From Redemption to Restoration (Ruth 4:1-22)
The final chapter of Ruth brings a heartwarming ending to a story that began with loss and grief. In Ruth 4, we see how God works through ordinary people and everyday decisions to bring about healing, blessing, and a future full of hope.
Let’s walk through this amazing chapter together.
Boaz Takes Action at the City Gate
Boaz, a man of his word, doesn’t waste any time. After promising Ruth he would take care of things, he goes to the city gate, where important matters were settled in those days.
There, he meets the other man who is a closer relative to Naomi’s family. Boaz gathers some elders as witnesses and lays out the situation: Naomi is selling land that belonged to her family, and it needs to be redeemed by a relative.
At first, the man agrees. But then Boaz explains that redeeming the land also means marrying Ruth, the widow. That changes everything.
The Other Relative Says No
The closer relative decides he can’t go through with it. He doesn’t want to risk his own family’s future or wealth. So, in front of the witnesses, he gives up his right to redeem the land and Ruth.
This opens the door for Boaz to step in—not just as a relative, but as a redeemer.
Boaz Redeems Ruth and the Land
With everyone watching, Boaz gladly accepts the role. He agrees to buy the land from Naomi and to marry Ruth, continuing the family line of her late husband.
The elders and people bless Boaz and Ruth. They pray that God would give them children and a strong, lasting legacy. It’s a moment full of joy and community support.
A New Beginning: Ruth and Boaz Have a Son
Soon after, Ruth and Boaz are married. God blesses them with a baby boy named Obed.
Naomi, who once felt empty and bitter, is now filled with joy. She becomes like a grandmother to Obed and helps care for him. The women of the town celebrate with her, saying, “Praise God! He has not left you without a redeemer.”
Obed brings hope and new life—not just to Naomi, but to the whole story.
The Bigger Picture: Obed’s Family Line
The chapter ends with something very special: a family tree. Obed grows up and becomes the father of Jesse, who is the father of David—Israel’s greatest king.
That means Ruth, a Moabite woman who once had nothing, becomes the great-grandmother of King David. And through David’s family line would one day come Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
God used Ruth’s story—a story of faith, kindness, and trust—to become part of something far greater.
What Can We Learn from Ruth 4?
This chapter, and the whole book, teaches us so much:
- God is faithful. Even when life seems broken, God is working to bring restoration.
- Redemption is real. Boaz stepped in to redeem Ruth—and in Jesus, we see God doing the same for all of us.
- God uses ordinary people. Ruth wasn’t rich, powerful, or famous. But she was faithful, and God used her in a big way.
Final Thoughts
The book of Ruth ends with hope, healing, and a powerful reminder that God sees the bigger picture. What started with sorrow ends with joy. Ruth and Naomi’s story proves that no life is too broken for God to redeem.
If you’ve ever felt forgotten, uncertain, or stuck in a hard season, remember Ruth’s story: God is always at work—and He’s not finished yet.
Ruth 4:1-22 (WEB)
4:1 Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there. Behold, the near kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by. Boaz said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down!” He came over, and sat down. 2 Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here,” and they sat down. 3 He said to the near kinsman, “Naomi, who has come back out of the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s. 4 I thought I should tell you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who sit here, and before the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know. For there is no one to redeem it besides you; and I am after you.”He said, “I will redeem it.”5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.”6 The near kinsman said, “I can’t redeem it for myself, lest I endanger my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption for yourself; for I can’t redeem it.”7 Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his sandal, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of formalizing transactions in Israel. 8 So the near kinsman said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” then he took off his sandal.9 Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, “You are witnesses today, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi. 10 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”11 All the people who were in the gate, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and like Leah, which both built the house of Israel; and treat you worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. 12 Let your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman.”13 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she bore a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel. 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and sustain you in your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, laid him in her bosom, and became nurse to him. 17 The women, her neighbors, gave him a name, saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.18 Now this is the history of the generations of Perez: Perez became the father of Hezron, 19 and Hezron became the father of Ram, and Ram became the father of Amminadab, 20 and Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon became the father of Salmon, 21 and Salmon became the father of Boaz, and Boaz became the father of Obed, 22 and Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.