A Summary and Exposition of Ruth Part 4
RUTH 4:1-6
Introduction
A. The law which God gave to Israel demanded perfect and uninterrupted obedience.
1. Since no man is able of himself to keep the law perfectly, God must provide another means
of righteousness
2. So God gave in addition to the law, which condemned the sinner, a plan of salvation
whereby a lawbreaker could receive mercy and pardon.
a. This was all foreshadowed in a provision
God made whereby a slave could be redeemed and set free
b. Lev.25:47 – 49
II All of This is Typical of Our Kinsman – Redeemer
A. If the Lord Jesus is to be our kinsman-redeemer he must meet three unalterable conditions.
1. A close relative – a member of the family of the one to be redeemed
2. He must be able to pay the redemption price
3. He must be willing to act as redeemer and that voluntarily.
B. In the case of Ruth, the nearest kinsman was willing and was related but he failed because
he was not able to pay the price of her redemption
1. That’s the case with us, we are members of the family of fallen humanity, we too may
be willing to redeem ourselves and others
2. In this, we meet the first two conditions.
3. But when it comes to our ability to pay the price of redemption we fail completely
III. There is One Who Meets All Three Conditions
A. In the story of Ruth, Boaz was related, was able, and willing.
1. Boaz is one of the clearest and most beautiful types of the Lord Jesus in His office as redeemer
2. He saw our sad plight, alienated from God thru sin, spiritually bankrupt and under the sentence of death.
3. He loved us so much that He purposed to redeem us and make us His very own.
B. To be this Redeemer He had to meet all three requirements.
1.. He must be related by birth and belong to the family of those to be redeemed
2. He must be able to pay the price of redemption. He must be mighty and wealthy.
3. He must be willing to act as our Redeemer
C. The Bible sets forth clearly that Jesus Christ meets fully all three conditions.
1. He must be a member of the family of fallen Adam.
a. This is the first requirement – but he was the Son of God, not the son of fallen man.
b. He is the Creator – not the creature. He belonged to the Divine family, not the human family.
c. As such He could not be our Redeemer
d. To be a redeemer He must be the nearest kinsman who is able to pay.
2. To be a kinsman, He must enter the family of fallen humanity, He must become flesh and
blood.
a. It is, for this reason, we have the absolute necessity of the Virgin Birth and the Incarnation
b. The first step in our redemption was the supernatural conception and virgin birth
of our Savior.
3. Jesus left the glories of the Father’s house, laid aside the form of God, stepped down from the parapets of heaven and went down, down, down, down past constellations and systems, thru the measureless spaces of the heavens, through galaxies and innumerable groups of worlds, until He stopped at a comparatively infinitesimally small speck of matter we call this earth. He stopped at an insignificant village in Galilee, there to take up His abode in the womb of an obscure Jewish maiden, to be nourished by her blood, to grow like any other human in the dark recess of a mother’s womb, to be born like any other baby, to cry, to smile, to creep, to walk, to suffer hunger and thirst, in weariness and pain, and family pay the price of humanity’s sin by dying like a criminal on a pagan cross. All this to meet the requirement of our redemption.
4. Without the Virgin birth, our redemption would be illegal, a violation of every principle of God’s plan of salvation
Listen to Galations 4: But when the fulness of the time has come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of Sons (Gal: 4:4,5) And the writer of Hebrews adds his testimony: Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. And deliver (redeem) them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
Wherefore in all things, it behooved Him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people (Heb.2: 14-17)
D. Second Requirement – Redeemer must be able to pay the price of redemption.
1. Naomi must have had tremendous debt because her nearest kinsman couldn’t redeem it.
a. Boaz, however, was wealthy enough to redeem her lands and debts and still have plenty.
b. What a picture of Christ this presents – For when He became poor for our sakes by becoming the man He did not cease to be Almighty God.’
c. He was both God and a man.
d. The only remedy for death is life – To redeem us from death He had to give His life
e. Because He was human He could take my sin and my place – because He was God He could pay the price of redemption for the whole world of sinners.
2. So Jesus meets the first two requirements He is related to us by human birth – secondly, He was powerful and wealthy enough to pay the price for our sin
E. Third Requirement – He must be willing
A. His payment for sin was by an act of His will
1. He willingly, voluntarily, laid down His life for us
2. Jesus did not have to redeem us-There was nothing in us to demand it and there was certainly nothing about us that makes us appealing.
a. He chose to pay our sin debt because He chose to love us.
b. We deserve to go to hell but because of His grace, He provides for us a way to heaven.
3. Indeed our Kinsman – Redeemer was willing to die, willing to give His life that we might 1ife
There was One who was willing to die in my stead, that a soul so unworthy might live;
And the path to the Cross He was willing to tread; all the sins of my life to forgive.
4. I trust you have responded to that wonderful redemptive plan and that you growingly appreciate it the longer you live.
THE MISSING BRIDE (RUTH 4 )
Introduction
A. Wedding bells are ringing in the little village of Bethlehem,
1 A public wedding is being solemnized in an impressive and legal way
a It was an outdoor wedding held in the public square at the gate of the city
b. The record is brief and is found in Ruth 4:9-11
2. This is a very simple ceremony
II. Something Missing
A. There is something strange about this ceremony in the gate of Bethlehem,
1 There is something missing — Did you notice it?
2 Ruth is strangely absent everything is done by the bridegroom, Boaz
a Ruth does nor appear at the ceremony. last time we hear of her is in Ruth 3:18
b After that it is Boaz all the way
B. Compare this to a wedding today
1 Considering the weddings we have attended this is a strange procedure
a. Today the bride steals the show from beginning to end the whole marriage revolve
around the bride
b. The poor bridegroom is lost in the maze of activities all designed to honor the bride
c. Whose picture appears on the society page when the engagement is announced?
d. For whom are all the showers planned?
e. Who walks down the center aisle? For whom does the music swell and the people stand? It’s all the bride
f. The poor groom is scarcely noticed as he meekly follows the preacher and waits for the climax when all eyes focus on the bride
g. Father gives the bride away who gives the groom away
h. In the receiving line the bride gets all the attention and the kisses.
i. When the account of wedding appears in paper it is all about the bride — what about her husband?
2 This of course is quite humorous, some of you may even feel that it is frivolous
a. I have overplayed this account in order to show how different was the wedding of Ruth and Boaz
b. Ruth is out of the picture. Her only claim to honor. She has become Mrs. Boaz
III. Our Great Bridegroom
A All of this is in harmony with the spiritual teaching of the book of Ruth
1. It is the redemption of a poor outcast widow who according to the law had no rights to press
a. Everything for her must be done by another
b By law she was excluded from congregation of God’s people (Deut. 23:3)
c The law barred the way for poor Ruth, She could do nothing about her condition but cast herself upon the mercy of her Redeemer (Goel)
2. Here grace stepped in and did what the law was powerless to do,
a The law knows no mercy — only justice
b Boaz acts in grace and accepts Ruth by paying the price the law demanded and then her redemption is accomplished
B. What a picture of Christ as our Redeemer
1. By nature we are under a curse and the judgment of God (Gal,3:1O)
a. Why? Because the law of God demands perfection from its adherents
b. If you are to be saved by keeping the ten commandments then it must be kept perfectly and without interruption.
c. One evil deed, one lie, one dishonest act you have violated the whole law –
James 2:10
2. God’s law is a single unit
a. To break one commandment is to break the entire law
b. What is the penalty for one violation of God’s law ( Rom. 623) Wages of sin is death.
c. How many sins do you have to commit to be a sinner How many did Adam commit in order for our race to become sinners
d. Let’s read carefully James 2:lO – one point.
e. Read Gal 3:10 to discern the full meaning of the text.
f. Notice we are to continue in all things
g. Notice again, there are no exceptions – every one
h. It must be a continuous obedience without any interruption,
3. This then leaves us like Ruth without a single claim to God’s salvation
a. We are hopeless helpless and condemned
b In spite of that — there is good news for all
c Boaz by virtue of his love for Ruth acted in grace, paid her account and them by marrying her assumed all responsibility for any future debts she might incur,
d. What a complete provision what wonderful love
4. In the very same way Christ our Redeemer acted in grace for us,
a. On the Cross He assumed the responsibility for our sin and took our curse upon Him (Gal, 3 13)
b. In this translation we are like Ruth .not even there, we are wholly passive as far as doing anything toward our salvation.
c. At Calvary Christ paid the debt for us and we were not even there
d. However this paved the way for Him our heavenly bridegroom to take us as His bride (Rom: 7:4 – II Cor:11:2 – Eph: 5:31-32)
e. In modern weddings the bride steals the show but not so at wedding of the Lamb. (Rev: 19:7-9)
5. He will be the Center of Attraction
a. We owe everything to Him
b. All that we possess as His bride is IN Him and because of Him
c. Praise be to His wonderful name – He has promised to protect provide and keep those who trust in Him
Introduction (Ruth 4:13 17)
