Not far from the scene where Ruth proposed to Boaz in
the middle of the night, Musa Alami made a proposal of his
own. This Arab boy was educated at Cambridge, and he
went back to Palestine where he became very successful.
But political turmoil came and he lost everything. He went
out into the bleak desert between Moab and Israel, and
proposed to turn this desert into a rose. Where nothing had
ever grown before, he would make it into a farm by the use
of underground water. He got the same response that Noah
got in building the Ark. The people laughed and ridiculed
the idea as preposterous. The Bedouin sheiks all said it
could not be done. The government official agreed it could
not be done. The scientists confirmed it that it could not be
done.
To add to these minor complexities he had to face the
fact that he had no well drilling equipment. Based on this
preliminary information most people would have given up
before they started. But people who know that life is
complicated do not turn back because of complexities.
Musa used poverty stricken refugees to dig with shovels.
They had nothing to lose, and the project gave them some
hope. Day after day, and week after week, they dug and
dug the bid hole in the desert. They became the laughing
stock of the area. For 6 months they dug deeper and deeper
into the dry sand. One day the sand was wet, and so were
the eyes of the diggers, for they wept when water was found
in the desert. The sheik laid hands Musa and said, "Thank
God. Now Musa, you can die." They meant, you have done
what none other thought could be done. You have fulfilled
your purpose in life, and you can die happy.
Musa went on to develop a ranch in the desert. It was 3
miles long and 2 miles wide with 15 wells. He raised
vegetables, bananas, figs, and citrus fruit. He build a
training school to teach farmers and technicians. Others
followed Musa until 40 thousand acres were under
cultivation where once there was only sand. The shortest
distance between two points may be a straight line, but
seldom is life so simple that we can reach our goals by
traveling a straight line. Usually any goal worth reaching
calls for traveling an up and down winding road of
complexity with obstacles, road blocks, and detours. Life is
seldom a 100 yard dash where you get ready, get set, and
go, and a few seconds later the goal is crossed. Life is more
like a cross country marathon through winding trails, over
hills, through swamps, and you cross the goal line weary
and battered.
The story of Ruth seems so simple on the surface. Ruth
meets Boaz; they fall in love; they get married, and they live
happily ever after. But as we read the story carefully we see
it is more complex then this. Boaz loves Ruth, and she loves
him, but he is not free to respond to her proposal of
marriage. There are technical legal matters that throw a
monkey wrench into this otherwise simple romance. There
are rules that govern the marriage of a widow, and so there
are rights of other relatives that Boaz is obligated to respect.
The whole chapter is about the complexity of
responsibility. Naomi is fine now, and in her own life she is
adjusted, but Ruth complicates her life. She feels
responsible to try and find a secure future for her. Love
always complicates life. If you demand that life be simple,
then avoid love at all cost, for love is complicated, and it
adds a load of responsibility. The hermit has the truly
simple life, but for all who develop relationships there is the
inevitability of complexity.
The civilized people become the more complex they
become as well. There are more and more laws that are
needed to regulate the relationships of people. The law of
levirate marriage is the issue here in Ruth. It was designed
to keep the name of every man alive in Israel, even if he did
not have a child. This was cared for by the law that
demanded the man's brother, or if he had none, the closest
relative, to marry his widow, and have a child that would
carry on the name of the deceased. Elimelech and Mahlon
were both dead end branches of their family tree, and their
only hope of survival in a genealogy of Israel was for Ruth
to have a child. This was a great law for preserving the
names of the dead, but it often became very complex for the
living. For example, the Jewish Rabbis had some very
confusing and contradictory issues arise out of this law.
It was permissible for a man in Israel to marry his niece,
that is his brother's daughter. Now suppose this man died
childless. The law said that the brother was to take the
widow and marry her, but in this case the brother was the
father of the widow. This would be incest which is clearly
forbidden by the law. So in this case the man is both
commanded and forbidden to do the same thing. The
Jewish Rabbi's wisely said, there has to be exceptions in
complex cases. In this case it could not be the nearest
relative, but the next nearest relative who was responsible.
Boaz was the next nearest relative in the case with Ruth,
but the exception did not apply here, and so he has to level
with Ruth. He makes it clear that he is saying yes to her
proposal. He excepts the offer to redeem her and become
her husband, but it is not that simple. He has to give the
nearest relative his legal right to take that option for
himself. So what we see here is-
I. THE BURDEN OF COMPLEXITY.
I cannot imagine that either one of them got any sleep
that night. They had just agreed to become husband and
wife, and yet the whole outcome was up in the air, and
depended upon a third party who was not involved in their
romance at all. What a burden that life cannot just be
simple and easy. Why must there always be some obstacle,
or some crazy flaw in the thing that adds pain where there
should be only pure pleasure? Why must there always be a
but at the end of so many good sentences? I adore your
work, but. I agree with you, but. I love you, but.
If only it was true that only the ungodly had to face the
complexity of life. They do, of course, and in fact, add
enormous complexity to the already normal complexity of
life by their ungodliness. I read of two thieves who had the
most simple robbery planned. They jumped out of their
hiding place to relieve the 20 year old restaurant manager
of his 17 thousand dollar night deposit. He was so
frightened that when they told him to put up his hands, he
threw them up and the money sack went flying onto the
roof. It was now too risky to take the time to get it, and
they fled away empty handed. What a delight it would be if
only robbery and things in that category were complicated.
Unfortunately, every day life of ordinary people gets
complicated too.
1. The worst toothache comes when your dentist is out of
town.
2. The vacant parking space is so often on the other side of
the street.
3. The lane you just got out of now speeds up, and you are
sitting still.
4. Grass seed always grows better in the driveway cracks
than on the lawn.
5. The worse damage comes after the warranty has run out.
These and a thousand other such complexities do not
happen to publicans and sinners only, but to the saints as
well. We all live in the same fallen world where life seldom
stays simple. Sometimes the ungodly have an advantage,
for the simple thing is so often the sinful thing. Just do as
you please, and do what comes natural, and do what is
self-centered, it is easy and simple. While the way of
righteousness may be very difficult and complex. You have
to figure out how to control your old nature, and suppress
the tendency to sin. You have to argue yourself in to
obedience to the will of God. The sinner has such a simple
decision, and you are struggling and wrestling with
emotions and convictions.
C. S. Lewis expressed in a letter to a child the complexity
of his task as a teacher. He wrote, "I am so busy marking
examination papers that I can hardly breathe! The very
good ones and the very bad ones are no trouble, but the
in-between ones take ages." This is so true to life. The very
good and the very bad are easy to distinguish, and they are
simple concepts to deal with. The complexity is in that vast
gray area that covers most of the controversial issues of
politics, ethics, and religion. Christians tend to end up on
all sides of an issue, because there is always some truth and
value being fought for in every perspective. This is the
world where we really live. The ivory tower is attractive,
and a fun place to visit, but we can't live there.
Lavonne and I have many times asked each other, as we
drive together, "Is that a male or a female thumbing a
ride?" It is a complex world where even a simple thing like
determining the sex of someone is so difficult that you are
never sure. One man complaining in a store of this very
thing said to the customer next in line, "I don't understand
youth today. Look at that youngster over there. Is it a boy
or a girl?" "It's a girl," was the reply. "She is my
daughter." "I beg your pardon," the man apologized. "I
wouldn't have said that had I known you were her father."
"I'm not," was the comeback. "I'm her mother." Such is
the complex world we live in.
Jesus had a perfect life, but He never escaped the burden
of complexity. How do I honor my mother and father, and
also be about my heavenly Father's business? That was one
of His burdens of complexity. How do I love my enemies,
and yet let them know just how intolerable their evil ways
are? Jesus had to love the Pharisees; even eat with them;
call some of them as His disciples, and yet denounce them as
the hypocrites that they were. He had to live in obedience
to the Word of God, and yet reject false interpretations of it
that would lead Him to abuse it for self-centered goals. This
He could have done by turning the stone to bread, or by
jumping off the temple. It can get complex when someone is
saying, "Don't you trust the Lord? Don't you stand on His
promises? He said that He will lift you up and not let you
dash your foot against a stone. Prove your faith, and show
that you believe by jumping." It can seem so right when it
is all so wrong, and the complexity can lead to confusion.
This has caused believers to take a leap of faith, and end up
crushed by their presumption.
Jesus told His disciples to pick up all the leftovers after
He fed the multitude, and they had 12 baskets full. Jesus
was not wasteful, and yet He let Mary pour out valuable
ointment on Him that could have fed the poor. He had to
face the complexities of living a conservative life, and yet
know when to enjoy the luxury of extravagance. He faced
the complexity of looking on men who were doing history's
most representative sin. They were rejecting God's gift and
killing His Son. He, as the Lord of justice, had to respond
to this injustice with wrath. But as the Lord of love, who
came to die for all sin, He had to pray, "Father forgive
them." Jesus carried the burden of complexity all through
His life.
Coming back to Ruth, our Redeemer's ancient ancestor,
we see that Jesus understands the complexity of life, and we
can recognize we do not face them alone. He will help carry
the burden of life's complexity. One of the burdens we see
in Ruth is the burden of secrecy. There is no immoral
behavior between Ruth and Boaz, and yet it is
understandable that he urged Ruth to slip away before sun
up, and not let anyone know that a woman had come to the
threshing floor. Secrets are legitimate just because life is
complex. You can't explain everything to everybody so that
they understand or believe. You are better off not having to
explain. People know they can't believe everything they
hear, but they can repeat it, and much gossip that is
damaging to others is based on information that should
have been kept secret.
I read of a very unusual accident where an elephant
crushed in the side of a woman's station wagon in
Vancouver. The vehicle was still able to move, and so after
exchanging insurance information with the elephant owner,
she was on her way. But then she got caught in a traffic
jam caused by another accident. When the ambulance
arrived she was next to the scene of the wreck, and the
ambulance driver ran to her car to assist her because of
seeing the side caved in. "Oh no," she said, "I was not
involved in this accident. An elephant just sat on my car."
Hearing this the ambulance crew and a policeman quickly
pulled her from the car and got her to a hospital for
possible shock and head injuries.
The woman would have been wise to keep her elephant
event a secret. That was just not the place to try and
explain things. A mere statement that this is an old accident
could have prevented the whole silly scene and
inconvenience. Secrets are the only sensible way at times,
and certainty this was the case with Boaz and Ruth. The
whole world is told in God's Word, for it was innocent, but
this was not the time to let the neighbors know. There are
many things you have to keep secret in life because
explaining them is just to complicated.
Sometimes, however, the secret gets out, and then the
burden becomes even heavier and more complex. There is a
natural human tendency to judge the actions of others.
Elimelech is harshly judged by many Christians as under
the judgement of God because he left Bethlehem during the
famine. Naomi is harshly judged for letting her two boys
marry Moabites. She is also blasted for encouraging this
seemingly naughty night on the threshing floor. It is
amazing how critical and judgmental Christians can be
toward those whom God has clearly used to accomplish His
purpose. God has not given the slightest hint that He is
displeased with their behavior.
It is no wonder that Paul makes a big issue of the idea
that servants stand or fall before their master, and not
before the other servants. If other servants are the judges,
there are few, if any, who could escape judgment. But thank
God He is the judge, and He honors Ruth and Boaz, and He
rewards them richly for their behavior. God could have
kept this whole story secret, as he did the story of others in
the blood line to His Son, but this story He has made known
just because it is so unique and complex, and reveals all the
more the wonder of His grace. These two were doing their
best to find God's best, and He honored them for it. Now
let's look at-
II. THE BLESSING OF COMPLEXITY.
We need to see that if life was simple, and all we had
was straight lines, the story of Ruth would not have a happy
ending. The whole beautiful outcome of this romance was
due to life's complexity. The rival relative who had first
choice wanted to redeem the property of Elimelech, and so
the whole romance of Boaz and Ruth could be coming to a
screeching halt if he is willing also to take Ruth as his wife.
When Boaz confronted him with the fact that he would
have to take Ruth with the deal, he immediately saw how
this would complicate his life, and endanger his own estate.
It was too risky, and too complicated for him, and so
because life is not simple Boaz got the chance to choose
Ruth for himself. His greatest blessings came to him
because of complexity. He was second in line, but that was
good enough, for because of complexities he ended up first
in line, and was able to have love, marriage, and family.
Many of the kings and queens of history were people who
are far from being heirs to the throne, but because life gets
so complex the highly unlikely thing happened, and they
were able to become the next in line.
If life was simple because God's nature was simple, we
would not even exist. God would have destroyed the world
long ago. But God's nature is complex, and His love
restrains His wrath. It makes Him longsuffering, not
willing that any shall perish. All are saved because of the
complexity of God's nature.
If life was only simple, Boaz would have married a Jew,
and all Jews would marry Jews, and no Gentile would ever
get into the blood line to the Messiah. But life is complex,
and so the unusual happens all the time, and this produces
many of life's greatest blessings. Jews were not suppose to
marry Moabites, but because life is complex Ruth became
an exception to the rule, and a symbol to the whole world
that God is not a legalist, but a God of grace. If life was
simple Goliath would have fed David to the birds, for he
had superior strength and weapons. But life is complex,
and victory does not always go to the strongest. Complexity
makes it possible for the weak to triumph, and God uses the
foolish to confound the wise. Complexity is what makes the
wonders of God's working in the world possible.
Complexity is what makes life possible for all men, and
abundant life possible for sinners saved by grace.
If God granted your request for ultimate simplicity you
would be an amoeba. This one celled creature has very few
problems in its simple life. But as life becomes more and
more complex, life takes on higher and higher qualities, and
has the potential of receiving greater blessings. Do not
denounce complexity just because it can be a burden. The
alternative is to lose the image of God in which we are
created. The more man regresses from the image of God
the more simple and primitive he becomes. He lives for the
flesh only, and for simple greed and self-centered
satisfaction. The more man moves toward God the more
complex he becomes, for he develops the higher self; the
inner man of the spirit. He becomes more creative and
complex in all of his values, and he reaches out beyond the
self to love others. Jesus is the only perfect example of the
ultimate in complexity.
Because life is complex Ruth and Boaz became mates,
and because life is complex we have the highest privilege of
life of being a part of the bride of Christ. If life was simple
Ruth would have listened to Naomi and went back to her
people, and she would have lost her chance to be a part of
God's people. Complexity is what enables people to see life
from different perspectives so that not all are made
pessimistic by the burdens of life. Complexity is the basis
for the blessed differences that gives us balance in life.
Gigi, the oldest daughter of Billy Graham has 6 children
of her own. One summer afternoon with 6 weeks left before
school she was running out of creative ways to keep these
energetic children entertained. So she hit on the idea of
fixing up the old sandbox. After pulling the weeds, and
getting it in shape, she called the local sand company.
When the truck arrived it was so heavy that it made deep
trenches in their yard, and it broke off several branches
from their trees. Then the driver began to slide down the
hill toward the lake, and he plowed a gaping hole on the
way. He sank up to his axles, and he could not move. He
had to call in another truck. A large tow truck came and
made more deep trenches in the yard. In trying to pull the
other truck out he dug into the yard and broke the
sprinkler pipes, and up rooted some small trees. He also got
stuck. Another call to the company resulted in a 18 wheeler
arriving.
By 8 o'clock that night, after 5 and a half hours of
destruction, they had five tons of sand beside the sand box,
and a yard that looked like a battlefield. It was a
disastrous day, but as she tucked in her 8 year old for bed
he prayed, "And thank you Lord, for the exciting day, and
for all the entertainment we had." She had to laugh and
recognize that God wants us to see life through the eyes of
children, and see the fun and humor even in the ridiculous
and difficult. Complexity makes us aware that there is more
than one way to look at things. We don't have to be locked
into the negative, but can see that life is complex, and so we
always have choices. The happy ending of the story of
Ruth, and the happy ending for millions of stories, are due
to the reality of the complexity of life.
