This morning, as we do consider Ruth chapter 4, I want you to ask a couple of questions in your mind as we conclude this beautiful little book. Who is the Redeemer in this book? And who is the one that is actually redeemed in this book? Those are valid questions because there are multiple that are redeemed. And there are multiple Redeemers, but hold on to that. I'm not saying there's more than one Redeemer, but hold on to what we say as we work our way through the conclusion of this book. We've seen that in this little book, God's ways are not our ways. His thoughts are not our thoughts. that if we would have written a script into how man might be reconciled to God in all of its facets, we probably would not have come up with the necessity of this little book of Ruth leading to the bloodline of David. We probably certainly wouldn't come up with a cross, a cross that was necessary for man to be redeemed. A cross that was necessary for the Redeemer, the Lamb of God, which was also necessary to hang. The Lamb of God whose life was taken from Him as the innocent, spotless Lamb without blemish, which again was necessary for us to be redeemed. A Lamb whose blood was shed on Calvary. A bloody, gruesome cross. which again was necessary for us to be redeemed. That probably would not have been our script. And yet before the foundation of the world, not just Calvary, not just the cross, not just Christ, but everything in God's sovereignty and in his purposes, were ordained before the foundation of the world. That's why when we read the word of God, we consider it to be the redemptive history, the history of God's working toward redemption for his people. And that is included in this book of Ruth. We've read the chapter, and I want us to see two things this morning. Simple outline. Our children will be able to get it, I believe. The first that we'll consider at length is the Redeemer that God provides. The Redeemer that God provides. And then secondly, we'll consider the kingdom that God provides as well. So this morning, beginning in verse 1 through the first 12 verses, we'll bear out this thought of the Redeemer that God provides in Boaz directly But a child had to be born in order for redemption to be accomplished. So we see in these opening verses, again, this idea of the goel, that we've considered over the past few weeks, or the word that we take as redeemer, and levir, the Hebrew word for kinsman or brother. And we see that Boaz, as he reminded Ruth last week, initiates the procedure of Goel. Remember last week, we left it on a sort of bittersweet note, how Ruth had adorned herself under the instruction of Naomi to come into the presence the way that she did at the feet of Boaz, and how on that occasion, Boaz showed his compassion for her and his longing for her, And he made a promise, bound with an oath, as long as the Lord lives, I will do this for you. But there's one situation that must be taken care of first. There is another Redeemer. In fact, there is a more worthy Redeemer at this point because he's really first in line, if you will, to take this idea of Redeemer. Now remember, the Redeemer had a threefold idea in the Hebrews thought. The first is that he could act as an avenger of blood. In other words, if the relative had been slain, really murdered, they could be the ones that would actually avenge the blood of their brother. Well, that's not the case here. So we can put that part of Redeemer aside. The other was to have the inheritance or to take over the inheritance that's left to the one that is deceased and to take care of it, the crops and so on and so forth. And the financial gain then would remain in the family and with that of the redeemer. And then the third would be if there's any sons or spouses or family, he would take the family. and pledged to carry on the name of the family in taking the spouse and the family into their own and then presumably have a child with that spouse, the widow. and carry on the family name in that line. So that's all that's included in Redeemer. And that's important because there is a man that Boaz tells Ruth, kind of bursting the bubble, if you will, of the excitement on that occasion. There's another Redeemer. And this must be settled first. So she goes home and Naomi tells her now, not like she did initially, wait. Wait, because whatever he does, he's going to do quickly. And Naomi's right. No time's wasted when we go from the end of Chapter 3 into Chapter 4, the first word is now. We get the impression he didn't waste another day. And he goes and he calls all of the judges at the city gate, or takes 10 of them, and at the gathering of the people, to be witnesses, if you will, of what's about to transpire. And this was a normal occurrence in the gates of a city. We've seen this in going through Deuteronomy with our men, how there would be judges and elders and priests at the gates for things that were not common disputes. things that would either need to be verified or there were difficulty in just the normal goings of things, they would bring those situations to the gates and to the judges and elders of the city. So that's what's happening here. Boaz goes, we see at the beginning of the chapter, and first of all, finds the man, brings the man, sits him down in front of the ten that he also chooses to be, if you will, his accountability and the judges on this occasion. And so here we see him initiating the procedure of what it meant to be a redeemer. particularly in relation to the land. He looks at the man and the elders and says, Naomi's come back from the country of Moab and she's selling her land. She probably needed to do this. You remember, she's really alone. That's the reason that Ruth had been in the fields gleaning in the first place, not just as a widower, but as one who had a foreigner in her household. People weren't just as quick to reach out and take care of her. And so now, the land that's the limilex and the inheritance along with it of Malon and Chileon, she's wanting to sell off. So Boaz tells this man that she's selling the land of our relative, Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you, because you've got first dibs. You're really the one in the line that has the first obligation by right, not obligated to do it, but obligated by right to have or to take the place and be the Redeemer. You are the one to receive the inheritance for those that you are redeeming and carry on the family name in that way. He doesn't get to that second part yet. He first comes to him with the inheritance, the land itself. So I thought I'd tell you, you redeem the land, you redeem the inheritance, it's yours. Not another thing will be done. We'll take off our sandal. Signed, sealed, delivered. The elders know. The judges know. You inherit it. It's your land. And the man says, I will redeem it. There goes the air again. It's like taking a pin and popping the balloon. Because if we stop there, it's like, well, where is this going? What's happening here? Well, the first part, again, we could take a venture of blood out because there was no murder involved. Julian died in the land of Moab, as did his sons. There was no murder involved. Inheritance is the first thing. And the man says, I'll take the land. I'll consider the cost, and I'll be the one to redeem it, realizing that in the end, it is my land. I get the inheritance. I get the financial gain because I'm putting out my resources in that way. And so, Redeemer then is almost taken care of. He says, I'll do it, I'll redeem it. And Boaz says, well, there's one other thing that you might want to know. Just like he told Ruth, well, there's one other thing that you might want to know in order to be above reproach and his integrity remain intact, he does so again. There's one more thing that you need to know The day you buy the field, in verse 5, from Naomi, you also get Ruth. Now why is that true? It's not just that Ruth had come back and pledged herself to Naomi, to be part of the family. That would be enough. But remember, Ruth did much more than that. She didn't just pledge herself to Naomi, she pledged herself to Naomi's people, the people of God, and she pledged herself to their God, to God himself, with an oath. If I don't stick with you and stay with you and die in the land where you die, may God strike me down now. And so now, Boaz tells the unnamed man, the day you buy the field, you get Ruth as well, who is also the widow of the dead, to act as their redeemer, to perpetuate the name of the dead, that being Malon and Chileon, in his inheritance. Then the redeemer said, let me think about this. No, he really didn't give it any thought. We don't have any evidence, any more than he did the first time, that he really even stopped and prayed about it. When he hears that he's taking on all of that as well, he says, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it. I was telling somebody last week, it's always been of interest to me the outcome of this man, who had the opportunity to be Boaz, who had the opportunity to be in the place that Boaz has, and yet he turns it down. He says, I can't do it. Why is that? Well, it's interesting. First of all, we consider he's never named. Now, I think some read too much into that, but at the end of the day, we don't know his name. I'll just take the name that one writer gave him and their commentary, Mr. So-and-so, because that's really all that we know about him, other than he turned this down. And as he stepped back and he evaluated the situation, if it was just the land, that wouldn't be quite the burden for him. Whether he made money, lost money, whatever, he thought it through, and he felt like he would be fine with just the land. But to bring another woman, and we don't know how many wives he might have had. It was unfortunately common to have more than one in these days, as you'll recall. To bring another family in would be a burden. But it's not just the number of people in the household. What would happen if he says yes to Ruth and brings her in and carries on the family name as they ought in burying a child, who would then receive the inheritance? Redeemer or the child? It would be the child. Mr. So-and-so would not get the property or the inheritance. financial gain associated with it. By right and inheritance, it would stay in Malon and Chillon's family through Ruth, through that child. He says, you know, nah, there's just too much for me to lose here. That's more, and so he says, I cannot redeem it. It's similar, if you will, if you want to turn over to Luke chapter 14, by way of illustration, I love to illustrate scripture with scripture. Luke chapter 14, verse 28, we read the following words, and counting the cost of discipleship. Jesus says, for which of you desiring to build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it. Otherwise, when he's laid a foundation and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build and was not able to finish. Presumably, that's kind of what this man's doing. I stand to lose, then to gain. I'm counting the cost, and it doesn't come out in my favor. or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he's able with 10,000 to meet him with those who come up with 20,000. And if not, while the other's yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple." That's the context. Some people read this and say, you need to count the cost, and if you're not able to cross the T's and dot the I's and make it come out to your advantage, then you shouldn't do it. Well, that's not exactly what Jesus is saying here. The context is verse 27, whoever does not bear his own cross. Whoever's not willing to suffer for me, whoever's not willing to count the loss of his life in denying himself for me, ought not come after me. And whoever's not willing to renounce not just himself, but his family, probably ought to stay home. That's why he said, if any man come after me, he must first deny himself, suffer, take up his cross, and follow me. And so that's what this man seems to be doing. He's counting the cost, but in the wrong way. I'm not going to benefit on this earth. It's better left to you. So he examines the cost. However, he left God out of the equation. We don't see him going to God in faith whatsoever, and I would say we could easily fall into the same error. As one writer put it, we calculate and protect ourselves and insist that two plus two can only ever equal four, and we may never know the blessing that we've lost. That's what happened to this man on this occasion. Some speculate who he is. I'm not going to get into all that. He says no. to being the Redeemer. But then notice Boaz's wisdom as he initiates the procedure of Goel and Liver and his wisdom and honesty in the deal. We might look at this and say, well, was he not being somewhat manipulative? Was he not setting him up and saying, hey, the land first and then the family? The answer is no. meticulously working his way through to make sure that it's all out on the table so that the man understood. In fact, I think it was wise for him to separate the two acts of Redeemer so that the man had a clear picture of what he was really saying he would do or not do. It was not so much manipulation, but he was trying to carefully distinguish between the role of Goel and that of the liver, the next in line, the brother, the kinsman on that occasion. We learned from Boaz that honesty is always the best way to pursue any of our dealings. He might could have left some of this out. He might could have not told Ruth, oh, by the way, there's one that's in line before me. And I would suggest nobody would have known any better. except the man himself, who would have already come forward if he had any interest whatsoever. If we let this play out, and Boaz didn't, he's probably thinking, well, nobody's going to know. And yet, isn't that what dishonesty does? Isn't that what sin can do? To my sin, in my little corner of the world, how is this going to hurt anyone along the way? And yet we must take great care to understand you're part of a body of Christ. You might just hit your little finger with a hammer, but you do, the whole body feels it. We don't sin in isolation. We don't act in isolation with any of our actions. Boaz has everything laid out. He's honest concerning everything there is concerning both Goel and the liver, the Redeemer and the kinsmen. And so we must take great care as well that we consider our motives when we are in these dealings. Even if we're discussing theology or our everyday interests, are we really serving the Lord for His glory or are we seeking our own good apart from him, our good alone. You see, that's what the first man did. Boaz is considering the whole picture, understanding that the only way to give God the glory was to be honest in the way that he approached this. And so his interests are made plain. It was very wise for him to call those men into the hearing of all so that nobody could dispute a few years down the line, well, he's making this, and he's got this. And I didn't know that David was going to be king and come from. Nobody could question it. It's written down for everyone to know forever, not just those that were present on that day. So he gives Mr. So-and-so his opportunity very clearly. He had the right to fulfill, and he chose not to. And Boas then moves on just what he said. I think this, we also need to see something here. The first man was looking at it as nothing more than an earthly business transaction. what's good for him here, that there was really nothing but law behind it, there was really nothing but fulfilling, whether he wanted to or not. In other words, there was no compassion, there was no love, there was no endearment at all. Contrast that with Boaz, who I believe at this point had already pledged his heart, given his life for Ruth. Promise to marry her if this man, you see the love that is necessary for a redeemer. And so what we see here is a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ, who loved himself and gave himself up for us, his church, his bride, so that we might be redeemed and purchased by his blood and reconciled to the Father. That's the picture that we really see that this whole book has been going towards. The love of the Redeemer for his bride. But then Boaz closes the deal, as was custom. They take a sandal off. I wouldn't do that here. Remember, there's a whole thing behind this. They wore sandals. Their feet are dirty. To take your sandal off and do this or that. But that was their notary public, if you will. That was their notarizing, taking the sandal off. And by the way, not throwing it, as some would suggest, but just here, the deal's closed. And then Boaz, in verse nine, looks at the elders and says, you're my witnesses. Before God and everyone on this day, I've brought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech and Chilion and Malon, including Malon's wife, Ruth, who I've pledged to marry and carry on his name. So when I ask the question, who's really being redeemed? Well, the answer is Naomi and Ruth as well. Which brings us to this last part. First, I take Ruth, you're my witnesses, and I lay it all out before you. The people and the elders then bless Boaz and Ruth. They say first about Ruth in verse 11, we are witnesses, may the Lord make the woman, that be Ruth, who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. Why Rachel and Leah? Well, I agree with Matthew Henry here. He says they prayed that Ruth might be like Rachel and Leah rather than like Sarah and Rebecca, for Sarah had but one son. That was our Sunday school lesson this morning, right? Isaac was the only one. Ishmael did not belong to Sarah. Sarah only had one son, Rebecca, but one that was in covenant with Jacob. I mean, with, in covenant. That was Jacob, not Esau. So she only had one covenant son. But when you get to then Rachel and Leah, and notice who's mentioned first. When you read the Bible's account, it's always Leah, then Rachel. Why? Because Leah was the oldest. You know the story, Jacob loved who? Rachel. That's the picture here. The order's right. But yet, Israel came about through both of them. Although all of the tribes did not come directly through Rachel and Leah, some came through their handmaids as well. But the picture here is, may you be blessed in that way, Ruth, in growing the purposes of God for his people. Presumably that's why Rachel and Leah are named. And then they blessed Boaz. May you, Boaz, act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem and may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman. Again, the blessing through Perez that ends the book is the idea of many children came through Perez. And so there's this idea, again, of being blessed with many children, growing Israel, growing the people of God that they're pronouncing blessing on. Not really anything attached to the land or the inheritance of this earth, but more of carrying on the family name. That's what they blessed in this regard. And so, Ruth, the blessing was more domestic things in the home, Boaz in public. As you go about your business dealings with others, may you be honored by others and as you act worthily in the towns, and may your family be numerous like that of parents. That's the Redeemer that God provides. Boaz now is the Redeemer directly of Naomi, and of Ruth, as we'll see, which we, when we consider the second part of this, the kingdom that God provides. In verse 13, we see the filling of the emptiness. Remember when they left Moab, Naomi initially says, I left full, I came back what? Empty. It doesn't mean bread. It doesn't mean her stomach. It means, I left with my family and I came back with no family other than Ruth. That's the only family she had. Now we see the filling of that emptiness. Now again, that emptiness happened because of an unwise decision by Limelech to go to Moab in the first place. He didn't know he was going to die there. He didn't know his sons were going to die there. He didn't know his sons were going to marry Moabite women. He didn't know all of that was going to take place, but yet God in His sovereignty, before the foundation of the world, had ordained all of that was gonna come to pass just so that we might get to this point. And when we get to this point, we read in verse 13, Boaz took Ruth, she became his wife. That's just beautiful. This is the climax and the height and the apex of the book. Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Boaz, Jew, a very Jew, Boaz respected in Bethlehem and the surrounding region. Ruth, a Gentile, even though she pledged herself to the people of God, a Moabite, he took to be his wife. And he went into her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a daughter. Okay, just making sure you're awake. She bore a son. The first child was a son. We don't know how many they had. They had more that we know, but we don't know how many. The Bible usually only mentions the sons and not the daughters, but this is the first. They conceive. And she bore a son. Her firstborn. Her first son. No sons with Maelor. The first comes with Boaz. And we see then the perpetuating of the name that begins here. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be Yahweh, blessed be the Lord, who has not left you empty. He's not left you without a Redeemer. May His name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you, that being Ruth, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to the Redeemer. Who do the women say is the Redeemer? It's the child, not Boaz. However, the completion of being the Redeemer through Boaz, who redeemed them, could not happen unless a child, a son, was born. You know where this is going, right? The Father, God, has redeemed a people for himself. We read it in Exodus chapter 15. I invite you to go there in Moses' prayer after God leads them out of Egypt and he praises God for redeeming them. The people of God have been redeemed by who? God the Father. And then again, the psalmist in Psalm 74 says, Remember your congregation which you purchased of old. That's what redeemer means. Remember your people which you purchased. Who? God the Father, which you've redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage. But how is that redemption complete? How is redemption of any man in eternity fulfilled? A child had to be born. A son had to be born. God pledged himself to be a Redeemer for a people, but it was necessary for the family to be completed for the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, to come into this world and take on flesh and dwell amongst us. That's the reason it had to be Him and only Him. There was only one Redeemer, the Christ, Jesus Christ. And notice something here. Ruth, we could look at this, sort of gets grafted in. Boaz is Naomi's redeemer through Obed, the son. The women say, Naomi, Obed is your redeemer. Your servant is your redeemer. Ruth, the Gentile, is made a part of the family of God on this occasion. Just like us, when Israel rejected God, when the Jews rejected God, it didn't surprise God. Just like when this first man, Mr. No Man, says, I won't be their redeemer, it didn't shock God that the Jews turned their back on Messiah. And what happened when they did? His purposes were fulfilled. We, Gentiles, were grafted in. And salvation was made. Christ was not just the Redeemer of the Jew, but also of the Gentile as well. Through Ruth we see on this occasion. And so we see the filling of the emptiness. Ruth is grafted in. A child is born. Obed is his name. And then we see the kingdom continued when we read this family tree, or the genealogy of David. that closes the chapter. I want you to flip, if you don't mind, to another genealogy, another family tree in Matthew chapter 1 beginning in verse 5. We won't read the whole thing for sake of time. But Matthew picks up where Ruth ends. In verse 5 of chapter 1 of Matthew, Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab Remember who Rahab is? A prostitute. A harlot. Salmon, the father of Boaz, by Rahab. Boaz's mother was a harlot. How do we know that God blesses Rahab? It's not just here. Do you remember Hebrews? By faith. Rahab did these things for the spies? Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David, and then he can add something here that we don't see at the end of Ruth. The king. Why? because David's not been born yet. In fact, kings had not come in to play yet. This is happening during the time of the judges. The time of the kings follows the time of the judges, you recall. And David is God's man for that very occasion. And so I close my message. I close our time together in Ruth with a quote from one of my Old Testament professors, Nale Ralph Davis. I had a couple of classes at RTS before I went to seminary at Southern. And I was blessed to have Dr. Davis for an Old Testament class in Judges, Kings, and so on. And he said, here's something neither we nor Naomi and company could ever see. Just think this through. If we hadn't been given this little book of four chapters, he says, here's something we never could have seen. Here is the perspective most of us never have on our afflictions. Here we see that famine, triple grief, that being the death of Elimelech, Melon, and Chileon, destitution, being hungry, a widower, and poor without a a piece of bread when they return, unexplainable conversions like that of Ruth. He says, here's the perspective most of us never have. Here we see that famine, triple grief, destitution, unexplainable conversions, et cetera, equal the way God was establishing His kingdom in the world. We may not see that. Whatever difficult circumstance we may be going through, whatever sufferings, we may not ever know this side of heaven, and we may not even know in eternity. We'll know all that God needs us to know or wants us to know. But this we can be sure. If we are a child of God, and if we are seeking to live faithfully and walk in Him, then regardless of what comes our way, we can say this is the way God is establishing His kingdom and His will. Amen? This is a delightful book. It has a great ending. Not all of them do. Trust in the Lord. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Lean not on your own understanding. Is that not when we kind of get knocked off kilter, is when we don't understand? And it's when we don't understand where we most need to flee to the God, we most need to know His will, we most need to know His promises that He's already made to us, and yet sometimes that's when we go the other direction. Lean not on your own understanding. Even though you might be right, don't lean on your own understanding. His ways are not our ways, but His thoughts. They're not our thoughts. Just read the book of Ruth. Just read the Gospels concerning the cross. Just read the Bible of God's redemptive history. And that will bear out to be true. Let's pray. Father, we thank you today for every jot and tittle of your word. It's all breathed out by you. We are grateful today for this book of Ruth. We're thankful for the marriage that took place between a Redeemer And a Gentile. We're grateful today that that Gentile had pledged herself to you. And Father, we are fruit of that. Not just David, but we who know Christ are fruit of that. We are part of that family that's being perpetuated. We are part of that family that's filling the kingdom through this beautiful story. More than that, through your son Jesus Christ. who is our Redeemer, who is the only one who could fulfill the need of both just and justice on your behalf. So, Fathers, we celebrate that this morning. Jesus Christ, our Deliverer, our Rescuer. I pray that we would see Him high and lifted up, that we would love Him more and have more of His mind than when we came. It's in the name of Christ I pray.