Beloved congregation, a few weeks ago, maybe it's months already, I preached on the book of Ruth, and maybe some of you will remember how that went, how Naomi and her husband Elimelech moved from Bethlehem to Moab because of the famine in the land. And while they were in Moab, Elimelech soon after that passed away, and then his two sons also died, leaving Naomi with two daughters-in-law. And when she heard after some time that the Lord had remembered his people in mercy and it came to the end of the famine, that she decided to return, her two daughters-in-law followed her as far as the border, at which time Orpah decided not to go with her and she returned to Moab and Ruth went with her mother-in-law. And when they arrived in Bethlehem, then the people there looked at Naomi and they said, is this Naomi? They had known her as a kind of joyful person and she looked so sad and she said don't call me Naomi any longer call me Mara for the Lord has dealt bitterly with me that's the meaning of the word Mara bitterness and so they were left in Bethlehem without any money without any property and then a few days after that She said to Ruth, maybe you should go and clean on the fields for it is harvest time. And then she ended up in the fields of Boas. and she didn't know Boaz and she was treated very well by him and he gave her every opportunity to glean on his field and he even invited her over to eat lunch with him and When she was ready to go home, she could show to her mother-in-law that she had gleaned a lot of food for both of them. And so at this point, when Ruth came home after her first day of gleaning on the field of Boas, that no one could have been more anxious than Naomi, her mother-in-law. Seeing the basket full that Ruth was carrying and the happy look on her face, Naomi fired her questions at her. Where did you glean today? On whose field did you work? Realizing that she could not possibly have gotten that much barley by gleaning in the usual way, and that someone must have been very generous to her, she exclaimed, and now I come to the words of my text. She said, blessed be he of the Lord who has forsaken or has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead. And Naomi said to her, this man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives. So let us Meditate on that passage for a while under the theme, Ruth's report to Naomi of Boaz's kindly dealings with her. And we shall see two things here, that this report of Ruth brings joy to Naomi's dejected spirit and at the same time it raises her expectation of future blessings. Ruth had told Naomi what had happened on that day, that she had ended up on the field of a man whose name was Boaz. She told her mother-in-law that he had been very kind to her, that he'd allowed her to glean by handfuls so that by nightfall, she had gathered about an ifa or half a bushel worth. Of course, she also told Naomi about the meal that she had enjoyed at Boaz's table at lunchtime. And as soon as Naomi heard the name Boaz, she cried, blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead. Who can describe the joy that flooded Naomi's soul when Ruth pronounced that name, Boaz? That was a relative of her husband, Elimelech. She knew, of course, that Boaz lived in Bethlehem, but she had been afraid to go to him for help. Instead, she had left it to the Lord to work things out for her. And now the Lord had so arranged everything that Ruth found herself working in a field that belonged to this wealthy relative of Elimelech. This had to be divine providence. How wonderful this was. She had complained about the bitterness that the Almighty had brought upon her. She had said, don't call me Naomi, please. Naomi meaning pleasant one, but Mara, bitterness that she had experienced through her own fault to be sure, but that was the result of her big mistake. The Almighty had made her a widow without children. And rightly so, because she had sinned by leaving Bethlehem. But now the Lord had dealt with her in kindness again. Kindness. That is a very rich word in the original. In the Hebrew, it means chesed, or covenant mercy, steadfast love, or faithfulness. All of these words are part of the word chesed. But the Lord had not only shown this covenant mercy and love to her and to Ruth, the living, but also, and because of that, to the dead. The Lord reveals his goodness to Elimelech and to Malon and Gileon, both of whom lay now buried in Moab. by looking after their widows. That was God's kindness. After all the bitterness that Naomi has experienced, she may now taste something sweet again. Whereas everything had looked hopeless so far, now a star of hope began to rise in her soul. Boas! Could it be that? So she turns to Ruth and says, Ruth, this Boaz who was so kind to you and who gave you all this food, do you know who he is? The man is a close relative of ours. Naomi suddenly sees a possibility for Ruth and for herself. At the border, she had tried to discourage Orpah and Ruth, pointing out that there were no husbands for them in Israel. At that time, she had in mind the law of the liverite marriage. According to that law, when a man died childless, his brother could marry the widow and in that way raise up seed for his deceased brother, thereby preserving his name in Israel. But this law could not possibly benefit her daughter's in-law. That's what Naomi thought. She was in no position to give them a second husband. But now at the mention of Boaz's name, she suddenly thought of another provision in the law of Moses, namely the institution of the office of the kinsman redeemer. The Hebrew word there is goel. And I'll explain what that means. by first of all reading Leviticus 25. In Leviticus 25, we have a description of this law of the kinsman redeemer. It says there in verse 25, if one of your brethren becomes poor and has sold some of his possession, and if his redeeming relative comes to redeem it, then he may redeem what his brother sold. or if the man has become one to redeem it, but he himself becomes able to redeem it, then let him count the years since its sale and restore the remainder to the man to whom he sold it, that he may return to his possession. But if he is not able to have it restored to himself, then what was sold shall remain in the hand of him who bought it until the year of jubilee, and in the jubilee it shall be released and he shall return to his possession." Basic to the law of land tenure in the Old Testament was the fact that Jehovah was the true owner of Canaan. However, the Lord entrusted the land to his people, Israel. The 12 tribes each received their portion of Canaan, and each tribal segment was further subdivided among the various families. But no one possessed his land in an absolute sense. Neither could anyone sell his land permanently. The Lord had said the same in chapter Leviticus, the same chapter Leviticus 25, verse 23. There it says, the land shall not be sold permanently, for the land is mine, says the Lord. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. So this means that the Israelite could not lose his property permanently. But it could happen that someone was forced through poverty to sell his piece of land. But then the law made provisions whereby he could get his property back. Actually, there were three possibilities. If the seller would later overcome his financial problems, he could buy back his property. Another way to get it back was to wait for the year of jubilee, at which time all properties purchased from impoverished owners had to be restored to them. But there was still another possibility, the third one, and here's where the go-well comes in. If a poor man who had been forced to sell his land had a relative with sufficient funds, there was a chance of his getting his property back. If this wealthy relative was willing to act on behalf of his impoverished relative, then he could repurchase the land for him. Now, Boaz was such a relative redeemer, or Goel. In fact, there were others who qualified for this office as well. He is one of our close relatives, Naomi tells Ruth. And from chapter four, we learn that there was at least one other Goel besides Boaz who had the right to perform this duty. Now from Naomi's reaction it is evident that she was hoping that it might be Boaz who would do this for them. In fact, she hoped that he would fulfill both functions provided for in the Law of Moses, namely the leverite marriage and the goal office. In other words, Naomi hoped that he would not only redeem the estate of Elimelech, but that he would also marry Ruth, a double blessing. Now, that was certainly possible, but no one could force Boaz to do it. He had to be willing to perform these duties. But Ruth didn't know anything about this, about either the Levirate marriage and the goal institution. That was not something she had ever heard of. She was, after all, a Moabites. and none of the heathen nations had such provisions in their law, only in Israel. Anyone who, through circumstances, ended up in slavery according to the customs in Moab and other heathen countries, had to stay in that condition for the rest of his or her life, unless they had the good fortune of being set free by a kind master, but that was very, very unlikely to ever happen. The poor people in those heathen lands had no rights whatsoever. Family members who lost their possessions were given the cold shoulder by their next of kin. And therefore this whole idea of redemption was foreign to Moab. And it would have been also so to Israel if the Lord had not revealed it to his people out of his mercy and kindness to them. The Leverite and the Goel Institution together illustrate, and this is now the whole point, illustrate the redemptive work of Christ. The provisions God has made for helping a poor man recover his lost possessions were designed to show how he, in and through Christ his Son, redeems sinners and restores to them that which they have lost in Adam, namely the image of God and everything that that image represents. All those possessions such as the true knowledge of God, righteousness and holiness, fellowship with our Creator, eternal life in heaven. Congregation, we have thrown everything away when we chose Satan to be our Lord and King. But God, instead of leaving us to perish in our poverty and shame, he has come up with a plan whereby we can now regain our former possessions. And that came through Christ, who is the true Goel. And in order to perform this office, he first became our close relative. Yes, he was born of the Virgin Mary. He took on our flesh and blood. In that way he became like to us in everything except sin. But he became like to us in his impoverished condition in which he entered. He was poor when he was born there in Bethlehem. but that was in order to identify himself with us impoverished people. He became one of us, our closest relative, and he undertook to redeem us and to make us, yes, also his bride. The book of Ruth, therefore, is an important book because it is the only book in the whole Bible that illustrates this aspect of the work of salvation. Boaz is a type of Christ in a way that no one else in scripture has been. Yes, the Bible mentions many types of Christ. There is Joseph and Moses and David and many others. And each of these illustrate or typify a different aspect of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Boaz is unique in that he illustrates for us what Christ has done for his people when he redeemed them. You know, to redeem is not the same thing as to deliver. We often get all these terms mixed up, and we think that they mean more or less the same thing. It's not so. Moses was Israel's great deliverer from Egypt, and as such, he typifies Christ as the great deliverer from Satan, sin, and the world. And that's, of course, very important. But Moses does not illustrate Christ as Redeemer. Only Boaz does this because he satisfies the double requirements for the office of Redeemer, namely that he is a close relative of the persons to be redeemed, and he has the wherewithal to restore their lost possessions to them. And that is why there is so much gospel here. in this book of Ruth. It represents to us one of the clearest pictures of Christ. As the Apostle Paul puts it in Galatians chapter 4, When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons. This is only another way of saying that Christ became our relative, our goel, our blood relative. And yet although Christ identified himself with us as fallen creatures, he was not involved in our fall. He did not become a sinner, nor was he a slave of Satan, as we are. And this truth is also illustrated by Boaz, because he was a relative of Elimelech, but he was not involved in the bankruptcy of Elimelech's estate. Boaz was not a poverty-stricken relative who could offer nothing but helpless sympathy. He was wealthy. He was in a position to buy back his poor brother's land. And so it was with Christ. He is both willing and able to redeem sinners. But also, Boas could not only redeem the estate of a limoneck, but he was also in a position to perform the other task of a goel, of a close relative. Namely, he could marry the wife of the deceased relative, Ruth. And the purpose of that duty was that he might raise up a seed of the dead and for the dead, in that way preserving the name of the departed and furnish him with an heir to his estate. So the Lord Jesus Christ not only redeemed his church, purchasing for her all the possessions that she had lost through her sin, But he also married this church, making her his bride. And the result of that union between Christ and his church is that she now brings forth fruit unto God. Romans 7, verse 4. It all fits together. It's a complicated but a beautiful scheme that God planned and that Christ carried out. And here we see that illustrated for us in this relationship between Boaz and Ruth. There's one more similarity that I see here between Boaz and Christ. Boaz was not forced or not compelled to redeem the estate of Elimelech and to marry Ruth. He could do both if he so chose. And is it not the same with Christ? He voluntarily assumed our nature and undertook the great work of redemption. Now, Boaz had not yet made his intentions known. Naomi could not be sure that he would perform the office of Goel for them. She had been aware all along of Boaz's existence, but she had not dared to believe that he would come to the rescue. When she looked at herself as Mara, bitterness, And as she looked at her daughter-in-law, a poor Moabite woman, there was every reason to despair. Why would that man, Boaz, be concerned about a relative who, through her own foolishness, had become impoverished? And even less likely was it that he would consider marrying a Moabite woman. And so Naomi was fully aware of her plight. The Lord had brought her very low and she realized that she had brought all this misery on herself. How then could she expect that someone as important as Boaz would think of her and of her daughter-in-law? Here also I see a similarity between what Ruth and Naomi was in the situation that they had become involved. I see an analogy between that and our condition as sinners. Yes, Naomi is like every sinner who has become aware of his desperate state by nature. Everyone who is saved comes to realize in one degree or another, I have through my sin robbed myself of all the precious gifts and possessions which the Lord has given me when he created me. I have in Adam fallen away from God. I have chosen to disobey God and to obey Satan, to listen to his suggestions. I am lost and I have lost everything. And such a person will at first find it impossible to believe that God should look at him or her in mercy. And even when the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to us as the great Boaz sent by God to redeem sinners, we are left with many questions. How is this possible? Will he redeem me? Oh yes, Christ may have become one of us, very God and very man, but did he also come for me? Those doubts and those fears that arise when sinners look at who they are and what they deserve are very real. But when Naomi heard from Ruth how kind Boaz had been to her, then she started to get some hope again. his permission to let Ruth glean on his field, the meal at lunchtime, and how he allowed her to come home with a full basket of barley. These were all signs and tokens of Boaz's interest in her daughter-in-law, and by implication, also Naomi. And so Naomi was greatly encouraged by these things. And should we not be encouraged, sinners that we all are, when we hear about Christ's willingness to save, to restore to us that which we have lost through our sin? Oh yes, it can look so dark. Many times there is so much that stands in the way. You know that Christ is the great redeemer of his people, but there is always that, or not always maybe, but many times there is that lurking suspicion, that doubt whether he will perform that office of Goel on our behalf. Maybe that is a very important issue for you, a question that comes up again and again. But now please look, look how Boaz treated Ruth, that stranger who came from Moab. What a reception he gave her when she came to glean on his field. And the Lord Jesus does that too, in an even more wonderful way. What did the Pharisees say of Jesus? In a critical way, but it turned out to be a compliment when they said, this man, Jesus, this man receives sinners and eats with them. Yes, that was the testimony that his enemies gave of him. But we may read those words in a different sense. It's beautiful. Hope-giving. This man, Jesus, this holy Jesus, he eats with publicans and sinners. Doesn't that give you hope, my brother and sister? It should. Do not have any hard thoughts of Jesus, as if he is unwilling to be your Redeemer. He was appointed by his father to that office. And as such, he is offered to us in the gospel. No, Ruth did not understand anything of what Naomi said about Boaz. It was all new to her, that he was the kinsman, redeemer, the Goel. She didn't understand that. Not yet, not yet. But she would soon find out. Meanwhile, meanwhile she was content to go each day to Boaz's field to glean on his own invitation. He said, stay with my workers until they finish the harvest and you should stay. by my workers, not go anywhere else. And Naomi could not agree more. She said, it will be good for you, Ruth, my daughter-in-law. It will be good to go with Boaz's girls, his servants, because in someone else's field you might get harmed. Yes. That was good advice. And it is also advice given to you who seek the Lord, but who still have to learn so much about the person and work of Jesus Christ. And if I may say it this way, what Naomi said to Ruth and what Boaz had said to her, I should say to you too. Be often found on Boaz's field. What do I mean? Well, glean, glean where God's people meet in his house, where the Lord has his word proclaimed, where the Lord is pleased to reveal himself in his grace and mercy. By his Holy Spirit, he wants to teach us the way of salvation, and let no one say, I know enough about that already. No, you don't. You may know quite a bit, but there's so much more to be learned about himself and about yourself. that you are a sinner and that you are not getting better and that you won't get better until the day of your death. But all the more reason then to be in the word of God and in the church of God and to learn who Christ is for such sinners as you are. Ruth had a wonderful time for herself and for Naomi. in those days, during those days between Easter and Pentecost for those were the feasts which marked the beginning and the end of the barley harvest. Oh yes, Naomi especially enjoyed herself every day. Ruth came home with food aplenty. Yes, there was enough for them both to eat and to talk about as Ruth came home from Boaz's field with stories about the goodness and the kindness of Boaz. Where was Orpah? In Moab. Poor woman. Oh yes, she probably managed to find a husband again. And she probably lived in comfort in that rich land. Possibly she had everything that her heart could desire, as far as this life is concerned. But I'm sure of one thing. She knew nothing of Ruth's joy, nor of the hope and expectation that filled her soul. And neither do you, my friend, who still enjoy life in the Moab of this world. Maybe some of you, I hope not, but it could be that there are those here who are present in body, but not in soul. That you can be even on Boaz's field, but your spirit is still in the world. Where is your heart? Where do you enjoy yourself the most? In Moab with Orpah and her kind living for material things? Or in Bethlehem with Ruth and with Naomi? There, the Lord works. There, blessings are received. There, sinners taste of his goodness, his grace, his mercy. There, poor, penniless souls are drawn ever closer to Boaz and where they are made ready for the great wedding day. Amen. That'll do.