Ruth 4:1 ESV, Ruth 4:2 ESV, Ruth 4:3 ESV, Ruth 4:4 ESV, Ruth 4:5 ESV, Ruth 4:6 ESV, Ruth 4:7 ESV, Ruth 4:8 ESV, Ruth 4:9 ESV, Ruth 4:10 ESV, Ruth 4:11 ESV, Ruth 4:12 ESV, Ruth 4:13 ESV, Ruth 4:14 ESV, Ruth 4:15 ESV, Ruth 4:16 ESV, Ruth 4:17 ESV, Ruth 4:18 ESV, Ruth 4:19 ESV, Ruth 4:20 ESV, Ruth 4:21 ESV and Ruth 4:22 ESV

Boaz goes to the gate, a public area where important matters are decided. The kinsmen-redeemer is offered a opportunistic chance for land, but backs off in fearing of losing his own inheritance when he is alerted that he must also take the Moabite woman, Ruth, as part of the transaction. Boaz steps in and buys the land and eventually marries Ruth, and they give birth to Obed, ultimately providing a glimpse into a long and significant genealogy which points to the bigger story that Ruth's story points to all along: that God's love never fails and will someday bring the greatest Redeemer into focus.

When the witnesses marry Boaz and Ruth, they reference Rachel and Leah which is a nod to the twelve tribes of Israel. Like the story of Ruth, there are constant allusions to parallel occasions of God’s goodness times in redemptive history. This story - while most directly impacting Ruth, Boaz and Naomi – is a profound and important milestone in our own Christian family history. We belong to God's story which is bigger than ourselves. We are heirs to that history and promise, and we are called to faith in Jesus Christ. We see God's love for His people modeled by Ruth and Boaz. They both have a desire to do what is right, empowered by God's Spirit. They eschew despair and sexual immorality despite opportunities for them to fall into it, driven above all by a desire to do what is pleasing to God.

We need to be transformed by the love and God in the same way that Ruth and Boaz are. Like Ruth, we can find ourselves in a place of fullness even after tragedy. At the end, she sits with a child on her lap and a husband by her side. We are reminded that in the midst of trial, we can trust His plan and care - not because we know how he story ends, but because we know that ultimately our inheritance is secure in our faith genealogy written ultimately by Christ. David, a man after God's own heart is a descendant of Ruth, but is actually foreshadowing the provision of a Most Righteous King, Jesus Christ. This love of God is embodied in Jesus Christ, David's greater Son, the One who has comes to save us from our sin so we might become children of God.

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