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.

See God's Mercy and Kindness and Trust in him

Text Ruth 1:19-2:23 Time 09 03 22 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We began to look last week at the Book of Ruth. We began by giving a number of reasons why we should study it - Because it's in the Bible; it's a wonderful story; it's from the days of the judges and shows you can be godly even in dark times; it's about the conversion of a Gentile; it is obviously pro-female; it shows us something about the ancestry of Messiah - these are his people.

Last week we looked at the first 18 verses and we said three things

1. Don't be surprised when bad times come and when bad times turn worse

2. Don't be surprised if when bad times become good there is still heartache

3. Don't be surprised when God brings you good in the midst of trouble

This week we will go on to look at Naomi's return to the Promised Land after her exile in Moab and what we find from Chapter 1 verse 19 through to the end of Chapter 2. Again, there are three main things to say.

1. Refrain from making the mistake of judging your situation by appearances

We read in Chapter 1 verse 19 how the two women Naomi and Ruth went on until they came to Bethlehem. The distance would have been perhaps about 60 or 70 miles, so it was quite a journey but the writer skips over that part.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" Ten years had passed and Naomi has been through a lot. No doubt her appearance had changed. This verse suggests that she and her family had been wealthy and well known in the town.

In verses 20 and 21 Naomi speaks. She says "Don't call me Naomi, ... which means "pleasant" Call me Mara, bitterness because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me."

As far as Naomi is concerned she is trying to tell it like it is but in the very next verses she is contradicted. Verse 22 says So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning towards the end of April.

Naomi is describing it all wrong. Yes, she left Bethlehem years before with her husband Elimelek who has died but to say she went away full is not totally accurate as the reason she went away was because of the famine in the area. She was not full at that time.

Further, when she says that the LORD has brought her back empty, she is again not accurate. She is forgetting that Ruth her daughter-in-law at great self-sacirifice has committed herself to Naomi and come with her to Bethlehem.

This is not an isolated example of a believer making a false assessment of a situation. We can cite other examples.

• Genesis 15:1, 2 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward." But Abram said, "Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" Eliezer did not inherit, of course, but Abram could not see it at the time.
• Or what about Jacob in Genesis 43:26 when he says "... Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!" None of that proved to be true, although we understand why he could say such a thing.
• There is an outstanding example in 2 Kings 7. At the beginning of the chapter we read how despite the city being under siege Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly how it turned out. The city was relieved and as the final verses of the chapter remind us It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

God was more gentle with Naomi. At the end of the book her grandson is born and we read (4:14-17) The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. 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." Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son!" And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

So when we make our interim judgements, just remember what Paul says (1 Corinthians 4:5) judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. Things we think are working against us are working for us. It is like the workings of a clock - some wheels are going this way, some that, but they are all combining to give the right time. In the same way God works all things together for the good of his people.

2. Realise that God is full of mercy and kindness towards all who come to him

As we come into Chapter 2, we learn what happens next and how God sustained Naomi and Ruth over the early months back in Bethlehem. These verses are a reminder to us that God provides for his own. He is full of mercy and kindness and even at what seem to us the most difficult and demanding times, he is there with his love and kindness, ready to deliver us from our troubles and to bless us in every way, if we will only look to him.

We can say a number of things from verses 1-17. We can say

1. Do not forget the mercy and kindness found in God's law

In verses 1 and 2 two things come out that today need to be explained a little to be understood but they are the first proofs that God is not going to abandon Naomi but has already planned long ago how he will minister goodness to her. So first

1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz.

So not only did Naomi have Ruth but there was a man in Bethlehem who was going to prove to be a saviour to Naomi and to Ruth too. He is simply mentioned here but his role is going to be crucial as the story unfolds. We are told that he was a relative on Naomi's husband's side and a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek. His name, Boaz, means strength and that was a little clue too in its own way.

We sometimes find the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy a little boring but they contain the laws that God intended his people to live by from their entrance into the Promised Land under Joshua through to the coming of Messiah. Among those laws were rules that meant there was a strong onus on the people to care for each other and particularly for those they were most closely related to. Elimelek had died but, as we shall see, Boaz was one of his closest living relatives and so under an obligation, according to God's law, to provide for Elimelek's remaining family.

So in his law God had already provided a way out of this mess for Naomi. Then secondly we read

2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favour." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter." Now if you know the laws in the Books of Moses as Naomi did and as Ruth clearly had come to know them, this makes sense.

In Leviticus 19:9,10 God says to the people When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings the left over grain of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.

The same thing is in Deuteronomy 24:19-21 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.

Because of this provision in the law and the fact that the law was being kept by at least some, there was hope for Ruth and Naomi as poor as they were.

It reminds us how God's Word is stored with such laws for his people and when they are put into practice they are a means of mercy and kindness to those who are in need.

Isn't that what is happening with the Ukrainian refugees for the most part now? People know that law Love your neighbour as yourself and so, although not all involved are Christians, they are obeying God's law and it is proving a blessing to many.

2. Do not forget the mercy and kindness found in God's providence

We read next (3, 4) how Ruth went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. That As it turned out is said perhaps a little tongue in cheek. The only other place it comes up in the Bible is in Ecclesiastes 2:14 which speaks of the wise and the foolish and how the same fate overtakes them both. It is clearly God's providence that leads her to this very field.

In verse 4 we get to meet this man Boaz. Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they answered. From the start you get the impression of the sort of man this is, a man who walked with God and who was a good employer, respected and even loved.

In verses 5-7 we read that he asked the overseer of his harvesters, "Who does that young woman belong to?" The overseer replied, "She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."

Alongside God's laws there are his daily providences which also reveal his mercy and kindness. It is true that his providences are sometimes dark - the famine, the death of Elimelek and their sickly boys down in Moab - but the general trend is positive and we see it here in the field that Ruth chose. God will provide for you if you rely on him. Do not doubt it. He may not give you a Mercedes Benz but he will give you what you need.

3. Do not forget the mercy and kindness found in God's people

Most often God's mercy and kindness will come by means of human beings or at least that is what we are most likely to notice. Here it is Boaz. Boaz says to Ruth (8, 9) My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.

Boaz clearly has a concern for Ruth and a concern that goes beyond mere laws. He is determined to look after her and is willing to do all he can to make things easier for her.

It is reminder to us that we ought to be showing such kindness to others also.

4. Do not forget the mercy and kindness found in God himself

We read next how (10-12) At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, "Why have I found such favour in your eyes that you notice me - a foreigner?" Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband - how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."

This is the broader point. In coming to the Promised Land, Ruth has left her father and mother and her homeland and is now living with a people she did not know before. However, in so doing she has come to take refuge ... under the wings of the God of Israel and Boaz prays that the LORD will repay her for what she has done, that she will be richly rewarded by the LORD which is exactly what happens to Ruth.

We cannot go to the Promised Land today. There is no such place. However, we can trust in the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ and if we do, we too can expect to be richly rewarded.

5. Do not forget that his mercy and kindness goes above and beyond the law

In verse 13 Ruth says to Boaz May I continue to find favour in your eyes, my lord, ... You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant - though I do not have the standing of one of your servants. She speaks humbly and thankfully then. This is the spirit we ought to be cultivating in ourselves.

We read that at meal time Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar." When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over. This was not required by the Law. Here Boaz is going above and beyond what the Law required.

It is the same in verses 15-17 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Let her gather among the sheaves rather than behind the harvesters and don't reprimand her. Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her." So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. That is about 25 kg or 54 pounds, quite a load.

We are urged always to go the extra mile and not simply follow the letter of the law. That is certainly the way the Lord deals with us. He does far more for us than we deserve. Rejoice in his grace, mercy and kindness to us all.

3. Recognise God's daily provision for his people by means of his guardian-redeemer Christ

To close we will look, thirdly and finally, at verses 18-23. Here we read how Ruth carries back to town the load she has harvested. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough. Naomi asks "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" And so Ruth explains what happened and tells Naomi that she was in the field of a man called Boaz. Naomi is excited

20 "The LORD bless him!" she says "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers."

Ruth adds (21) that he had said to her to Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.

Naomi wisely concludes that It will be good for Ruth to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else's field she might be harmed. And so that is what happens (22) So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

The key thing here then is that by Gods grace Naomi and Ruth have found a kind hearted, loving man who will look after them in their time of need. More than that, this man, Naomi knows, is one of our guardian-redeemers. He has the power and obligation to redeem Elimelek's land for Naomi and Ruth and, as we shall see, that is just what he does. Indeed, he does a whole lot more.

This points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. First, we notice his kindness and love. We realise he is a loving Saviour. But then we realise that he is more than that. He has the power to redeem us through his death on the cross on our behalf. And so we put our trust in him - or we ought to. He not only shows us kindness and saves us but he does a whole lot more for us too, as is pictured later in this Old Testament book. We will come to that we hope but for the moment think of the Saviour, the one who shows us such kindness and who alone can save us, as we trust in him.

Reasons not to be surprised and a call to commitment

Text Ruth 1:1-18 Time 02 03 22 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

I thought we might begin to look tonight at the Old Testament Book of Ruth. Ruth is a very attractive book as it is a book about ordinary people living ordinary lives but who are surrounded by God's love and care. It is not really, as so much of the Old Testament is, about kings and prophets or empires and wars. Ultimately, it links in with the stories of kings and prophets, yes, but first it is a love story told against the backdrop of tough times. No wonder God's people like it so much.

One other things about it is that it is full conversation - lots of dialogue. That adds to the interest.

If someone should say to me, why should I read the Book of Ruth? I would say

1. Because it is in the Bible. God want us to know this story. It is part of his revelation to us.

2. Because it is a wonderful story. Even just a story it is very engaging and worth knowing.

3. The book begins In the days when the judges ruled. I think it is particularly interesting as a contrast with that book, which in many ways is quite a depressing book with its cycle of forsaking the Lord, the Lord sending an enemy to chastise his people and then relief through a judge but all of these judges marked by one flaw or another. One writer calls the book "a summer's morning after a night of wild tempest" (Edersheim). The Book of Ruth reveals that even in days when everyone did was right in their eyes, there were godly people in the land such as Boaz and Ruth. We too can and must live good lives even in wicked times. There is light even in the darkness times.

4. It is always interesting in the Old Testament when we read of Gentiles who believe. Ruth, like Rahab before her, was a pagan and yet she found refuge under the wings of the God of Israel as the predominantly Gentile church does today.

5. It is a very feminine book. Naomi and Ruth are prominent in it. Modern people sometimes suppose that a patriarchal system has to be anti-women. That is not the case. This book shows it. Ruth is a heroine fo all times.

6. Because it supplies with important information about the ancestry of the Messiah. At the end of the book it is revealed that this is not just a charming story but the story of King David's great grandparents. David himself was, of course, himself an ancestor of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.

Today we will look at the opening chapter as far as verse 18. We want to say three main things.

1. Do not be surprised when bad times come and when bad times turn worse

1. Do not be surprised when bad times come

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. The man's name was Elimelek, his wife's name was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.

Verses 1 and 2 set the initial scene for us. The book was written probably in the time of David but it goes back to an earlier time, that of the Judges.

On one hand, here is a man who lives in Bethlehem - if you are a Christian, you cannot miss the fact this would be Messiah's birth place. These are Jews living in the Promised Land. His name means My God is King and hers Pleasant. They live in a place called The House of Bread.

However, there is a famine and they decide to emigrate to a nearby pagan country, to Moab. The names of their sons are ominous too (perhaps they were nicknames). Mahlon means sickness and Kilion wasting away. Perhaps it was concern for the boys that led Elimelek and Naomi to take the radical step they did at this time. They were probably a wealthy family at the start of the story. It is the wealthy not the poor who can afford to flee.

Reading of refugees from famine at this time inevitably makes us think of the refugees pouring out of Ukraine at the moment. They are refugees because of war rather than famine but they are having to cross borders, into Poland or Moldova or Slovakia or Hungary, leaving behind a great deal but finding safety.

In ancient Israel part of the covenant was that if the people were disobedient then they could expect war and famine and drought and other such things. No doubt this famine was part of such a judgement. In these New Testament times matters are not tied together so closely. Even in Old Testament times it was not that famine came because Elimelek and Naomi were personally responsible.

The thing to learn from what happened to them then is that troubles can come in different shapes and forms at any time. We must expect such things.

It was not necessarily wrong that they fled to Moab but it was a strange thing to be doing, especially if, as seems likely to be the case, they had lived through the period when the LORD gave Eglon King of Moab power over Israel to the point where the Moabites, with others, had occupied Jericho, before God raised up Ehud. Perhaps peace in Ehud's time made it easier to travel to Moab.

Ironies abound when the man whose God is the king leaves the house of bread for a pagan land. Ironies often come in when we are in trouble. Yet, trouble is never too far away, we will find.

2. Do not be surprised when bad times turn worse

It would be nice if we could say that after a while in Moab things took a turn for the better but that was not the case. We read in verses 3-5 first Now Elimelek, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. This, on the face of it, is not a good development. If it was right to flee to Moab, surely to intermarry with Moabites does not sound right, although it was not banned completely. And then further After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion the sickly one and the one wasting away also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. It may be that the ten year period is not how long the marriages lasted but how long Naomi's family were in Moab altogether.

Sometimes after a trouble, things get better but sometimes they don't - rather they get worse. There is no guarantee. We need to accept that is going to be so at times. Sometimes we feel we cannot take any more but then we find we sometimes can.

At the beginning of his book on the subject of suffering Don Carson gives examples of terrible sufferings Christians have gone through. He does it in order to counter the superficial retort that Christians do not suffer as the world does. As he says, "The truth of the matter is that all we have to do is live long enough and we will suffer."

2. Do not be surprised that when bad times become good there is still heartache

So that is the first part of the story, in verses 1-5. Next we come to the story of Naomi leaving Moab to return to the Promised Land. That is in verse 6 and the verses that follow.

We read in verses 6 and 7 When Naomi heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, she and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there. With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. The LORD comes to the aid of his people in various ways. Here it is by bringing the famine to an end. Naomi had kept the channels of communication with here home town open and so she knew when Bethlehem became the house of bread once again. Even though several years had passed by this time she knew where home was and she was keen to return.

In verses 8 and 9 we read how she said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show you kindness, as you have shown kindness to your dead husbands and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband." Then she kissed them goodbye and they wept aloud. Naomi spoke openly of the LORD and had no doubt taught her daughters in law a good deal about the true God. However, despite the bond that had evidently grown up between them, she did not expect them to go with her to Bethlehem.

However, we read how (10-13) they said to her, "We will go back with you to your people." But Naomi is insistent said, "Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons, who could become your husbands? Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me - even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons - would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has turned against me!" Someone today would not put it quite like that but what Naomi is saying is that she does not expect her daughters in law to remain with her as they need the wherewithal to live and she is in no position to help them find it.

I do not know what you make of her It is more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD's hand has turned against me. I suppose she is referring not to returning to Bethlehem but to the famine and then the loss of her husband and her two sons which she recognises is what the LORD has done. They have lost their husbands it is true but she has lost her husband and two sons and whereas they are young enough to remarry, she is not.

And so even when her time away comes to an end, there is still sadness - sadness over the memory of what has happened but sadness too at the need to say goodbye to these women and to the prospect of not seeing them again.

We are perhaps tempted to suppose that if the Lord is with us then everything will be rosy at all times but even in the good times there can be things that are tough to take, as here.

3. Do not be surprised when God brings you good in the midst of trouble

So up to verse 13 of Chapter 1 it is pretty much bad news - the sadness of famine and emigration, of sickness and death and then of helplessness and parting. But then in verses 14 and 15 almost out of nowhere happiness comes. 14, 15 At this at the prospect of parting they Naomi and her two daughters in law wept aloud again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, but an important but Ruth clung to her. "Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." Naomi does not want to take advantage of Ruth's loyalty and kindness. Ruth was a Moabite and she had worshipped Chemosh - should she not go back to doing that? It would be wrong to think that Naomi condoned it but she would not take advantage of Ruth.

And then another But and in verses 16-18 and one of the most beautiful statements in Scripture

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." When Naomi realised that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

There are moments in life like this - when the Orpahs and the Ruths of this world part and from then on, everything is different. It is in part a matter of God's sovereignty but real choices are made. Are you Orpah or Ruth?

Ruth says three things that show that the commitment she was making was

1. A radical commitment. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. She is committed to Naomi. Where Naomi goes Ruth is going. She had grown up in Moab, worshipping Chemosh but all that was about to change. She had learned about the true God from Naomi and she liked what she heard and was willing to go with Naomi to learn more. Everything was about to change she knew but she knew this was the right thing to do and so she made the commitment that was necessary.

It's like that when you become a Christian. It is a radical change. It means that everything is about to change.

2. A theological commitment. Your people will be my people and your God my God. From now on Chemosh and the other gods of paganism meant nothing to her. For her, God had only one people and they were her people. For her, there was only one God and it was Naomi's God and from now on he was her God too.

Again that is what it is like when you become a Christian. It is a theological change. It means that you recognise that God has only one people - true Christians - and that there is only one God and that you serve him.

3. A lifelong commitment. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me. Here we see the depth of Ruth's commitment. This was no spur of the moment thing. She had thought it through and she was committed to Naomi and to the true God no matter what may come.

Have you made that sort of commitment? That is how it must be. Lasting. Lifelong, Forever.

Here we are thinking of Naomi and the good that came to her because of Ruth's commitment but such commitment is good in all sorts of ways - good for Naomi good for Ruth, good for the kingdom, good for all who hear her story. Pray for such commitments in the midst of the troubles that surround us.