by John O’Malley
“Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day” (Ruth 3:18).
Naomi’s words were sure and certain. There would be no way that Boaz could rest until the work of being a redeemer was done. This was not a day for procrastination. This was not a moment when other things could get in the way of Boaz. He was a man on a mission, and Naomi knew it.
How did Naomi know this? Was it the honorable way Boaz treated Ruth at the threshing floor? Could it have been the barley he sent by way of Ruth? Could Ruth have said something unrecorded in Scripture that settled in Naomi’s mind that Boaz would not be able to rest until the matter was done? Perhaps something in Boaz’s behavior reminded Naomi of Elimelech, and she knew it would be handled without fail.
Boaz knew God’s law. As kinsman-redeemer, he would have to be near of kin, to be able and willing to redeem, and to complete it. Boaz could have decided to redeem the land of Elimelech, but not redeem by marrying the lady left in Elimelech’s family. However, because he loved her, he became the complete kinsman-redeemer. There would be no rest in his heart until Ruth’s redemption was done.
Boaz would have no other day in his life like this one. It would require all of his character and resources to make this offering of redemption. Because of love, he would not rest until it was done today.
It is certain Ruth’s heart could hardly process it all. Because of Boaz, the widowed Moabite would be able to give a final gift to her deceased husband. This gift was the restored honor and hope for his family’s name to continue. God’s law made the kinsman-redeemer provision for His people. Although she was Moabite by birth, she was Israelite by faith. Ruth knew that the God of Israel was to be praised.
Naomi’s confidence in Boaz was not misplaced. He would see to it that the redemption process would be handled today. She knew that, when the sun set that day, their redemption would be secured.
One day, about two thousand years ago, when all hope for mankind was lost, Jesus Christ, our Eternal Boaz, went to the cross of Calvary and became our Kinsman-Redeemer. He was Kinsman because He was born of a virgin, yet He was the Son of Man. He was Redeemer because only He could fulfill the law and satisfy God's demand for righteousness with His own righteousness. As Naomi said the earthly Boaz would take care of it in a day, so our Eternal Boaz, when that day ended, cried out in victory, “It is finished.” It was only after the earthly Boaz and the Eternal Boaz finished the work that they could rest.
There would be no rest for Boaz until the work was done in Ruth’s life. When the Son finished His work here, we see Him sitting at the throne of His Father. First came our redemption, and then came His rest. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7).