Redemption: A Study in RuthSample

What does it say?

Boaz met with the other kinsman-redeemer who declined to redeem the land.

What does it mean?

The events in the lives of Boaz and Ruth reassure believers that God is at work to fulfill His purposes even in the spiritual darkness of the times. God works in the lives of those who are willing to trust Him. Boaz didn’t depend on man’s opinions or on his own ideas of how to handle the situation; he looked to what God had revealed in His Word. Without hesitation, Boaz acted in accordance with God’s instructions and settled the legal matter quickly. From Boaz, the Jewish kinsman-redeemer, and his Gentile bride would come the Lord Jesus Christ—the Kinsman-Redeemer of every believer.

How should I respond?

When read against the dark backdrop of the book of Judges, Ruth is a glimmer of hope in the midst of deep rebellion. The pinnacle of God's redemptive purposes are not brought about by Samson or Gideon or Deborah, but through a Moabite widow and her kinsmen-redeemer. Out of their faithfulness comes a line of descendants that would culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ, our true kinsmen-redeemer. As you finish the book of Ruth, be encouraged that even in the darkest of seasons, God is working hope and redemption for his people. Are you willing to trust God to weave a much greater story than you could anticipate? Will you trust him with your faithfulness even when his plans do not make sense? Your faithfulness in this season may mean a great harvest of redemption in another season or even in another generation.