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Ruth Series – Lesson 5
Title: Redemption Complete
Text: Ruth 4

Recap:
In our journey through the Book of Ruth, we've seen pain, providence, and promise. Ruth was a Moabite outsider, Naomi was a bitter backslider, and Boaz was a picture of our Redeemer. Chapter 3 left us on a cliffhanger: Ruth had made her request known to Boaz at the threshing floor—but would he redeem her? Boaz promised to take action, but there was a nearer kinsman with the first right of redemption.

1. The Completion of Redemption (Ruth 4:1–10)
Boaz goes up to the gate of the city, a public place of legal transactions. He gathers ten elders—making eleven total—which subtly reflects another redemptive meeting: Jesus and His disciples in the Upper Room. In this meeting, the nearer kinsman declines to redeem Ruth. The law could not redeem. What the law could not do, grace did. Boaz steps forward and says, “I will.” He purchases Ruth and Elimelech’s land, sealing the redemption.

2. The Coronation of Ruth (Ruth 4:10–13)
Ruth is no longer a stranger. She is now:

  • Relabeled – From “the Moabitess” to “the wife of Boaz.”

  • Rescued – No longer gleaning in the field but now owning the field with Boaz.

  • Redefined – Her past is not her future. Her life is rewritten by grace.

What a picture of salvation! And then comes the blessing: “The LORD make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah…” Ruth is grafted into the covenant lineage, mentioned in the same breath as the mothers of Israel.

3. The Comeback of Naomi (Ruth 4:14–17)
Everyone loves a comeback story—and Naomi’s is one of the best. Let’s remember where she started: fleeing famine, burying her husband and sons, returning bitter and broken, saying, “Call me Mara.”

But in the end, God gives her:

  • A Grandson – Obed, born to Ruth, but laid in Naomi’s arms.

  • A Legacy Restored – The name of Elimelech continues.

  • A Future Secured – Through Obed comes Jesse… then David… then Jesus.

This is the gospel in story form.

Conclusion:
Without the famine, the death, the discouragement, and the bitterness—Ruth never meets Boaz.
If Ruth never meets Boaz, we never get Obed.
Without Obed, there’s no Jesse.
Without Jesse, there’s no David.
Without David, there’s no Psalms, no Solomon, no wisdom literature…
And without David’s line—we don’t get Jesus.

Naomi’s bitterness gave way to blessing. Her brokenness became the backdrop for the Savior of the world.

Hallelujah.