A Glorious Redemption
A Glorious Redemption
"Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative (kinsman redeemer); and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” (Ruth 4:14-15)
As we come to the end of the narrative of Ruth, we see what God was orchestrating all along.
A tragic loss that led to...a "Holy Resolve" followed by a "Gracious Reception" culminating in a "Hopeful Request," which would ultimately end in.... a "Glorious Redemption."
Only God could have taken all the unique details of the three deaths that took place in the foreign land of Moab that left three widows in despair and then turn it all around into a story of surprising love between a Gentile woman and a wealthy Israelite who would birth a son who would become a great king that would foreshadow the greater redemptive story of Christ and His glorious Church.
When Ruth made it clear to Boaz that she desired that he would take on the role of the kinsman redeemer, Boaz was overwhelmed and overjoyed at this indirect proposal that he would now have to take the lead role and carry out to completion. He did not hesitate in the slightest but went out to the gate to meet the elders of the city and to discuss the legal matter of redemption with the nearest kin of Naomi's deceased husband, Elimelech.
As the leading men of the city sat down together, there was a clear understanding that a legally binding contract was on the agenda...but they did not fully understand what a divine agenda it actually all was.
So the proposal of the rights of redemption were laid out. The nearest kin (who was intentionally unnamed in the Scriptural narrative) was eager to proceed when he heard about the possession of redeemed land. After all, what man would not want to add to his wealth and to know that he was simultaneously doing a good deed for his family! However, when the person of Ruth, the Moabite widow, was brought up...everything suddenly changed.
And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (Ruth 4:6).
In other words, his apparent reputation was prioritized over his opportune redemption.
Land: "Oh yes, absolutely!"
Moabite woman: "No thank you, I am no longer interested!"
He was willing to take the possession but he was not willing to take the person that went with it.
Could this be true in any of our lives, where we are wanting something that looks good to us but we are not considering whether we would do good with it to others?
This represents a sad truth for many people today who desire to possess something of worth and value but they are not as concerned with serving the people in whom the possession is for.
REDEMPTION is first and foremost about PEOPLE over any possession.
Oh how important it is to multiply the blessing that is given to you, as Proverbs 11:25 says,
"The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself."
God gives us things to steward and possess for a period of time so that we can be generous with what we have and use our possessions to bless and serve others for His glory.
When God redeemed the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He fist told Moses to take the sandals off of his feet because the land he was standing upon was "holy ground". This would somehow set the precedent that whenever a transaction or redemption concerning land and people were involved, there would be this custom of removing the sandal to confirm something in Israel.
When Jesus, our kinsman Redeemer, would begin His ministry of redemption, His forerunner, John the Baptist said, "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” (John 1:27).
Our Jesus was not only willing to acquire us as His bride but He would be willing to share all of His inheritance with us through the grace that saved us and the blood that was shed for us. Even more than Boaz marrying Ruth, our names would be forever perpetuated in heaven...in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Hallelujah and praise the Lord for His glorious redemption and the eternal rest that His gracious death has given to us through our union to Christ and His finished work!
Just as Boaz had his witnesses who heard and saw what was being promised on that day, so we are all witnesses to Christ and to all that we have seen and heard the Lord do in our lives.
It îș significant that the neighboring woman named the son that would be a part of the lineage that would lead David the king and to Christ in this amazing redemptive story:
BOAZ - “In strength”
OBED - “serving”
JESSE - “I possess”
DAVID - “Beloved”
…JESUS - “YHWH is Salvation”
When you put these names together, we read: In the "strength" of the kinsman redeemer, through His "serving", each of us will "possess" the "Beloved" who is Jesus the "Lord of our "Salvation".
Isaiah prophesied these words for all the redeemed of the Lord:
“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer." (Isa. 54:7-8)
May we always be "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." (Titus 2:13-14)
It all started with the death and disappointment but it ended in new life and God's divine appointment of glorious redemption!
As Isaiah 11:10 once said, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
"Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative (kinsman redeemer); and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” (Ruth 4:14-15)
As we come to the end of the narrative of Ruth, we see what God was orchestrating all along.
A tragic loss that led to...a "Holy Resolve" followed by a "Gracious Reception" culminating in a "Hopeful Request," which would ultimately end in.... a "Glorious Redemption."
Only God could have taken all the unique details of the three deaths that took place in the foreign land of Moab that left three widows in despair and then turn it all around into a story of surprising love between a Gentile woman and a wealthy Israelite who would birth a son who would become a great king that would foreshadow the greater redemptive story of Christ and His glorious Church.
When Ruth made it clear to Boaz that she desired that he would take on the role of the kinsman redeemer, Boaz was overwhelmed and overjoyed at this indirect proposal that he would now have to take the lead role and carry out to completion. He did not hesitate in the slightest but went out to the gate to meet the elders of the city and to discuss the legal matter of redemption with the nearest kin of Naomi's deceased husband, Elimelech.
As the leading men of the city sat down together, there was a clear understanding that a legally binding contract was on the agenda...but they did not fully understand what a divine agenda it actually all was.
So the proposal of the rights of redemption were laid out. The nearest kin (who was intentionally unnamed in the Scriptural narrative) was eager to proceed when he heard about the possession of redeemed land. After all, what man would not want to add to his wealth and to know that he was simultaneously doing a good deed for his family! However, when the person of Ruth, the Moabite widow, was brought up...everything suddenly changed.
And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” (Ruth 4:6).
In other words, his apparent reputation was prioritized over his opportune redemption.
Land: "Oh yes, absolutely!"
Moabite woman: "No thank you, I am no longer interested!"
He was willing to take the possession but he was not willing to take the person that went with it.
Could this be true in any of our lives, where we are wanting something that looks good to us but we are not considering whether we would do good with it to others?
This represents a sad truth for many people today who desire to possess something of worth and value but they are not as concerned with serving the people in whom the possession is for.
REDEMPTION is first and foremost about PEOPLE over any possession.
Oh how important it is to multiply the blessing that is given to you, as Proverbs 11:25 says,
"The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself."
God gives us things to steward and possess for a period of time so that we can be generous with what we have and use our possessions to bless and serve others for His glory.
When God redeemed the children of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He fist told Moses to take the sandals off of his feet because the land he was standing upon was "holy ground". This would somehow set the precedent that whenever a transaction or redemption concerning land and people were involved, there would be this custom of removing the sandal to confirm something in Israel.
When Jesus, our kinsman Redeemer, would begin His ministry of redemption, His forerunner, John the Baptist said, "It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” (John 1:27).
Our Jesus was not only willing to acquire us as His bride but He would be willing to share all of His inheritance with us through the grace that saved us and the blood that was shed for us. Even more than Boaz marrying Ruth, our names would be forever perpetuated in heaven...in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Hallelujah and praise the Lord for His glorious redemption and the eternal rest that His gracious death has given to us through our union to Christ and His finished work!
Just as Boaz had his witnesses who heard and saw what was being promised on that day, so we are all witnesses to Christ and to all that we have seen and heard the Lord do in our lives.
It îș significant that the neighboring woman named the son that would be a part of the lineage that would lead David the king and to Christ in this amazing redemptive story:
BOAZ - “In strength”
OBED - “serving”
JESSE - “I possess”
DAVID - “Beloved”
…JESUS - “YHWH is Salvation”
When you put these names together, we read: In the "strength" of the kinsman redeemer, through His "serving", each of us will "possess" the "Beloved" who is Jesus the "Lord of our "Salvation".
Isaiah prophesied these words for all the redeemed of the Lord:
“For a mere moment I have forsaken you, But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer." (Isa. 54:7-8)
May we always be "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." (Titus 2:13-14)
It all started with the death and disappointment but it ended in new life and God's divine appointment of glorious redemption!
As Isaiah 11:10 once said, “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
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