Legacy of Redemption: Pointing to Christ Through Faith

Ruth chapter four is where we're going to be. Have you ever noticed that there is a unique trait that seemingly every family carries? You'll probably see that this week when you're around some of your family members. There is a unique trait that every single family carries. Like with our family, with my family, the Tugwells, there is a unique trait that no matter what, we squint. Like I have, like kryptonite, I have red hair and fair skin, so like sun is like kryptonite to Ben Tugwell. But if you ever try to take a squint, I am squinting. And I, I, so many pictures I have ruined. I look like a drunk guy in so many pictures. I've got my eyes like this and, and I'm trying so hard. It doesn't matter what I do. I can't help it. My dad squinted. I've never met my grandfather before, but I've seen a picture of my grandfather. The only picture I've ever seen of my grandfather, he's out in the cornfield. He's squinting, right? He's squinting. I've got two teenage boys now. And so now we try to take family pictures and like the likelihood of one of us three ruining the picture because is really high. We had to take about 30 pictures just to get one good one. Jess always looks good, but then all of us, one of us is always going, you know, it just looks, it just looks terrible. And so that is something that was passed down to me. And unfortunately, that is something that is passed down to my boys. And no matter what, there's always something that is passed down. If you have kids of your own, there's probably something you are going, whether you know it or not, you're going to pass down. One of the, whether it be a physical attribute, another physical attribute that we have, we call it a, we call it a butt chin. There's this little indention right here in the middle of our chin and all of us have it. That's why I have a beard. You would never know. Now, you know, this is, I've waited this long to tell you for a reason. But we all have it. Every family has one of those sort of weird things, or maybe many of you have several of those weird things that you carry down. Maybe perhaps some of those are things that have been passed down, assets that have been passed down. Maybe some of you have an inheritance or a, a, a, a, house or a family farm or an estate. Maybe it's a, a relic or memorabilia, or maybe there's a family Bible that's just been in your family for a long time. It's just been passed down, uh, the family line. And there's a lot of those things that get passed down. But, but I want to tell you this morning that there's one thing that matters more than all of that. [00:38:20] (143 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And today, that's what we're going to unpack. That you can have a family that has none of, or a lot of those material things, or maybe none of those material things. Or maybe perhaps you have a family that you were estranged to. You don't have no things that are passed down. Maybe you don't even know much about your family. [00:40:42] (16 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And maybe there, perhaps there's grief with that. But however, there is hope here because there is something that you can pass down, whether you have a family or not, that is far more important. It's far more important than your physical family in and of itself. And before I leave you on the edge of your seat, I'll just go ahead and tell you what it is. It's redemption. [00:40:59] (21 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


That's something that you can pass down. It's a life that you've lived that has made an impact on those around you. That is something that you can pass down. It's something that we call here gospel legacies. What we talked about quite a bit here in this past, in this fall. It's something, that is something that you can pass down. And that's what we're going to see this morning as we close out in the book of Ruth. The story of Ruth began with a black cloud of despair. And it looked like almost everything. [00:41:19] (30 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


was completely lost. Everything was completely hopeless. And in chapter 4, chapter 1, it opens with the faithless acts of Elimelech, and he leads his family to Moab, away from the people of God where he experiences and his family experiences, and he experiences death and loss. And then this leaves us with two widows named Naomi and then her daughter -in -law Ruth, and they're now moving away from the pagan nation of Moab. They've moved back into Bethlehem, Naomi's hometown, mainly just hoping that they could scrounge up some food so that they don't face starvation. And because both are widows, they are yet to carry a family name, and this would be shameful for Naomi, being an Israelite in the eyes of many other Israelites, not to have a family name, not to have anything to pass down. She would feel a lot of shame for that. And because also there's no one to care for them, Ruth has to go and she has to glean in the fields, which is similar to going to a soup kitchen to find food. And the scripture shows... shows us this great picture of God's redemption, because the word tells us in the beginning in chapter 2 that Ruth just happens to glean in the field of Boaz. And Boaz is this man who's next akin to Naomi's former late husband, Elimelech, and she happens to glean in his field, and he immediately shows interest in Ruth. And his generosity and kindness is something that's given to Ruth that she's never experienced before. [00:41:39] (89 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And the scripture says, then it continues with Boaz and Ruth, and Ruth is gleaning in his field for several months, and he's pursued her at this one moment, but now several months he pulls back. I don't know if it's because he just doesn't have a lot of game, but he pulls back. [00:43:18] (14 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


But Naomi, she nudges Ruth to go and pursue Boaz and perhaps offer some sketchy advice that while he's sleeping, she should go lay down by his feet. [00:43:43] (11 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And he wakes up and he's honored because apparently she's a catch, and he's honored that she would approach him this way. [00:44:03] (8 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And everything in this story worked well until, this is what we're going to see, there's another person in line, a part of Elimelech's family that has a chance to marry Ruth. And what Boaz is going to do is to see this guy if he really has intentions to marry Ruth, because if he doesn't, Boaz definitely does. [00:44:11] (22 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And so Ruth 3 ends with Naomi, with Ruth, with Boaz, everything is on the waiting. They're waiting and deciding what's going to happen. Boaz hopes not to marry, lose the woman that he wants to marry, and Ruth is hoping, has no clue who her future husband will be. But at the end of 3, Naomi gives some better advice to Ruth. She tells her, encourages her to wait and see what happens. [00:44:38] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And Naomi, knowing Boaz's character that he will likely initiate. So all the chips are on the table. And really everything rests in the hands of a sovereign and kind God. And this is where we pick up Ruth chapter 4, verse 1. It says, Now Boaz had gone up to the gate, and he sat down there, and behold, the Redeemer of whom Boaz has spoken came by. Now, I know we've talked a little bit about a Redeemer or a kinsman Redeemer, and this idea is thick throughout the book of Ruth. We don't understand the kinsman Redeemer. It's going to be hard for us to understand. We don't understand the kinsman Redeemer. We don't understand the book of Ruth. And so I want to tell you a little bit more about the kinsman Redeemer. In Jewish culture, if a husband dies, the closest to kin, the kinsman Redeemer, the kinsman is going to redeem that family. He's going to be able to step up and take care of that family, take care of that widow in need. And so in this case, Elimelech, who was Naomi's husband, he was a Jew. And so whoever is closest to kin to, Elimelech, should step up and take care of Naomi's family. [00:44:59] (75 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


Boaz is in line, but he's not the closest. And so now we know there is this Redeemer, this person that should be the one who steps up. Now, according to Old Testament law, the person should step up in really two primary ways. One is to step up and take care of the land of the person who lost. And also, if the person, like in this case, dies, then he should step in and marry. [00:45:54] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


The one who experienced loss. I'll show you Leviticus 25. Look at what it says about land. Look at verse 25. It says, if your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then the nearest Redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother had sold. If a man has no [00:46:13] (15 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it. Let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay it back the balance to the man whom he sold it and then return to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of Jubilee. In Jubilee it shall be released and he shall return to his property. You see this? This is God's way of providing for those who were suffering and it was his way to preserve the family from losing any possible means or inheritance. [00:46:33] (43 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And this is what the redeemer of the family would do. It's more serious in the law. If you're supposed to take care of the person's land, then in some cases you're supposed to marry the person. Even if you're supposed to if you didn't step up and marry the person, it was considered a shameful act. In fact, I'll show you Deuteronomy 25 verse 7. It says, if a man does not wish to marry his brother's wife, then his brother's wife, listen to this, shall go up to the gate, the gate's like the square, to the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel and he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. And then the elders of the city shall call him and speak to him. And if he persists in saying, I do not wish to take her, then listen to this, his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal off and spit in his face. [00:47:17] (58 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And she shall answer and say, so shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the man in the name of his house shall be called Israel, shall be called in Israel, the house of Israel. And he shall say, I do not wish to take her, then listen to this, his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of him who had his sandal pulled off. [00:48:11] (17 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


Friends, I am glad we're not under the law anymore, all right? I'm going to tell you, this is reason 4 ,842 why I'm thankful for Jesus, all right? [00:48:32] (9 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And this is true of every Israelite family, y 'all. Like, if your brother's wife dies and you don't marry her, it's a shameful act. I mean, even if she's mean, even if she's not pretty, even if she likes The Bachelor and makes you watch it, you have to say yes, right? You have to say yes. It's a shameful act. [00:48:39] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And I know this sounds rigid, but I want you to hear this. Like, this is God's extended arm to make sure the poor, the vulnerable, and the marginalized are cared for. [00:49:11] (12 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


I mean, even if you would read a lot more about the law, about this Redeemer and what this Redeemer does, there's actually a part in Numbers 25 that says, if a family member is murdered because of this role as a Redeemer, the next of kin, the Redeemer, should go and avenge that person's death. I think that part's actually pretty cool. But it's there. Like, it's there. Like, these are all the things that this person is supposed to do. Now, I show you that because this is what a big deal this was. This kingdom and Redeemer was supposed to stand up. And now we find out that there is someone for Ruth and Naomi that totally should have stepped up and helped, but he didn't. And now we're going to see how Boaz, the man who's closer to kin, as close as this one, he actually wants to step up. How is he going to handle this situation? Look in verse 1. He went up to the gate. The gate is sort of like the, again, the town hall. It's sort of like their courthouse where things were settled, contracts were settled, people would come together and make decisions. And then behold, the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, had come by. And so Boaz said, turn aside, friend. Sit down here. [00:49:52] (73 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And he turned aside and sat down, and he took 10 of them. And he took 10 of them. And he took 10 of them. And he took 10 of them. And he took 10 men and the elders of the city and said, sit down here. So they sat down. And so here's Boaz. He comes to the square. He comes to the gate where things like this are settled. And he asked this person to sit down, this nearest to kin, this Redeemer, to sit down. And it's obvious that this person is not significant because, you know what, did you notice anything? His name is not even mentioned. [00:50:25] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


In fact, we're not even sure that Boaz knows his name. He's like, hey, friend. [00:50:57] (5 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


citizen friend. It's like when we don't know somebody's name, we're like, hey, buddy, you know, like, hey, sport, how's it going? You know, hey, bro, how's it going? We don't know their name. And in a subtle way, it even shows a little bit of his insignificance that Boaz doesn't even know his name. We should know his name, but we don't. And you know why we don't? Because he doesn't step up. That's why we don't know his name. [00:51:02] (20 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


And Boaz steps up and we know his name. And this is what he says in verse three. And he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Boaz, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative, our relative, Elimelech. Remember him? He died, right? And so I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. [00:51:45] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


So wow, where's this guy been, right? He should have already known about this property and he should have known a