"1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Ruth 3:1-13
It will have been noticed in 12 that Boaz was referring to another relative of Elim- elech's then living in Bethlehem, but surely his words remind us irresistibly of that near- er kinsman, Jesus Christ, Who redeems us as our 'go'el' kinsman from the curse of the law, and undertakes our case and protects us when there is no eye elsewhere to pity, and no hand elsewhere to save. Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer. This is not to be regarded as fanciful exegesis. One of the points about the story of Ruth is that it is an adumbra- tion, a foreshadowing, of Christ. And a good case could be made out for suggesting that Boaz and Ruth are types of Christ and His bride, the Church. The word 'go'el' is one that is inextricably used in biblical theology in relation to Christ. It is one of the Old Testa- ment words for 'redeemer'. And the kin that exists between this Redeemer and ourselves is established by the covenant of grace. By virtue of that covenant Christ is our kinsman, our elder brother, who steps in our defencelessness and in our need as our protector and champion. In this connection, we should remember that in Boaz's case, the matter could not be settled by his simply saying that everything would be all right. A price had to be paid for the redemption of the piece of land in question. In the same way, Christ could not simply say of the sin problem in humanity that everything would be all right, and leave it there. A word spoken was sufficient to bring the world into being; but it needed a life laid down to recreate a world that was lost in sin. A price had to be paid. Here, then, we have a beautiful illustration and foreshadowing of Christ's redeeming ac- tion in the person of this generous-hearted kinsman of Ruth's stepping in to be her champion and protector, and to plead her cause.