“Take all my rights to buy back the property for yourself, because I cannot assume that responsibility.” Ruth 4:6 GW [see full devo text in NIV below]
Have you ever made a commitment you couldn’t keep or made a decision you later regret? I’m sure we’ve all done both at some point in our lives. As I mentioned in an earlier devotional, it’s easy to jump to conclusions or make commitments too quickly.
When you or I make a decision or commitment and later go back on our word, it’s because we didn’t realize the responsibility involved with our decision or commitment.
Some of the decisions we regret are the ones we didn’t make but later wished we had. Some commitments are beyond our scope of understanding, while others are rash and impetuous.
I’ve painted a lot of things in my life but not as an artist. More than a few times, I bid painting jobs too low because I needed the money right away. I underestimated how long a job would take and overestimated my ability to do it.
Each time, when I realized my mistake, I would try to renegotiate the price. But this was rarely successful. Then I was faced with a further decision—to quit or to finish the job. Finishing the job often meant doing a month’s worth of work for a week’s amount of wages.
We might keep a commitment even though it costs us to do so. But there are times when the wise decision is to suffer loss to our pride and admit we can’t fulfill our commitment.
Looking ahead to our redemption
When the nearest kinsman-redeemer realizes buying the property of his relative Elimelech requires marriage to Ruth the Moabite, he reneges on his commitment.
If he married Ruth, he would give up his own legacy of family and property. Marrying Ruth would extend the family lineage of Elimelech but interfere or end his own family line. It’s also probable that the man was already married.
So, he deferred to Boaz—Take all my rights to buy back the property for yourself, because I cannot assume that responsibility (verse 6). And Boaz was willing to accept this responsibility.
At this point in the story, Boaz can become the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth and Elimelech’s property and family line. He also becomes a figurative type of Christ—the ultimate Kinsman-Redeemer.
To understand this requires some explanation and looking ahead to the New Testament Scriptures. A figurative type is when a person or event or thing is a picture of something or someone greater in the future.
A simple example is when Abraham was willing to offer his only son Isaac as a sacrifice (Gen 22:1-14). The angel of the Lord intervenes and Abraham figuratively receives his son back from the dead, as it says in the book of Hebrews (Heb 11:19).
This is a picture of God the Father sending His Son Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for all humanity. Though Jesus died on the cross, He rose from the dead. By doing this, Jesus not only paid for all humanity’s sin, But He also conquered the power of sin through His resurrection to redeem all those who trust in Him.
The responsibility of redemption
When the first human, Adam, lived on earth he was innocent of sin and lived in the paradise of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:7-9). But when the man and his wife selfishly chose to eat what was forbidden to them (Gen 3:15-17), they lost their innocence and were sent out of paradise (Gen 3:6-11, 22-24).
When Jesus came—as the perfect God-Man—He came to redeem all humanity, for all time, from all sin and its consequence and power.
Why did Jesus need to come as a Savior for all humanity? Because none of us are able to redeem ourselves from the consequence and power of sin. We are like Adam who is represented in a figurative sense by the unnamed kinsman-redeemer in the story of Ruth.
This man could not accept the responsibility of redemption and neither can you or I. It is beyond our ability. We are powerless to overcome the power and consequence of sin on our own (Rom 3:20-26; 5:18-21).
Boaz was willing and able to accept and assume the responsibility as a kinsman-redeemer of Ruth and the property and legacy of Elimelech. He set aside his own legacy for the sake of Ruth a Moabite—a gentile—just as Jesus set aside His glory for our sake (Phil 2:5-8).
This Moabite woman—an outsider, a foreigner—was included in the Jewish lineage of Elimelech. This is another important event to consider, but we’ll look at it another time.
Do you understand how each of us is unable to redeem ourselves from the consequence and power of sin?
Take some time to review the thoughts I’ve shared in this devotional and the related scripture references—consider and reflect on all this and ask the Lord to give you a more clear understanding of the fullness of His redemptive work—for all of us—on the cross.
Reflection—
None of us are able to redeem ourselves from the power and consequence of sin. This is why Jesus came as the Kinsman-Redeemer of all humanity—for all time and for all sin.
Prayer Focus—
If you’ve already trusted in the Lord’s redemption, praise Him and give thanks as you go through your day. If you haven’t yet, ask the Lord Jesus to give you an understanding of why you need to trust Him for His redemption of your life.
Devo Scripture Text
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.”
At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.”
(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.)
So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it yourself.” And he removed his sandal. (Ruth 4:4-8 NIV 84)
Click this link if you’d like more background on the Book of Ruth– Ruth Background
Here are some Study Questions for a more in-depth study of Ruth– Ruth Study Q’s