Honor: Ruth honored her mother-in-law. She loved her and was better to her than seven sons (v15). This widowed Moabite woman left her father and mother, her land and her people (2:11), to look after Naomi the widow. She did this, jeopardizing her own future (1:11-13). Two options stood before her: everything in Moab minus the LORD or nothing in Bethlehem plus the LORD. Orpah, her sister-in-law, chose the former, the logical choice for an unbeliever (1:15). But for Ruth the believer, the clear choice was the latter (1:16-17), even though Naomi was hard to love. She was fixated only on her affliction (1:13) and showed no gratitude for Ruth’s sacrifice and devotion to her (1:20-21). But Ruth chose hard labor for Naomi’s sake (2:7b, 17), to provide for her (2:2), seeking no handouts (2:7) and risking her own safety (2:9, 22). By God’s grace, this believer loved and honored her mother-in-law.[1]

Redeemer: The hero of this story is declared to be Naomi’s redeemer (4:14). In a story like this, one would imagine this hero to be Ruth, who paid a high price to look after Naomi; but she isn’t. If not Ruth, then Boaz would seem to be it. After all, he is repeatedly called the redeemer, the go’el [2]; but he isn’t. The redeemer is the seed[3], the ultimate David (Jere. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23; 37:24), the Lord Jesus. He is the greater Ruth who honors His mother (Lk. 2:51; John 19:27) and sacrifices Himself to love the unlovable. He is the greater Boaz who provides (John 6:33, 35; 7:37), protects (1 Thess. 1:10), and pays the ultimate price of redemption (Mk. 10:45; 1 Tim. 2:6). Jesus is our redeemer, our go’el.

[1] This was the fifth of the ten commandments (Ex. 20:12), echoed in the NT: Mk. 7:10; 1 Tim. 5:4, 16.

[2] Prior to 4:14, go’el (also translated “close relative”) is applied to Boaz repeatedly: 2:20; 3:9, 12, 13; 4:4, 6, 8.

[3] He is the son of Ruth (4:15) who is called the “seed” (NASB: “offspring”) in 4:12—echoing Gen. 3:15.