Stand Alone: Hebrews 12:1-2

Good morning! If I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you my name is John and I serve Mission Church as the Senior Pastor. I am honored and humbled to be with you this morning! If you have a Bible go ahead and open it to Ruth 4. And....If you are able to please stand for the reading of God’s word.

Ruth 4 (CSB)

1 Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz said, “Come over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down. 3 He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you do not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.” “I want to redeem it,” he answered.

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.” 6 The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.” 7 At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

8 So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.” 9 Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his hometown. You are witnesses today.” 11 All the people who were at the city gate, including the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem. 12 May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord granted conception to her, and she gave birth to a son. 14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

18 Now these are the family records of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.

This is the word of the Lord. Let’s Pray. You may be seated.

Life is not an open freeway through the desert where you can see for miles but it’s more like a dirt road through the mountains. On this road called life...there are rock slides, steep cliffs, slippery curves, sharp turns, and bears…lots of bears. But all along this hazardous and exhausting road, there are road signs that say, "God is in Control" and "Come to me all who are weary."

Well...the book of Ruth is one of these road signs, and as we have studied it this Advent season, I pray that you have been encouraged with the hope that all of these perplexing turns and rocky roads in your life are not dead-end streets. But instead....in all the setbacks of life you can be sure that God is providentially arranging the details of your life for your good and His glory.

But let’s be honest..... as we travel the difficult and winding roads of life.....it’s easy to miss the signs of God’s grace and His goodness. We look around and see a world that aches with sin and the consequences of sin. Tell me...What do you do when you are faced with …not only the world’s brokenness and depravity ....but your own brokenness and depravity? How can you know that God loves you? And what hope do you have in ever being accepted by a holy and righteous God?

Well....for many of us ....We try to be good enough…we attempt to make a fresh start or turn over a new leaf....and it goes good for awhile but eventually we hit a dead end and we fail. We realize that we can’t be good enough. So we try to be smart enough.... we search for all of the right answers. We try to be spiritual enough by signing up for religious activities. But “good enough,” “smart enough,” and “spiritual enough” are all dead ends. Trying to be good or spiritual…or smart leads to despair or self-deception.

You see....eventually the pain and brokenness of a disconnected world shows us that something is wrong…and the more we try to fix it …the more we realize how frail, empty, hopeless, and helpless we are....and the more we realize we need someone to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We need a redeemer. Like Naomi and Ruth…we too have no ability to fix the mess of our situation…we too need a redeemer who is willing to pay the price of redemption. And this morning we will see that God is currently weaving our ordinary stories into the bigger tapestry of the Kingdom of His Son, even in the messiness and mundane of life, we can know that God loves us and has a plan for us.

Now.... we have arrived at the last Act....the final episode of our sermon series through the book of Ruth entitled, “From Ruin to Redemption.” I know that some of you are new to Ruth’s story and perhaps you have missed an episode or two..... So I want to take a moment to set the stage before we come to Act 4: The Willing Redeemer.

In Chapter 1 we are given front row seats to the bitter providence of God in the life of Naomi. She had left her land in disobedience.... lost her husband....lost her sons...and lost one of her daughters-in-laws. But…although Naomi could not see it......the sweet providence of God was present as well. God ended the famine in Bethlehem...and Ruth committed herself to caring for Naomi. But still..... the chapter ends with Naomi so overwhelmed with her losses that she tells people that God is against her and she even changed her name to “Bitter.” You see ....Naomi had allowed her circumstances to define for her who God is and how God sees her and as a result she felt empty.

In chapter 2 the mercy of God breaks through bright enough for even Naomi to see it. We met Boaz, a man of wealth, a man of God, and a relative of Naomi's late husband Elimelech. We see Ruth taking refuge under the wings of God in a foreign land and being led mercifully by God to the field of Boaz to glean. And we see Naomi recover from her bitter season of hopelessness as she sees that God never left her and she praises Him for providing for her.

Chapter 2 overflows with hope…a hope that spills into chapter 3 and empowers Naomi and Ruth to live with audacious faith. In fact....they make a risky move in the middle of the night. Ruth goes to Boaz on the threshing floor and essentially proposes to Boaz.

Now, Boaz had been caring for Naomi and Ruth up to this point by providing Ruth with protection and provision. Not only that but he is a relative of her late husband and is qualified to serve as a family redeemer. According to the Law of Moses a family redeemer could redeem the widows land and provide an heir for the deceased.

So....Boaz was flattered and excited by Ruth’s proposal…but he remembers something.....unfortunately there is a closer relative that has dibs on Naomis land and Ruths hand in marriage. Right when the tragedy of Ruth’s widowhood seemed to be resolving into a beautiful love story....she experiences another setback and another potential heartbreak.

I can only imagine Ruth’s heart sunk. What would she do? Well..…there was nothing she could do but to just trust Boaz. After all.....He did tell her to be patient and to trust him… he did promise her that her future would be secure and that he would ensure her protection. Not only that but Naomi reassured her that Boaz was a determined man and he would not rest until he did what he said he would do. Naomi’s confidence in Boaz’s was not misplaced…for. ....he was indeed a man of resolve and action. Look at v1

Ruth 4:1 (CSB)

1 Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there.

Remember..... Boaz was just sleeping at the threshing floor …he was guarding his grain from thieves. Clearly it was not in his plan to return to town in the morning. He was most likely anticipating a full day of work transporting his grain back from the fields. But he didn’t wait until evening…he didn’t wait until after work to take care of Ruth. Boaz had a change of priorities......you see.... he was no longer thinking about business but about his bride… so he leaves his grain and he goes to the town gate.

Now…the town gate was an open space with benches and it served…not only as a natural meeting place but like a modern-day courthouse. The gate was also the best place to find someone. So Boaz sat and waited for this other potential redeemer. look back at v1

Ruth 4:1–2 (CSB)

1 Boaz went to the gate of the town and sat down there. Soon the family redeemer Boaz had spoken about came by. Boaz said, “Come over here and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. 2 Then Boaz took ten men of the town’s elders and said, “Sit here.” And they sat down.

We are now introduced to this other family redeemer. And notice that we’re not given his name. In the ESV Bible..... Boaz addresses him as a “friend” and here in the CSB..... Boaz just tells him to sit down. But what’s interesting is ....in the original text..... Boaz addresses him with a Hebrew Idiom… when Boaz summons him over he literally says, “Come over here, peloni ’almoni,” a rhyming but meaningless phrase that is roughly equivalent to saying..... “Hey You…or Hey bro…or hey man... come sit down”

The point is…the author is intentionally leaving out this man’s name …he’s purposefully keeping the identity of this other potential redeemer a mystery…why? Well…there are a few reasons which will become more clear as we work through the narrative.

So… this man of mystery sits down with Boaz.... before the town elders....and we can imagine people gathered around anticipating what’s about to take place......the gavel strikes and court begins. But verse 3 does not begin in the way we would anticipate. Boaz does not begin with Ruth, but with Naomi and a piece of property… lets take a look

Ruth 4:3–4 (CSB)

3 He said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has returned from the territory of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4 I thought I should inform you: Buy it back in the presence of those seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you want to redeem it, do it. But if you do not want to redeem it, tell me so that I will know, because there isn’t anyone other than you to redeem it, and I am next after you.”

“I want to redeem it,” he answered.

In other words.....“Look Paloni Almoni......our sister Naomi has a field. She needs to sell it to raise money to live on. If there were a kinsman redeemer, however, he could buy that field and keep it in the family. Of course, the buyer would ultimately get to add the property to his own inheritance. And guess what?!?! You are first in line … are you interested?”

Understand …this is an amazing deal......for very little money…this man could carry out a very respected family responsibility and perhaps enhance his reputation around town. Financially, the investment was a bargain without any risk … and.....His little investment would develop into years of productive, profitable harvests..ultimately enlarging the inheritance for his kids.. How could he lose!?

Well....as you could imagine.....before Boaz could finish his sentence this guy instantly jumps on the deal! “Of course I am willing!!! Who would turn down a deal like that?!?!”

But wait a second!!! Could this really be how the story ends!? Ruth is supposed to be with Boaz! Not this weirdo! We don’t even know his name! But like a good storyteller the narrator knows what he is doing here.....and he ultimately wants our hearts to sink. Have we really spent all this time watching Boaz and Ruth’s relationship blossom just to watch it end before it begins!?!?!

But Boaz has finished yet....you see…he has an ace up his sleeve..…no doubt this was a premeditated strategy.....While the first aspect of the exchange focused on Naomi’s land, Boaz proceeded to the second issue, Ruth’s hand. In other words....this guy had been hooked, and Boaz was about to reel him in. Look at v5

Ruth 4:5 (CSB)

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”

“Oh, by the way......One more thing...... When you acquire the field you get a Moabite wife thrown in. Ruth.…you know…the widow of the dead man whose field it was…if you want the land...you must marry her too.”

As you can imagine…this changes everything. The cost of redemption has just increased dramatically. You see....If Ruth has a child...which is what’s meant to happen... that child will inherit the field when she dies. Mr. So & So will eventually lose the land......the money he paid for it will have reduced rather than increased his assets...meaning he’ll have less to leave to his own children. He now has a greater cost to consider.... how will he respond? Look at v6

Ruth 4:6 (CSB)

6 The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

With this new information…he quickly changes his tune! He says, “Well.... you know....on second thought....I can’t do it.” What a moment before had seemed like a “can’t miss” real estate deal.....had suddenly become an investment nightmare.

He refuses the deal. Why? Well.....for a couple of reasons. First, when he added up the cost of redeeming the property, caring for Naomi, and marrying Ruth.... the cost was just too much. Not to mention … Ruth is a Moabite… she’s an outsider…an outcast…he can’t marry her! Second, if he did marry her and she had a son then he would loose the land, loose his investment, and his kids would get less of an inheritance!

It seems as though unless there was a payoff for him and his family then caring for the outcast, the poor, and the outsider was out of the question. The irony is that by trying to protect his future...... “Peloni Almoni” ended up leaving himself forever nameless…and as we will see…he ends up missing out on the biggest legacy of all…a place in God’s plan of salvation.

Like “Peloni Almoni” we too often evaluate the cost of sharing our faith and serving the church according to the same scale.....We ask, “What is in it for me? Will it fulfill me? Will I enjoy it? What will it cost me?”

In doing the math, we leave God out of the equation and we end up getting the answers completely wrong. You see.... we calculate and protect ourselves and insist that two and two can only ever equal four …but....God’s kingdom operates on a different kind of calculus.....a “new math” in which the way to fullness runs through emptiness. And part of that calculus is putting what the Lord thinks of us before what the world thinks of us.

Mr. So-and-So didn’t do that kind of math..... so the numbers didn’t add up for him. He clung to what he had and as a result he lost something far greater..... something he could have never dreamed of. Boaz, on the other hand…well....he was an “A” student at God’s new math. His desire to acquire the land and marry Ruth may not have made fiscal sense....it’s true......By working to preserve the remembrance of his dead relative.....Boaz would be sacrificing is own welfare, property, and prosperity......but a true redeemer is willing to selflessly pay the price of redemption.

Boaz was the only one who was willing to and had the ability to redeem Ruth. In this respect......Boaz represents the nature of grace ultimately found in Jesus…who was under no obligation to redeem sinners....in fact he could have left us all to the just condemnation we deserve......but he willingly humbled himself … he took on human flesh and he paid the the required redemption price…death on the cross. (PAUSE)

Now....with Boaz willing to pay the price necessary to redeem the land and to marry Ruth....the matter is now settled....and the deal is confirmed through a really interesting ancient custom. Look at v8

Ruth 4:8–10 (CSB)

8 So the redeemer removed his sandal and said to Boaz, “Buy back the property yourself.” 9 Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his hometown. You are witnesses today.”

So what’s with this guy taking off his sandal and giving it to Boaz!?!?! Well…the sandal served as both a handshake confirming the deal and also as a receipt…or a proof of transaction. If Mr. So & So changed his mind...Boaz could pull out his sandal and say look here. It was a symbol that he forfeited his right to redeem.

But this sandal symbolizes and points to so much more! You see......Just as Boaz stepped in to Mr. So -and- So’s sandals to take and redeem the land .... at the cross..... Jesus - our Boaz like Redeemer - stepped into our shoes, paid our debt, and all who call upon the name of the Lord are redeemed and are bound with Him. The price has been paid …the matter is settled and the deal is confirmed!

Warren Weirsbe said it it like this

“Like Boaz, Jesus wasn’t concerned about jeopardizing His own inheritance, instead, He made us a part of His inheritance (Eph. 1:11, 18). Like Boaz, Jesus made His plans privately, be He paid the price publicly; and like Boaz, Jesus did what He did because of His love for His bride.”- Warren Weirsbe

You see…redeeming requires sacrifice. It requires payment. Jesus gave His life....Boaz gave his wealth…but ultimately Boaz was willing to make the payment because he loved God and he loved Ruth.

Now the meeting is over. The negotiations are finished. The legal process is done. Boaz has given his speech. But one more significant thing happens at the city gate…look at v11.....the witnesses respond to the legal proceedings by offering a three-fold prayer of blessing.

Ruth 4:11 (CSB)

11 All the people who were at the city gate, including the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel.

This first blessing is for Ruth.....and don’t miss how profound this prayer is. Remember who Ruth is! She is an outsider....an outcast....from the enemy territory of Moab....yet ......these elders are asking the Lord to give Ruth a place alongside Rachel and Leah …who if you remember …were the mothers of the twelve sons…whose decedents made up the 12 tribes of Israel....In other words.....these elders of Bethlehem are praying that the Lord would grant Ruth a key role among God’s people. The blessings continue…look back at v11

May you be powerful in Ephrathah and your name well known in Bethlehem.

This second prayer of blessing is for Boaz and it’s not just a prayer that he would have a good reputation…but rather that he would be specifically known for his kindness, compassion, and integrity.

The blessings continues…look at Ruth 4:12

Ruth 4:12 (CSB)

12 May your house become like the house of Perez, the son Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

The final blessing is directed to the family as a whole. The story of Tamar and Judah is found back in Genesis 38 and it is one scandalous story. But the point here is that like Ruth …Tamar also lost her husband and was childless…Like Ruth.... Tamar’s family line was threatened, and it seemed that her husband’s name would die out.

However....the providence of God...proved to play an important role in salvation history. God promised that the Messiah would come through Judah (Genesis 49:10), and Judah’s strongest son was Perez…who just so happens to be Boaz’s great- great-great-great grandfather.

In other words....This third prayer is for Boaz to have a renowned lineage in Bethlehem. Little did they know just how God would answer their prayers. The story continues

Ruth 4:13 (CSB)

13 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. He slept with her, and the Lord granted conception to her, and she gave birth to a son.

Boaz marries Ruth…and they do what married people do and something miraculous happened. Ruth who was barren…she was unable to conceive.....v13 says…that the Lord healed her womb and granted her conception! And this is the last that we hear of Ruth and we are redirected to Naomi…look at v14

Ruth 4:14–17 (CSB)

14 The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became a mother to him. 17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

This can only mean one thing..... the baby boy that Naomi holds in her lap is a redeemer too! He is a gift from God and is God’s final answer to Naomi’s bitterness and emptiness. Remember back to chapter 1.... Naomi went from full to empty and as a result she went from Pleasant to Bitter....and Rightfully so. She struggled with despair and depression....in fact …she was so broken that she wanted to give up on God.....But God…well…He did not give up on her!

And....maybe your where Naomi was…broken…bitter…blinded by the difficulty of your circumstances.....maybe you too are close to giving up on God....but friend…listen to me…God has not left you....in fact he has promised to never leave you…He will not forsake you.....He will not walk out on you…and just as we watched the providence of God working in the life of Naomi to bring about is purposes for his glory and her good.....you can trust that God is doing the same with you. Consider Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 (CSB)

28 We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Brothers and Sisters…God’s purpose and plan includes you.... but understand.....you are just not at the center of it all. You see....the fact that Ruth’s and Boaz’s baby lies in Naomi’s lap rather than Ruth’s and is named by the women of Bethlehem rather than by Boaz suggests that something is going on here that the parents could not have predicted and cannot control.

This child has a larger significance than being simply theirs. You see...Ruth and Boaz’s baby.... born in Bethlehem ...turned out to be the grandfather of King David! And that was only the beginning.

Ruth 4:18–22 (CSB)

18 Now these are the family records of Perez:

Perez fathered Hezron,

19 Hezron fathered Ram,

Ram fathered Amminadab,

20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon,

Nahshon fathered Salmon,

21 Salmon fathered Boaz,

Boaz fathered Obed,

22 Obed fathered Jesse,

and Jesse fathered David.

In v22 ....the mention of David alerts us to the fact that Obed was not the end of the story. What looked like a simple story of personal emptiness filled and personal needs met turns out to be God’s way of meeting a far greater need!

God provide Ruth, a childless widow, with a husband and a son. To Naomi—an older, bitter widow whose family line was close to extinction—God had provided Obed. And, to a nation close to extinction, God provided Israel’s most famous king....King David.

You see.....God used all of these events to bring about his own goals that were so much bigger than any of the characters involved in the story could possibly have imagined. In fact the prayer from the elders that sought lasting recognition for Boaz was remarkably fulfilled long after his death, with the birth of King David.

And the royal line of David continued right through the Old Testament and into the New Testament until it reached its climax in another baby born in Bethlehem ....Jesus!

Consider Matthew 1:1

Matthew 1:1 (CSB)

1 An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

God zooms out to show us the bigger picture he had been working on all along.

And as you read through the next 16 verses of Jesus’s genealogy....you might be tempted to skip it ....but if you did you would miss a family tree of prostitutes, liars, and murders… and the crazy thing is .....none of these folks are excluded from being used by God..... all of them are included in the genealogy of Jesus…God’s Son…our Redeemer!

Why would God use such broken sinners?!?! Why would they be included in Jesus’s family history?!?! Well....Because God is pointing to the type of people Jesus came to save! You see..... Like Ruth we were foreigners, strangers and outcasts. And Like Boaz.....Jesus has bought us with a price....but unlike Boaz…we were not bought with silver or gold, but with the blood of His Jesus

You see…Jesus.... gave everything so that we could be His!

Tell me.....Do you know that love of Jesus today? Do you know the love that still reaches out to outsiders? If you do then Praise God!!!!

Unfortunately.......there are many around us who don’t know that love yet. They’re still trying to earn their own passage to heaven, still trying to switch the destination on their tickets through their own merits. They still think that somehow they can be good enough, smart enough, or spiritual enough...... or that God’s standards will in the end prove to be flexible enough to let them in.

But the Bible is clear. We are all sinners ..We’re rebels and outlaws. We’re criminals and our crimes deserve death. The rift created by sin is unfathomably wide, and there is nothing we do can bridge the gap. We can’t pay for our crimes and restore things to how they’re meant to be. We can’t climb up to God

But the good news is…But God has come to us in Jesus. Jesus is God’s son. Jesus was born on earth—fully God and fully man. Jesus lived the perfect life with God under God’s rule. Then, he suffered painfully and shamefully on the cross to pay the punishment that our sins deserve. Three days later, Jesus rose victoriously and later returned to his Father where he sits at the right hand of God’s throne and rules with him.

Because of Jesus, we can live up close with God again. We are lost apart from God, but he saves us. He pays for sin, cleanses our filth, and makes us right. Praise God for our Redeemer!!!!

And praise God that he doesn’t leave us as he found us..... Like Naomi, when we open our hearts to God, we will discover that he has already been at work in our lives, and he will continue to be at work in us until we are unrecognizably changed. God’s grace has enormous transforming power. Yet that grace works only in the lives of those whose eyes are opened to the desperateness of their need for salvation......who know that they can do nothing except cling to Christ.

Lets Pray