By Mark Grace, CCCNZ Ambassador
Me Rutu Moapi hoki me te wahine a Maharono, kua hokona mai ia e ahau hei wahine maku, hei whakaara ingoa ake mo te tupapaku ki tona kainga tupu, kei hautopea atu te ingoa o te tupapaku i roto i ona teina, i te kuwaha ano o tona wahi; ko koutou n ga kaititiro i tenei ra.
o Ruta foi le fafine Moapi, le avā a Maalona, ua ou faatau ia te ia e fai ma‘u avā, e faatumau ai le igoa o le ua oti i lona tofi, ia le galo le igoa o le ua oti ai lona au uso, ma le faitotoa o lona aai; o molimau i ai outou i lenei aso.
I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!
Ruth 4:10
I have memories of seeing my mother walking carrying a flax basket on our Marae. I want you to imagine Ruth’s life before she met Boaz as a flax basket.
It’s a pretty empty basket. Ruth was poor, a foreigner, and a woman. Ruth’s financial situation was so fragile she that she was reduced to scavenging for food.
Ruth’s social status basket was empty. She was from Moab; she had no position in society. She was clinging on to a Hebrew widow Naomi, who herself was living in poverty.
Ruth’s safety basket was empty. Boaz had to order the young men not to bother her, not to grope her, not to victimise her, not to take advantage of her. Why? Because it is likely that it would have been normal to do so.
The basket of her life was completely empty. Her husband had died, along with her brother and father-in-law, leaving her and Naomi to fend for themselves in a season of famine. She was widowed, hungry, and hopeless.
But in chapter 4, Boaz commits to redeeming Ruth. He buys back their property and takes Ruth to be his wife.
In order to be a family redeemer, Boaz needs to be a near kin. He must be willing and able to redeem. He must do his duty and pay in full. Though the law does not demand it, Boaz does beyond what is required and takes Ruth to be his bride.
I find this picture beautiful, especially because of what it points to.
Jesus humbly came to earth to be our near kin.
Jesus’s love is so great he willingly went to the cross to redeem us.
Jesus paid for us in full by sacrificing himself in full for us.
Jesus has taken us, his church, to be his bride.
When Boaz married Ruth, his wealth, status, and significance became hers. The remarkable thing about trusting in Jesus is that everything of his is now ours. His righteousness, his peace, his sonship, his perfect relationship with the Father—we share in it all. He has held nothing back from us.
I don’t know what empty looks like for you. I don’t know if you are spiritually empty or if you are socially or financially empty, but I know this: there is not an empty you are going through that Jesus does not know. He intentionally emptied himself and became one of us in order to become our Redeemer.
Though he might not give us everything that we want each moment, he is always ready to provide everything we need. He is willing and able to take our emptiness and replace it with his fullness.
