Ruth—Part 3—Boaz the Hero

The Backstory

In earlier chapters, Naomi is portrayed as a prodigal whose family left their homeland to seek sustenance elsewhere during a difficult time. She illustrates what happens when there is no King Jesus in our hearts, and, in turn, we live by the dictates of our feelings, wills, and intellect, especially when times get tough. Later, the prophet Jeremiah confronts God's people with the same issue.

... they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will each obey the dictates of his evil heart.”
— Jeremiah 18:12

Naomi's daughter-in-law, Ruth, a Moabitess, embodies faithfulness, loyalty, and humility by clinging to her mother-in-law and her mother-in-law's God and by returning to the house of bread in Israel, even though there appears to be nothing in it for her.

... wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God.
— Ruth 1:15

Ruth expresses this in words and demonstrates loyalty by returning with Naomi to Naomi's homeland. Ruth was likely despised, given the animosity between Israel and Moab at the time. Ruth loyally cared for her mother-in-law, with little prospect or provision for her own future. Ruth, who came from paganism, depicts the loyalty we ought to have toward our Lord Himself. She contrasts Naomi's family with people who knew God yet sought provision elsewhere.

This lesson centers on a man named Boaz, a "Kinsman-Redeemer." He is the hero of this story and depicts our strong, willing, and able Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus, who rescued and redeemed us when it seemed all was lost, and we had no hope in this world. So it was with both Ruth and Naomi.

... our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 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

Rest in His Lordship

The third chapter of Ruth opens with Naomi revealing to Ruth that Boaz, the wealthy landowner whose field she was gleaning, is a near kinsman. Before this revelation, Ruth and Naomi were destined to live in poverty for the rest of their lives.

"There was almost nothing worse than being a widow in the ancient world."

— Life Application commentary

They were both widows with no means of support. In biblical times, women were not independent. A life of poverty was inevitable without the support and care of a male family member. As appalling as this may seem, it powerfully illustrates dependence on God. As human beings, we are not independent. When we are not under the care and support of our powerful and providential God, our lives are spiritually destitute and poverty-stricken. He is our willing, strong, and able Kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without Him, we are without hope in this world.

... you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers (like Ruth the Moabitess) from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
— Ephesians 2:12

In his book Boaz, Ruth's Bridegroom and Lord of the Harvest, Andrew McIlree applies this part of Ruth's story.

One by one, like Ruth, we come as Gentile strangers from our ungodliness in a far-off place to meet our Redeemer, the Lord of the Harvest. In God's purpose, she was brought into the kingly line, and so have we; and like the bride in the Song of Songs with her bridegroom, we rejoice in our bridal relationship with the good Shepherd and King of kings.

Naomi describes this newly discovered prospect as finding "rest" for Ruth through a relationship with Boaz, just as our rest is found through a relationship with Jesus.

There remains, therefore, a rest for the people of God.
— Hebrews 4:9

This Hebrew word for "rest" appears six times in the Old Testament and is closely linked to Noah's name. Noah was a man who "walked with God" (Genesis 6:9). When we walk with God in a covenant relationship and fellowship with Him through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, we find a resting place for our souls.

The Presence of God: Our Resting Place

Another occurrence of the word rest is found in 1 Chronicles chapter six. It concerns the ark of the covenant finding a "resting" place among God's people.

Now these are the men whom David appointed over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the ark came to rest.

— 1 Chronicles 6:31

This setting occurs during the reign of King David, Israel's second king, after the time of the Judges, and it symbolizes our spiritual life. Saul, Israel's first king, is a picture of our flesh. During Saul's reign, the Ark of the Covenant, representing God's presence, was dragged about, even to pagan shrines. When our walk submits to God as our King rather than to our flesh, He finds a resting place in us.

Christ on the Throne
Hajdudorog

Christ Enthroned in Us

Christ enthrones and rests Himself in the hearts of His believers. His enthronement gives us rest.

Christ in you is a right royal word! Christ swaying His scepter from the center of your being, over every power and faculty, desire and resolve, bringing every thought into captivity to Himself—oh, this is glory begun and the sure pledge of Heaven!

— Charles Spurgeon

In the remainder of this story, we will see how relative, relevant, and necessary a covenant relationship with our kinsman-redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is. He is the source of redemption, restoration, and rest in our lives, having redeemed us with His blood.

... we have redemption through his blood ...
— Ephesians 1:7

The Concept of Redemption

The concept of redemption is largely unfamiliar in modern culture. Therefore, a brief background on the principle and purpose of redemption may be helpful. As we shall study, this redemption was a costly and necessary transaction on our behalf, restoring the possibility of an eternal relationship with God.

Gesenius defines the Hebrew word for "redeem" (gaal) as "to buy back." This word can refer to a person, possession, or property. The word for redemption appears ten times in Ruth's short four-chapter book, underscoring its significance. We became enslaved to sin through Adam until someone able and willing paid the ransom to repurchase us.

“You have sold yourselves for nothing,
And you shall be redeemed without money.”

— Isaiah 52:3

The Cost of Redemption

The redemption price for the salvation of our souls was beyond what money could buy. It cost God the most precious thing: His one and only Son. The wages of sin were death (Romans 6:23), and the ransom price was life in exchange for death. Because we were all dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:1), nothing in us or in this world could pay that price.

... you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
— I Peter 1:18-19

The magnitude of the sacrifice measures the cost of His gift of redemption. Such a sacrifice was costly for a holy and just God to suffer and die for humankind. He paid it all for humanity, which had committed treasonous adultery against Him.

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die, but God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
— Romans 5:7-8

Ruth came with no dowry (a gift from the bride's family to the groom). There was nothing in it for Boaz. 1800s Bible commentator Matthew Henry eloquently explains how this mirrors our Lord Jesus.

"Our Lord Jesus is our Goel, our Redeemer, our everlasting Redeemer. He looked, like Boaz, with compassion on the deplorable state of fallen mankind. At vast expense, he redeemed the heavenly inheritance for us, which by sin was mortgaged, and forfeited into the hands of divine justice, and which we should never have been able to redeem."

Francisco de Zurbarán

A Donkey is Redeemed With a Lamb

God faithfully illustrates this in His word by using what He has created to communicate these concepts. In this case, He does so through a particular verse in Exodus.

But every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb; and if you will not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. And all the firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.
— Exodus 13:13

At first glance, this verse seems random. It appears in the Lord's instructions to Moses about observing the Passover. Passover centers on a sacrificial lamb and is an image of the innocent being slain to save us.

In Exodus 13:2, the Lord tells Moses that the firstborn of both man and beast are His. The lamb's blood spared their firstborn from the angel of death, who passed over all of Egypt. This episode illustrates that the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God, was the prerequisite and substitute for our redemption and deliverance from the bondage of sin and self. It depicts the Israelites enslaved to Pharaoh and Egypt and their miraculous deliverance from that bondage.

Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.
— 1 Corinthians 5:7

As we will see, the donkey will symbolize what was redeemed for us. Charles Spurgeon's sermon number 3458, "Redeeming the Unclean," offers compelling insights into the Lamb's redemption of the donkey.

"The donkey, useful everywhere ... was counted as unclean. How, then, could it be dedicated to God? ... An exchange was made. A lamb was offered instead ... As the donkey, being unclean, was not acceptable to God, even so, unrenewed man, being unclean, is also unacceptable before the Most High ... man, according to the Jewish ceremonial Law, is an unclean creature ... by the law he is put down as a sinner, as being on a level with the unclean beasts ... man has become through sin, like the donkey ... God could not receive the donkey because it was unclean, but it still belonged to God. God's claim extended over all firstborn, clean or unclean, and that claim must be maintained ... still, God's claim upon the sinner for a perfectly holy life has not ceased ... everybody knows that inability to pay does not exonerate the man from his duty to pay. So with God ... But here is the lamb that must be killed in its place, and he is the more valuable of the two ... the lamb shall die, and the donkey shall live ... All of us put together, and millions upon millions of our human race could never equal in value the precious Lord Jesus! ... the lamb was offered - the donkey was spared. The unclean animal lived - the clean creature died! There was a change of places. So does Christ change places with the sinner! ... He condescended to become a Man and take upon Himself the sins of His people, and to be punished for their guilt ... "

The donkey symbolizes sinful, unregenerate, unsaved, or unredeemed man. A donkey's stubbornness is attributed to its keen sense of self-preservation.

... those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority.They are presumptuous, self-willed.
— 2 Peter 2:10

Why break the donkey's neck if it was not redeemed? Kip Jentoft, a retired pastor, offers the following explanation. It had to be killed in such a way that no blood was shed. The shed blood of the lamb must redeem sinful man. In Scripture, the neck often symbolizes obstinacy, resistance, and a bent toward one's own way, as seen in Orpah's name, meaning, and actions. By not valuing the offered redemption, the animal is rendered dead and useless, and the neck, the symbol of its and our stubbornness, must be broken, ultimately resulting in death.

The Donkey and the Cross

Amazingly, all of God's creation eloquently reflects and confirms the truth of the Gospel, as with the donkey. Many donkey species have a visible cross on their backs. Some are more visible than others, depending on the colors and textures of their coats. It's as if this beast proclaims that the cross is what we deserve. It was the penalty required and a sign of the necessary price paid for our redemption. During Christ's triumphal entry, just before Passover and his death on the cross, the Lamb of God rode a donkey, symbolizing the Lamb of God who would take our place on that cross.

They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him (Jesus) on them.

— Matthew 21:7

The donkey is not a random feature of the story but a declaration of the Gospel.

He is a man; do you know how near and akin He is to you, how sympathetic He is, a brother born for your adversity?" — Charles Spurgeon, "The Lamb of God in Scripture."

The Beast of Burden

The donkey is also known as a beast of burden, symbolizing the burden of our sinful state. On that cross, the gravity and weight of our sin were borne.

He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many.

— Isaiah 53:12

... who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree.

— I Peter 2:24

The Kinsman Redeemer and Sacrifice

The Kinsman Redeemer was a family member appointed to ensure that a man's name, following the firstborn line, would not perish from the tribe. This principle extended to the territory he owned and his possessions. When a man died, the next oldest brother was to marry his wife and raise up a son who would continue the family line and possess his land in his name, thereby redeeming his inheritance. This practice reflects God's original intention for our eternal fellowship with Him. Adam (the firstborn) died because he traded his life for sin. Jesus willingly assumed the next-of-line brother's responsibility, becoming the second Adam to accomplish our redemption. God provided for our restoration through Jesus, the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer.

“The first man, Adam, became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
— 1 Corinthians 15:45

The redemption of property and children was the right of the dead man's wife, who could reclaim her husband's name through a brother or the husband. Without brothers, the right and responsibility would pass to the nearest kin. If the Kinsman-Redeemer was unwilling to fulfill his duty, the woman was entitled to publicly humiliate him.

Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’
— Deut. 25:8-9

It is remarkable to see how often, in the Scriptures, women display tenacity and sometimes desperation to carry on their husbands' names and raise children for them. Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and Tamar all offer this same illustration. What if it were our life mission and desperation to carry on the Lord Jesus' name and raise children (disciples) for Him?

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
— Matthew 28:19

The Great Exchange

Sacrifice was crucial to this responsibility because it required forfeiting the redeemer's inheritance. Similarly, Christ gave up His heavenly life with the Father to become one of us.

Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped by force. On the contrary, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave by becoming like human beings.

And when he appeared as a human being, he humbled himself still more by becoming obedient even to death — death on a stake as a criminal!

— Philippians 2:6-8

Early 1900s commentator A.B. Simpson expounds on what Christ gave up to become one of us.

"Christ gave up a place of dignity and position in heaven, where He was known as God and God alone ... His whole inheritance is merged in ours. He laid down His rights and honors and took up our wrongs and reproaches, our liabilities and disabilities, and henceforth He has nothing but His people ... The redeemer not only sacrificed his own inheritance, but he also bought back the forfeited inheritance of the dead husband. Likewise, our Kinsman redeemer has brought back for us all that we lost in Adam and has added to it infinitely more - all the fullness of His grace, all the riches of His glory ... "
— A.B. Simpson, The Christ in the Bible," commentary
... though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
— 2 Corinthians 8:9

The Responsibility of the Kinsman Redeemer

Israelite families were given a portion of the land God had secured through the promise and covenant with Abraham.

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance.
— Ephesians 1:11

Similarly, the territory of our lives technically belongs to Him.

The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine.
— Leviticus 23

He owns us. We are not our own; we never were and never will be. We will always belong to someone. We will belong to God, or we will be slaves to sin. In this analogy, God clarifies that He provided a way for our slavery to sin to be forgiven.

A Kinsman Redeemer had three responsibilities that Christ fulfilled for us.

To rescue or buy back a family member from slavery.

... you were bought at a price.
— 1 Corinthians 6:20

To raise up a family and homestead in a dead relative's name.

For this reason, I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.
— Ephesians 3:14-15

To execute vengeance for the murder of a close relative.

“Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
— Romans 12:19

A Kinsman-Redeemer was also known as an avenger. Christ also avenged us of our enemies in the spirit realm.

Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them.
— Colossians 2:15

A Kinsman Redeemer was considered the family protector and guardian. Paul establishes in his letter to the Thessalonian church that Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer.

... the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
— 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Requirements of a Kinsman-Redeemer

There were three requirements of "goel" (redeemer)

He had to be a blood relative.

... the Word (Jesus) became flesh and dwelt among us.
— John 1:14
He (Jesus) made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
— Philippians 2:7

Jesus needed to become our blood relative to assume the role of our Kinsman-Redeemer.

... what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.
— Romans 8:3

He also had to have the ability in terms of resources.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
— Ephesians 3:20
... from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever! Amen.
— Romans 11:26

Finally, a Kinsman-Redeemer had to be willing to do so.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ... No one takes it away from me, but I lay it down of my own free will."
— John 10:11,18