Introduction.
The story of Ruth occurred during the period of the Judges. The last verse of the book of Judges tells us about the spiritual condition of the Israelites during this period. Israel was full of idolatry and repeated breaking of its covenant with God. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes. “ (Judges 21:25). The author of this book is said to be Samuel.
The departure
The book of Ruth unfolds with a famine in the land of Judah where a man from Bethlehem and his family left to live for a while in Moab, a pagan nation about 50 miles from their town. The man's name is Elimelek, his wife is Naomi and his two sons were Mahlon and Killion who took Moabites for their wives. One is Orpah and other is Ruth.
The tragedy
Without giving us the details, the Bible says Naomi’s husband Elimelek died. After living there for ten years, Mahlon and Killion also died.
It can be argued that they left a famine in Judah only to suffer a condition of poverty worse than the famine that they left in Judah. Naomi was left without her two sons and husband.
The return
Upon hearing that the famine is over in Judah, Naomi decided to go back home. She was well aware of a community assistance decreed by God for the widows, foreigners, and the poor. (Deut 24:19)
19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go -back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
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Naomi expressed her gratitude to her daughters-in-law for their kindness and tearfully advised them to go back to their families. But also in tears, they refused to go. They had sympathy for Naomi and they were ready to go back with her.
Naomi explained that she had no more sons to become their husbands. After much reasonable urging from Naomi, Orpah decided to stay and go back to her family.
Main Points
I – The Kindness of Ruth
Your God will be my God
Ruth decided to follow her mother-in-law. She was concerned about her welfare, being old and a widow. Ruth insisted to go with her when she said: (Ruth 1:16-17)
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t v. urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
Ruth asserted her kindliness with a firm declaration of her faith in God.
This is interesting because Naomi, who is supposed to be the godly person, showed bitterness towards God when she said:
“It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” (Ruth 1:13)
Ruth trusted in God in the face of uncertainties:
· she will be an outcast in a land that is not her own,
· she will live in poverty and a bleak future.
They arrived in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was just beginning. Ruth did not waste time. She asked permission from Naomi to go and glean among the harvesters. Gleaning is the work of gathering the leftover grain during the harvest.
She worked the whole day from early morning until evening. (Ruth 2:17). She threshed the barley she had gathered and it amounted to an ephah (about 13 kilos). This would last them for a couple of weeks.
Ruth continued to glean for grain in the field but what does the future hold? They will need to wait for the next harvest to get some food to eat. Yet Ruth trusted in the providence of God.
Indeed, life is full of uncertainties but our faith keeps us going. This is what we can learn from the faith of Ruth.
II – The kindness of Boaz.
Who is Boaz?
Boaz happens to be the owner of the field where Ruth was gleaning from and also happens to be a close relative of Elimelek. The relationship makes him a guardian-redeemer, one who has the right to redeem the properties of Naomi and redeem Ruth to be his wife in accordance to the law of redemption found in the book of Deuteronomy 25:5.
5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.
In Chapter 2 we learn that Boaz is a man of character, a godly man.
Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted his workers: “The Lord be with you”, and the harvesters answered back: “The Lord Bless you.” (Ruth 2:4)
Boaz learned from the harvesters about Ruth. (2:5-8)
The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi.7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me.
The Wings of God
Boaz talked to Ruth with kindness. Ruth asked why Boaz was so kind to her. (2:10-12)
1 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband-how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
We can learn a few lessons from the passage above:
· As Christians, we enjoy protection from God under whose wings we have come for refuge.
· Boaz stated that it is God who repays our kindness to others. We should not expect rewards as a result of our kindness from the praises of people for our personal glory. Instead, we should pray that our kindness, which is the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), would bring glory and praise to God, the source of our kindness.
Boaz, the Guardian-Redeemer
As we continue with the story, Naomi learns from Ruth about the kindness of Boaz to her. Naomi testifies to the righteousness of Boaz when she said: (Ruth 2:20-22)
20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.[a]”
21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’”
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.
The Kindness of Naomi
Naomi finds a home for Ruth. (Ruth 3:1)
3 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home [a] for you, where you will be well provided for.
Naomi gives instructions to Ruth: (3:2-4)
2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
Perhaps what we can learn from the instructions of Naomi to Ruth in finding a home is that God has given us an instruction on how we can find a home in His kingdom. It is called the Gospel. (2 Thess 1:8, Acts 2:38).
Ruth obeys Naomi (Ruth 3:7-17)
So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law instructed her to do. (Ruth 3:5)
Boaz was startled in the middle of the night and noticed Ruth
Ruth made herself known and asked Boaz to redeem her in accordance with the law by spreading his garment over her. Boaz expressed appreciation that she chose him instead of running after younger men around. Boaz promised to redeem her but cautioned that there was another more closely-related guardian-redeemer than he.
The redemption (Ruth 4:13)
Wasting no time, Boaz went to the town gate and waited for the guardian-redeemer.
When the guardian-redeemer arrived, Boaz explained to him that Elimelek had died and he had the right to redeem the properties of his widow Naomi, in accordance with the law of redemption. The guardian-redeemer agreed to redeem the estate of Naomi. However, when Boaz mentioned that he also needed to redeem Ruth, the Moabite widow of Mahlon, the guardian-redeemer declined to redeem her because this might endanger his estate. Consequently, in the presence of the elders, Boaz redeemed the estate of Naomi and Ruth as his wife.
Boaz has set an example for us to emulate. In the matter of redeeming Ruth, he left this matter to the hands of God. Certainly, Boaz wanted to take Ruth as his wife yet he did not cut corners in order to achieve his personal desires. He followed the law strictly in honor of God.
III – The Greatest Kindness of All
Ruth bears a son (Ruth 4:
They named him Obed
Obed became the father of Jessie
Jessie became the father of David.
What is the significance of David?
In the book of Genesis, God said to Abraham, "Through your seed shall peoples on earth will be blessed.” (Gen 12:1-3) Fourteen generations afterwards David was born. Another fourteen generations later, Jesus (the seed) was born.
· Jesus is the son of David as prophesied in the scriptures as the Messiah, the anointed.
· Jesus obeyed the will of God the Father by shedding his blood and dying on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.
Famine in the life of an unrepentant sinner
There is suffering in the life of an unforgiven sinner in this life and in the afterlife.
· the famine of hopelessness
· the famine of emptiness
· the famine of the absence of the Holy Spirit
· the famine of God’s blessings
· the famine of the fear of death and the judgment
Sin leads to a life of suffering:
· Man is foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and desires. (Titus 3:3)
· The cravings of a sinful man: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life. ( 1 John 2:16)
· All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
The Return
Naomi returned to her homeland. She had nothing to stand on except to trust in the providence of God. This incident reminds us of the parable of the prodigal son who came to his senses after much suffering and went back home to his father. (Luke 15:11-24)
Likewise, when we come to our senses and realize the kindness and mercy of God, let us hasten to return to Him.
Tlitus 3:4-7
But when the kindness and mercy of God appeared, He saved us not because of our righteousness but through the washing of rebirth poured generously by the Spirit through Jesus Christ.
The Kindness of God to a sinner did not appear in a dream, in a vision, or through an angel. The kindness of God appeared through a Christian who had the love and compassion to take an interest in the needs of another and shared the good news of the Gospel. It is likened to Naomi giving instructions to Ruth on how to find a home.
Redemption in Jesus Christ
In our story, Boaz, a godly man, was well aware of the law of God concerning the redemption of ownership and properties. He followed them with strict compliance.
Jesus Christ, our true redeemer obeyed the will of the Father concerning the redemption of man from sins. (Matt 5:17)
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Boaz redeemed the property of Naomi (probably mortgaged or sold) with pieces of silver. Our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed the sinner not with silver or gold but with his own blood. (1 Peter 1:18,19)
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
CONCLUSION.
As Christians, let us keep on practicing the virtue of kindness. Let us, in every opportunity, express the fruit of our love and compassion to others who might be in need, and selflessly help them where we are capable. Of course, let us not forget that the greatest kindness that we can ever give to anyone is to share the good news of the Gospel, and teach that the greatest kindness of all is the wonderful grace of God to everyone by sending His Son Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins.
