This is the Truth Network. Forever thy word is settled in heaven, O Lord. Psalm 119, verse 89. I'm Stu Arberson. Welcome to this special Wednesday in the Word leader podcast, where we prepare and equip our leaders of this special Bible study outreach breakfast every week to teach through the scriptures.
13 Dario locations. There's a men's group meeting and several of the Locations host the women on Thursday morning. Stay tuned. Be encouraged as we jump into this week's Wednesday in the Word. What is Redemption.
Who is your Redeemer, why do we need to be redeemed? The answer to these questions we find. in a four chapter eighty five verse book in the Old Testament named after a Gentile woman. Ruth and the power of God's redemption. and what God does to turn Brokenness into beauty.
It's just remarkable. Dr. Sam Horn, what a journey it's been. We got 22 more verses as we look at chapter four of Ruth. Take us, sir, to Kind of where we are in this book.
We've come a long way. You know, it wasn't looking so good. If you look at chapter one, you know, I think Wearsby said this book starts with basically. You know, three widows, you know, journeying home in a whole lot of bitterness. And it closes with A beautiful wedding and a new baby boy.
So, what a swing, sir. What are your thoughts as we get into this final look?
Well, you know, it's uh the book you always are excited when you start a book and you're you're excited. When you end a book, but there's also, like, man, I can't believe we're at the end. I remember when. We started the very first broadcast, the podcast on Ruth. And now here we are at the end, and we've traversed four beautiful chapters.
that speak about so many things but most of all they speak about god Uh if we are You know, if we fail to see Ruth and Naomi and And Boaz and the beautiful baby that comes at the end of the story. We've gotten a lot out of the book of Ruth, but if we miss God. Then we miss Ruth. We missed the whole book. God is the hero of the story.
And so when we get to sort of our look back. I think we're going to see that. I think that's going to come out really clear. Yeah, and it's easy to take these Old Testament characters and to say, hey, we need to persevere. We need to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.
We need to stick it out and show our strength. And of course, we work God into that. You know, well, He's going to help me in this and that. But the fact is. is We're not called to be like Ruth.
We're not called to be like Boaz or Naomi. They are all pointing. to the greater one who would come. And redeem us all, Dr. Horn.
There's a rich gospel theme in here. And Boaz, you know, it's interesting at the end of chapter three. I really don't, and I wish we'd spent more time on this. We actually did. That verse in verse 18.
I I just I tell ya, I just keep going back to it. You know, where you talked about it some in our last podcast. You know, Naomi in her wisdom and sagacity says to Ruth, be still. You know, basically wait on God and. Effectively, Ruse and Yaomi.
They could do no more. You know, they were faithful. They went through the right steps, but it was all on the Redeemer. It was completely in Boaz's court. And there's a very real sense to which we have to wait and see the salvation of the Lord.
Moses and the Israelites had to wait for the Lord. To crush the Egyptians. They were that that army was coming across. The Red Sea going to going to destroy him. They had to wait for his salvation in.
And what a great picture of the gospel. We wait. And we just stop and we just, hey, we cast our cares upon him like we talked about. You know, at the end of 1 Peter.
So, this chapter, take us to where we've been in these four chapters as we tackle these final 22 verses, Dr. Horn. Yeah.
Okay, so briefly, let's just review. We saw in chapter one. The amazing sovereignty of God guiding everything in the chapter. And it was, in many ways, a dark sovereignty. The clouds were dark.
You know, the circumstances were difficult. There was a famine in the land. Uh a worthy man, uh Abimelech. Who was a leading citizen of Bethlehem, a leading man of Israel? Everybody knew who he was with his wife, Naomi, and his two sons.
become so jaded at God. For bringing the famine into their lives and for not relieving them, that they decide to leave the land. You know, when Abimelech left, we saw that it wasn't just a temporary move. He wasn't just saying, Look, I got to do something to take care of my family. And I hear there's bread down in Moab.
I think I'll go down there. This was a statement he was making. Um You know, we have From time to time, difficult counseling circumstances. That we have to deal with as pastors. I have one going on right now where somebody I love very dearly and has been a part of the shepherding process I've been engaged in has deconstructed and has.
walked away from uh the faith or at least The outward expression is that he has done that. We don't know for sure how it will all end. But that's in essence what happened to Abimelech. He's making a statement. That he is rejecting the God of Israel.
He is rejecting the land that was such a part of their ethos as a nation and really their life as an Israelite. I mean, you'll remember, God made some incredible statements about the land. You could never really divest yourself of the land that had been given by God to you or to your tribe or to your clan or to your family. And even if you sold it every Every 50 years, there was a year of jubilee where it returned to you.
So here's a man who is turning his back on all of that. And he goes down to the worst possible place you could go. He goes down to Moab. And we won't rehearse all that history, but There is a theological statement being made. By Abimelech, as he goes, and Samuel, the writer, wants you to pick it up.
He wants you to see it. And so that's in essence what happens. They get down to Moab. The two sons marry. And within the space of 10 years, there are three funerals.
And this woman, Naomi, who, through no choice of her own, is in a place she never would have. wanted to be in a land that is not our own is bereft. And she decides to go back to Bethlehem because she heard that there is bread. Again, in the house of bread. That's the name of Bethlehem.
That's what the name means. And so she goes back, and you know the story, her one daughter-in-law, Orpa, goes back. And her other daughter comes with her, Ruth, and we have that great. Incredible statement. That Ruth makes, your God will be my God, your people will be my people.
Where you go, I will go. And she says, in that, Vow that she makes, I will. Where you are buried, I will be buried. Where you die, I will be buried. This is my land.
And so there is this incredible conversion. That has been sovereignly orchestrated by God.
So that's the first thing.
Okay. Then in chapter two, we saw the providence of this sovereign God. We wanted to know what kind of God is this God who's orchestrating these kinds of things that have such. Heaviness to them in chapter one. What kind of God is He?
And so we see the glorious, gracious, kind providence of God in chapter two. And so we meet Boaz, this worthy man. Ruth gleans in his field and finds favor in his sight. And of course, Naomi, ever the wise mother-in-law, always got a keen eye out for who's who, immediately recognizes the situation and not as an opportunist. I think sometimes Naomi.
As an opportunist. She's really not. She's actually a very important piece in how Ruth. gets to Boaz. And so she gets to Boaz, and we know the story.
And then, of course, in chapter three, there is redemption. We meet the kinsman Redeemer. And there is the promise of redemption, there is the experience of favor. And the binding of Boaz to Ruth, and Ruth to Boaz. And the full redemption is yet to come.
Well, in many ways, that mirrors what you and I are experiencing. We have experienced. The commitment of God to redeem us. And there are parts of that redemption which have already been applied to us. But the full redemption will come.
When we stand before him on the day of judgment, and he says to us, Enter into the joy of the Lord. And we come with a glorified body.
So you can see what's happening in Ruth chapter 3. And so we left Ruth. And Naomi joyfully rejoicing together, and as you noted. Um Naomi says to Ruth, now just be still. I know this man.
I know what's going on. I can see the hand of God in this. He's not going to rest. And that brings us to chapter four.
So, chapter one is sovereignty, chapter two is gracious providence. Chapter three is redemption, and chapter four is the fullness of grace. And we'll see that as we get to chapter four. That's a wonderful summary, and really some deep questions that we really hope will come out of this final. Final week.
Namely, are: you know, have you been redeemed? And who are you trusting? For your redemption. And No matter how bad it's gotten, so many folks listening have experienced bitterness of life, brokenness of life. It's devastating what they went through.
I mean, talk about having. three funerals and here you come home. to the place you probably never should have left without a husband. Without two sons, and even one of your daughter-in-laws has gone back. To the gods of the Moabites and to their lifestyle and to her people, but Ruth is with you, and God shows us His favor and His grace.
Through this godly woman who stuck with her mother-in-law, Dr. Horn, we get to chapter 4. Boaz is at the gate. This is a man of wealth. We know from chapter 3, verse 2, he's a man of great influence.
He's a man who is related to Elimelech, who is also a man of influence, whose name means. God is my king.
So we have Boaz at the gate, and Boaz is not letting any grass grow under his feet. Yeah.
He's working it out, working out redemption. But there's more than one Redeemer, Dr. Horn, in these 22 verses. How do we break these down going into this week? How do our teachers teach through?
Of course, there's some pastors that have spent three or four or five weeks on this one chapter.
So much profound truth in here. I know. And so the chapter really does break down fairly definable units. Um So verses one through six Make a unit, and what we find there are two redeemers. Boaz takes initiative.
He wants to redeem Ruth. He has made. a promise to Ruth and he knows exactly how he's going to go about it. And so he goes to the gate, and you remember from all of your times over in Israel that going to the gate. Was not like going to the, you know, I'm just going to go in and out of the city.
The gate was a really important place. in the ancient cities. Uh, of the world in which uh Ruth and Naomi and Boaz lived, that was where the rulers of the city, the elders of the city, the leaders of the city gathered. to render decisions that required wisdom. And so here was a big deal.
I mean, this wasn't just a private matter. one of the leading citizens. of the town had died and All of his land was in question because he had no heir. And so here is Naomi, his wife. And here is this incredibly significant portion of land that belonged to him.
What is going to happen? And so Boaz gathers 10 of the elders.
So we're told immediately this is legal. I mean, he's bringing the requisite number of elders to witness something. And he calls the other Redeemer.
So the other Redeemer is not named in the text. But he has. A closer Responsibility. In other words, legally, This man is actually obligated. To redeem Naomi.
In other words, to redeem the property. by marrying Naomi. Or Ruth in this case, it would be the wife of one of the sons. And so he has this legal obligation to either marry Naomi or Ruth. And if he marries Ruth.
Then the property goes to him, but it's his duty. to raise up a son through Ruth So that the property can go to that son and remain. in Abimelech's line.
So this was not a convenient way to add more land to your holdings. This actually was a very inconvenient thing. Because the minute you married Ruth, You didn't just get her land, you actually had to bring up a son. Through her, and so now you had all of the expense of taking care of that land. you had all of the expense of providing for Ruth.
And uh and this son until he came of age. And that would make a sizable dent in your own financial picture.
So, this is what is going on here. This was an ancient. custom that we don't follow today the idea of Marrying, being married to your wife, and then taking somebody else's wife for the purpose of having a child so they can have their land. That's very foreign to us. And personally, I'm not sure I would spend a lot of time.
On that point, the big point is There was a Redeemer who was required by law to marry Ruth. And he couldn't without hurting his own inheritance. And so he says to Boaz, I can't, I can't redeem. Reads. And then there is this amazing Redeemer.
Who is not obligated to redeem Ruth, but wants to. And doesn't just want to, he actually. does. He takes all of the initiative. He is going to raise up a son.
To her, and this land is not going to come to him. It's going to go to Ruth, it's going to stay in Naomi's line.
So here is this gracious Uh grace redemption. That the law could not do. Here is this Redeemer obligated by the law. And he can't. And here is this other Redeemer who has no obligation.
and out of a heart of love. And desire for Ruth, he does what the law cannot do.
Well, you can see the parallels. almost immediately. You know, when we stood before the law, the law had no power. to redeem us, none. Yeah, no ability to redeem us.
Um And and that's where Boaz becomes a picture of Christ who didn't have to redeem us. But because he loved us while we were yet sinners, he demonstrated his love toward us and he redeemed us. And so that's what I would do with the first. Seven verses of the text. And then the next little section is the actual legal redemption.
This was done legally. This is what the ceremony of the sandal is all about. In the ancient world, there was a custom that when you Did a serious transaction where somebody was completely renouncing their rights over something. They would do this ceremony. And the point is not to figure out what the sandal represents.
The point is to recognize that there is a legal satisfaction. That removes the rights of the other redeemer. You know, when Jesus Christ... Redeemed us, he fulfilled. the law.
He fulfilled the demands of the law. And therefore, there is no more condemnation. The law has no more right over us. That's what we see in Romans 7, right?
So in Ruth 4, There is this gracious redemption that meets and superabounds over the demands of the law. It satisfies the law. In the sense that it's done lawfully. and it goes beyond what the law can do. It accomplishes what the law could never do.
And so by the time you get down to verse 13. You find the women in the city recognizing the amazing thing that is happening, and they give. A blessing, a two-fold blessing. To Ruse. And so that's in essence what I would do with the first.
Half of the chapter. You'll notice that. The first blessing is this. May the Lord It's to Naomi, right? May the Lord make the woman.
who is coming into your house. Like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.
Now, if you go back to the story of Rachel and Leah, they didn't get along.
So, it's not like you have these two women who are laboring together.
So, in what sense? Did Rachel and Leah build up the house of Israel?
Well, they were the human mothers of all 12 of the tribes. And we wouldn't have Israel, the nation, without these two women. And here's the point. Christ is going to be the representative for all of Israel. Ruth isn't just going to have a son that is going to represent.
Two tribes, Benjamin. And Judah. She's going to have a son that is going to be. The representative, the servant of the Lord. Representing all of Israel and redeeming all of Israel.
He is going to build up the house of Israel. And so Ruth is going to be like Rachel and Leah in that way. And then, May. May you act worthily. This is Denaelme now.
May you act worthily in Bethlehem, Epirtah. And be renowned in Bethlehem. Micah, remember Micah chapter five? He brings up Ephrata. And in his messianic uh predictions so there are messianic hints That later on, the prophets are going to come back to in the sense of this blessing that is coming upon Ruth.
It's actually quite. theologically rich. In the setting here, right?
So, and then she says, May your house. be like the house of Perez Who in the world is that? You know, we're not as familiar, but if you lived in Bethlehem, that would have been a huge blessing. Oh my goodness, that would have been amazing. Tamar bore to Judah.
Here is the father of the tribe. And he was supposed to do to Tamar what Boaz did to Ruth, but he didn't. And so in order to ensure That her legal responsibilities and rights were accomplished. Tamar engenders a scenario where Judah fathers. uh uh her her children right and she has twins And the first of the twins comes out, puts his hand out when the time comes to be born, puts his hand out.
And they quickly tie a scarlet cord so they know which one came out first. But then all of a sudden, That hand gets yanked back in. And Perez comes out. He breaks forth. And he was supposed to be born second, but he ends up breaking fourth, and he becomes a mighty man in Israel, and that is.
Exactly, what these women are saying to Naomi that through. This woman who's going to build up the house of Israel like Rachel and Leah did. She's going to do it with someone who's going to break forth in an unexpected way. And of course, we know immediately that it's going to be Obed, and Obed is going to father Jesse, and Jesse's going to father David. And then ultimately, the unexpected.
one who's going to break forth is is their descendant. Jesus, right? The Messiah.
So wonderful story here in which there is this. amazing blessing. Asking God for fullness and for prominence. And these women are going to become very prominent figures. in the story.
Just just What they saw and what they said, and it shows their command of scriptures. You know, you just can you just imagine?
Now, I hope someone will, and some of these leaders leading this, and even pastors, and anyone that's teaching through Ruth hearing this, I hope someone will ask the question. What must it have been like? For Naomi. to hold this precious grandson. Understanding from whence she came.
The hopelessness She came home to die. Her life was over. And God pulled out of the ashes Amazing beauty. Out of the mourning and the weeping, God brought great joy. Dr.
Horne, just that thought, and these women. They nailed it and they knew about kinsmen redeemers and they saw the whole thing. And They saw this this just remarkable action of unconditional love by Boaz to take A Moabitis woman. You know, the other Redeemer, some scholars are pretty firm that he. You know, Boaz was very sage in how he negotiated with the councilman.
He did it in front of witnesses. This was all done orderly. This was all done. According to the laws of the land and according to the strict rabbinical traditions.
So nothing was out of order. And when he. Called this other redeemer out. He said, Here's the land. And the guy's like, Oh, here's a good opportunity to grab some land.
But then land was valuable there. Land was the currency in that day, and it's still important today. Everyone says real estate's the best investment. You know, that's a 10 times back then because that's a lot largely all they had. The land was sacred, and that land in the Middle East, look at how valuable it is today.
Well, Dr. Horn. Then Boaz drops this one on him. The guy's like, well, I'm jiving with this. I can redeem that and take Naomi's land and turn a profit or put it under my name.
And take that, but then Boaz is like, and the Moabite woman. And so some scholars do say, and I'm not sure where you fall on this, but that. When he heard that, Either it was one of two things. The financial burden was too much for him to take on. another wife In addition to his current familial situation.
Yeah.
Or he did not want to bring The disrepute upon his name of having a Gentile unclean. The Moabitis women were known for adultery. They were. They were enemies of Israel. Constantly dogging Israel at every turn all throughout.
You know, prior to this, since their incestuous conception in that. Awful account in Genesis 19.
So Maybe he didn't want anything to do with. You know, with that name or with that, you know, on his reputation. And so. I don't know where you fall on that, but regardless, we saw how it worked out. We don't want to chase rabbits, but it's just remarkable how.
God works through all of these things. God's working. Providentially, sovereignly. I think that's exactly right. And you know, when you come to something like that, here's the way I've always looked at that.
Stuart, you know, you you you do have um you know you have multiple things that are at work often in the texts And, you know, there's never just one thing. And so you know as you as you think about how these texts are laid out. Um There's a clear reason, right? Right in the text, it says, the man tells you. the primary reason.
I can't do this without jeopardizing my own inheritance.
Now, are there secondary reasons like what you just said? Very possibly. But we know the main reason in the text. And so that's how I've always sort of gone at this, you know, when you have something like that. But you know, you come to The final section.
Uh where we're You know, there's been a blessing on. Ruth, there's been a blessing on Naomi, and now there's going to be a blessing. on the Lord, right? The woman say now in verse 14 to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord. who has not left you this day without a Redeemer.
And may his name be renowned in Israel. Here's the next thing we wanna make sure we don't miss.
So, after the ceremony of the sandal, the next thing we know. Uh in verse 13. We read Boaz. took Ruth and she became his wife.
So he fulfills uh the legal demands and and now They're not just uh you know a betrothed there's an actual marriage that has taken place. And um So off they go. And Boaz consummates the marriage and you're told this i mean it's it's clear in the text right And he went in. unto her. That's a really nice way to describe consummating the marriage.
But the next thing you read. is not that she got pregnant. She did. But you're told something about the pregnancy. And the Lord gave her conception.
and she bore a son. In other words, the writer wants to make sure you understand. That this is more than just. natural procreation going on here. This is more than just what happens.
when a man goes in unto his wife, And she consummates the marriage, and she conceives and brings forth a son. The writer wants you to catch the agency of God in all of this, that God is the one orchestrating. This is an unusual pregnancy. This is an unusual story. And what's about to be born out of Ruth.
is going to be an unusual individual. And that's why The women say to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a Redeemer. Um, hey, Ruth got a redeemer. But Naomi, God didn't forget you. That baby that you're holding in your hands is going to be a great Redeemer.
In fact, he is going to be the kind of a redeemer. that is going to produce the Redeemer that Boaz was merely a type of. And so there is this. A wonderful sort of play on ideas that is going here as you start to see. Uh all the storyline.
unfold. There is a reminder of Ruth. Again. She's more blessed to you than seven sons, right? Uh because she loves you.
And so for the first time now we see The overt love that Ruth has. her law, it's not just obligation. It's loved. And the one that is born to her is going to one day be the ancestor of the God who so loved the world. That he came in the form of the second member of the Trinity, right?
So there is this incredible storyline. And then the final thing at the very end begins in verse 18. All the way down to verse 22, and it's a genealogy, and we're often Tempted to pass over the genealogies because we don't know. What to do with them. And so, what am I supposed to do with verses 18 through 22 as a pastor?
Well, maybe I'll just go name by name.
Well, that's not the purpose of a genealogy. The purpose of a genealogy is to establish legal right. The legal right, the legal lineage of someone. is about to be established. And the one who is about to be established.
is going to be David. And his line is going to go all the way back to Perez. And you remember, Perez. His father was Judah. And Judah was the one That Balaam said would have a ruler coming out of him.
So, all of these prophecies are being tied back to this genealogy. Mm. It looks back to Judah and the promise of a ruler. The scepter will never depart from your feet, right? And then it looks forward to David.
And of course, we know. When Matthew puts this in the genealogy and looks back to David, Uh there is the legal uh lying to David's throne through Joseph. But it's establishing that the king of kings is actually going to come.
So Naomi's Redeemer is not Boaz, and it's not Obed, and it's not Jesse, and it's not David. Ultimately, Naomi's Redeemer is the Redeemer that redeemed you and redeemed me. It's Jesus, and that's the story. Amen. And I love this passage in.
Galatians chapter 4, verse 3. Or actually, verse 4, but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his Son. Born of a woman. Born under the law. Verse 5 of Galatians 4 says, to redeem those.
who were under the law that we might receive The adoption as sons. There's an application, Dr. Warren, to all of us, because of God's goodness and because, you know, little did. Naomi know that she would become the grandmother Of the or great-grandmother of the greatest king to ever sit on the throne in Israel. Little did Ruth know that she would cradle and cuddle and nurse the baby.
And that she would be the great, great, great, great times ten grandmother. The king of kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will rule on the throne of David, who is the son of David. constantly referred to as that. And the great monarch and our great king, at whose feet every knee will bow and every tongue will confess.
Well, Stu, I hate to break in on like this, but as you know, I'm driving. And I'm about to lose cell phone signal here. And so I didn't want to just shock everybody. But what a great story. And I think there are four quick lessons and then I'll sign off.
Lesson number one, trust the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God. in your life. Chapter one. Lesson number two: rest in the providence of God.
The provident hand of God is for you. not against you. And then number three. Make sure that you have met the Redeemer. Make sure that you know the Redeemer and that the Redeemer knows you.
And has redeemed you. This is the whole point to chapter three. We look for redeemers in all the wrong places. You will never be redeemed by the church. He will never be redeemed by a r a a religious ritual like baptism.
you will never ever be redeemed by your own good works. You will be redeemed by only one person who God sent to be the Redeemer. And his name is Jesus.
So meet the Redeemer and let him redeem you. And then finally, enjoy the blessings of grace. You know, enjoy the blessings that God gave to Ruth and to Naomi. And as you enjoy those blessings, bless God for His gracious redemption and the fullness of that grace to you and to me. Amen, brother.
I love it. Closes out in prayer. You know, if you take the rabbit trail of talking about how Boaz and Ruth did it right, no cohabitation. They did it right. They did it honorable.
That's a great thing. A lot of folks use this as a great stage to talk about court biblical courtship, biblical engagement.
So it's another thing. And I just want to shout out all the hashtag girl dads out there. I got four daughters. And when the women blessed Naomi and said, Your daughter is better than seven sons, that's the power. I think it's in uh 1 Timothy chapter 2 or 3 where You know, women are redeemed by giving birth to children.
No son can give birth to a child. It takes a woman to do that, and God. Powerfully used. Ruth, so God bless our godly moms out there through whom came the Messiah, through the seed of a woman, which crushed the head of the servant.
So, Dr. Horne, there's a lot in there. Pray us out of here, brother. It's been a great journey in this book, and I just we're going to pray for everyone that God will lead and just use His Word to do a great work pointing to. the great Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Yeah.
Father God, we are so grateful. That so many millennia ago, thousands of years ago, you worked in a woman named Naomi in the worst moments of her life. And you brought a Ruth into her life. And we thank you that. You brought this faithful young Moabitis who had no right.
to be in Israel had no place. and you made a place for her. And not only did you make a place for her, through her, you made a place for me. You made a place for Stuart. You made a place for every one of us.
And so, Lord, you are an amazing God of grace. Thank you for your sovereignty, even for the hard parts. that we don't understand when we're going through them. And thank you for your provident hand that is so kind. and so careful to care for us and to preserve us.
And thank you for redemption. Thank you for a kinsman redeemer. that you sent our way. And then Lord, thank you for grace. Thank you that we didn't get redeemed by the law.
Thank you that you redeemed us. Through the precious Gift of your own son, and if you didn't spare your son, Lord, we know you will not withhold any good thing from us. And so we rest. in the provision of grace and in the fullness of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I pray for every one of our Bible study leaders and those that are studying this book as we wrap it up and we look forward to our next study together, our journey through the Word of God, a word of hope. And a word of help, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you, Dr. Horne, and thank you for joining us for this Wednesday in the Word podcast.
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