Ruth 2: God Provides GENEROUS JUSTICE
***My father told me about his great-grandfather, a farmer who emigrated to America, along with many from his church in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, the man’s wife died, leaving him with three young children. He hired a teenage girl to watch the children, and he eventually married her. They had several children together before he died, leaving her with no means of support. What was she to do? Neighbors and relatives stepped up, to work the land and support the family, until the children could take over. Because of the gracious support of the rural Christian community, the poor family survived and thrived.
The story is personal for me; those are my roots, and I am the product of one of the branches. What would have happened to that family if they had not been part of such a supportive community? If they had been immigrants in a city, with no church community, no land to be worked, and less gracious neighbors, would they have survived? Would the children have been forced to forego their education to work in a sweatshop, or be trafficked by evil predators? Would I have been born into abject poverty, instead of being born into a stable family with the resources to give me an education and opportunities to succeed?
God provided for that family in need, through godly people.**
How does God PROVIDE? Last week, we saw that God provided FAITH to Ruth, a Moabite woman raised in a pagan family. Her faith was so strong that she left Moab, to go to Judah with her mother-in-law, Naomi. The faith of Ruth sustained Naomi, who was overcome with bitterness.
Faith is only as good as its object, and Ruth put her faith in the God of Israel, as well as God’s covenant people in the vicinity of Bethelem. She said to Naomi, “Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God.”
Ruth put her trust in the God of Israel. Psalm 146:5-9 describes God like this: “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free, the LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. The LORD watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow…” Ruth qualified on all three counts!
Eleven times in Deuteronomy, God commands his people, through Moses, to show justice and compassion to foreigners! Deuteronomy 10:17-18 is one example: “The LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.” God’s justice is impartial, and he goes beyond cold justice to love people who need his help—people like Ruth.
God commands his people to reflect his character, and to practice COMPASSIONATE JUSTICE. (Preacher: Timothy Keller has a book by that title.) God’s justice goes beyond fair and impartial courts of law. God’s justice, as we will see in Ruth, encompasses righteousness, love, and faithfulness.
God’s compassionate justice was found in Bethlehem—at least, among some of God’s people in Bethlehem.
Read Ruth 1:22-2:3.
Ruth had faith, but faith alone does not put food on the table. Ruth was willing to work for her supper.
Yet ambition alone will not put food on the table. Many poor people are not lacking in ambition, but in opportunity. If there are no jobs available to them, or they don’t have transportation, or they can’t earn a living wage, they will suffer.
God’s justice in the Old Testament provided opportunity for the poor, the fatherless, and foreigners. Part of God’s provision was that his people must allow for “gleaning” crops.
Leviticus 19:9-10, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.”
Gleaning was a generous and just way to provide for people in need. Everyone had a chance to gather at least a little food for themselves, even if they had no land.
Despite social and cultural differences, the principles of gleaning has social and political implications for today. We will not all agree how to apply the principles, but in today’s polarized political environment, we must recognize God’s commands for COMPASSIONATE JUSTICE for those in need.
Gleaning appeals to liberals, because by law (God’s law), provision was to be made to feed the poor. It was not “charity,” but an “entitlement.” There were other entitlements, even more radical, designed to prevent concentration of wealth among the rich, and opportunities for all.
For conservatives, on the other hand, there was a work requirement. The grain or grapes were not delivered; they had to be gathered. Like Paul said, “If someone will not work, they should not eat.”
Gleaning was God’s commandment, and justice for the poor demanded that opportunity be provided. Yet God’s commands went beyond legal compliance, to generosity. In Deuteronomy 24:19, Moses said, “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.”
Generous justice was God’s command. Yet Boaz went beyond cold justice, to reflect the character of God. He was righteous, in the best sense of the word.
Read Ruth 2:4-9.
What kind of man can greet his workers with “The Lord be with you,” and not be laughed at? Boaz was loved and respected as a boss, because he loved and respected his workers.
Leviticus 19:9-15 talks about gleaning, and more, as it says, “Leave [the grain and grapes] for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD. Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.”
God cares about how people treat employees, and those with disabilities. He cares about justice for all people, not just those with money or power.
When Boaz saw Ruth in his field, he saw a woman in need of protection. He saw a woman who had taken refuge under the wings of God (verse 12, and Psalm 36:7).
In those days, it wasn’t always safe for an unaccompanied woman to go into a male-dominated workplace. Boaz was committed to making it safe and comfortable for Ruth. (This was before the “Me Too” movement, of course.)
In Ruth 2:22, “Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for Boaz, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.’” This was the time of the Judges, and twice in the Book of Judges, it says, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” (Judges 17:6, 21:25) Women were especially vulnerable, and a poor foreign widow like Ruth would have no one to protect her, unless someone like Boaz stepped up.
The field of Boaz, however, was a place where women were treated with respect and care: “So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.’” In Boaz’ field, the men even fetched the coffee! (Or, in this case, the water.)
This is GENEROUS JUSTICE. This is the way God and his people provide for those in need.
Boaz is a truly righteous man., who reflects God’s generous justice.
Read Ruth 2:10-16.
Boaz blesses Ruth, saying in Ruth 2:12, “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.” Boaz recognizes that God is the Protector and Provider, and he also understands his role in taking Ruth under God’s wings. He feeds her. He tells his workers to leave extra grain on the ground for her to pick up. He tells his workers not to embarrass her.
This too is God’s generous justice: respect for those who don’t usually get it. Respect for those who are homeless, hungry, unattractive, unloved. Respect for people with the most dirty, menial jobs. Respect for the outcasts, the foreigners, and the most vulnerable. Ruth was all that, but Boaz respected her.
Read Ruth 2:17-18. Ruth went home bone-tired, but satisfied. She had about a bushel of barley! God had provided for her, and for Naomi as well.
This was not an accident; it was God’s providence that Ruth chose the field of Boaz. Read Ruth 2:19-23.
God PROVIDES generous justice. He PROVIDES his law, which commands the rich to provide opportunity for the poor. He PROVIDES by means of righteous people like Boaz, who respects his workers, as well as a helpless woman in his field.
Boaz understands that the Lord provides generous justice through people like himself, who have money, power, and influence.
How does the Lord provide GENEROUS JUSTICE today?
Our political and social system is different, and our laws are not always like God’s laws in the Old Testament. Yet it is clear from the Scriptures that justice must include provision for the needs of the poor. We may not all agree about the role of government providing for the poor, but the laws we promote should consider the needs, even the rights, of the poor to share in the bounty of the land.
Jesus described his ministry in the kingdom of God as, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free…” (Luke 4:18)
Historically, Christians carried on the ministry of Jesus, bringing good news to the poor. The Sunday School movement began in England to provide literacy as well as Bible knowledge to children who were forced to work 6 days a week. Christians advocated for an end to slavery, and they opened hospitals for underserved people. Christians today help prisoners transition into society, and they are involved with foster care and orphans. This is generous justice.
Generous justice promotes respect for those in need. Caring for the poor can have unintended consequences, with aid stifling self-sufficiency or undermining self-respect. Whenever possible, people should have a chance to work for what they need, and a way to support their own families. God’s justice does not assume that people are helpless. His justice requires that people be offered opportunities, however.
Above all, God provides generous justice through righteous people. Righteous people live out what Boaz sought for his workers and himself: “The Lord be with you.” As Christians, the Holy Spirit is with us, and he helps us see people as God sees them, loved by God, and worthy of our generosity.
As Christians, we are the very presence of God in the world, for the benefit of others.
The apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11, “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
The blessings of God, for us individually, and as a people, enable us to provide for the needs of others, on God’s behalf. That is generous justice. That is how GOD PROVIDES GENEROUS JUSTICE.
