The Unknown Kinsman-Redeemer

Written by Jarred Rushing

(6 minutes)

Then Boaz invited ten men of the city council and said, "Please, sit down here with us." After they were seated, Boaz turned to the kinsman-redeemer and said, "Sir, Naomi has returned from the country of Moab, and she's selling the piece of property that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought you ought to know about it. Buy it if you want. We can make it official in the presence of those here and in the presence of the elders of our people.  As the kinsman-redeemer, you have the first right of refusal. Redeem it if you choose to, but if not, tell me so I will know, as I am next in line." The man replied, "I'll redeem it."

Then Boaz added, "The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead. Therefore, it will be your responsibility to father a child in order to maintain the dead man's name on his inheritance." At this, the kinsman-redeemer balked and said, "In that case, I'm not able to redeem it for myself without risking my own inheritance. Take my purchase option of redemption yourself, for I can't do it."  (Ruth 4:2-6)

Here we meet the nameless, faceless, could-have-been kinsman-redeemer who turned down his opportunity at becoming part of the lineage of Jesus. He was all-in when it was about gaining more property to enhance his portfolio, but when the commitment of marriage and producing offspring was brought into the picture, he suddenly recants his previous position and relinquishes his right to redeem his own family to Boaz. He goes down in history as the man with no name who couldn't afford to connect himself relationally because of what it would cost him personally. 

You can probably already see the lines that this scripture is drawing in the sand. We have in this story another example of one man who values personal destiny and another man who values generational legacy. We need to make some notes about this in our heart. 

Only that which is produced through generational legacy is noteworthy. Scripture doesn't even grace us with the name of the man who was first in line at being kinsman-redeemer to Naomi and Ruth. We have names peppered throughout the scriptures. Names of evil, sinister kings. Names of people who we know nothing else about other than their name - like most of the names in 1 Chronicles. We have names everywhere of all kinds of people. But we know nothing about this man other than the decision he made to protect his own life in lieu of being connected to something greater. He chose convenience over covenant. 

Only that which is produced through generational legacy is noteworthy. 

Ruth the Moabite (not the Jew) has her own book in the Jewish scriptures. Why is her story so noteworthy, so significant? I believe what makes Ruth's story remarkable is also what makes the unknown kinsman-redeemer's story so disgraceful.

What we have in Ruth is an unwavering commitment to honor the family that she was planted in and what we have in the unknown kinsman-redeemer is an unwavering commitment to honor self. Ruth elevated the people around her. Ruth held in high esteem the family that Yahweh planted her in. Ruth saw generational legacy, the value of an ever-expanding family, as the most important thing she could give her life to. The unknown kinsman-redeemer elevated himself. He held in high esteem his own life and was only willing to invite what was convenient and comfortable into it. The commitment of being married to something and having to produce offspring that would not benefit his own bottom-line was terrifying to him. And then there's Ruth, sowing her life as seed in the ground and seeking with her whole heart to be married to someone and to produce offspring that would literally change the world. 

Ruth has her story echoed for generations and generations, nestled inside the Jewish scriptures, her life becoming the soil that would produce kings, King David and the King of Kings, Yeshua the Christ. And it wasn't just her metaphorical field that produced those kings, it was her actual field, too. What field do you think King David played in as a young boy? What field do you think he became a shepherd in? The field where he learned to worship Yahweh? And what field do you think the shepherds were in that night when an angel army lit up the sky with praise, announcing the birth of the Son of God in Bethlehem? 

Ruth has a legacy that saved the world.

The unknown kinsman-redeemer has... no name.

We are endeavoring to become Kingdom fathers and mothers at The Wilderness Place. We want to be like Ruth and Boaz, selling all we have (personal destiny) to purchase a field and the treasure that lies within (generational legacy). We see the value in the field and the treasure, just like Jesus did. Jesus redeemed both, the people and the land. And when Kingdom men and women commit their hearts to seeing a Kingdom family produced, they will redeem both as well. 

As you take a walk with Abba today, first be filled with gratitude for Jesus, your Kinsman-Redeemer, and then ask Abba how the legacy of Ruth and Boaz applies to your life. "Abba, where am I in this story?" Open yourself up and allow His love to wash every part of your heart. Whatever His love reveals, His love is also coming to heal. 

How can I, as a Beloved Son and Daughter of Yahweh, engage my heart and my life in redeeming the field and the treasure in that field? Abba, I'm willing to be seed in the ground. Plant me!

Abba, show me how I can invest my life today in honoring the Kingdom family that you've planted me in. Take me from occasional gleaner to committed deed-holder. Take me from personal destiny to generational legacy. I want to co-labor with you in seeing the land and the people redeemed for Your glory, until Your glory covers the earth like the waters cover the sea, until the kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. 

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