In the final chapter, we reach the climax of the story. Boaz is going to fulfill his promises to Ruth. In this passage, the other kinsman appears, whom Boaz had already mentioned when he met Ruth on the threshing floor (3:12). Boaz seeks out this kinsman by taking a seat in the city gate.
Ruth 4
1 And Boaz went up to the gate and sat there.
Power and dominion
In chapter 3, we find Boaz on the threshing floor, in chapter 4 in the gate. Just as the threshing floor is a symbol of Zion, so the gate is a symbol of dominion. In the Bible, the gate is not merely a passageway, but the place of justice and government (Deut. 21:19), and of power and victory (Gen. 22:17; Matt. 16:18). Whoever sits in the gate shares in the power. That is why Boaz arranges the redemption there, together with the elders of the city.
The government is on His shoulder
Zion represents the place where God dwells and reveals His government (Ps. 132:13–14). In prophecy, Zion is the center of God’s Kingdom, from which the law and the Word proceed (Isa. 2:3; Micah 4:2). When the Messiah appears in Zion in the future, He will “sit in the gate,” that is, assume the government (Isa. 9:5).