‘And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance; redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.’—Ruth, iv. 6.

It has been my sacred privilege to speak lately more than once on the great subject of redemption as taught in the Old Testament, and the last time I did so I directed your attention to the law of redemption, as laid down in the book of Leviticus. But that law conveys a very imperfect idea of the redemption by our Lord and Saviour. In some respects there is a remarkable agreement, but the type falls utterly short of the reality. Let me mention a single instance. If the kinsman came forward to redeem either the person or property of the debtor, the effect of that redemption was to restore the ruined man to his liberty and his home. The forfeited property was restored, and the bondman became free; but there it stopped. The poor man was no better off after redemption than he was before he was sold. All that redemption did for him was to restore him to his original position. Here, then, you see in a moment the enormous difference between this Levitical redemption and the blessed work of our most blessed Saviour. He raises man by redemption to a position far above his position before the fall. Adam in Paradise had nothing to compare with the sacred inheritance of the saints of God in the kingdom of our Lord. Man, as represented in Adam, was far below the angels; but as redeemed in Christ Jesus, the second Adam, is high above them. Man in Adam had his inheritance on earth, but redeemed man in Christ Jesus is made heir to an ‘inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him.’

This point is very well illustrated by the case of Ruth. The history of Ruth is not unlike that of Joseph—a remarkable illustration, though never declared to be a type. We may, therefore, accept the illustration, though we must not ascribe to it a divine, or typical, authority.

Turning to chapter i., we find that Elimelech, a man of Bethlehem, had property in Bethlehem-judah, and in consequence of famine and subsequent poverty, had emigrated with his wife and two sons to Moab. When there, both his sons married, but before there was any family born to either of them, both they and their father died. The three women, therefore, were left widows, and the famine having abated, Naomi decided to return. She appears to have gone back to the old home at Bethlehem, but said that her name should be no more Naomi (pleasant), but Marah (bitter), for the old house had lost its joy. After her return she struggled on, with Ruth as her companion. At length Boaz, the great man of the neighbourhood, ‘a mighty man of wealth,’ became acquainted with their circumstances, and most kindly interested himself in their condition. Being related to Elimelech, he was prepared to step in, and act the part of a kinsman, by redeeming the property from sale. But in this there was a difficulty, for he was not the next of kin, and therefore had no right to redeem (ch. iii. 12). But when he who was next of kin heard of it, he declined to act, as he could not undertake the burden. Boaz, therefore, undertook to pay the redemption price himself. Is there not a remarkable illustration there of the sacred work of our Kinsman, for when all others failed, though bound by no responsibility, He freely undertook to redeem us Himself? Thus the price was paid, the property was redeemed, the family inheritance was preserved, and it is not at all improbable that it was in that very farm that Jesse lived, and David spent his boyhood.

But I do not want to dwell on the property, but rather to draw your attention to the case of Ruth. It was the stipulation of the covenant that Boaz should redeem all that belonged to Elimelech and his sons, and therefore he was to receive with the property the widow of the deceased Mahlon. It was a strange law that gave him such a power, or rather imposed on him such a duty. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ has raised the marriage-tie to a sacred position, which would render any such regulation quite impossible now. But it was the law in the time of Boaz, and he acted on it when he redeemed the land.

But now I want you to observe carefully the result.

If the famine had not reduced Elimelech to poverty, and so compelled him to emigrate to Moab, he and his sons would have remained in humble life on their property at Bethlehem, and as for Ruth she would have dwelt unknown in the mountains of Moab. The famine, therefore, was the first link in the chain. God’s links are often very different to man’s plans. But after Naomi’s return, it is clear that she and her daughter led a struggling life, and were reduced so low that their property was advertised for sale. If all had gone well with them, they would apparently have been just able to live, and as it was, they were very glad of kind and generous help. But now observe the effect of redemption, and see how it raised Ruth above the position which either she herself, or the family of Elimelech, had occupied before the time of their distress.

There are two things to be noticed.

(1.) She became the bride of the man who had redeemed her. Before the redemption he was kind to her, and gave her six measures of barley into her veil. But by virtue of the redemption he made her his own, received her to a share of all he had, and bound himself to her by the sacred tie of a life-long affection. Now have we not here a remarkable illustration of the blessed truth that by redemption we are raised to a position incomparably higher than that from which man originally fell? The Church of God is not like the young gleaner receiving a few shekels of barley as a generous gift; but by redeeming blood it is raised into the position of the Bride of the Lamb, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Look at the description of this union as the result of redemption in Eph. v. 25: ‘Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.’ If, therefore, we have redemption through His blood, we are not merely permitted to glean behind His reapers, but we are brought into a relationship the most sacred and intimate that it is possible for the human heart to imagine. We live in His presence, we are made partakers of His kingdom, we may rest in His love. His promise is, ‘As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.’ And even when we are most deeply and painfully humbled at our own shortcomings, and at the sad coldness of our own hearts, we may think of Him not only loving us, but rejoicing in His love, admitting us to the most sacred confidence, and permitting us with the holy intimacy of a reverent affection to pour out our whole heart before Him. If, then, it were an elevation to Ruth to become the bride of the ‘mighty man of wealth,’ oh, what an honour is it for such as we are to be clothed with the white robe of His spotless righteousness, to be called by His grace into fellowship with Himself, to be loved by Him with an everlasting love; and, finally, presented to Him in spotless holiness to be one with Him for ever! How infinitely higher this is than anything enjoyed by Adam before the fall!

(2.) But this was not all, for by the act of redemption Ruth was brought into a special relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In the genealogy of our blessed Saviour there are only three women mentioned, one of whom was Ruth. I have no doubt in my own mind that this narrative was written, and preserved in the canon of Scripture, to prepare the way for that mention of Ruth in the genealogy; for I believe that the great object of the Old Testament is to trace the sacred line that terminated in the birth of the promised seed. The whole history follows that line, and all collateral branches are passed by without any special record. By the act of redemption, Ruth was bought into that sacred or royal line: she became the one woman of her generation that was lineally connected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesse, the father of David, was her grandson, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of David, was her seed. She was therefore brought by the act of redemption into union with Him, and so are we. Of course there is a vast difference between the two forms of union. She was the mother, we the children. He drew His human life from her, we receive our divine life from Him. In her case it was the tie of parentage or motherhood; in ours that of sonship. He was the promised Seed in which all nations of the earth are blessed; and as such He was her seed, and our Saviour. But though there was this marked distinction, in both cases redemption led to union; and if it were an honour to Ruth to be in the chosen line from which He sprang, is it not indeed an honour to such as we are to be admitted amongst the chosen family who are blessed in Him? Remember the words of the Apostle connecting sonship with redemption, Gal. iv. 4: ‘When the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.’ The effect of redemption therefore is so to identify us with the Son of God that we ourselves in Him become sons. We are redeemed from the curse and made one with the Son of God, so that we may go in before the God of glory, and there cry Abba, Father. Ye then, who have redemption through His blood, accept your position, and be not afraid of claiming your union. As Ruth was brought into the same line of parentage, so are you into that of sonship. Act, therefore, as sons. Speak to your Father as your Father. Abide in Him: walk in Him: live in Him: trust in Him: undertake nothing independently of Him; and God grant that you may be preserved in Him till the great presentation day, when in Him you will be presented spotless before His throne!

But we have not yet done with Ruth. You see clearly that just as we are raised by redemption to a condition infinitely higher than that of Adam before the fall, so Ruth was raised by redemption to a position incomparably higher than that of Elimelech’s family before the famine. But we must look at her own previous condition, for it was far below the original condition even of Elimelech. He was one of the seed of Abraham, a member of the covenant, a proprietor in the promised land. But she was a poor heathen girl on the mountains of Moab, an alien from the commonwealth of Israel and a stranger from the covenant of promise. Yet that poor heathen girl was raised by redemption to a higher position than all the Jewesses in the whole family of Elimelech. Does it not teach us the power of redemption to break down every barrier, to overturn every human calculation, to clear away every hindrance, and to raise to the most glorious salvation those very persons whose case to man’s eye seems hopeless? Doubtless there were noble women in Bethlehem who would have been glad enough to have been brought into the sacred line of the motherhood of the Coming One. But the honour was given through redemption to the poor young widow from Moab. So there may be many Englishmen, familiar with the words of the covenant, and living, as it were, within religious boundaries, but still strangers to real fellowship with God; while others, far away in heathen lands, in India, in Africa, in China, are brought in through the power of redeeming blood, and made heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. So, again, there may be many amongst us at home who seem as far off as that young woman was when she was growing up an idolater in Moab; but the lesson that we are to learn is that there is such a fulness in redemption, such a power, such a completeness, such an efficacy that that far-distant sinner, even though he has been an idolater; though he can never forgive himself, may be forgiven by God; and not forgiven only, but raised by infinite grace even to a oneness with the Son of God. Let no one, therefore, feel hopeless, whatever his position, and whatever his past idolatry; for redeeming blood can triumph over everything, and can so blot out all sin that those who are the farthest off of any amongst us may yet be made nigh by the blood of Christ, and finally presented spotless before His throne.

But one word more about Ruth, for if we really desire thus to be made nigh, her words to Naomi may serve to illustrate the spirit in which we must come to the Lord Jesus. If we were to call this a type such an application of them would lead to nothing but confusion. But looking at it simply as a piece of history they may suggest a most important illustration. She said to Naomi, ‘Whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’ If you desire to be made to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus kneel down, and from the bottom of your heart say the same to Him. You may be still far away from God, a stranger in a strange land. But there is He, having come amongst us to fetch you home, to seek you, to save you, to raise you to Himself. Let there be then the loving surrender of your whole soul into His hand; and let the prayer of your inmost heart be, ‘Whither thou goest, I will go; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.’