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A Redeemer - The Word About Women

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Getting Started...

The Ministry of Motherhood

  • Feb 25, 2021

The Ministry of Motherhood

Women’s Work

  • Feb 23, 2021

Women’s Work

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

  • Feb 18, 2021

The Truth About Mary Magdalene

The Good News Girls

  • Feb 16, 2021

The Good News Girls

Compassion for Women

  • Feb 11, 2021

Compassion for Women

Distracted with Much Serving

  • Feb 9, 2021

Distracted with Much Serving

No Throwing Stones

  • Feb 4, 2021

No Throwing Stones

She Was a Sinner

  • Feb 2, 2021

She Was a Sinner

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

  • Jan 28, 2021

The Eternal Thirst Quencher

The Laws of Love

  • Jan 26, 2021

The Laws of Love

Follow Him

  • Jan 21, 2021

Follow Him

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

  • Jan 19, 2021

Daughter, Your Faith Has Healed You

In His Service

  • Jan 14, 2021

In His Service

Share in Their Joy

  • Jan 12, 2021

Share in Their Joy

Highly Favored One

  • Jan 7, 2021

Highly Favored One

The Value of a Woman

  • Jan 5, 2021

The Value of a Woman

See You in 2021

  • Nov 20, 2020

See You in 2021

In God’s Hands

  • Nov 19, 2020

In God’s Hands

A Disposable Woman?

  • Nov 17, 2020

A Disposable Woman?

A Bearer of Bad News

  • Nov 12, 2020

A Bearer of Bad News

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

  • Nov 10, 2020

A Wicked Queen Mother vs A Godly Princess

A Heart for Hospitality

  • Nov 6, 2020

A Heart for Hospitality

The Willing Widow

  • Nov 4, 2020

The Willing Widow

A Wretched Woman

  • Nov 2, 2020

A Wretched Woman

Wicked Women

  • Oct 30, 2020

Wicked Women

Missed Opportunity

  • Oct 28, 2020

Missed Opportunity

How To Spot A Mother

  • Oct 26, 2020

How To Spot A Mother

A Wicked Thing

  • Oct 23, 2020

A Wicked Thing

Grace in the Genealogy

  • Oct 21, 2020

Grace in the Genealogy

Victim or Adulteress?

  • Oct 19, 2020

Victim or Adulteress?

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

  • Oct 16, 2020

A Relationship Ruined By Resentment

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

  • Oct 14, 2020

Beauty, Brains, and a Blessing

Giving Back To God

  • Oct 12, 2020

Giving Back To God

Crimes Against Women

  • Oct 9, 2020

Crimes Against Women

When Women Are His Weakness

  • Oct 7, 2020

When Women Are His Weakness

Raising A Leader

  • Oct 5, 2020

Raising A Leader

A Redeemer

  • Oct 2, 2020

A Redeemer

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

  • Sep 30, 2020

A Dedicated Daughter-in-Law

A Woman With a Weapon

  • Sep 28, 2020

A Woman With a Weapon

The Leader of a Nation

  • Sep 25, 2020

The Leader of a Nation

The Faith of an Outsider

  • Sep 23, 2020

The Faith of an Outsider

The Daughters of Zelophehad

  • Sep 21, 2020

The Daughters of Zelophehad

The Prophetess

  • Sep 18, 2020

The Prophetess

A River Rescue

  • Sep 16, 2020

A River Rescue

The Temptress

  • Sep 14, 2020

The Temptress

The Double Standard

  • Sep 11, 2020

The Double Standard

A Daughter Defiled

  • Sep 9, 2020

A Daughter Defiled

Stolen Statues

  • Sep 7, 2020

Stolen Statues

The Unloved Wife

  • Sep 4, 2020

The Unloved Wife

A Meddling Matriarch

  • Sep 2, 2020

A Meddling Matriarch

Beyond Redemption?

  • Aug 31, 2020

Beyond Redemption?

A Salty Warning

  • Aug 28, 2020

A Salty Warning

Oppressed Yet Blessed

  • Aug 26, 2020

Oppressed Yet Blessed

The Mother of a Nation

  • Aug 24, 2020

The Mother of a Nation

The God Who Sees

  • Aug 21, 2020

The God Who Sees

Beautiful but Barren

  • Aug 19, 2020

Beautiful but Barren

Past Messages
BTBAplatform+ShannonLenz
ShannonOct 2, 2020 1:00 pm GMT
A Redeemer

“I am your servant, Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.” “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier. You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.”

Ruth 3:9-11

For context, read Ruth 2-4

Despite Naomi’s overwhelming grief and bitterness, she looked to the welfare of her daughter-in-law. In order to understand this narrative, we need to understand 2 different Old Testament laws. The first is the Mosaic law found in Leviticus 19:9-10, which commanded that the harvest should not be reaped to the very corners of the field and that harvesters should not gather the gleanings that have fallen to the ground. Those were to be left for the poor and needy. The very situation Naomi and Ruth find themselves in.

The second is called a Levirate marriage involving a “guardian redeemer” and is discussed in Deuteronomy 25:5-6. This principle stated that if a man died without a child as an heir, a surviving brother could marry the widow in order to preserve the inheritance, the family name, and to financially care and support the widow. If no brothers were available or willing, then the next nearest eligible relative was able to be the “redeemer”.

Naomi and Ruth needed a redeemer. But first, they needed food. So, Ruth went out to glean in the fields to pick up the leftover grain. She just so happened to enter a field that belonged to a relative on Naomi’s husband’s side named Boaz. And Boaz noticed Ruth. In fact, her reputation had preceded her. He had heard of her selfless act to leave her family in Moab to take care of Naomi. So Boaz treated her with extreme kindness and gave her more than he was required by law. It appears that he was smitten with her.

When Naomi heard that Ruth had been in Boaz’s field, she praised God. Boaz was a close relative! So Naomi began hatching a plan that would ensure Ruth was provided for. One night, she sent Ruth to the threshing floor where she knew Boaz would be and told her to lie down at his feet. It was a custom in Israel that a servant lie at the feet of their master, so this is not as bizarre as it seems to us. When Boaz noticed her, she asked him to be the redeemer of her family.

Boaz told her that he was willing but that there was another man who was closer in relation who had the first rights. He needed to give him the first chance. But Boaz wanted to marry Ruth, so he was clever in his presentation of the facts to this man in the hopes that he would turn down the offer. At the town gate, Boaz approached the man and asked him if he wanted to buy some land from Naomi to redeem it. The man agreed as acquiring land seemed like a good thing. But then Boaz informed him that if he redeemed the land, he would also acquire Ruth as a wife and that the estate would remain in the name of her dead husband. Because of the possibility of endangering his own inheritance, the man decided to decline. He passed the right to redeem Naomi’s land and her son’s wife to Boaz!

And so, Boaz was able to marry Ruth and she eventually gave birth to a son. Naomi was ecstatic to be a grandmother. It seemed like such a happy ending already. But then we read on. We read the genealogy and find a rich thread in the story that Naomi and Ruth would not have ever known. Ruth’s son was named Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who became the father of David. King David! But that’s not the end of the story either. From reading Matthew 1:5, we know that we can trace Jesus’s genealogy back through King David to a woman named, Ruth. Another foreign woman included in the genealogy of Jesus!

Sisters, the WORD about women in the story of Naomi and Ruth is that God cares about us enough to provide a Redeemer. We see God’s provision for those in desperate circumstances in the gleaning laws. We see His heart to care for women left widowed in the Levirate law. But it’s when we trace the genealogy and see Jesus that we really understand His provision. In Boaz, we see a picture of Jesus. But Jesus is a Redeemer that doesn’t just redeem our husband’s name and property and save us from poverty but One who redeems us from the penalty of our sin and makes us right with our Father. His is the ultimate story of redemption.

Reflect
When you look back over your life, can you see how much God cares for you by how He has provided for you?

Pray
Jesus, thank You for being my Redeemer. For showing how much You care about me by providing for me daily but especially for showing Your great love for me by providing Jesus as the great Redeemer I really need. Amen.

We look forward to your comments and questions below!

If you want to share this Bible reading plan with friends and family, here is the link:
https://bttb.org/word-about-women

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Sue
a year ago ( updated a year ago )
This is real meditate on material.
So much depth to it all.👍

One thing that stands out the most is the genealogy....thats amazing !
God caused it to come about as part of His divine plan.
If he can do that for Ruth, He can do that for us....in all things.😁

Ruth still had to have humility to sit at Boaz's feet.

It seems to be decedptive the way in which Boaz influenced the mans decision to not buy the land.....doesn't it ??
I mean Boaz knew the man wouldn't want Ruth, so Boaz influenced the man with what he said....or is that just wisdom ? as it wasn't selfish cruel etc....?
Intetesting.
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