Day 12: Ruth 2:19-20 - Guardian Redeemer

19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!”
Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.
20 “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.”

​Naomi, who not too long ago, wanted to changer her name to Bitter, is now starting to see glimpses of the goodness and provision of God. Here we are first introduced to the idea of a guardian-redeemer as Naomi tells Ruth this is what Boaz is.
 
The guardian-redeemer is a male relative who has the privilege and responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble or in need. The Hebrew term translates to one who delivers, rescues or redeems property or a person. Again, we see God in advance of all things making a way to protect and provide for His children.
 
In his commentary, David Guzik summarizes several roles of the guardian-redeemer…
 

• He was responsible to buy a fellow Israelite out of slavery (Leviticus 25:48)
• He was responsible to be the “avenger of blood” to make sure the murderer of a family member answered to the crime (Numbers 35:19)
• He was responsible to buy back family land that had been forfeited (Leviticus 25:25)
• He was responsible to carry on the family name by marrying a childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).

 
Naomi comments about the kindness of Boaz, a guardian-redeemer.
 
Jesus is our ultimate guardian-redeemer. He comes to us in our utter poverty and despair. He rescues us from the slavery of sin. He pays the price for our sin and exchanges our sin for His righteousness. He redeems and restores what sin steals from us. He gives us a new name and new home. He doesn’t leave us alone.
 
Look at the descriptions of the guardian-redeemer.  Where do you see Jesus in this role?
 
Describe the kindness Jesus has shown you in your life.