FINDING FAITHFULNESS IN DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES: LESSONS FROM RUTH - FINAL PART

 Faith Finds Redemption

Final Part

Ruth 4

In part three of this devotional, we left Ruth and Naomi in a place of waiting. Ruth had gone to Boaz and made her request: “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” (Ruth 3:9). She knew she needed a redeemer, but she could not yet see how God would provide one. As we come to Ruth 4, we discover more fully what that redemption would require and how beautifully Boaz points us to our greater Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Ruth had done all she could. She had obeyed Naomi’s instruction, humbly placed herself before Boaz, and made her need known. Now there was nothing left for her to do but wait. Naomi’s words in Ruth 3:18 remind us of this quiet place of trust, where human effort must end, and faith must rest in the work of another.

Ruth’s future depended on someone outside herself. She needed a redeemer who was able and willing to act on her behalf.

And in this, we see a beautiful picture of our own need. We, too, are unable to redeem ourselves. Our greatest problem is not merely difficult circumstances, disappointment, or uncertainty. Our greatest problem is sin, which separates us from God. We do not need someone who simply improves our lives for a season. We need a Redeemer who can rescue us completely. That Redeemer is Jesus Christ.

The Cost of Redemption — Ruth 4:1–6

In Ruth 4, we are introduced more clearly to the role of the kinsman-redeemer. This was a close relative who had the right to redeem and the opportunity to step in and help a family member in desperate need. The nearer relative had the first opportunity to redeem the land, but when he understood that accepting this responsibility would also mean taking Ruth as his wife, he was unwilling to proceed. 

Through this, we are reminded that redemption is not merely an act of kindness from a distance. It requires sacrifice. How much more clearly we see this in our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. He did not come simply to encourage us, improve our circumstances, or offer us a second chance. He came to redeem us, and that redemption came at a great cost. It cost Him His life. Jesus willingly laid down His life and paid the price for our sin with His own blood. The debt we could never pay was fully paid by Him. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…” Ephesians 1:7

The Willing Redeemer — Ruth 4:7–10

The nearer kinsman-redeemer had the right to redeem, but he was not willing to take that step of providing for Ruth and Naomi’s needs. Boaz, however, was willing. He not only had the ability to redeem Ruth; his heart was inclined to do it.

What a beautiful picture this gives us of Christ. Jesus did not save us reluctantly. He did not go to the cross because He was forced to. He willingly gave Himself for us, moved by love and grace toward sinners who could never redeem themselves.

“…Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us…” Ephesians 5:2

The Redeemed — Ruth 4:11–12

Ruth’s circumstances were beautifully changed. Remember where her story began: widowed in Moab, far from the people of God, and then entering Bethlehem as an outsider beside Naomi. Her life must have felt fragile, uncertain, and marked by loss. Yet as we come near the end of Ruth’s story, we see the kindness of God displayed through Boaz, her redeemer, who lovingly took her as his wife.

But Ruth’s story does not teach us that every painful circumstance will resolve as we hope. Rather, it points us to a deeper and greater blessing: the gift of redemption. The greatest blessing is not that God always gives us the life we imagined, but that He gives us Himself.

Often, our circumstances remain unchanged. Yet in Christ, we are forgiven. We are reconciled to God. We belong to Him. We are given a new identity and an eternal hope that cannot be taken away.

The Greater Redeemer — Ruth 4:13–17

At first glance, Ruth’s story seems to come to a beautiful close with her marriage to Boaz and the birth of their son, Obed. After all the sorrow, uncertainty, waiting, and faith-filled steps Ruth had taken, God had graciously brought redemption into her life. But as we continue reading, we discover that God was doing far more than Ruth could have ever seen.

Through Ruth came Obed. Through Obed came Jesse. Through Jesse came David. And through the line of David, many years later, came the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a beautiful reminder that the book of Ruth is not merely a love story between Boaz and Ruth. It is a story of redemption that points us to the greatest Redeemer of all. Boaz redeemed Ruth, but through Ruth’s redemption, God was preparing the way for Christ to come into the world.

Jesus is the true and greater Redeemer. He is the One who came to rescue sinners, pay the debt we could never pay, and bring us into the family of God. Ruth could not see all that God was doing. She did not know what would happen when she went to glean in Boaz’s field. She did not know what would come from approaching Boaz at the threshing floor. She did not know the outcome as she waited for Boaz to speak with the nearer kinsman-redeemer. And she certainly could not have known that her story would become part of the lineage of Christ.

But God knew.

Every step Ruth took in faith was held within God's faithful plan. What seemed ordinary, uncertain, and hidden from her view was being woven into a story far greater than she could have imagined.

And the same is true for us. We cannot see the whole story God is writing. We do not always understand what He is doing in the waiting, the uncertainty, or the quiet steps of obedience. But the gospel gives us something even better than knowing the future: we know our Redeemer.

Because of Christ, we know that our sin has been paid for, our redemption has been secured, and our hope is eternal. We may not know all that God is doing, but we can trust the One who has already come to redeem us.

My Redemption through Christ 

Ruth’s story reminds me that redemption is not something we can accomplish for ourselves. It is something another must do on our behalf. That truth is not only something I understand from Scripture but also something the Lord has made deeply personal in my own life.

I grew up hearing the Word of God. My parents faithfully taught me about the Lord, and through their testimony and instruction, I was often pointed to the truth of the gospel. But there came a time, as a young girl in primary school, when I began to understand that sin was not only something spoken about in church or read about in the Bible. Sin was my problem too. I came to realise that I was a sinner, and that because of my sin, I needed a Saviour.

One Sunday school lesson on John 3:16-17 became especially clear to me. I began to understand that God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, and that Jesus came not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. For the first time, the truth of redemption felt personal. I was not able to make myself right with God. I could not cleanse my own heart. I could not pay the debt of my sin. I needed a Redeemer.

And that Redeemer is Jesus Christ.

Just as Ruth needed someone who was able and willing to redeem her, I needed the One who was able and willing to redeem me. Jesus willingly gave His life in my place. He paid the price I could never pay. He died for my sin, rose again, and made the way for me to be forgiven and brought to God.

That is the beauty of redemption. It is not earned by our goodness, our effort, or our ability to fix ourselves. It is received by faith in the One who has already done the work on our behalf.

Come to the Redeemer 

Perhaps as you read Ruth’s story, you see more than Boaz’s kindness to Ruth. Perhaps you see your own need for a Redeemer too.

Have you received Christ as your Redeemer?

The Bible teaches that we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) None of us can make ourselves right with Him. But Jesus came to do what we could never do. He lived the perfect life we could not live, died in our place, shed His blood for our sin, and rose again in victory. 

Salvation is found in Him alone. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

If you have never trusted Christ as your Saviour, may I lovingly encourage you to come to Him today. You do not need to redeem yourself. You cannot. But Jesus is able. Jesus is willing. And all who come to Him in faith will find in Him a faithful and sufficient Redeemer.  

“that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10