What It Means to Be Redeemed


“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion…” Psalms 103:2-4 NIV


Ruth.

When I asked my community of email subscribers to name a favorite woman of the Bible, her name came up several times.

She’s one of my favorites too. Ruth’s future didn’t look too promising, but that didn’t stop her from being an important part of our history as sisters in Christ. You see, Ruth lost her husband early in their marriage, and then she separated from her sister. I’m sure they’d come to depend on each other for love and support. I mean, who else could identify with her situation and understand like a sister who’d experienced similar circumstances?

Through her heartbreak, Ruth showed great loyalty and commitment to her mother-in-law Naomi. Her words have become a well-known testament to faith in God. Talking to Naomi, Ruth said this:

“Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

A hard worker by nature, Ruth didn’t give up when the future looked bleak. She took it one day at a time, doing more than anyone would’ve expected. We may not know all the reasons Ruth made the choice to stay with Naomi, but we do know she displayed the type of character that honors God. And He chose to use this humble woman of faith to fulfill His divine plan.

 

But she couldn’t do it without a redeemer.

What does redeemer mean?

 

A relative of Ruth named Boaz was presented with the idea of being Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer, meaning he could marry her and provide for Ruth and her family. As Ruth’s intended redeemer, Boaz rightfully presented her situation to Elimelek, who was the nearest kin to Ruth and her mother-in-law, Naomi. Elimelek could have taken Ruth in, vowing life-long responsibility to the two women.

They had nothing to worry about though. God’s planned redeemer was in place. Boaz stepped in, binding the promise that would seal the covenant and continue the family lineage with the birth of their son, Obed. Obed became the future grandfather to King David.


We can learn many lessons from Ruth's life, including this:

God’s plan for her life could be fulfilled because she was redeemed.

God’s Plan for Ruth

God used Ruth to continue the lineage from which His Son Jesus Christ would come to earth. She was an integral part of God’s great plan, even though at times she surely felt alone, afraid, and maybe even unworthy.

And God will use us too. Because just like Ruth, we have a redeemer who took every part of our broken past and is using it all to create something beautiful.