“The Gentiles” (Ruth / Boaz / Jesse)

Scripture: Ruth 4

During Advent, we have been considering the reasons that Jesus had to come to earth by looking at the lives of some of his ancestors. So far, we have considered the divisiveness that occurred between Isaac and his half-brother Ishmael, and the healing power that Jesus brings to our lives. We considered the sinfulness that was so evident in Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar, and how Jesus is the source – the only source - of God’s forgiveness for our imperfect lives. Today, we consider an example of the introduction of gentiles into the Jewish family of Jesus, and the redemption that He brings to us all. Jesus would have several encounters with gentiles during his ministry, and he never avoided a single one. He would also introduce gentiles into his teaching parables, and they always seemed to come out on top.

Today’s text focuses on the lives of Boaz, a descendent of Judah’s, and Ruth, a widowed Moabitess. But first, some family history. A man by the name of Elimelech was married to Naomi, and they had two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. The family was from Bethlehem, which is located within the tribe of Judah. The nation had experienced a drought and resulting famine, so the family went looking for a better place to live, and they settled in Moab – a land to the east of the Dead Sea. Both sons would marry Moabite women, but in time, all three of the men would die, leaving their widowed wives without support of any kind.

The mother Naomi would make the decision to return to Bethlehem to seek help from relatives who may still be living there, and both daughters-in-law would initially decide to follow her. But Naomi freed them from any obligation to her, and instructed them to return to their Moabite families. One of them, Orpah, decided to remain in Moab with her people, but the other widow, Ruth, made the commitment to follow her mother-in-law wherever life might take them with these words - “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:15-18) Ruth would give her all to support and encourage Naomi.

They finally arrive in the area of Bethlehem just in time for the first harvest of barley. The tradition was that the poor were allowed to follow behind the harvesters to gather up any grain that was missed, and Ruth found a field that just happened to be owned by Boaz, a relative of her deceased father-in-law. Boaz would take the young woman under his wing, so to speak, as he had heard of her kindness and commitment to Naomi.

Boaz was a fairly wealthy and highly respected man, and as he got to know Ruth even better, he would begin to see great worth in the woman, and their fondness and trust in each other would blossom. In our day, we would expect that as their affection grew, they would eventually get married. But there was another tradition at play here – that of “kinsman-redeemer”. As we remember from last week in the story of Tamar, when the husband dies without an heir, the next closest relative was expected to take the widow for his own wife and provide children (heirs) in the name of the deceased husband. In Ruth’s case, though, all of the men in her immediate family had died, meaning that the next closest male relative would be a distant relationship. Boaz was certainly one, but there was another man who was even closer.

Read Ruth 4:1-4

Boaz was smart, and had set a plan in motion to win the fair Ruth for himself. But first, he had to deal with the “kinsman-redeemer”. He called for a meeting in the town gate – the equivalent of a court of law – with 10 elders who would act as witnesses to the legal transaction. He initially suggests that the other relative purchase Elimelech’s property so that it might remain in the family, but as soon as the arrangement is agreed to, he springs the trap. ”Oh, by the way, if you take the land, you also get to marry Ruth.” Elimelech had died before Mahlon did, so the land became the son’s, and his widow would also become part of the bargain.

Bur remember the problem in Tamar’s case? When Er died, his brother Onan hesitated to have a child with Tamar, because that would reduce his own inheritance, and his position in the family would suffer. And now, that same issue raises its ugly head again, when the senior relative fears for his own holdings if he has a child with Ruth! He decides that it would be better to forgo the additional property than to be saddled with the burden of this new wife.

Read Ruth 4:9-12

Boaz would be 6 generations removed from Judah and Tamar, and he would become the “kinsman-redeemer” who would preserve the lineage of Judah to David and later to Jesus. Boaz and Ruth’s son would be Obed, and their grandson would be Jesse, and their great-grandson would be David, King of Israel.
So what is the importance of this “kinsman-redeemer”?

He is a relative who, in acting on behalf of another, redeems, or purchases, that which the other can neither obtain nor retain. Boaz never saw this act as an obligation – he obviously had developed a strong affection for Ruth, and would use trickery, which bordered on a 10th century BC version of psychology (!), to gain her for his wife. But through his love for this woman, he would play an important part in God’s plan for our own redemption. And Ruth herself would become the third woman – all of whom were probably not Jewish – to be mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. First, there was the Canaanite Tamar (Matthew 1:3), then Rahab (Matthew 1:5), and now the Moabitess Ruth (Matthew 1:5).

How does Jesus fit into this story? First through the concept of “kinsman-redeemer”, and second, by the inclusion of the gentiles.
First, Jesus is our “Kinsman-Redeemer”. We were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-31), and because of that, humanity was given responsibility to care for the Lord’s creation. And Jesus, as the Son of the Living God, becomes our relative in the created order.
But kinship with God carries an implication of an even greater relationship than this. Jesus left the glory heaven and came to live in the flesh of humanity. The Lord chose to become one of us. By Jesus’ unselfish act, God would become one with us in created flesh.

And because the Lord did this for us, he could carry out the second part of the title – “Redeemer”. The traditional redeemer was intended to rescue his family from extinction by “purchasing” and possessing the lost. He would ensure that the name would never pass into obscurity, and that it would continue forever.
Jesus, as Redeemer, would also become the redemptive act that would save us from certain death and oblivion. But this Redeemer would offer his salvation individually, and not for the family’s benefit, and the price that he would pay to redeem us would not be financial in nature, but by the giving of his own life.
The “kinsman-redeemer’s” gift was, generally, one that would survive from one generation to the next, and could very possibly be needed again and again in the future. But Jesus Redeemer’s gift was eternal for whomever would accept it.

Elimelech’s family was on the verge of extinction, and it could have easily passed from history if it hadn’t been for Boaz and his love for Ruth. Our life could easily pass from history if it hadn’t been for the love of Almighty God that comes to us by faith in Jesus Christ.
Ruth could have remained in Moab along with Orpah, and may even have remarried, but the family would have been different, and the history of Israel may very well have been different. By her acceptance and commitment to both Naomi and Boaz, God’s plan continued unabated. By Mary’s acceptance and commitment to the Lord’s call on her life, and through Jesus’ love of us, the Lord’s plan continued just as it had always been intended.

And the plan of salvation was always intended to be for far more than just Israel. The gentiles, the non-Jews of history, were also to be included as the human relatives of God Himself. God’s redemption would be offered to many more than just the Israelites – it was for the entire family, anywhere, of any blood line, who would accept His offer of salvation, simply by faith in Jesus.

There was no way that Naomi and Ruth could redeem themselves – they needed a “kinsman-redeemer”. And there is no way that we could ever redeem ourselves, either. We, too, are all in need of the perfect “Kinsman-Redeemer” – God in flesh, God among us, God of sacrifice, God of humility and humbleness, God of the Hebrews, God of the gentiles, God of Bethlehem and God of Calvary. For without Him, we too will pass into obscurity.

Praise the Lord for his eternal love.