We're turning to Ruth chapter 4. Obviously as we've come to this part of the book, we're really coming to what is the culmination and the crux of the whole story. Chapter 4 of the book of Ruth is really a chapter of glory. Away at the beginning of the studies we said that chapter 1 was a story of grief. There you find a family, you find a famine, and then you find a funeral. And not just one funeral, but several funerals. It's a chapter of grief. A chapter when that grief continued as one daughter-in-law went back to her gods and to her home in Moab and was parted from Ruth and Naomi. A story of grief. Chapter 2 is a story, really, of guidance. In that portion you see that the Lord was providentially leading Ruth to the right person and to the right place where she might have the right provision. A chapter of guidance. Chapter 3 then, we might sum up as a chapter of grace. And there we see the favor of Boaz toward Ruth. And as she lay at his feet, He gave that promise that he was going to do what needed to be done to redeem her to himself. And chapter 4 really is a glorious chapter. It is a record of glory. The glorious climax of the entire story. If we think again of the previous chapters, the first chapter, Ruth there was a foreigner to Boaz. Indeed, she was a foreigner to all the people of God, just like we are before we are saved, outcasts, strangers from the covenants of promise. Without God and without hope in the world, we are described as a far off. We are strangers and foreigners before the Lord makes us fellow citizens with the saints of God. Ruth was a foreigner to Boaz. Then in chapter 2 she is seen in the field of Boaz. She's gleaning, she's working there and she also receives provision graciously at his hand beyond what she gleaned. Chapter 3 then reveals her at the feet of Boaz. There she is at the threshing floor, a very significant place in Scripture, as we noted last time. She is there at his feet, asking him to throw his skirt over her, which was a sign at that time of betrothal and of covenant relationship. And then in chapter 4, this culminates in Ruth coming into the family of Boaz. The chapter tells us how she came to be his wife. When we think about this particular portion, what comes before us most of all is the thought of redemption. Now obviously that's a theme all the way through the book, but it particularly comes into its own in chapter 4. At the end of chapter 3, Boaz had told Ruth that he would indeed be willing to redeem her, but there was a problem. The problem was that there was another kinsman who was nearer than him. You see this in chapter 3, verses 11 and 12. And now my daughter, fear not. I will do to thee all that thou requirest. For all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman. Howbeit, or nevertheless, or in spite of this, there is a kinsman nearer than I." That means there was one who had a prior right to redeem Ruth and the property that had belonged to her husband. So this was a real problem. that had to be dealt with. The nearer kinsman had claims that had to be addressed before Boaz could be free to redeem the inheritance and marry her. And chapter 4 records how that Boaz confronted this nearer kinsman. Someone said the great contribution of the book of Ruth to the theology of the Bible and the revelation of God's salvation is that it sheds light for us on what it means to secure the services of a Redeemer. A moment ago I quoted Ephesians chapter 2 where it reminds us that by nature we are foreigners from that inheritance of the people of God. We are actually aliens We are strangers to God and to His promises in His covenant. By nature, we don't belong and we have no rights, we have no lot, we have no inheritance among the Lord's people. Because of that poverty, because of that bankruptcy in which we find ourselves, we need, we require the work of a Redeemer. And over and over and over in the Bible, God is portrayed for us as the Redeemer of His people. There are some great Psalms that speak about redemption. They shed light on the whole topic of the work of Christ for His people as their Redeemer. And we are told, for example, in Psalm 130 and verse 7, let Israel hope in the Lord For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption. The Lord is the Redeemer of His people. This is what God does in Christ and through Christ. This is what He has accomplished. He and He alone is the Redeemer of His church. In the Westminster Standards and the shorter catechism is, as the name suggests, a shorter version of the larger catechism. In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, it describes the Lord Jesus in no other way than this. I think that's really interesting. It's the word Redeemer that the Westminster divines used in the catechism to speak about the glorious work of the Lord Jesus Christ. They preferred the word Redeemer even to the word Saviour. There can be no salvation for us unless there is redemption. Redemption is the paying of a price, buying back the inheritance. And in the Catechism, in question 21, it asks, who is the Redeemer of God's elect? The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth here is seen as one who requires a Redeemer, and she finds that Redeemer in the person of Boaz. You and I need a Redeemer, and we only can find one in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Now in Ruth chapter 4, there's going to be a marriage. Boaz and Ruth are going to be united in marriage. Their union is going to be sealed. And when that happens, the past is all going to be forgotten in a new marriage union that Ruth has with Boaz. But the fact is, there's not going to be a wedding unless there is first a redemption. And the Lord has a bride. The church is the bride of Christ. Ephesians chapter 5. And in order that we might be His bride, He had to redeem us. He had to purchase us with a price, even His precious blood. This is all set forth in picture form in the book of Ruth. Now we notice that there was something about the Redeemer that gave encouragement to Ruth. We read deliberately the last verse of chapter 3. Because there Naomi said in just a few words something that really relates to Christ and the redemption of His church. She said, sit still my daughter, just be at peace, just be still, until thou know how the matter will fall. Just until you see how it all turns out. For the man, and she's speaking there of Boaz, the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day." The man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day. You know, it's an interesting thing as you look at the Hebrew language, that there are three different Hebrew words translated as rest in the book of Ruth. The first one we read of in chapter 1 and verse 9. Here, Naomi is speaking to Orpah and to Ruth. And here's what she says. Verse 9 of chapter 1, The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you, in the house of her husband. Now this is a word translated rest, which actually means simply a place to reside or a place to stay. You'll find rest. in the house of your husband, you'll find a place to live, a place to stay. And so Orpah went back there on the basis of that. She found a place to stay in the land of Moab, but Ruth could not and did not do that. The rest that she wanted and the rest that she required was a far deeper rest than just a place to stay. So that's the first word. And then in chapter 3 of Ruth and verse 1, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And here it's not a place to stay, it is a place to stand. You know, when you go back to the book of Genesis, you read about Noah in the ark, when the ark rested on Mount Ararat, and the waters were beginning to recede, He sent out a bird, and the Bible tells us there in that chapter, that initially that bird found no rest for her foot. See, the dove could not find rest. The dove, which is really a type of the Holy Spirit, and I don't want to develop that whole theme there, but I think that's interesting. that the Bible tells us about that particular bird, that when He sent it out, this is Genesis chapter 8 and verse 8, He sent forth a dove from Him to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. Verse 9, But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto Him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth. Basically, the dove had no place to stand. That's the word in Ruth chapter 3 verse 1. But here at the end of the third chapter of Ruth, we have a different word. In verse 18 she says, The man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing. This time the word means a place of quiet where there remains no more business to be done. It actually indicates that everything has been accomplished. There are no more words to be spoken. There are no more deeds to be performed. Everything has been done. Everything has been finalized. Everything's settled. Ruth didn't find rest in Moab, a place to stay. Naomi wanted Ruth to find a place to stand in Israel, but this was impossible unless and until Boaz rested from his labour as the redeemer of Ruth. And what a picture we have there of Christ. The great portrayal that's given of Christ in the four Gospels is of one who would never rest until he had done everything that was required for his people and their salvation. We talked about this last time. We mentioned how the Lord Jesus said, I have a baptism to be baptized with. How am I straightened till it be accomplished? The Lord set His face as a flint to go to Jerusalem. He would not be in rest until He has secured a standing for His people. The Redeemer would not rest. And so throughout His earthly life, We could say that the Lord Jesus was restless to perform that work that he had been given to do by the Father. He was full of zeal for the service of the Lord. Nothing would detract the Lord, nothing would distract the Lord from his great purpose. This was the unmistakable emphasis of the Lord's ministry. The Son of Man must suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and raised again the third day. How often does the Lord speak in this way about the compulsion of the cross? Remember there when he was with his earthly parents, his mother, his real biological mother and his earthly guardian, Joseph, who was not his biological father, but merely his earthly guardian. Remember what he said to them? Wist ye not that I must be about my father's business. He said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3, even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. There was a compulsion. There was a must in the ministry of Christ. He would not be in rest until he finished the thing. Even in the garden, the Lord was willing to drink an unmingled cup of wrath, unmitigated, undiluted, unmixed. He would drink it as it was. He was not going to rest until he secured that ransom price for his people. He said on the cross, didn't he, it is finished. The thing is done. The thing is complete. The last word has been spoken. The last deed performed. No more sacrifice to be offered. He's the last and he's the great high priest. The great transaction is done. The thing is over. And only then does the Lord rest in the grave on the Sabbath day. You know, this is really interesting as a study here. There's a parallel really with the creation narrative. If you read Genesis chapter 1 and into chapter 2, you'll see that God created the world in six days and all very good. And by the way, there were six days. Six literal 24-hour days. Not indeterminate periods of time. Not thousands or millions of years. Away with that nonsense. And there are Reformed preachers who teach that nonsense. And it's an attack on the Gospel. Men like Tim Keller of so-called Redeemer Presbyterian Church. What a misnomer when it comes to this. Teaching people this nonsense about theistic evolution. That God put it all into motion and then evolution took over. What absolute satanic nonsense that is. God created the earth in six days and all very good. Just as the Westminster standards put it. And then what happened? He rested. God was in rest. after that work. But in a new act of creating a people for His glory, the new creation, the Lord Jesus would not be in rest until the work was completed. And when He rose on the first day of the week, He left the old Sabbath in the grave, so to speak, and He brought a new Sabbath out of the grave for His people in the New Testament. So there remaineth the keeping of a Sabbath to the people of God. And we have as our day of worship, the Sabbath rest. The man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day. Now that's just the introduction. In chapter 4, Boaz confronts the nearer kinsmen. And I want you to see this in verse 1 of chapter 4. Then went Boaz up to the gate and sat him down there. The gate is an interesting place in scripture. It played a large part in the cities of Judah of antiquity. Archaeologists have made excavations that reveal that Palestinian cities were generally very closely built. There were no large open spaces like the Roman Forum or the Greek Agora. Instead, room was found at the gate. And so the gate, accordingly, tended to become the centre of city life. The gate was the place for any sort of important assembly. And, for example, if you read in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 22 and verse 10, we find the kings of Israel and of Judah sitting on thrones in an open place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria. In a similar way, King Zedekiah, Jeremiah 38 verse 7, sat in the gate of Benjamin. So it was a place for any important assembly. But pre-eminently and mostly, it was the place where legal business was transacted. And this is where the book of Ruth comes in. In 2 Samuel 15 verse 2, when Absalom, the son of David, wanted to make capital out of the way justice was administered, telling people, oh, David hasn't got time for you, he's too busy, come to me. What did he do? He rose up early and he stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him. See, the gate was the place to find such men. And this is a theme that goes right through the Bible. Amos, for example, spoke of him that rebuketh in the gate. him that rebuketh in the gate, and of the unjust judges who take a bribe, they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right, and then he exhorts the people in this way, hate the evil and love the good and establish judgment in the gate." Hate the evil, Love the good, establish judgment in the gate. You find that in Amos chapter 5 verse 10 and verse 12 and verse 15. In Deuteronomy 22 verse 15, people were condemned before the elders of the city in the gate. And the gate was mentioned in connection with executions, Deuteronomy 22, 24. And less formally, the gate was a place for social intercourse where people would meet together to chat. Psalm 127 verse 5 speaks of that, about speaking in the gate. And there are various other mentions of the gate in the Old Testament, but it's of special interest in the present connection to Ruth. That if a man died childless and his brother refused to marry the widow, The woman was bidden go up to the gate unto the elders to begin the process of public humiliation of the offender. You can read that in Deuteronomy 15 and verse 7. The fact is there was a process of public humiliation for an offender. No doubt I'll get that reference in a moment or two when my mind is clear. But the gate was a place of public concourse. It was a place of judgment, but it was a place where legal business was transacted. All controversies were settled at the gate. For this is the place where the elders of the city gave their judgment. Genesis 19 verse number 1, And there came two angels to Sodom and Eve, and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom. Just endorsing what I said there. It was a place of public concourse, but it was also a place where elders gave their judgment. You go to the book of Joshua, to chapter 20, verse 4. It says there concerning the person who is running away from the avenger of blood, And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, And shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into a city unto them, and give him a place that he may dwell among them." So, the elders would meet there and they would deal with that case. This is also taught in 2 Samuel, in chapter 15, and in verse number 2, 2 Samuel 15. Verse 2, And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and so on. As I referred to a few minutes ago. But in the cases of marriage or divorce, or the transfer or translation of an inheritance, ten elders were needed as judges of the case and witnesses of the transaction. That's why you read and look in Ruth chapter 4 in verse 2, that Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city and said, sit ye down here, and they sat down. So here's Boaz, here's the nearer kinsmen, and here are the ten elders. And right here we read about the bargaining. From verse 3 down to verse number 8. And if I would just summarize this portion. It talks there about redeeming. It mentions the word redeem five times in verse 4. And it says biased and buy in verse 5. It mentions redeem three times in verse 6. Redeeming in verse 7. And in verse 9, I have bought. Verse 10, have I purchased. So here we have this thought. all the way through of redeeming. But before that redemption could happen, there was the bargaining. And you will note that the nearer kinsman, when he was asked about buying this inheritance, about taking up this and redeeming this, verse 4, If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it. But if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know. For there is none to redeem it beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. That was the initial response. Yes, I will act the part of the redeemer. But then Here comes the kicker, as we would say, in verse 5. Then said Boaz, what day thou buy'st the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also. And some believe that the translation here really should be, thou must buy also Ruth the Moabiteess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. In other words, you're not just going to buy the land, You have to buy the widow as well. You can't just buy the ground, you have to buy the girl. And what happened? When Boaz mentioned the redeeming of Ruth, the Goel, the Redeemer, refused. Now we need to recall at this point what we said about the law of redemption in Israel. Remember how we talked about if a man died in Israel without leaving behind any issue, any heir to carry on his name? It was regarded as something of a disgrace. So if he had no son to carry on the family name, it was kind of a disaster for the family. That happened to Elimelech's family, hence Naomi's words in Ruth chapter 1 and verse 11. In Ruth chapter 1 verse 11, Naomi actually says to her, Turn again, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there yet any more sons in my womb that they may be your husbands?" Here's this thought. There is no issue. You're not going to have husbands. It's a disaster. Just go back home and find husbands there for yourselves. But then when you study Deuteronomy 25, not 15, in Deuteronomy 25 verse 5, We read, If brethren dwell together, and one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her. And it shall be that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. This was the issue here. Now, a kinsman of the dead man could marry the widow, and any son coming from that marriage would be reckoned to be the child of the dead man, and so that dead man's name would continue in Israel. That's the issue. So, Naomi drew attention to the fact that Boaz was a kinsman of her late husband. And there were three things that qualified a man to be a redeemer. A kinsman redeemer in Israel. The Goel. Association, ability and agreement. You remember how we talked about that? He had to be a kinsman with the nearest of kin having the priority. So there's the association. And then he had to have the ability to redeem. He must be able. He had to be wealthy enough to purchase the inheritance of the dead man. So again, Boaz qualifies. And actually, so does the nearer kinsman. But here's the one that caused the problem in the end. Agreement. The one who was going to redeem had to agree to do it. He must be willing to redeem both the land and the woman. And of course Boaz was to become the redeemer of Ruth and continue the name of her late husband and the family. Because he was associated because he had the ability and because he agreed to do it. And the Lord Jesus qualifies as our Redeemer on all three of those counts. He's associated with us. He's bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. He is our kinsman. He is really man as well as really God without sin. He has the ability. He's a mighty man of wealth. Oh, the riches of His grace and of His glory. And He must agree to do it. And in the covenant of grace in eternity, He did agree to be our Redeemer. But in the portion that is before us, when the bargaining took place, the nearer kinsman was not agreeable. He was associated. He was a nearer kinsman even than Boaz. He was able. But he was not agreeable. And so here we find this in chapter 4, he renounced his right and left the way open for Boaz to buy the land and to marry Ruth. Now, as we have said, the redemption of Ruth by Boaz is typical of our own spiritual redemption by Christ. Just like Ruth, we were Gentile outcasts and strangers from God. We had no right We had no right to enter the family of God or to be in covenant relationship with Him. And we needed a Redeemer to restore us to our rightful position with God. But first of all, a nearer kinsman had to be dealt with by Christ before he could redeem us. And this is where commentators differ. Because some commentators will say that the nearer kinsman is the law of God. And I believe that that view has some merit. Because as you look at the Scripture, you find that the law had prior claims upon us. The law demanded that it be kept perfectly. In order to be restored to God, the Bible teaches us that we had to keep in perfection the law But this was impossible. We could never be redeemed by the law. The Bible teaches us that over in the New Testament in Galatians chapter 3 and verse 21. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. Then we find that the law doesn't have the ability to redeem. Christ had to live our life for us. He had to obey the law in perfection for us. Just as Boaz was having to satisfy the prior claims of the nearer kinsmen, Christ satisfied the claims of the law for us. He died on the cross to bear the penalty of the law, which is death. And therefore, the mouth of the law has been shut. The law has been silenced and Christ has redeemed us to God. Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 8, verse 3. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh. This is not an attack on God's law. This is speaking about our inability as men to keep the law. But the law could not do, in that it was weak through our flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin. Condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. The law has had its mouth closed. Just like the nearer kinsmen effectively closed his mouth after he said, I'm not willing to redeem Ruth. Now, I don't know the reasons why he wasn't willing to redeem, but the way he put it was quite interesting. Initially, he said in verse 4 of chapter 4, I will redeem it. But then in verse 6, notice this, the kinsman said, I cannot. Redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem it." Now I said commentators differ on the view of the nearer kinsmen. There are those who will say it's not the law, it's the flesh. It's the old Adamic nature. But actually when you think about it, the two go together. Because we are unable to meet the claims of the law because of our flesh. I believe that what we have before us here is really a gospel lesson. You'll never be redeemed by the keeping of the law. You can't keep the law. Even if you were to say, OK, I've sinned against God up to this point, but I'm going to keep His law perfectly from now on. First of all, how would you do that? But secondly, how are you going to make up for the broken law that stands against you so far? It can't be done. But thank God Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. And as we read this portion, we see that because the prior claim was taken out of the way, the near kinsman was dealt with, Boaz was free to redeem Ruth as his bride. And so you see what happened here in verses 7 and 8, there was this ceremony in Israel. There's a little bit of a difference in the book of Ruth as to what happened in the book of Deuteronomy. We don't see any evidence here of anybody getting spit in the face. But we certainly read about this as a ceremony, as a law that was carried out, as something that happened in these circumstances. This was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsmen, that's the nearer kinsmen, said unto Boaz, buy it for thee. You're now free. to redeem the inheritance and the girl. So he drew off his shoe. And you'll see there that that was witnessed by the elders at the time in verse 9. The kinsman drew off his shoe according to the teaching of Deuteronomy 25. He gave that shoe to Boaz signifying that he now relinquished his own right to be the redeemer. Now, our time is gone today. We're not going to be able to go any further in this portion. But remember this, the Lord Jesus Christ alone can be your Redeemer. You can't be saved by your own good works. You can't be saved by trying to carry out as best as you can the law of God. And yet, so many today are laboring under that misapprehension, aren't they? You talk to them about these things and they'll say, well, I do my best. I do my best. I try my best. I try to be a good person. I try to be a good neighbor. I try to pay my way. I try to be faithful in whatever way I can to worship God and so on and so forth. And they have this whole litany of things that are supposed to go in the credit column. And yet the Bible says all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We are all as an unclean thing. They that are in the flesh cannot please God. We need a Redeemer. And our heavenly Boaz is one who is able to say, I have purchased my wife. This is what we read in Ruth 4 and verse number 10. Moreover, Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife." The Bible tells us of the Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 20, verse 28, that He has purchased the church with His own blood. Thank God for the Redeemer. May we seek to honour Him and to worship Him with all that we have. Amen.