FAITH, LOYALTY and HONOR
Text: Ruth 3:1- 5, 4:13 - 17
Ruth 3:1-5 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? (2) Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. (3) Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. (4) But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” (5) And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. (14) Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! (15) He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” (16) Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. (17) And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. (NRSV).
“A woman in West Texas went to see the governor to beg for her husband’s release from prison, After a long wait she was ushered into the governor’s office and proceeded to tell her story.
The governor asked, “What’s h in for?’
“Stealing dozens of hams” said the woman. “Well that doesn’t sound too bad”, said the governor. “Was he a good husband?”
“As a matter of fact, he never said kind word to me in all the years we we’ve been married,” said the woman.
“Was he a good worker?” the governor asked.
“No, I wouldn’t say that. He’s pretty lazy. I can’t remember him having a steady job, she said.
“Well, was he a good father to the kids?” he asked.
“Well, the truth is that he is pretty mean to the kids. Never pays any attention to them until he’s drunk. Then, he’s mean to them.”
Ma’am”, said the governor, “I have to ask you, why do you want a man like that out of prison?”
“Well, governor,” she said, “we’re about out of ham”. (Micael E. Hodgin. 1002 Humorous Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing Inc., 2004, pp. 253 - 254). What does that have to do with today’s text? Ruth and Naomi were hungry widows who had to glean (which they were doing in the second chapter of Ruth) the crops for something to eat which the poor were allowed to do according Deuteronomy 24:19.
Ruth had lost everything. But, not all hope was lost because God’s blessing was at work behind the scenes. Ruth was asking Boaz to fulfill her request to be a “Kinsman Redeemer”. Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s husband Elimelech. After she got back to her homeland, Naomi had changed her name to “Mara” which means bitter when the town asked her if her name was Naomi (Ruth 1:20). Naomi seems to have forgotten that the Lord was going to help them when they got back to Bethlehem (Ruth1:6). God not only provided that promise of food but also a promise of redemption.
Today, we will focus on losses, loyalty and blessings.
LOSSES
Have you ever taken anything for granted?
1) Rude awakening: In a very short amount of time Naomi, Ruth and Orpah became widowed and childless with a very bleak future. There were no help agencies. There were no phones or pay phones. How long has it been since you saw a working payphone?
2) Growing accustomed: How often do we get so accustomed to things to the point that we take them for granted? “Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everybody would stay up all night to behold them. We have seen the stars so often that we don't bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings.” https://www.sermonsearch.com/sermon-illustrations/6578/danger-of-taking-your-blessings-for-granted/ We never know what we has until we realize what it was that we lost because we took it for granted.
Does who we are matter to God? When bad things happen it can make us ask a question like that.
1) Moabites: Orpah and Ruth are Moabite women. That is not that big of a deal unless you consider the history of what happened in Number 25:1 - 3 when Moabite women became seductresses and enticed people to sin against God and make themselves impure with immorality but also by sacrificing to a Moabite god.
2 )Favorites?: Some might answer with a point of view that God picks favorites. The truth is that God’s love for us is beyond our understanding because His ways and thoughts are higher than our ways and thoughts (Isaiah 55:9)!
3) Fairness: However, according to Matthew 5:45 God does not show impartiality. Max Lucado put it like this: “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!” https://twominutesofgrace.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/if-god-had-a-refrigerator-2/ Through Jesus Christ, God shows us His love.
Have we made bad choices that caused us to lose any blessings?
1) Bad choices and consequences: Can we honestly declare that God meant for all three of these women to become widows because any of their bad choices? When Naomi was asking her daughters in law to go back to their native places, in a way, she was trying to save face. The late Warren Wiersbe put it like this, “If she had returned to Bethlehem alone, nobody would know that the family had broken the law of Moses.” (Warren W. Wiersbe. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. Colorado Springs, Colorado: David C Cook Publishers, 2007, p. 480). Does God throw people away just because of any bad choices that that they have made? Of course not!
2) Like Job’s friends: There are always those who side with Job’s friends in what is known as the deuteronomic theology and declare that bad things happened to bad people and good things happen to good people. Doesn’t the cross dispel that myth?
3) Understanding: Proverbs 3: 5 reminds us that we should trust God without question: “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not to our own understating in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight” (NIV). Did they lean to their own understanding?
LOYALTY
How did loyalty play out after the losses took place?
1) Extra Mile: Naomi told both Ruth and Oprah that they should return home. Orpah went back home. Ruth stayed behind, went the extra mile and remained loyal to Naomi.
2) Promises: Ruth promised to go where Naomi went and that Naomi’s God would become her God.
Do we thank veterans for their loyalty in spite of the losses they encountered?
1) Boot camp bonding: Both Naomi and Ruth had different backgrounds and mutually shared hardships but together they developed a very strong bond in friendship. Like Naomi and Ruth’s experience, boot camp often brings together people from different backgrounds. Boot camp helps people bond like a family by they way they train for how they may one day need to depend on each other in life or death scenarios in the heat of combat.
2) Sacrifices: How many of them lost limbs, fellow soldiers and even their families because of their sacrifices and loyalty to their nation and its citizens? As is often said of veterans “all gave some and some gave all!”
3) Not always appreciated: There are far too many in the world today who take the freedom that others fought to preserve for granted.
"Jim and Phillip did everything together when they were kids. They even went to high school and college together, After college they joined the marines together. They were both sent to Germany, where they fought side by side in one of history’s ugliest wars.
During a fierce battle, they were given the command to retreat. As the men were running back, Jim noticed that Phillip hadn’t returned with the others. Jim begged his commanding officer for Phillip, to let him go after his friend, but the officer forbade the request, saying it would be suicide.
Jim disobeyed and went after Phillip. His heart pounding, he ran into the gunfire, calling out for Phillip. A short time later his platoon saw him hobbling across the field carrying a limp body in his arms. The commanding officer shouted at Jim for his outrageous risk. “Your friend is dead,” he said. “There was nothing you could do,”
“No sir,” Jim replied. “ Got there just in time. Before Phillip died he said ‘I knew you come’.” (Craig Brian Larson & Phyllis Ten Elshof. gen. eds. 1001 Illustrations Tha Connect. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Press, 2008. pp. 331 -332). What would you have done if you were in Jim’s shoes?
BLESSINGS
What does the word redeemed mean to you?
1) Redemption: Redemption involves paying a price for freedom. How many people have become slaves to sin because of the power and guilt of sin? How can we fix that problem? We need a Savior!
2) Price: As widows Since Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, the property right of his land would have gone to Ruth’s husband Mahlon. But both of them were deceased. Ruth was too poor to purchase the land. Naomi suggested to Ruth to doll herself up with nice clothes and perfume (Ruth 3:3). Then Naomi told Ruth to go to the threshing floor, wait till Boaz was finished eating and drinking followed by laying down to go to sleep (Ruth 3:5 - 9). Naomi then told Ruth to lay down at Boaz’s feet and uncover them. She must have woke him because the scriptures say it startled him (Ruth 3:9). She asked Boaz to cover her with a corner of the garment as her kinsmen redeemer. There was another man closer in the line of kinship than Boaz was. Boaz went to the city gate along with ten elders (Ruth 4:1) where matters were often settled. The one who was closer in line walked by as Baoz explained about purchasing the land that once belonged to Elimelech now belongs his widow Naomi and her daughter in law Ruth. The other relative did not want to buy it because he said it might endanger his estate and told Boaz to redeem it (Ruth 4:6). Boaz then took off his sandal (as was the custom) and gave it to the other person and bought Elimelech’s land and acquired Ruth as his bride so that their family name would continue ( See Ruth 4:1 -12).
Have you ever heard of the law of the kinsman redeemer? There are three things that have to happen for someone to be redeemed. The first rule is that the redeemer must be a relative to those in debt. The second rule is that a redeemer must be willing to act for his lost brothers and sisters. This rule sounds like an echo of being a “brother’s keeper”. The third and final rule is that the kinsman redeemer must be able to pay the price for redemption. (M. R. DeHaan. Studies In Revelation. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998, pp. 106 – 110). The book of Ruth in the Old Testament reminds us of these three rules and how they play out. Boaz is the kinsman redeemer who saves Ruth. Ruth and Boaz’s boy Obed the father of Jesse who is the father of David. What Boaz did for Ruth, Jesus does for all of humanity.
What if Boaz had rejected Ruth? Boaz could have rejected Ruth but he didn’t. The point that I am getting at is this. Where Boaz covered Ruth with a blanket, Jesus paid the price for us and our redemption by covering us with His blood. How is that observable to others who know us?
Overshadowed by Jesus’ love
“A minister was conducting the funeral of a rather unsavory character who had never been near a place of worship in his life. Though he had not known the man, the preacher poured on the praise for the dearly departed. After 10 minutes of hearing the dead man described in terms of endearment as a husband, father, boss and neighbor, the widow’s expression grew more and more puzzled. She nudged her son and ordered, “Go up there and make sure it’s your father in that casket.”
If we were to hear Jesus standing before God the Father describing our lives, we might look puzzled, too. That’s because when the blood of Christ is poured over my life and your life, it becomes unrecognizable. God will not see us as sinners; he will only see the love of Jesus overshadowing us”.
https://www.proclaimsermons.com/illustration.asp
Whereas Ruth was able to doll herself up for Boaz, only Jesus can dress us up in His righteousness making us acceptable (II Corinthians 5:21)! Can others tell that we are His?
In the Name of the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
