by John O’Malley
“And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I” (Ruth 3:12).
“I am thy near kinsman”—what comfort Ruth must have sensed. This Gentile gem, mined from the desert sands of Moab to be a jewel in the crown of the Messiah, the Saviour of the world, found hope in the words of Boaz. However, Boaz’s words came with a sharp point that certainly deflated Ruth’s hopes and heart.
Ruth’s heart must have felt the blow. Everything she had felt and thought in this moment of security seemed in jeopardy. Did he not say he would be her goel? Had Boaz not said that he would take care of it all? What happened to “I will do to thee all that thou requirest”?
This man of honor spoke with certainty. He said, “I am thy near kinsman.” God’s law was clear. Boaz knew that she chose him, not this other relative. She requested of him the liberation of her deceased husband’s honor. However, that was not the sole request. She also sought the deliverance of her own heart. Ruth’s heart was toward Boaz, not a different relative. Would her dreams of a lifetime with Boaz be dashed now by a technicality?
The law made it clear: the legal right belonged to the closest relative. Boaz knew another relative legally stood in the way of the deliverance of her heart. He offered himself as Ruth’s goel; however, though he had the ability, the law still had to be fulfilled. He would seek the nearer kinsman and give him the opportunity to do his part. Boaz promised her, “If he will not, I will.”
Mankind faces a problem similar to Ruth's. The relative that had the right to be Ruth’s goel had the first claim on Ruth. The law has first claim on every person born into the world. Yet none could ever fulfill every point of the law. This desperation is similar to what Ruth felt. The other relative that Boaz had to seek could not do the part of a goel. As Ruth had a Boaz who would be her goel, mankind has a Boaz who is our Goel.
Jesus Christ, our Goel, offered and gave His righteous life on the cross to fulfill every point of the law. Every attempt of man to redeem his own lost state is met with frustration and failure. Mankind’s desperation is exchanged for hope when he trusts Jesus as his Eternal Goel. It is in Christ alone that man finds the redemption of his heart.
Your sin nature stands between you and God. Like the relative of Boaz that declined the offer to provide deliverance, the law has to decline, as it cannot save anyone. Any confidence that good deeds alone will bring forgiveness will meet with disappointment and death. The only hope mankind has for salvation is in the redemption of Jesus Christ, our Eternal Boaz!