Finding God and finding hope (Ruth 4:1-12) Studies in Ruth #5 Find God at the End of Hope

Introduction The Vignette Today: the penultimate | 5 of 6 in the series Annotated Reading

4 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.3 Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”

“I will redeem it,” he said “I will redeem it,” he said. 5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” 6 At this, the guardian-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”

7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) 8 So the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal.

9 Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!”

11 Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

3 qualities in Boaz that make him or anyone successful Integrity of heart Intelligence of the head Energy of the hand accomplishes what the heart and the head sets out to do.

Four points to make about our kinsman-redeemer in Jesus from the actions of Boaz

Your redeemer pays the debt you cannot pay Your redeemer delivers you from your expected disaster to your unexpected destiny with greatness Your redeemer turns the wretched legacy you receive into the rich legacy you will leave behind Your redeemer raises you from the pit and sets you on the pinnacle

1. Your redeemer pays the debt you cannot pay The case in the story: Boaz redeems Elimelech’s debt Our case: We have a debt we cannot pay, so our redeemer pays

Three aspects of life impact our wellbeing: money, health, relationships. A debt or deficit in any one of these will bring us down.

The Bible never makes light of the pain of poverty The Bible never makes light of the pain of poverty. The Bible uses the pain of debt to explain the debt of sin.

Live debt-free Live disease free Live quarrel free Live sin-free

It is easier not to get into debt than to get out of debt. It is easier to stay healthy than to be healed of a disease. It is easier to keep a good relationship than to repair a fractured one. It is easier not to get into sin than to get out of sin

From all relationships The redemption of Christ our Lord: From sin, From material debt, From disease and death, From all relationships

Invitation for us is a new life in Christ. Find God, and find hope.

2. Your redeemer delivers you from your expected disaster to your unexpected destiny with greatness The case in the story: Naomi and Ruth can only expect their life to end poorly, but God leads them to greatness through Boaz Our case: Without Christ, there can be no good outcome, but in Christ, the least in the kingdom of God is greater than the greatest in the kingdom of man.

Your redeemer is not interested in only paying your debt, he is interested in redirecting your destiny.

Your past does not determine your future Your past does not determine your future. The failures from your past do not define your future in Christ. The direction of your past living in debt does not determine your future living free in Christ.

Forgiveness of the debt of sin is not the goal of Jesus dying on the cross for you. Forgiveness of sin opens the way to your adoption as a child of God – opens the way for you to relate to God – so you have a different destiny.

Video of testimony

Your redeemer turns the wretched legacy you receive into the rich legacy you will leave behind The case in the story: The legacy of Elimelech, Mahlon and Kilion is wretched, but the legacy of Boaz is rich. In our case: The legacy we receive may be wretched, but in Christ, the our legacy we leave behind will be glorious.

Ezekiel 18 3 “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, “… everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die. 5 “Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. …

Ezekiel 18 10 “Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things 11 (though the father has done none of them): … Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head.

Ezekiel 18 14 “But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: … He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. 20 The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child.

The bad legacy you receive does not need to be the same legacy you leave behind. Your redeemer reverses any curse from your legacy.

Jesus not only frees us from the sin of the past, but he also gives us a different future.

From the legacy of destitution to the legacy of kingship. From the legacy of homelessness to the legacy of a palace From the legacy of powerlessness to the center of power From the legacy of debt to the legacy of abundance

Your redeemer raises you from the pit and sets you on the pinnacle The case in the story: Boaz does not just pay off the debt, he provides for Naomi and Ruth so they lack nothing. Our case: Our Redemption in Christ is not just the forgiveness of the debt of sin, Christ provides for our total redemption.

Conclusion The problem of Naomi and Ruth is a type of our problem Their redemption by Boaz is a type of our redemption The turn around point:

Conclusion Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.

Your crisis is the God-given opportunity to turn to Christ your kinsman-redeemer