There Is Redemption for Your Life: Ruth 4:1-12

You're listening to The Bible Guys, a podcast where a couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in practical ways. Well, good morning, everybody. My name is Chris. It's good to be back. Chris. Jeff. Yeah, you're Jeff. We are the Bible Guys. We want to welcome you. Thank you for tuning in and or you know watching. Yes, Yes, this big day today is going to be awesome. And the reason is we have a repeat of a really cool game that we played. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, it says. Actually this the way that Desiree wrote it says, she says. A couple of weeks ago, we introduced a different segment called wrong Answers Only, where Jeff had to intentionally give wrong answers to Chris's questions. This time, Jeff is going to ask questions and we'll see how out there Chris can be with his answers. Right, So, I think challenge, I think. I think one of your questions last time was something like what's a good gift to give your wife on the anniversary or something scale. So that's the kind of thing you're looking for. So it's it's an absurd answer to it's a terrible answer to a legitimate question. Yes, yeah, which is why it's called wrong answers only you know it's so appropriately titled. Yes, okay, okay, So so you're looking for absurdly wrong answers. And by the way, just so everybody knows, you have not even thought about the question. No, so I just with questions. Yeah, I'm struggling. So here we go. What is the most impressive thing you could think to say? Yeah, at dinner with Zach Effron. Ever since your car wreck, you look terrible? Oh wow? Really yeah. People think he has like botox and like he had worked one, but he actually gotten a massive car wreck and had had to reconstructive surgery. He looks terrib So he looks terrible. So you're telling him the truth. But you feel like, I feel like that's the best answer, the best worst answer you can come up with. Okay, I mean, it's the one thing. It's the gaping thing. I mean, it's it's the it's the elephant in the room. Yeah that's true. Uh, if you could add one incredible talent to your to your list of talents, what would it. Be, huzow, Because I mean, you you're. An incredibly talented person. I mean, just loads and loads of talent. To master the art of doing nothing. Yeah, listen, go like, oh no, he's got that one down. I just need more practice. Just honey, leave me alone. I'm practicing. You're breaking my concentration. I got to be better than the breakdancers from Australia. Okay, Oh, what would be the the best thing you could think to text to our our entire text group for fantasy football? Because you are texting like a fiend right now to the fantasy football Yeah, everybody sends us. Somebody sends out a message and is the first one to respond. Yeah. The best thing you text the fantasy football league is this. That Jeff's probably gonna win again this year? No, No, the NFL is rigged and it doesn't matter anyway. Okay, Okay, this is hard, Yeah it is uh Okay. And then if you had the name your pet after the last thing you ate, what would it be called? The squirts? Did you have? Did is that? Did you have a pop? Then? Is that it? Okay? Yeah? Okay, okay, those are hard. It's hard to come up with good questions along those lines. Do you need another one? Yeah? You know what to be honest with you. I thought your answers were great last time, but on the receipt being on the receiving end of this, this is really tough. They're hard to come up with absurd answers that aren't like, yeah, it's just hard. It's just difficult. How about this one, what is the best if if you had to change your voice to a movie character's voice, what's the best movie character voice? Maybe you have to answer with a bad answer. See that's like I can't then I can't do an impressive movie character's voice. Okay, but that's correct. How about uh bueller bueler. Okay, there you go. Or I would think as far as like a terrible movie will be like pee wee herman. Oh my word, terrible terrible. Yeah, that'd be terrible. Okay, it's cherry. Okay. Well, hey, that's a hard one. That is really a tough yes segment. I'm not sure. I like you should ask all the questions from now on and I'll answer. I don't. I don't know why my brain didn't work to no. No. It's a hard one, man, It's I wasn't asking great questions either. Well, yesterday I went to work and we were in meetings and I was getting everything good, good for you, good, good, yeah, good, But I was I was getting everything wrong. And Trey's like, Tree goes, what's the matter with you today? And I was like, I don't know. And then I'd come out and then then I'd like somebody would say something, and I would like talk for like ten minutes and say no, let's no, don't do that. And then Trey goes, I was just meaning this, and I was like, oh, He's like, what's the matter with you? I'm like, I don't know. Poor Chris, and you did like eat well, listeners, pray for Chris. Mine comes and goes. At this age, my. Wife bought me gummies for h adhd oh really yeah, these little uh natural all natural something apparently not good. I needed double I need up my doses gummy. All right. So we have been in the Book of Ruth and just to really, if you missed last week, I think it'd be worth going back and catching up on a few of those. It's just a few, I think, what three episodes last week. But such a beautiful story of well, quite honestly, you're gonna find out today, a beautiful story of redemption. So we're gonna look at Ruth chapter four. And Ruth has approached the guy that could be what is called the Kinsman Redeemer, which we'll talk about. He is very interested in her and is trying to find a way to marry He's a cousin, a cousin of her deceased husband. Deceased husband, and so yeah, and so she was she was picking corn from his from his brain, and then he actually said no, no, no, no, no, come come with me. You can have anything you want, right, and he sends her home with gifts, with extravagance. And this is where we pick up too, and she lets him know, Hey, if you asked, I'd probably say yes to marriage. Yes, And so he goes, hey, let me go sort this out with because there was somebody else that was closer to her in the opportunity to marry her. Right, So they had this whole hierarchy. We'll talk about it as to how people can get married. But anyways, so in Ruth chapter four, verse one, it says Boaz went to the town gate and took a seat there. Just then the family redeemer he had mentioned came by. So Boaz called out to him. Come over here and sit down, friend, I want to talk to you. So they sat down together, and then Boaz called ten leaders from the town and asked them to sit as witnesses. And Boa said to the family redeemer, you know Naomi who came back from Moab. She's selling the land that belonged to her relative Alimelech, and I thought I should speak to you about it so that you can redeem it if you wish. If you want the land, than by it here in the presence of these witnesses. But if you don't want it, let me know right away, because I am next in line to redeem it after you. And the man replied, all right, I'll redeem it, and then Boas told him, of course, your purchase of the land from Naomi also requires that you marry Ruth, the Moabite widow. That way she can have children who will carry on her husband's name and keep the land in the family. Then I can't redeem it, the family redeemer replied, because this might endanger my own estate. You redeem the land, I cannot do it now. In those days, it was custom in Israel for anyone transferring a right of purchase to remove his sandal and hand it to the other party, and this publicly validated the transactions. So the other family redeemer drew off his sandal, as he said to boas you by the land. And then Boaz said to the elders and to the crowd standing around, you are witnesses that today I have bought from Naomi all the property of a Limelech Kilian and Malan, and the land I have acquired. And with the land I have acquired Ruth, the Moabite widow of Malan, to be my wife. This way she can have a son to carry on the family name of her dead husband, and to inherit the family only property here in his hometown. You're all witnesses today. Then the elders and all the people standing in the gate replied, we are witnesses. May the Lord make this woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, from whom all the nation of Israel descended. May you prosper at ephra Hath and be famous in Bethlehem. And may the Lord give you descendance by this young woman, who will be like those of our ancestor Perez, the son of Tamar, and Judah. There you go. That's a big long speech. Yeah, well what weird traditions. Yeah, it was customary for him to take off the sandal and hand it to the person. Like what is that about? Why the sandal? I don't know. Yeah, And he's like and he's like, you're all witnesses. I'm holding the sandal. You see it. You see the sand? So weird. I'm sure there's a good reason for it. I'm sure there is smart enough to know it. Well, everything was so symbolic, everything was so you're right there. You want you want to ask Ai seriously? Yeah, yeah, I'll ask right now. Oh wow, let me see in Ruth Wow four, why did Boaz exchange sandals. With the Redeemer? With the Redeemer? There you go, let's see what it says. It was a symbolic act that was customary in ancient Israel as a way to confirm and legalize the transfer of property or rights. Right, But they don't say one in the contact of this story. It just explains what he was doing. The sandal likely symbolized walking on or owning the land, so giving it away was a way of saying, I give up my right to walk on this land or to own it, and I give that right to you. You know what, AI, isn't that smart? I don't believe that. That's pretty slick. It is pretty slight. That makes sense, right, So this act was a public legal gesture witnessed by the elders and the people at the city gate, making the transaction official and binding. I mean, I figured it had something to do with walking. I wasn't really thinking about walking. Somehow, I'm giving up my right to walk on this land. And now it had something to do with like symbolizing the journey of life or something. Right. So I'm not saying I think the AI is always right, but it's that's a pretty good if you're listening, you know what they say. If you don't, if you can't make it, fake it. Yeah, yeah, there you go. It's funny. So that that might be it. Yeah, it's right to walk on the lane. So so a kinsman redeemer. Right, yeah, so this is so important. Yeah, this, it really is. So when I was looking up the Kinsman Redeemer, many of us know that Jesus is called the kinsman redeemer, right, So it actually gave me a reference to Hebrews Chapter two verses eleven through eighteen is sort of you know, a good passion that talks about that also references Psalm one eleven nine, like, for instance, Some one eleven nine says he has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. Holly and awesome is his name. And there were four requirements of a kinsman redeemer. This was the law of the kinsman redeemer. If it is listed for qualifications which were necessary for a man to fulfill the role of a kinsman redeemer, it was only when a man possessed these four qualities. Blah blah blah. Okay. Number one, he must be a kinsman. The passage is very explicit that this redeemer must be related to the one whom he is going to help or buy out or assist. Number two, he must be free himself. Number three he must be able to pay the price. And number four he must be willing to pay the price. Right, and so Jesus then you know, buys us. Yeah, So let me just clarify, this passage didn't use the word kinsman redeemer said family and it's the same, right, So you and I we grew up with King James. And so we think of that theologically with the phrase kinsman redeemer. And all the songs that talked about it. That's right, but. Kinsman just means family member, right, So this is a family redeemer. And so in that context, then using those four things that Jesus was the is our kinsman redeemer. The idea being so if you don't know, Ruth's husband died, she's a Moabite, she's not a Jewish woman. Her husband had died. Naomi is her mother in law. Naomi decides to move back from Moab back to Bethlehem. In Bethlehem, Ruth notices this guy, Boaz, and she starts harvesting the extras, the leftovers in his field, which was part of the Jewish law at the time to take care of poor people. And he noticed her and went, oh, hey, you can pick these better things, and was kind of flirting a little bit in the way that, you know, the sophisticated way that they would have flirted without being inappropriate. So then Naomi goes, hey, wait a minute, he's in line to be your kinsman redeemer. And what that is is there was a law, there was no safety net for social safety net for widows. Right, And so the law opened up this opportunity that a family member of the deceased person. So in this situation, Ruth's husband, a family member, the next in line, a brother, a cousin, whatever, could marry the wife of the deceased man and then provide for her, whether that meant that they were going to enter into you know, physical relations or not. What he's doing is he's bringing in her house to take care of her. If she is young enough and does not have any children, and he doesn't have any children, then he can then they can have children together. And partly what that does is continue the line of the other family member too. So there's all these things. So the requirement then would be first of all, that he would be free, that he would be a family member, that he would be willing, I mean able, cable to pay the price, and that he would be willing to do so. And that's exactly what Jesus is. So, you know, we are hopeless and without help. There is no safety net for us unless somebody rescues us. Right, And that's what Jesus did, is he was free, he was free from sin, He could pay the price for us when we couldn't and he had the ability to and did. Yeah. And if you think about it, it's so awesome to try to think of all the number of ways, the millions of ways. It just seems like mathematically it's probably not millions, but the odds are beyond billions and trillions and guad brillions that Jesus would be able to fulfill every prophecy, right, and over three to you know, sometimes people say up to four hundred prophecies, but at least over three hundred prophecies, and then he has to be related. So Jesus then was born of a virgin, and he becomes human, and so he becomes one of us. Therefore he is one of us. He is a kinsman of the human race. God who created us became one of us, right, and so he. Can qualify because we're all sons of Adam. Yes, that's right. Yeah, and he's the second Adam, right, that's right. So so yeah. And by the way, this law of marrying widows, uh, that carried on from this time in Ruth all the way up to Jesus's day. Yes, yeah, right, which is why I remember when they asked they had a question for Jesus, and they said, okay, let me give you a scenario if one guy, you know, if one guy dies and then the brother marries her and seven brothers marry or who she married to in heaven, remember it. And it's because of this law. Yes, it's the law of the Pentitook. It's found in Leviticus where it talks about you know, this social safety net that you're referring to. So then it might seem weird for our listeners. Right, he bought land and got ruth. Right, that feels weird a little bit to our sensibilities that what in the world he's purchasing a wife feels weird. So you have to understand the concept of a dowry. You and we've done a lot of work around like the Pocots and they do a dowry as well. Right, And this also is a part of the fact that there is no social safety net. So he literally, he says, so that she'll have an inheritance. So what he's doing is he's purchasing her dowry, which then if he dies, that's her. Basically, what he does is before they say I do, he paid for her life insurance, his life insurance policy. Right, that's what he did. So he went and bought this land that is now permanently her dowry. If he didn't own the land and he died six months later, she would have nothing because she wouldn't technically be qualified for his land if he had other family members that could qualify for it. So she instead. What he did is he went and bought her ex or her former husband's land, and her brother's in law's land, and her father in law's land. He bought it all that let him provide for Naomi. That's what he was doing was for Naomi, that's her retirement, and helped purchase this life insurance policy for himself so that Ruth would be taken care of for the rest of her life no matter what happened. It was a brilliant system. So when you and I look at it, he seems to be buying land and Ruth gets thrown in on the deal. Or on the other hand, at one point there's a sentence in there it seems like what he's doing is he's purchasing Ruth. But that's not it. It's what he's doing is he's paying the price so that she could be provided for forever, which again is what Jesus did. Yes, it's more about responsibility and the law, right, and as opposed to an exchange of you know, a price. Right. But I mean it would be like if a guy goes to a girl today in our culture and said, hey, I'd like to marry you, and she goes, oh, that'd be really nice, and then he says, just so you know, I just bought a ten million dollar life insurance policy, and she goes, oh, yeah, I'll marry you right, right, right, So or they stand in front of the pastor and the pastor is like, you know, do you, Bob Johnson take this woman and he goes yes. But before we get to that point, I have I just purchased a ten million dollars life insurance policy, right, And so then the dad goes, oh, yeah, that sounds good, go ahead, right. That's kind of what happened. Is it's making sure that she's forever cared for and taken care of, which is again what our kinsman redeemer did. This is why the Bible talks about Paul. You know what Paul says this in Corinthians. He says, don't you know that your body is not your own, for you were bought with a price, right right. Therefore, glorify about God in your body. And there's multiple times where the Bible says, as Christians were not our own anymore. That Christ bought us, He paid for us with his blood. It's why Jesus said on the cross to tell ustite. Right, it's paid in full. Is he paid the price, that kinsman, redeemer. But what he did is he didn't just buy us for himself. He provided for us for the rest of eternity, right right, it's really neat. It's a neat picture. Yeah. You know the idea of redeem you know we we don't you know, you take one thing and you you exchange it for another. You know, we could redeem like with a coupon, right, this coupon is equal to that. It's it has value. At Chuck e cheese, you could back when you use. Yeah, you redeem the. Sure redeem the tickets, yeah, the tickets. Yeah. But you know that's what you do. You have to have something in order to get something else, and that's something has to be value, and that the thing that you hold is is valuable. So we we redeem in our lives all the time. Sounds like a you know, a word that is reserved for a lot of church. You know, a lot of churches use the word redeem a lot and a lot of the songs. And I would just say, no, no, we that redeeming is a part of our everyday lives. It's just that we probably don't view it that way. Well, we were owned by our sin, right, right, So the debt that we owed, we we were owned by our sin. And then Jesus came in as our kinsman redeemer, as our family redeemer, and he paid everything necessary because he was able to and because he wanted to, and he provided for us for the rest of eternity, and and the whole story, the whole concept of redemption is based and rooted in love. Right, the King loved us and paid the price when nobody else could or would, and when we didn't have the ability to either. So do you remember that old song he paid a debt? He did not? Oh yes, he paid a debt? He did not. Oh debt I could not pay. I needed someone, yeah to wash mys and okay, so yeah. And I haven't thought of that song in like a thousand years. I know it always comes up in my brain, you know, all these old songs. Did I ever tell you the prank that I paid it with a dowry? Did I ever tell you that prank? A good friend of mine had a son in law and you know, engaged to his daughter, right, so just a future son in law. And she was crazy about like Kroger organic produce, and so he fabricated a stationary and emailed them and said, this is Kroger. Apparently all the produce that you've been buying for the last five years has not been organic, right, and so and so like there was this elaborate prank, right, and so she literally called them and like chewed them out, and they're like, what are you talking about? Like it was hilarious. And so anyway, she was so upset, and I was the one doing the wedding, right, and then you know, there's like a really rich, fancy kind of kind of family, and so she says, I want you to think of a way to help me pay him back. So I came up with this. I literally went online like Canva, you know, and did like this entire packet and sent him a packet and said, okay, well, in order for me as a pastor of this church that they belong to. In order for you to perform this wedding, you have to choose which dowry you're going to pay to the church. Okay, now listen. And I had like three thousand, seven thousand, ten thousand, and twenty five thousand, right based on how much he loved her, Bason, how much he loved her now and and by the way, it was, I did it. I did it up, baby, I like the twenty five thousand was like like like buying goats, like for our global partners, and like you know, buying sewing machines for the women of India. I mean, like we're adopting children, right, Like I had all like attached to something, all the legitimate I wrote it all out, everything else, and I sent it to him and he goes, what's this? And I called him on the phone. I was just the jet. I was totally jet. I said, listen, you can choose whatever you want. The three thousand, the seven thousand to ten thousand and twenty five thousand, I said, But just so you know, I've been doing this for like seventeen years, and I don't know a single person that has not chosen the twenty five thousand. But it's up to you, that's what I said. I go, but it's up to you. Yeah, And I was like, so, I'll let you know. And then and then literally he goes back to the to the to the wife, to the you know, and says and says, is this real? And and they're like yeah, And they let it play out for like for like a month. Well I wasn't a month. It was probably two weeks. Wow. Yeah, that's pretty funny. That's crazy. So then they wind up literally, if you're wondering how the story end, they live happily ever after. Right, this is one of the great love stories of the Bible. I wish we could have dug in just a little bit more, but we read most of it. And then they are the great great great great great great great great great. I think it's eight generations grandparents of King David. Wow. So it's either because there's a list there at the end of the Oh yeah, yeah, no, no, no, no, no, I'm sorry, I read it wrong. Perez, I went from pez so bo As was the father obd Ovid was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David. So these are the great These are just the great grandparents four generations. Yeah, so, uh, that's really cool because Boaz and Ruth become the grand great grandparents of of King David. David is the lineage, the line the family, the royal line of Jesus, and so ultimately Boaz and Ruth are in the lineage of Jesus right now. That's also family members. So just a really beautiful story. Anyways, very cool. Listen, that is our time, so hopefully we'll see you next time on the Bible Gush