Ruth 4:1-22
Julie’s story: fullness

Intro:   Skit Guys “I am Redeemed”

Some words in our stories are sometimes hard words
    They are significant parts of how our life has been they impact on us BUT
        It does not have to determine our future
of who we will be

I am redeemed is all about the power of Christ
    To forgive and remove our sin and shame

Isn’t that what we have now in Christ
    To be redeemed is the bigger story of God’s work in us
His work is totally YES in Christ for us

I am redeemed is all about God and not about me

Just like God’s loving mercy can seem to hit us sideways
    That so often we don’t see his loving kindness
 being shown towards us when it’s right there

Just like Naomi saw bitterness as one of her words
    she doesn’t need to stay there 
as we see today God is on the move in a surprising way

In the time when the judges judged and when everyone was just doing
    What was right in their own eyes
        God would use a refugee Moabite widow and
 a wealthy farmer to bring about his plans
of the future King

today we add 2 more the last of Naomi’s words
the ones we know for her are
Emptiness, returning, seeking, finding

Today we add Fullness and with that Grandmother
As we keep on seeing right through the life and story of Ruth, Boaz and Naomi the big vision of God is always in small steps and the ordinary things of our day working through his plans step by step

Look at that in Ruth & Boaz’s life

as we read in Ruth 4:1-4
1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there.  When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.

2 Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3 Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.” “I will redeem it,” he said.

Boaz is a shrewd character
    He also is a man of standing in the community

The timing here keeps us hanging on,
when Boaz gets the elders of the town to sit at the gate 
who should be coming through at that time,
but none other than the very man
being sort to resolve Ruth’s future.

There is the sense in which things keep on being propelled along

now we become fully aware of what the threat is for Boaz & Ruth

Boaz won’t rest until he has his answer
    so we need to step back here a moment
        Ruth here isn’t seem as property

There is something ancient going on here we need to get a handle on,
if we are to get what Boaz is doing
it’s called Levrite marriage (from Deuteronomy 25:5-10)
    which was a way a family name could continue on and survive

you might know about that one already
    but levrite marriage worked like this       

if the husband died, a brother or close relative could take his wife as his own so that the first born son would carry on the family name