Be strong and brave believer, God is with you

Text Joshua 1:1-9 Time 10 05 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

I thought we could begin this evening a series of studies in the Book of Joshua. Joshua is the sixth book of the Bible. It follows on from the Pentateuch, the first five books. It literally begins And or Now after the death of Moses - it is meant to follow straight on from what went before.

This is the book you first hear about in Sunday School with the story of the Battle of Jericho and so on. It takes us from the entrance into the Promised Land through to the completion of the conquest and sets us up then for what happens after Joshua dies which is found in the Book of Judges.

Now the anonymous writer of the book did not simply write the history of those times, he wrote with purpose. He is seeking to teach lessons. So for example

1. He wants us to remember that God always fulfils his promises

2. That we are constantly being confronted by the question of which way to go (Think of the difference between Caleb and Achan and their choices)

3. It reminds us that with God victory is certain. We must look to him.

4. In this book we see the little by little principle. Back in Exodus 23:28-30 God says I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land. God wants to grow in grace day by day.

What are we to make of this book in our day? Surely it is significant that the book has the name of our Saviour. We say Jesus rather than Joshua but it is the same name. Joshua is the first man we know to have the name of God incorporated into his name. His name means the LORD saves. It is surely significant that Moses who stands for the law did not and could not bring the people into the kingdom. No, it was Joshua Jesus who did that. There is a lesson already. In Hebrews 4:7-11 it says

God again set a certain day, calling it "Today." This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts." For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Joshua gave the people a sort of rest but not the rest the Bible is mainly interested in. No, that Sabbath rest comes when we rest from our own works (as God did from his on that first Sabbath) and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Book of Joshua we have a picture of how in Jesus Christ we can enter into rest from sin. The picture is not so much of crossing Jordan and entering heaven (as the hymns love to put it) but crossing Jordan and living the Christian life. In some senses living as a Christian is a battle and here we learn something about it.

Peter Jeffery puts it well. He asks why in 1941 London was being bombed but not Paris. The reason was that Paris was occupied but London was not. In the same way, Satan has little need to attack the unbeliever but he will often attack the believer. The Christian life is a victorious life but it does involve being in a war against the forces of evil.

What I would like to do this evening is to look at the first nine verses of the book. In these verses the scene is set and God speaks to Joshua. Three times the phrase is repeated (6, 7, 9) Be strong and courageous. Of course, the words are addressed to Joshua but they are words for us too tonight if we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. Four things then

1. See that leaders don't go on forever; when one passes, another must take the work forward

The Book begins After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites. It was a significant moment. You remember that God let all that generation that came out of Egypt die (all except Joshua and Caleb) because of their disobedience. Even Moses had to die because of his failure. Now he was dead they could begin to enter the Promised Land. Perhaps Joshua was nervous, however, he had been number two but now as had long been planned he was the leader at a critical juncture. God speaks to reassure him. Two things for us here then.

1. Moses and other leaders don't go on forever

After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' aide: Moses my servant is dead. This was not news but a statement of the situation. Imagine how apprehensive the people may have been feeling. All they had never known was Moses's leadership and now he was gone. Calvin says they were like a body with the head lopped off.

We have just been noting the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. You know that Winston Churchill ws the leader of the country at that time and his popularity had never been higher and yet in the election in 1945 his party was voted out and in came Labour under Clement Attlee. I'm sure many were apprehensive. What were these newbies going to do? How would they handle it?

Of course, now we know that Labour brought in the NHS and that is often celebrated on all sides. In a similar way we know that Joshua was a successful and effective leader. At this point, however, all that was unknown.

I remember when my own pastor died years ago. Realising he was gone was so devastating. It was similar when Dr Lloyd-Jones died. I remember a minister saying he felt not bereaved but bereft. Again it happened for me when Robert Sheehan the pastor at Welwyn died.

The thing is that leaders pass on One day it won't be me preaching here. One day I will die and others will carry the work on. God's leaders do not last forever.

2. When one passes, another must replace him as happens here with Joshua

This follows on. Now then, God says you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them - to the Israelites. I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates - all the Hittite country - to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

This is not the end of the story. Far from it. It is the beginning rather. And so when an older leader is removed and a new one comes in under God this is the way to see it.

Further, when a person becomes a Christian, it is good news not bad. He is no longer under the law as he was but under Christ, which is far better. The Christian life has begun and it is now all about living to the glory of God. Our work now is to overcome the sins that remain and to live to God's glory. Do notice also that word give. The Lord is about to give the people the Promised Land. They would have to fight but it is God's gift. The Christian life is by grace but to enjoy it you must struggle and fight.

In one sense who leads is unimportant. What matters is the God who gives good things. Matthew Henry notes how God will change hands often to remind us that he is in charge. Look to him.

The continuity here arises from the fact that Joshua is carrying on what Moses began. In a similar way, nothing in the law contradicts the gospel. We carry on in the same direction but by grace.

2. Hear this call to be strong and brave with the promise of invincibility and God 's nearness

In verses 5-9 we have these three calls to be strong and brave. Each time the call is accompanied by a promise. In verses 5 and 6 the promise comes first and then the command. Although we are not all called to be leaders, if we are Christians then we are to live out the Christian life strong and brave in Christ. So

1. Hear this promise of invincibility and God's nearness

In verse 5 the promise is of invincibility and of God's nearness. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

If we belong to Jesus Christ then we are invincible in him. No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As Paul puts it - if God is for us who can be against us?

It is like

Psalm 91:11-13 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Isaiah 54:17 No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me, declares the LORD.

Be encouraged then. And then the nearness of the Lord. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. This is how David spoke to Solomon too saying Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. In John 8:28, 29 Jesus says When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. What Jesus knew we too can know through him. In Hebrews 13:5 it says to God's people Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

2. Hear this call to be strong and brave

It goes on (6) Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. Again the verse applies directly to Joshua but it shows us how we ought to be in Christ. The promises of God giving and being present do not encourage us to be complacent or lazy. Rather we should be active - strong and brave, looking to the Lord. The inheritance is ours, if we will only be stand up and be counted and live the Christian life with fortitude and courage.

3. Hear this call to be strong and brave and immersed in God's Word with the promise of prosperity and success

This time the order is command promise

1. Hear this repeated and strengthened call to be strong and brave

Verse 7 repeats and strengthens the call Be strong and very courageous. We have got to stand up for Jesus and take our courage in our hands and live for Jesus.

2. Hear this call to be immersed in God's Word

With this in the rest of verse 7 and in verse 8 this being strong and courageous is fleshed out in a specific way. It says Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, ... Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it.

First there is the general point. Yes, Moses is dead but his words live on. Be careful to recall those words and to act upon them. When you become a Christian you are no longer under the Law but do not abandon the Law. Rather, Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left. In particular, God speaks about the Book of the Law which was then the first Five Books of the Bible, the Pentateuch but that would become the Hexateuch and eventually the whole Old Testament then Old and New Testaments -the Bible. Three things for Joshua and by implication for all of us who are resting In Christ

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips. Keep reading it, keep learning it. Don't neglect it. Try and read it every day. Get to know it.

Meditate on it day and night. Simply reading it is not enough. We need to think about it, meditate on it. Immerse yourself in its message. Let it permeate deep into you.

So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Again, simply reading and thinking about it is not enough. You need to put it into practice. Take care to do that. $ Remember James's story about the man looking in the mirror. When he looks in the mirror he can see he toothpaste on his mouth and egg on his tie and he needs to sort it out but when he turns from the mirror he quickly forgets what he has seen and does nothing about it. What good is that? We need to gaze into the Word to see what we are really like and then act on what we learn.

I read recently of a Hindu Temple, Ajata Nagalingaswami in Navalgund, Dharwad, Karnataka, South India. There they offer flowers and light lamps before an idol. The strange thing about this idol is that it a copy of the Bible. Temple head Veerendra Swami told The Hindu that the copy of the Bible in Kannada was published by a Committee of the Missionaries of Germans, London, and Wesleyan Missionary Societies and printed at Mangalore in 1865. This truly is bibliolatry. Christians are sometimes accused of this but reading, meditating and living it out is not that.

3. Hear this promise of prosperity and success

As for the promise, it is repeated. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ... and then Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. We are not talking about worldly prosperity and success but true prosperity and success - peace and jpy and all things good. The key to it is in a determined and brave living oput of what is found in God's Word. Let's live like this.

4. Hear this call to be strong, brave and unafraid and the promise of God constant nearness

Verse 9 is mostly repetition

1. Hear the call to be strong and brave with its negative call not to be afraid or discouraged

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged ... On the third repetition rather than strengthening the expression, God simply gives it in negative as well as positive form.

So, believer, positively, as we have said already Be strong and courageous. Stand firm, keep believing. Be brave. Don't let it worry you what they say against you.

Negatively, don't be afraid. Don't get downhearted. It is so easy to get like that, especially facing what we are facing at the moment. But don't - be strong, be brave.

2. Hear this repeated promise of God's constant nearness

And then for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. It doesn't matter what happens, where we find ourselves, God will be with us. That is the greatest thing about being a believer - the withness of God, as it has been put.

Remember Joseph. His brothers sold him as a slave. Wat a disaster. But (Genesis 39:1-4)

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favour in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.

But then Joseph for no fault of his own and was put in prison. But it happens again (Genesis 39:20-23) But while Joseph was there in the prison, the LORD was with him; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.

Or think of what happened to Daniel's three friends and how they were thrown into the fiery furnace but even there God was with them. When Nebuchadnezzar looked in he could see one who looked like a son of the gods there with them in the fire.

If you are strong and courageous then be in do doubt that God will be with you whatever you face. Yes, the Devil and the world are against us and our own flesh but we will overcome sin and evil as we look to the Lord.

This is all really, of course, a repetition of Deuteronomy 31:6-8 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. The Bible loves to repeat itself to make sure we get it. We are rather slow. Let's try to get it, however. Amen.

Law, Love, Providence and Salvation

Text Ruth 4 Time 23 03 22 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We come then to the final chapter of the little Book of Ruth, the denouement, where the hero of the book, Boaz, takes up the legal obligation to redeem Elimelek's land for Naomi and to marry Ruth. He has first to deal with a closer guardian-redeemer informing him that he has a prior claim to the land but pointing out that there is also an expectation that the one who redeems Elimelek's land will also marry Ruth, which, it turns out, he does not want to do. All this takes place at the town gate and the elders and the people present there gladly bear witness to it and wish the couple every blessing. We then learn of Boaz and Ruth's child Obed and how he is held in Naomi's arms. The book ends with a genealogy showing that Obed is the grandfather of King David!

I want to say four things from these verses tonight.

1. Be thankful for God's wonderful Law

So Chapter 3 leaves us at the point where Ruth has made it quite clear that she wants Boaz to marry her and for him to redeem Elimelek's land and Boaz has said that he will get things sorted and deal with the fact that there is someone who has a prior claim on Elimelek's land. And so we read that on the morning after the night at the threshing floor, while Ruth is back with Naomi. Meanwhile Boaz goes up to the town gate where all legal business and related matters were dealt with and sat down there. He did so just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. We will speak about God's providence in a moment but here is a little example of it. Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. A legal court is now in session.

Then (3, 4) he said to the guardian-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek." As much gleaning as can be expected has been done and now, faced with their great poverty, Naomi has decided to sell her land. It will be best if she sells to a family member rather than a stranger. He goes on I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, as he is closest (Elimelek's brother the Jews suggest but we cannot know) and I am next in line." (a nephew the Jews suggest - again unproveable). We don't know how Boaz was related to Elimelek but it is clear that this unnamed man is more closely related and so has a prior responsibility and claim. Hence he agrees to redeem Elimelek's land.

But Boaz has a trump card, as it has been put. He tells his relative (5, 6) "On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property." At this, the guardian-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it." Boaz points out that it is not enough to buy the land, he is morally obliged also to marry Ruth if he genuinely wants to help this needy family. This is because when Ruth married Elimelek's son there were no children. The man is willing to redeem the land because that would be to his advantage to some extent - it would eventually revert to Elimelek's clan which is his clan but to marry Ruth, he fears, would endanger his estate as a child born to such a couple would have rights and so he legitimately but hardly making himself look good hands over responsibility to Boaz. Some conjecture that he had a wife or didn't want to marry a Moabite or thought superstitiously that as her first husband had died he might do so too. but it says clearly he was thinking about his finances and not about the needs of this poor family. The writer is kind not to name him.

In order to seal the deal the unnamed man removed his sandal and said "Buy it yourself." That may seem a strange thing to do but the writer explains (7) (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalising transactions in Israel.) Indeed, it is not uncommon to find shoes buried in the walls of houses and little portions of soil being handed over. The idea is no doubt of standing on land. The guardian-redeemer is saying, I guess, you can tread on the land, here's my shoe.

What we see here is God's law being worked out. The particular laws to the fore are those of redemption of land and the levirate marriage broadly interpreted, civil laws. However, they are reminders of how wonderful God's Old Testament laws were - protecting the poor and the needy and giving legitimate ways forward when hard times came. We are no longer under such laws, though the moral law, the Ten Commandments, continues through all time. The ceremonial law (the feasts and sacrifices, etc) have been fulfilled in Christ. We should pray that the same equity seen in Old Testament civil law is found in the laws that exist in our country today. Thank God for his law.

2. Keep in mind the powerful nature of love and of witness and of blessing

We have three main things in verses 9-12.

1. The power of love

In verses 9 and 10 we come to the climax of the book. Here we read Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!"

What Boaz say here is not only legally correct but full of earnestness, kindness and devotion. Boaz is utterly selfless. What a contrast he is to the other, self-seeking man who remains nameless. Ironically, the other man had been trying to preserve his own best interests but Boaz sees that by acting as he does he has really gained something. As we shall see, it was more than Boaz could have guessed at first. He is a reminder to us of the importance of not merely following the letter of the law but acting in love. More than that, if a man will have compassion on a Ruth and redeem her, won't God do the same for his people? One writer says "Just as the redeemer Boaz preserved the name and the place of a Elimelech in Israel, the Christ restores the names of his own for all time and gives them an eternal inheritance." More on that later.

2. The power of united witness

The reason Boaz did things in such a way and not in a quiet corner is not that he was a show off who liked to be in the public eye but that he saw the power of united witness. If he had spoken only to the other man in private, the man might have tried to deny it had happened like that at some point or may be he himself would have been tempted to cast Ruth off. That was not going to happen, however, because everything had been done in a very honest and open and public way. Not everything should be done in public but many things should. Witnesses are important. Marriage would be an example, the witnesses to the resurrection, of which there were many, would be another. We who believe must be faithful witnesses to the Lord.

3. The power of prayerful blessing

These people, the elders and all the people at the gate not only said, We are witnesses but also May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.

So they wished for Boaz and Ruth the blessing of many children and great respect. There are parallels between Tamar and Ruth.

We underestimate what we can do by prayer and by blessing others. We should not.

3. Recognise God's wonderful providence towards his people

In this book we see a whole series of providences that bring Boaz and Ruth together and lead to further blessing. We should recognise God's providence and see that he is at work in the lives of his people and that should encourage us. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife (13a) is a very simple statement but when we consider all that led up to it, it is amazing that they ever met and married as they did. Every Christian couple could say a similar thing. Marriages are part of the amazing providence of God.

Then in 13b it says When he made love to her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Here the writer is careful to say that it was the LORD who enabled her to conceive. Sometimes we forget that fact, that a couple can only conceive if the LORD does it. We ought to remember that.

You get more blessing in verses 14 and 15 The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. Notice that, Obed is a guardian-redeemer as it is through him that Naomi is delivered. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth. They were recognising what a blessing a grandchild can be especially if, as in Naomi's case, you have lost your husband and your sons. They do not miss either what a blessing Ruth has been to Naomi. She has not only loved Naomi but she has been better to her than seven sons. What a blessing when you have someone in your family like that - a daughter-in-law, a mother, a son. Or may be it's a friend, not a family member, but they can be better to you than seven sons.

In verse 16 we see the love of a grandmother for her grandson - Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. Most grandmothers love their grandchildren but there was something extra special about this one. This one was also a her redeemer. It helps us imagine how it was for Mary much later on too. What providences had led to his safe arrival. And then again you get the comment (17a) The women living there said, "Naomi has a son!" And they named him Obed. It was the village who named the baby and they called him servant as they could see that was what he was. Again, it speaks very much of the Lord Jesus.

Then one more thing of the same sort, He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. This was no ordinary boy. No, this was the grandfather of a king, of David no less. We do not know who we are dealing with sometimes.

When Martin Luther used to enter a classroom he would address the children as doctors and lawyers and teachers. He did not know which would be which but he knew there would be some among them and so he showed them respect. So should we.

4. Never forget God's salvation in Christ, the great theme of Scripture

The book ends with this little genealogy or family tree in verses 18-22.

This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram he father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David.

Perez was the son of Judah as comes out elsewhere in the chapter and so the genealogy takes us the ten generations or so from Judah son of Jacob to David the King. Some think that is not enough and that some must have been missed but there is no need to think that.

This then is the royal line, the line that will lead eventually to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah himself. And so we are reminded that the great theme of the Bible is always the Lord Jesus. It is all about him and the salvation that he brings to all who trust in him by the grace of God. Look to your Redeemer Jesus Christ.

Christ Our Guardian Redeemer

Text Ruth 3 Time 16 03 22 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We have looked at the first half of the Book of Ruth and this evening I want us to look at Chapter 3, where the denouement begins with Ruth placing herself at the feet of the family's guardian redeemer, Boaz, as instructed by Naomi, and Boaz committing himself to marrying Ruth and doing all he can to redeem that little family from its troubles.

In John 5:39 Jesus says to his opponents You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me. Whenever we read the Bible, New Testament or Old, we should be on the look out for ways in which it may point us towards the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the ways that happens is that there are in the Old Testament what we call types or shadows, that is people or events that point forward to or foreshadow the Lord Jesus Christ by providing a resemblance or pattern that we can learn from. Here in Boaz we have a type of Christ.

There are several points of contact.

• The Tribe of Judah. Both belong to the this tribe. Judah was not Jacob's oldest son but he was given that role due to the failure of his older brothers, Reuben, Simeon and Levi. Judah became the royal tribe when David ascended to the throne.
• The Town of Bethlehem. More narrowly, there is Bethlehem, where Boaz lived and appears to have been born and where David was later born and grew up and, of course, where Messiah was born.
• The role of Redeemer. There are several references in this chapter to Boaz being a Guardian Redeemer. As we have said, the nearest relative in each family had the responsibility to redeem the property of a dead relative for his remaining family. Here we see Boaz willingly taking on this role. Amazingly, the Hebrew term appears over 20 times in the book, which is a lot for such a small work. We've already had it in 2:20 where Naomi says to Ruth of Boaz The LORD bless him! ... He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead. ... That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers. Here in Chapter 3 it comes up seven more times - once in 3:9 when Ruth says to Boaz Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family; twice in 3:12 where Boaz admits he is a guardian-redeemer of the family; it is mentioned another four times in passing in 3:13. There are a further 13 references in Chapter 4. Just as Boaz was willing to pay the price to set Ruth and Naomi free, so Christ has redeemed his people by laying down his life on the cross to save them.
• A Bride from the nations. Further, we have noted that Ruth was from Moab, a Gentile. By marrying her, as Boaz does in Chapter 4, he underlines the fact that Christ's Bride, the church, is made up of people from the nations. Gentiles benefit then from what he does but also his people the Jews if they will trust in him too.
• Constant acts of kindness. The impression you get of Boaz is that he was an upright and kind man always. When we first meet him he gives his workers a holy but friendly greeting and they clearly respect him too. He is very considerate and kind to Ruth in Chapter 2 and we see the same sort of thing in this chapter, Chapter 3. He is like the Lord Jesus who went about doing good.
• Keeping the law and more. Boaz keeps the law - the law about gleaning most obviously. And, as we have noted, it is not just that he kept the law. He went well beyond the mere letter in his efforts to help Ruth. This points us to the Lord Jesus once again who, as a man under the law kept all God's law and did so much more righteousness.
• An abundant provider. In Chapter 2 and 3 an interesting motif appears. In 2:18 we read how Ruth came home from Boaz's field with an ephah of barley. We are told that Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. Again in 3:15-17 we read of how he poured ... six measures of barley into Ruth's shawl and placed the bundle on her. He told Ruth 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.' This highlights the way he, more importantly, deals with the emptiness Naomi knew by maintaining the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown (4:10). Through Boaz Naomi's life is renewed and she is sustained in her old age (4:15). This generosity prefigures the abundant kindness and provision of the Lord Jesus that we see when he comes.

So that is one of the main things I want to say tonight but I also want to focus more closely on the text in Chapter 3. Let me say three things specifically from those verses but first let me add first that one of the difficulties with this book is that there are clearly a lot of cultural elements involved. It is difficult to know what is was typical of the time and what is specific to these circumstances. We will try as best we can.

1. Naomi plans a needed encounter with Boaz; how we need to meet with Christ

At this point the widows Naomi and Ruth have settled back in the Promised Land and know that they have a Guardian-Redeemer in Boaz who has already shown them great kindness. In God's law a Guardian-Redeemer needed only to sort out the land situation but there was another law in Israel that said that a widow could expect her dead husband's brother to marry her, although he did have the right to refuse. By this time it seems that brother was understood more widely.

So what is needed now is an encounter with Boaz with the hope that he will agree not only to act on their behalf and redeem their land but also marry Ruth. I don't think Naomi is forcing things here and there isn't anything immoral going on either.

Let me remind you that Ruth and Naomi are widows who are in poverty and they need to find a way out of it. In those days for a woman there were really only two ways out of poverty - ownership of land and marriage. Naomi is too old to marry but Ruth is not. They are both related to Boaz and so he can act to redeem the land that is rightfully theirs and if he marries Ruth then all the problems are solved.

And so we read how (1-5) One day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, "My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. Naomi felt responsible to do something not only for herself but for her daughter-in-law too. Simply waiting for Boaz to act wasn't working. Some way needed to be found to show him that Ruth wanted him to marry her and that they both wanted him to act for them. However, you see the problem, Ruth couldn't just walk up to Boaz and say "Will you marry me?". So Naomi devises a way for Ruth to ask for this but leaving Boaz with a get out clause.

So Naomi says to Ruth Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. After the barley had been reaped, it would be threshed - the grain would be removed from the stalks and husks, probably with threshing sledges. What remained was then separated from the lighter chaff by throwing it up into the wind on the threshing floor. Perhaps the breeze was better for winnowing at night than in the daytime. Naomi knew that once all that hard work was over Boaz would want to sleep and he would not go home but sleep on the threshing floor. Perhaps he needed to guard the grain.

Naomi tells Ruth Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Make yourself presentable. Up until now she has been a poor girl gleaning in Boaz's field but now she needs to present herself as an eligible woman. Some question whether she would have had best clothes and think she is told to wear a long garment. Next she was to go down to the threshing floor, but without letting Boaz know she is there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, she is to note the place where he is lying. She is then to go and uncover his feet and lie down. This would mean that he is likely to wake at some point but she may be engaging in symbolic actions. She is turning his blanket so that it symbolically covers her but she remains at his feet as they will not marry unless he agrees to it. Ruth is from Moab and does not know about such customs but, says Naomi, He will tell you what to do. "I will do whatever you say," Ruth answered.

This reminds us of what is sometimes called closing with Christ. If people are going to become Christians then they need not only to know the gospel but to come into a relationship with Christ. We ought to give thought to the best way to being that about. I don't think calling people to the front is the answer but the subject needs to be considered.

2. Ruth meets Boaz who commits himself to do all that is needed; Christ will do all that is needed for us
So we read how Ruth went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.

After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits and had lain down at the far end of the grain pile then Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down as she had been told to do.

In the middle of the night something startled Boaz, you know that feeling of fright that sometimes comes with sleep he turned - and there was Ruth lying at his feet! He is not sure who it is in that light but when he asks, she says "I am your servant Ruth, ... Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family." Do your duty she says - but in a romantic and fulsome way. Just as he had once spoken to her of her coming under the shelter of the LORD so she asks that he will be the one who in particular shelters her by becoming her husband.

He says "The LORD bless you, my daughter ... This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. He is pleased with her. He has already been impressed by what she has done for Naomi and now he sees that she is making a marriage proposal. He realises that she could have simply looked out for a rich young man but no she wants to do what is right. And so he assures her (11) And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. Perhaps she had trembled as she spoke. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. But then in his integrity he reveals something not revealed until this point. Although it is true that Boaz is guardian-redeemer of the family, there is someone else who is more closely related than Boaz. To be strictly legal he needs first to confront him with the situation. It is likely that Naomi had realised this but Boaz had been so kind to them, it seemed the right thing to do.

So he says (13) Stay here for the night, nothing could be done at this hour and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. The way Boaz saw it, the marrying and the redeeming came together - both and not one but not the other. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.

And so she lays there until morning but gets up before anyone could be recognised. He is concerned now for her reputation and so he says "No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor." As generous as ever (15) He also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her.

When a person becomes a Christian they are not only redeemed but they also come into a relationship with Christ. So, on one hand, you are legally justified by faith - in God's eyes, you are legally without sin and so you have a right to heaven. At the same time your heart is changed and you are regenerated so that you begin to want to walk with Christ. You become a child of God and part of the Bride of Christ. It is pictured very well here in Ruth - you are given your land back but there is also a strong and godly man to look after you for the rest of your days. What blessings he has in store for you.

3. Ruth reports back to Naomi who tells her to wait; Christ does it all, we need only look to him

Ruth then returns to Naomi who is eager to know how things have gone. Ruth tells her the whole story and shares with her the six measures of barley from Boaz. Naomi is convinced (18) "Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today."

In this chapter there has been a lot of Naomi and Ruth but from now on it is Boaz who takes things in hand and acts. It is a reminder that although we must come to Christ and put our faith in him; he is the one who does it all in truth. He saves us, we don't save ourselves. There is great comfort in this truth. Just as Naomi and Rut could rest at this point so we can once we commit ourselves to Christ.