Ruth 2: 1: And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

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1 Series: Ruth Title: Finding the Kinsman Redeemer Text: Ruth 2: 1-12 Date: July 14, 2016 Place: SGBC, New Jersey Ruth 2: 1: And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. This man, Boaz, is the central figure of the book of Ruth. He is the near-kinsman, the kinsman redeemer. He is a picture of Christ the Kinsman Redeemer. The word redeem means to buy again, or buy back, and to take possession of. When you pawn a possession, it may be redeemed bought back at the lawfully prescribed value. Who can redeem it? The original owner if you are able or if you are unable, your lawful representative may redeem it. God declares in his law, that the one who has right to redeem, is one who is of near kin. Leviticus 25: 25: If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold. 26: And if the man have none to redeem it, and himself be able to redeem it; 27: Then let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it; that he may return unto his possession. Sometimes, a man was so poor that he sold himself Leviticus 25: 47 And if a sojourner or stranger wax rich by thee, and thy brother that dwelleth by him wax poor, and sell himself unto the stranger or sojourner by thee, or to the stock of the stranger s family: 48 After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him: 49: Either his uncle, or his uncle s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be able, he may redeem himself. THE POOR BROTHER The brother who has become so poor and sold away himself and is not able to redeem it back again is every sinner who died in Adam. No sinner can redeem himself or any other from the hands of divine justice. Psalm 49: 6: They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; 7: None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 9: That he should still live forever and not see corruption. Christ is the Redeemer because he alone could give the justice of God all that it requires and that by the sacrifice of himself.

2 Romans 3: 23: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24: Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: CHRIST OUR KINSMAN As we saw from God s law, the right of redemption was always dependent upon three things: (1) kinship, (2) ability, and (3) willingness to redeem. Boaz was near of kin to Ruth. The Son of God became the kinsman of all God s elect by his incarnation. He became a man, taking the nature of all God s chosen seed. He was holy and without sin that he might redeem and save his people. (Gal. 4:4-6; Heb. 2:10-18). Boaz was able to redeem because he was a man of great wealth his name means strength. Christ is able to redeem because he is of great wealth and power because he is both God and man. He has perfect righteousness and complete, perfect, blood atonement; and they are of infinite worth and merit before God. God the Father gave him all power over all flesh, As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. (Jn 17: 2) Later, we will see Boaz was willing to redeem Ruth. Christ is a willing Redeemer. He suffered the cross willingly for the joy that was set before him. (Heb. 12:1-2). SOVEREIGN GRACE Next, we see a picture of God s sovereign grace drawing his child to Christ Ruth 2: 2: And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 3: And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. Only God s sovereign, irresistible grace can make a sinner desire God s grace and to know in whom that grace is to be found. Ruth was drawn to God s house of bread where she finds out two things: she is poor with no ability to redeem herself and there she hears about her wealthy near kinsman. The result is that she says to Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. That is what God does in his child by his sovereign grace. He draws us to his house of bread, to his field, and teaches us we are poor. It must be divinely revealed in our hearts by God that we are unable to redeem ourselves from the curse of the law. He brings us low so that we see we are in need of God s unmerited favor, his grace. And he teaches his child the only one in whose sight we can find grace is our kinsman Redeemer, Christ Jesus. The result of God s grace is that he makes his child desire above all else to be saved merely by finding grace in God s sight. Oh, what good news! When a poor sinner finds himself saying, Let me now go after him in whose sight I shall find grace then that poor sinner has already found grace in God s sight.grace alone makes us desire to find grace in God s sight.

3 ETERNAL PREDESTINATION A sinner flees to Christ because it is according to God s eternal purpose and predestination Ruth 2: 3: And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. Her hap means it just so happened that she went into the field of Boaz, the near kinsman. She did not know Boaz; she did not know which field was his; as far as any ability or knowledge in her, she had nothing to do with the fact that she found the field of the redeemer. Yet, her hap was not by accident or chance or luck. Those things do not exist. It was according to God s eternal purpose and predestination. God determined her hap from eternity. He determined she would be redeemed by Boaz and would marry Boaz. God determined they would have a son named Obed, who would have a son named Jesse, who would have a son named king David, and on down the line until one would be born whose name is Jesus, who is called Christ. (Mt 1) So it is with every sinner God saves. Nothing is by accident or insignificant in God s all-wise providence to save his children and exalt his Son above all! Romans 8: 28: And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29: For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30: Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31: What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND All who truly seek Christ shall find him. All who find him shall be instructed by him Ruth 2: 4: And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, Boaz came from Bethlehem to his field where Ruth was gleaning. This is a picture of Christ coming through the Spirit from his house above into his church (his field), through his word, where he has drawn a sinner to seek him. Boaz is a type of Christ. The reapers are his laborers, his disciples and his preachers Ruth 2: 4: and [Boaz] said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. Before sending his preachers forth, Christ said, Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (Mt 10: 38) Christ and his people, his church, have communion and speak with one with another, in prayer, as did Boaz and his reapers.

4 Christ causes his preacher and people to pray for those Christ has drawn to glean in his field as Boaz did Ruth 2: 5: Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 6: And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: 7: And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. When some new person comes and begins to desire to simply hear the gospel preached in truth they are like Ruth asking, Let me glean in Christ s field. Then his preacher and his people begin to speak to Christ, praying for her, asking God s direction concerning her. Therefore, Christ gives his command to his preacher Ruth 2: 15: And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: 16: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. Christ commands his preacher saying, Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD S hand double for all her sins. (Isa 40:1-2) The Master gives his preacher the command to give her some of the handfuls of my purpose: the doctrine of my electing grace, my redeeming grace, my regenerating grace, my preserving grace, all in Christ in whom my people are complete. Then in his time, Christ speaks to that child who he has drawn under his word in his field Ruth 2: 8: Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: 9: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Christ draws his child to his field and Christ comes to the field. He commands his preacher, giving him the message to drop handfuls on purpose just for his child. Then Christ speaks to his child and gives his effectual command, Hear me, my daughter! Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence feed on my gospel alone. You are in Christ s field now! Abide here fast by my maidens: Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Christ commands his child to follow his people as they follow him! He promises, No one will do you harm, I have commanded it. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. I have commanded my preachers to feed you and protect you and do you no harm. Drink deep of my well-of-life which my young men provide by my grace. THE RESULT OF EFFECTUAL GRACE Here is the sure result when Christ speaks effectually into the heart through the Holy Spirit Ruth 2: 10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why

5 have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? The answer is that it is because of a new nature created of God and faith in Christ which God works in the sinner he is drawing by his grace Ruth 2: 11: And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 12: The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. This work he speaks of is the work God creates. It is the work of repentance from dead works and faith in Christ which God ordained that all his saints shall perform and which God works in his people in time. Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Christ is the Kinsmen Redeemer of all God s elect. We are drawn to seek him by God s sovereign grace alone. All who seek him shall find him and be instructed by him! So ask and you shall find; knock and it shall be given! Can you heed his command? Amen!