OUR KINSMAN-REDEEMER
Part 3
By Winston Pannell
Ruth 4
This is the third message
in a series from the Book of Ruth titled “Our Kinsman-Redeemer.”
In our first message we considered our Kinsman-Redeemer as “Lord of the Harvest.” As Lord of the Harvest we saw how He purposed to save, (2) how He prepared the soil, (3) how He planted the seed, (4) how He provided the Savior and (5) how He perfected the saints. (See Part 1)
In the second message we saw our Kinsman-Redeemer as “Lord of the righteous.” As Lord of the righteous, we saw how He (1) revealed the standard of judgment, how He (2) rendered satisfaction to divine justice and how He (3) redeemed the Sons of Jacob. (See Part 2)
I’ve titled this message today our Kinsman-Redeemer as “Lord of Lords.” As such, He is the:
We need to remember the Book of Ruth is the story of redemption told in pictures and types. It is the story of a man named Boaz who exercises his right and responsibility of Redeemer to his family in a temporal, physical way. The greater story is that of the Anti-type, Christ, who, in a spiritual, eternal way, exercised his right and responsibilities in the redemption of His family, the church, which is typified by Ruth. This beautiful and blessed story is just one of many in the scriptures which glorifies God the Father and exalts God the Son in the redemption of His people through the shed blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, established and imputed at the cross. We’ll see this truth magnified again in today’s message.
As a reminder, last time we
looked at the two near kinsmen in Ruth 3:12-13. We saw them as types of the two
representative heads of all mankind, Adam and Christ. The nearer kinsman than
Boaz typifies Adam, and who we are in him-flesh of his flesh and bone of his
bone by nature. The nearer kinsman, to whom Boaz deferred, was unable to save.
(4:6) Therefore Boaz, (a type of Christ), as the Kinsman-Redeemer of His people
by appointment and in satisfaction to the Law of God, willfully stepped in and
did all that was necessary to satisfy Law and justice and thereby deliver,
adopt and unite Ruth unto Himself when her nearest kinsman could not and would
not fulfill his responsibility. Read 3:13. Here Boaz swears with an oath to do
willingly what the nearest kinsman would not do, and selfishly neglected his
responsibility toward Ruth. In 4:6 the near kinsman acknowledges his inability
to redeem; “lest he mar his own inheritance,”(Lest he forfeit his own
inheritance). The application is this: Adam, a sinner himself, was unable to
redeem anyone; he needed a Redeemer himself. To think anyone could be redeemed
without law and justice being satisfied (of which Adam was incapable of
satisfying) is to forfeit the inheritance of Christ. There is a procedure to
follow and a price to pay in order to redeem sinners. The law in
With this review in mind let’s look at our Kinsman Redeemer as “Lord of Lords.” As such, He is:
1 Seed of woman, Redeemer of his people. 4: 9-12
The first truth revealed here is this- as Seed of woman our Redeemer is Deity. Read 4: 9-12. As Deity, He alone is responsible for the eternal well being of His family.
In 4:12 we see the prayer of the people for the house of Boaz to be like the house of Pharez “of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.” The seed spoken of here is Obed, Son of Boaz and Ruth, the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David, ancestors of Jesus Christ. (4:21-21) It was through this seed that Christ; “according to the flesh” would come.
This
reminds us of another promised seed of Woman in Genesis 3:15 where God said; “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise
his heel. God makes the promise here to
provide a Substitute, Surety and Representative for His people who would come
in time and crush the head of Satan, thereby redeeming God’s people.
This would be accomplished
at the expense of Christ’s suffering even unto death, the penalty for sins
charged to His people, and His resurrection from the dead declaring
satisfaction to Law and Justice finished.
This is
the first revelation in scripture of Christ, the Kinsman- Redeemer of His
people, born of the seed of woman. This is God’s promise of the God-Man
Mediator, born of woman through the miraculous conception of the Holy Spirit in
the womb of the Virgin Mary without natural generation. The “Seed” of this woman is “that holy
thing,” spoken of in Luke 1:35. “And the angel answered and said unto
her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.”
Why is
this important? Why must the seed of woman and not the seed of man accomplish
redemption? Why must He be Deity?
·
The only One suitable
to make an acceptable sacrifice and offering to Holy God is one, who Himself,
is God. Christ only is;” holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from
sinners.”(Hebrews 7:26) Such a One
is He who is of the Seed of Woman. The hellish teaching that Christ was made a
sinner of the worst sort destroys the only Sacrifice God has provided for sin.
If that were true, “we would be of all men most miserable.”(1
Corinthians 15:19) No. He was “made sin” by imputation only and
successfully “bore our sins in His body on the tree,” (1 Peter 2: 24) to
enable a Holy God to remain just when He justifies ungodly sinners. He alone is
the qualified Representative of His people. This Person, who is both God and
man, is able to redeem His people. God the Son incarnate is very God of very
God, infinite in every attribute of his character, co-equal with the Father in
the essence of His Being, Creator of all things, and He took into union with
His divine Person true, sinless humanity, body and soul. He’s both God and man.
God
forbids the worship of any man; yet we’re commanded to worship this man. We
worship Him as Deity. God cannot die; yet this man who is God, did die. This is
attributed to His humanity. Such is our Kinsman-Redeemer. He alone met the
conditions. He alone paid the price. He alone is qualified to redeem His
people. As Seed of woman, He reconciled God to His people and His people to
God. “There is one Mediator between God and man; the man Christ Jesus.”(1
Timothy 2:5)
How did the Seed of Woman redeem His
people?
1
He satisfied Law and
Justice. V9
Remember, we are looking at the Anti-type, Christ through
the type, Boaz.
Boaz satisfied the law of
By contrast, Christ, our Kinsman-Redeemer satisfied all the
law’s demands against His people in order to redeem them. He obeyed, He
suffered, He died and was raised again to fulfill every jot and tittle of the
law which, when we had broken demanded our eternal death and loss of the
inheritance. Remember, in Adam, before the fall we had a perfect standing with
God. This standing was lost by the disobedience of our representative.
Christ “has bought all that was ours, (V-9) lost
in Adam, by obeying the Law of God perfectly and dying justly under the
curse of sin imputed. The same Law, which cursed Him based in sins imputed to
Him, demanded His resurrection from the dead based on His satisfaction to its
penalty and precept. God is both a Just God and Savior. Christ redeemed His
people based on perfect satisfaction to Law and Justice. The Seed of Woman made
that satisfaction.
2
He secured the
inheritance. V-10.
Boaz “purchased Ruth to be his wife to raise up the name
of the dead upon his inheritance.” Boaz bought all that was Elimalech’s, Chilon
and Mahlon’s in order to raise up the name of the dead upon that inheritance.
He bought Elimalech’s land and he purchased Ruth.
God’s people have an
inheritance bought by the Seed of woman. This inheritance is not of man’s
inventions, initiatives or contributions. It is totally the work of Christ, who
finished the work of redemption for all He represented. The name of the dead
cannot be raised up based on anything they do, are enabled to do or anything
done in them. There is but one inheritance- that which Christ earned by His
obedience, suffering and death. Anything the sinner could earn would negate an
inheritance. Read Roman’s 11:6. “And if by grace, then is it no more
of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it
no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.” An inheritance is a gift
reserved and received by another without any contribution from the recipient as
to its merit.
It was through the seed of Boaz and Ruth that Boaz raised
up the name of Mahlon. It is through the Seed of a young Woman, typified by
Ruth that Christ our Redeemer came and raised up all the Elect of God based on
the inheritance He earned for them. We have, according to 1 Peter 1:4; “an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you.” Again, this inheritance is incorruptible- it is not
corrupted by sin. It is an inheritance earned by the obedience, suffering and
death of “that Holy thing,” the one sacrifice for sinners, the Lord
Jesus Christ, merited and established there at the cross for all the heirs of
grace.
The Seed of Woman redeemed His people when He satisfied Law
and Justice, when He secured the inheritance and:
3
He sanctified the
brethren. V10
Boaz had respect to the
name of Mahlon and sanctified that name by raising up a son by his union to
Ruth. He established the name of Mahlon in
“That the name of the dead be not cut off from his
brethren.” When Mahlon died, he left no
son to carry on his name. The only hope for his inheritance to continue was for
someone to redeem it.
In our sin in Adam, the Federal Head and Representative of
the whole human race, we were cut off from our inheritance. God’s warning that “in
the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die” was fulfilled when Adam
disobeyed God’s command to “eat not of the tree in the midst of the garden.”
As our Representative, we fell with
him and lost the blessedness of our fellowship with God. (Romans 5: 12) When
Christ was cut off from his Father by sins imputed, justice demanded His death.
His obedience unto death wrought a righteousness of such value; God is enabled
to be Just and Justifier. As the sin bearer of all He represented, He earned
the blessed inheritance for His people, thereby establishing righteousness.
Boaz purchased Ruth in order that the name
of Mahlon be not cut off from the brethren. Christ purchased His church to
preserve her name among the brethren. Not one for whom He died shall be cut
off. He “must bring them all” into the fold- His righteousness demands
it be so. Read Jeremiah 23:6; “In his days (in
the days of His ministry)
The Seed of Woman redeemed
His people when He satisfied law and justice, secured the inheritance, when He
sanctified the brethren and when He:
4
Succeeded in His
mission. V-10 what was the mission of Christ?
“That the name of the dead be not cut off from the gate of
his place.”
The gate was a place where justice was ministered. It was
the place where
But every man is not entitled to the inheritance of Christ.
It was not earned for everyone. Every man doesn’t have a “place at this
gate.”
For God’s people there
is a place at the gate of “his place.” It is a place reserved for all
for whom Christ has made an end to sin. When God calls the Elect to the Throne
of Judgment they will hear our Advocate before the Father, the Lord Jesus
Christ testify that He has “bought all that was ours” lost in the fall.
Ours will be a declarative judgment. As our Representative and Surety, He pleads,
even now, His righteousness imputed as our justification and life. Every sinner
for whom Christ died has a place at this gate. That place is his by virtue of
the finished work of his Redeemer who opened wide the gate of Heaven that all
might go in and find rest. Jesus calls this gate in Matthew 7:13; “the strait gate.” It is the gate
where justified sinners are declared heirs of the inheritance of Christ and
were placed in an unchangeable standing of justification before God.
A clearer translation of V-10 might be; “that the name
of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate (access
into) of his place,” (His inheritance). Jesus called the meek blessed in
Matthew 5:5, for “they shall inherit the
As Seed of woman, He satisfied law and justice, He secured
the inheritance, He sanctified the brethren, He succeeded in His mission, and
He:
5
Sovereignly builds his
church V 11-12.
Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 16:18 that He would “build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” We see this
prophesy fulfilled before our eyes every time God quickens a justified sinner
and reveals Christ in him.
And His church shall be saved; it shall grow like the
nation
Rachael, Leah and their handmaids bore the 12 sons of
Jacob, heads of the 12 tribes of
God’s answer to the prayer of those in V-12 is revealed in
Revelation 7:9. “After this, I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no
man could number, of all nations, and kindred’s, and people and tongues stood
before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands; and cried with loud voices, saying, salvation to our God.”
We know that all for whom Christ died and earned the
inheritance shall be finally glorified together in heaven. Not one for whom He
died shall finally perish. God’s justice demands their final glorification in
heaven based on the righteousness He established and God freely imputed to
every sinner for whom he died at the cross. God will build His church.
Ephesians 2:20 say’s it will be “built upon the foundation (gospel)
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner
stone.”
Our Kinsman-Redeemer is
“Lord of Lords.” As the “Seed of Woman.” He has redeemed His people.
There is
no greater name in the world than that of Jesus. The Apostle Paul said of Him
in Philippians 2:9; “Wherefore God also hath
highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth,
and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” The angel in Matthew 1:21 said unto Joseph; “call His
name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” Malachi 1:11
say’s this; “For from the rising of
the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great
among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name,
and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith
the LORD of hosts.” Blessed be the name of the Lord.
But this name is not famous except in (spiritual)
We say with Paul in Romans 10:13; “ For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Why? Because; “Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.”(Acts 4:12) The most hated name in the
world is the most loved in
Our Kinsman-Redeemer is “Lord of Lords.” As the Seed of
Woman, He has redeemed His people. As the Son of Man, He is renown among His
people and as Sovereign God, He is:
Not
only has our Kinsman-Redeemer “restored our life” by satisfying law and
justice, securing our inheritance, sanctifying the brethren, successfully
accomplished His mission and sovereignly builds His church, He is a “nourisher
of our old age.” He leaves nothing to chance concerning our final glory in
heaven. We can say with confidence, as did the Apostle Paul in Philippians 1:6;
“Being confident of this very thing, that he which
hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus
himself, made this promise to all His sheep in John 6:37; “ All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but
should raise it up again at the last day.
And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the
Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up
at the last day.”
The outcome concerning God’s Elect is not in doubt. There is
no possibility that one for whom Christ died can finally perish. Christ has
suffered under the curse of sin imputed, bled and died as a just payment for
our sins, satisfied God’s Holy Law and Justice against His people and
established a righteousness which He freely imputed to all for whom He died,
which is all our salvation. This will be our “nourishment” in old age.
This “Seed of Woman,” this “Son of Man,” this “Sovereign God” is better than
seven sons in the flesh: better than we were in Adam. He, by His sacrifice unto death has put us in
an unchangeable standing of justification before our God. The righteousness He established for His
people is all we need today and is all we will need throughout eternity. Great
is our Kinsman-Redeemer. Let us bow down and worship Him “that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for
evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death” Revelation 1:18.
We say with Job; “I know that
my Redeemer liveth.” And because He lives, we also live with Him.