And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
– Ruth 2: 19-20
A redeemer is defined as one who is charged with the duty of restoring the rights of another through a ransom being paid. Our redemption comes from the debt of sin that is fully paid by the blood of Christ. Leading to the birth of Christ, we see redemption for Naomi and Ruth through Boaz.
Ruth set out and “happened” to come upon the portion of a field where Boaz, a “worthy man,” grew his crops. Now, she could have turned left instead of right, right instead of left, went to a field closer, went to a field farther. Remember, this did not occur by random chance. It was part of God’s redemptive plan that leads to “They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David” — and through David, we now know, the Christ. You simply have no idea what God has planned for your children.
Christ redeems you and me from our sins; in order to redeem his people and to secure their well-being not only on earth but throughout all of eternity. Boaz and Ruth give us a picture of Christ’s redemptive love for us. Let us trust in Him always, especially through the darkness.