Early on, the story of Ruth is a series of setbacks for the story’s main characters, a couple of women, Ruth and Naomi. The rest of the story is their climb back. It’s kind of a Cinderella story, only so much better! And you’ll see why in the moments to come.
Why should you look at the Ruth right now? First, because we desperately need hope in our day. Ruth is a story to get your hope back. Visualize this: picture hope as a rope. Picture your invisible hope as something that is visible like a rope. We are in Fort Worth, Texas – cowboy country! Think of your hope as a lasso for a moment? What is your lasso attached to right now? Where you attach your hope?
Some of you attach your hope to better health for you or someone close to you. Some attach your hope to more money or a political candidate. Still others attach your hope to better grades and a scholarship for a better future. Whenever you attach your hope to anything in this life, your hope can be shaken. If your day-to-day hope is in political candidates, nations, grades, or friends, your hope can be crushed. But when you place your hope in Christ, you attach your hope to something that cannot be move.
Ruth is a story to get your hope back. Ruth raises your hope level. Ruth speaks of bright hope for dark days.
Second, the story of Ruth is a short novel for you to trust in God. You know, the Bible alone is the only book that has the answer to sin, sorrow, and death. Science doesn’t have the answer. Philosophy doesn’t have the answer. And medicine doesn’t have the answer to all that crushes us in this life and the next. But God does. The Word of God has the answers to life’s questions. Friend, you can trust God. And Ruth is a short novel to help you put your trust in Almighty God. Let Ruth show you why you place your trust and your hope in Jesus Christ today.
Catching Up
Naomi and her husband and two sons left their homeland in Bethlehem on account of famine. Shortly after they leave, Naomi’s husband dies. Her two sons marry two women of a different faith and for ten years the women prove to be barren – no children. And then her sons die leaving two widows in addition to Naomi. One of the widows stays back in Moab, while the second, Ruth, decides to follow Naomi back to Bethlehem.
Keep in mind that this is the very same Bethlehem were Jesus was born more than a 1,000 years later.
Now even though Ruth clings to Naomi, the early part of the story ends with Naomi’s bitter complaint. Listen to her, “I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty … The Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” This lady is crushed by life; she sees absolutely no hope.
Then, Ruth meets Boaz, a possible husband for her. Only Boaz doesn’t propose to Ruth and he doesn’t make any moves toward her. Get this: One evening Ruth comes to Boaz while he is asleep on the threshing floor. Women weren’t this forward in Bible times. Do you have any idea just how “feminist” the book of Ruth is? This young lady is asking this man to marry her! Your mother wouldn’t even allow you to do that and we live in America in 21st century! Plus, carefully note that the women name Ruth’s baby later on in chapter 4. Women didn’t name children in the Old Testament – men did this. Ruth shows our heroine in amazingly, beautiful ways.
Back to our story: all the workers are sleeping there on the floor scattered around Boaz as they have just celebrated a successful harvest (Ruth 3:6-7). Ruth lies at his feet while he’s sleeping and she uncovers his feet to alert him someone is there. Now, Naomi has directed the younger Ruth to do all this. So in the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up, turns over, and discovers there’s a woman lying at his feet. He says, “Who are you?” (Ruth 3:9). Ruth says this, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (Ruth 3:9b).
I love Boaz here. Today, many Americans would simply sleep together on the spot. But not Boaz – he has too much character for this. He knows such a thing is wrong. Boaz says in Ruth 3:11-13, “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning” (Ruth 3:11-13).
It’s here we see a wrinkle in the story. Boaz isn’t the nearest family member to Ruth and Naomi. You say, “Why does it matter if Ruth marries a close family member of her late husband? That’s strange!” So there’s this ancient law in Israel… If the husband died and his widow had no sons, then she was to marry her husband’s nearest relative (Deuteronomy 25:5–10). It’s called levirate marriage, where the Latin word “levir” for husband’s brother. Here’s how it worked: if your husband died with no son, then the first son his brother and you had together was counted your former husband’s son. When the son was counted as the dead husband’s child, your family’s property was to stay in the family clan. Land was to be passed down from one generation to the next. Because ancient Israel was a patriarchal society, this was God’s way of keeping income equity so everyone had an opportunity to work. This was known as a kinsman redeemer, a man who stepped forward to sacrificially ensure the widow had a son and her family had land.
Ruth is this destitute foreigner and she is seeking a kinsman redeemer. She’s seeking Boaz’s hand in marriage because she thinks he’s the closest family member to her late husband’s family. But someone else stands in the way of this possible marriage.
Again, Boaz says to Ruth, “it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you” (Ruth 3:12b-13a). So we wonder, “Will Ruth end up with Boaz or someone else?”
In the meantime, Ruth hurries home to tell Naomi Boaz’s response. Naomi tells her young friend and former daughter-in-law, “Don’t worry, Boaz will have this whole matter settled today” in Ruth 3:18. All through the story, you see Boaz complimenting and caring for his future mother-in-law. Now, you see Naomi share her confidence in Boaz. She says, “Before the sun sets, he’ll have this whole thing settled.” Oh, we need more Boaz’s in our day – good and godly men!
The Town Gate
Just as Naomi anticipated, Boaz gets right to work on clearing the obstacles to marrying Naomi.
In the first part of chapter 4, you have what is in essence the record of court proceedings. Boaz sits at the town with the expectation that Naomi’s nearest kin will eventually pass by. Be aware of this subtle clue here, the book of Ruth never names this potential Kinsman Redeemer. He is called “friend” and “the redeemer” in verse 1 of chapter 4 but he’s never named. We don’t know to call him Tom, Dick, or Harry. Eventually, the unnamed man comes by the city gate and court is in session. The town gate was the ancient version of the courtroom. Boaz ensures there’s enough men to make everything legal. All the men around the gate are full citizens of Bethlehem and they are the city elders. Boaz wastes no time. He says, “Naomi has a field that you have first rights to purchase as her late husband’s nearest redeemer. You’re the closest relative and she wants to keep the land in the family.”
Remember, land is really important because the only way you could make a living was through farming. The family clan’s “Kinsman redeemer” was to work on behalf of the family to keep their allotment of land in their family (Leviticus 25:25–30). “Again, you’re first in line. Are you interested?” Boaz inquires in front of the town’s elders in verse 4. The man in effect says, “Yes, I would like to take advantage of this. Where do I sign?” in verse 4. This guy is probably smiling on the inside at this moment. He picks up some additional property for a sweetheart deal in the Naomi going out of business sale. He carries out a respected family duty and enhances his civic reputation in the process!
Boaz is baiting the hook – watch carefully. As soon as Boaz hears his favorable response to the purchase of the land, Boaz springs a surprise on him, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance” (Ruth 4:5b). “Oh, and by the way,” Boaz was saying. “There’s one more thing: When you buy the field, you also get Ruth, the young lady from Moab. She’s the widow of the dead man whose field it was. You must marry her in order to raise up a child for the dead man, a child who will eventually inherit the field when he grows up.” As soon as this unnamed Kinsman redeemer hears this, he says, “I’ve changed my mind. You redeem because this will spoil my inheritance.”
“If you take the field, you take Ruth,” was the proposal. Know this: Ruth’s child will go by her late husband’s last name and the boy will inherit the field. Now, remember the book of Ruth is in your Bible to raise your hope level and your trust level in God.
Why did this guy wave his right to Ruth and the land? Part of it is how Boaz handles the negotiation. Boaz does two things of note here that you should know.
Reason #1: Responsibility of a Child
First, he baits the hook with the property. When this unnamed family members bites down on the hook, Boaz then says, “You will also have to give the property to the boy that will come from your relationship with Ruth.”
Tamar
Look down in Ruth 4:12 where you’ll see a reference to Tamar from Genesis 38. This is reference back to an intriguing story where levirate marriage was at the core of everything. Everyone in Ruth’s day knew this story by heart. Tamar was married to a wicked man and he was so wicked, God killed her husband (Genesis 38:6). God couldn’t tolerate seeing his wickedness any longer so God took him off the face of the earth. No sooner than he died, than his brother was asked to sleep with Tamar. The brother takes Tamar in the bedroom if you will in order to “perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” (Genesis 38:8b). Yet, this brother was deceitful and made everyone think he was fulfilling his duties but in secret he stopped short of doing what he was supposed to do. There’s children here in worship and I want to be verbally modest in the area of sex. He had his fun but he stopped short of doing what he was supposed to do. You see, had the brother had a child with Tamar, the child would have taken the name of his deceased father. But he didn’t want his brother to get this heir; he wanted this privilege instead. The Bible says that he practiced deceit again and again: “But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother's wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.” (Genesis 38:9) This is the height of male selfishness. Onan could have simply said, “No, thank you” and went on with his business. Instead, he wanted the pleasure for himself but with no responsibility. Isn’t this just so many men even in our day - Sex with no responsibilities. God killed Tamar’s second husband because he was just as evil as this first one.
Back to the story of Ruth.
When this unnamed redeemer is given the opportunity to have the land it comes with the price of buying and giving it away to “someone else’s son.” He says, “No, thank you.” At least this unnamed guy didn’t deceive everyone into thinking he was doing something in the bedroom and blaming her for not having children. Now, there’s a lot of cost to raising a child. There’s even more of a psychological cost to raising a child who doesn’t share your last name and you pay for everything.
Mark this carefully: Boaz proves to be a sacrificial man.
Reason #2: She’s from Moab
Second, Boaz intentionally mentions that Ruth from Moab in his offer in verse 10. Did you notice that? Boaz intentionally mentioned Ruth wasn’t a Hebrew but from Moab. It wasn’t just that Ruth was outsider, it was that she was from hated Moab, the enemy of Israel. The unnamed family member didn’t want to contaminate his family by introducing someone from Moab into the family line. Boaz intentionally shared the cost of Ruth in the most subtle of ways. The potentially Kinsman Redeemer waved his rights to the land and to Ruth.
The Man with No Name
By the way, isn’t it interesting that here we are 3,000 years later and we know everyone’s name but this guys? He’s the one who seeks to protect his name. Yet, his selfish actions do the exact opposite. All these years later, we know everyone’s name in the story except his. This reminds me of what Jesus said, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). Jesus also told the Twelve, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35b).
The Bible says, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered” (Proverbs 11:24-25).
God loves to reward generosity. Boaz was generous. Be like Boaz.
The Sandal Ceremony
The way you would ratify the transaction for land was you would switch sandals with the other guy. So if your husband came home with another man’s sandal, you would ask, “What did you purchase today?!” Boaz and this man switched their sandals and the contract was signed. The land was Boaz’s. But more importantly to Boaz, Ruth’s hand was his too! Look at the reaction from the people: “all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel” (Ruth 4:11b). Everyone says, “We are witnesses!” Then the elders compared Ruth and Boaz to the founders of Israel, Rachel and Leah. The marriage was on! How special this must have been for both of them.
Can you imagine if you meet Boaz and Ruth a couple of years later? Maybe they were at a restaurant celebrating their anniversary. You would have asked, “How did you two first meet?” Boaz might have said, “The first time I saw Ruth she was simply a worker in my field. She was filthy.” The whole town celebrated the marriage – it was a beautiful thing!
Maybe you’re saying, “Pastor, how this story raise my hope level and my trust in God?” I’m glad you asked.
2 Take-Away’s
1. God’s ?esed
There’s a word that keeps coming up in Ruth’s story – it’s the word ?esed. It’s really hard word to translate but it means there’s a loyal love, a steadfast love. That funny-looking little marking is a rich, rich word. If took the Hebrew letters and made them in English, you’d have the letters, “?esed.” Of all the words, it’s the word God choose to describe His rich, committed love toward sinners. This is God saying, “I’ll have hung in there with you. You didn’t hang in there with Me. But I stuck with you.” This word is really helpful for you to know – really helpful. This word describes, “when the chips are down” kind of love. This is the best kind of love you could imagine.
This word is all over the book of Ruth because it also includes the incredible kindness you see here as well. Mark Twain said, “Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Ruth sacrificed her life for Naomi, she showed incredible ?esed, incredible kindness. She walked away from her family, her country, and her home to be with Naomi. She makes herself poor to make Naomi rich. And did you see what the townspeople of Bethlehem said this to Naomi, “your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him” (Ruth 4:15b). That is an incredible statement in patriarchal society like ancient Bethlehem. They believed boys were worth more than girls. Yet, Ruth is such a great lady the townspeople say, “She’s worth more than seven boys!”
Remember when Naomi came back into Bethlehem with Ruth by her side? Do you remember what she said at that time? Naomi says, “I’m empty.” She says she was empty with Ruth by her side. She completely diminished Ruth’s outstanding love for her. She completely discounted this great friendship, this incredible “?esed.” Now at the end of the story, Naomi hears the town people says, “your daughter-in-law … is more to you than seven sons.” What a remarkable turn-around! Who wouldn’t want a Ruth in their life? Who wouldn’t want Ruth for daughter-in-law!
I want to introduce you to ten-year-old, Myles Eckert. It was a snowy morning in Toledo, Ohio, when Myles found a $20 bill in a restaurant parking lot. Being ten-year-old boy, his immediate thought was of the video game he would buy with his new found money. But when a soldier in uniform entered the restaurant, Myles changed his plans. He took the $20 and wrote this note: "Dear Soldier -- my dad was a soldier. He's in heaven now. I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It's your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid." You see, Myles’ father was killed in Iraq, just five weeks after Myles was born. The Lieutenant Colonel that received the money and the note passed it along to someone else in need. However, that one act of kindness started the ball rolling. Over the last two years, kindness has turned that $20 into over 2 million dollars raised for Gold Star charities that support the families of troops. Kindness is so powerful it can turn $20 into $2 Million dollars. Myles received the citizen’s version of the Medal of Honor, as voted upon by Medal of Honor recipients. In a mean, violent world, only kindness is that powerful. The Bible says these words: “ Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). We need a revival of kindness in our day. In a world of chaos and violence, acts of kindness tend to stick out.
I love the story of Ruth because it reminds us of God’s incredible kindness to us. Ruth’s kindness reminds me of Christ’s great “?esed” on the cross for us sinners. God is kind and loving to us in more ways than we can count.
2) The Invisible Hand
Ruth is a really interesting story. It’s a story of hope. It’s a story for you to see you can trust God with your life. When I read the book of Ruth, I don’t see one miracle in the book. No one raises from the dead. The blind do not see and the lame do not walk and the dead do not hear. Yet, God is all over the place.
Did you count all the “just happens” in the story? I’ll give you five quick one’s
1. The famine “just happened” to be over in Bethlehem so Naomi and Ruth would come back home to Jesus’ future birth place.
2. Ruth and Naomi “just happened” to come back home to Bethlehem at harvest.
3. Ruth “just happened” to come to Boaz’s field to glean behind his workers.
4. Boaz “just happened” to show up in his field that day to see Ruth.
5. Boaz “just happened” up the next of kin at the city gate.
There are no “just happened’s” with God. Everything has a purpose and every purpose has a reason. Pastor, surely you believe somethings are accidents? There are no accidents with God.
Remember how I began by saying this story is like a Cinderella story, only better? Here’s why it’s better. Ruth is an important milemarker on the road to the cross. Look how the book of Ruth ends: “Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David” (Ruth 4:18-22).
When the Bible says, “these are the generations,” it means this is the family tree. This is a compressed family tree of ten generations covers some 640 years in time. But most importantly, we discover that Boaz and Ruth’s beautiful boy did more than save the family farm. Their beautiful boy, Obed, was the grandfather to none other than King David.
Did you know that the greatest-selling book of all time begins with a family tree, the family tree of Jesus. The New Testament begins by telling you the family tree of Jesus. And from King David comes Jesus. Who would have guessed that Boaz and Ruth were not some silly love story but were in the family tree of greatest Man in all of history! The invisible hand of God directed Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi each and every step. The invisible hand moved them through famine, court room proceedings, and a bitter woman.
And don’t forget for a moment that all of this happens where? Bethlehem – the very same Bethlehem where Mary and Joseph have Jesus. The very same Bethlehem where Caesar Augustus forced Mary and Joseph to move for a tax census. The very same Bethlehem where God predicted His Son would arrive. Years later, the angel came to Mary to say this: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
People say: “I never win give Away’s, raffles, or drawings. I’m just not that lucky.” Your spouse says to you: “Honey, you are the best. I’m SO lucky to be married to you.” A teenager walks away from a horrible car accident and confesses: “I’m lucky to be alive.” I don’t believe in luck; I believe in God.
God’s invisible hand is moving in your life right now. What the secular mind calls coincidence, the spiritual mind calls providence. Even in the worst of times, God is working for His children’s good and happiness.
