HoHum:
Mawwiage. Mawwiage is what bwings us togethew today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam within a dweam. And wove, twue wove, wiww fowwow you fowevah and evah… So tweasuwe youw wove
In the Princess Bride, Westley is driven by one goal- to return to the love of his life, Buttercup. Westley does whatever it takes for his one “true love.” He scales mountains, fights giants, goes through extreme torture, and even dies- or at least he becomes half dead. In all honesty this is the Hollywood kind of love but this love is what we would all like to have.
WBTU:
In our Scripture today we have a real love story. Not about young love, the Romeo and Juliet kind of love, but we do find a man and a woman coming together for mwwiage.
Here we find true love between a man and a woman. True, real love is what they need.
Thesis: Eyes of 4 people: Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and Jesus Christ
For instances:
Naomi
Last time we saw Naomi she wanted people to call her Mara, not pleasant (Naomi) but Mara (bitter). Several weeks, maybe months have gone by since Naomi came to town and told her sad story. Ruth and Naomi have settled into the ole home place. Ruth goes out to the field to glean (Ruth 2 last Sunday night) everyday while Naomi is at home keeping house and having kinfolk come by to help and visit. Even though Naomi has told Ruth that the chances of finding love and a husband in Israel are slim, things have changed. I am sure that Naomi has told many about Ruth’s confession of faith in chapter 1. Even though she is a Moabite, Ruth feared the God of Israel and has come under God’s wings (Ruth 2:12). Much talk among the younger men (vs. 10) of making Ruth their wife. However, Ruth is loyal to Naomi and to Naomi’s family and she will not think of leaving Naomi because of her promise.
Ruth keeps coming back to Naomi and talking about Boaz. Can speculate that Naomi has asked Ruth’s feelings for Boaz as Ruth blushes.
Naomi also knows that the time of harvest will soon be over. Ruth has brought back enough food for quite a while but Naomi knows that they need more than handouts. They need someone to provide for them. Naomi’s time for having children is gone, but Ruth is a different story. Important to have an heir and it must come through Ruth but not just through any man, it must be from a relative and from a man who is willing to have a child be called by Mahlon’s name.
Naomi assumes that Boaz is their nearest relation. Naomi knows that Ruth and Boaz are sweet on each other but what are Boaz’s intentions? Boaz is no young man. Would he be willing to inconvenience himself and take on a needy wife and mother in law?
Naomi and Ruth could force the issue. Deuteronomy 25:5-10, NIV.
To do this and Boaz declined the offer would be humiliating to everyone. Create many hard feelings. Naomi thinks, “How can I force this without causing a public scene?”
One day Ruth tells Naomi that Boaz and his workers are going to spend all night threshing their barley. Been such a good harvest they will have to work long into the night. After this, Boaz and a few of the men would have to guard the grain until morning when they could put some away for the winter and sell the rest. Considering this, Naomi came up with a plan... Vs. 1- 4
Ruth
Vs 5- Ruth did say this but there has to be more to this talk. Ruth is a foreigner and unfamiliar with the customs and traditions of Israel. She would have been resistant to do anything like this. Even today for a woman to pop the question of marriage to a man is unwise. Human nature has not changed and even today, with all our talk of gender equality, the man is to pursue the woman and that is how it is done. Even if Ruth leaves her concerns unspoken, we find that Ruth obeys. Ruth is willing to humiliate herself for Naomi and the family. Naomi instructs Ruth on the proper way to do this.
Vs. 6-9- Harvest time was a cause of celebration and this was a good harvest. Boaz is not drunk, just in good spirits. Harvest time was also a time of hard, long work. Boaz and anyone on that threshing floor would have slept hard. As the text says, Ruth uncovers Boaz’s feet making them exposed to the cool air. Eventually Boaz wakes up and Ruth is there. The night causes Boaz to ask, “Who are you?” Ruth’s plea in vs. 9 goes back to what Boaz said to Ruth in Ruth 2:10- May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. Ruth has placed herself under the God of Israel’s protection, but she also wants to be placed under Boaz’s protection. Naomi probably told her to say this but it is a tender picture of how a husband is to treat a wife. Many times in a wedding ceremony the man is asked, “Do you promise to comfort her and protect her?”
Boaz
Vs. 10-11
Even though Boaz did not take the initiative here, he quickly agrees to marry Ruth and redeem Naomi’s family. The selling point for him is that Ruth is of noble character, a virtuous woman. Makes us wonder why he is so laid back about this. Many reasons just give a few:
1. I take it that Boaz was a widower. His wife had died many years before and they had no children. Because of his grief, he is weary about the prospects of another wife.
2. Boaz is an older man. He says this in vs. 10. Not sure if Ruth wanted to marry someone probably in their 60’s. Ruth is probably in her 30’s.
In the years since his wife’s death, Boaz was busy. Ruth 2:1 says that he was a man of standing, a mighty man. This means that he was a community leader and a military leader. Because of the situation around the time of Gideon, bad time to take a wife. However, now the famine and war were over and times were good. Now is the time for Boaz to turn his thoughts to domestic matters like a wife and children. However, he was slow to do this...needed to be the right situation and the right woman. Not just any woman would do.
3. Vs. 12-13. This is the main reason. Some else is closer in relation to Ruth and Naomi. Naomi probably not aware of this. Boaz is delaying to see what this kinsman redeemer does. When Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz, Boaz knows what Ruth and Naomi want, they want him. Therefore, Boaz is now going to take the initiative with this other kinsman redeemer. He is going to plead their case at the city gate and try to avoid any strife among extended family.
Vs. 14-15: Must address an issue here. Some say that after the promise of marriage they had sexual relations right there on the threshing floor. This is why Boaz and Ruth are secretive here. No, No, No! Ruth and Boaz are both concerned with their reputations. They want this private meeting to stay private. People love to gossip even though they did nothing wrong. Also, these two people are concerned with the right time, right place and right person for sexual relations. The right time would be when the matter is settled and they are married. The right place would be after the wedding ceremony in the marital bed. The right person would be their spouse. Those who say they must have had sexual relations have a warped understanding of human sexuality. We are made in the image of God and not in the image of animals. Animals, when they have the urge to merge, follow their instincts. Some people apply this idea to human beings. “When available human beings will always follow their instincts, their desires because we evolved from animals and that is what animals do.” No, we have free will and we can choose to say no, choose to refuse someone access to our body, choose to remain untouched until marriage. Even though our body says Yes, our mind can say No. We are different from deers in the rut, we have control over our bodies unlike the animals. This same idea is many times applied to youth. “Their hormones kick in and we know they will do it so we need to pass out things to help them do it safely.” Yes, the hormones do kick in but we are not animals and slaves to our passions. We can choose to be pure until marriage. As a culture we are giving into our animals lusts and the consequences are that we live like animals. Only way to break free is to choose to be saved through Jesus Christ and then through the power of the Holy Spirit we can deny our flesh. “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5, NAS95.
Vs. 16-17: Boaz is communicating with Naomi that he will even provide for her. He is going to provide all that is needed for the family of Elimelech.
Vs. 18: There is a time for action (Naomi and Ruth acted) and there is a time to wait and see what happens. Boaz is going to plead their case with this other kinsman redeemer and with the elders at the city gate. Talk about this next Sunday morning
Jesus Christ
“No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.” Deuteronomy 23:3, NIV. How does this work with Ruth and her descendants? Can a person be Moabite by birth and Jewish by religion? Not sure
We know that because of our sins we are shut out and condemned. “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.” Ephesians 2:12, 13, NIV.
This is twue wove. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” 1 John 4:10, NIV.
Jesus Christ is our Kinsman Redeemer
