Ruth 4: The Kinsman-Redeemer

From an Evangelical Christian Perspective

Highlighting Boaz as a Type of Christ and Naomi & Ruth as a Picture of Israel and the Gentile Church

"Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer." — Ruth 4:14

I. Summary of the Book of Ruth

The book of Ruth is a beautiful story of hesed (covenant loyalty/lovingkindness) and redemption set during the time of the Judges. It shows God’s providential care in ordinary lives and points forward to the coming Messiah.

Chapter Overview

1. Chapter 1 – Loss & Loyal Love: Naomi is widowed in Moab. Ruth clings with hesed: “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). Orpah returns; Ruth commits to Naomi and the God of Israel.

2. Chapter 2 – Gleaning & Grace: Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz (a near kinsman). Boaz shows extraordinary kindness, protection, and provision — a picture of Christ’s care for the stranger and outsider.

3. Chapter 3 – Bold Request: Naomi instructs Ruth at the threshing floor. Ruth boldly seeks covering under Boaz’s wings (Ruth 3:9). Boaz agrees to redeem if the nearer kinsman declines.

4. Chapter 4 – Redemption & Fruit: Boaz publicly redeems the land and the bride. He marries Ruth. Obed is born. Naomi is restored. The genealogy from Perez to David (the Messianic line) is given.

Key Theme: God sovereignly works through human loyalty and redemption to bring about His purposes, ultimately leading to the birth of the Messiah.

II. Clear Application for Believers Today: Loving Faithfulness Like Ruth

The book of Ruth calls every believer to display hesed — steadfast, loyal, covenant love — in ordinary life and in our relationship with Christ. Here are six practical applications:

• Commit to God and His People: Like Ruth leaving Moab, choose Christ and His Church even when it is costly. Ruth declared, “Your God, my God.” Wholehearted allegiance to the Lord and His people is the foundation of faithfulness.

• Serve Faithfully in the Ordinary: Ruth gleaned humbly in the fields. God honors diligent, unnoticed service. Be faithful in small things; God often weaves them into extraordinary redemptive stories (gleaning → meeting Boaz → place in the lineage of Christ).

• Boldly Approach the Redeemer: Ruth made her request at the threshing floor. We are invited to come boldly to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). Christ covers us with His righteousness and redeems our past.

• Trust God to Redeem Your Story: From famine, widowhood, and foreignness came Obed, Jesse, David, and ultimately Jesus. No tragedy or brokenness is beyond God’s ability to bring beauty and eternal purpose. Your story can become part of Christ’s lineage of grace.

• Show Hesed to the Vulnerable: Boaz protected and provided for the widow and the foreigner. The Church must advocate for widows, orphans, immigrants, and the marginalized — reflecting the heart of our Redeemer.

• Live as the Bride of Christ: Ruth became Boaz’s beloved bride and co-heir. The Church (both Jew and Gentile) is the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25-32; Revelation 19). Respond with devotion, purity, and joyful expectation of the wedding supper of the Lamb.

III. Detailed Teaching Outline of Ruth Chapter 4

A. The Gate Transaction – Ruth 4:1-6

Boaz goes to the city gate — the public place of justice and business — and calls the nearer kinsman (deliberately left unnamed as “Mr. So-and-So”). Ten elders serve as legal witnesses.

• The Offer: Boaz presents the right to redeem Naomi’s family land (Leviticus 25). However, redeeming the land requires also marrying Ruth the Moabitess to raise up an heir for the deceased (levirate principle, Deuteronomy 25).

• The Refusal: The nearer kinsman declines: “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance.” He removes his sandal as the legal sign of transfer.

• Key Insight: The nearer kinsman pictures the inability of the Law to fully redeem the Gentile bride or restore the Messianic line. Only a willing, wealthy, near Kinsman can do both — pointing us to Christ.

B. Boaz Redeems the Bride – Ruth 4:7-12

• Public Declaration: Before the elders and people, Boaz announces he has bought the land and purchased Ruth the Moabitess to be his wife to raise up the name of the dead.

• The People’s Blessing: They invoke Rachel and Leah (builders of the house of Israel) and reference Tamar and Perez (Genesis 38), showing God’s grace bringing outsiders into the holy line.

• Grace Over Scandal: Both Tamar (Canaanite) and Ruth (Moabitess) are brought into the Messianic line through redemption. God’s grace overrides human scandal and foreignness.

C. The Fruit of Redemption – Ruth 4:13-17

Boaz marries Ruth. The Lord gives her conception and she bears a son, Obed (“servant” or “worshiper”).

• Naomi Restored: The women bless Naomi: “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a kinsman-redeemer… He shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life.” Naomi nurses Obed — a beautiful picture of restored joy.

• Typological Note: A son is born to Naomi (Israel). The Gentile daughter-in-law (Ruth/Church) bears the child that continues the line and brings joy and restoration to Israel.

D. The Genealogy – Ruth 4:18-22

The chapter closes with the ten-generation genealogy from Perez (son of Judah and Tamar, Genesis 38) through Boaz and Ruth to King David — the direct line to Jesus the Messiah (Matthew 1:1-6).

Highlighted Names: Boaz (the redeemer) and Obed (the fruit of redemption) stand out. This line demonstrates God’s sovereign grace bringing the Messiah through a Gentile woman’s faithful love. The 10 generations also relate to grace covering what the Law might exclude (Deuteronomy 23).

“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.” Deut 23:2

IV. Typology: Boaz as a Type of Christ

Boaz is one of the clearest types of Christ in the Old Testament as the kinsman-redeemer (go’el). He fulfills the qualifications perfectly and points to the greater Redeemer.

V. Typological Picture: Naomi (Israel) and Ruth (Gentile Church)

The story of Ruth presents a profound picture of redemption that includes both Israel and the Gentile Church.

Naomi – Represents Israel

Widowed and bereaved, returning from a kind of “exile” in Moab. Through the Redeemer and the faithful Gentile daughter-in-law, she is restored, has a son placed on her lap, and her name is honored again. This pictures God’s faithfulness to restore Israel.

Ruth – Represents the Gentile Church

A Moabitess — an outsider with no natural claim. She chooses the God of Israel by faith, works humbly, boldly seeks the redeemer, is covered by his garment, and is exalted to become the bride who continues the Messianic line. The Church is the bride called from the nations.

United in Redemption

Boaz redeems both the land (for Naomi/Israel) and takes Ruth as his wife. The fruit (Obed) brings joy to Israel and continues the line to David and Christ. Jew and Gentile are reconciled in the one Redeemer (Ephesians 2:11-22).

VI. The Torah Code in Genesis 38

In the Hebrew text of Genesis 38 (the chapter recording Judah and Tamar and the birth of Perez), using an Equidistant Letter Sequence (ELS) with intervals of 49 letters (7×7 — the number of divine perfection), the following names appear in chronological order of the Book of Ruth:

Boaz • Ruth • Obed • Jesse • David

This remarkable encoding — discovered in modern times but woven into the text millennia ago — connects the “scandalous” origin of the Perez line (Genesis 38) directly to the redemptive story of Ruth and the rise of the Davidic/Messianic dynasty. It affirms that the inclusion of Ruth the Gentile and the entire narrative was sovereignly orchestrated and prophetically signed by the Author of Scripture.

Important Note for Evangelicals: While this code is a striking confirmation of divine design (similar to other ELS patterns such as “Torah” in Genesis/Exodus), our primary authority remains the plain text of Scripture. Bible codes beautifully illustrate what God has already clearly revealed: His sovereign control over history and the centrality of the Messianic line through Ruth and Boaz.

VII. Conclusion & Gospel Application

Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer who has paid the ultimate price with His blood to redeem us from sin, death, and alienation. The nearer “kinsman” (Law, works, self-effort) could not redeem us — only Christ could and did.

• You Are His Beloved Bride: Ruth the foreigner became the cherished wife. You — whether Jew or Gentile — are now the bride of Christ. He covers you, provides for you, and shares His inheritance with you. Live in joyful devotion to your Redeemer.

• Display Ruth’s Faithfulness: In a world of easy exits, be known for hesed — loyal love to God, to your family, to the Church, and to the broken. God still writes redemption stories through ordinary, faithful people.

• The Story Points to Jesus: Every detail — the famine, the loyalty, the gleaning, the threshing floor, the gate, the marriage, the son — ultimately leads to the Son of David, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, our great Kinsman-Redeemer.

Come to the Kinsman-Redeemer. He is willing. He is able. He has already paid the price.