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10250 North Freeway @ West Road
Houston, Texas 77037
Tel: (281) 447-8484
Outlines on the Book of Ruth
Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1978
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express
written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson
Chapter 14
Introduction: Ruth went to Boaz and asked him to perform the part of a kinsman. In a beautiful picture of the love God has for us, who by sin lost our inheritance and fell into bondage, Boaz readily agreed to do everything necessary to redeem the inheritance and to receive Ruth as his wife. His words in Ruth 3:11 are, "I will do to thee all that thou requirest."THE INTRODUCTION OF A NEARER KINSMAN
Ruth 3:12-13, 16-18, 4:1-2
I. RESTING UPON BOAZ' PROMISE, RUTH COULD GLADLY WAIT FOR THE MORNING TO COME, AT WHICH TIME ALL WOULD BE RESTORED:
A. Boaz told her to "tarry this night" and "lie down until the morning" in Ruth 3:13. Verse 14 says, "and she lay at his feet until the morning. "
1. Now that Ruth had the word of her kinsman, who was the wealthiest man in the land, that all would be taken care of properly when the morning came, she could rest. She had hope, and as Romans 5:5 says, "hope maketh not ashamed." Perhaps Ruth didn't know exactly how Boaz would work all of it out; but she trusted him to do it, knowing full well that what he had promised, he could and would perform. Romans 8:24-25 says, "we are saved by hope: for what man seeth, why doeth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." So Ruth couldn't see it all, but that didn't matter. Her faith in the Redeemer gave her hope, and that gave her patience to wait. And as Hebrews 6:19 says, hope is "an an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."
2. Ruth, waiting out the night in hope, is an excellent foreshadow of how the child of God should wait in hope today for the day when our Lord and Redeemer shall come to redeem our bodies, give us our inheritance, and take us home to be with Him:
a. I Timothy 1:1 speaks of our "Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope, " and Titus 2:13 tells us to look "for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. "
b. We know that as Romans 13:12 says, "the night is far spent, the day is at hand," soon Jesus will come and "change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. " Philippians 3:21. We have this promise in Hebrews 10:37, "for yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry."
c. We know with Peter that any sufferings and problems we face now are but for a brief season; then Jesus will come and take them all away. As he said, "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations," I Peter 1:6.
d. This world is indeed dark with sin; yet the hope every child of God has is a light in his soul. Though he is in a dark world, no child of God is in darkness. That is why I Thes. 5:4-5 says, "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness... ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day." It is also why Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world: he that fo/loweth me shall not walk in darkness, but shal! have the light of life."
e. With Paul we can say, "I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day, " II Tim. 1:12. The knowledge of our Redeemer and his promise to return makes it possible for us to "run with patience the race that is set before us, " Hebrews 12: 1.
f. Like Ruth, we can wait through the night, knowing that the day will soon come when our redemption will be complete.
B. Naomi also quickly saw that their complete redemption would soon be a reality:
1. When Ruth arrived back at the house where she was, her question was, "who art thou my daughter?" Verse 16:
a. This inquiry is an effort by Naomi to find out whether or not Boaz has agreed to take the part of a near kinsman. Naomi was wanting to know if he agreed or refused.
b. In a very real sense she is asking, "Do you have a wedding ring? Is there going to be a marriage or not?"
2. Then Ruth explained to Naomi "all that the man had done to her, " Verse 16. Verse 17 specifically mentions "these six measures of barley," which Boaz gave to Ruth, and the statement he made concerning,, them . He said, "Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law
a. Six measures was apparently very much more than the good amount Ruth had collected in a day of gleaning in the field. Leon Morris, in his commentary on Ruth, estimated it to be about 88 pounds.
b. Boaz seemed to make a direct illusion to the fact that Naomi had returned to Bethlehem from Moab "empty," Ruth 1:21. Boaz knew that; but now, in view of his intentions to redeem the inheritance, Naomi's "empty" days are over.
c. As we've already explained in a previous lesson, the "six" measures of barley represented an incomplete amount. It testified of the fact that there was more to come.
3. When Naomi heard and saw these things, she knew that in prospect, the matter was settled, though redemption was not yet a fact, it was just a matter of time until it would be a fact:
a. Her words reflect the assurance she now has. She said to Ruth, "Sit still (no cause for anxiety), my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he has finished the thing this day," Verse 18.
b. Note well that Naomi does not say to Ruth, "Sit still, my daughter, and see if this matter will fall." No. She says, "Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall." It is now not a matter of whether or not the redemption will be completed. That it will be is already settled. The only thing now is for us to wait and see just how our redeemer will bring it all about.
c. What an Old Testament testimonial this is of the certainty each child of God can have. It is not a matter of if our Lord is going to come and complete our redemption. He is. That is settled. Like Boaz, he will not rest until this work is done. He is right now seated at the right hand of the throne in heaven making intercession for us, Heb. 10:12 and Heb. 4:14-16. He is carrying on a high priestly work for us right now, Heb. 10:21; and he will not rest until he comes again and receives us unto himself that where he is, we may be also, John 14:1-3. With Naomi we can say "how"; not "if."
II. WHEN THE DAY CAME, BOAZ CALLED UPON THE NEARER KINSMAN TO REDEEM THE INHERITANCE AND RUTH:
A. Boaz did this at the gate of the city:
1. "The gate" was a very important place in ancient Judean cities. It was the place for any important assembly. Often Kings sat there as did Ahab and Jehoshaphat in Samaria in I Kings 22:10. King Zedekiah sat "in the gate of Benjamin" in Jer. 38:7. When Absalom wanted to make capital out of the way justice was administered in Jerusalem, he "rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him..., " II Sam. 15:2. People were condemned before the elders in the gate, Deut. 22:24. Amos spoke of "him that rebuketh in the gate," Amos 5:10, of the unjust judges that "afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right, " Amos 5:12; and he said in Amos 5:15, "Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate." Solomon warned, "Rob not the poor because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate," Proverbs 22:22. And, one of the worst things that could happen to a city was for the elders to "cease from the gate," Lam. 5:14.
2. So, the gate was a public meeting place in the city. It was the place where public transactions and complaints were to be heard. It was the place to which a childless widow was to go if her dead husband's brother refused to marry her. Here the elders of the city would publicly humiliate such a man, Deut. 15:7. Thus, the gate was the ideal place to conduct the sort of business which Boaz was facing.
B. Boaz sat in the gate until the nearer kinsman came by, "unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down, " Ruth 4: 1.
1 . This was the nearer kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken in Ruth 3:12-13. This kinsman being nearer than Boaz had first right or opportunity to redeem the inheritance and buy Ruth.
2. Boaz is about to put this nameless kinsman on the spot to redeem the inheritance or forever relinquish his claim to it; so he called "ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down," Ruth 4:2. What Boaz was doing was no secret, hidden thing. It was done out in the open, before all, with a jury of the people to observe it. When Boaz paid out the money for the redemption of Naomi's property, and when he took Ruth and redeemed her, it was before the eyes of all.
3 . Boaz was not only a wealthy man, he was a just man. The matter between him and the nearer kinsman must not just be settled, it must be settled legally. Boaz was wealthy and loved Ruth. He could have ignored legal procedure and married her. But, he didn't. He met the demands of the law, and called a council of ten men of the elders of the city, which constituted a quorum and was the numer of complete testimony. Another kinsman had a claim upon Naomi's property. He must be heard and his claim given full recognition.
4. This testifies of our great redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. He too met all the conditions of the law in redeeming us from sin's penalty and in promising us an inheritance and redemption of the body at his return. His words about the law are, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill," Matthew 5:17. When he died, he died "according to the scriptures," I Cor. 15:3. Publicly he lived, publicly he died, publicly he arose again. Publicly he met every requirement of the law that he might redeem us. When jesus said, "it is finished," John 19:30, every single legal claim of the law had been met. The fact that God raise him from the dead is undeniable proof that he had satisfied every exaction necessary for our redemption.
III. THIS NEARER KINSMAN SYMBOLIZES THE LAW OF MOSES:
A. As we shall more fully discuss, the nearer kinsman tried but could not perform the redemption:
1. When, before the elders of the people, Boaz asked him to redeem the land, he said "I will redeem it," Verse 4.
2. But, when he learned that the redemption involved both an inheritance and a person, he said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, " Verse 6.
B. Likewise the law of Moses (nor any other law) cannot redeem a person:
1. Galatians 2:16 says, "by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
2. There is a tremendous reason why the law cannot redeem. This we shall consider in detail in our next lesson.