Boaz inherits Naomi’s land and also takes Ruth as his wife. Later in this chapter, we will see that they actually marry. Through her marriage to Boaz, and the son they produce, Ruth becomes a matriarch of Jesus Christ (Matt. 1:5).
Ruth 4
11 And all the people who were in the gate, and the elders, testified: The LORD will grant that the woman who comes to your house will be like Rachel and like Leah, who both built the house of Israel. Act mightily in Ephrathah, and proclaim a name in Bethlehem!
Rachel and Leah
Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob, and from them came the twelve sons of Jacob, from whom the twelve tribes of Israel were formed. Rachel and Leah are the matriarchs of Israel. Through her marriage to Boaz, Ruth also entered this family line and built the house of Israel. Ruth later gave birth to David, and even later, to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephrathah and Bethlehem
We previously referred to the story of Rachel’s death in the fields of Ephrathah, near Bethlehem. She died giving birth to a son she named Ben-Oni (son of my sorrows), but whom his father called Benjamin (son of my right hand). A beautiful type of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came among Israel as the Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3), but was exalted by God the Father to His right hand.
First Coming
This verse speaks specifically of Ruth as the matriarch of the house of David, who would bear the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ. It speaks of His coming in humiliation in Bethlehem and what we call His first coming. The following verse places greater emphasis on His second coming.