Children’s Sermon
Tell about time when Helen and I were sound asleep and suddenly – plop, something jumped into the bed with us! I woke, sat up, stared blindly into the dark (of course saw nothing), and laid back down thinking I had a bad dream. When it happened the second time, I was certain it was not a dream. I still could not see anything, but I could feel it on the bedspread!
Guess what it was?
A chipmunk! What would frighten you if you woke up with it in bed with you?
Today we read about a man who went to sleep one night after a party and when he awoke in the middle of the night – lo and behold, a woman lay at his feet.
When you are ready to get married, I doubt that you will use this method to find a wife or husband. But what seems pretty strange to us made sense to them and we actually do some things pretty similar.
Introduction
Read Ruth 3.1-18.
Americans exchange about 141 million cards around Valentine’s Day, second in volume only to Christmas cards. Last year, Hallmark celebrated its 100th anniversary and noted that the simple process of buying and sending a card to someone keeps over 13,000 people employed. They gross about $4 billion per year and employ 700 writers, artists, and photographers. Since tomorrow is Valentine’s day, it seems strangely appropriate that we have Ruth 3 this morning.
Proverbs 30.18-20: Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a serpent on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a virgin.
In the Bible, Proverbs sits in the section called, “Wisdom Literature,” sound council on how to live faithfully in a fallen world. And you can be sure that no one is invited to write the wisdom of the Bible if he is “a few fries short of a Happy Meal.” What I’m saying is that this Agur fellow who wrote Proverbs 30 was smart above the normal smarts. He knows a great deal about a great deal. And yet when it comes to women and men, he throws in the towel: “It’s too wonderful for me,” he says. Nowadays, we would say, “It’s above my pay grade.”
Maybe Agur’s wisdom is his willingness to bow out of a discussion of romantic love. We usually do not talk about such things in church; it makes people uncomfortable. But God made us male and female; so I am pretty sure that he is not ashamed or embarrassed about human intimacy. The Song of Songs is a book of the Bible dedicated to exploring romantic and passionate love. And so too Ruth, especially the chapter we consider this morning.
Many scholars consider this one of the best short stories ever written. Let me remind you of the events so far.
Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, lived in Bethlehem until a famine forced them to move to a neighboring country… where he dies, leaving Naomi with her two sons. Desperate, she negotiates marriages for them, and they remain in this land of “Moab” for ten years. But the tragedy worsens when her two sons also die. God seems to shut himself off from Naomi’s tears. Broken and bitter, the woman drags herself back to Bethlehem to survive without hope or happiness.
Now one of Naomi’s daughters-in-law, Ruth, has come to believe that God can be trusted to do good even while taking us through paths of suffering. That is a pretty big step of faith, but she trusts God and so she returns with Naomi to Bethlehem to care for her mother-in-law.
You should know that in Israel, the “law of gleaning” provided for the poor and widowed by requiring landowners to leave the corners of their fields untouched while harvesting. Then the poor could pick that grain and survive. Naomi taught this system to Ruth on their walk back from Moab, and Ruth determines to glean for food as soon as she and Naomi get settled in. With no idea of where she is or where she is going, Ruth “happens” upon the field of a relative. Boaz does more than allow Ruth to glean; he notices her, complements her, and gives her kind attentions. This continues for weeks of harvest.
Ruth appreciates Boaz’ generosity and begins to feel warmly toward him. She likes the attention he shows her and begins to dream of love and marriage. Boaz is older, but Ruth wants a man who can provide, one who is wise and strong, one who is kind and caring, one who is suave and sophisticated. Ruth is beautiful, no doubt, so she could have any number of young men. But she is concerned with compassion and godliness, two traits Boaz exudes in abundance.
That brings us to chapter 3, where we notice…
1. The Subtleties of the Language of Love
The Bible says that God controls all things for the good of his people. So how do a godly man and a faithful and beautiful young woman meet and marry? Does faith in the sovereign rule of God require some kind of passive, wait and see approach to life and relationships? Or do we simply run wild and trust God to sort it out in the end?
Naomi and Ruth and Boaz answer that question with what Pastor John Piper calls a “strategic righteousness.” They behave righteously – zeal for purity and godliness guards their passions. And they combine that faithfulness with strategy – intention, purpose, planning. Because of their faith and hope, they refuse either to resign themselves to passive avoidance of evil or to chase illicit pleasures.
Notice, first, Naomi’s strategic righteousness. When chapter one ended, Naomi was depressed and discouraged. She saw no hope for the future because she felt God did not care.
But God intervenes – he leads Ruth to glean in Boaz’ field. Suddenly Naomi remembers that pain is not the end of the journey, but the path to delight in him above all things. Hope rises in her heart; she again looks to the future, realizing that she must help find a husband for Ruth. Only hope-full people plan and strategize for the future. Whether it be individuals, businesses, or churches, those who doubt the future simply maintain the status quo and go through the motions of life. When we are convinced of a future with possibilities, we plan and strategize. And if we trust in God, we are active and strategic in the pursuit of righteous outcomes.
So Naomi develops a plan of subtlety and power. She knows Ruth likes Boaz, and that he has made subtle overtures to Ruth. So how will she tell Boaz that Ruth is interested?
Her solution seems strange. In the Jewish world of the time, the nearest surviving relative of a widow could marry the woman and keep the inheritance in the family. Boaz appears to be this “kinsman-redeemer” (as it is called) and so the passion developing between these two people matches. But Naomi tells Ruth to get clean and attractive, go to where Boaz sleeps, sneak in, lift up his blanket and lie down at his feet. Where will this lead? “He will tell you what to do.”
This solution seems fraught with risk. Boaz might be offended by such suggestive actions and dismiss Ruth as a sleazy seductress. Or, with heart merry from celebration of the harvest, he might fall to temptation to have sexual relations with her. The author does not explain; he wants us to feel the suspense. Uncover his feet and lie down – is that a euphemism for something much more risqué? The Hebrew is ambiguous; we do know that Naomi’s plan is big, bold, and full of faith in God and these two people. I like it! She has hope – so she is willing to rake risks to be in the path of God’s blessings.
Ruth is next. She follows the plan, but must ad-lib when Boaz awakes, startled, and “Behold, a woman lay at his feet!” “Who are you?”
“I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
That seems a weird thing to say, but Ruth uses that phrase to subtly and enticingly show that she notices his advances toward her and that she too desires him. Back in chapter 2, Boaz complemented Ruth: “May you receive a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
As Ruth considered not only what Boaz said, but also how he said it, as she and Naomi discussed what was happening, she realized that Boaz was doing more than complementing her faith in God. He is saying, “Because you take refuge under the wings of God, you are the kind of woman I want to cover with my wings.” He does not risk a more open or direct statement, for the sake of his heart and her decision. He does not force the issue; he asks with the language of love.
Lovers do not communicate in the same way as officers of the board of the bank. Clarity, efficiency, sharpness – these characteristics promote understanding in a business relationship. But between lovers, innuendo, hints, intimation – these carry the emotions with subtle intention.
Ruth responds in kind – she says yes to his proposal of marriage, but with action and words that play on his. She says, “Yes, I heard you. Your heart stirs when you think of me. Mine does too. I need a husband, but I want you. You honor me by observing that I seek refuge under God’s wings; now I honor you by asking that you be God’s wings for me.”
Hearts pound in the moments of silence between Ruth’s words and Boaz’ response. She wonders if she interpreted the language of love correctly; he wonders if he might actually be this lucky! Nothing has happened yet; simply suggestive words, open to interpretation. The language of love.
Now Boaz’ strategic righteousness. First, he celebrates Ruth’s response and makes it clear that he will marry her.
Ruth 3.10-11: And he said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.”
But the shared passion, the romance of midnight alone under the stars, the sexual craving stirred by the realization of mutual desire, the intimacy of a man and woman alone planning marriage and looking forward to shared love – these do not overcome the self-control of Boaz.
Ruth 3.12-13: “And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Boaz will not violate this beautiful woman, though their passions run hot. Even love must wait for righteousness and propriety. And we wait another week for the conclusion.
Why does God have this story in his Bible?
First, here is a model of romantic love. God created love and sex. Rather than be ashamed of passion and pleasure between a man and his wife, we celebrate it as proof of the goodness of God, and we stir it up with the language of love. Direct communication has its place in the business world. But innuendo, playful allusions, indirect and subtle suggestions – these have a power between lovers that remains unmatched in politics and business. Ruth and Boaz show the strength of relational language and emotional intelligence.
Second, here is an example of righteous restraint. Faced with opportunity and passion, few people today find reason to delay intimacy for marriage. But Ruth and Boaz do. Why? We might suppose they are simply moral people. They felt physical desire and were tempted to consummate their relationship, but their will-power and self-control gave them victory. The Bible includes their story to motivate us to be likewise strong and good. Righteousness leads to faith in God.
The problem with that moral is that the Bible insists on the opposite: faith produces righteousness. Being a moral person does not lead one to true faith; rather, true faith makes one more moral. When we struggle with temptation, we do need more faith in our will-power, but more faith in God’s goodness and love. When we believe (as Ruth and Boaz and Naomi do) that God can be trusted to bring good from every situation and circumstance, then we also trust his way of doing things. Faith gives strength to obey. Ruth and Boaz prove that God’s promises are great and wonderful enough to give victory!
Third, here is a picture of a redeemer to come. Ruth and Boaz eventually marry, give birth to Obed, the grandfather of King David, from whom (in another 1000 years) will be born Jesus. Boaz is more than simply an ancestor of The Redeemer, however. Consider how he looks and acts like Jesus.
• Boaz’ mother was a prostitute; Jesus is the son of an unmarried woman and was considered illegitimate.
• Boaz is middle-aged, worthy, respectable, godly, and of means, yet still single. That is very rare. We suspect that he was marginalized because of his family. Jesus was marginalized because of his race and background.
• Boaz sets his love on someone poor and needy. Yes he noticed Ruth’s beauty. But it was not the beauty of Hollywood model or a pampered and preened sophisticate. He saw the hidden beauty of the heart, the character and faithfulness behind the sweat of work and the labor of poverty. Jesus lavishes his love on the poor and needy. Those who come to Christ are without hope prior to his love, foolish in the eyes of the world, weak and helpless apart from the wings of God’s love and provision.
• Boaz will sacrifice his hopes for Ruth’s honor. He wants with every fiber of his body to love this beautiful creature who admits she wants him. But the law stands in the way. Another has the right to Ruth first. As we will see next week, he waits and then redeems Ruth at great cost. Jesus too loves a people; but the law stands – no one enters the fullness of God’s holy joy still stained by sin. Heaven and true happiness are shut to sinners. Unless one can be found to pay the price of redemption, they will die in the poverty of their sin. With Boaz in mind, now we understand Paul’s euphoric description of love and redemption:
Ephesians 5.25-32: Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
