Boaz & the Other Kinsman-Redeemer
Below are some study questions and commentary from Pastor Phil Grebe regarding DeAnna Christmas' sermon last Sunday. Over the course of the Summer I hope you enjoy these thoughts and questions. Please feel free to answer all of them, one of them, or none of them :). Personally, I really enjoy processing what Phil has been writing and I think you will as well. - Pastor Jake Medcalf
Week 2:
Boaz and the Kinsman Redeemer
In the book of Ruth we first encounter Boaz, an ancestor of David and Jesus. This book takes place during the same period of time as the book of Judges, although later than Gideon. Ruth is a foreigner to Israel, a moabite, from the area east of Israel. Ruth and her Jewish Mother-in-law, Naomi, had come to Israel after both of them became widows. As widows, they had no source of sustenance, and so relied on the kindness of landholders to provide for them. As they settled near Bethlehem, Naomi encouraged Ruth to go out and help clean up the fields that were being harvested. In those days, it was one of the few ways that widows, orphans, the homeless, and foreigners were able to get food.
Read Ruth 2
Who is Boaz to Naomi and Ruth?
What does Ruth ask the overseer for? How does he respond?
What does Boaz tell Ruth to do? How does this show his character?
What kind of reputation did Boaz have?
What kind of reputation did Ruth have?
In chapter 3, Naomi convinces Ruth that she needs to find a husband, and suggests Boaz, because he is a relative. According to Jewish law, the closest relative had a responsibility to marry the widow of the deceased in order that the dead might have an heir. Boaz tells Ruth that, while her approach is good, he cannot redeem her because there is a man closer to her in relation. He promises further that he will redeem her if the other man cannot or would not.
This idea of redeeming people comes from the book of Leviticus, in its discussion about the Jubilee year, a sabbath year that occurs every 50 years. As God is telling the people about the Jubilee year, God reminds them of the basis upon which this whole thing is centered:
The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Throughout the land that you hold, you shall provide for the redemption of the land. (Leviticus 25:23-24)
This word, redeem, comes from a root that means to be the next of kin, and therefore to have the welfare of your relative at heart. The idea behind it is this sense of community in the family: when tragedy befalls your relative, you are to help them out. If they lose their land, to help them to buy it back, if the relative dies, to marry the widow so that their line would continue. This is the source of what we see in the book of Ruth as Boaz and Ruth are working to redeem her father-in-law’s property and inheritance. It was in this way that the land would perpetually remain with a given owner.
All of this comes from the law, particularly Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 25:
Leviticus 25:
25 If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall come and redeem what the relative has sold.
28 But if there are not sufficient means to recover it, what was sold shall remain with the purchaser until the year of jubilee; in the jubilee it shall be released, and the property shall be returned.
35 If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you,[b] you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. 36 Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. 37 You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
39 If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. 40 They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. 41 Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property. 42 For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold.