Theme: Christ Our Redeemer (The book of Ruth)
Speakers: Vincent Bradshaw, Maks Vusik, Tim Vusik, Neil Gafurov, and Yan Kislitsa.
Place: Hartstone Bible Camp
Ruth: A Redemption Story
Believers and unbelievers alike recognize Ruth as a beautiful story. The German poet Goethe described Ruth as “the loveliest, complete work on a small scale.” At first blush, Ruth is a simple story of love and charity. Two widows, an old Jewess and a young foreigner, return to Israel after 10 years abroad (1:4), alone, broke, and seemingly without hope (1:20). They only have each other. However, Ruth the Moabitess, the younger of the two, is a believer. She comes to Israel from her native Moab, full of faith in YHWH God (2:12). As the story unfolds, Ruth, whom no ordinary Israelite would marry due to her race (1:13; Deuteronomy 23:3), marries a rich, godly landowner and close relative of Naomi named Boaz (2:1, 4). He likes her because she is a person of outstanding character (2:11; 3:11), and as a genuine believer (2:12), she is a true Israelite (more of what God desired spiritually from His chosen people than many ethnic Jews, Romans 2:27-29). As a result, Ruth becomes rich; is able to care for her mother-in-law Naomi (4:15); bears a son who will inherit and keep Naomi’s ancestral lands within the family, and continues a line of Judean men from Bethlehem who are the forefathers of both King David and the LORD Jesus Christ.
Ruth is a book of grace to disobedient Jew and outcast Gentile. For 430 years, the Jews were waiting to possess the Promised Land (Exodus 12:4). So when Elimelech and his wife abandoned the Promised Land, resided in the land of the enemy (Numbers 22:6), married off their Jewish sons to women from an idolatrous and incestuous race (Genesis 19:37) and lost everything, they could only expect doom. However, they do not get it! God raised up a woman of faith and excellence (2:12; 3:11) from an alien race who became a truer worshiper of YHWH than most ethnic Israelites. Because of her marriage to an exemplary and godly Jewish man, the family of sinful Elimelech and bitter Naomi (1:2) did not die, but grew, prospered and became famous not only in Israel but in Redemption history (4:21-22). Amazing grace!
Ruth is a book of faith righteousness. Some think that God’s sovereign, saving grace is a license to sin (Romans 3:8). No way - nothing could be further from the truth (Romans 6:2)! Boaz and Ruth are the mostly godly, spiritual, and fruitful people in the book but their primary trait is a reverent, surrendered obedience to YHWH’s principles and laws. When Boaz and Ruth wanted to marry, they first made sure their conduct was above reproach (3:14). They next made sure that their union did not tread on the rights of others (3:12; 4:6). Finally, they understood that their offspring was not for themselves, but for the preservation of the family of Elimelech and Naomi (4:10, 17). Boaz and Ruth put obedience to the principles of God before their own interests, and as a result received grace upon grace!
Ruth is a book about Jesus Christ. The ultimate Kinsman Redeemer, the One Who became flesh to be our Kinsman (Hebrews 2:14-15) and voluntarily sacrificed His life to become our Savior (Hebrews 2:9) is the LORD Jesus Christ. He is the One Who will ultimately restore sinners to an inheritance which they lost in Adam (Genesis 3:19; Romans 8:17); restore fallen Israel to the fullness of their own Promises (Romans 15:8); will redeem non-Jews who seemed shut out from the presence of God (Ephesians 2:13) and will be the ultimate Son of Boaz, born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:15-16), sitting on the Throne of David (Luke 1:32), reigning over the entire world forever (Romans 4:13).
