“Look what God has done!” – Ruth, Part 4
Ruth Sermon Series, Part 4
Ruth 2:18-23
Introduction
- So far, we’ve seen a very interesting story develop in Ruth
-- We know there was a great famine and so Elimelek has moved his family
-- While they were in Moab, 3 out of 4 people in this family have died
- Ruth makes three promises to Naomi:
1. Where you go, I will go and where you stay, I will stay (Life commitment)
2. Your people will be my people; your God will be my God (Public profession)
3. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried (Promise to be faithful)
- So, back in Bethlehem, Ruth ventures out to find work and comes across Boaz
-- Boaz is a land owner, but is ALSO a relative of Elimelek (see God’s provision)
- Boaz’s response to Ruth, in simplest terms, is one of grace and mercy
1. I’ve heard about what you did for your mother-in-law
2. I applaud you leaving homeland to come here
3. Come and join in with us, find protection and safety with me
- Boaz’s prayer for her is that she would be protected & blessed by God
-- APP: His prayer is for the same God she has committed to honor will bless her
-- EXP: May God fulfill her life so much that it will satisfy her completely
- From this, we saw a tremendous encouragement on showing grace to others:
-- Could you and I welcome in and show grace to a stranger like this?
-- Instead of piling on, Boaz becomes a comforter, a mercy giver
-- Hebrew “chesed” (or hesed); completely undeserved kindness or love
-- EXP: Very similar to what God has done for us through Jesus Christ
- Let’s see where this story takes us today to encourage our hearts
- Read Ruth 2:18-23 / Pray
Point 1 – Ruth’s efforts are shown to Naomi
- Taking the barley she harvested, she heads home to see Naomi
-- Remember, she has harvested an ephah worth (or about 6 US gallons)
-- This will certainly provide them plenty to eat for next few months
- But something else has happened that has Naomi’s attention
-- Not only has she gathered all this barley; she has a “go bag” (roasted grain)
-- Why? Because she has a protector, a provider, someone to help her!
- Naturally, Naomi has three outbursts of joy for her (v19)
-- 1) “Where did you gather (Hebrew: laqat; glean) all this grain today?”
-- 2) “Where did you work (Hebrew: asah; make (implies effort spent)?”
-- 3) “Blessed (Hebrew: barak; to bless) be the one who helped you!”
- But when Ruth reveals this man’s name as Boaz – this is spectacular!
-- EXP: For Naomi, this is the best news she has heard (probably) in months!!
- Her outburst are spontaneous and quite revealing of her heart (v20)
-- God (Hebrew: Yahweh) bless him (Boaz) for what he’s done
-- His kindness being shown honors us & your dead husband (re: Naomi’s son)
-- Hebrew “checed” (or hesed or chesed); kindness or goodness
- REPHRASE: God is still taking care of you and I – truly, He hasn’t forgotten us!
-- Meaning: God is STILL at work and God is still taking care of ME!
- For Naomi, this is where her heart changes – this is where she sees God’s grace
-- APP: This is her revelation moment that God is still in charge!
- TR: Even with this realization, there’s even MORE good news for them!
Point 2 – Look at who and what God has provided!
- Naomi’s final exclamation of who Boaz is … in a word …. JOYOUS! (v20)
-- That man is our relative of ours! Hebrew: qarob; near or relation
-- The meaning of this confession cannot be understated …
-- EXCITED: He is family … he can take care of us!
-- The phrase she uses is (NLT) “family redeemer” (KJV “next kinsman”)
-- This man is our “kinsman-redeemer” or … in Hebrew, “gaal” (Verb, to redeem)
-- Remember back when Naomi was convinced that God was mad at her?
- GET: Sometimes when God shows up, we ought to do a little shouting!
- We see this same word used in the promise God gave Moses:
-- Exodus 6:6, “Therefore, say to the people of Israel: ‘I am the Lord. I will free you from your oppression and will rescue you from your slavery in Egypt. I will redeem you with a powerful arm and great acts of judgment.”
- Likewise, it is what Moses repeats back to God to declare His goodness:
-- Exodus 15:13, “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed. In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.”
- Ruth would not have given this much thought (remember, she’s a Moabite)
-- However, for us, it is critical to see the implication of what’s been revealed
- He is a man who is capable of redeeming not just us, but our family as well
-- God has given us someone in our life who can actually help us SURVIVE!
- HUGE: Even in a 4-chapter book, God does something wonderful for His people
-- We don’t even have to go diving deep (like Leviticus) to see God’s rescue!
-- It is right here, in the everyday, ordinary life, of 2 women trying to survive!
-- Let’s rephrase: What do you need from Him that you are doubting He can do?
- Let’s take a pause …
- What God has done here is something I’d like to explore for a few minutes
- Need to give 2 scripture references to understand the context of this passage
-- Stay with me, couple of things to teach about to understand full picture
- First is Deuteronomy 25:5-10, “If two brothers are living together on the same property and one of them dies without a son, his widow may not be married to anyone from outside the family. Instead, her husband’s brother should marry her and have intercourse with her to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law. 6 The first son she bears to him will be considered the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten in Israel.”
7 “But if the man refuses to marry his brother’s widow, she must go to the town gate and say to the elders assembled there, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel—he refuses to fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law by marrying me.’ 8 The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 the widow must walk over to him in the presence of the elders, pull his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she must declare, ‘This is what happens to a man who refuses to provide his brother with children.’ 10 Ever afterward in Israel his family will be referred to as ‘the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off’!”
- This is what is referred to as a Levirate Marriage
-- Basically, where a brother would marry a widow to protect the family line
- Interesting: “The word levirate derives from the Latin word, ‘levir’, or ‘brother-in-law’ – it has nothing to do with Levi or Levitical.” It is why it’s named this!
- Second we see this in Matthew 22:24, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.”
- Insert something here, people continued to question Jesus further (Matthew 22)
-- They go through an entire lineage trying to determine marriage in afterlife
-- (v29-30), “Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.” (continued in v31-33 also)
- Why? Allowed Jesus to stress who God is by proclaiming God’s sovereignty
-- His emphasis was that God is in charge, stop focusing on marriage in death!
- BIG: People were missing that if we belonged to God, we’d be His in eternity
-- Check it out … it’s an interesting Segway into eternity and our need to focus!!
-- So, the first child was considered the son of the dead man (he kept family name)
-- This would ensure that the family name did not die, and he’d have a lineage
-- And the next in line kin would marry the family widow to provide for them
-- Normally, this rule applied to brothers, but could extend down the family line
- Essence of this: God has been “kind to the dead” (through the Levirate marriage)
-- He has provided a way for a family to survive; to gaal (be redeemed)
-- APP: This kinsman (brother) would be the family’s rescuer (their redeemer)
BACK TO RUTH:
- The word gaal may not have meant much to Ruth, but (re-read v21)
-- APP: Boaz said it was ok to stay, to continue working, and to finish the harvest
-- To Naomi this means one thing: WE CAN SURVIVE
- Naomi agrees (v22) it will be safe for you to work there to have a chance at life
-- Re: stranger-danger applied even then – common sense had to be applied!
- Therefore, for a period of about 7 weeks Ruth continued to work the field (v23)
-- Boaz became their “kinsman-redeemer” … which is vital for survival
-- SEE: He would become the family provider, the protector, which God provided!
- TR: So, why is this vital to know about in October of 2022?
Big Idea
- First 3 messages: “Sometimes when you abandon God, your life has disastrous consequences; but God is STILL faithful … even when we aren’t!”
- The focus is NOT the budding relationship with Boaz and Ruth
- Nor is it Naomi finally realizing God has always been there for her
- The important part to remember is this: “Even in tough times, God is STILL accomplishing His plan to bring redemption to those He loves!”
- In the coming weeks we will see just how true and real this is!
- Pray
