Creator, Father, King #106

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

SOME COUPLES MEET FOR the first time at their workplace. Others meet at parties or are set up on a blind date by a mutual friend. Some start out as high school sweethearts.

In the book of Ruth (which took place during the time of Israel’s judges), we read that one of history’s most poignant love stories began in a hot, sweaty grainfield. You’re probably not going to see that on the Hallmark Channel.

Ruth was a woman from Moab (a pagan nation often hostile toward Israel) who put her faith in the one true God of Israel. Her mother-in-law, Naomi (a Jew), had a husband and two sons. When all three men died within a ten-year span, Ruth selflessly vowed to stay by Naomi’s side (Ruth 1:16-17). But how would Ruth take care of herself and Naomi? Her husband was dead, and she had no job prospects.

Enter a man named Boaz.

What’s It Mean?

Boaz was Naomi’s relative. In the Old Testament, whenever a woman’s husband died childless (as Ruth’s had), the deceased husband’s brother or other kin was responsible to marry the widow, provide for her, and try to have a son to keep the family name alive. This was a beautiful act of redemption, which is why Boaz is called a “kinsman-redeemer.”

Boaz met Ruth as she was working in his fields. He eventually married her, and they had a son named Obed, who was the grandfather of King David, Israel’s greatest king. This was the earthly ancestral line of Jesus. Do you see God’s sovereign hand at work here?

The book of Ruth is a wonderful story about the concept of redemption. The word redeem can mean the following:

• to buy back or repurchase
• to free from captivity by payment of a ransom
• to release from blame or debt
• to repair or restore

These are all things God has graciously and powerfully done for us. Through the practice of the kinsman-redeemer, God was preparing his people for a much greater Redeemer, the coming Messiah.

Jesus purchased our spiritual freedom with his blood, as today’s verse says. He freed us from the captivity of sin and death by paying a terrible ransom: his own life. Through his sacrifice, he fulfilled the debt we couldn’t pay and restored our damaged relationship with the Father.

God’s Son is our great Redeemer!

Now What?

Read the book of Ruth to learn about the kinsman-redeemer principle—and a great love story!

Did You Know?

Ruth 1:16-17 is a passage many married couples etch into each other’s wedding rings.