Has Been Redeemed By God

Has Been Redeemed By God

A HERO’S TALE

Have your parents ever told you how they met each other? If not, you should ask them. They are often really funny stories!

Maybe your parents met in school, or at a job or a party. But they probably didn’t have an experience like Ruth. She met her future husband, Boaz, while they were all hot and sweaty working in a wheat field! Not exactly romantic, huh?

Boaz was a relative of Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law. He was what the Bible calls a kinsman-redeemer. In Old Testament law, anytime a woman’s husband died childless, it was the duty of the dead husband’s brother or another relative to marry the widow, provide for her, and give her a son so the family name would continue. It was an act of redemption.

This is what Boaz did for Ruth. You can read about this wonderful tale of kindness in Ruth 2–4. And here’s the best part: Obed, Boaz and Ruth’s son, became the grandfather of King David, Israel’s greatest king and a distant earthly ancestor to Jesus, the King of kings!

DECODING THE MESSAGE

As a kinsman-redeemer, Boaz redeemed Ruth by marrying her, giving her a son, and purchasing her dead husband’s property so it stayed in the family.

The word redeem has several dictionary meanings:

• To buy back or repurchase
• To free from what harms (example: to free a slave from captivity by paying a ransom)
• To release from blame or debt
• To repair or restore

The story of Ruth and Boaz is a wonderful example of redemption. But it’s more than just a sweet bedtime story. It ultimately points ahead to how God redeems us from slavery.

That’s right —did you know you were born a slave? The Bible says we all start life as slaves to sin (see Romans 6). We owe a debt we can’t pay. Without redemption —or someone purchasing our freedom at a price —we will die in our sins and face God’s judgment.

That’s where Jesus comes in! God’s Son paid the redemption price for us by dying in our place. Now, for those who put their faith in Jesus, the definitions of redemption we mentioned above take on a glorious new meaning:

• God has bought us back from sin and death!
• God has freed us from captivity by paying a ransom!
• God has released us from blame and debt!
• God has repaired and restored us!

Praise God for redeeming us through Jesus!

BATTLE PLAN

Go to an Internet Bible search engine like www.biblegateway.com, enter the word redeem, and study the verses that talk about redemption.