Naomi asked, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?” (3:1) And where did she seek? Among her family! Naomi asked, “Is not Boaz our relative?” Boaz becomes Ruth’s “kinsman redeemer,” who was someone who redeemed what was lost (Leviticus 25:25). The family name, thus, was handed down through the first son of the redeemer, and the family inheritance was given to him, also. So, both the family name and the family property were “redeemed” throughout the generations rather than being lost. As Ruth had a redeemer (goel/kinsman redeemer), so, we have a Redeemer who has saved or redeemed that which was lost.
We all love the parables of Jesus. I remember the parable of the lost sheep and Jesus’ application: “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray” (Matthew 18:12-13). And what about the parable of the prodigal son? The father rejoiced and said, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24). And how about the woman who had lost one coin? “When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost’” (Luke 15:9). Likewise, God has sent his Son to us to redeem us for “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). What blessing and what joy is ours, this Christmas day, that he has sought us out and has redeemed us!
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by.
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight. , , .
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth,
and praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth. --Phillips Brooks (1868)
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