Best Books on Ruth

I enjoyed preaching the book of Ruth, and I was most helped by these three commentaries:

From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth by Dean Ulrich

Ulrich brings out several nuances that would be lost on casual readers of the book and then makes smart (and unforced) connections with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastoral. Insightful.

The New American Commentary: Volume 6 - Judges-Ruth by Daniel I. Block

The best all around commentary. Block is careful and reasoned in his judgments--I almost always was persuaded. He is also fairly comprehensive and knowledgeable about the history of interpretation.  If I could only buy one commentary, it would be this one.

Judges, Ruth (The NIV Application Commentary) by K. Lawson Younger, Jr.

Younger builds off of Block but also takes the application much further. After reading both Block and Younger each week, I felt like I understood what was going on.

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Gleanings From the Book of Ruth

Gleanings from Ruth

1. Ruth and Naomi

2. Ruth and Boaz

3. Ruth and Jesus

Read More

[Matt's Messages] "Ruth and Jesus"

“Ruth and Jesus”

Gleanings from the Book of Ruth

October 7, 2012

Ruth 4:1-22

This is our third and last sermon on the book of Ruth in a series we’re calling, “Gleanings from the Book of Ruth.”

The story takes place during the time of the judges which was a terrible time of men doing what was right in their own eyes instead of what was right in God’s eyes.  And the inevitable consequences.

We’ve learned that during that time, a man named Elimelech and his wife and two sons left Israel and went to the foreign country of Moab.  There the two sons took foreign wives.

And then, tragically, all of the men died.

Leaving three widows behind in a precarious position.

Naomi decided to go back home because she heard that the LORD had provided food again in Bethlehem.

Her daughter-in-law Orpah stayed behind and rejoined her Moabite family.

But Ruth, Naomi’s other daughter-in-law clung to Naomi and vowed to return with her to Israel, taking on the responsibility of caring for Naomi and coming under the protective wings of the LORD.  She showed kindness to Naomi, and she became a convert to the God of Israel.

Naomi came back with Ruth but felt like she was alone.

She was bitter and said that she had gone away full and come back empty.

But she had Ruth.

And Ruth took risks for her.  She bravely took to the fields of Bethlehem and began gleaning in the unharvested corners of the barley fields.

And it just so happened[!] that she gleaned in the fields of a man of integrity and character and faith in the Lord, named Boaz.

And it just so happened that Boaz was a relative of her deceased father-in-law.

Boaz took notice of Ruth, and Boaz showed kindness and compassion to Ruth letting her continue to glean for herself and Naomi in his own fields, with his servant girls, fed and watered from his own table, un-harassed by his field hands, and favored with generous extras.

And then Naomi got a crazy plan to put to two of them together.

And even though it was crazy, God allowed it to work!

And so one night, Ruth secretly approached Boaz at the threshing floor where all the men slept (where he just so happened to sleep at the far end which was accessible to her).  

And she asked him to marry her.  To spread the corner of his garment over her.  To take up the responsibility of caring for her and caring for her mother-in-law.

And, Boaz surprisingly said, “Yes!”

But there was still one complication.  One obstacle.

They could not marry because there was someone ahead of Boaz in line.

And he would have to be dealt with before any marriage could take place.

And that brings our story to today.

Ruth chapter 4.  Have you found it?

One of the things I love about the book of Ruth is that there are no miracles in it.

We just got done with the book of Judges which has amazing miracles that the Lord did.

But the book of Ruth is kind of more like everyday life for me.  I haven’t seen many extraordinary miracles happen in my lifetime, though I do believe that God still can and does do them.

But more often than not, God intersects my life like He does in the book of Ruth.  He is at work in all of the details working things together for my good and His glory.

And my job is just to be faithful and committed to Him in the little details of life.

Last week, we called that “character.”  Boaz and Ruth were a man and a woman of noble character.  I guess, that’s a kind of “miracle” itself!

Boaz promised to take Ruth for himself if he could.  And he was going to do it today, if at all possible.

And he was a man of integrity, a man of his word. It seems that he didn’t even go home before going to get this business taken care of.

Our first message was called “Ruth and Naomi.”  We were introduced to the people and their problems.

Our second message was called “Ruth and Boaz.” We were introduced to this good man and a possible answer to their problems.

We’re going to call our third message, “Ruth and Jesus.”  Not because Jesus’ shows up miraculously in the Old Testament ahead of schedule!  But because we’re going to see how this story connects us to Jesus’ story.

And we’re going to get three points of application from Ruth and Jesus for our lives today.

Ruth chapter 4, verse 1.

“Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, ‘Come over here, my friend, and sit down.’ So he went over and sat down.”  Now stop there for just a second.

We have to get a little understanding of this term, “kinsman-redeemer.”

King James just says, “Kinsman.”  The English Standard Version has just “Redeemers.”  New American Standard says, “Close relative.”  Revised Standard says, “Next of kin.”  The NIV update from 2011 says, “Guardian Redeemer.”

The Hebrew word is “Go’el,” and it was a legal term to describe the role of the next of kin in the Law of Moses to rescue a family member from distress.

The “Go’el” might be called upon

- to rescue a family member from slavery by buying them back

- to bring justice for the killing of a family member

- to help with a lawsuit

And a number of other problems that family members can get into.

The kinsman redeemer was called upon to get a family member out of trouble.

They were protectors and providers and redeemers (that is, those who buy things back) to maintain prosperity and security for the family.

That’s a pretty big job.  

And of course, during this time of the Judges, not everyone did what they were supposed to do.

And the big question is: what will this kinsman-redeemer do?

Boaz goes to the city gate and sits down.  That’s important. 

This is basically going down to city hall or the courthouse and doing a bit of business in public.

Sitting down means, I’ve got some public business to transact.

And who should come along but Elimelech’s closer relative!

And Boaz says, “Hey, you! Come sit down.”

It’s interesting that the author doesn’t give us this man’s name. I think that’s on purpose. Some of the scholars I read this week say that Hebrew translated “my friend” in verse 1 could be translated, “So and So.”  “Hey, so and so, come here!”

Everyone else in this story has a name even the dead husbands. But this guy doesn’t get named.  I wonder if that’s because he’s not going to distinguish himself as a great man?

Either way, Boaz handles him masterfully.  V.2

“Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, ‘Sit here,’ and they did so. [Witnesses.]  Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, ‘Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 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, and I am next in line.’”  STOP RIGHT THERE. DON’T READ THE NEXT SENTENCE!

Pretend that you don’t know what that next sentence says!

In verses 2 through 4, Boaz presents the situation to “Mr. So and So.”

And it’s a little surprising. 

Because up till now, we’ve not heard about any land belong to Naomi.

I think that’s because right now, it doesn’t.

She’s a widow.  It was land that belongs to Elimelech, her husband. It’s probably not really hers under this system of law.

And, more than that, it was probably sold (or the use of it was sold) when Elimelech left Israel for Moab.

Remember, in Israel, all of the land belongs to the LORD and he granted land to tribes and clans in the book of Joshua, and they can sell the use of it, but they can’t really sell away the land itself.

At least every 50 years the land reverts back to the original owners and their heirs.

And who was the heir of Elimelech?

Nobody.

No living sons.

No living grandsons.

Just some widows with very little legal or economical standing (on their own–their family unit should be providing that). Make sense?

So, Boaz is saying, “Cousin So and So, Naomi is ready for Elimelech’s land to be redeemed, bought back into the family.” She is giving up her right to hold it in trust and somebody in the family needs to acquire it.

In fact, you are the closest and have first dibs on that land.

(What hasn’t gotten mentioned yet?  I think that’s on purpose.  It’s there. It’s public, but he hasn’t gone there yet.)

And now, everyone is on the edge of their seats.

Will the kinsman-redeemer do the redeeming?  V.4.

“‘I will redeem it,’ he said.”

Oh no!  What does that mean for Ruth?  

But Boaz isn’t done. V.5

“Then Boaz said, ‘On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess [there she is!], you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.’”

Now, it’s not clear exactly why this is.

It appears to be adding to the law of the Go’el (the kinsman redeemer) the law of Levirate marriage. That is that a brother (and by extension, another close family member) should marry his brother’s wife to preserve his family name and inheritance.

Or it could be that somehow there was a prior agreement in place (that Boaz knew about!) that Naomi or (more likely) Ruth’s marriage rights were tied to the land.

Either way, Boaz says, “If you want to redeem, you have to marry.”

And then everyone leans forward to see what Cousin So and So will say... V.6

“At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, ‘Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.’”

Oh.  So that’s how it is.

This kinsman is no redeemer.

He is only thinking about himself.

The situation might be complex. For example, he might already be married.

And he might be worried about his own name. The firstborn son of a marriage like this would have the rights of Elimelech. The other sons would have this fellow’s rights and inheritance. What if there was only one son?

And maybe there was more to it than that.

Either way, this fellow was not interested, and he wanted out of the responsibility.

V.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 legalizing transactions in Israel.) [Pretty cool. I wonder if we should be doing this again today?  Jim and Mary Beth, you guys bought some property this week. Did you come with any extra shoes?  No?  Actually, the practice of shoe swapping had already died out by the time Ruth was written. That’s why they have to explain it here! V.8]

“So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, ‘Buy it yourself.’ And he removed his sandal. [And I think he took off.]  Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, ‘Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, 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 the town records. Today you are witnesses!’”

Now, this is weird to us.

We don’t do marriage like this.

But I want to emphasize that Ruth would have been overjoyed by this transaction, especially because of Boaz’s kindness.

#1. KINDNESS.

It’s easy to miss for the details, but Boaz is taking a wife and lot of responsibility, including financial responsibility, for someone else.

Yes, he gets a wife. And, hopefully, children, too. And yes, the use of the property.  

But it comes at a significant cost–a cost greater than Cousin So and So was willing to pay.

A cost out of his own pocket.

And, as it is clear in verse v.10, he is doing it for Mahlon.

“To maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records.”

He’s doing it for Mahlon!

And he’s doing it for Ruth!

And he’s doing it for Naomi!

He is being generous to Elimelech’s family.

He is showing lovingkindness.  The word we’ve been learning about is “hesed” which is kindness-beyond-duty. Kindness for others at a cost for yourself.

The other man in this chapter could only think about himself, but Boaz thinks about others.

That’s what kindness is.

Where you have experienced kindness?

To whom should you extend kindness?

We’ve been talking about this for the last few weeks.  I wonder if anyone has kindness story to tell because they’ve been listening to these messages?

The kinsman redeemer, in this case, had to take on a cost to himself to show kidness.

Of course, that makes us think about Jesus, doesn’t it?

Ruth and Jesus?

Jesus took on a great cost to himself to show us kindness.

And He, too, got a bride in the bargain!

Kindness.

Boaz says, “Today you are witnesses to the kindness that I am showing to the family of Elimelech. You saw the transaction. This guy gave up his right to redeem. I am doing it.  And the name of Elimelech and the name of Mahlon will continue!”  V.11

“Then the elders and all those at the gate said, ‘We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house 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.’”

These people recognize what’s going on, too!

They see the kindness at work.

Was there romance here?  Between Boaz and Ruth.  Maybe. Probably, in fact.

I think there are hints to that effect. Especially last night at the threshing floor.

But more than romance, there is “hesed.”

And God rewards “hesed.”

The leaders of Bethelehem bless Boaz and ask God to bless him abundantly.

“May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.”

Fertile and famous.

“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 [your ancestor] Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

And you know what’s amazing?  God answered this request with a big resounding YES!

Little old Ruth the foreign women would become just as famous as Rachel and Leah and Tamar!

Not because of some great act in battle.

But just because of being faithful and kind in everyday life.

I think that’s amazing.

Here’s the principle.  God sees our acts of kindness every day and promises to reward them when they are done in faith.

God rewards simple acts of kindness.  Loving people more than they deserve.  Going beyond the call of duty. Showing simple kindness at a cost to yourself.

God sees it. And God rewards it.

Ruth showed kindness to Naomi.

Boaz showed kindness to Ruth and to Naomi and to the whole family of Elimelech.

And they are famously blessed today for it.

Did they know what their choices would yield?

No.  They just did ‘em.

And God rewarded them. V.13

“So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. [10 years of barrenness, and now this!]  The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-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, laid him in her lap and cared for him.” 

This story has a very happy ending!

All good stories start with trouble, but this one ends on very happy note.

And here’s the key word:

#3. FAITHFULNESS.

God is faithful.  Look again at verse 14.  I think it’s the key verse of the whole book.

Out of the mouths of the women of Bethelehem, ‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.”

Naomi, God has not left you.

Did you hear that?

God has not left you.

God has not abandoned you.

God is faithful.

Praise God!

Naomi is bitter no longer. She has a bouncing little boy on her lap.

She is no longer empty, but full.

God is faithful.

We need to remember that every day of our lives.

God is faithful.

Remember how Naomi felt?  Do you feel that way?  Like the carpet has been pulled out from under you?  Like you’re tumbling down the stairs and you don’t know what will be at the bottom?  Like you are empty?  Running on empty?

Like the LORD has failed you?

Things are not as they seem.  God is faithful.

He has never left Naomi alone.  He gave her Ruth, and He walked with her Himself.

“‘Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.”

That might be talking about Boaz. But I think it’s talking here about this grandson.

Or maybe it’s talking about the LORD himself.

Because the LORD calls himself a “Go’El.”  He is the Redeemer of Redeemers.

He is faithful, and we can trust Him, no matter how it seems.

Remember again, this is during the time of the Judges.

Even though the nation was on a downward spiral, God was still up to something good for His people.

Because God is faithful.

“Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.”

He has not left you.

He has not left you.

Do you need to hear that?

Let me say it again.

He has not left you.

He is faithful.  Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And He has promised, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.  He has not left you without a redeemer.”

But, there is still one more surprise in this book of surprises.

You probably already know what it is, but pretend you don’t and you’re coming down the end of the story, and you run into a genealogy.

The Hebrews loved a genealogy!  And they have a point.

What is the point, what is the punchline of this genealogy? V.17

“The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son.’ [Legally, her grandson is her son by levirate marriage. What a joy it is!] And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the 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.”

These are not just nobodies living in Nowheresville.

They were just nobodies living in Nowhereseville.

And Ruth a transplant to Nowheresville!

But God had big plans for this family that only would have come about by their everyday choices to do what is right. Their character and their kindness.

They are living in the time of the judges.

But they are the producing the family line that will provide the first God-given King of Israel – great King David!

Imagine the surprise in being one of the first readers of this book.

At the very end, the twist in the plot.

King David!

This is how we get King David!

They could never have seen this coming, but God was doing it all along.

#3. SALVATION.

There is one more connection to make.

Because we know what happens in this story even beyond King David.

We know about great King David’s even greater Son!

Matthew chapter 1 has another genealogy in it.

Here’s how it starts.

Matthew 1.

“Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.”

And then it goes on from David to Solomon and Rehoboam and a bunch of other names and then it ends here.

“Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”

Salvation.

Ruth was in the bloodline of the Messiah.

The Moabitess was the great-great-great-great grandmother of Jesus.

And He was the Kinsman Redeemer of Kinsman Redeemers!

He showed the kindness of kindness!

Jesus paid the ultimate price to get His family out of trouble.

And He receives all who come to Him in faith.

Gleanings from Ruth

1. Ruth and Naomi
2. Ruth and Boaz

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[Matt's Messages] "Ruth and Boaz"

“Ruth and Boaz”

Gleanings from the Book of Ruth

September 30, 2012 :: Ruth 2:1-3:18

Our short sermon series is titled, “Gleanings from the Book of Ruth.”

And two weeks ago, the first message was called “Ruth and Naomi.”

We were introduced to two widows. An Israelite widow, Naomi, who had left Israel with her husband and moved to Moab where her two sons had married Moabite women, including a woman named Ruth.

But all of the men died, leaving three destitute widows in a land plagued by famine.

Naomi decided to go home to Israel, hearing that there was food there again and she left one of her daughter-in-laws behind.

But her daughter-in-law, Ruth tenaciously stuck with Naomi and returned with her to Bethlehem just as the barley harvest was beginning.

Remarkably, Ruth resolutely declared that she would stick with Naomi no matter what and put her trust in the God of Israel.

Naomi, impoverished by her losses, returned empty and bitter to Israel, but she has Ruth with her.  And all of Ruth’s unyielding lovingkindness to her.

And that’s where we left off.

Sound familiar?

Of course, most of us know this story and know what’s going to happen next.

But, again, try to pretend that you don’t.

Here are two women who are in a most precarious position.

They have just about nothing, but they have the Lord.

Ruth chapter 2, verse 1.

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

Today’s message, “Ruth and Boaz.”

Verse 1 introduces a new character. A man.  We don’t know much about him yet, but we do know that he was related in some way to Noami’s deceased husband.  And he is a man worth knowing. He is a man of standing.

What will he do in this story?  V.2

“And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.’ Naomi said to her, ‘Go ahead, my daughter.’ So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.” Stop there for a second.

Ruth has pluck.

She and Naomi are in a desperate situation, and she tries a desperate plan.

She proposes to go to the fields that are harvesting the barley and pick up what the hired-workers don’t glean.  And Naomi lets her.

Now, this practice was included in the Law of Moses, especially in Deuteronomy chapter 24.

It was part of God’s safety-net for taking care of the poor people in Israel.

Landowners were to leave the corners of their fields unharvested so that the poor could find something to eat.

One thing that is great about this welfare arrangement is that the poor still have to do some work to qualify for the help.

In fact, it was hard work, outdoors, in the sun.

And it was dangerous work for single women who could be taken advantage of.

And even though it was in the Law, that doesn’t mean that the landowners always followed it. This was the time of the Judges, remember!

But Ruth had the courage to go out to the field and begin gleaning at the edges.

And v.3 says that she just so happened to find herself working in a field that belonged to no other than ... Boaz!

You and I know that “nothing just so happens.”

Our God is sovereign, and lovingly He orchestrates all of the tiny details of our lives.

The Hebrew here for “as it turned out” in the NIV could be literally translated, “it chanced to chance” which is the author’s way of winking at us that all of what we perceive in life as random is sovereignly chosen for us by the Lord.

So, your last week, and the things that happened to you?  Sovereignly chosen for you by the Lord.

Do we always know what God is up to as He puts together our days for us?

Not at all.

But we know that God is in charge, and if we know who God is, we know that He’s up to something good for us.  No matter how it seems.

Do you need to hear that this morning?  It’s true.

Ruth didn’t know, however, how important it was that she found herself in this place on this day. Because, behold, look who happens to show up?  V.4

“Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, ‘The LORD be with you!’ ‘The LORD bless you!’ they called back.”  Stop there for just a second.

I love that verse.

I think that is an amazing verse.

Now, I know that this was a special person in a special land among a special people, but wouldn’t it be great if all of our businesses functioned like Boaz’s farms?

The boss shows up and blessed the workers.

The workers have joy on their faces as they bless the boss back?

“‘The LORD be with you!’ ‘The LORD bless you!’”

I think that Boaz was a great example of what a godly businessperson ought to be.

And remember, this is during the time of the Judges!

Nearly everyone was doing what seemed right in their own eyes.

But there were still a few people who were doing the right thing.  No matter what other people were doing.

They didn’t just go along with the flow. They did things God’s way, and God blessed them in the time of the Judges.

Boaz was a man of standing and a man of blessing. A man of character and man of compassion.

#1. COMPASSION. V.5

“Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, ‘Whose young woman is that?’ The foreman replied, ‘She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi. She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.’ So Boaz said to Ruth, ‘My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls. Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.’”

This is quite extraordinary.

Boaz notices Ruth. She stands out. She’s different.

Who is that?

The foreman explains who she is. Her reputation precedes her. And she’s worked hard.

So Boaz speaks to her.

And he is very generous with her.

He calls her, “My daughter,” which is something for an Israelite man to say to a Moabite foreigner.

It might also hint at a large age difference between the two of them.

And Boaz instructs her to stick around, to stay close to his own worker girls, and to get drinks from the company water jars.

And more than that, he has warned his men not to harass her, or else.

Boaz shows compassion to Ruth.

Was there attraction between these two people?  It doesn’t say that.

The Bible emphasizes how compassionate Boaz is to Ruth.

He is doing what the Law said to do, and going beyond that. He is showing some “hesed” to her, isn’t he?  Kindness-beyond-duty. Compassion.

And Ruth knows it. See how she reacts in verse 10.

“At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, ‘Why have I found such favor 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.’”

What a beautiful statement!

Ruth is flabbergasted by Boaz’s compassion, but Boaz just sees it as showing the LORD’s kindness to someone who has been showing the LORD’s kindness.

Boaz has heard about Ruth. “Oh, so this is the woman that everyone in Bethlehem has been talking about!  You left your homeland and came to trust in the LORD and are taking care of Naomi. I’ve heard of you.”

And the LORD will take care of you.

I love how he says it in verse 12.

“May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.’”

You have been a little chick, come under the refuge of the LORD’s sheltering wing.

That’s a great picture of the compassion of the LORD.

Why did the LORD put the gleaning laws into the Torah?

Because He cares about the poor.

Do you care about the poor?

God cares about people.

And God is trustworthy. He is big and holy and powerful and SAFE.

He is refuge for those who come to Him, to hide under His wing.

That’s a beautiful picture of what salvation is.

We tend to talk about salvation as forgiveness from sins, and it is.  Gloriously, it is!

But it is also just putting ourselves under the wing of the Almighty.

Entrusting ourselves to His care.

Do you know the compassion of the Lord?

Have you taken refuge under His wing?

It’s safe there.

If you have not come under His wing as Ruth did, I invite you to do so right now.  The world is harsh place with danger on every side.  And it’s even worse if you make God your enemy.

But Jesus has become our peace, reconciling God and Man.

And He invites us to take our place under the wing of the Almighty.

He is our refuge and strength if we will place ourselves under His compassion.

When God revealed Himself to Moses in the cleft of the rock, He said that He was, “The LORD, the compassionate and gracious God...”

He is our refuge and strength if we will place ourselves under His compassion.

And, if we have truly experienced that compassion, we will show it to others.

Ruth showed it to Naomi.  Boaz showed it to Ruth.

And he said, “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.”  V.13

“‘May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,’ she said. ‘You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant–though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls.’

At mealtime 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.

As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, ‘Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her. Rather, 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’s between 35 and 50 pounds!]

She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.

Her mother-in-law asked her, ‘Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!’ Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. ‘The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,’ she said. ‘The LORD bless him!’ Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. ‘He has not stopped showing his kindness [his “hesed”] to the living and the dead.’ She added, ‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.’

Then Ruth the Moabitess said, ‘He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.'’ Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ‘It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed.’ So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”

Compassion.

Boaz shows her incredibly generosity. He feeds her. He tells his crew to leave extra for her to pick up. It amounts to more than 35 pounds. It’s more than she needs. It’s more than Naomi needs. They can live for two more months and longer!

They are now out of immediate danger because of the compassion of Boaz.

Because of his “hesed.”  V.20 Naomi says, ‘He has not stopped showing his [loving]kindness to the living and the dead.’ ...‘That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers.’”

We’ll find out what that means next week.

The point here is that Boaz has been kind to his distant relatives [He didn’t have to do any of that!] and has shown the compassion of the LORD to those who need it most.

And the story forces us to ask ourselves today, “Are you and I compassionate people?”

Are we generous with those who have needs?

Who do we show “hesed” to?

Who do we show our kindness-beyond-duty to?

I know that many of you are very compassionate.

Just what we’ve seen this year in extra giving to missions has shown that.

Six Haitian children going to Henoc’s school.

Our ten missionary families each getting at $250 Christmas gift.

A thousand dollars donated to Emily Whitehead’s ongoing medical needs.

And that’s just financial compassion.

I know that many of you are engaged in tangible, practical acts of kindness.

We have been shown the compassion of the Lord, we need to show it to others.

How might the Lord be leading you and me to greater acts of compassion in the next week?

Now in chapter 3, the word of application that I want to emphasize is character.

#2. CHARACTER.

We’ve already seen that Boaz is a man with true character, that is, that he is an upstanding man who does what is right and good. He has a good heart, and it shows in his choices, and then those choices speak for themselves in a good reputation.

Your character is the sum of your virtuous qualities.

It is who you really are when no one is watching.

It is a description of your heart and is reflected in your choices.

A man or woman with good character consistently chooses what is right and good.

They can be trusted and they are valuable in the Lord’s sight.

Character.

Now, about two months have gone by (near the end of the barley harvest), and Naomi gets a wild idea into her head.  Chapter 3, verse 1.

“One day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, ‘My daughter, should I not try to find a home for you, where you will be well provided for? Is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been, a kinsman of ours? Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.  Wash and perfume yourself, and put on your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don't let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.’ ‘I will do whatever you say,’ Ruth answered.”

Now, I think that this is a crazy plan.

There are so many ways that this could go wrong.

Naomi is acting like Yenta the Matchmaker, and she has a crazy plan to do it.

Get dressed up and go sneak into the place where the men are, and after they are all happily fed and asleep, uncover Boaz’s feet and lie down, and then do what he says.

There are just so many ways for this plan to go wrong.

I’m sure that you can think of them all yourself.

What if she gets caught?

What if she gets abducted?

What if someone takes advantage of her?

What if Boaz takes advantage of her?

What if he gets the wrong idea?

What is the idea?

This is a crazy plan, and there is only one thing going for it.

The people carrying out the plan are people of character.

Naomi trusts in the character of Ruth to do what is right.

Naomi trusts in the character of Boaz to do what is right.

Ruth trusts in the character of Boaz to do what is right.

So Ruth does what Naomi suggests. V.6

“So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile [just so happened to be at the accessible end!]. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man, and he turned and discovered [!] a woman lying at his feet.

‘Who are you?’ he asked. ‘I am your servant Ruth,’ she said. ‘Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.’”

Which, when translated, means, “Please marry me. You are someone who could legally do that, and Naomi and I need it. Please marry me.  Please spread the corner of your garment over me like, as you said before, the LORD has spread His protective wings over me.

Please marry me. I know that it is unusual for me to ask. I am a foreigner. I am a woman. Women don’t ask men to marry them. I am not in your class right now.  I have been working in your fields.  But we need you.  Please marry me.”

“‘Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.’”

Now, we know what would have happened next if this was SAMSON who found Ruth at his feet, don’t we?

But this is not Samson. This is Boaz.

And he is a man of character. Listen to his amazing response!  V.10

“‘The LORD bless you, my daughter,’ he replied. ‘This kindness [hesed] is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.”

You have chosen me!

And you have been thinking, not just of yourself, but of Naomi and what she needs.

V.11  “And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.”

Boaz amazingly says, “Yes” to Ruth’s proposal, and the reason is because he knows that she is a woman of noble character.

She was a Proverbs 31 woman before Proverbs 31 was ever written.

She was a woman of integrity.

She was a woman of understanding.

She was a woman who chose correct behavior.

She was a woman committed to her needy mother-in-law when she could have been vying for a young, handsome husband for herself.

She was a woman characterized by hesed, and Boaz saw in her, his equal.

If this was Hollywood movie, they would have tumbled into the bushes and had hot sex right then.

But these were two people with good character, and they saved the sex for where it belongs...after the wedding.

If there would be a wedding...

There is one more complication. V.12

“Although it is true that I am near of kin, there is a kinsman-redeemer nearer than I. Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to redeem, good; let him redeem. But if he is not willing, as surely as the LORD lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.’

So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, ‘Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.’

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 put it on her. Then he went back to town.

When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, ‘How did it go, my daughter?’ Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, ‘He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.'’ Then Naomi said, ‘Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.’”

A man of character. He will get the job done.

Now, Naomi and Ruth only had to wait a day.

We’re going to have to wait a week to see what happens next.

But we can see here what happens when two godly people act with godly character.

They do the right thing, even when it is hard.

Are you and I men and women of character?

Integrity?

Righteousness?

With godly quality to our hearts?

God wants to build character in us so that we learn to do the right thing, to make the right choices, and to build a good reputation.

I long for our church to be known as a loving family of generous, compassionate people of godly character.

Would you pray with me for just that thing?

Gleanings from Ruth

1. Ruth and Naomi

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[Matt's Messages] “Ruth and Naomi"

“Ruth and Naomi”
Gleanings from the Book of Ruth
September 16, 2012
Ruth 1:1-22

If your Bible opens automatically now to the Book of Judges, just go to the end and turn the page, and you’ll be at Ruth chapter 1. And we’ll see why in just a second. Ruth chapter 1.

I’m going to call this short series (I think it’s going to be 3 messages), “Gleanings from the Book of Ruth.” 

That, of course, for those who know the book has a double meaning.

Because there is gleaning, agricultural gleaning, in the story itself. Gleanings of barley which is what you see pictured here. I know that because Google told me so. So if that isn’t barley, Google was wrong, not me.  Either way, it’s a much more encouraging picture than the one we had up all Summer, right?

Of course, we are into theological gleanings here, not just agricultural gleanings.

What can we glean about God and His ways from the Book of Ruth? 

And what difference does it make to our lives?

Today, we’re just going to read and apply chapter 1 of the Book of Ruth.

And we’re going to call this message, “Ruth and Naomi.”  Which the whole book could be called that because these two ladies are 2/3 of the main characters in the story, and the story comes at us from their perspective.

I love that about the Bible. Some people think that the Bible is a woman-hating book, anti-woman, but stories like Deborah’s in the last book and stories like Ruth’s in this book really show that to be a myth.

The Bible is pro-woman and has some amazing women in it from whom we can all learn a great deal.

This week, Ruth and Naomi.

Now, I’ve said this before again and again, the best way to encounter a story like this one is to pretend (at least on some level) like you’ve never heard the story before.

To enter into the story like the first readers would have.  And discover what they discovered as they first encountered the story.

“In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and 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 Elimelech, his wife's name 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.”

This story takes place (v.1) “in the days when the judges ruled.”

And by now, we know what that means.

It was not a good time.  We’ve spent the last 3 months find out how dark and difficult that time was.

And, in fact, there was a famine in the land of Israel.  Perhaps this famine was caused by the Midianites and their locust-like raiding of Israel. Remember that from the book of Judges?  

Or maybe it was a judgment of the Lord, stopping up the heavens from raining because of the rampant idolatry of the people. He had promised to do that sort of thing back in Deuteronomy.

It doesn’t say where the famine came from, but that it was a severe trial.

And there was a man from Bethlehem, named Elimelech.

Now, the last two stories we read had men from Bethlehem in them, and they were bad stories. This story, starts out bad, and we’ll see how it ends.

Elimelech and his wife, Naomi make a difficult choice. They choose to leave the Promised Land and go over the Jordan river to the land of Moab.

They feel forced to do that because their home has no food.

The name “Bethlehem” means “house of bread” in Hebrew. But the house of bread was empty.

Now, I hesitate to judge Elimelech’s actions because I don’t know what I would do in the same situation, but it was probably not based on faith that Elimelech left the Promised Land and went to Moab.  He took his family, his wife and his two boys, Mahlon and Kilion and settled in Moab.

But it did not go well for them. V.3

“Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. [A widow. But at least she had the boys. V.4] They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.”

We cannot begin to realize how devastating those three sentences really were for Naomi.

First, her husband died.

Second, her sons married Moabite women which might have been technically legal but definitely undesirable for a good Jewish family at that time.

And they continued to live in a foreign country where people worshiped other gods.

And then the boys died, too.

Ten years, no grandchildren[!] to carry on the line, and now three widows.

To be a widow in those days was a vulnerable thing, much more vulnerable than it is here in our country today.

A scary position unless you had a great extended family to take care of you and handle your legal affairs.

Naomi has no one.  At least, that’s how it seems. No one close enough.

Especially while they live in Moab.  And it’s not just one widow. It’s three!

Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth.

Three women in a precarious position.

A seemingly hopeless situation fraught with grief.

What is going to happen?

Have you ever been in a situation that seemed hopeless, and you didn’t know what was going to happen?  Where you felt like the carpet was pulled out from under you and your world was going into a tailspin?

That’s the feeling here. That’s the situation.

It’s the time of the judges and Naomi has lost everything that was her security in life.

Everything, but her two daughter-in-laws. V.6

“When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them, Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.”

The LORD had been gracious to His people again and provided food. And when she heard about that, Naomi headed home to Bethlehem. The house of bread had bread again. V.7

“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. Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, ‘Go back, each of you, to your mother's home. May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me. May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.’”

I think that Naomi is trying to help these ladies. 

It’s possible that she’s just trying to get rid of them–they are dead weight around her neck.

But that’s not how it feels. It feels like she cares about them and thinks it would be best for them to find new husbands in Moab.

She probably figures that it’s more likely that they will find husbands in Moab, infertile as they appear to be. They are Moabite women. They might have a chance.

At the same time, it’s probably foolish of her to send them back–because all true blessing from the God of Israel.

That’s Whom she asks to bless them in verse 8.  I love what she says in verse 8.

“May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.”

#1. KINDNESS.

That word translated “kindness” in verse 8 is a very important word. It is the Hebrew word, “hesed,” and it can’t be translated with just one English word.

Kindness is good, but lovingkindness, covenant loyalty, mercy, love are all other words to try to capture the idea. 

One scholar I read this week defined it this way.  “...hesed (NIV "kindness") cannot be translated with one English word. It is a covenant term, wrapping up in itself all the positive attributes of God: love, covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, kindness, loyalty. In short, it refers to acts of devotion and lovingkindness that go beyond the requirements of duty.”  [Daniel Block, NAC Judges, Ruth, pg. 634-635]

At the end of the 23rd Psalm, David asks that “goodness and mercy” will follow him all the days of his life. That’s goodness and “hesed.”

And that’s what Naomi wants for Ruth and Orpah.

She wants them to experience the hesed of the Lord.

Kindness beyond duty, beyond what they deserve.

We use the word “grace.”  

Naomi wants Orpah and Ruth to know the grace of God.  To experience it for themselves.

What a great prayer!

We should pray that way for others. Pray for the hesed of the Lord to rest upon the people we love.

But notice that it is not just a prayer.

It is what she has experienced from Ruth and Orpah. V.8 again.

“May the LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and me.”

Kindness is not just something that God does. It is something we can show to others.

Naomi had experienced their loyalty, their kindness, even beyond what was due her.

Before asking yourself to whom you could show this kind of kindness, ask yourself this question first.

Who has shown you lovingkindness?

We’ve all experienced that kind of grace.

Don’t you just love it when you see someone go beyond what they have to do to extend kindness to someone else?

Who has done that for you?  Is there anyone that you can thank today?

The other side of the coin, of course, is who should we bless today with the kind kindness that the Lord has shown to us?

The Lord blesses those who are kind.

Love is patient. Love is kind.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.

This word hesed is going to show up again and again in this short book.  Ruth is going to experience blessing, in part, because she is kind.

Naomi is trying to be kind by letting her daughters-in-law go. But they don’t want to. V.9

“Then she kissed them and they wept aloud and said to her, ‘We will go back with you to your people.’ But Naomi 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 gone out against me!’”

Do you see what she’s saying?

Naomi is talking about Levirate marriages where her new sons (if she could have them) would take the place of her old sons and carry on the family line.

Not. Going. To. Happen.  She says.

So, what future do they have in Israel?

V.14

“At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, 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.’

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 anything but death separates you and me.’”

#2. COMMITMENT.

What a beautiful statement of commitment!

Ruth clings to Naomi and offers commits herself to her and to her God.

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”

Ruth is forsaking all other gods and committing to the LORD.

That’s amazing, considering how Naomi doesn’t seem to completely trust the LORD.

But Ruth does.

And she sides, not with Chemosh, the god of Moab, but the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Commitment.

You’ve probably heard this passage read or sung at a wedding, and the words definitely would fit there. But this wasn’t Ruth getting married.

This was Ruth promising to take care of her mother-in-law.

And it was Ruth trusting her life to the LORD.

Have you trusted your life to the LORD?

Like this?

Have you said, “I will leave all other gods and follow you?”

No turning back?  No turning back.

That’s what v.17 means when it says, “May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

No turning back.

Total commitment. Total surrender.

Some people want to accept Christ like pressing the “accept button” on their computer for some program.

“I have read and accept the terms and conditions.”

That’s just something to get out of the way so that you can get on with life.

Some people want to just add Jesus to their list of gods:

Money, Entertainment, Family, Sports, Popularity, Prestige, Power....and Jesus.

But Jesus wants to be God in our life, alone.

He wants this kind of commitment.

“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 anything but death separates you and me.’””

That’s faith. And that’s the kind of kindness we saw in v.8. 

And it’s true commitment.

Does that describe the state of your heart?

The Lord Jesus Christ committed to us when He died on the Cross paying for our sins.

And now that He’s come back to life, He calls us to commit our lives to Him.

Naomi sees that Ruth means business.  V.18

“When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, ‘Can this be Naomi?’ [I remember Naomi! She was always so pleasant....That’s what “Naomi” means, pleasant. V.20]  ‘Don't call me Naomi,’ she told them. ‘Call me Mara [Bitter], 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.’”

Ow.

This isn’t a happy homecoming.

Even though she has Ruth with her, she just about ignores her.

“I went away full.”  Really?  Didn’t you go with an empty stomach?

Yeah, but I had a husband.  And now, I don’t have anything.  And Ruth is standing right there next to her.

Naomi was bitter.

And it’s sad.  She said she was bitter in verse 13.

She says she should be called “Bitter” now.

How would you like the nickname “Bitter?” or “Sour?”  I wouldn’t. But Naomi would.

We need to be careful about judging her.

We need to feel for her.  This is very sad. She has been devastated. It is trouble. It is trial.  It is pain. It does hurt.

Christianity does not discount the pain.

And Naomi is right in seeing the LORD has sovereign over the pain.

“The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

God is sovereign over our troubles.

But that does not mean that He is against her.

Naomi almost seems to blame God and think that God is blameworthy.

And that’s where she is wrong.

That’s where her bitterness comes from and it’s called bitter for a reason. It tastes terrible and makes your stomach all messed up.

The antidote is contentment.

#3. CONTENTMENT.

Which is easier said than done.

I don’t know that I would act any better than Naomi in the same situation.

But I do know that she doesn’t have to respond this way.

Other people have experienced this and worse and responded not with bitterness but with contentment.

Think of Job.

“The LORD has given and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

We don’t have to respond to the trials in our lives with bitterness.

We can say, “God is enough.”

Even if everything gets taken away from us, God is enough.

There are 10,000 reasons to continue to bless the LORD.

Naomi can’t see the whole story.

She thinks the story of her life was that God had blessed her and then He took that away.

End of story.

Do you know what’s going to happen in the next chapter of your life?

We act like we do, but we don’t.

We can’t read the next chapter yet.

But we know the author, and we should know that His plans for us are ultimately GOOD.

And a hint of hope breaks into the story in verse 22 with a little foreshadowing. V.22

“So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.”

I wonder what is going to happen next?

Are you going through a famine right now in your life?

Has the rug been pulled out from under you?

Do you feel like you are tumbling down the stairs and you don’t know what’s at the bottom?

Don’t give in to bitterness.

God is enough.  He has a great end of the story planned for you.  Wait for the next chapter.

And in the meantime, remember the kindnesses of the LORD to you so far in your life and how others have shown you kindness.

And pass some kindness around.

The world needs it.

The LORD is good and trustworthy and worthy of our total committment.

No turning back. No turning back.

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