by John O’Malley
“Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5).
Boaz spoke with precision as he shared with the nearer kinsman the full extent of the type of redemption that was needed. His words certainly carried the weight of the complications surrounding the redemption of Ruth. He spoke of her birthplace, bitter experiences, and background. The nearer kinsman knew this redemption would be complex. However, Boaz knew it was his calling.
Naomi, whose name means “delightsome,” and Ruth, whose name means “friend,” make a wonderful pair in this book where the sin of man meets the grace of God. Yet you cannot miss the distinct mentioning of Moab in light of the redemptive work in this text.
Boaz stood in the place of their redemption. His mentioning of Moab to them would speak volumes to their hearts. At one point in Ruth’s life, Moab had meant home. It was the place she had met and married her husband. Moab was also the place where she had buried her husband. Naomi saw Moab as the place that memorialized the mistake that had taken her husband, her heritage, and her heart. She saw it as a place of the draining of her delight and the filling of her heart with discouragement.
Both women would carry a heavy weight, as Moab marked the tombs of their husbands. Though they buried their men, burying their memories was more difficult. There is no doubt their memories of Moab were painful and ever present.
You know, redemption has a way of taking the memories of a painful past and making them into a pleasant present. If you are a child of God, you have a Moab time in your past. Your redemption means Moab should be in the past, and the pending marriage supper of the Lamb should be your focus. Believers get into trouble when they spend more time affected by their past then they do their future. What about you?
Think about it...