And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
Ruth 2:20 (ESV)
In Exodus 6:6, God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that He would redeem Israel. In Psalm 19:14, the psalmist calls God his rock and redeemer. But what does it mean that God redeems or is a redeemer?
The book of Ruth gives us one glimpse into the concept of a redeemer, although there are others. Naomi told Ruth that Boaz was a close relative, one of their redeemers (or kinsman-redeemer). The word translated here, and in the passages above, as “redeem” or “redeemer” is the Hebrew word g̱â’al.
When Naomi refers to Boaz as their g̱â’al, she is likely referring to Leviticus 25:47-48. This passage dealt with a person who became poor and sold themselves as a slave to another person. One of his close relatives could g̱â’al (redeem) him, buying him back from the one he has sold himself to.
While Naomi had not sold herself, as a widow, she was in a similar situation. And Boaz would not need to “buy” her back. But he could redeem the situation she was in. And we see that he did that by marrying Ruth and bringing them both under his roof and protection.
And what Boaz did for Naomi and Ruth is essentially what God did with Israel. He delivered them from their hopeless situation in Egypt and brought them under his roof. He was their g̱â’al.
And what God did with Israel, he also did with me. He redeemed me from my bondage to sin and brought me into his family. He is my g̱â’al, my redeemer.
