Ruth 4:1-12
Boaz Redeems Ruth
1 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. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 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. 4 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[a] 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.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth[b] the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 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.”
7 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. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, 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.” 11 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, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Our passage today in Ruth 4:1-12 shows the rite of redemption when a near relative promises to marry a widow as presented in the Jewish law. This formal and ceremonial act is a legal matter and involves not only the near relative who redeems but also the townspeople as well. In other words, the obligation to take care of widows and preserve the lineage of the deceased husband so the land owner will not be erased is extremely important — The provisions are covered in the Jewish Law (Leviticus 25:25-28). In today’s study, we will examine what is meant by the term redeem and how Boaz became Ruth’s redeemer. In application, we will study and by God’s grace, see Jesus Christ as our Kinsman Redeemer.
As I was growing up in the 1960s and 70s, I remember my mother and grandmother would always do their shopping at certain stores that issued S&H Green Stamps. We we got home, mom or grandma would let us paste the stamps in the S&H books. We loved looking at the redemption catalog and it was our wish book! “Oh, if I could save enough S&H Green Stamps to buy a bicycle or toy that I wanted.” But with five boys in our family and the hard economic times, mom could only redeem the stamps to get something the family really needed. This is a simple illustration of redemption that ‘Baby Boomers’ (those born after World War II and up to the mid-1960s) would understand. I must collect enough stamps that will cover the cost of a bicycle. Then I go to the store and place my order to redeem (purchase or exchange) the stamps for the bicycle I want. Even though I was not in a court of law, redemption is still a legal term, in that, I must do this in exchange fo that. In the same way, Boaz had to also do something in order to qualify and purchase, or redeem, Ruth and the land of her late husband and Naomi’s late husband too.
In ancient times, the city or town’s gate was the community center. This is where kings and important people would sit and meet as seen in various Old Testament passages (e.g., Genesis 19:1, 9; Deuteronomy 21:18-21; 1 Samuel 4:10-18; 1 Samuel 18:1-5; 1 Samuel 19:1-8; and Esther 2:5-8, 19-23). In Ruth 4:1, Boaz goes to the city gate to meet with the relative who is nearer than he to Ruth, and to meet with the townspeople as witnesses. When he gets to the city gate, he sees his kinsman and tells him to come, meet, and decide on this important matter. Boaz explains to his relative and the townspeople that he, who is nearer than he, should follow through, because of the law in Leviticus 25:25-28, and purchase the land of Elimelech that Naomi is selling. At first, the nearest kinsman agreed. He wanted the land. However, Boaz sets out to explain the whole matter. To purchase the land, the nearest relative must also redeem Ruth as a wife to raise up an heir for her late husband, Mahlon. Hearing this, the nearer kinsman declined to redeem Ruth, because that would jeopardize his children’s inheritance. Therefore, to follow the ancient traditions and customs, when one does not redeem, he must remove his sandals, and give them to the other man who will redeem, in sight of many witnesses. The man gives Boaz his sandal and the whole town says to Boaz in Ruth 4:11-12:
“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, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Boaz becomes, by legal decision in front of many witnesses, Ruth’s redeemer. This means, according to Scripture from our passage, he must purchase the land from Naomi that belongs to her late husband (Elimelech) and her two deceased sons (Mahlon, who was Ruth’s late husband, and Chilion). Additionally, Boaz must also marry Ruth to raise us legal heirs of Mahlon so his name does not die out from the genealogical records in Israel. If we remember yesterday’s discussion when we compared and contrasted Boaz with Judah. Judah’s oldest son Er married Tamar, but he was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, so the Lord killed him, leaving Tamar a widow. Er’s brother, Onan, married Tamar to redeem her, but he did not want Tamar to have children. So what he did was evil in the eyes of God, and he also died. Boaz, on the other hand, promised to marry Ruth and raise children. Boaz took God’s law seriously and therefore, he was blessed.
In application, we need to also be obedient to God. God will not be defamed because of our misbehavior. To help us, God had a plan of redemption for us, those who rebelled against His holy Law. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became flesh when He was born of a woman, to become our kinsman. However, Jesus was all man and all God, for he was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, being God, He was perfect and righteous. Not only was He our near kinsman, but He was also the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Jesus is our Redeemer. In addition, God, by His Holy Spirit gave us a new heart, whereby, we do not have to continue in sin. With Christ’s atoning blood, He purchased or redeemed us from the law and we are now new creatures. We have the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in us to empower and teach us in God’s way to holiness. Therefore, worthless us become worthy in the eyes of God because of the worthiness of Christ and the great price He paid to redeem us! What do we do for Him who loved us so? We are to worship Him! Our Lord God and Savior! Jesus Christ! Our Redeemer!
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My Redeeming God, I praise You for Your Word. You have declared and revealed Yourself as our loving and saving God. I know I did nothing to merit Your love. i praise and worship You, my Jesus, for paying the great price of Your precious blood in atonement for my sins. I worship You. Help me to live everyday to glorify and honor You. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, amen!
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I Know My Redeemer Lives, by Samuel Medley in 1775
