Ruth 1
Ruth 2
Ruth 3
Ruth 4
 
 
 
 

The book of Ruth is one of the two books in the whole Bible that has a woman as the central character. Who was she? Why would God choose this woman, this story to be included in His Word? How does this story apply to me today? Do you feel like God could never love you? Are you stuck in difficult circumstances and there seems to be no end in sight? Do you feel like God is some impersonal force that has no direct involvement in the affairs of man? Or do you feel like you’ve gotten on God’s bad side and there is no turning back? 

This short study of Ruth will answer these questions and more. Many people may be familiar with the beautiful love story of Ruth & Boaz. Others may remember it as a story of a devoted daughter- in- law.  It is also story of hope & redemption that has implications for you today. As you study this book, look for character traits in the main characters of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. Also, look between the lines and see what you can learn about God. It will bless and amaze you!

Chapter 1:1
What is the setting for the book of Ruth?  “Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.” NAS 
“…in the days when the judges governed” 
This was a sad period in Israel’s history when there was no King in Israel and everyman “did what was right in his own eyes.” For 300-400 years Israel was caught in a horrible repeating cycle. The cycle started with idolatry(worshipping other gods) & sin (living and doing what they wanted, instead of  living God’s way). God sent them into bondage to an enemy because of their sin. Israel cried out to God for deliverance under the oppression of the enemy.  God heard their cries & raised up judges to deliver them. The people lived in obedience to God while the judge ruled. Once the judge died, they reverted to a life of idolatry & sin. This is the backdrop for the story of Ruth. The story opens in town of Bethlehem in Judah. Bethlehem is about 5 miles south of Jerusalem. Judah was the portion of land that God gave to the tribe of Judah, one of the 12 tribes of Israel (Joshua 15).  Bethlehem in Hebrew means “House of Bread”. Today, Christians recognize Bethlehem as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

“…there was a famine in the land”
There was a famine, a shortage of food, in the town called a “House of Bread!” So this man took his family and moved them to the foreign land of Moab. Moab is about 40 miles away, east of the Dead Sea. Many times in scripture it is recorded that God used famines to judge Israel’s sin. A famine was a consequence of Israel being disobedient to the commands & laws God had given them. God had warned Israel of these consequences in Leviticus 26 & Deuteronomy 28. Israel was to see this time of famine as a “wakeup call”; a time to return to the Lord with a repentant heart. 

Are you experiencing a time of “famine” in your life?  For a believer in Jesus Christ, hard times will happen. God uses hard times to grow our faith and dependence on Him, making us more Christ-like, or He uses hard or difficult circumstances to judge some sin or disobedience in our lives. In the New Testament, Hebrews 12:10-11 says, “…but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” 

Is your life full of hardships & difficulties? Are you spiritually dry & thirsty? Have you turned your back on the Lord? Are you walking in disobedience to what He has commanded in His Word? If so, ask Him to show you where you have wronged Him. When He reveals it, ask Him for forgiveness. If you know Christ as your Savior, God may be using a time of “famine” to draw you back to Him. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

If the hard circumstances are not a result of sin in your life, what should your attitude be? 1 Peter 4:12-19 says that suffering should not surprise us in our life because we will share in the sufferings of Christ. Our attitude should be to rejoice and entrust ourselves to a faithful God. James 1:2-3 says “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  Our attitude is to be one of confidence & joy that the Lord is using this hardship to make us more like Christ. 

What was Christ like? Read Philippians 2:5-11. It says that although Christ being God, became flesh, taking on the form of man and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death on the cross. Humble yourself under God’s hand and be obedient to Him in spite of difficult hardships in your life.

If you have never trusted Jesus as Savior & Lord then God is using hard circumstances to turn you to Him, to bring you into His family. His desire is that you become one of His children and know the peace that comes from belonging to Him. John 3: 16 says: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”   Scripture teaches that you are either in God’s kingdom (family) or you are in Satan’s. You can read about what Jesus had to say about Satan’s kingdom and the outcome of those who belong to him in Matthew 13:36-43.  How do you get into God’s family?  Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  You have to believe that you as a sinner need a Savior. God has provided the Way. You have to choose to believe Jesus is the Way. Once you pray and ask God for forgiveness and tell Him your need for Jesus, then God hears your prayer and brings you into His family forever!  What does that mean? One thing it means is that when you die, you go to be with Him in heaven. But what does it mean now, while you are alive in this world?  That is the question the story of Ruth answers! 

1:2 “And the name of the man was Elimelech, and name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon & Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there.” NAS
Who are these people? Where are they going & why?
Elimelech, a Jewish man, takes his family and goes to the land of Moab. This is current day Jordan.  He leaves the Promised Land given by God to His people and journeys to Moab, a pagan nation who did not worship God. Moab worshiped false gods.  Moab had been one of the nations that did not help Israel when they were coming from Egypt (Deuteronomy 23:4), and they had also hired Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22). They were enemies of the Lord & Israel. The Lord told Israel that if they married Moabites or Ammonites, 10 generations of their descendants would be banned from temple worship (Deuteronomy 23:1-4).  It was a serious choice on Elimelech’s part to take his family to Moab, where his sons might marry Moabites and jeopardize his descendants for 10 generations. The Lord had warned Israel to stay separate from the pagan nations around them. Israel belonged to Him and He did not want them mixing with the pagan nations and be led astray by their idol worship. Israel did not obey God and so during this time of the judges, Israel had been led astray. They were in the cycle where God judged their sin against Him with a famine. Elimelech thought the circumstances were so bad in Bethlehem that his family would be better off in Moab! Their two sons names, Mahlon & Chilion, mean “sickly” and “failing”. Perhaps they were so sick and frail because of the lack of food. 

Where do you run when things are difficult?  God never wants us to run to a person or a place that is against His will or is against His written Word.  If you run to Him first, He will provide you a way out and it won’t be contrary to what He has written in His Word, the Bible. 

1:3-5  Elimelech, Naomi’s husband dies in Moab and her two sons marry Moabite women. One is Orpah and the other is Ruth. They live there for 10 years and then the two sons Mahlon & Chilion die also. Neither Ruth nor Orpah have children.  Naomi (whose name means pleasant) finds herself a widow and childless in a foreign land with pagan daughter-in-laws. Naomi is in a dark time in her life.  She has lost everything and everyone. Where do you turn in the dark times? Who do you turn to? 

1:6-13  Naomi hears that the “Lord has visited his people in giving them food” so she decides to return to her homeland, Bethlehem. She urges her daughter-in-laws to return to their own mother’s house & she prays a blessing on them:  “May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with me. May the LORD grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband.”  In spite of all Naomi has been through she still recognizes the Lord. It is His hand that brings the food & blessings as well as the hard times. He is sovereign. Naomi is releasing her daughters-in-law to remarry and stay in Moab.  She is releasing them from the obligation of carrying on her son’s lineage, as was the custom in that time.  Naomi is talking about the Jewish law of the levirate. This is the law God gave Israel to provide for childless widows so her husband’s name would not die out. Deuteronomy 25:5-10 states the brother of the dead husband is to take the widow as his wife and perform the duties of a husband. The first born of that marriage would take the dead husband’s name so his line would not die out. Naomi told her daughters-in-law is that she had no husband and was too old to bear any more children and even if she could, it would take too long for them to grow up and marry Ruth & Orpah.  She didn’t want their future jeopardized because of the circumstances. Obviously in the 10 years Orpah & Ruth had been with Naomi, there had been a kind and tender relationship between them. Naomi was looking out for their best interests. 

1:14-18  Naomi, Orpah & Ruth say their tearful goodbyes. Orpah kisses Naomi and leaves, but Ruth clung to Naomi.  Naomi tells Ruth “Behold, your sister- in -law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister- in- law.”  Ruth (whose name means friend) was in the crossroad of her life: turn back or move forward. Turn back to what she knew (Moab) or move forward to an uncertain future in an unknown land, with Naomi. Orpah turned back to her false gods and family.  What was Ruth’s response in verse 16-17? “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the LORD do to me and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” 

Isn’t her response beautiful? No matter what happens Naomi, I am with you and if I break my promise then may the LORD punish me.  What about her response to God? She was turning to Him as the supreme God. She was seeking refuge in Him. Something she saw in Naomi caused her to believe that Naomi’s God was worth following even if it meant forsaking all that is familiar to her; her parents, her family, her land, her false gods. 

What about you? Have you turned to the One true God and away from the false? If you have, is there anything in your life that causes others to think your God is worth following? Maybe you are thinking, Ruth is a Moabite and I thought God would not allow them to worship Him? How can a holy God accept a Moabite, one of His enemies?  Romans 5:8,10 says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us…For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”  Romans 3:23 says that all of us are sinners. All of us are as “Moab” to Him, until we turn to Him and ask Him to save us. Ruth did that. Ruth believed God. Ruth became part of God’s family. We see God’s mercy over His law. Wait until you see how this decision in Ruth’s life affects the whole world in chapter 4!

1:19-22  So they both went to Bethlehem, two women traveling on rugged terrain by themselves and on foot. The New Bible Companion, by Hughes and Laney on page 118 states that this “trip involved a descent and ascent of over 4000 feet…..it involved descending from Moab into the Arabah Valley , a descent of over 4000 feet from the valley…then cross the 13 miles of valley floor, ascend over 4000 feet up the valley’s western side and make their way through the wilderness of Judea to the little village of Bethlehem.” 

During the time of the judges, the roads were unsafe for travel, because everyone “did what was right in their own eyes.” Robberies and rapes would not be uncommon. Yet Ruth traveled with Naomi. Why? Ruth had made her commitment to Naomi and to the Lord. Regardless of what the cost would be to her personally, she would stay with Naomi.  How did the people in Bethlehem respond to seeing Naomi after all these years? Scripture states they were stirred by what they saw. Can’t you picture these two widows, arriving in Bethlehem tired, poor and beaten by bitter circumstances? Naomi told them to now call her Mara which means bitter, because the “Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full but the Lord has brought me back empty.” Naomi was not saying she was bitter, but her circumstances had been bitter. She had no husband, children or grandchildren, empty indeed.  But Naomi recognized the Lord’s hand in her circumstances.   Isaiah 45:6-7 says “That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.” 

Do you believe the Lord allows bitter & good circumstances in your life? How do you handle bitter or hard circumstances?  Naomi acknowledged the Lord’s power over all. Naomi and Ruth’s circumstances seemed hopeless and hard, but wait until you see how the Lord works all this together for good! If your circumstances seem hopeless, turn to the God of hope, like Ruth did. Chapter one ends with Naomi & Ruth arriving in Bethlehem just in time for the barley harvest, spring time in Bethlehem. The famine is over. 
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Chapter 2:1 “Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.”  What is a kinsmen? It’s a close relative. The kinsmen had certain responsibilities to fulfill. This law of the kinsman redeemer was established for Israel by God to provide for poor families. The kinsman redeemer bought back a poor relative’s property( Leviticus 25:25) , married a childless widow (Deuteronomy 25: 5-10), provided financial help in difficult times (Leviticus 25:47-49), or avenged the murder of a family member as provided in the Law of Moses (he is called a blood avenger in Numbers 35:19, Deuteronomy 19:12).  Are you beginning to see how important family is to God?  He established laws to protect the weakest and poorest because He is a just and righteous God. Tuck this little bit of information in the back of your mind because we will come back to it. 

2:2   Ruth asked Naomi for permission to go & glean in the fields and Naomi replied “Go my daughter.” Only the poor or stranger would collect the leftover grain from the fields.  In Leviticus 19: 9-10, the Lord commanded Israel that when it was time to gather the harvest, the owners of the fields were not to gather from the corners of the fields or gather the fallen fruit of the vineyards. The Lord commanded them to leave these areas for the needy and for the stranger. The Lord had instituted a law that made provision for the poor and those who were not Israelites. What does this show you about the Lord? Once again we see the kind mercy of the Lord to provide and protect the weakest and poorest. His laws are perfect and when obeyed result in all people being cared for.

2:3  This verse says Ruth happened upon the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, a close relative. The phrase “ she happened to come to” meant in Hebrew she chanced upon it. This meant Ruth and Naomi had not plotted for Ruth to work in Boaz’s field. The Lord led her to Boaz’s field. Naomi did not tell her to go there. Ruth did not ask to specifically go to this field. Have you seen His hand at work in the lives of Ruth & Naomi?  Can you recognize His hand at work in your life? Romans 8: 28 states, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God is working on behalf of those who are His in the good and bad circumstances of life. He is able to take the bad and make something good that fits into His overall will. We do not understand how He can do this, but as God, He can. 

2:3-6  Boaz showed up to check out his fields and greeted the reapers with a blessing “May the LORD be with you”. Boaz acknowledged God to his workers and his workers acknowledged God also.  That might have been an unusual greeting during this time of the judges. What have you learned so far about Boaz? He was a wealthy, close relative of Naomi’s. He knew his workers, he watched over his land and he knew his Lord. How can it be said he knew his Lord?  In Old Testament times, blessings of wealth were promised to Israelites who were obedient to the Lord.  You can read about this in Deuteronomy 28:1-6; it was part of God’s covenant with Israel in the law of Moses- blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Today, wealth is not necessarily a blessing for obedience or an indication that one has a relationship with God.  Boaz asked his workers who was the woman gleaning in the field. The reapers said Ruth had asked to glean in this field & that she had been working all morning.

2:8-13   How did Boaz treat Ruth, a foreigner? He looked out for her safety. He told her to stay in his fields because he would not let his workers touch Ruth. Also, he gave Ruth permission to drink from the water jars of his servants. Why would Boaz treat a stranger so kindly? In Exodus 22:21 the Lord  commanded Israel to treat strangers kindly because Israel  had once been strangers in Egypt. This is another indication that Boaz knew God’s law and obeyed it. Boaz remained obedient to the Lord in spite of the disobedience of others in this time. What about you? Are you influencing the culture by being obedient to God’s ways or are you letting the culture influence you like so many did in the days of the judges? 

What was Ruth’s response to Boaz? Ruth fell on her face and asked him why he would take notice of a foreigner. Boaz replied he knew how Ruth had treated Naomi and how she had left everything in Moab to go with Naomi. He spoke a blessing on her “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” Ruth had given up everything and sought refuge with Naomi’s God and her people. Ruth’s actions made an impact on the townspeople of Bethlehem and reports were given to Boaz. How does Ruth respond to Boaz’s kindness? She thanked him for finding favor with her, because his words had comforted her. 

Can you imagine how it must feel to be a poor, widowed, stranger in a foreign land? Boaz seemed to sense what that might be like.  It might be interesting to note who Boaz’s parents were. We are jumping ahead, but it’s too good to miss. In Ruth 4:20, we find out Boaz’s dad is Salmon & in Matthew 1:5 we find out Salmon married Rahab and gave birth to Boaz. Rahab, - the harlot, the pagan prostitute who hid the Israelite spies when they came to spy out Jericho. Rahab, who said in Joshua 2:11 'the Lord your God is God in heaven and on earth.' Boaz’s mother had been a foreigner and a former pagan just like Ruth! Perhaps Boaz’s parents modeled this behavior for him.  Regardless, Ruth recognized Boaz’s kindness toward her, even though she was not one of his maidservants. How do you treat those who are different from you? How do you treat the poor, the widowed, the stranger? We should be kind like Boaz, who went above and beyond what the law required him to do. His unusual kindness to Ruth is another indication of Boaz’s relationship with the Lord. 

2:14-16  What other provisions does Boaz make for Ruth?  Did you see it? He asked her to sit with his workers and he served them.  He also told his servants to let her glean and to pull out extra from their bundles for her to pick up. He told them not to insult or rebuke her. Boaz  was protecting and providing for Ruth. Boaz was doing more than the law required. What do you learn about Boaz’s character that you need to practice? 

2:17- 23  Ruth gleaned until evening and beat out the grain. She ended up with about a bushel of barley. That was a lot of grain from picking up leftovers for one day. Ruth took the barley home to Naomi and gave Naomi her left over roasted grain that Boaz had served her at lunch.  What did Naomi ask Ruth? Where did you glean today? Naomi couldn’t believe how much barley she brought home.  What was Naomi’s response when she found out it was Boaz? Naomi prayed another blessing on Boaz. “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi’s surprise over the news that it was Boaz’s field indicated that earlier it was God who directed Ruth to Boaz’s field. Naomi recognized that Boaz had done more than he had to with Ruth. Naomi agreed with Boaz’s warning that Ruth should stay close to his maidservants. Remember the times, it was not safe time in Israel’s history and Naomi did not want any harm to come to Ruth either. We read that Ruth obeyed Naomi & Boaz and continued to glean in Boaz’s fields until the end of the barley & wheat harvest. Ruth continued to live with her mother-in-law.

What character traits have you identified in Ruth? Did you include hardworking, sharing, obedient, respectful of those in authority over her, and thankful?  How about Naomi? Did you include love, tenderness and a reverence for God? She called Ruth her daughter. Has Naomi demanded to be taken care of by Ruth?  No. Do you read about any whining over her bitter circumstances? No.  What do you see about Ruth & Naomi’s relationship to one another? Do you read of any harsh words toward one another? No. Do you see a respect and love for one another? Yes. What do you see in their relationship that you need to put into practice with those in your family or extended family? Maybe you are not married. What can you learn from this example of Ruth and Naomi?
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Naomi was looking out for Ruth’s best interest when she said she would seek security for her. That’s what true love does. Love looks out for the best interests of others. It is not selfish. Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was the relative who could marry her.  Where was Boaz? He was on the threshing floor. What did that mean? This was the final part of processing the grain. The work of the bringing in the harvest was complete. The grain had been cut and bound into sheaves (bundles).  The sheaves were taken to the threshing floor, a hard surface, where the grain would be separated from the stalk. Cattle or carts would stomp the stalks.  Next, the men tossed the crushed stalks into the air. The wind blew away the straw and the barley grain fell to the ground. The grain would be gathered and bagged for market. This was what Naomi meant when she said Boaz was at the threshing floor. 

3:3-9   “Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. And it shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do. And she said to her, ‘All that you say I will do’. 

So Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. And it happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, ‘Who are you?’ And she answered, ‘I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.’”

Women were not supposed to take part in the threshing floor festivities as the men celebrated bringing in the harvest. That was the reason for the secrecy. Men would stay at the threshing floor to guard their grain over night.  Once again, Ruth was obedient to her mother-in-law, Naomi.  Naomi explained to Ruth the Israelite custom. Naomi was not asking Ruth to do anything immoral by going to the threshing floor. Ruth uncovered Boaz’s feet just as Naomi said. When  Boaz woke up because of his cold feet, Ruth asked him to spread his covering over her.  She was calling on him to be her kinsman redeemer - to  marry her according to the law of  the levirate. 

3:10-12 “Then he said, May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. And now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

What was Boaz’s response to Ruth’s request? He was flattered and impressed that Ruth has not gone after young men for marriage. Apparently Boaz was an older man. He promised to marry her if the relative who is closer in the family tree to Naomi’s dead husband did not. The Lord had set up an order that started with the closest relative first, and if he didn’t exercise his right as kinsman redeemer, then it passed to the next in line, which was Boaz. Boaz was not going to go against the Lord’s established order in marrying Ruth. The closest relative had the first right to act as kinsman redeemer. Boaz chose to do what was right in God’s eyes rather than “doing what was right in his own eyes”. What kind of reputation had Ruth built up in the town of Bethlehem? Ruth was known as a woman of excellence. We are known by our actions, as well.  Ruth’s actions had caused others to take notice of her genuine care for Naomi (her first kindness) and her reputation as a hard worker. What about you? What is your reputation where you live?  How are you known? Ruth, in spite of being a foreigner and all that implied, had won over the hearts of the people in Bethlehem by her sincere love for Naomi, her mother-in-law. She was not out chasing after young men, and looking out for her own interests, but instead was out working hard in the fields to take care of  Naomi’s needs. She was keeping her promise to Naomi that she had made in chapter 1:16.

3:14-15  “So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, “let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” Again he said, “Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it.” So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.”

Ruth obeyed Boaz’s instructions and left early. Boaz was trying to protect her reputation. No sexual immorality had occurred and he wanted to make sure others did not think anything illicit had happened. He was once again, very generous with Ruth and Naomi, by filling up the cloak with grain.

3:16-18  “And when she came to her mother in law, she said, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’ And she told her all that the man had done for her. And she said, ‘These six measures of barley he gave to me for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in law empty handed’. Then she said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.’”

Ruth went back home and shared all the barley with Naomi. Naomi told her to wait. Boaz had business to take care of  in town with the closest relative. Naomi wanted Ruth to know the situation would be taken care of soon, but now it was time to wait. Waiting is often the hardest thing when we want something badly. Often we want to take matters into our own hands and manipulate the situation because we are impatient. This is not what Naomi and Ruth did. They waited for God to work out this situation according to His plan. 

Ruth 4:1-4  “Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by so he said, ‘Turn aside, friend, sit down here.’ And he turned aside and sat down. And he took 10 men of the elders of the city and said, ‘Sit down here.’ So they sat down. Then he said to the closes relative, ‘Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’ And he said, ‘I will redeem it’.”

It was the custom in Israel to do business at the city gate and to have the elders of the town as witnesses in these business decisions. Remember what we learned earlier about the role of  the kinsman redeemer? One of his responsibilities was to buy back or redeem the land of a poor relative. Elimelech, Naomi’s dead husband, had left a piece of property in Bethlehem, and now Naomi needed it sold. God’s law required the land to stay in the family, so the closest relative had first rights on the land. The closest relative agreed to buy the land from Naomi.

4:5-10  “Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.’ And the closest relative said, ‘I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption for I cannot redeem it.’ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any matter; a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the manner of attestation in Israel. So the closest relative said to Boaz, ‘Buy it for yourself.’ And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and the people, ‘ You are witnesses today  that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased may not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.’”

Don’t you just love the way Boaz handles this situation? Oh by the way, closest relative, when you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire a new wife from Moab and you need to provide offspring so Elimelech’s  line won’t die off. What’s the closest relatives response to this bit of  news? Oh no, I can’t do that, it will jeopardize my own inheritance. He didn’t want to marry Ruth and raise up an heir for his dead relative Elimelech. So the closest relative gave up his right on the land and allowed Boaz to act as the kinsman redeemer for the land and for Ruth. He gave him his sandal, which meant, it’s an agreed upon deal, and Boaz made sure all the witnesses understood what had transpired. Boaz intended to marry Ruth and raise up an heir for Elimelech’s line so his family name would not die out in Israel. Look at the contrast between the closest relative and Boaz.  The closest relative was interested as long as the deal benefited him. All he wanted was the land. When he found out he would have to marry Ruth, he backed out.  Look at Boaz. He wanted everyone to know what his intentions were. He was making good on the promise he made to Ruth in 3:13, “I will redeem you as the Lord lives.” Boaz was a man of his word.

4:11-12  “And all the people who were in the court, and elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord shall give you by this young woman.”

The people of the town witnessed the transaction and spoke a beautiful blessing on Boaz and Ruth. They asked the Lord to make her like Rachel & Leah. Rachel and Leah were the two wives of Jacob. From Jacob came 12 sons, who became the 12 tribes of Israel. They asked the Lord to give Ruth & Boaz many children. They asked the Lord to bring Boaz wealth and favor in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. They also asked that the Lord make Boaz’ house like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah. This was a situation that occurred in Genesis 38 and was an example of the leveriate marriage written about earlier. It was a similar situation to Ruth, in that Tamar was a childless widow. (Judah, Tamar’s  father in law, was to give his youngest son to Tamar to be married and raise up an heir for Tamar’s dead husband. Judah’s sons were evil and Judah didn’t make good on the promise, so Tamar took things into her own hands. She disguised herself as a prostitute and laid with Judah, conceived and gave birth to twins: Perez and Zerah. Judah acknowledged that he did not do right by Tamar and she was within her rights to provide an heir for her dead husband.)  The townspeople of Bethlehem asked the Lord to open the womb of Ruth and allow Boaz to provide an heir for her dead husband, Mahlon. 

4:13-15  “So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you with out a redeemer today and may his name become famous in Israel. May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter in law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Who does scripture say opens the womb? The Lord was the one who enabled Ruth to conceive. He is the Creator and Giver of life. The women acknowledged that the Lord had power over all the details of life. That is what the word sovereign means. Look at how Naomi and Ruth’s life had once been empty and without hope. Yet now the Lord had made them full.  The Lord was intimately involved in the details of their lives. He brought them back to Bethlehem. He led Ruth to Boaz’ field. He orchestrated the marriage of Boaz and Ruth. He opened the womb of Ruth. He provided a redeemer for Naomi, through Boaz.  In Luke 1: 37, it says, “ For nothing will be impossible with God.”  God had taken a seemingly hopeless situation with Ruth and Naomi and gave them hope. He gave them a redeemer. She had an heir for her dead son & dead husband. The family name would not die out. But this hope for a redeemer takes on new meaning when you look at the last passage.

4:16-21  “Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. And the neighbor women gave him a name, saying “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. His is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and Nahshon, Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz and to Boaz, Obed, and to Obed was born Jesse and to Jesse, David.

When you come to genealogies do you usually skip over them because you think they are boring because you have no idea who these people were?  This genealogy is different. From the marriage of Ruth and Boaz, they have a son named Obed. Obed is the Grandfather of  David.  What’s so important about David’s line? That was King David of Israel. In the lineage of the King of Israel there was a Moabite. The New Bible Companion by Hughes and Laney on page 117 states “The book’s historical purpose was to relate an episode in David’s ancestry that accounted for the introduction of non-Israelite blood into his family line. The theological purpose is to show the place of the spirit of the law over the letter of the law, illustrating that the exception to the law is based on faith and loyalty to God.” Do you remember God’s warning in Deuteronomy that no Moabite descendant could enter into worship with Him for 10 generations?  Ruth turned to God in faith and He accepted her and exercised His Mercy over His law because of her faith in Him. It gets even better. Go to the New Testament book of Matthew and look at the first chapter that lists the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Who was included in the line of Christ? Christ came from the line of King David.  In the midst of all the men listed, there are three women included that we have studied about in this book of Ruth. Tamar, Rahab and Ruth. Rahab, the former prostitute, the mother of Boaz and Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Boaz. Can you believe it?!  In the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we see two former pagan women listed. God through His divine mercy included them in the lineage of Christ. Both of these women sought refuge under the wings of God by faith and He accepted them and wrote them into His family.  This shows how no one is too far outside of God’s love and mercy. He will receive anyone into His family who asks! 

Remember the blessing the women spoke to Naomi  “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today…” God has not left you without a redeemer either. Boaz is a picture of Jesus Christ. Boaz is a picture of how Christ is man’s kinsman redeemer. You may be wondering why do I need a redeemer? What has he redeemed me from? How can Jesus Christ be my kinsman redeemer? Let’s take the questions one by one. First, why do you need a redeemer and what has he redeemed you from?  Scripture teaches that all of us are sinful (Romans 3:23). Scripture teaches that all of our good works are as filthy rags to God.  God is so holy, that even our best, most pure efforts to reach Him are not good enough. His holiness dictates that He cannot be around sin. He is perfect and we are not. There is a chasm between this holy God and man. Man cannot reach God or cross over this chasm by his own efforts. The gulf is just too great. Man needed a way to cross over to God . God in the Old Testament established Laws and a system of worship that required priests and blood sacrifice to cover man’s sin, in order for a holy God to dwell with His people. Scripture says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin (Hebrews 9:22).  The problem was man could not keep God’s holy, perfect laws. We saw that in the book of Judges.  We see it today in our society. Sin – wanting to do things our way instead of God’s way has always been at work, because the problem has always been with man’s evil heart. 

How can Jesus Christ be my kinsman redeemer?  Christ through becoming flesh and blood like man became a “close relative” of humankind. This enabled Christ to act in the role as man’s kinsman redeemer.  God knew that no one could ever be good enough or perfect enough to satisfy His holiness. Israel, His chosen people couldn’t keep the Law He had given through Moses.  God, because He loves man so much and wants us to be in His family, to be holy as He is holy, provided a way for man to be with Him and a way for His laws to be written on man’s heart- giving man a new heart.  He provided a redeemer for man. He would put His Spirit in man and cause man to walk in obedience to God. He spoke about this in Jeremiah 31:3-4, Ezekiel 36:26-28, Malachi 3:1, Matthew 26:26-28. God provided the perfect sacrifice to cover man’s sin once and for all, for all time through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:10.12). The way for sinful man to cross over to a holy God is through Jesus Christ, our kinsman redeemer.  

John 14:6 says “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” Christ is the only Way into God’s family. Jesus, fully God and fully man lived a perfect and sinless life. He willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice for man’s sin. He died for man’s sin and His sacrifice satisfied a Holy God. His death on the cross made the full payment for man’s sin for all time. He proved His sacrifice to be perfect and pleasing to God by being raised from the dead.  When He was raised from the dead, He bought back (redeemed) mankind from the penalty of sin, which is death. Romans 6:23 says “for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  He was the only One worthy (closest relative of man) who could buy us back from sin!  Accepting Christ’s free gift of sacrifice for your sins, moves you into God’s family where you can know you will spend eternity in heaven with Him. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him for the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  Just as Ruth confessed, your confession of faith puts you in Christ’s family. Ruth sought refuge with God. Just as Boaz chose to redeem Ruth, Jesus chose to redeem you. But just as Ruth asked Boaz to spread his cover over her, to redeem her, you must ask Christ to redeem you. 

God will not force you to choose His Way. The work of Christ buying you back from sin, was done when He died on the cross. The payment was made. Will you receive what He has already paid for? Receiving His free gift of salvation is done by praying to God and acknowledging you are a sinner in need of a Savior. It’s asking God to forgive you and inviting Jesus to come into your heart and life. It’s turning from your sins to Him, just as Ruth did. When you make that choice, God gives you a new heart with His Spirit in you.  John 1:12 says “but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”  John 10: 27- 29 says that those who belong to Christ cannot be taken from Him. They will be forever in his family.

Remember the question that I asked at the beginning of this study - what’s the benefit of being in God’s family? Being in God’s family gives you an assurance of  your future heavenly home, but it also gives you hope for today.  Ruth and Naomi did not just look to God to take care of their future needs – they called upon his promises to fulfill their daily needs. When Ruth and Naomi needed a place to live and food to eat they called upon the promises God made in providing a kinsman redeemer to provided for those needs.   Being in God’s family means you have the Creator of the Universe on your side, looking out for your best interests, protecting you from harm, working out every detail of your life to mesh with His perfect plan. It means that He has given the Spirit of God to live in you, guiding, teaching and leading you into all truth (John 16: 13-15). 

Do you need wisdom for decisions in life? If you belong to God, He will give you His wisdom freely (James 1: 5). Are you weak and tired? If you belong to God’s family, He will give you His strength for today (Isaiah 40: 29-31). Are you poor and need food? If you belong to God, you can trust Him to provide for your needs (Matthew 6: 25- 33).  You can trust Him because He has become your father (Romans 8:15-17). Family takes care of family. Are you lonely and without an earthly family? If you belong to God, His Word says that even if your father and mother should reject you, He will receive you (Psalms 27:10).  Are you in trouble? If you are in God’s family, the Bible says you can call out to Him in your distress and He will never fail to hear your voice (Psalms 55: 16-17). Are you tempted to do wrong? If you belong to God, then His word says that Jesus was tempted in all things and didn’t sin; so He can sympathize with your weaknesses. You can draw near to Him with confidence( Hebrews 4:15-16) and He will provide you a way of escape. Do you feel God couldn’t love you because of the bad things you have done? If you belong to God, the Bible says that nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord ( Romans 8:37-39).  Picture the faith of Ruth, the love of Naomi and the kindness of Boaz.  That’s what God’s family looks like. Picture Jesus Christ, your kinsman redeemer. “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today…”

Marijo