Sunday, October 22, 2000   

INTRODUCTION: Ruth went from rags to riches, from poverty to prosperity. The cursed Moabite is now the wife of the wealthy Jew, Boaz. The girl who had no hope is helped by her redeemer. Ruth, the faithful daughter-in-law of Naomi, who had said: "thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God," is now the bride of Boaz and as such she is loved and protected.

I. VERSES 9-10, THE PRICE OF REDEMPTION

      A. Verse 9, Boaz, the mighty man of wealth, did what the other kinsman was unable to do. This strong one (Boaz means: "in him is strength.") made two purchases at the gate that day: a lost inheritance and a lost relationship (verses 9-10).

           1. In verse nine, Boaz redeems, pays for, the property of Naomi. That which was lost is restored.

           2. The lost inheritance of Naomi is a picture of what man has lost because of Adam's sin.

                 a. When God created man, He created him perfect and placed him in a perfect environment (Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 1:26,28).

                       1) The whole earth was the possession of man. He had dominion over it. God had, for man, prepared the Garden of Eden for a home. Adam and Eve lived in perfect and uninterrupted communion with God. Man was at one with nature. All the animals were his friends. No thorn pricked his finger, and there were no weeds to pull. No tear ran down his face and no sweat wet his brow. He did not toil, sigh, or die.

                        2) Because there was no sin in the garden, there was no sorrow.

                 b. In Genesis three, the scene changes. When man fell, he lost his inheritance and became a slave to sin (Romans 5:12).

                       1) Man was cast out of the garden, and the angels with flaming swords kept man out (Genesis 3:24). Weeds and thorns came up everywhere, and man's face was covered with sweat and his back was bent. The animals became wild. When the woman gave birth, she went into the shadow of death.

                        2) Because of the fall, corruption came to all mankind and to all the earth (Genesis 3:17-19).

                 3. Just as Boaz redeemed the property of Naomi, one of these days the Lord Jesus Christ, our greater Boaz, will come and clear up the mess we have made of the earth and restore it.

                 a. When Christ Jesus died on the cross, He paid the redemption price for the earth: man's lost inheritance.

                 b. When Jesus comes to earth after the tribulation, the curse will be removed.

                       1) There will be abundant productivity on the earth. Every year will be a good year (Isaiah 4:2, 41:19-20; 43:18-21; 51:3).

                       2) No sickness, pain, or death will inflict the earth (33:24). There will be no need for hospitals or drug stores.

                        3) The animal kingdom will no longer be ferocious (Isaiah 1 1:6-9).

                        4) In the millennium, there will be no deformity, no crooked limbs, blindness, deafness, or lameness (Isaiah 35:3-6).

      B. Verse 10, First Boaz redeemed the lost inheritance of Naomi, and then he redeemed the helpless, hopeless, poverty stricken Moabite widow Ruth.

           1. Boaz redeemed Ruth because of his love for her. Jesus Christ, our kinsman redeemer, redeemed us because of His love for sinners like you and me.

            2. In verse nine, Boaz says: "I have bought all..." Then in verse ten, he says, "Ruth have I purchased...." We do not know how much Boaz paid for Ruth's redemption, but we do know what Jesus paid for us:

                 a. I Corinthians 6:20 says: "Ye are bought with a price..." That price was the blood of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14).

                 b. You and I were not redeemed by silver and gold; we are redeemed by the blood (I Peter 1:18-21).

                 c. Think about it: our salvation was paid for by heaven's blood, the blood of God (Acts 20:28).

           3. Think of it! When Ruth came to Bethlehem, she was lost, hopeless, and helpless, condemned by the law.

                 a. Ruth's only hope was in another, in one willing to pay the price of her redemption.

                 b. "By the intervention of Boaz, Ruth, a stranger and an outcast, was redeemed from her slavery and widowhood and inducted into the family of God's people all because of the love of another' (DeHann 172).

           4. Because God demonstrated His love to me in Christ (Romans 5:8), 1 am a member of the family of God, adopted into royalty! (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5).

           5. Because of Boaz, Ruth went from rags to riches, from poverty to prosperity.

                 a. Because of Jesus Christ, every believer has gone from the rags of sin to the riches of heaven (Ephesians 1:11-14).

II. Verse 1la, THE WEDDING CEREMONY PERFORMED

      A. Here in verse eleven, we read: "and all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said "We are witnesses......" This is it; the ceremony is over. Ruth and Boaz are man and wife, legally married. The thing that makes this so odd is the fact that the bride isn't even at the ceremony. She is, by faith, waiting at Naomi's place (3:18).

           1. In our modern wedding ceremonies, most everything is for the bride.

                 a. The shower is for the bride. Nobody gives saws, hammer, or hunting and fishing equipment at wedding showers.

                 b. The pictures are really for the bride.

                 c. The music is "Here Comes the Bride."

                 d. The newspaper account is all about the bride and what she wore.

           2. But here in verse eleven, it is Boaz who says: "I do," and "I will." It all depends on Boaz.

                 a. Salvation depends on the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. His finished work (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

                 b. In grace, Jesus Christ assumed the responsibility for our salvation. He said: "I do love them," and "I will leave heaven's glory, put on a robe of flesh, and give my blood to redeem my bride."

           3. "As a man chooses a woman for his bride, and as Boaz claimed Ruth, so Christ came to this earth for His bride. "He is the one who demonstrated His love by dying for me" (McGee 72).

III. VERSES 11b-12, THE WEDDING PRAYER PRONOUNCED

      A. Verse 11b, The wedding ceremony was closed by a prayer meeting. The witnesses uttered a wonderful prayer for the happy bride.

           1. First of all, the people prayed for Ruth to be blessed as was Rachel and Leah, builders of the house of Israel.

           2. Secondly, the prayer is for Boaz. They pray that Boaz will do worthily and be famous in Bethlehem.

                 a. Boaz had a great name because of his willingness to marry Ruth thus continuing the lineage of Mahlon. It is from this lineage that David the king and Christ the Savior would come.

                 b. Our greater Boaz, Jesus, gained a great name in Bethlehem at His birth: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Philippians 2:9 says that God has given Jesus, "a name which is above every name."

      B. Verse 12, The prayer of blessing continues: "And let thy house be like the house of Pharez......"

           1. The idea here is that a large family. Pharez, the son of Judah and Tamer, had a great posterity (Numbers 26:22).

           2. The family of God that came through the house of Boaz and Ruth is without number for thirteen hundred years after the marriage of Boaz and Ruth Jesus Christ, her descendent, was born in Bethlehem.

CONCLUSION: We go from spiritual rags to spiritual riches by faith in Jesus Christ.