Last chapter of a remarkable book in which despair and death is transformed into hope and new life through a legal procedure known as redemption with love as an underlying motive. In Ruth, God leaves clues of what he will ultimately do through another 'servant' son (Obed) born in Bethlehem.
The nearer kinsman-redeemer is not named - he is called 'Mr So & So' in the text (1). He yields his right of redemption to Boaz, symbolizing this by removing his sandals. Boaz announces to the town elders that they are witnesses. Echo of this statement is found in Acts 1:8.
The genealogy demonstrates that Ruth & Boaz stand directly in the line of Abrahamic promise and that through them God will raise up a great redeemer in king David, and ultimately in Jesus Christ (Mt 1). God is working out His good purposes through human history.
The story of Ruth teaches us that God welcomes total strangers who come to Him in faith. You can not only read the story of Ruth - you can live it! You too can come to God and find freedom and fulness in Him. Is Jesus Christ your kinsman-redeemer?