Ruth 4- "The Redeemer's Line is Rescued"

James Reed's FORGE

In Chapter 4 we have the wedding of Boaz and Ruth. If we were looking for a case illustrating the law of God as given in Dt. 25:5, there is no better example. But there’s a lot more going on here than a study in case law. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is here in pictures, shadows, and symbols. And, as I’ve brought out since the first chapter, a descendant of this marriage will be David the King, and a descendant of David is the Son of David—the Savior, Jesus Christ. Remember when we covered the Book of Mark, how we learned that “Son of David” was one of the titles for the Messiah. The Son of David is the Bridegroom of His Church. His chosen Bride is the Church where both Gentile and Jew unite to worship the one true and living God. In this last chapter we will see how there was another in line to be Ruth’s husband, but Boaz legally bested him. We will see this marriage of Boaz and Ruth solemnized with the blessings of the neighbors. And, finally we will see the offspring of this marriage—Obed, the grandfather of David. Matthew Henery (Theologian, Wales, 1662-1714) speculated that the Holy Spirit directed King David to ensure that this Book of Ruth was inserted into the sacred canon of Scripture. King David may have wanted the world to know about his great-grandmother, her virtues, the fact that God saved a Gentile, and the providence of God. Be that as it may, the Holy Spirit is the one to place this Book right where it is for the edification of the Body of Christ—the Church, and He put it here because it is the inspired Word of God—not a work of fiction as even some biblical scholars claim.