“To Raise up the Name of the Dead”

And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. 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. I thought...: Heb. I said, I will reveal in thine ear Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now 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 neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. - Ruth 4:4-8

    "And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. 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. Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now 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 neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe."

    In the fourth chapter of Ruth, we are told how Boaz cleared away all obstacles to his redemption of and union with Ruth. Remember, the purpose of his heart was settled. He had made up his mind to redeem Ruth and to marry her. But he was an honorable man. He would not redeem her, he would not marry her, he would not have her unless he could do so in a way that would completely honor God and his holy law. So the nearer kinsman had to be dealt with before Boaz could take Ruth for himself. Therefore, he came to the gate of the city, called together the elders of the city, and spoke publicly to Ruth’s nearer kinsman, the man who was her nearer kinsman by virtue of her marriage to Mahlon. The conversation is recorded for us in verses four through eight.

    Clearly, the prominent subject of this passage is redemption. The word “redeem” is used nine times in these five verses. The purpose, or object of redemption is plainly stated in verse five. It is “to raise up the name of the dead.” The object of redemption, both typical and real, is to raise up the seed of a man who has died for the honor of that man.

    According to the law of God, (the law of God which was given to portray and point us to the Lord Jesus Christ),“the kinsman’s part,” the duty of the kinsman redeemer involved three things. The kinsman redeemer was obligated by the law of God to do three things. If he failed to do these three things he must bear public reproach for his failure (Deut. 25:5-10; Lev. 25:25-26). The kinsman redeemer must…

    Restore the inheritance of his impoverished relative.

    Procure the liberty of his brother who through poverty had been brought into slavery.

    Marry his dead relative’s wife and “raise up the name of the dead.”

    As Boaz did these things for Ruth, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has done all this for God’s elect. He has redeemed the inheritance we lost in Adam. He restored that which he took not away. He procured our liberty. By his blood he freed us from the curse of the law. And by the power of his grace he has broken the iron fetters that held us in slavery to Satan and to sin. By the power of his grace, by his omnipotent Spirit, our Kinsman Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ, is raising up the name of the dead in this world.

    A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD

    Redemption was always a matter of indisputable, public record. God arranged his law in such a way that throughout the history of Israel in the Old Testament, every transaction involving redemption was done in public, attested to by numerous witnesses, and recorded as a matter of public record, so that the transaction could never be nullified or disputed. As we read this fourth chapter of Ruth, several things stand out as matters of obvious significance.

    First, the matter dealt with here is a matter of great importance. Boaz came to the gate of the city, called the elders together, and a large crowd immediately assembled. They knew that something of great importance was about to take place. Something more was involved in this business than Ruth and Mahlon, Naomi and her daughter-in-law. That which was about to take place, that which was being discussed had something to do with the glory of God, the purpose of God, and the people of God. Redemption is a subject of immense importance. This is more than a doctrinal statement. It is the revelation of God’s glory (Rom. 3:24-26), the declaration of his purpose (Rom. 8:28), and the hope of his people (2 Cor. 5:21).

    Second, this business was transacted in a conspicuous, public place. “Then went Boaz up to the gate and sat down there.” Not only is the work of Christ in redemption a matter of vital importance, it has been accomplished in a public manner (Acts 22:26-27, 22-23). The law and the prophets all pointed to this as the climatic event for which God created all things. The apostles all speak of Christ’s work of redemption as the crucial issue of the gospel. As we saw in the previous study, the darkened sun, the earthquake, the opened graves, and the rent veil all attested to the fact that the man who died at Calvary was, as the centurion said, “the Son of God.”

    Third, redemption was a legal matter. It was a legal transaction. It was done according to the law; and it honored the law. There is an impressive scene before us (v. 2). Boaz took ten men of the city, ten elders in Israel, to be witnesses to this thing. I cannot help thinking that these ten men are suggestive of God’s holy law, summarized in the ten commandments. Our Lord Jesus fulfilled both the law and the prophets when he died as our Substitute and redeemed us. He fulfilled the righteousness required by the law’s commandments in his life (Jer. 23:6). He fulfilled the penalty required by the law’s justice (Gal. 3:13). He fulfilled the prophets, suffering to the last detail “all that was written of him” (Acts 13:29; John 19:28; Lk. 24:44-46). Thus, it is written, “Christ is the end of the law to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4).

    The Impotence of The Law

    The failure of the nearer kinsman to redeem Ruth demonstrates the inability of the law to save man. We are not told what his motives were. Whatever they may have been, the nearer kinsman preferred to suffer public shame and disgrace rather than redeem Ruth and thus mar his own inheritance. As we have seen, this nearer kinsman, more than anything else, stands out in the Book of Ruth as a picture of God’s holy law.

    The law of God is holy, just, and good; but it cannot forgive sin or extend mercy without marring its justice. The law always identifies and exposes sin. It condemns the sinner, without regard to or giving any consideration to age, environment, education, gender, parentage, or extenuating circumstances. - “The soul that sinneth, it shall die!” The law takes only one thing into consideration - justice, strict, absolute, unbending justice. It identifies sin, exposes sin, and condemns sin. It has no other purpose and no other ability (Rom. 3:19-20; 7:9; 8:3).

    All who attempt salvation by the law, all who attempt to get to God on their own merits, shall, like this nearer kinsman, bear the reproach publicly forever. What the nearer kinsman could not and would not do for Ruth, Boaz gladly did. And what the law could not and would not do for us, the Lord Jesus Christ gladly did. As Boaz was delighted to redeem Ruth, Christ was delighted to redeem his people, because of his great love for us (Rom 8:1-4).

    The nearer kinsman pulled off his shoe - a sign of disgrace, slavery, and disavowed ownership; and Boaz stepped into his shoes. Moses (the law) put off his shoes as a servant before God’s manifest presence. Believers, as the sons of God, have had the shoes of liberty and sonship put on our feet in the Father’s house (Lk. 15:22). The legalist (that person who attempts to gain God’s favor by his own works) is a slave, cursed by the very thing that makes him so proud (Gal. 3:10). We are the sons of God, accepted in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6; 1 John 3:1).

    “TO RAISE UP THE NAME OF THE DEAD”

    As Boaz assumed and discharged every duty of a kinsman for Ruth, so the Lord Jesus Christ assumed and fully discharged the whole work of redemption for us. Not only did Boaz buy the inheritance that Mahlon had lost, he bought it for Ruth particularly. He bought the field and bought Ruth for this purpose - “to raise up the name of the dead.” Soon Obed was born to Ruth and Boaz.

    Even so, our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us to raise up the name of the dead, to raise up a seed from among the fallen sons and daughters of Adam to serve him; and it shall be done! “A seed shall serve him.” “He shall not fail!”

    As Judah assumed all responsibility for Benjamin as his voluntary surety, the Lord Jesus Christ assumed all responsibility for God’s elect in the covenant of grace before the world began (Gen. 43:9; Heb. 7:22). The Son of God came into this world, lived, died, and rose again to save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). God the Father has given his Son, our Savior, the power to give eternal life to all his chosen seed (John 17:2). Therefore, we are assured that all who were given to Christ in the covenant of grace before the world began, all who were redeemed by his blood, all for whom he came into this world, he will present faultless before the presence of the divine glory at last (John 6:37-40; 10:16; 1 Cor. 15:28; Heb. 2:13). The immutability of God’s love demands it (Mal. 3:6). The steadfastness of God’s purpose demands it (Tit. 1:2). The justice of God’s character demands it. Augustus Toplady said it well --

    “Payment God cannot twice demand,

    First at my bleeding Surety’s hand,

    And then again at mine!”

    The intercession of Christ demands the salvation of those for whom he lived, died, and rose again (John 17:24). Indeed, the honor of Boaz, the honor of Christ, demands it. If he should fail to save those whom he came to save, if he should fail to fully, effectually, and everlastingly redeem even one whom he came to redeem, he must bear the shame forever; and that cannot be. Our Kinsman Redeemer shall, at last, see of the travail of his soul with complete satisfaction.

    “Blessed be the Lord which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel!”