Sermon 6: From Bitterness to Blessing
Series: Ruth
Chuck Sligh
July 22, 2019
What a difference a day can make! One day Ruth went into the fields to glean a poor widow with no prospects for the future and by the end of the day she found herself the object of the special attention and affection of a man who would change her destiny.
NOTE: A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon by request at chucksligh@hotmail.com. Please mention the title of the sermon and the Bible text to help me find the sermon in my archives.
TEXT: Turn to Ruth 2
INTRODUCTION
Illus.
• One April day in 1945, Harry S Truman wrote to his mother: “I had hurried to the White House to see the president, and when I got there, I found out I was the president!” (Truman, of course, assumed the presidency at Franklin Roosevelt’s death.)
• David went out one day an unknown shepherd boy to take food to his brothers in Saul’s army; and before the day ended, he was a hero who had slain Goliath—and his life was never the same after that day.
• Peter went to work one day in his fishing trade; and before the day had ended, he abandoned everything to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and become His disciple.
What a difference a day can make! One day made a great difference in Ruth’s life too: She went into the fields one day to glean as a poor widow with no prospects for the future and by the end of the day she found herself the object of the special attention and affection of a man named Boaz, who would change her destiny. At that time, Ruth did not know who Boaz was, but she certainly found out when she arrived home and gave the news to Naomi.
Let’s read about it in our text: verses 17-23 – “So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where have you gleaned today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law whom she had worked with, and said, ‘The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.’ 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and to the dead.’ Naomi then said unto her, ‘The man is a relative of ours, one of our kinsman-redeemers.’ 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He also said to me, ‘Stay with my young men, until they have finished all my harvest.’ 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field. 23 So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley…and…wheat harvests; and lived with her mother-in-law.”
I want you to notice something in our text. Did you notice the change in Naomi’s attitude? She’s no longer the bitter widow we met in chapter 1. In chapter 1, her life was falling apart, but now God is putting her life back together again. What made the difference?—BOAZ arrives on the scene!
That reminds me of the old Ray Stevens song Along Came Jones about those old-timey westerns where you had a poor lady in distress who would be rescued from a nefarious villain by a tall, lanky hero. The lyrics go like this:
I plopped down in my easy chair and turned on Channel 2.
A bad gunslinger called Salty Sam was chasin’ poor Sweet Sue.
He trapped her in the old sawmill and said with an evil laugh:
“If you don’t give me the deed to your ranch, I’ll saw you all in half!”
And then he grabbed her [Female voice in background says, “Help! He grabbed me!”]
(And then) he tied her up [Female voice says: “Help! He’s tying me up!”]
(And then) he turned on the bandsaw [“Help! Help! He turned on the bandsaw!”]
(And then…) [came the chorus:]
And then along came Jones
Tall, thin Jones
Slow-walkin’ Jones
(Slow-talkin’ Jones)
Along came long-legged, lanky Jones
The song goes on to describe nefarious deeds of this notorious bad guy: He ties her up in an old, abandoned mine threatening to blow her to bits, he puts her in a burlap sack and ties her to the railroad tracks. But each time she’s rescued by the tall, thin, slow-walkin’, slow-talkin’, lanky Jones.
Now I know some of you are thinking, “Pastor, what in the WORLD does this have to do with the book of Ruth?” Well, here’s the tie-in: Boaz is the tall, thin, slow-walkin,’ slow-talkin,’ long-legged, lanky Jones of the book of Ruth. This will become more evident as we make our way through the book of Ruth
For today, consider with me three NEW things in the lives of Ruth and Naomi from our text:
I. FIRST, WE SEE A NEW WORD ON NAOMI’S LIPS – See if you can figure out what it is: Verses 19-20 – “And her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where have you gleaned to day, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, ‘The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.’ 20 And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the LORD, who who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and to the dead.’ Naomi then said unto her, ‘The man is a relative of ours, one of our kinsman-redeemers.’”
Note the word blessed in verses 19 and 20. Previously, Naomi has been bitter—bitter because of her empty home, her empty heart and her empty hands. She found nothing to rejoice in. But now she’s using this new word: “blessed.”
The key to getting victory over a bitter, despondent spirit is always to get our eyes off of circumstances, and to get our eyes on the blessings of God.
In verse 19, Naomi saw what Ruth had brought home, so she acknowledges that Boaz has been kind and that the Lord has been at work. The words “the Lord” are again on her lips, but this time she blesses the Lord with her words instead of speaking bitterly about Him and blaming Him for her troubles.
You know, God wants us to bless Him in both the good times and bad.
• Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – “Rejoice always. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
In this passage, God commands us to the thankful in all things. Naomi is to be praised for blessing the Lord now that things were going her way, but she should have been thankful to God and blessing His name even when she was in the trial, as expressed in today’s first song, “Blessed Be Your Name.” While we’re going through trials, God teaches us to lift our eyes to a loving God and be thankful for all His goodness and blessing in the trial and to trust Him during the trial.
• In Ephesians 5:20, Paul says, “Giving thanks always for all things to God…the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, we’re commanded to be thankful IN all things. Here we’re commanded to be thankful FOR all things. How can we do that?—Only by recognizing that Romans 8:28, a verse we’ve pointed to several times in this series.
This verse doesn’t say that all things are good to the Christian, but rather that all things work together for good (there’s a difference!). God can take the most awful disappointments and tragedies in our lives and turn them ultimately into something good that benefits us.
Illus. –Jim and Roni Bowers were missionary in Peru whose plane was mistaken for a drug plane and shot down by the Peruvian Air Force, causing the plane to crash land into the Amazon River, and killing Roni and their 6-month old baby girl. When they saw their mistake, the natives knew the Peruvian Army would try to plant drugs on the plane to cover up their mistake, so the natives, who knew Jim and Roni and were loyal to him, until the CIA would come to investigate.
I was Jim and Roni’s pastor when Jim was in the Army in the 1980s and they were stationed in Wiesbaden. Their story is told in the spellbinding book, If God Should Choose.
In all of the tragic events of that awful day, Jim never doubted God’s goodness, never questioned God’s wisdom, and never once asked God. “Why me?” When he came to our church in England to tell his story, he had a calm, peaceful spirit as he retold the horrifying details of their plane being shot down, Roni’s and Charity’s violent deaths, and the way Jim was treated by the CIA and Peruvian government. Though he didn’t profess to know all the reasons God had allowed him and his son Cory go through this awful tragedy, he was able to thank God in and for it, though he fought tirelessly to clear their name and to seek redress for the terrible injustice he hand his son had endured. But he had great confidence that it would all work together for good in their lives and further the kingdom of God.
It did: Finally, the U.S. government issued him a public apology and gave him a large settlement to compensate him for some of the trials he had endured.
So, the first thing we see in this chapter is A NEW WORD ON NAOMI’S LIPS.
II. THE SECOND THING WE NOTICE IN THIS CHAPTER IS A NEW HOPE IN NAOMI’S HEART – Verses 20-22 – “And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed of the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and to the dead.’ Naomi then said unto her, ‘The man is a relative of ours, one of our kinsman-redeemers.’ 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He also said to me, ‘Stay with my young men, until they have finished all my harvest.’ 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.”
Naomi and Ruth had three reasons to be encouraged and hopeful:
First, because of WHO BOAZ WAS.
Boaz was related to Naomi’s husband’s family, but not only that, he was a kinsman-redeemer, which was a close relative who had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble or danger.
The Mosaic laws of the kinsman-redeemer found in four places in the Law of Moses, but we’ll get the idea by summarizing two of them:
• The first is in Leviticus 25:47-55.
In a nutshell, this passage states that if a Jew became bankrupt or poor beyond the ability to survive and had to sell his property (as Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, had done) or had to sell himself into servitude, one of his kinsmen (or relatives) could redeem him (which means “to buy back”); that is, essentially pay off the debt. If the kinsman paid the price, the new owner had no choice but to sell back the lost property to the kinsman-redeemer, and to release the servant from his servitude.
• The second law relating to the kinsman-redeemer is found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and dealt with marriage.
This law said that if a man died, his brother would marry the widow and raise the firstborn child in the name of the dead brother if he was able and willing to do it. The kinsman was also required to maintain the deceased man’s inheritance until the child was old enough to receive it. Naomi saw both laws combined in Boaz, their close relative: Boaz could marry Ruth according to the law in Deuteronomy 25, giving Ruth and Naomi someone to provide for them. He could also redeem Elimelech’s property, thus fulfilling the law in Leviticus 25.
So, Naomi and Ruth had a new hope because of WHO BOAZ WAS. They now had the promise of a redeemer.
Second, they were encouraged and hopeful because of WHAT BOAZ DID.
What did he do?—He took a personal interest in Ruth. Out of all the people working in his field, he took particular notice of a foreigner named Ruth and spoke kindly to her. But more than that, he protected her, and provided generously for her, telling the reapers to drop handfuls of grain on purpose for her to glean.
When Naomi saw all the grain that Ruth had gathered, she was amazed! She knew that someone had been extra kind to Ruth. Then she found out that it was Boaz who had helped Ruth, and she realized that he could do much more for them.
Finally, they were encouraged and hopeful because of WHAT BOAZ SAID.
Look at verse 21 – “And Ruth the Moabite said, ‘He also said to me, ‘Stay with my young men, until they have finished all my harvest.’” (Note that little phrase at the end of the verse: “…until they have finished all my harvest.”)
I believe that Boaz was saying to her, “At the end of the harvest, something special is going to happen. Stay in my field until the harvest is over. My men will protect you.” It’s odd that Boaz was so insistent that Ruth not go to anyone else’s field to glean. I think Boaz had some special plans in mind at the end of the busy harvest. Ruth recalled his words, and she and Naomi were cheered by them.
Now we as Christians have the same encouragement in Jesus, whom Boaz pictures:
We can have a great hope in our hearts because of WHO JESUS IS:
Jesus is OUR Redeemer. He has purchased us from the slave market of sin and paid our debt for us. Note 1 Peter 1:18-19 – “For you know that you were not redeemed with perishable things, such as silver or gold, from your futile way of life received by tradition from your fathers. 19 But with the precious blood of Christ…”
Second, we can have hope as believers because of WHAT JESUS DID:
What did Jesus do for us?—Oh, my, where do we begin?… He died for our sins; He gave us a new life with fulfillment and purpose; He gave us eternal life; He gave us the Word of God to guide our lives; He gave us a spiritual family in the church. And He gave us the greatest gift of all—His precious Holy Spirit to empower, encourage, convict, and guide us, and He has given us so, so much more.
Third, we can have hope as believers because of WHAT JESUS SAID – Jesus has said many wonderful things that give us hope, such as…
“I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:2b-3)
Or this hopeful promise, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:…I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10:27-29)
We don’t have enough time tonight to share all Jesus’s blessed words of hope.
III. THE LAST THING WE SEE HERE IS A NEW MOTIVE IN RUTH’S SERVICE – verse 23 – “So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley…and…wheat harvests; and lived with her mother-in-law.”
Ruth didn’t sit around twiddling her thumbs waiting to see what Boaz would do. She went right back to the field and labored right on through the barley harvest and the wheat harvest (probably April through June).
But I believe she returned to the field with a new attitude and a new purpose because the situation was different—now she knew the lord of the harvest! Ruth was now more than just a foreign, alien laborer in the field. She had the special care and attention of the lord of the harvest. He spoke to her and invited her to eat with Him and the other workers. He cared for her and had plans for her in the future. Ruth’s labor was not the dismal labor of a slave; it was a joyful labor of someone who had great expectations.
You and I should follow Ruth’s example as we serve in our field of service for God, wherever that may be, with a heart of love and gratefulness: In verse 2 she said, “Let me now go to the field.” – May God help us to work for the Lord with such willingness to be used!
Look at verse 17 – “So she gleaned in the field until evening,…”
She made good use of the time she had to work. Jesus said, “The night is coming when no one can work,” (John 9:4) You and I cannot be sure of any time except NOW to work for God. We must do all we can while there is still time.
CONCLUSION
So, we see these three new exciting things in Ruth’s and Naomi’s lives:
• A new word on Naomi’s lips – “Blessed”
• A new hope in Naomi’s heart because of who Boaz WAS (her redeemer), what Boaz DID (he protected her and provided for her) and what Boaz SAID (“Stay and work…and we’ll see what happens…”).
• And finally, a new motive in Ruth’s service—Hope!
If you’re bitter and your world is crumbling, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Lord of the Harvest. He’s your Boaz, your mighty man of wealth and repute, your “tall, thin, lanky Jones.” Consider all He IS to you; all He has DONE for you; and all He has SAID to you in His Word. If you and I will just keep our eyes on the Lord Jesus and do our work the way He wants us to do it, before long we will be saying with David, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!” (Psalm 103:1)
