Ruth 4 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 He took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” 6 The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”

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. 8 So the closest relative said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself.” And he removed his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” 11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. 15 May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David Began Here

16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, 19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, 20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, 21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, 22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

From Genesis to Revelation, all scripture points to the revelation of Jesus, the Christ; the redeemer. The story of Ruth both points to the redeemer and is a story of redemption as well. Boaz was the kinsmen redeemer. But, it was the Lord who redeemed and restored. It was the Lord who sustained. In a twist to the story of Ruth, it was from this account of the redeemed, that the line of the redeemer of all mankind began. If Ruth, a Moabitess had not remained faithful to her mother-in-law, David would not have been born. Yet, this was neither an accident or a surprise, but rather part of God's plan for redemption. In Jeremiah 1:5 God says: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,  before you were born I set you apart.” In Psalm 139:16, David wrote: Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

What was true for Naomi and Ruth, is true for each person today. There is a kinsman redeemer, one who is closer than a brother. The story of Ruth points to the redeemer, Christ born of the line of David. In Ruth 3:1-11 it says: Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.  Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.  It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do.”  She said to her, “All that you say I will do.”  So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her.  When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down.  It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and  bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet.  He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.”  Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.  Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. Just as God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and said: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,  before you were born I set you apart.” Just as in Psalm 139:16, David wrote: Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. God set you apart before you were born. He knew all of your days before even your great grand-parents were born. Nothing that you've done or nothing that has happened in your life has taken God by surprise. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God says: I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. As Ruth laid down at the feet of Boaz, all that we need to do is to come to the feet of Jesus at the cross. If we will come to Him, if we will seek Him and call to Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. He will do whatever we ask. He will redeem, restore and sustain us.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ and precious Holy Spirit for Your redeeming love for me; a love that existed even before I was born. Thank You for the redemption and restoration of the cross, that You planned and provided for my future. All I ask is that like David says: goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen.