BOAZ - THE NEAR KINSMAN (Ruth 2:1)

I. Introduction

A. We have been considering Naomi in our initial series of messages.

1. Now we come to the hero of our story - Boaz.
2. I am sure the Holy Spirit intends for us to see a foreshadowing of Christ in Boaz.

B. Naomi according to verse one had a kinsman who was a mighty man and one that had the right to redeem.

1. Naomi, now the poorest woman in Israel had for her kinsman one of the wealthiest men in the land.
2. At first she saw no connection between his sufficiency and her need.

a. According to the law of God, this kinsman had both a right and a responsibility with regard to an impoverished relative. (Lev. 25: 48-49) and (Deut 25:5-7)
b. Such a kinsman was known in Israel as a Goel.

II. Jesus is the N.T. Goel

A. It is impossib1e to escape the conclusion that the Goel of Israel was in reality a foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus.

1. He by countless acts of pardoning grace down through the centuries has shown Himself the Redeemer of lost sinners and the restorer of hopeless situations.
2. He is neither shocked or shaken by human sin.

a. In fact, when He is allowed to take over, He is at His best. He is well able to redeem us and our circumstances with amazing results.
b. He is a specialist in dealing with sin and His fame in cleansing and forgiving sinners is known the world over.

III. The Right to Redeem

A. To play the part of the Goel, three things are necessary.

1. He had to be a NEAR kinsman.

a. Keep in mind that not every time the word "kinsman" is used does it mean goel or redeemer.
b. In three places in this book, words are used that simply mean a human relation or relative.
c.. Ruth 2:1 Ä kinsman is the word moda - near relative.
d. Ruth 3:2 kinsman again is the word moda - relative.
e. Ruth 2:20 - near of kin is the word qarob - a near relative.

2. We can put it this way: if a man is to be a goel to another, he had to be a moda first.

B. In the same way, if the Lord Jesus is to redeem on behalf of sinners and all they have lost as a result of that sin.

1. He too must acquire the right to do so by becoming our Kinsman, our Brother.
2. This is precisely what happened, the Eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

a. That's the meaning of that great passage in Heb. 2:10-18 when Jesus calls us brethren and where to qualify, He partakes of our humanity.
b. There is a very definite allusion to the law of the goel.
c. The Word says that in all things He was made like to His brethren.

3. There is no loss or indignity or deprivation of rights that men suffer but Jesus suffered all that and more in the days of His humiliation.
4. For this reason, the epistle says; He is a faithful and merciful High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

C. However, the Incarnation which made Him our Kinsman in and of itself is no answer to our sin problem.

1. In order for Him to acquire the right to redeem us, He must carry the Cross up Calvary's hill and die upon it.
2. In other words, the Cross makes Him the sinner's nearest Kinsman. He who knew no sin, became sin for us - that
we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
3. When He became sin, He became our nearest Kinsman.

a. Is it any wonder He has the right to redeem me and my situation.
b. Jesus by His birth at Bethlehem became our Moda but at Calvary, He became our Goel.

IV. The Power to Redeem

A. The second thing necessary for the next of kin was that he have the power to Redeem.

1. It is one thing for him to have the right to redeem, but does he have the power to redeem.
2. A goel would be of little help if he was as poor as the one who needed him.
3. In the case of Boaz, he had the power to redeem for he was a mighty man of wealth.

B. We have seen that the Lord had the right to redeem because he became our kinsman.

1. But does He have the power to redeem us?
2. We believe that Christ has power on earth to forgive our sins for the scripture tells us that.

a. But what about the results of sin, the broken relationships, the sense of shame, the damage done to others.
b. It is here that our faith sometimes falters.
c. But it is precisely at this point that Jesus excels.
d. Like the potter who does not despair when he finds the vessel marred in his hands but makes it over again into another vessel as it seems aood for him to make it.
e. So Jesus makes something beautiful out of the disfigured mess we hand Him.

"Something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion He understood;
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife,
But He made somethinq beautiful of my life."

f. If Jesus cannot do this, what sort of Savior do we have.

"Jesus can solve every problem,
The tangles of life can undo;
There is nothing too hard for Jesus,
There is nothing that He cannot do."

V. The Willingness to Redeem

A. A third thing was necessary in order for a goel to redeem another.

1. He needed not only the right to redeem - next of kin,
2. Not only the power to redeem but he must have the willingness to redeem.

a. A goel might not be willing to do so - It was so in the case of Naomi's kinsman in Ruth 4:5-6.
b. Thank God Boaz had not only the right and the power, but he also was willing to redeem.
c. He was willing to redeem and take unto himself this despised Moabite girl under the condemnation of the law. Be willing to be identified wiyh her.

3. The Lord Jesus, like Boaz is willing to redeem us, even though we are sin cursed and under the condemnation of the law of God.

a. You know what makes redemption such a thrilling thing to Christ - it means having you.
b. You are his possession - God's love gift to His Son (John 17:6,9)
c. Titus 2:14 - He gave Himself for us that He might redeem us and purify for Himself a people for His own possession.
d. That's hard to believe - we have so touched His heart that we are the major attraction in the whole business of redemption.

4. The very word redeemer indicates that his work of redeeming is not just a one time thing.

a. The word redeemer begins with the "re" and ends with the suffix "er".
b. Many words end this way - worker, driver, waiter.
c. A worker does not only work once
but continually works.
d. A driver is one who habitually drive

B. So our Redeemer is not one who redeems but once but He is one who habitually redeems.

1. Whenever things go wrong, He is there as our redeemer.
2. If things go wrong on the same point or in another matter, He is ready to make it good again.

a. Both the prefix and the suffix speak of a continual redemption.
b. What an encouragement this is for us to be quick to repent of sin and to avail ourselves of Him as our redeemer.

3. This means we no longer need be afraid of sin.

a. It is always healthy to be afraid to sin.
b. But I am speaking now of being afraid of sin.
c. As believers, we should know what to do when we do sin. We know the One who has the answer to our sin and knows how to set us free from sin and guilt.
d. The song writer saw it clearly:

"Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power."

4. We have confidence that the blood of Jesus is ever present and able to cleanse us from all sin.
5. Have you failed in your Christian lie - things are not finished for you because your redeemer liveth and waits to unmess the mess you have made.