If you would go ahead and turn
with me to the book of Ruth chapter four. Ruth chapter four. When Ruth lay at the feet of
her kinsman redeemer, expressing her desire to be his bride, his
maidservant, and her desire to enter into a holy in eternal
union with Boaz, he entered into a covenant with her. He promised
her redemption. If you'll look at chapter three,
verse 13, he said, tarry this night and it shall be in the
morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman,
there was a near kinsman, Well, let him do the kinsman's part.
But if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will
I do the part of a kinsman to thee. As the Lord liveth, I can
swear by no higher, promise by no higher, as the Lord liveth,
I'll do it. Lie down until the morning, just
rest. It'll be taken care of. What a covenant that is. The
Lord's entered into a covenant with us. He's promised to save
us by His grace, His people. He promised her redemption, but
the law of God must be honored. A near kinsman had first claim
on Ruth. as I've already alluded in studies
before, that near Kinsman pictures the law, the law of God. So the law of God got to be held,
it's got to be honored, it's got to be upheld by Boaz, and
more importantly, the law must be honored and upheld by Christ
for us. The law of God has a claim on
all of us. Since the fall of Adam, we are
dead in trespasses and sin. The law of God has got to be
honored. It's got to be dealt with. God's law has to be kept on our
behalf in order for the justice of God to be fulfilled and us
to be saved. and we've got to be redeemed
from the curse of the law that we might become Christ's bride,
His church. Ruth must be redeemed that she
might marry, raise up children for her deceased husband's namesake
and future inheritance according to the law. She must be redeemed
by the kinsman who was closer and had first claim, or redeemed
by Boaz himself. But one thing's for certain, if Boaz had any power, and he
did, he was a wealthy man, powerful man, Ruth was going to be redeemed. And my, our Lord and Savior,
He's almighty, He's all-powerful, He's omnipotent, He's sovereign,
and we're gonna be redeemed. God's holy law has no claim,
has laid a claim on all of us, even the elect of God. The law
was given by God to show us that all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. How many have sinned and come
short of the glory of God? All of us, even those chosen
from the foundation of the world. Every blood-bought sinner, Brother
Gene often said, blood-bought, I love that. We are, we're bought
with a price, and that's the precious blood of Christ. Every
blood-bought sinner loves these words found in Galatians chapter
four, verses one through five. I won't turn you there, but listen
to them closely. Now I say, Paul said, that the
heir, as long as he is a child, he differs nothing from a servant,
though he be Lord of all. Though it all is one day gonna
belong to him as he's raised under his parents, he's no different
than a servant. but as under tutors and governors
until the time appointed of the Father. Even so we, when we were
children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But
when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son,
made of a woman, made under the law. Why? To redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. The law of God has a claim on
us, but our kinsman redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed
his people who were under the law that they might receive the
adoption of sons. And it was then that Paul wrote,
wherefore thou art no more a servant, not a servant of sin any longer,
but a son, and if a son, than an heir of God through Christ. We're heirs of God through Christ.
You know what that means? All that God has is ours. All
that Christ has, we're joint heirs with. And we all get it
all. Families divide up the pie. One
gets this, one gets that. Supposedly an equal share. But
with God and in His inheritance, we get it all. What a wondrous
thought. In order for Ruth to be redeemed,
the law of God's got to be upheld by the near kinsman who represents
the law or by Boaz who represents Christ. Now you keep that thought
in mind as we continue. And it's the same with us. As
we'll see tonight, there's a problem with the near kinsman redeeming
Ruth. And there's also a problem with
the law, our near kinsman redeeming us. And the problem was with
Ruth. And the problem is with us. You see, in that law, it was
weak through the flesh. And that's talking about us.
We couldn't keep the law perfectly. Therefore, the law cannot save.
There's nothing wrong with the law. The law is perfect. The law is holy. The problem
is with us. And if the near kinsman took
Ruth to be his wife, she would mar the near kinsman's inheritance. And we would do the same. You
see, the law's got to be kept. It's got to be kept fully. It's
got to be kept completely. It's got to be kept perfectly
or it cannot redeem us. If it did, it would be marred,
because God's holy justice would be compromised. But God's justice
will not be compromised. Boaz, Ruth's redeemer, he said,
I'm not going to rest until this work is finished. Jesus Christ
who was made flesh would not rest until he cried from Calvary's
cross, it is finished. And when he said that, it was
finished. And God said, that's enough,
I'm satisfied. And therefore, our salvation
was made sure and complete. And this is what we have a beautiful
picture of here in the fourth chapter of Ruth. Look at verse
one. Then went Boaz up to the gate. the city gate, and sat
down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom
Boaz spake came by, unto whom he said, Oh, such a one, turn
aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.
And he took 10 men of the elders of the city and said, set ye
down here. And they set down." Now, if you
can picture this in your mind, they're commencing to hold a
court. According to Deuteronomy 16,
verse 18, the gate of the city was the place of judgment. You can read about that in Deuteronomy
16. The gate of the city was the place where judicial cases
were heard and tried. The gate of the city is the place
where verdicts were made and given. At the gate is where people
were judged with just judgment. The gate was a place where justice
was decided. The gate is a picture of the
cross of Calvary. It was the most public place
where God's judgment was settled toward his people. Here, Boaz
goes to the gate, and he calls the near kinsmen, and then 10
elders, and he calls them to sit. And no doubt that the 10
elders represent the law. How many commandments are there?
There are 10. We'll talk more about that in a moment. God chose
the gate of the city for His law to be upheld. And the same
as God chose the cross for His holy law and justice to be upheld. God's judgment was settled at
the cross of Christ for his people, just the same as it was settled
for Ruth by Boaz at the city gate. That's what we have here.
We have a picture of the cross. So Boaz was doing this in the
most public way so that the law before all would be witnessed.
If he was to take Ruth to be his wife, he would take her legally
according to the law. And all that were there would
witness this that would happen this day. Boaz could and would
lawfully and honorably take Ruth to be his bride. And that's why
Christ went to the cross. That's right. None of these things
are hidden from us in the Scriptures. Acts 26 says, this was not done
in a corner. No, God did it for all to witness. And it's recorded in this book
that you hold in your lap this evening for us to also witness. When one was found guilty, the
gate is the place where God said that the justice of the law would
be withheld. The gate of the city is where
one guilty was put to death. Listen to this, Deuteronomy 17,
five. Then shalt thou bring forth that
man or that woman which hath committed that wicked thing unto
thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with
stones till they die. The cross was the public place
that criminals were executed. And our Lord Jesus died on the
cross and was pronounced as the guiltiest, most horrific criminal
that ever lived. But He was guilty of His people's
sin. He knew no sin. He had no sin. He committed no sin. He never
had a bad thought. And yet, He was made sin, and
He died as the guiltiest man that ever lived. All the sins
of all the elect throughout all time were put on Him, and He
died in their room and place. The cross was that public place
where God, the Holy Judge, poured out His holy and just judgment
and wrath and condemnation upon His Son, who died to glorify
God and to put our sin away. The gate is where Ruth's legal
redemption took place. And the cross is where our legal
redemption took place. But all God's people were redeemed
in the heart of God from the foundation of the world. But
it had to take place in time. The gate was the place that God
redeemed the poor from physical poverty. And the cross was the
place where God redeemed his people from their spiritual poverty. We who were poor and needy were
made rich and full only by what Christ did for us. Isn't that
good news? Oh, that's good news. That's
good, good news. God is a just God who must remain
just in order to be God. He can by no means clear the
guilty. He's too holy. He's too just. The soul that
sins, it shall die. He's too holy. He's too just. God's payment for sin is death.
Death is sin's wages. Divine justice is inflexible. It's unalterable. It's immutable,
never changing. It's got to be dealt with. Our
sin got to be dealt with. And Boaz had to honorably legally
make Ruth his wife. And Christ said to do so for
us. To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that
he might be just in the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Deuteronomy 32, four. He is the
rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment, a
God of truth and without iniquity. Just and right is he. Isaiah 45, 21, there is no God
else beside me, a just God and a Savior, and there's none beside
me. He tells us that twice, to reiterate
the fact that He's God, there is no other. Now listen to me
on this, though there's no blood shed at the gate This day, the
Boaz went, yet we still see the substitution of Boaz in the matter
of Ruth and Naomi's redemption. Christ, our Boaz, in our place,
in our room, in our stead, went alone to the gate, the cross,
in our place. And this is the picture. Boaz
is answering and upholding the law that he might lawfully, that
he might justly, that he might rightly redeem Ruth and Naomi
and take Ruth to be his bride. And immediately I think of 2
Corinthians 5, 21, for He, God, hath made Him, Christ Jesus,
to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him. If not for the substitution of
our kinsman Redeemer, we would all be in hell. And that's what
each of us would deserve. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law. How? Being made a curse for us,
for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. Now look at verse three. And
he, Boaz, said unto the kinsman, the nearer kinsman, he said,
Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth
a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's. And I thought
to advertise thee, or say to you to this day, 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.
The near encampment said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, Oh,
there's something else I got to tell you, he said. What day
thou buy'st 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 my own
inheritance, redeem thou my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem
it. I think this would be an appropriate
time to read Deuteronomy chapter five. Hold your place here. Look
back at this. This will help us. Deuteronomy
chapter 25, verse five. Look back at this. This will
give us an idea of what's going on here. Deuteronomy 25 verse 5. It says, 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 the 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. And if the man like not to take
his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the
gate unto the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses
to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel. He will not
perform the duty of my husband's brother. In other words, he will
not perform the duty of a dear kinsman. Then the elders of the
city shall call him and speak unto him. And if he stand to
it and say, I like not to take her, then shall his brother's
wife come unto him in the presence of the elders and loose his shoe
from off his foot and spit in his face and shall answer and
say, so shall it be done unto that man that will not build
up his brother's house. and his name shall be called
in Israel, the house of him that had his shoe loose. Now, back
in Romans chapter four, we see the significance of verse five.
Then said Boaz, What day thou buy'st the field of the hand
of Naomi, thou must also buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance." You've got to give her children and ensuring
that child a name in Israel and an inheritance to Israel. The
Nero kinsman has a right to redeem by law. And this Nero Kinsman
had to be dealt with before Boaz could legally and lawfully redeem
Ruth. And in verse six, the Nero Kinsman
said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance. Now, why did the man change his
mind to redeem? Why did the man refuse to take
Ruth as his wife? What did he mean by marrying
his own inheritance? Well, we're not really told,
but maybe he didn't have the money to buy the estate and also
finance a wedding. I don't know what weddings cost
back then, but it was a big to-do, and I'm sure expensive, much
like they are today. Maybe he already had a wife,
and with the expense of the addition of the land and another spouse,
and also don't forget Naomi. She's part of this deal too.
He's got to support another widow. And maybe the combination of
all was too much. He said, I can't redeem it. I
can't redeem it. This might put him in dire straits
and cause him to fall into bankruptcy to where he would overextend
himself and have to sell all that he possessed, which would
mar his inheritance and his estate. Well, whatever it means or why
ever he said it, as we've already said in this, the near kinsman
is a picture of the law. So keep that in mind. The law
had to be honored because God's elect fell in Adam. The law of
God had first claim on us in the sense that the justice of
God's law has to be satisfied. When the New York kinsmen heard
Naomi was selling her land by his own hand, he's willing to
take it out of Naomi's hand. Oh, I could use that piece of
ground, that close to where my other farm is, and that'd be
convenient to have. You see, friends, all the law
can do is take from us. All it can do is take from us.
If we think we've earned a righteousness by the law, the law is going
to take it. And he's going to declare us
guilty in spite of our so-called self-righteousness. If we think
that we've merited salvation by keeping the law, the law is
going to take it from us, declaring all our fruit to be dead and
worthless and sinful. When the kinsman heard that he
must buy also Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise
up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, the kinsman
said, I can't redeem it. I can't do it for myself, lest
I mar my own inheritance. And the near kinsman demonstrates,
now listen, the inability of the law to save a sinner. We
cannot be saved by the law. The law cannot produce life in
a sinner or forgive sin without miring its justice. Now, what
do I mean by that? Is the law then against the promises
of God? God forbid, if there had been
a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have come by the law. The New York Kingsman said, I
cannot redeem. The law bears witness that it
cannot redeem. But the near kinsman also gives
witness that Boaz couldn't redeem. You see the picture. The law
says I can't save, but the Savior can. The kinsman redeemer can. And that's our gospel. That's
our gospel. In verse six, the New Reconciliation
says, redeem thou my right to thyself, for I cannot redeem
it, but you can. You see, friends, for what the
law could not do, and that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
He condemned sin in the flesh, and He's our Redeemer. He's the
only one that can redeem us. Romans 321, but now the righteousness
of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophets, even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of
Jesus Christ, not in, of, unto all and upon all them that believe. You know what I believe? You
don't talk about my faith. I believe that Christ is faithful. and I believe that I'm saved
by His faithfulness. My faith is in His faith. That's
what that's talking about. As we read in Deuteronomy chapter
five, it was a sign of shame and disgrace when the brother
would not redeem his dead brother's house by marrying his widow and
having children by her. It was a disgrace. It was then
that the woman would come forth to the gate Loose his shoe and
spit in his face. And he was from that day forth
to be called in the nation of Israel, the house of him that
hath his shoe loosed. And it was a great shame and
dishonor for that to happen. We don't find Ruth doing this.
She's not even at the gate of the city this day. Boaz is there
for her. Her substitute is there. And
it's then that the near kinsman himself took off his shoe and
gave it to Boaz. Isn't that something? By this near kinsman confirming
that the transaction was done and finished, he took off his
shoe and gave it to Boaz. The law of God bows to the Lord
Jesus Christ and takes off his shoe and gives it to Christ and
says, you redeem. You're the only one that can. He bore testimony that Boaz had
redeemed Ruth righteously, and now she was his. There was no
dishonor given by Ruth. There was no dishonor given by
Boaz to the near kinsmen. You see, Christ didn't come to
dishonor the law, but to magnify it, and to behold it, uphold
it, and to fulfill it. Isaiah 42, 21, the Lord is well
pleased for his righteousness sake. He will magnify the law
and he'll make it honorable. And that's what we have a picture
of here. Christ magnifying the law and making it honorable. The near kinsman took off his
shoe to confirm that he could not redeem but that Boaz could,
and he submits to Boab's right to be the kinsman redeemer. And
you know what? Boaz did redeem her. Moses stood before Christ in
the burning bush. Moses represents the law. The
burning bush represented Christ. our kinsman redeemer. And he
said, Moses, take off your shoe. You own holy ground. So Moses
willingly took off his shoe. This shows us that the law recognizes
that it is the servant of Christ. and that it was Christ who successfully
redeemed his people from their sin. The holy law was given to
be the servant of Christ. The law was what? Our schoolmaster. To shut our mouths and declare
us guilty before God, and most importantly, to bring us to Christ. He was our schoolmaster to bring
us to Christ. And it's then that Christ comes
and reveals in our hearts, He reveals that He's honored the
law, that He's redeemed His people from the curse of the law by
being made a curse for them. And it's revealed to us that
we're justified by faith in Christ, not by something that we do.
What did Ruth do to be redeemed? Nothing. He said, you lay right
here and you rest. Don't give it a thought. I'm
going to see that you're redeemed. Either the near kinsmen will
redeem you, or I'll redeem you. But you're going to be redeemed.
So what'd she do? She rested. She rested. Boaz went to the
gate for her. Christ went to the cross for
us. You see the picture? It's a beautiful
picture. And after we're given faith,
we're no longer under the law, just as the near kinsman no longer
had any right to Ruth after Boaz bought her. She could have been
his, but he's not. But now he don't have any right
to her. Why? She belongs to Boaz. He redeemed
her. Galatians 3.24, wherefore the
law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be
justified by faith. But after that faith has come,
we're no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of
God by faith in Christ Jesus. And by him all the believer justified
from all things from which you could not be justified by the
law of Moses. Friends, Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Don't
have to go any further. All my righteousness is in Him.
Therefore now, when I stand before God, I have a perfect righteousness. It's His righteousness, but it's
mine. Because I'm married to Him. And
all that belongs to Him now belongs to me. Boy, that's good preaching. That's
good, that's the gospel. The law is not humiliated, but
rather honored when fulfilled by the kinsman-redeemer. Christ,
our kinsman-redeemer, Himself took the shame when He stood
in our place. Why the taking off of the shoe?
Well, it has to do with the refusal or inability to carry on the
seed. The carrying on of the seed in the New Testament refers
to the preaching of the gospel. You see, it's by and through
the preaching of the gospel that the seed of Christ is born into
His kingdom. It's by the foolishness of preaching
that God saves those that believe. And that seed of Christ is planted
within the heart. And it grows and it grows. Oh
my, the preaching of the gospel is the message of Christ as the
kinsman redeemer who satisfied the law by His blood and by His
death. and bringing the elect to God. He brings us to Him. Look at
verse 9. I'll finish up. And Boaz said
unto the elders, and to all the people, you better believe there's
some folks standing around listening and watching. He said, you are
witnesses this day that I have bought all that was the Limelex,
and all that was Chileans and Melons, of the hand of Naomi,
and moreover Ruth, the Moabitess." You know, she's called that almost
just like Rahab the harlot. The Lord, He never lets us forget
who and what we are by nature. David Edmondson, the sinner. All that was Chileans and Melons
of the hand of Naomi, who over Ruth the Moabitess, the wife
of Malon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name
of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be
not cut off from among the brethren and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day."
And all the people that were in the gate and the elders said,
we are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that
has come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which too
did build the house of Israel. And do thou worthily and ephratah
and be famous in Bethlehem. And listen, she was. She was
the great-great-grandmother of David. And let thy house be like
the house of Phares, whom Tamar bear unto Judah of the seed which
the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. Now the ten elders
were charged by Boaz to bear witness that Boaz had redeemed
Ruth. And the Ten Commandments, which
really represent the whole law of God bear witness that Christ
has redeemed His people. That's right. We can't keep any
of the commandments. Christ kept them all. And that's
the witness that God has, in the flesh, fulfilled the law
for us. All the people who saw this redemption
of Ruth were charged to bear witness to this agreement. And
Christ causes all his witnesses to declare himself to be the
successful redeemer of his bride, the church. And his resurrection,
as we say all the time, is the proof that God accepted his sacrifice
and this agreement. When Christ rose triumphant from
the death and the grave, God bore witness that Christ, our
Redeemer, satisfied justice and justified His people, purchasing
them for Himself. It was God's stamp of approval
saying that I'm satisfied. Death can't hold Him. The grave
can't hold Him. He's now at my right hand working
all his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants
of the earth. Now, like Boaz, Christ charges
His witnesses that they all bear witness that He indeed accomplished
the redemption of His people. That's the gospel message. That's
what we preach. Whether it's me, Gene, or anyone
else, we stand and say, it's finished. It's accomplished.
God did for us what we couldn't do for ourselves. That's the
message. That's the witness. That's the
testimony. The Old Testament law and the
prophets bear witness of Christ's faith, declaring that Christ
is the righteousness of God who redeemed His people. We've got
to be perfectly righteous to be accepted. We are in Christ,
our bold man. The Old Testament law fulfilled. Acts 3, 14, and 15. But ye denied
the Holy One and the just, that being Christ, and desired a murderer
to be granted unto you, speaking of Barabbas, and killed the Prince
of life, whom God hath raised up from the dead, whereof we
are witnesses." When Christ sends His redeemed,
the good news that He's purchased for us, He creates life in us
and He makes us His heavenly bride. He makes us His church. And like the father of the prodigal
son, God our Father says, bring forth the best robe. Bring forth
and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger. Listen. And shoes on his feet. That's not the shoe of the law.
Instead, He shods our feet with the preparation of the gospel.
We wear the shoes of liberty and sonship. Christ has made
it so. He's our great Redeemer. If the
Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8, 36. And can you imagine
Ruth's delight when Boaz went back to tell her? Oh, it's the
same delight you have when you've been told the gospel news that
your Redeemer saved you. Oh, it's a delight that none
but a believer can enter into. It's a joy that none but a child
of God can enter into. We wear the shoes of God's liberty
and freedom. And we're free, and we're free
indeed. Ruth is thinking to herself,
yesterday I was a poor Moabite without a penny to my name, gleaning
the handfuls left for beggars. That described me pretty well.
But they were handfuls of purpose that God had purposed for her.
And now the whole field belongs to her. because it belonged to
her husband, Boaz. So it is with every believer.
That's the believer's story. When Boaz reveals what he's done
for her, she will find that the field and everything that is
his is now hers. So it is with us. We see that
we're heirs of God and join heirs with Christ. May God be pleased
to make it so for His glory and our good and for Christ's sake.