Redemption

When I was a kid, we had Blue Chip and S&H Green stamps.  You were given these when you bought groceries, and when you had collected enough stamps, you could redeem them for merchandise at Redemption Centers.  I think these are a good example of how redemption, the idea of just payment to receive something valuable, works.

Ruth’s final chapter exhibits redemption in the time of the Judges.  In the first three chapters, we’ve seen Ruth married one of Naomi’s sons.  Naomi’s husband died as did her sons died in Moab.  Ruth, a Moabitess, returned with Naomi to Bethlehem.   She had gleaned in the field of  of a relative to Naomi, Boaz, and performed a simple rite of submission at his feet. This started a chain of events leading to Ruth and Naomi’s redemption.

The process of redemption was taken care of solely by Boaz.  Boaz was not the next in line with rights to the land of Elimelech, Naomi’s dead husband.  There was a closer relative, a “redeemer” who had the right.

Boaz wanted the land and along with it, Ruth as his wife.  But, being a righteous man, he went through the process of offering the purchase of the land to a closer relative.  Once the man refused, Boaz was free  to buy it.  As a result, Boaz did so and married Ruth resulting in a son, Obed, the grandfather of David the King.

So, some of the lessons here are that God is perfectly willing to take gentiles into His family as we see Him demonstrating this in Peter’s vision (Acts 10:13-17, 28).

My biggest take away, though, is the parallel to the story of our redemption.  Naomi and Ruth as widows were in dire straits.  There was no man to work and keep the household funded.  The widows’ lives would have been meager, lives of struggle and hunger.  They needed someone to step in and save them. As we did before we met Jesus.

Boaz, looked favorably upon Ruth as a fine and deserving woman and upon Naomi as a widow who needed a provider.  He became the bridegroom once he paid the necessary price to gain a wonderful bride, Ruth.  This part of the story reminds me of Jesus’ parable:

Matt. 13:44  (ESV)   “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field

Boaz was willing to pay the price necessary to gain Ruth as his wife.  Jesus is also the Bridegroom who paid a great price in order to gain His bride, the church (Eph. 5:25-32).

We know Jesus is the Bridegroom since when He was asked why His disciples didn’t fast, He responded:

Mark 2:19 (ESV)   And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.

Why is this important?

The story of Ruth is a wonderful, even romantic, story of two people who become husband and wife through God’s providence.  It is also a wonderful description or type of the wonder of God’s Son taking His bride as well.  Just was Ruth was redeemed, so are we redeemed by our Redeemer.

Gal 3:13,14 (ESV)  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— ¹⁴ so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

As with the parable of the treasure in the field, Jesus paid it all to gain His bride.