Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. One of the great themes of Scripture is redemption. 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 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. Welcome to The Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe.
Redemption is one of the great themes of the Bible. But when you hear that you've been redeemed by Jesus Christ, do you know what that means? Today on the verdict, we're learning how the Book of Ruth features a marvelous picture of redemption that allows us to better understand the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Here's Pastor John Monroe as he introduces today's lesson. Today, we continue our study in Ruth chapter 4 and once again meet the kingsman Redeemer, Boaz.
Redemption is one of the great themes of the Bible. The nation of Israel was redeemed from slavery in Egypt. and in Ruth we see Boaz redeeming a piece of property. Boaz is a foreshadowing of the greatest of all Redeemers, our Lord Jesus Christ. The redemption of property by Boas helps us to understand our redemption in Jesus Christ.
As the passage involves details of an ancient transaction, it's helpful to read the entire passage as we begin.
So if you have your Bibles, turn to the Book of Ruth, chapter 4. When I originally preached this message at Calvary Church, I asked our middle school students to read this passage. but to day I've asked Michel to read these verses.
Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there, and 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, said 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 Ephra, and be renowned in Bethlehem, and may your house be like the house of Perez, who 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. Our subject is redeemed. 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.
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 Ruth 4. But if you ever read 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. But before Boaz 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. 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 than 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. Ruth.
Boas asks him to sit down. He wants a little chat with him. This individual, he has deliberately left unnamed in the story. 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.
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 Olimelech.
And on hearing this, the 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 acknowledgment from the relative that he's willing to redeem the land, Boes 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 land. 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 lands.
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 is 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. Boas will own Elimerik's land And he's going to raise an heir for Elimelech.
This was a very loving and a very costly act. Yeah. 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 the 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 nine, 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.
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 sight 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 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's going to marry a wealthy man, Boas. And Boaz 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 he loved. Rachel, who, like Ruth, was barren for many, many years. before Joseph. was born and 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 eleven. 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. Deader. 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 and he went in to her. This is marriage. This is a biblical marriage.
Sometimes I'm asked by a young couple, what is a biblical marriage? What is a marriage in the Lord? Notice the elements of a marriage.
Sometimes people say today, marriage is just a piece of paper. Who needs a piece of paper? As long as we love each other, we don't need to get married. It's not so. First Elementary.
of a biblical marriage. Is there is a private promise by Boas to Ruth that we saw in chapter three? Boys and effects says the ruth, trust me, I'm going to do the right thing. a private promise by the man to the woman. The second element of this marriage is the public act before witnesses, verse 10.
Marriage is a public act. It's not secretive. It's not something we do in a corner that we're ashamed of. No, it is publicly. When we marry someone, we say we're gathered here in the sight of God and before all of you as witnesses.
It is a public act to be entered into before family and friends and, more importantly, before God. a private promise Secondly, a public act. Third, there is a private and personal union between a man and a woman. Notice. That is the third element.
And not the first. People want to reverse the order. They first want sexual union before there is any promise or before there is any marriage. That is not God's way. First, there is a private promise.
Secondly, there is a public commitment. Third, there is the private and personal consummation of the marriage. And notice how skilfully, unlike the crassness of our present society, notice how skilfully and delicately The writer of Ruth describes it.
So Boas took Ruth. and she became his wife, And he went into her. The text doesn't give us the details, and we don't need to know the details of the private consummation of the marriage.
Nowadays, sexual union is analysed and talked about, I would say, far too much, even in Christian circles, where sometimes it's the stuff of very expensive seminars. Here's the biblical approach. It's really not that difficult if you do it God's way. and an atmosphere of love. Here is a couple led by the Lord.
A man and woman of excellence who are trusting God. In difficult circumstances, they are godly. In an atmosphere of love and godliness and loyalty and commitment, a man and a woman become one flesh. And the delight of that and the mystery of this unique relationship of one man of excellence and one woman of excellence coming together is preserved and is given us in Holy Scripture as a wonderful example. and you are sitting here Perhaps you're married and you're saying, Well, I wish I'd done it God's way, but I didn't.
Let me encourage you. That God always deals with you where you are. and the fact that your marriage Or that relationship didn't begin in a godly way is no reason for you confessing sin if there were sin and saying, From now on, we're going to live God's way and we're going to do what God wants. Here is a story of drama, a story of suffering, a story of romance, a story of celebration and joy of God's providence. And as we study Scripture, we must never forget that it all points to our perfect Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember on the road to Emmaus, Luke 24, our Lord explained to them from all of the scriptures the things concerning himself. And in the actions of Boas, we have a beautiful illustration of our Lord Jesus Christ, who saw our deep, deep need of redemption. We, spiritually speaking, are much poorer than Ruth. We are spiritually poor, broken, sinful people, spiritually bankrupt, unable to do anything to buy our salvation, just as Ruth was very, very poor. Spiritually speaking, We're in a hopeless condition.
Like Ruth, we are aliens living in a far country. All of us need to be redeemed. Left to ourselves, all of us set our sails in the wrong direction, don't we? We say we want a life of love and joy and peace, but we set ourselves and we ignore God and we go in the totally opposite direction. Isn't that right?
But this is why our Saviour has come. to buy us back.
so that our sails would be reset. and that their life would be lived towards God. Great was the love which this kinsman redeemer Boaz had for Ruth, but greater is the love which our kinsman redeemer our Lord Jesus Christ has for us. Paul says, while we were still helpless at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Perhaps for a good man, A righteous man, a good man, some would dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet.
Sinners Christ. died. For us. Christ came for us, not when we had set ourselves in the right direction, but Christ came for us when we had blown it. When we'd gone our own way, when we were helpless, when we were sinners, Christ comes and offers us His redemption.
He will buy us back. And his salvation and his. forgiveness. And sinners are people who have set their sails in the wrong direction, people like you and me. And God in His grace comes and does it all.
Boas had to pay money. He had the responsibility of taking care of Ruth, Naomi, as well as any children born to the Union. He lives righteously, he lives unselfishly, unlike the closer relative who's only going to act in his own personal interests. For the act of redemption, we look to our kinsman and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, who became one of us. The writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 2, in an astonishing statement, he says that Christ is our elder brother.
He becomes one of us. What's the cost of redemption? redeemed with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish. and spot the blood. of Christ.
The result of this salvation, this redemption, we've been bought with a price. My dear brother, my dear sister, if you are saved by God's grace, will you remember this morning that you don't belong to yourself? You belong to Christ now, to love him and to serve him. And to ask him, Lord, where do you want me to go? And what do you want me to do with my life so I may trust you and set my sail?
And so the wind of the Spirit come. and take me wherever. You want. You see, our Savior not only redeems us, he lavishes his grace upon us so that we become members of his family, joint heirs with Christ. Blessed with every spiritual blessing.
all of God's Grace. Are you redeemed? Don't try to redeem yourself. Trust our Lord Jesus Christ, who came to seek and to save the lost. And if you've never received Christ, You're struggling through life and you've tried so often to set your sail, but you've done it all yourself and you realize it's a disaster.
You need a Saviour. You need a redeemer. And that is our Lord Jesus Christ. Place your faith in Him. And then, when the stormy winds of life blow.
And for some of you, they're blowing right now. Set. Your sale. Seek your safety, seek your security under the wings of your Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ. He will direct you, He will guide you in all of life, and with your Redeemer at the helm.
He will bring you safely through the storms of life. He will bless you incredibly. He will make you a blessing to others. and he will lead you. into The heavenly, holy.
Yeah. Our Father, we bow before you. confessing our waywardness confessing our desire sometimes to live for ourselves. As we come to the Lord's table, Father, we are confronted with our sin and we're confronted also with the amazing grace of our Saviour who redeemed us, the Lamb. who is worthy.
Who takes away the sin? of the world. Father, humble us our heart. Humble us before you. And as we Sit here.
May your spirit Do his unique work in our hearts.
Some need to be comforted.
Some need to trust Christ. And some have wandered away. I need to Reaffirm their faith in Christ.
Some need to repent of sin.
Some need to claim the cleansing of the blood of the Lamb. Wherever we are, Father. Minister to us now. as we praise the Lamb. Who was slain?
In his precious name, Amen. You're listening to the verdict with Pastor Jean Monroe and the conclusion of a message titled Redeemed. If you'd like to revisit any part of our lesson, remember you can do that online by going to theverdict.org. And to help you go even deeper in our study in the Book of Ruth, we're offering a custom listening guide just for this series. Offering bonus content and exclusive notes from John, this special listening guide will challenge you with engaging questions and inspiring prompts so that you can review and apply what you're learning in this study to your day to day life.
just go to our website to request your free copy of the Roof Listening Guide. You'll find it online at theverdict.org. And if the Verdict Ministry has made a positive impact in your life, we encourage you to consider making your own impact in the lives of other listeners and being a part of this gospel work by supporting our ministry with a financial gift of any amount. We've made it quick and easy to give a one-time donation by visiting our website at theverdict.org. Or feel free to send a check through the mail by writing to us at The verdict.
Care of Calvary Church, 5801 Pineville Matthews Road. Charlotte, North Carolina, 28226. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam. It's available on your favorite podcast app, and you can learn more about this special weekly feature by going to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Like Ruth. We were all in a far country. But Ruth discovered As I trust you discover That God is never far away. In great love, He lavishes His grace upon us and redeems us through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Have you experienced this redemption? This forgiveness. Make sure you're sheltering under the wings of your Redeemer, the Lord Jesus. There is no better guide in life. And join me next time as we consider the hidden hand of God.
from the final verses of Ruth chapter 4. 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.
