“‘The Lord bless him!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.’” Ruth 2:20
The opening of the beautiful book of Ruth makes a routine reference to Bethlehem, Naomi’s hometown from which she moved with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. While in Moab, death took her husband and her two married sons, only for her to return to Bethlehem accompanied by her widowed daughter-in-law Ruth. Though both women were in a desperate situation as they faced an impoverished future, little does the reader know that the story to follow will unveil God’s plan for salvation.
Due to perfect timing, their return to Bethlehem coincided with the beginning of the barley harvest (2:20-23). As a result, Ruth was able to glean barley from the harvest in fields of a man named Boaz. The importance of this account is that he was a relative of Naomi’s husband and as a result was considered a kinsman-redeemer of Naomi and her family. Such a redeemer (go’el) was to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need (Leviticus 25). The grim position of Naomi due to what had happened to her in Moab was apparent.
Boaz redeemed or “bought back” Naomi from the clutches of poverty and certain death. What is more, his action restored wholeness to Naomi. Her name means “pleasant,” but upon her return to Bethlehem, she insisted that she be called Mara, meaning “bitter” (Ruth 1:20-21). However, this perspective is reversed. Boaz married Ruth and she gave birth to a son. This birth caused the women of Bethlehem to praise God because Boaz had renewed Naomi’s life and had “given her a son” (4:14-17). The name of the boy was Obed.
Boaz’s actions and this birth kept in motion the plans for the coming of the ultimate kinsman-redeemer, Jesus Christ, who will also redeem a bride for himself—the church. Just as Boaz redeemed Ruth’s situation, Jesus has redeemed us from our desperate situation, our sin and our lostness. In both instances, we see grace, especially in the actions of Christ, brought home to us by His death on the cross.
Ruth’s son Obed gave her a grandson, Jesse, who, in turn, provided her with a great- grandson David. As Matthew notes in his gospel (1:1-17), David is the most important name in the line that would eventually produce the Messiah, a king descended from the home of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz: Our redeemer was born in Bethlehem!
by Dr. Rich Menninger
Prayer
Lord, as the women of Bethlehem praised you in the days of Ruth, may we praise you with these words of song: “How silently, how silently, The wondrous Gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His Heaven.” Amen.