Well, we have almost reached the end of our journey. We have followed Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth on their journey back to the land of Israel. We have also followed the twists and the turns of Ruth and Boaz’s blossoming romance. Despite the unexpected appearance of a mystery man, who seems intent on dashing all our hopes for them, eventually that obstacle is removed and the way is now open for the two of them to be together forever. All that remains is for us to do in this final article, is to consider the last section in 4:13-22.

1. Blessings For Them⤒🔗

And there are two things that we need to notice. Firstly, notice that there are blessings for them. Do you remember Edward Ferrars? He’s the man in Jane Austen’s novel Sense & Sensibility who is obviously meant for the lead character Elinor Dashwood, but unfortunately he is already secretly engaged to Lucy Steele. Being the gentleman that he is, Edward feels unable to break his word to Lucy, even though it means being separated from Elinor forever. When Edward’s mother finds out about this secret engagement, she threatens to disinherit her son unless he breaks things off. But again Edward feels unable to do this and sticks by Lucy, so his mother transfers everything irrevocably to her younger son Robert. Now faced with the prospect of life with a penniless clergyman, Lucy drops Edward like a stone and runs off with his brother. Poor Edward, he tried to do the right thing, but ended up with nothing. But of course the story doesn’t end there does it? He goes to visit the Dashwoods, who haven’t heard about the change in his circumstances and when he explains, Elinor’s hopes are revived. Edward apologies for all the hurt he has caused her and asks Elinor to marry him, and of course she accepts. Everything is as it should be and they live happily ever after.

Now as we come to these final verses in the book of Ruth, we find that everything ends well and the three lead characters are blessed. Firstly, there is Boaz. From the moment that we first met him, Boaz has behaved impeccably. He is a “worthy man” (2:1), who at every point in the story is governed not by his emotions, but by the Word of God. He does what is right, even when his desires would lead him in another direction, but now the Lord blesses this godly man with a godly wife. Boaz recognised Ruth’s spiritual qualities very early on (2:12-13) and now she becomes his soulmate. But there is more! The Elders had prayed for the Lord’s blessing upon Boaz and his new wife (4:11-12), and the Lord heard them, because we read in 4:13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son” (ESV). So Boaz gains a godly wife and a son! The Lord has truly blessed him and with that, this godly man leaves the stage forever.

Secondly, there is Ruth. How Ruth’s circumstances have changed during these four chapters! She was first introduced to us as a Moabite, in a highly questionably marriage to Naomi’s son. That union was short-lived and unfruitful, because her husband dies leaving her a childless widow. Whilst her sister-in-law Orpah makes the sensible choice and returns to her own people, Ruth binds herself to Israel’s God and returns with Naomi, to a land where she can expect only alienation and poverty. But there are various hints along the way that her situation may change for the better (1:8, 2:12-13) and look at her now! Not only has Boaz acted as her protector and benefactor (2:8-9, 14-16), but now this redeemer becomes her husband. But again there is more, because as Robert L Hubbard Jr. points out, the Lord “steps out from the shadows” for the second time in our story (the first being 1:6) and blesses Ruth. We read in 4:13, “and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son” (ESV). So this foreigner joins the ranks of women like Sarah, Rebekah and Rachel. Ruth now has a husband, a home and now a child, and with that she too leaves the stage.

So both Boaz and Ruth have been blessed by the Lord. The third person to be blessed is Naomi. It is perhaps surprising that she is the last of the three to be mentioned and it may be an indication that she has been the central figure in our story all a long, but whether that is true or not, Naomi is greatly blessed. Do you remember how she described herself upon returning to her homeland? She said, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (1:20-21 ESV). But now our final picture of Naomi, is of a woman surrounded by her rejoicing neighbours (4:14-15, 17), with her grandson resting in her lap (4:16)!

Now friends, let’s just step back for a moment and ponder the scene presented to us in this final section. We have a godly man who does what is right despite his feelings; we have a pagan woman who makes a costly choice and binds herself to the Lord, and we have an older woman who passes through difficult providences, and yet all three are blessed by the Lord. Can you see that the Lord is no man’s debtor, but liberally showers his servants with gifts? Friend, perhaps you think that becoming a Christian is too costly. Perhaps you are a Christian and you’re faced with a choice where the Word of God wants you to go one way, but you want to go another way and you are wondering what you should do. Perhaps, you have been going in the wrong direction and through painful providences you have been brought back on to the right path, and you are hurting. Friends, whatever your circumstances may be, can you see that the Lord loves to bless those who faithfully follow him? He is not a hard taskmaster, but lavishes his grace upon his children (Eph 2:4-7).

2. Blessings For Us←⤒🔗

So there are blessings for them. Secondly, notice that there are blessings for us. Have you ever seen the cartoon film Antz, which follows the ups and the downs of an ant colony and in particular, one of the worker ants called ‘Z-4195’ or ‘Z’ for short? At the very end of the film, when ‘Z’ has defeated the baddies and won the heart of Princess Bala, the camera pans out and suddenly you realise that everything that has happened, has happened in Central Park in New York. Now you weren’t aware of that at the time, but now you can see that the story of ‘Z’ and his friends was part of a far bigger story.

Now the same is true of the story of Ruth and Boaz, because as the story draws to a close, the camera pans out and shows us the bigger story. In 4:18-22 we read:

Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David. (ESV)

From the beginning we have been under the impression that this is just a simple love story, when in actual fact, Ruth and Boaz are part of a far greater story. God’s providence in their lives is part of a wider providence by which the Lord provides his people with a king! Now that should immediately make us stop and think about God’s providence in our own lives. Friends, sometimes God works in our lives not simply to bless us, but also to bless others. Sinclair Ferguson writes, “For God does not mean to touch only our lives by what he does in us; he has the lives of others in view – even those yet unborn.” Isn’t that amazing? Yes, God is at work our lives, but he might also have an eye on future generations as well. In actual fact, we have another example of this in the verses that we have just read, but perhaps you missed it? Does your family have a skeleton in the closet? A dark secret that no one likes to talk about? Well, so does Boaz! Boaz is a descendant of Perez, who was born of that incestuous union between Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar (Gen 38). What a dreadful moment that was in the history of God’s people and yet the Lord steps in the muck and the mire and overrules in such a way, that ultimately this union not only produces the godly Boaz, but also Israel’s greatest king! Isn’t God providence truly amazing?

But of course the story doesn’t end with David. In the opening chapter of Matthew’s Gospel we have another genealogy in which Boaz and Ruth are mentioned (Matt. 1:5). But this is not David’s genealogy, this is the genealogy of another King, a Greater King and it ends with these words, “and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ” (Matt 1:16 ESV).

Can you see what this means friends? The story of Ruth and Boaz is part of a far bigger story, the story of redemption, and in that sense their story is part of our own story. As God worked out his purposes in their lives, he had an eye to future generations. Ruth needed a Kinsman-Redeemer and he provided her with one in Boaz, but we also need a Redeemer and God has provided us with one in his Son, Jesus Christ. Through Ruth and Boaz we have been gloriously and wondrously blessed. So friends, as we draw our study to a close, can I ask you just one more question? Friends, do you know and love this Redeemer and have you experienced his saving power in your life through his cross? I hope and pray that you do and you have. Amen.