The world is a chaotic place. Suffering abounds in almost every direction, and it feels like things are becoming more and more broken. The truth is the world became broken a long time ago. It happened in ancient times, in a garden that God made perfect. Adam and Eve lived in perfect relationship with each other and the Lord. Can you imagine? No sickness, no violence, no evil. Paradise.
Enter Satan. Powerful at deception and lies, he convinced Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit. She convinced Adam to do the same. The one thing he required of his people was respect for his laws. Now, his law had been broken. God in his perfect goodness was required to execute justice. Mankind, now fallen, became subject to live in a broken world. But was it forever?
Ruth, in her brokenness, found herself in a similar predicament. She had lost everything and now found herself widowed and without a provider, a Moabite living in a foreign land. Her situation was not much different from ours.
Just like Ruth, we are:
1) Widows struggling to survive in a world where Satan is powerful. He goes about seeking who he can devour. I Peter 5:8: “Be soberminded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” We are vulnerable. The truth is sin will eat you alive. Its pleasures are fleeting and temporary and will lead to our destruction both in this life and in the life to come.
2) Unable to save ourselves. Ruth was at the mercy of her situation. Yes, Boaz had taken notice of her, but her future was still insecure. How long could she glean in his field before she would be turned away? We might be able to scrape by without too many acute consequences. People live in sin all the time without truly suffering. Yet the Bible teaches that a life of sin leads to chronic and everlasting consequences. Death and eternal suffering will eventually catch up to us without intervention. What is the answer? Is there any hope?
The story of Ruth teaches that there is reason to rejoice in Bethlehem! The beautiful thing about the story of God and the story of Ruth is that He has not left us hopeless.
Just like Ruth, we need a redeemer. Ruth needed a redeemer who had the right, the resources, and the resolve to redeem her, and God’s law made this possible.
Leviticus 25:24-27: “If a brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest kinsmen will redeem what he has sold.”
Deuteronomy 25:5-10: “If a brother dies and leaves a wife, she shall not be married outside of the family, her husband’s brother will take her and marry her so that the name can be carried on.”
Boaz met all these requirements!
When it seemed like all was lost, Ruth was given the opportunity to surrender in faith to God’s plan. She presented herself as a servant and Boaz showed her kindness. Ruth 3:9: “And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” In the original language, the word “hased” translated kindness encompasses love, mercy, goodness, loyalty and self-lessness. Boaz’s response to Ruth is a picture of God’s love for us.
And just as God provided for Ruth, He has provided for us! Jesus meets all the requirements to redeem us!
Jesus has the right to redeem us. “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1: 15-16). Jesus is God and therefore, has all authority. “He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.” (Colossians 1:18)
Jesus has the resources to redeem us. Under the old law, a perfect sacrifice was needed to redeem the people from sin, to reconcile them to God. Jesus lived a life completely free of sin. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) Therefore, Jesus was the perfect solution to the dilemma of sin.
Finally, Jesus has the resolve to redeem us. He walked into Jerusalem knowing that his ultimate fate would be death on a cross. Philippians 2:6-8 (ESV) says: “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Praise God, we can rejoice that a baby was born in Bethlehem, who would ultimately become our Savior and bring light to a sinful, dark world. His sacrifice brought redemption and His resurrection gives us hope that we too will rise to eternal life. Praise God, for His glorious plan! Have you placed your faith in him? Rejoice in Bethlehem, He is waiting to save you!