Christ Our Guardian Redeemer

Text Ruth 3 Time 16 03 22 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We have looked at the first half of the Book of Ruth and this evening I want us to look at Chapter 3, where the denouement begins with Ruth placing herself at the feet of the family's guardian redeemer, Boaz, as instructed by Naomi, and Boaz committing himself to marrying Ruth and doing all he can to redeem that little family from its troubles.

In John 5:39 Jesus says to his opponents You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me. Whenever we read the Bible, New Testament or Old, we should be on the look out for ways in which it may point us towards the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the ways that happens is that there are in the Old Testament what we call types or shadows, that is people or events that point forward to or foreshadow the Lord Jesus Christ by providing a resemblance or pattern that we can learn from. Here in Boaz we have a type of Christ.

There are several points of contact.

• The Tribe of Judah. Both belong to the this tribe. Judah was not Jacob's oldest son but he was given that role due to the failure of his older brothers, Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Judah became the royal tribe when David ascended to the throne.
• The Town of Bethlehem. More narrowly, there is Bethlehem, where Boaz lived and appears to have been born and where David was later born and grew up and, of course, where Messiah was born.
• The role of Redeemer. There are several references in this chapter to Boaz being a Guardian Redeemer. As we have said, the nearest relative in each family had the responsibility to redeem the property of a dead relative for his remaining family. Here we see Boaz willingly taking on this role. Amazingly, the Hebrew term appears over 20 times in the book, which is a lot for such a small work. We've already had it in 2:20 where Naomi says to Ruth of Boaz The LORD bless him! ... He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead. ... That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers. Here in Chapter 3 it comes up seven more times - once in 3:9 when Ruth says to Boaz Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family; twice in 3:12 where Boaz admits he is a guardian-redeemer of the family; it is mentioned another four times in passing in 3:13. There are a further 13 references in Chapter 4. Just as Boaz was willing to pay the price to set Ruth and Naomi free, so Christ has redeemed his people by laying down his life on the cross to save them.
• A Bride from the nations. Further, we have noted that Ruth was from Moab, a Gentile. By marrying her, as Boaz does in Chapter 4, he underlines the fact that Christ's Bride, the church, is made up of people from the nations. Gentiles benefit then from what he does but also his people the Jews if they will trust in him too.
• Constant acts of kindness. The impression you get of Boaz is that he was an upright and kind man always. When we first meet him he gives his workers a holy but friendly greeting and they clearly respect him too. He is very considerate and kind to Ruth in Chapter 2 and we see the same sort of thing in this chapter, Chapter 3. He is like the Lord Jesus who went about doing good.
• Keeping the law and more. Boaz keeps the law - the law about gleaning most obviously. And, as we have noted, it is not just that he kept the law. He went well beyond the mere letter in his efforts to help Ruth. This points us to the Lord Jesus once again who, as a man under the law kept all God's law and did so much more righteousness.
• An abundant provider. In Chapter 2 and 3 an interesting motif appears. In 2:18 we read how Ruth came home from Boaz's field with an ephah of barley. We are told that Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. Again in 3:15-17 we read of how he poured ... six measures of barley into Ruth's shawl and placed the bundle on her. He told Ruth 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.' This highlights the way he, more importantly, deals with the emptiness Naomi knew by maintaining the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown (4:10). Through Boaz Naomi's life is renewed and she is sustained in her old age (4:15). This generosity prefigures the abundant kindness and provision of the Lord Jesus that we see when he comes.

So that is one of the main things I want to say tonight but I also want to focus more closely on the text in Chapter 3. Let me say three things specifically from those verses but first let me add first that one of the difficulties with this book is that there are clearly a lot of cultural elements involved. It is difficult to know what is was typical of the time and what is specific to these circumstances. We will try as best we can.

1. Naomi plans a needed encounter with Boaz; how we need to meet with Christ

At this point the widows Naomi and Ruth have settled back in the Promised Land and know that they have a Guardian-Redeemer in Boaz who has already shown them great kindness. In God's law a Guardian-Redeemer needed only to sort out the land situation but there was another law in Israel that said that a widow could expect her dead husband's brother to marry her, although he did have the right to refuse. By this time it seems that brother was understood more widely.

So what is needed now is an encounter with Boaz with the hope that he will agree not only to act on their behalf and redeem their land but also marry Ruth. I don't think Naomi is forcing things here and there isn't anything immoral going on either.

Let me remind you that Ruth and Naomi are widows who are in poverty and they need to find a way out of it. In those days for a woman there were really only two ways out of poverty - ownership of land and marriage. Naomi is too old to marry but Ruth is not. They are both related to Boaz and so he can act to redeem the land that is rightfully theirs and if he marries Ruth then all the problems are solved.

And so we read how (1-5) One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Naomi felt responsible to do something not only for herself but for her daughter-in-law too. Simply waiting for Boaz to act wasn't working. Some way needed to be found to show him that Ruth wanted him to marry her and that they both wanted him to act for them. However, you see the problem, Ruth couldn't just walk up to Boaz and say "Will you marry me?". So Naomi devises a way for Ruth to ask for this but leaving Boaz with a get out clause.

So Naomi says to Ruth Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. After the barley had been reaped, it would be threshed - the grain would be removed from the stalks and husks, probably with threshing sledges. What remained was then separated from the lighter chaff by throwing it up into the wind on the threshing floor. Perhaps the breeze was better for winnowing at night than in the daytime. Naomi knew that once all that hard work was over Boaz would want to sleep and he would not go home but sleep on the threshing floor. Perhaps he needed to guard the grain.

Naomi tells Ruth Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Make yourself presentable. Up until now she has been a poor girl gleaning in Boaz's field but now she needs to present herself as an eligible woman. Some question whether she would have had best clothes and think she is told to wear a long garment. Next she was to go down to the threshing floor, but without letting Boaz know she is there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, she is to note the place where he is lying. She is then to go and uncover his feet and lie down. This would mean that he is likely to wake at some point but she may be engaging in symbolic actions. She is turning his blanket so that it symbolically covers her but she remains at his feet as they will not marry unless he agrees to it. Ruth is from Moab and does not know about such customs but, says Naomi, He will tell you what to do. "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered.

This reminds us of what is sometimes called closing with Christ. If people are going to become Christians then they need not only to know the gospel but to come into a relationship with Christ. We ought to give thought to the best way to being that about. I don't think calling people to the front is the answer but the subject needs to be considered.

2. Ruth meets Boaz who commits himself to do all that is needed; Christ will do all that is needed for us
So we read how Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits and had lain down at the far end of the grain pile then Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down as she had been told to do.

In the middle of the night something startled Boaz, you know that feeling of fright that sometimes comes with sleep he turned - and there was Ruth lying at his feet! He is not sure who it is in that light but when he asks, she says "I am your servant Ruth, ... Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family." Do your duty she says - but in a romantic and fulsome way. Just as he had once spoken to her of her coming under the shelter of the LORD so she asks that he will be the one who in particular shelters her by becoming her husband.

He says "The LORD bless you, my daughter ... This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. He is pleased with her. He has already been impressed by what she has done for Naomi and now he sees that she is making a marriage proposal. He realises that she could have simply looked out for a rich young man but no she wants to do what is right. And so he assures her (11) And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. Perhaps she had trembled as she spoke. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. But then in his integrity he reveals something not revealed until this point. Although it is true that Boaz is guardian-redeemer of the family, there is someone else who is more closely related than Boaz. To be strictly legal he needs first to confront him with the situation. It is likely that Naomi had realised this but Boaz had been so kind to them, it seemed the right thing to do.

So he says (13) Stay here for the night, nothing could be done at this hour and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. The way Boaz saw it, the marrying and the redeeming came together - both and not one but not the other. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.

And so she lays there until morning but gets up before anyone could be recognised. He is concerned now for her reputation and so he says "No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor." As generous as ever (15) He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her.

When a person becomes a Christian they are not only redeemed but they also come into a relationship with Christ. So, on one hand, you are legally justified by faith - in God's eyes, you are legally without sin and so you have a right to heaven. At the same time your heart is changed and you are regenerated so that you begin to want to walk with Christ. You become a child of God and part of the Bride of Christ. It is pictured very well here in Ruth - you are given your land back but there is also a strong and godly man to look after you for the rest of your days. What blessings he has in store for you.

3. Ruth reports back to Naomi who tells her to wait; Christ does it all, we need only look to him

Ruth then returns to Naomi who is eager to know how things have gone. Ruth tells her the whole story and shares with her the six measures of barley from Boaz. Naomi is convinced (18) "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

In this chapter there has been a lot of Naomi and Ruth but from now on it is Boaz who takes things in hand and acts. It is a reminder that although we must come to Christ and put our faith in him; he is the one who does it all in truth. He saves us, we don't save ourselves. There is great comfort in this truth. Just as Naomi and Rut could rest at this point so we can once we commit ourselves to Christ.