The Redeemer

Well, I have been thoroughly enjoying, personally, this study into Ruth. One of the blessings of speaking—and I know I speak on behalf of many of our speakers—is the study is quite in-depth when you're preparing a message. You look at it from all different aspects, and so I really have enjoyed that, looking into this story deeper. I've so enjoyed your comments. Actually, I really have received a lot of comments where you have said, I thought about this when you were mentioning this about Ruth and Naomi. I said, well, I'm going to steal that one and add that to my message next time. It's really been edifying to me. I'm actually going to read one of the comments today that I received from you, but there's been many. So we are going to continue now, and our title today is The Redeemer. The Redeemer. And again, we are going to continue our studies here, and I invite you to turn with me and open your Bibles to the third chapter of Ruth. Ruth chapter 3. So far, we've really been at awe as we view the wonderful providence of God. And in the way he's been dealing and at work in the lives of these seemingly ordinary people in small villages. And he's reached down into their lives, and through that, we're able to gather more understanding about God and how he deals with us. And we recall that when we ended chapter 2, we found that it ended on a high note where you had this wonderful back-and-forth dialogue between Naomi and Ruth. As Ruth describes the events of meeting this man named Boaz, and Ruth began to tell her mother-in-law Naomi about the generosity of Boaz. And clearly, Boaz had taken a special interest in this young girl from Moab. And it's not my intent to recap the previous two studies, but you'll recall, of course, that Ruth had come back with Naomi. Naomi had lost her husband. Ruth had lost her husband. Tragedy and sadness were front and center in this story. I think it was necessary to delve into that first chapter to really then set the stage for all that God would do for them from that point. And Ruth was presented with a difficult decision of coming back with Naomi as Naomi returned to her roots in Bethlehem. And this young Ruth was in the process, we saw, of responding to God's calling, trusting in Naomi's God, our God, the God. So again, chapter two ends. Ruth meets Boaz. She begins to receive his initial love, care, and favor. They're out at the field. And so we left that, we begin chapter three with all kinds of possibilities and all kinds of big changes that may be in store as Naomi informed Ruth that Boaz was a close relative. And thereby putting him in the position of not only a kinsman, but a kinsman-redeemer. And we noted in passing that that term and that significance of the kinsman-redeemer would come in our next study. So here we are. So let's read this together as we come to the kinsman Boaz and his redeeming of Ruth at the beginning of that. So, Ruth chapter three, let's begin reading verses one through 11 here.

Ruth three verse one. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you. Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not a relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Therefore, wash yourself and anoint yourself and put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor.

But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be, when he lies down, that you shall take notice of the place where he lies, and you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will tell you what you should do. And she said to her, All that you have said to me I will do. So, verse six, she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her.

And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. And she, Ruth, came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, Boaz was startled, and he turned himself, and there a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, Who are you? So she answered, I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative. Then he said, Blessed are you of the Lord my daughter, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.

But now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people in my town know that you are a virtuous woman. Let's stop there. Well, quite a, the events have quite a bit moved forward here. And chapter three, in many regards, is the highlight and the climax of this story. Now, you'll notice that in the opening here in chapter three, Naomi's primary concern, you noticed, is that for her daughter-in-law, Ruth.

And that Ruth would be provided for, and that she'd be taken care of. There in verse one, Naomi was seeking security for Ruth. And when you read that, I just find that so interesting. Because Naomi, at this point, really should have been, for all intent and purposes, a miserable person. And while, no doubt, there would still be bitterness in her experience at this point, we kind of see that it's beginning to dissipate here. And even though she had previously said, do not call me Naomi, you know, her name meant pleasant.

She says, call me Mara, a name that means bitter. Nevertheless, you'll notice that she doesn't necessarily exude a spirit of bitterness, especially here, because her preoccupation here is not with the fact of her loss, you'll notice. But it is her desire in seeing others, namely Ruth, who have also seen tremendous loss, to see her taken care of in her life here. And I find that to be a wonderful example. I have such a respect for Naomi after delving into this story because her preoccupation here is not with the fact of her loss, the loss of her husband, the loss of her two sons. But it's her desire in seeing Ruth here that she will be taken care of.

And in passing, this is a great technique. If you've ever experienced loss, if you're in loss, if you're experiencing loss now, this is a great focus. Often we can lack purpose in the immediate aftermath of loss. And one of the techniques you can do is to find purpose by looking outward. It's a wonderful technique.

Perhaps look outward to those who maybe are feeling a loss that's linked to your loss. You know, that's often when I give funerals. I think of it as a time where those gathered around, particularly the grave side. I look at these individuals and they're thinking of the one that now is gone. And I have such a heart for that group to come together and to use that opportunity to go forward and be stronger and to take the characteristics of that lost loved one and use it as an opportunity to come forward and care for one another.

And essentially, that's what Naomi is doing here. And she says now in chapter 3, now come on Ruth. And in these first five verses, she says, I have some plans for you that you may find security, that it may be well with you. And so Naomi gives clear instructions to Ruth here on how she is now to approach Boaz.

Breaking into verse 2 again, you know, here's the instruction. The mother instinct comes in. Naomi says verse 2, but now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not a relative? In fact, he's winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor. So go wash yourself, anoint yourself, put on your best garment, go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known. So you see the specifics here. A wise woman, wait till he finishes eating and drinking. Notice where he lies down. Go and uncover his feet and lie down and wait for him to tell you what you should do. So Ruth proceeds with this plan. It's an interesting plan. Very interesting. And before we go any further, it's really important that we take a moment to establish a few things here, just so we can get the context of what's happening here. Right up front, we need to remind ourselves that there are essentially two Old Testament pictures here in the backdrop of this instruction. Two Old Testament practices that are crucial in our understanding in the story. Number one is the levirate. It's a noun that comes from levir, L-E-V-I-R, Latin word, the levirate, translated in Hebrew as brother-in-law, or husband's brother. So it is that this levirate process, which according to the Mosaic law, was to regulate marriage customs, particularly when a man died within a household. So that God had this wonderful provision, and he determined that if there was a death within the family framework, that there should be a way in which that should be addressed. And I wanted to just give you a brief summary of this. If you'll keep your marker here in Ruth 3, let's just turn for a moment. We're going to come right back to Ruth 3. But let's turn to Deuteronomy 25 for a moment. Deuteronomy 25.

Because I simply want to point you to this levirate process for understanding here, and you'll see how it essentially applies somewhat to Ruth's situation. Deuteronomy 25. And let's look at verse 5 and verse 6. Deuteronomy 25, verse 5 and verse 6. Here's the law. If brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family. Her husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. Verse 6. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. Let's stop there. So here you have this process. If brothers are living together and dwelling together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not go and marry outside the family. The husband's brother shall take her, marry her, fulfill the duty of the brother-in-law to her, and the first son that she bears shall carry on the name of the deceased brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from all of Israel. So that's the first important element to consider here. But I will point out regarding Ruth, it's not quite that situation because we know not only did Ruth's husband died, Milan, but then also her brother-in-law, Chileon, who married Orpa, also died. So both brothers died, you see. So given that there was no brother-in-law and given that she was only the daughter-in-law of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband, there's really no obligation, direct obligation attached to her to raise the children, to carry on the name of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband, or to carry on the name of her late husband or his brother. That wasn't mandated, particularly in Ruth's situation.

And so knowing that, it's even more striking the process that this story will now take. If you go back to Ruth chapter 3, let's go back there.

Ruth chapter 3, I told you to keep your marker there. If you kept your marker, you'll be greatly helped and speedwise. Ruth chapter 3, you'll notice that when we read verse 10, that's why Boaz responds in this way. Boaz discovers Ruth there on the threshing floor. Look what he says in verse 10. Ruth 3 verse 10, he says, Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness in the end than at the beginning, in that you didn't go after young men whether poor or rich. In other words, I recognize that you could go and marry whoever you want. Young, rich, poor, you know, you can marry and there's no mandate attached to you. Therefore, the fact that you're on this threshing floor is an indication. Just what a virtuous woman you are. It's an indication of your commitment that you made to Naomi. You remember back at the crossroads where Naomi was urging the the daughter-in-laws to go back to Moab, and Ruth stayed with her. It's an indication of her commitment to at that moment, and she committed to Naomi. She committed to Naomi's people. She committed to Naomi's God, our God. So, this young girl, probably barely out of her teens, makes good on her promise that she made way back then. Wonderful illustration of commitment, compassion, integrity.

So, that's the first picture, the the levered process. The second picture is that of the kinsman redeemer. The translation in Hebrew is goel, goel, simply a verb that means recover or redeem.

It is this other law provision which relates to the issue of property and possessions. We're not going to turn there, but for your notes, you can write this down. Leviticus 2525. Again, we won't take the time to turn there, but Leviticus 25 verse 25 speaks of this provision. Let me just read you from our UCG commentary regarding the kinsman redeemer in regards to this situation. You can find this if you google Ruth kinsman redeemer in our UCG website. Quote, in a circumstance like this, a redeeming relative could redeem or buy back the land. The land stayed then in the extended family. The poor family stayed on their land and eventually the redeemer was repaid. The redeemer was the nearest male relative. If he could not fulfill this privilege and obligation, it passed down to the kinship line until someone could. This is the scenario of Ruth Boaz acted as a kinsman redeemer, and we will see in the future next chapter, and bought Naomi's field. Unquote. So, yeah, again, the specifics around that aspect will come to the next chapter. But I just wanted you to be aware of that provision as we discover that the kinsman redeemer was responsible in this way to secure the land, provide for that individual in need, their family member. And the purpose of these two laws, of course, is that God would preserve a people for himself, a name, land. The names of Israel would continue down the line. The property which belonged to Israel would remain in Israel. It's quite staggering, isn't it? Because if you think about this today, here we are in 21st century, what is it that consumes most of all international politics? Well, it's the question of boundaries and property of Israel. But God's making a provision of this, you know, you see here all the way back centuries ago. So Boaz is prepared to step up. That's the background, the Old Testament background that helps us as we navigate through this chapter. Naomi, having revealed that Boaz is a relative, she now essentially says to Ruth, it's time for us to turn our attention onto this wonderful man, Boaz. And when you come to verses 6 and 7 here of chapter 3, as you read this instruction, and as you read Ruth's obedience to it, perhaps when you were reading it, when I was reading it aloud, you're like me, where it's really obvious, and it just hits you at the forefront, of what is really the extreme vulnerability that Ruth has put herself in. Because where is she? Well, she's in a barn and she's with a lot of men, you see. Single woman, men who have completed their task of bringing in the harvest, men who have now completed their meal, they're feeling satisfied, accomplished, successful in their endeavors, rejoicing in that, they're all beginning to lie down, find their beds for the night, and so this instruction has been given to Ruth. She should go down to the threshing floor, not interrupt Boaz while he's eating. Make sure you take note where he lies down, and then once he's fallen asleep, under the cover of darkness, go, show up, uncovers his feet, and lie down. Now, Naomi doesn't want her uncovering the wrong feet, of course. That would have been all kinds of disaster, disastrous as you could imagine. So, she took note of where Boaz laid down, verse 7, after Boaz had eaten and drunk, verse 7, and his heart was cheerful. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of the grain, and she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

So, let's think about this for a moment, because, again, it's no doubt Ruth is putting herself in a very vulnerable position. Vulnerable in relation to her safety, we could say.

She's not sure what these guys might do. Vulnerable in relation to her motives, being misinterpreted, you know, because there's no telling if they find out, you know, that she had gone down on the threshing floor, in the middle of men, in the middle of the night. In fact, as I thought about this, I'm not sure that I would use this now as a model of giving advice to my daughter, let's say, or to those, any young girls, looking to find a husband. You know, I don't ever see myself giving the advice, you know, listen, there's an amazing story in Ruth chapter 3, this idea, if you want to find a husband, go down to the men's dorm, you know, find the man, the gentleman that you're looking for and uncover his feet, you know. No. But of course, it goes without saying, it's important to say every so often, it's a reminder to us that everything described in the Bible is not necessarily to be prescribed in the Bible, you see. Seems to make sense. You don't necessarily want to prescribe everything everything described in the Bible. Why is that? Well, primary purpose is our reason, context, you know, context of circumstances. Here in the 21st century, this is not necessarily what would take place in the context of circumstances in 1200 BC, you know, because this, in 21st century context, would violate the Bible's instruction to abstain from all evil. That's one thing it would violate, you know, abstain from, excuse me, the appearance of all evil. We could say at the very least, it would be the appearance of this we would want to avoid. There might be an appearance, even though there's not evil intent, there might be an appearance of it. So we know we're here in the 21st century. This is 1200 BC. It's really difficult sometimes to read these verses from a 21st century perspective, which in many ways is tarnished, that tarnished 21st century perspective and not allow it to creep into our reading of this account, because so much of this can be foreign to us. This uncovering of feet. Take me under your wing. Another translation. Ruth says, spread the corner of your garment over me. What is all this exactly about? And again, sometimes we can read these things and we're, unfortunately, inevitably drawn to that this is somehow sexual or somehow there's just something immediately sensual about this. But we need to understand that it's not the case at all. And that in all the preparations being put in place here, what Ruth is doing is that she's essentially proposing to Boaz and she's asking him if he will fulfill the role of the levered, if he will fulfill the Goel, the kinsmen, redeemer, the responsibilities.

Therefore, that is why as we trace through here, it's important for us to recognize the process behind this as this dramatic scene is unfolding in front of us. These highly unusual actions, behind it all, what we discover is there is a sincere trust and care in God.

Naomi's trusting in God with her instructions to Ruth. Ruth is trusting in God with fulfilling her instructions. Boaz is trusting in God. And although these events and these actions detailed here, they are distinctly strange here in the 21st century way of thinking. I want you to know that Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, they have this sincere trust and care in the provision of God. So, Ruth goes down to the threshing floor, did everything her mother-in-law asked her to do, put on your perfume, anoint yourself, get your clothes on, wash your face, you know, go down, uncover his feet. Nothing particularly unusual about this. Any girl looking for a husband, it's reasonable to wash, put on perfume, wear nice clothes, you know, nothing particularly out of line or unusual with that instruction. But it's one thing, of course, for a lady to make herself attractive. It's another thing for a lady to make herself seductive. This is not seductive. This is not seduction. In fact, the word here for clothing in the Hebrew is actually descriptive of a heavy mantle which would be worn in such a way to actually shield the identity or the persona of the individual. So it's the putting on of clothes, you see. So there is an essence. She's dressing herself in this way almost for marriage. There's just so much that is lost in our flesh-first society, you know. But this is regal. This is decorum. This is restraint. This is majesty. That's what this is.

So she went down to the threshing floor, verses 7 through 13. Let's read this as we continue the story. Verses 7 through 13. And after Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went down to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, and she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid out. Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled and turned himself, and there a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, Who are you? Her clothing would have led to that question. He wouldn't have been able to recognize her even if it was dark, often with the dress that she was wearing, the covering. So she answered, I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative. Verse 10. Then he said, Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after a young man, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town, know that you are a virtuous woman. Now, it is true that I am a close relative. However, there is a relative closer than I. Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative to you, that kinsman-redeemer, good, let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning. Stop there. Incredible scene here. My mind goes in so many areas. I'm looking forward to your text and what you think about in the different scenarios that this conjures up in other scenes of the Bible. He's lying here. He's at the end of a grain pile. Again, this is not a romantic picture. There he is snoring. I added that part, but I know how guys are when they sleep. Ruth comes, uncovers his feet, lays down. Middle of the night, he's startled. Sees this woman lying at his feet. Who are you? Half awake. And then before waiting for him to tell her what to do, you'll notice that that's what her mother-in-law told her to do. But you'll notice instead Ruth takes the initiative, starts asking him to do something for her. So there in verse 9, take me under your wing. Again, other translations, spread the corner of your garment over me. So these were signs. This was an indication of him accepting what she was proposing to him. Do this. You are my kinsman. If you accept me as the kinsman redeemer. Now, it is in the response of Boaz that we understand exactly what she's doing here. He understood she was proposing to him. You'll notice that because at the end of verse 10, he says you haven't run into verse 10. You haven't run after younger men, whether rich or poor. So he's in no doubt what's taking place here. He realizes exactly what she's asking.

Some men would have taken advantage of this circumstance. Others maybe would have taken the opportunity to reproach her, to condemn her, maybe to bring it to the attention in front of all the other men. Boaz does neither. He's a good man. He is a just man. He's a good judge of character. He had watched Ruth. He had eaten with her. He has spoken to her. He doesn't entertain any suspicious thoughts here concerning her. He wasn't wondering about her motives or her purity. That's why in the first part of verse 10, you'll notice, first part of verse 10, he speaks of her kindness. Bless you, my daughter. This kindness is greater than what you showed earlier. What kindness? Well, the word had gone around that Ruth was, her whole life was kindness, about kindness. Primarily her kindness to her mother-in-law. She committed herself unreservedly to Naomi. And the reason she was even out there with harvesting and gleaning the corners of the field was her desire, Ruth's desire, to care for Naomi and provide for them. So he says, this is on a whole new level of kindness. Are you telling me you want to marry me? And I can't believe how kind you are. You could have gone and married a younger man. You have no obligation to this, but I understand what you're doing now. You're showing kindness. It's wonderful. And it really re-emphasizes. We know this. We've seen it in the previous two chapters. The friendship of Naomi and Ruth, it really brings this forward. It's striking to others as Naomi and Ruth's friendship is revealed. The reason Ruth is here is because of Naomi's concern for Ruth. And the reason Ruth is here is because of Ruth's concern for Naomi. They had this wonderful friendship, unique. It's a precious gift.

So, again, Naomi was looking at this girl, Ruth, saying, you know, I want you to be taken care of in life. I want you to have a husband. I want you to have children. I want you to have a future. And because of what Ruth understands, rather than going and finding any husband, she recognizes and she wants to bring honor and glory to Naomi in the memory of Elimelech, in the memory of her husband, or her late husband and his brother, to marry this kinsmen redeemer.

Therefore, she's willing to give herself away. Beautiful. Her commitment to Naomi, her commitment to Boaz. Ultimately, her commitment to God.

But there's a problem. Verse 12 and 13, Boaz says, again, it is true, I am a close relative. However, there's a relative closer than I. Stay the night. In the morning, it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative, good, let him do it. If he will not perform the duty, then I will perform it as the Lord lives. You can count on that. Lie down until the morning. So Boaz explains that.

Very noble man, Boaz, he's not going to intrude on the rights of this other man, unless he voluntarily surrenders the rights here. Wonderful. He's going to settle things properly, even though it goes against, I'm sure, his own personal desires, you know, to fulfill this for Ruth. He's going to do things the right way. There's sacrifice here. There's sacrifice. Doing what's right. So stay the night until the morning, and I will perform this duty as the Lord lives. But we're going to do it the right way. So, into verse 13, lie down until the morning. Now, let me speak about this for a few moments. These final words, they're obviously motivated by concern for her welfare. If you think about it, she was vulnerable in the barn.

Think about how much more vulnerable she would be if she left the barn to go back to Naomi.

Think about if Boaz decided to go with her, it might stir up the whole place, you know, in the middle of the night. So, discretion is needed. And the best decision in light of the undesirable factors here is that she stay. And we try to teach our young people wisdom, certain circumstances, certain situations in life, and the different circumstances. It's best to look at what the most wise thing to do.

You understand? In other words, we need to have common sense as we're living out this Christian walk. In normal circumstances, this would not be a good idea to have her stay. And he probably wouldn't have recommended this. But given the things how this has unfolded, he recognizes the best thing for her to do is stay put. He knows her motives. She trusts his integrity. So, this is good. It's common sense. Again, he's absolutely clear on Ruth's motives. She's confident and certain in relation to Boaz and who he is, a man of character. So, discretion is needed. Concealment is not always deceitful. You really have to look at what the best situation is as you're making these real-life decisions. It's never an excuse for sin, of course, but use wisdom in these circumstances. Verse 14 and 15, she laid at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize her. Might be wise, we will see before the events of chapter 4 come.

Rumors can start, and they could be undeserved rumors. Then he said, do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. Also, he said, bring the shawl that is on you and hold it. Hold it out in front of you. And when she held it, he measured six ephas of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. So in the morning, give me your shawl. It must have been a big shawl because he poured six measures of barley ephas onto her, and back down she goes down the road. The second time in the story she's gone back down the road, burdened with this much grain. Let me just make it aside again. I really enjoyed the text and the calls. Let me read you one text. Earlier, after she gleaned the field and she was sitting down the road with one ephah, text from one of our members, I looked up ephah and it's about 50 pounds. That's quite a lot of blessing for one woman to carry home, especially after just one full day of work in the field. Then she started thinking about it. It's very generous thereafter. If Boaz was this generous then, and as we see here, this generous, Ruth and Naomi could actually sell all the extra from it for the whole season to supply their needs. She finishes the text. God is indeed very generous. I love that. This isn't one ephah. This is six ephah's. I don't even know how she did it. Six times 50 pounds. You can do the math. Coming down the road there, she must have had some kind of cart or something amazing. She comes down here, verse 16 through 18. Naomi was watching for her here. I'm sure Naomi's jaw was to the ground at this point. Verses 16 through 18. When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, is that you, my daughter? Then she told her all that the man Boaz had done for her. She said, these six ephahs of barley he gave me. For he said to me, do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law. Then she said, sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out. For this man will not rest until he's concluded the matter of this day. And we come to the end here. So I love the end here, and we're going to be coming to the conclusion of our study today. Once again, we see the wonderful relationship between Naomi and Ruth. And it's such a wonderful story. And we have to stop at this point, but as we enter into chapter four, I will tell you that Boaz does not delay. He is up ready in the morning to get all this sorted out. All these kinsmen, redeemer matters. But I'd like to remind you as we begin to close, that every time we read this story, it should really bring our minds to one particular person, especially when we're reading about Boaz here. We should get the feeling in the back of our minds, you know, this is this is reminding me of someone. Of course, Boaz is a foreshadowing of the one Jesus Christ. Boaz is a foreshadowing of our kinsmen, redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Goel. You know, the Goel we know must, the Goel must be related by blood to all those whom he redeems.

We're called. Christ came in the flesh, brought us near by his blood. His sacrifice were brought near to the promises of God, brought to the household. So you see this imagery here, this symbolism. The Goel must be able to pay the price of redemption. Christ certainly lived a life, overcame, qualified to be our redeemer. The Goel must be willing the Goel must be willing. Christ was willing. So this is the redeeming work of Jesus Christ here, playing out for us. And like Ruth, the called man or the called woman must respond to God's calling, need to agree to God's way to receive the blessing. We must want to be redeemed. And that Boaz dealt with Ruth, so Christ will then deal with us as we come as repentant, believing people. She cast herself at the feet of Boaz. We cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus Christ. She was dependent upon Boaz's mercy. We're dependent upon Christ's mercy. She, being covered by his wings, were covered over by God's wings of care and love and covered by the blood of the new covenant. She, being introduced to peace and contentment and security under his wings of care. Wonderful man. We're in the shadow of Jesus Christ. He soothes us. Our sorrows calms us. Dries our tears. And in the end, she sets forth, burdened by blessings, burdened by benefits, more than she could ever imagine. And it only gets better. We will see next sermon as we conclude Ruth next time. But as we're going down the road, we are reminded of the wonderful providential care that God has provided to us. No wonder the book of Ruth was read in the synagogues centuries later at the celebration of Pentecost. It brings us to God and the relationship that he's reached out to us. Particularly, it symbolizes Jesus Christ's harvest of mankind.

So here, as we stand in wonder of this book, this story 1200 years ago, we see it ultimately and points us to Jesus Christ. It's ultimately about Jesus Christ. And as we ask ourselves the question, have you cast yourself at the feet of Jesus Christ? Have you asked him to redeem you? Maybe ask him today in a more deep way. Think about this and pray, God, redeem me in a greater way. Do that today. Cover me with your royal robes, even if it's just the corner, Father. I don't deserve it, but would you? Cover me. And let's thank God for the wonderful foreshadowing we have in Christ and this lovely man of Boaz. And the exciting story will continue next time and conclude. And so until next time, I hope you have a wonderful week and we'll see you here.