Grahame Walker

Today we wrap up the story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. This story is often called the greatest short story in the Bible. If you haven’t been with us until now, it’s been quite a journey for Ruth and Naomi. Ruth, a poor widow, a foreigner in the land of Israel, but deeply devoted to the God of Israel and to her mother-in-law Naomi. When we last left them, Ruth had made her willingness to marry Boaz known, because he was a kinsman or family redeemer. You will see throughout this book the term, kinsman-redeemer. In the Jewish culture of that day, if a father or husband died, the closest male relative on the father’s or husband’s side of the family could step in and be what was known as a kinsman redeemer, or family redeemer.