Every year in the backcountry of the United States, hikers find themselves in situations where they need to be rescued. Sometimes the situation arises from poor decisions; they ascend in altitude without the proper equipment to handle the colder temperatures. Other times the peril comes as a complete surprise; a thunderstorm in the distance leads to flash flooding in the canyons below. In both cases, trained responders are dispatched to rescue them. In the Old Testament, the book of Ruth is an account of a family where two women find themselves in need of rescue. Naomi had followed her husband to the foreign land of Moab in search of food. God provides a man named Boaz to bring them to safety. However, the story isn’t ultimately about the women or Boaz. Instead, this story is about Jesus and His willingness to rescue those in need.
In the narrative, Naomi’s husband and sons die in Moab. The two sons had each married in the land of Moab. When Naomi decides to return to Israel, Ruth, one of the daughters-in-law, refuses to be left behind. However, even after arriving in Israel, the prospects for these two women are bleak. Their only hope is for a kinsman-redeemer to rescue them. In Israel, a close relative could marry a widow and save the family inheritance. In God’s providence, Ruth ends up gleaning (picking up the leftover scraps from the harvest) in the fields of Boaz. He not only takes notice of her, but he is a kinsman-redeemer to Naomi’s family. If you read the entire story, you find out that Boaz does redeem Ruth, and their marriage leads to a future family tree that includes Jesus the Messiah!
As wonderful as that story is, it points to something more magnificent. In our own story, we find ourselves in dire need of rescue. Not because we’ve wandered into the backcountry and gotten lost, we’ve fallen into a gorge and ended up dead. We need to have a rescuer dispatched who can not only find us but also revive us. This leaves us no hope without a kinsman-redeemer that is better than Boaz. Jesus is that redeemer. Dispatched by the Father, Jesus comes to deliver those who have no way to rescue themselves. He is the perfect kinsman redeemer. No matter how far you’ve fallen, despite how dead your spiritual heart is, Jesus has the power to rescue you!
