Have you ever gotten to the cash register to find out what you wanted to purchase cost more than you expected? At that point, you ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” That’s what Mr. No Name Redeemer did as he pondered redeeming Elemilech’s land. The land was worth it, but the full cost would include acquiring Ruth the Moabite as his wife and perpetuating his dead relative’s name at the cost of his. Ironically, this is what happens as he declines the purchase, deciding it’s just too high a price—we never know his name.
Trying to make one’s own name great never goes well… i.e. The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4. In contrast, there are people like John the Baptist, cousin to Jesus, who insisted he must become less (John 3:30) and Jesus become greater. And another who, when writing his Gospel account of his time with Jesus, never mentioned his name, but instead referred to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23). It’s never about our names being known, but always about His.
Over and over again in Scripture, we see the phrase “for the sake of God’s name, ” reminding us that God’s actions are rooted in His divine nature and purposes. And when our actions align with the new nature available to us (because of our full, complete, and costly redemption) we too live with divine purpose. Boaz was a man who willingly sacrificed for the sake of another. By his actions, he foreshadowed Christ being willing to pay the redemption price to purchase creation. And Boaz, in turn, found his name listed in the lineage of Jesus—the one whose name “is above every name” (Philippians 2:9) and who counts us as worth it.
Jessica Klootwyk
Discipleship Director