the near kinsman in Ruth 4:5, "What day thou buyest the field of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance." In this case, the nearest kinsman refused to meet these demands; thus there was no one else to redeem Ruth and Naomi's land except Boaz.

E. As the kinsman Redeemer, Boaz became a beautiful foretype and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 . He is our kinsman after the flesh. We are fleshly mortals, but he also took upon himself a fleshly body, and thus became our kinsman after the flesh. Galatians 4:4-5 says, "when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." His taking on of a fleshly body was necessary to qualify Jesus Christ as our kinsman, thus making him eligible to redeem us.

2. Furthermore, like Boaz, only Jesus Christ has the means and power whereby he can redeem us. He said in John 10: 18 of his own life, "No man taketh it from me, but I /ay it down of myself. I have power to /ay it down, and I have power to take it again." In view of the fact that he laid his life down for us and took it up again, which I Cor. 15:1-4 calls the gospel, he has the power to redeem. Upon the strength of that sacrifice, he can redeem or give salvation to everyone that believeth according to Romans 1:16. But, Acts 4:12 makes clear that there is not another kinsman in all of time and eternity who has the power to redeem us. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven among men, whereby we must be saved." Jesus Christ himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me, " John 14:6.

3. Also, like Boaz, Jesus Christ is willing to redeem us. He not only is able; he is also willing. He says, "come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest," Matthew 11:28. John 3:16 says, "God so loved the World, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth I .n him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Yes, Jesus Christ is willing to redeem us, his kinsmen after the flesh, who through sin, have been sold into bondage and condemnation.

4. So, as Boaz was solely qualified to redeem Ruth and the inheritance of Naomi because of his blood relationship combined with his ability and willingness to redeem; he beautifully foreshadows the great Kinsman Redeemer of fallen man, Jesus Christ, who through his relationship to us, his ability, and his willingness to redeem becomes the only one who can buy us back from our fallen condition. He alone is able to pay the price that justice demands.

III. RUTH PREPARES TO MEET HER REDEEMER: Ruth 3:3-4

A. Naomi took the initiative, and instructed Ruth in what to do:

1. Stanley Collins pointed out in his book, Courage and Submission "one of the very beautiful things about Ruth is the way she shares everything with Naomi. She is not too old to ask advice and not too self-sufficient to act upon it." Ruth had told Naomi all the things that happened to her.

2. Naomi immediately recognized the providence of God in these things, and she saw the rest and joy that could be Ruth's and hers by claiming the promises now available to them. She knew what the law provided regarding lost inheritances. She knew what a kinsman was obligated to do. Thus, she knew if Ruth could claim and get what the law provided, it would indeed be "well with thee," Verse 1.

3. Ruth didn't know these things, so Naomi instructed her. What an excellent example this is to mothers. As Naomi did for Ruth, every mother ought to look out for the wellbeing of her daughter, especially in the matter of finding a life partner for her. God has a life mate for everyone. Better than anyone else, he knows what kind of mate every person needs. Mothers would do well to teach their daughters to look for that right person: to know the qualities that are desirable, and to look for that right person with those qualities, rather than get mixed up with just anybody who comes along.

B. There are four things which Naomi told Ruth to do:

1. She first told her to wash herself. Ruth was not only going to meet Boaz to secure a marriage, but there was an inheritance at stake also. What this tells us is that if we are to receive an inheritance, we must have clean lives in the flesh. Paul wrote in II Cor. 7:1, "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. " You cannot live a life of carelessness and affection with the world, and at the same time expect to receive a great inheritance from the Redeemer.

2. Ruth was also told to anoint herself. The significance of this is that a child of God anticipating an inheritance from the redeemer should allow the spirit of God to control his life. Anointing is with oil, and oil in the scriptures speaks of the Spirit of God. David wrote, "I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Mine eye also shall see..." Psalm 92: 10-11. If we let the Spirit of God control our lives, we will, through his word and the wisdom he gives, be able to see to walk in integrity before our redeemer.

3. Naomi told Ruth to put her raiment upon her. This tells the child of God to "put on the new man." Eph. 4:24, and act in accordance with our membership in God's family.

4. She then tells her to go to the threshing floor. It is one thing to know the promises of God. It is another thing to claim them. It was of no value to Ruth to know what promises and provisions the law held for her, unless she acted to take advantage of those promises and provisions. So, Ruth was told to rise up and go down to the threshing floor to claim what the law held in store for her.

a. For example, they quote I Cor. 10:13, which says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it." "Yes," they say, "the grace of God is able to sustain you regardless of what the circumstances may be." But, the love of money and material goods comes tempting; and they claim no grace to resist it. Instead, they rationalize that they need the money and that giving up some church participation and godly living in order to get ahead is all right. Before long somebody criticizes or in some other way offends. They claim no grace to forgive it and maintain a beautiful spirit. No. Bitterness springs forth, resentment and anger fills their hearts. Many times there's an old grudge there for years to come, over it. They revenge. What I am saying is that along comes greed, jealousy, pride, envy, lust, selfishness, complacency, timidity, covetousness, and a host of other temptations; and rarely does the child of God claim any of that grace that they talk about so freely. Thus, you find among the children of God, who know the truth and promises of God, some of the hardest, bitterest, most proud and selfish and obnoxious people in all the world. They are people who have not done as Ruth, who practiced what she was told to do.

b. Most Christians know that they should trust God daily to sustain them and supply all their needs; and they talk a lot about how they are daily trusting God; but the fact is that few are, in fact, trusting him. They know the promise of God is "my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus, " Phil. 4:19. But, most of these Christians are depending upon their stocks, bonds, retirement fund, or bank accounts. Few are willing to part with these, and give God a chance to meet their needs.

c. But I remind you that Ruth said, "I will," and "she went," Ruth 3:5-6.

B. Going to meet Boaz at that threshing floor was an act of faith:

1. The promises of the law were that Boaz would redeem her. Faith is claiming God's promises. Ruth didn't go to that threshing floor to commit some immoral act or seduce a man. She went in faith, acting upon what had been promised of God.

2. My fellow believers, that is how you claim the grace of God that is able to meet all of your needs. Like Ruth, you must act upon the promises or exercise your faith. It is Romans 5:2 that says, "we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. " You will never know the sustaining grace of God until you your faith to the test; put it to work. Most Christians never see the handiwork of God in their lives; never know how he can supply all their needs, nor how he can sustain them under the most grueling abuses, because thev will never give him a chance. Instead of trusting him in faith to help through every circumstance; they work their fingers to the bone building up human defenses so there won't be any needs for which to trust God. They won't allow themselves to get involved with friends, so they won't have to trust God for grace when those friends disappoint and hurt them. They build savings and reserves so they won't have to trust God for supplying the necessities of life.

3. One of the severest rebukes of the Bible to the child of God deals with this very issue in Hebrews 5:11-14. These verses say, "Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful (notice the margin which renders this, "hath no experience") in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil."

4. Folks, one of the greatest shortcomings among God's people is their lack of experience or exercise in faith. They know about it, and talk about it, but do not act upon it. They are like the man who knows about walking, and who talks about walking, but who never walks. He may talk a good show, but he will forever be a weakling, regardless of how stout he thinks he is. And, Christian, until you start walking "by faith, not by sight," as II Cor. 5:7 says you should; you will be a spiritual weakling, and a sitting duck for the devil. He will fill you with self-sufficiency, pride, a superior spirit, an unforgiving spirit, a judgmental attitude, a critical spirit, a lack of tolerance for others, and all kinds of other devilish attitudes and tendencies. And all the while he will make you think you are one of the strongest, most dedicated, most mature Christians in all the world.

5. Ruth learned the truth and acted upon it. May this example lead each of us to evaluate ourselves afresh to see just how much we are acting in faith or using the truth we know.