Day 114 – Ruth’s Redemption

Readings

  • Ruth 4
  • Matthew 22:23-33
  • Matthew 1:1-6

Prayer

Pray… for clear understanding about the technicalities of this passage.

Day 114 – Ruth’s Redemption

the law of the Kinsman Redeemer & the genealogy of Jesus

 

  • Today is the final day looking at the story of Ruth and her kinsman-redeemer, Boaz. It opens with Boaz preparing to converse with the person who is most entitled to “redeem” Elimelech’s property, which includes his land.
  • Can you remember why Boaz had to give the other man first choice to take the land? Boaz first tells the other man about the property he’s entitled to buy, and later tells him that this means he’ll also be “buying” Ruth as his wife. This sounds odd, but it means he’ll be taking responsibility to look after her (and Naomi), which of course is what they needed.
  • Why did the man initially accept the offer, and later refuse it? Have a think for yourself first, as it’s good if you can try and work it out from the passage. I’ve put some ideas below to help if you need it.
  • How did Boaz and the other man indicate that they had agreed that Boaz would be the “kinsman redeemer” and marry Ruth? What do we do nowadays instead of giving each other our sandals?
  • Which three famous women of Israel did the ladies wish Ruth to be blessed like? They are listed in Ruth 4:11-12. Can you remember any of the stories? How did God bless these women? What are the hoping for Ruth by saying these words?
  • Boaz and Ruth got married and had a child. What was the name of their great-grandson? From what you know of him, how does this show that Ruth was indeed blessed like Rachel and Leah?
  • On the topic of families, do you remember the name of Boaz’s mother? You should be able to recall her name from stories in the book of Joshua.
  • Ruth put God as her first priority and God led her down an unexpected path of blessing. Are you are obeying God and keeping Him your number one priority? How have you seen God bless you in unexpected ways because of it?
  • Many people think that genealogies are very dull, and you may be wondering why we read Matthew 1:1-6 today when we read Matthew 1:1-5 only a few weeks ago. Now you know lots about the people in the genealogy though, so is it more interesting to read the words in Matthew? I hope so! Don’t forget, of course, who this genealogy ultimately leads to!
  • What did Naomi change her name to in chapter 1? Do you think she’ll change it back now?

 

In my notes, I posed the question about the man who had the first choice to redeem the estate. Why did the man change his mind and refuse to marry Ruth? What did he mean he would “endanger my own estate”? A few possibilities exist. First, the man might not have wanted to spend the money to buy the land when he knew he would have to then provide for a marriage, along with having to care for Naomi. More likely, it might also mean the man felt that having another wife would mean he would have to divide his property between more people, and there would be less for his current family members. If he already had children that he was planning on leaving his property to, he might not want to share that with any future children he would have with Ruth. Thirdly, it’s possible that the man just wasn’t as wealthy as Boaz and did not have the ability to buy the land and a spouse, and take the responsibility of Naomi. Perhaps you thought of other ideas too.

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Ruth this week. As it is set among the days of the otherwise turbulent time of the Judges, it’s a great story of God’s providence (this means that He’s in control). Whilst Ruth might not have known it at the time, God looked after both her and His people in this story, and all Ruth had to do was to be faithful to Him and trust in His plans for her. A challenge for us all to do likewise!

 

Tomorrow we start in 1 Samuel, which tells the exciting stories of Saul and David, amongst others. It’s a wonderful book of history and kicks off a whole new section of Old Testament history – the fascinating time of the Kings. See you tomorrow for that!


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