Ruth 4

Chapter 4 concludes the Book of Ruth; and the lessons and summary for this passage would basically be the same as those for the Book as a whole.

The repeated theme is clearly that "God Redeems"; and that Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer, having bought us back by His Blood from spiritual poverty and slavery.  The Church becomes the Bride of Christ, and we are given the privilege of being co-heirs with Him.

The path that Ruth walked from TEARS to TOIL to TRUST to TRIUMPH is one that most of us at one time or another have walked; and we may even still be in one of those stages now.   But, overall, we can see that the road to triumph is filled with curves and bumps.  It is an unrealistic expectation that we would have the victorious Christian life without TEARS or TOIL.  But, as believers, we can balance that out with TRUST and Hope of TRIUMPH  (even if not here on earth; but ultimately in Glory).   The pain in the tragedies and trials help us to grow spiritually and can enable God to do His deepest work; and the experience and encounter with God's CHESED Love in the midst of difficulty is a glimpse of the true joy in Glory.

God's blessing to Ruth and Boaz, giving them the privilege of becoming the great grandparents of King David and ultimately ancestors of Jesus Christ, had to have far surpassed any "dream" they may have had for themselves.   This was basically the message of the book that I had read a few years ago, "Shattered Dreams - God's Unexpected Pathway to Joy" by Dr Larry Crabb; which was based on the Book of Ruth from Naomi's perspective.  Sometimes God allows our dreams to be shattered, in order to replace them with far "bigger dreams".