Aug. 30: Redemption

Focal Passage: Ruth 3:8-13; 4:13-17

What comes to mind when you hear the word redemption?

For me, I think of A Christmas Carol. Growing up, it was a family tradition to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve. The story centers on Ebenezer Scrooge, a man who is cold, greedy, and consumed with himself. He mistreats nearly everyone he encounters and seems beyond hope. Then, after being confronted with the reality of coming judgment, Scrooge realizes he must change. He embraces compassion, generosity, and love, and his life is completely transformed. It is a moving story of redemption.

But imagine if the story ended differently.

What if Scrooge recognized his need to change but could not redeem himself? What if he desired a new life but had no way to escape the consequences of his past? That would make for a heartbreaking ending.

In many ways, that is where Ruth found herself.

Ruth was a widow with no husband, no security, and no inheritance. As a Moabite, she was also an outsider living among God’s covenant people. Humanly speaking, her future appeared hopeless. She could not rescue herself. She needed someone else to redeem her.

In Israel, God had established the role of a kinsman-redeemer. A close relative could step in to redeem a family’s property and preserve the family’s future. In Ruth’s situation, redemption would provide security for Naomi, preserve the family inheritance, and give Ruth hope for a new future.

Ruth approached Boaz and asked him to fulfill that role.

Boaz admired Ruth’s godly character and desired to redeem her, but there was one problem: another relative had a prior claim. The next morning, Boaz met with that man at the city gate. At first, the relative expressed interest in redeeming the property. However, when he learned that redeeming the land also meant taking Ruth as his wife and assuming the responsibilities that came with redemption, he declined.

The cost was too great.

Boaz responded differently.

Rather than protecting his own interests, Boaz willingly accepted the cost of redemption. He redeemed Ruth, married her, restored her future, and preserved Naomi’s family line. Their union eventually led to the birth of Obed, the grandfather of King David. Through God’s providence, this faithful act of redemption became part of the lineage that would ultimately lead to Jesus Christ.

Boaz points us to an even greater Redeemer.

Like Ruth, we could not redeem ourselves. Sin had left us spiritually bankrupt, separated from God, and unable to secure our own future. No amount of good works, religious activity, or personal effort could rescue us. We needed someone to do for us what we could never do for ourselves.

Jesus Christ willingly paid the price of our redemption. Unlike the closer relative who walked away because the cost was too high, Jesus embraced the cost. He took our sin upon Himself, died in our place on the cross, and rose again so that all who trust in Him might be forgiven, adopted into God’s family, and given an eternal inheritance.

Praise God for our Redeemer. Through Jesus Christ we are no longer hopeless outsiders. We are forgiven, redeemed, and made heirs of the promises of God. What we could never accomplish for ourselves, Christ has accomplished for us forever. B&R