Ruth 4

[MEST] Ruth 4

We can see that the book of Ruth is a lovely story... a love story. But this can't just be an interlude between the history of Judges and 1 Samuel. So now we must ask ourselves what God's doing behind all this...

[Read Ruth 4]

Boaz was a direct descendant of Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Jacob gave a prophecy to Judah on his deathbed _ "The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he comes to who it belongs." What does this mean?

Boaz's mom wasn't a Jew, she was Rahab, the first Gentile to love the God of Israel. So, we have a mixed family tree: jamar was raped, Rahab was a Gentile prostitute, Ruth was a Moabite widow. And yet these are the ancestors of Jesus. What could this tell us?

This chapter focuses on 3 people; a bridegroom, a bride, and a baby...
First, the bridegroom...

In Lev. 25:23-34, and Deut. 25:5-10 we see two laws. What are the purposes of these laws? And how do they apply to this story in Ruth?

What is a "redeemer"?

How is Boaz Ruth's redeemer?

And how is Jesus our redeemer?

Now, not just anyone could perform the kinsman-redeemer's duties. It had to be a near kinsman. This was a big problem for Boaz, because someone else in Bethlehem who was closer related to Ruth. How does this parallel to Jesus?

Also, in order for Boaz to become the kinsman-redeemer, he had to be able to pay the redemption price. Ruth and Naomi were too poor to redeem themselves, but Boaz had all the resources needed to set them free. How does this parallel to Jesus?

The kinsman-redeemer had to be willing to redeem. This nearer kinsman wasn't. Why?

From our point of view, salvation is free. But from God's perspective it's a very costly thing. How?

Why take off a shoe? [Gen. 13:17 / Deut. 11:24 / Josh. 1:3]

[Activity]> In the past, we've compared Boaz to Jesus. How else, in this chapter, is Boaz like Jesus?