Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. All of us. to be redeemed. Left to ourselves, all of us set our sails in the wrong direction, don't we? But this is why our Saviour has come.
to buy us back.
so that our sails would be reset. and that our life would be lived towards God. Are you redeemed? Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Life can get complicated.
It can be painful, sad, and confusing. and sometimes we don't even know what we need. But God knows. And in a costly act of love, he has already met your greatest need. Today on the verdict, we're discussing what it means to be redeemed by God.
Now. Here's Pastor John Monroe to introduce today's lesson. Today we come to the final chapter of Ruth.
So much has happened. Following a highly unorthodox marriage proposal, Boas and Ruth are now engaged to be married. But before Boaz can marry Ruth certain steps must be taken according to the customs of the day. As we learn about the details of this ancient transaction, we will learn of the important subject of redemption. And in Boas we see a foreshadowing of the greatest of all Redeemers, our Lord Jesus Christ, who redeems us from the bondage of sin and darkness.
No. When I originally preached this message, we asked our middle school students to read this entire passage. But for her program today, I've asked Michelle to read these verses.
So if you have your Bibles, Turn to the Book of Ruth, chapter 4.
Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. and behold, the Redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by.
So Boaz said, Turn aside, friend, sit down here. and he turned aside and sat down. and he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit down here.
So they sat down. Then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
So I thought I would tell you of it, and say buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one beside you to redeem it, and I come after you. And he said, I will redeem it. Then Boaz said, The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Mobite.
the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. Then the Redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.
Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging. To confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
So when the Redeemer said to Boaz, 'Buy it for yourself, ' he drew off his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, and all that belonged to Killian and to Malin. also Ruth the Mobite, the widow of Malin. I have bought to be my wife. To perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, the That the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place.
You are witnesses this day. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathaw and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar. Bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a Redeemer, and may His name be renowned in Israel. he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age for your daughter in law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him. Again, that was our passage for today, Ruth chapter 4, verses 1 through 15.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message titled Redeemed. This little book of Ruth is a fascinating study of the sovereign purposes of God. God is at work. in everyday lives. Our lives may seem rather trivial.
Your life may seem rather insignificant, yet our great eternal God is furthering his eternal purposes in and through our lives. He is our perfect heavenly Father who tenderly cares for you. who is watching over you and me. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches you and me. In life there are often struggles, disappointments, unexpected setbacks, suffering, bereavement.
and sorrow. And dark clouds sometimes come over us. and God's smile and God's hand while there are often hidden to us. And we don't understand what's going on around us. And when the seas around us are raging, and the winds are howling, we sometimes wonder will we really survive?
Some of you may be familiar with Philip Larkin's poem The North Ship. Here are two verses. The first ship turned toward the west, over the sea, the running sea. And by the wind was all possessed and carried. to a rich country.
The The second ship turned towards the east, over the sea, the quaking sea, and the wind hunted it like a beast. to anchor in captivity. How is it that some sailing ships go east and some go west, arriving at opposite destinations, on the one hand a rich country, on the other hand, captivity, when the same wind over which they have no control blows on them? How is that possible? It all depends.
on the set. of the sales. The same wind blows on the ships. But the set of the sails determines the direction. The same wind blows on the two ships.
But the set of the sale determines the direction. Think of the providence of God, the sovereign God who is sovereign over all of us. Think of that as a wind over which we have no control. And at the moment, the winds in your life may seem adverse. The clouds maybe seem very, very dark and the sea is very, very high, and you find yourself, as you sit here today, you find yourself in a storm.
Yes, there are things in our life over which we have no control. but you do set The sales. In difficult times, You can either run from God or, like Ruth and Naome, run. Two. Got it.
Circumstances came into their life over which they had no control. Their husbands died. And do you understand that your circumstances in life, whether good or bad, do not determine your destination? But your response to these circumstances does determine your destination and your outlook. and your response To the purposes of God in your life reveals the character of your faith.
Your faith or your lack of faith will set the sails for your life. How are you doing? From the book of Ruth, we've been learning that in all circumstances we are to take our refuge under the Lord. Not to turn from God, not to rebel against God, but to seek our refuge and our safety under his wings. Under his wings, we are safe for all of life.
and for all of eternity. How can that be? because our great God gives us eternal refuge. And so today I want to remind you that your spiritual vitality and your eternal destiny are based on what Christ has done and your response to who Jesus Christ is and what He's done. for you.
Our subject is redeemed. One of the great themes of Scripture is redemption, the nation of Israel being redeemed from slavery in Egypt. And we're considering this rather unusual passage, which perhaps to us doesn't make much sense. The redemption of a piece of property. And we meet, as we've already met, this kinsman, Redeemer, this man of excellence, this godly man Boaz, who is a foreshadowing, of course, of the greatest of all Redeemers, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And I think looking at this passage will help us to understand the redemption which is ours through our Saviour Jesus Christ, the perfect kinsman. redeemer. Redemption for Boaz was a costly act of love. And your redemption by your Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, is a costly act of love. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as we will learn, has paid the infinite price.
And an understanding of these truths will help us to set our sails in life. As we seek to find our shelter under his wings, and when the storms of life blow into your life, as inevitably they will. May your sails Always be set. In the right direction.
Now we want to look at the first three verses, first of all, to see the need for redemption, then we'll think of the act of redemption and finally the result of redemption. And I'm very grateful to our middle schoolers for reading the passage in that very creative way. In Ruth 4. But if you have your Bibles, turn there because we'll refer from time to time to some of the verses. First of all, In the first three verses, we see the need for redemption.
And what is the background here?
Well, following this very highly unorthodox proposal of marriage that we saw in chapter three, Boaz and Ruth are now engaged to be married. Both Boaz and Ruth are people of excellence. They are people of integrity. They are people living by radical faith. But before Boas can marry Ruth, certain procedures have to be followed.
In the legal and social customs of that day, a close relative of the widow was expected to marry her in order to continue the family name of her deceased husband. Ruth, of course, is a widow, having been married to Malon, who was a son of Elimelech, who is already deceased and who was married to Naomi. Boaz, this wonderful man, is a close relative to Naomi and Ruth. But before Boaz can marry Ruth, he has to deal with a very difficult problem. There is a man who is a closer relative Then he is.
Who said that courtship was easy? Boaz realizes he has to take care of this situation and ascertain whether this closer relative really wants to marry. Rose.
Now, while it may not have been strictly necessary in law for Boas to speak to this closer relative, he's a man of integrity and he wants to do the right thing in the right way. That's important in life, isn't it? Not only to have the right goals, but to reach these goals. in the right. way.
And we see here the initiative of Boas. He sits down at Bethlehem's gate, verse one. The gate was the place where the business and legal transactions were settled. And it just so happened as Boas sits there that the close relative passes by. Boas asks him to sit down.
He wants a little chat with him. This individual, translated friend in most of our translations, not the best translation, he is deliberately left unnamed in the story. In Hebrew, he is the Poloni almoni. The Poloni Almoni. A catchphrase, it became the rabbinic designation of what we would call a John Doe.
And boys. As he's going to speak to this man, this unnamed man. Request ten elders to sit down with them, and they're going to be witnesses to this legally binding transaction. Boas then explains to the closest relative the circumstances that Naomi has to sell the piece of land which belonged to her husband, now deceased Elimelech. No doubt, because of her poverty, she had been placed in a difficult situation.
And we'd have had to sell this piece of ground to survive. There may have been For Naomi, an absolute ownership of the piece of ground, or more likely, what we would call a life estate, which means that Naomi would have the right to enjoy the land, live on it, grow crops, etc., for as long as she lives. On her death, then, the property would have passed to her sons. But both of them, Killian and Malin, have died. Ruth, her daughter-in-law, then has a legal right to the property on the death of Naomi.
So there is a need for redemption. Secondly, the Act of redemption in verses four. Through eight. The closest relative, the closest kinsman. refuses to redeem the land.
Boas explains to the near relative that he and not Boas has the first option of redeeming the land which formerly belonged to Elimelech. And on hearing this, a kinsman wanting the land who wouldn't, he agrees to redeem the land, which will then be kept in Elimelech's family through this man. I realize this sounds very strange to us, but that was the custom then. Boys is a very shrewd man. He presents the deal in a very shrewd way.
Having obtained an acknowledgement from the relative that he's willing to redeem the land, Boas now explains that in fact there are two responsibilities which go together. If you're going to redeem the land, you must also marry Ruth, who is the widow of Malin, the son of Elimelech, the original owner of the lands. Ruth. Is of childbearing age, unlike Naome. And uh seems in the story to replace Naomi in the leveret responsibility of raising a child to Limelech.
Notice the reason Boas gives in verse five. On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabites, the widow of the deceased, in order here's the reason to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance. In other words, not only have you to pay the money for the purchase of the land, you also have to provide for Ruth.
Furthermore, any children of the Union will continue the name of the deceased on his inheritance. That is, for legal purposes, Ruth's children would become eliminates and so would inherit the land.
So the kinsman realizes this is not such a good deal as I thought. I'm willing to buy the land, but I'm not prepared to marry Ruth. It would mean that the land that he buys with his own money is going to pass to a child who's going to own it, not in his name, but in the name of Elimelech. And so Elimelech's family name is going to continue and not this unnamed man.
So he declines. He's not prepared to pay the price. for this transaction. The legal right of redemption now passes to Boas. The irony is that this nameless kinsman who wants to raise up his own name is now totally unknown.
And Boas's name goes down. in Scripture, in God's eternal word. On the refusal of the closest kinsman, verses 7 and 8, Boaz redeems the land. Verse 7.
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 Boas, Buy it for yourself. And he removed. His sandal. The love of Boas for Ruth is seen in the way in which he engineers These transactions. He follows the right procedures.
He does the right thing at the right time. All of the witnesses are lined up. It now just remains for the matter to be formalized. Instead of signing the deed with our John Hancock signature, the custom then was to remove a sandal. The custom of taking off a sandal and passing it to the new owner of the property, while strange to us, probably arose from the concept of walking on the promised land and taking possession of it.
Remember Joshua 1:3, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you.
So the shoes symbolised a transfer of the right of property to Boas. The redemption now takes place. Boaz. will own Elimelech's land. He is going to raise an heir for a Limuleuk.
This was a very loving. and a very costly act. Mm-hmm. Number one, the need for redemption, number two, the act of redemption, number three, the result. of redemption.
Boaz not only redeems the land, But he marries Ruth. Before all of the witnesses and elders, Boas declares that he has redeemed all of the land that belonged to Limelech and his two sons, Killin and Malin. He has bought this. Do you know this? In verse 9, From the hand of Naomi.
I have bought from the land of Naomi all that belonged to Ulimelech and all that belonged to Killian and Marlin. He's done this in the name, not in his own name, but in the name of the deceased, Elimelech, so that Elimelech's name and family would not be cut off. Here is a love story with a difference. Here is a destitute widow. Don't lose side of the big picture.
A destitute widow A mobile test at that, a former pagan Travels all of the way from Moab to Bethlehem. And she arrives with absolutely no Nothing. But God in His grace And God in His love is providing for her. She is going to marry not only a godly man, she is going to marry a wealthy man, Boas. What an amazing testimony to the grace of God in the life of an ordinary woman.
who seeks a refuge under the wings of the Lord, and who steps out into the unknown and who lives by radical faith. We learned as we study this in chapter one that God always blesses the life. of radical faith. If you are a person of faith, That is risky, that is difficult. We have our fears, we have our apprehensions, and God is calling us to do something, and God is asking you to act in a very difficult circumstance to do the right thing.
And perhaps your husband, your wife, your parent, your boss, or someone has acted very wrongly, perhaps very sinfully, and you're wondering, how should I respond? always respond By faith. Always set. Your sale. The wind is blowing.
You are afraid and you don't know what's going to happen. Set your sail. Have your trust in the Lord. And he Well bless you. And Boas and Ruth here receive the Lord's blessing.
as we see in verses eleven and twelve. The blessing from the Lord follows. It's pronounced by the elders and everyone who is part of this legal court. The blessing is threefold if you look at verses eleven and twelve. The first blessing.
May Ruth have many descendants. She's a widow, she's childless. We are witnesses Verse 11, may the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home i. e. Ruth, like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel.
It's significant that Rachel and Leah, remember these were the wives of Jacob, the great patriarch, are mentioned. Both Rachel and Leah, like Ruth, had entered the land of Israel from foreign nations. From Leah were born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. On the other hand, Joseph and Benjamin, the youngest two of Jacob's sons, were born from Rachel, the woman who was. who he loved.
Rachel, who, like Ruth, was barren for many, many years. before Joseph was born in Rachel. Referred to here was buried near Bethlehem. A blessing. On Ruth.
May many descendants come from you. The second part of the blessing is the end of verse 11. And may you, Boaz, achieve wealth in Ephrata and become famous in Bethlehem. The second blessing is that Boas becomes enriched through the marriage and the offspring. He's already wealthy.
But through his marriage with Ruth, this poor Moabite has, he's going to be even more blessed. God is no man's. Dellar. The third blessing, verse twelve, is on their family. Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamer bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord shall give you by this young woman'.
Tamer If you remember and know your Bible in Genesis, Tamar, like Ruth, was another foreigner and yet bore a son to Judah. One of the sons of Israel called Perez. who in fact is one of Boas's ancestors. The threefold blessing. And now the first part of verse thirteen.
Boas marries Ruth.
So Boas took Ruth. And she became His wife, you know, And he went in. to her. Mm. This is the verdict, and Pastor John Monroe.
Today's message is titled Redeemed. And we'll continue with part two when we come back tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to visit our website at the verdict.org. There you'll see that we have a special listening guide to complement our current study in Ruth. In this insightful workbook that John put together, you'll be able to follow along with the key points and real life application of every lesson we cover in the Book of Ruth.
John provides practical guidance to help you make the most of this relevant study.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe. Uh Well, what's your verdict? Isn't this a beautiful picture of redemption? This act by Boaz reminds us that redemption is a costly act of love. A wonderful to know.
That our Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us with His own blood. We now belong to Jesus. and He also watches over us in every circumstance of life. What started out as a seemingly impossible life for Ruth Has been transformed into a life of grace and of blessings which overflow to others.
Next time we'll learn more of the wonder of redemption. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
