The Wonder of Redemption

All right, morning, church. Today's reading comes from Ruth chapter 4.

Ruth 4 · chapter mention

Feel free to follow along in your Bibles, bulletin, or the screen behind me.

Starting in verse 1, we read,

Now Boaz had gone up to the gates and sat down there.

Behold, the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by.

So Boaz said, Turn aside, friend, sit down here.

And he turned aside and sat down.

And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said,

Sit down here.

So they sat down.

Then he said to the Redeemer,

Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab,

is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative El-O-Metlech.

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.

But if you will not, tell me that I may know,

for there is no one besides you to redeem it,

and I come after you.

And he said, I will redeem it.

Then Boaz said,

The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi,

you also acquire Ruth the Moabite,

the widow of the dead,

in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.

Then the Redeemer said,

I cannot redeem it for myself,

lest I impair my own inheritance.

Take my right of redemption yourself,

for I cannot redeem it.

Now this was the custom in former times in Israel

concerning redeeming and exchanging.

To confirm a transaction,

the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other.

And this was the manner of attesting in Israel.

So when the Redeemer said to Boaz,

Buy it for yourself,

he drew off his sandal.

Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people,

You are witnesses this day,

that I have bought from the hand of Naomi

all that belonged to Elimelech

and all that belonged to Kilion and to Malon.

Also Ruth the Moabite,

the widow of Malon,

I have bought to be my wife,

to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance,

that the name of the dead may not be cut off

from among his brothers

and from the gates of his native place.

You are witnesses this day.

Then all the people who are at the gates

and the elders said,

We are witnesses.

May the Lord make the women

who is coming into your house

like Rachel and Leah,

who together built up the house of Israel.

May you act worthily in Ephrathah

and be renowned in Bethlehem.

May your house be like the house of Perez,

whom Tamar bore to Judah

because of the offspring

that the Lord will give you by this young woman.

So Boaz took Ruth

and she became his wife.

And he went into her

and the Lord gave her conception

and she bore a son.

Then the woman said to Naomi,

Blessed be the Lord

who has not left you this day

without a redeemer.

And may his name be renowned in Israel.

He shall be to you a restorer of life

and a nourisher of your old age

for your daughter-in-law who loves you,

who is more to you than seven sons,

has given birth to him.

Then Naomi took the child,

laid him on her lap,

and became his nurse.

And the women of the neighborhood

gave him a name saying,

A son has been born to Naomi.

They named him Obed.

He was the father of Jesse,

the father of David.

Now these are the generations of Perez.

Perez fathered Hezron.

Hezron fathered Ram.

Ram fathered Aminadab.

Aminadab fathered Nashon.

Nashon fathered Salmon.

Salmon fathered Boaz.

Boaz fathered Obed.

Obed fathered Jesse.

And Jesse fathered David.

This is the word of God.

Thank you, Jaya.

Good morning on this crisp marathon morning.

Good morning to five people.

In honor of the marathon,

we're going to have a marathon sermon.

So we'll end around 4 or 5 p.m.

That's okay.

Just kidding.

My name is Oscar.

If you don't know me,

welcome to Watermark Family.

Welcome to our guests.

Let me pray for us as we dive into God's word this morning.

Father God,

Lord Jesus,

Holy Spirit,

may your name be lifted up

as we consider your word this morning.

Soften our hearts, Lord,

as we take in, Lord,

what you want to say to us.

I pray for myself, Lord.

I pray for humility,

but also conviction.

And I pray, God,

that all of us here would

see the beauty of Christ

and would embrace our great Redeemer this morning

as we consider your word.

So we give this time to you.

We dedicate this time to you

in the precious name of Christ.

Amen.

So what comes to mind

when you think of the word

Redeemer?

Parking redemption

at IFC

or Pacific Place?

You spend money

in order to get

free parking in return?

The Shawshank

redemption?

Everyone's like,

what's that?

That tells me how old you are.

You're all very young.

The 90s movie

starring Tim Robbins

as Andy Dufresne,

a man framed for murder

and convicted

to a life sentence.

Over 20 years,

Andy digs a tunnel

out of his prison cell

and brings about

his own redemption.

redemption.

The Bible says

that we too

are in need

of redemption

except

we aren't

innocent.

We're actually

guilty.

But we don't need

to effectuate

our own redemption.

Indeed,

we can't.

Someone outside

ourselves

has already

redeemed us

at great cost

to himself

and his name

is Jesus Christ.

Now,

if you've

missed

our

sermon series

on Ruth

thus far,

here's a quick summary

of what's happened.

There's a famine

in Bethlehem

and this man

Elimelech,

he moves his family

to a hostile

neighboring country

called Moab

in search of food.

But in Moab,

disaster strikes.

Elimelech dies

and after marrying

Moabite woman,

his two sons

die as well

and his wife,

Naomi,

is left with

her daughter-in-law,

Ruth.

But God provides

hope.

These two widows,

they return to

Bethlehem

and there,

Ruth meets

Boaz

during the harvest

season

who showers her

with great

kindness.

And we learn

that Boaz

is a so-called

kinsman redeemer,

a near relative

of Naomi's

dead husband,

Elimelech,

and hence

could possibly

redeem

or save

Naomi

and Ruth.

Ruth then

approaches

Boaz

in the dead

of night

and makes

her plea,

redeem me.

Boaz

responds

and honors

her request

and promises

to redeem

her,

but it's

complicated.

Boaz

must first

ask a nearer

redeemer

who has the

right of

redemption,

the first right

of redemption.

And so today

we conclude

our study

of the book

of Ruth

in chapter

four

and we'll

look at

three points

today.

Redemption

takes sacrifice,

redemption

is transformative

and redemption

is for

the broken.

Redemption

takes sacrifice.

So Boaz

looking to

make good

on his promise

to Ruth,

he heads up

to the city

gates

where legal

transactions

were often

conducted

in a sort

of public

square.

And there

Boaz

sees the

other

redeemer

whose name

is not

mentioned

in the

narrative.

The literal

translation

is Mr.

So-and-so.

Seeing Mr.

So-and-so,

Boaz

lays out

part of

the deal

to him

in verses

three and

four.

Boaz

tells him,

our relative

Naomi,

she's back

from Moab

and she's

selling her

land.

If you

want it,

it's yours.

But if not,

let me know

because I'm

next in

line.

During those

days in

Israel,

God granted

land to

the different

families of

his people.

And if you

fell on hard

times and

you had to

sell your

land to

survive,

your nearest

relative,

a kinsman

redeemer,

could buy

it back.

this mechanism

was put in

place so

that land

stayed within

each family

throughout

generations.

In the

case of

Naomi,

we could

infer that

the land

that she

was selling

wasn't very

valuable to

her.

We know

she was

poor and

possibly the

land wasn't

very valuable

because it

had a big

mortgage on

it.

But Naomi

needed the

money and

selling the

land would

get her

the money.

And in

comes Mr.

So-and-so,

seeing a

desperate

widow,

seeing a

good deal,

and he

says,

done,

I'll

redeem it.

But Boaz

has an

ace up

his sleeve.

In

verse 5,

he tells

so-and-so

that if

you want

the land,

it's a

package

deal.

If you

want the

land,

you've

got to

marry

Ruth as

well.

But Mr.

So-and-so

cannot pull

the trigger,

for the

price was

too costly.

Why is

that?

Well,

according to

Jewish law,

if so-and-so

and Ruth

married,

and if

their first

child was

a son,

that child

would not

be so-and-so's

son.

That child

would be

Malon's

son,

Ruth's

dead

husband's

son,

who would

carry on

the family

name and

lineage of

Malon to

perpetuate the

name of the

dead in

his inheritance.

And this

would have

two potentially

very costly

implications for

Mr.

So-and-so.

First,

all the

yield,

all the

grain produced

on that

land that

he bought

from Naomi,

that would

go to

Malon's

son,

not to

his own

children.

There would

be a sign

in front of

the land

in perpetuity

that would

say,

this is

Malon's

family land.

And second,

Malon's

son would

also have

the right

to the

other

assets

of

so-and-so.

Meaning,

if so-and-so,

there's a lot

of so-and-so,

sorry,

so-and-so,

so-and-so.

If so-and-so

had other

children,

those kids

would have

to share

their

inheritance

with

Malon's

son.

Hence,

Mr.

so-and-so

says,

I can't

redeem it,

lest I

impair

my own

inheritance.

It's like

when I have

one hamburger

left in the

fridge,

it's one

meal for

me,

but if I

gotta share

it with

my three

kids,

it's not

enough.

Of course,

I'd always

share it with

my kids,

I'm just

joking.

Except if

that's

Bones and

Blades

burgers,

Alan knows,

I would

never share

that.

Marrying

Ruth was

too costly

for so-and-so,

and so he

waves his

right and

symbolically

takes off

his sandal,

which is like

a handshake

to seal a

deal.

And Boaz

proudly announces

that he has

bought the

land from

Naomi,

and Ruth

would be

his wife.

Mr.

So-and-so

wouldn't do

it,

but Boaz

did.

Because in

any sacrifice,

there must

be both

ability

and

willingness.

So-and-so

had the

ability,

he was a

nearer

redeemer,

he was

wealthy,

but he

didn't have

the

willingness.

Because it

was a

voluntary

decision.

Boaz

also had

the

ability,

he was

also a

nearer

redeemer,

he was

also

wealthy,

but he

also had

the

willingness.

See,

from afar,

Boaz,

he heard

of Ruth's

loyalty to

Naomi.

He heard

of Ruth's

loyalty to

Naomi,

he saw

her faith

in action

in his

own fields,

and his

fondness for

Ruth grew

from admiration

to appreciation

to respect

and ultimately

to love.

he fell

in love

with Ruth

and love

drove his

willingness

to take

the hit,

to take a

pound of

flesh out

of himself,

to sacrifice

for Ruth

and by

extension to

sacrifice for

Naomi.

Because

redemption

takes sacrifice

and sacrifice

takes both

ability and

willingness.

And how

much more

was our

redemption

and the

forgiveness

of our

sins

costly

for Jesus.

Only

Jesus had

the ability

to suffer

on the

cross for

the redemption

of the world

because he

was God

and because

he was

perfect.

But Jesus

also had

the willingness

as well.

He

willingly

went to

the cross

to endure

unspeakable

suffering

because he

loves you.

But unlike

Boaz,

Jesus didn't

just give a

part of

himself,

he gave

all of

himself.

And unlike

Boaz,

Jesus didn't

fall in love

with you.

He has

known you

and he's

loved you

since the

foundation of

the world.

Redemption

takes sacrifice.

Second,

redemption

is transformative.

And once

redeemed,

Naomi and

Ruth were

never the

same again.

This story

soon ends

so we don't

get to see

too much

into the

new lives

of Ruth

and Naomi

but what

we do

see is

a profound

transformation

in their

identity

and in

their heart

sentiment

after

their

redemption.

Look at

Ruth.

If we

skip forward

a bit to

verse 13

we read

Boaz

took

Ruth

and

she

became

his

wife

and

he

went

into

her

and

the

Lord

gave

her

conception

and

she

bore

a

son.

Think

about it.

What a

180 degree

turn

for Ruth.

In chapter

one she

was a poor

Moabite

widow

with no

heir.

She was

destitute

and hungry

with no

one to

protect

her

and now

she is

a wife

of this

worthy

and God

fearing

man

Boaz

who

would

permanently

protect

her

and

provide

for her.

But

there's

more.

God

intervened

as he's

been doing

this entire

book

and he

gave her

conception.

God

blessed

Ruth

with a

son

Obed

to

sustain

her

and

carry

on

her

family

line.

Ruth

has

truly

found

rest.

Her

identity

changed.

Her

purpose

changed.

Her

life

changed.

No

more

gleaning

in

fields.

I

imagine

where

there

was

despair

there

is

now

hope

where

there

was

barrenness

now

there's

new

life.

Ruth

used

to

be

an

outcast

now

she's

an

honored

member

of

the

people

of

God.

Redemption

was

transformative

for

Ruth.

And

arguably

redemption

was even

more

transformative

for

Naomi.

In

verses

14

and

15

the

neighboring

woman

they

praise

God

for

his

goodness

and

they

pray

blessings

over

Naomi.

Blessed

be the

Lord

who has

not

left

you

this

day

without

a

redeemer.

May

his

name

be

renowned

in

Israel.

He

shall

be to

you

a

restorer

!

And

a

nourisher

of

your

old

age.

Picture

Naomi

sitting

in a

comfortable

chair

in her

living room

doting

on her

newborn

grandson

heart

revitalized

full of

joy.

What a

far cry

from

chapter

one

where

after

facing

so

much

pain

and

suffering

she

said

don't

call me

Naomi

which

means

pleasant

call me

Mara

which

means

bitter.

Her

bitterness

has

turned

to

joy.

The

tragic

death

of her

husband

and

sons

has

been

replaced

by

new

life

in

her

grandson

Obed

the

despair

she

felt

having

no one

to

care

for

her.

Now

look

at

Naomi

her

grandson

Obed

her

personal

redeemer

will

restore

her

life

and

care

for

her

in

her

old

age.

Her

emptiness

has

turned

into

wholeness.

Her

shame

into

honor.

Because

redemption

is

transformative.

Redemption

was

transformative

for

Ruth

and

Naomi

and

for

those

of

us

here

today

who

are

followers

of

Jesus

our

redemption

Our

salvation

through

the

cross

is

also

transformative

for

us.

For

one

our

identity

has

changed.

We

are

no

longer

spiritual

orphans

who

are

now

part

of

God's

family

but

has

your

actual

life

been

transformed?

Have

others

around

you

see

God

change

you?

Are

you

more

humble?

Are

you

more

patient?

Are

you

more

Christ-like

than

before?

If

not,

is it

because

you have

not yet

encountered

God's

redeeming

grace?

God

I

think

for

many

of

us

much

of

the

way

we

become

transformed

is to

day

to

day

give

up

that

which

we

treasure

more

than

Christ.

Let

me

repeat

that.

I

think

much

of

the

way

we

become

transformed

is

by

day

by

day

minute

by

minute

hour

by

hour

step

by

step

to

give

up

that

which

we

treasure

!

more

than

Christ

so

that

our

hearts

have

room

to

love

him

wholeheartedly.

For

me

that

was

my

career

in

finance.

I

left

the

institutional

investment

business

about

18

months

ago

but

the

five

years

leading

up

to

before

I

left

were

just

really

difficult.

I

was

always

stressed

out.

I

was

mentally

working

24-7.

My

performance

was

not

good.

But

one

thing

I

did

during

those

last

years

was

I

get

up

in

the

morning

and

I

grab

my

Bible

and

my

cup

of

coffee

I

go

to

my

roof

and

at

720

AM

I

would

pray

I

pray

this

prayer

God

you

know

that

work

is

tough

you

know

I'm

not

doing

well

I'm

struggling

but

if

you're

calling

me

to

stay

here

I

will

if

you're

calling

me

to

give

it

up

and

leave

this

industry

help

me

to

do

that

because

it's

tough

and

it's

scary

and

over

time

God

showed

me

that

my

career

was

an

idol

I

was

adoring

the

benefits

and

the

prestige

of

my

career

my

work

more

than

him

and

over

time

God

tore

that

idol

down

and

he

took

away

my

work

but

he

has

replaced

my

love

for

my

career

with

more

love

for

him

and

I

know

that

may

sound

simplistic

but

I

am

just

sharing

with

you

exactly

what

I've

experienced

there

is

now

so

much

more

room

in

my

heart

to

worship

and

adore

my

Lord

now

I'm

not

saying

that

all

of

us

should

quit

our

jobs

okay

we

don't

want

everyone

in

water

to be

unemployed

but

what

matters

is

our

heart

surrender

and

so

what

is

it

for

you

consider

this

this

week

when

you

wake

up

before

looking

at the

news

or

Instagram

get

your

Bible

find

a

quiet

space

grab

your

journal

and

write

down

and

pray

this

prayer

God

is there

something

in my

life

that I

treasure

more

than

you

please

help

me to

recognize

what it

is

and to

surrender

that

to

you

for

I

long

to

experience

the

joy

and

intimacy

of

Jesus

more

deeply

amen

what

consumes

your

thought

life

what

do

you

talk

about

whenever

you

meet

up

with

your

friends

what

keeps

you

awake

at

night

is

this

something

you're

idolizing

and

worshiping

above

God

and

if

God's

spirit

reveals

something

to

you

don't

ignore

him

take

action

cut

it

down

make

room

for

Jesus

and

like

Ruth

who

walked

away

from

Moab

where

she

where

there

may

have

been

pleasure

and

temporary

happiness

but

no

God

we

too

are

called

to

walk

away

from

the

things

of

the

world

that

we

so

that

we

can

embrace

our

redeemer

and

understand

that

we

too

like

Ruth

and

Naomi

have

a new

identity

a new

purpose

a new

outlook

on life

a

transformed

life

to

worship

Jesus

to

enjoy

him

to

let

others

know

about

him

redemption

is

transformative

redemption

is for

the

broken

going

back

a little

bit

to

verses

11

and

12

after

Boaz

proclaims

that he

has

taken

Ruth

to be

his

wife

the

people

at

the

city

gate

they

speak

to

very

intriguing

blessings

or prophecies

over

Ruth

and

Boaz

the

first

is

may

the

Lord

make

the

woman

i.e.

Ruth

who

is

coming

into

your

house

like

Rachel

and

Leah

who

together

built

up

the

house

of

Israel

if

you

know

the

story

of

Rachel

and

Leah

they

were

the

two

wives

of

Jacob

back

in

the

book

of

Genesis

but

the

house

of

Jacob

was

messy

in

the

first

case

Jacob

hated

Leah

and

he

only

loved

Rachel

and

both

Leah

and

Rachel

were

highly

insecure

Leah

never

felt

loved

by

her

husband

and

Rachel

was

she

felt

shame

because

she

wasn't

able

to

have

children

and

what

mattered

most

back

in

those

days

for

a

woman

was

to

bear

children

to

carry

on

the

family

line

to

win

the

approval

of

their

husband

and

their

security

but

God

ultimately

showed

kindness

to

both

Rachel

and

Leah

and

between

them

they had

12

sons

12

tribes

of

Israel

and

a

daughter

and

yet

they

came

from

this

very

complicated

and

messy

family

but

wait

it

gets

messier

the

third

prophecy

or the

third

blessing

speaks

to the

future

family

of

Ruth

and

Boaz

which

says

may

your

house

be

like

the

house

of

Perez

whom

Tamar

bore

to

Judah

because

of the

offspring

that the

Lord

will give

you by

this

young

woman

one of

Jacob's

12

sons

was

Judah

Judah

grew up

he had

a son

of his

own

his

firstborn

son

got