Sermon Tone Analysis

Part 3 Review — Gleaning Grace (featuring Ruth and Boaz) — Ruth 2:1-17

Series Introduction

Over a month ago we began a new series titled “Ruth: From Ruin To Redemption,” an 8-part series taken from the Book of Ruth

The Book of Ruth fits chronologically right in the middle of the Book of Judges (even though it comes right after it in our Bibles)

Because of this, the story of Ruth stands out like a tiny ray of sunlight in a cold, dark abyss.

Each week, we’re going to look at what each part of the story teaches us about God and about people:

How God is faithful, loving, kind, and providential for His people.

How God’s people should take that faithfulness, love, kindness, and grace and reflect it back into the world around them

Ruth 2:1-17

At the beginning of Ruth 2 we are introduced to a brand new character: Boaz

At this point, Naomi and Ruth don’t know anything about Boaz, but the narrator tells us that he is a wealthy man of great influence

Beyond that, we see that Boaz isn’t some distant relative.

He was a close family member to Elimelech

The Bible says that Ruth “happens” to go to Boaz’s field to glean, but we know that it wasn’t a coincidence

When Boaz returns, he notices Ruth and asks his servant about her

While the beginning is negative (she is a Moabite), the servant expresses that Ruth has shown herself to be kind and hard-working

Boaz takes an interest in her, and he goes to find out who she is

After speaking with Ruth, we see Boaz treat her with incredible grace

In v. 8 he graciously told her she could always glean from his field

In v. 8 he also welcomed her as if she was one of his own maidens

In v. 14 he told her that she had a seat at his dinner table and humbly served her himself

In v. 16 he selflessly instructed his servants to leave bundles of barley behind for Ruth to pick up

Ruth was shocked by this kindness, especially because (as she said in verse 10) she wasn’t “like the other maidens”

In the end, Ruth was able to glean enough food for her and Naomi to eat for weeks!

After a series of horrible tragedies, this Boaz figure seems to finally be a ray of light in this otherwise dark story

What truths do we see about people?

God hasn’t left the story, and we must by faith trust Him with the future that we cannot see.

What truths do we see about God?

God hasn’t left the story, and He is still working through people who live like Jesus

Tonight, we will continue Ruth’s story starting in Ruth 2:17

Part 4 — Hope After Heartbreak (featuring Ruth and Naomi) — Ruth 2:17-23

Introducing The Thought

“Have you ever been heartbroken?”

It’s like when you finally get that letter back from your crush that says “Do you like me? Circle yes or no.”, and when you open the letter the word “Yes” is not circled.

Pain.

In 2015, a journalist for ScienceAlert.com

reported on "What Happens To Your Brain When You Get Your Heart Broken.”

She writes:

...falling in love...activates the 'reward' neurons in your brain, and this triggers the release of the feel-good hormone dopamine.

But the thing about dopamine is that it always leaves your brain wanting more, which explains that new-love feeling of obsession where you literally can't be without the other person (you hang up first, no, you hang up first).

Our brains eventually fall into a more stable pattern when we're in a relationship, but they still expect to get their dopamine boost from being around your loved one.

And when that person suddenly gets ripped away from you, it leaves your brain scrambling for its next hit.

The result is very similar to that obsessive new-love phase, but gone terribly wrong.

Binge-eating works temporarily, so does staring at photos of your ex, but at the end of the day, your brain is going to need to rewire itself to get over it.

And according to research published earlier this year, that takes on average three months.

Anyone who's ever been dumped will know that it not only feels like someone's punched you right in the heart, it also makes you seriously crazy.

It's the kind of pain that drives you to send 28 text messages to your ex in 15 minutes and quit your job because "nothing matters if I don't have someone to share it with.”

As crazy as this can sound, going through a real hurt can cause us to become blind to what is really true.

Sometimes we can start to see everything in our lives through the lens of some hurt that we have experienced.

It’s happens in breakups, but it also happens in our spiritual lives.

And it definitely happened for Naomi.

Telling The Story

Situation: The setting, background, characters, etc.

These two verses give us a transition in the story: we are going from the field to the city.

From Ruth and Boaz to Ruth and Naomi.

A lot has just taken place!

Ruth has quite the story to tell Naomi...

Stress: The trouble that gives the story its dynamic

While all of this has been going on, you can imagine Naomi eagerly awaiting Ruth’s return

Would she have any food for them?

Was she okay?

She is a Moabite after all, people aren’t excited about her being there

The way the story is worded is worth notice: the Bible says Naomi saw what Ruth had gleaned.

This tells us right out of the gate, Naomi could clearly see that Ruth had some massive success.

Remember, what Ruth had wasn’t just a lot for a day, she was carrying several weeks worth of food from one day’s work!

When Ruth arrives, she presents two surprising things to Naomi:

First, she has enough food for weeks!

This was enough on its own to demand an explanation

Secondly, Ruth had apparently saved some food from her earlier meal at Boaz’s home, because she offered some to Naomi

Could you imagine Naomi’s excitement here?!

It had probably been so long since she had a home-cooked meal, and Ruth was kind enough to save some for her (again, showing her loyalty and care towards Naomi)

Then, she had reason to believe that for some reason they would not have to starve!

Naomi is ready to find out what in the world has happened to Ruth during this day...

Search: The various solutions explored as the story unfolds

Naomi fires off multiple questions to Ruth, even repeating herself a little — it’s as if she says, “Where have you been?

Where did you go to work work?

Who did you meet?!”

Clearly, Naomi is overcome with what looks like the first bit of hope since early in chapter 1

Naomi also alludes here that she recognizes there is no way that Ruth could have gleaned that much without some kind of special help

Finally, Ruth speaks up, saving the big reveal of her newfound helper for the last word in her sentence.

“The man’s name… whose field I worked in… while I was gone today… is BOAZ!”

It’s at this point that Naomi is overcome with emotion.

Ruth didn’t just come home with 30 pounds of grain.

She didn’t just bring her a home-cooked meal.

There is something much greater than all of these...

Solution: The solution discovered, resolving the stress

When Naomi finally heard the name “Boaz” it hit her: “Boaz.

Boaz… He is family Ruth!

He is our family!”

For the first time in a long time, Naomi speaks of God in a positive way.

This situation has changed everything for her.

The God of Israel, the God who she thought was against her, the God who had forgotten her, the God who had ruined her life — He was still at work!

Naomi says, “Blessed is the Lord, Whose kindness hasn’t abandoned us.

And Who hasn’t abandoned our dead.”

This is a big deal!

When Naomi says here that God has been kind to “the living and the dead,” she is referring to the fact that by blessing her and Ruth, God’s blessing also extends to her deceased husband and sons.

This comment is related not just to the food, but to the fact that Naomi knows that Boaz is a part of their family.

He is a near kin.

This offers hope that this may not be the shameful ending of Elimelech’s family after all!

See, what Naomi described here, the word that she uses, is this concept of the “kinsman-redeemer.”