"Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me." Ruth 1:8 NIV
The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers." Ruth 2:20 NIV
. Ruth is a very important little book because it tells the story of the kinsman-redeemer (gō’ēl who saved Naomi and Ruth from destitution and provided the ancestor of Israel’s greatest king—David. In this culture, it was very important to keep land ownership within a family (Genesis 38:8; Leviticus 25:25; Deuteronomy 25:5, 6), because that was the way one earned a living. If a landowner died, then the next of kin had the responsibility to acquire the land and everything belonging to that owner-- including livestock and wives. The first son born to the wife he acquired was given the name of the dead relative and this first-born son inherited the property. By doing this, the widow of the deceased was provided for and the family name and ownership of the land and property continued.
What is remarkable in this story is a series of unprovoked kindnesses (hesed): First, Naomi acknowledges that Ruth and Orpah had already shown kindness (hesed) to her when they stayed with her after their husbands’ deaths. Orpah then leaves, but Ruth continues to stay with Naomi even though she was young enough to find another husband in Moab. She may have acted out of loyalty, but it was not required, as was made clear when her sister left. By staying with Naomi, she could help her out financially (Ruth 1:8-22).
Second, Naomi acknowledges the kindness (hesed) of Boaz, a kinsman-redeemer, who had allowed Ruth to glean from his field. It is not entirely clear if he did this out of loyalty as a kinsman-redeemer or if he just found Ruth to be attractive—maybe both. Last, Boaz acknowledges Ruth’s kindness (hesed) to him because she wants him to marry her and does not want to run after younger men. In all of these instances of hesed, loyalty was involved in some way, but was not obligated.
Throughout the Old Testament God shows His hesed love (Exodus 20:6, 34:6; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:10; Psalm 103:8; 145:8; Jeremiah 32:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2). All of these passages have in common the statement that God is “showing love” or “abounding in love (hesed)” to generations that follow. God makes a covenant with Abraham and his descendants, then more specifically with David and his descendants, and then with hesed demonstrates his unswerving faithfulness, not according to the merits of these people, but according to His own character: He is faithful to His covenant. Finally, Jesus is the ultimate expression of hesed love. He, like Boaz to Ruth and Naomi, is our Redeemer.
Pray: "Dear God, help us to know You better as our kinsman-redeemer who wants to show us unconditional love."