Ruth 4:9
And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi.
At the city gate Boaz called the elders and all the people to witness that he had bought from the hand of Naomi all that had belonged to Elimelech and all that had belonged to Chilion and Mahlon, publicly assuming the duty of Goel as nearest kinsman. The purchase fulfilled the kinsman's responsibility to restore the family inheritance, redeeming the family land together with taking Ruth the Moabitess to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. It was an example of the law by which a relative could redeem a lost inheritance, and its open transaction before elders and people displayed the sweet, simple home life among the children of Israel. In the Greek Old Testament the word rendered witness when Boaz calls for attestation is identical to the word rendered martyr elsewhere, proving that to be a martyr signifies only to witness truth.
The kinsman nearer than Boaz refused to redeem lest he mar his own inheritance and yielded his prior right, leaving Boaz free to act and to marry Ruth and preserve the dead man's name and inheritance. The law illustrated was that the nearest able blood-relative had the right to redeem a kinsman's lost land, restore the family inheritance and release from bondage. By the law of Moses the one who was next of kin should redeem his kinsman's land and receive the hand of her who had been his wife, so Boaz bought again all the possession of Elimelech and Chilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi and took Ruth to be his wife. The open transaction before witnesses shows that marriage involved public ceremony with witnesses, pledges and covenants.
The near kinsman is a type pointing forward to Christ, part of God's care for the Seed by which Ruth the Moabitess maiden became one of the fleshly progenitors of the Lord. As humanity lost its inheritance and fell into bondage, Jesus became humanity's nearest blood-relative with the right to redeem both people and their inheritance. As man's next of kin, kinsman and elder brother He purchased the possession forfeited by sin, redeeming the lost when no other being could rescue them. The purchase and redemption of Naomi's inheritance point forward to Christ, who had the right to redeem and did so through the sacrifice of His life to purchase pardon, save from sin and conquer the grave and save.
To redeem He took not the form of angels but lowered Himself from His throne to become human, born with a sinful nature yet without yielding to sin. He trod the human path, taking man's place and dying in disgrace that man might not die. As Boaz became Ruth's redeemer and husband, Christ can succor the weak and tempted, bear cares, answer prayers, comfort day by day and save all who let Him. The account teaches trust in a redeemer to meet every need by redeeming from sin and providing needed grace.