The Kinsman-Redeemer: Ruth and Boaz

Today's Reading

The book of Ruth introduces one of the Old Testament's most beautiful types of Christ: the kinsman-redeemer. Under Israelite law, when a person lost their land or fell into poverty, a close relative had the right to "redeem" — to buy back what was lost and restore the family's inheritance. Boaz fulfills this role for Ruth and Naomi, and in doing so, he paints a portrait of the one who will redeem all of humanity.

Reflection

Ruth's situation is desperate. She is a Moabite widow — a foreigner with no rights, no resources, and no future in Israel. Naomi, her mother-in-law, is equally destitute. Their family line is about to die out. Their inheritance is lost. Only a kinsman-redeemer can change their fate.

The kinsman-redeemer had to meet three requirements: he had to be a close relative (a kinsman), he had to be willing to act, and he had to be able to pay the redemption price. In Ruth 4, a nearer kinsman is offered the opportunity to redeem, but he declines — the cost is too high, the risk too great. Boaz, however, is both willing and able. He pays the price, redeems the land, and takes Ruth as his wife.

Spurgeon saw in Boaz a beautiful type of Jesus Christ. Like Boaz, Jesus is the kinsman who is both willing and able to redeem. But for Jesus to be our kinsman-redeemer, He first had to become our kinsman — He had to take on human nature. The author of Hebrews makes this explicit: "Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death" (Hebrews 2:14).

Jesus became human — took on flesh and blood — precisely so that He could fulfill the role of kinsman-redeemer. He is not ashamed to call us brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11). The incarnation is not incidental to the gospel; it is essential. Only a true kinsman could pay the redemption price. Only God could afford it.

The nearer kinsman who refused to redeem is also significant. He represents every other power and person who might claim the ability to save but ultimately cannot or will not pay the cost. Only Jesus is both willing and able. He did not calculate the cost and withdraw; He set His face toward Jerusalem and paid everything.

Goldsworthy notes that the kinsman-redeemer institution pointed to the need for a redeemer who was both related to the people and powerful enough to act on their behalf. In Christ, both conditions are perfectly met: He is fully human (our kinsman) and fully God (able to pay an infinite price).

Going Deeper

The story of Ruth ends with a genealogy that leads to David — and ultimately to Jesus (Matthew 1:5). The kinsman-redeemer from Bethlehem foreshadows the ultimate Redeemer from Bethlehem. Ruth the outsider is brought into the covenant family, just as believers from every nation are brought into the family of God through Christ. The story is small and intimate, but its implications are cosmic.