Ruth 2

INTRODUCTION

I thought I’d start off this evening sharing some good news. There’s plenty of bad news on the evening news, but you probably won’t see this. Beginning in March there has been an ongoing revival at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. One of the chaplains, Jose Rondon, has been posting updates, testimonials, and video. This week he wrote:

Today, 380 soldiers came to salvation in Christ once and for all. Thanks CH Tony Cech for the excellent, clear, and powerful messages during the three services. Since March 11, 2018, we have seen 1,839 soldiers coming to Christ. God’s doing an unbelievable work through our military at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. May God bring the same powerful conviction of sin and love for him that we are experiencing at Main Post Chapel all throughout our nation and his world.

Rondon included this testimonial from one of the soldiers.

I used to have a lot of anger in me. I held grudges against people that have done wrongs against me. And I came here, and I realize that the Lord has forgiven me for my sins and I realize that I needed to do the same to others. I feel a thousand pounds lighter now that I’m able to let go of the burden of this, not hate, but just feeling wronged. And I have forgiven those that have wronged me. I feel better now.

Rondon adds that this is just one of many stories that have been shared. He says:

I’m asking you to please pray and help us to see not only today and since March 11th with almost 2,000 people coming to salvation in Christ Jesus, that the Lord is good and he desires not only to reconcile us, to reunite us to himself, through his death, burial and resurrection but also that he desires for the whole world and mainly our country, United States to know that if he’s doing great things in the military, he’s going to keep doing great things, in and throughout us for his glory in our society so in need of Christ Jesus our King.

Here is a video Rondon posted of some of the troops singing Amazing Grace.

SERMON

SLIDE 1 Have you ever heard the term “first world problems?” It refers to problems only people living in developed countries. They are problems that the very poor – and that’s most of the world – can’t have. Here are some example of people complaining about first world problems.

I showered so long the hot water ran out.

I had too much to eat at lunch and now I need a nap.

All the dishes are in the dishwasher so I had to eat my waffles off a Tupperware lid.

My dishwasher is so loud I have to turn up the volume of the TV.

The restaurant didn’t have Coke so I had to order Pepsi.

I dislike the fact that a trip to my family’s second home involves a six hour airplane ride to a different continent. A simple cottage getaway would be nice.

I hate having to fly commercial with both ski boots AND gold clubs.

I think I would rather stay home in the cold than go to Jamaica and have to share a room with my parents and my little brother.

I just got back from this boring trip my dad made me take for spring break. I was like, “Dad, I’ve been to the Bahamas a bajillion times. Can’t I go to Mexico this year?” And he just said no and made me go on a cruise. Totally rude.

Those are really problems. In fact, I’d like to have some of those problems.

But the truth is we all face problems – real problems. And the question is where do we turn when we face them? What is our natural reaction? Do we immediately trust God? Can we trust God in our circumstances? Do we see circumstances change and then begin to hope, or do we think about God and then hope despite the circumstances?

SLIDE 2 Turn with me to the book of Ruth. We are in the second chapter tonight. The main thought I want us to keep in mind as we look at this story is a verse from Romans. We read it last week. It’s a verse that should bring us encouragement when we face trials – and all of us do. We’re told: SLIDE 3

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

This promise is illustrated throughout the Bible and certainly in the book of Ruth. One of the features that makes the book of Ruth so interesting is that we never see the hand of God, but we see his fingerprints everywhere. We don’t read about any miracles. There are no visions. God never speaks. Yet it is evident through the way too many coincidences that God is at work bring good through the difficulties Ruth and Naomi face. God is there and his plan is being carried out.

SLIDE 4 We know this story well, but just as a recap of the first chapter, Naomi and her family leave Bethlehem and move to Moab because of a famine. While there Naomi’s husband dies. Their two sons marry Moabite women and within ten years the two sons die. Hearing that there is food once again in Bethlehem Naomi decides to move back home. While her two daughters-in-law are more than willing to go with her, Naomi says it would be better for them to return to their own families. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, follows Naomi’s advice, but Ruth refuses to leave. She then makes that very well know statement

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 1:16b)

When we reach chapter 2 the women had settled down in Bethlehem and the toils of everyday life set in. Someone is going to have to find some work and some food. And we’re told at the end of chapter 1 that the barley harvest was beginning.

1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a man of standing from the clan of Elimelek, whose name was Boaz. (Ruth 2:1)

This is going to be important, but right now we don’t know why.

2a And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.” Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” (Ruth 2:2)

You may remember this was God’s way of providing for the poor. Imagine a combine moving over a large field. It collects most of the grain or whatever it is harvesting, but it isn’t going to get everything. The same is true of people moving through a field harvesting. There’s stuff you don’t see and there’s stuff you drop. God said that anything overlooked or dropped could be picked up by the poor who were to be allowed to come in after the harvesters had gone through the field. Additionally, the corners of the field were to be left for the poor to cultivate. That’s what Ruth is going to do. It’s hard work and the pickings are slim. It could also be dangerous for a young woman out working alone. However, it was a way for her to provide for Naomi and herself.

3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. (Ruth 2:2b-3)

Naomi didn’t know where Ruth would be going and Ruth didn’t know anyone so she’s not going anywhere in particular, but she ends up in a field belonging to Boaz. We remember from verse 1 that Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s late husband Elimelek. Again, this is going to be important, but right now we’re not told why.

The NIV mentions that “as it turned out” Ruth chose the field of Boaz to work. But the Hebrew words it a little differently. The Hebrew literally says, “he chance chanced upon.” The Hebrew makes it clear that she wound up in the field of Boaz because of the providential care of God. As we read in Proverbs:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Proverbs 16:33)

We have free will to make decisions about whether or not we will serve God and obey his commands, but we should never forget that God has a plan and it will be carried out. On her very first day of work Ruth “chanced upon” a some fields in Bethlehem and then “chanced upon” one belonging to Boaz.

4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” “The Lord bless you!” they answered. (Ruth 2:4)

Some commentators point out that this is a blessing. As Boaz reaches his field and talks to his workers he offers them a blessing. To me it sounds more like a typical greeting. We’ll often tell someone hello and maybe ask how they are doing. I’ve heard several foreigners comment that this was hard to get used to. They assumed people actually wanted to know how they were doing, but they didn’t. It’s just something nice to say when in actuality we may not really care.

It’s the same thing when we say, “Bless you,” after someone sneezes. We’re just being nice. The phrase used to be, “God bless you.” Now we’ve shortened it and leave off God. We have no real idea about what we mean when we say it though. Even if we include God’s name, what is it that we want God to do? How do we want God to bless them? And why only after they sneeze? What does that have to do with it?

Enough rambling. Boaz blesses the workers and we’ll assume his sincerity, especially since he speaks a blessing to Ruth as well.

5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?” (Ruth 2:5)

In a small community everyone knew everyone so Ruth stuck out.

6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.” (Ruth 2:6-7)

Not everyone had met or seen Ruth – the foreman didn’t even know her name – but everyone had heard her story. She was a Moabite. The Moabites were descendants of Lot and lived northeast of the Dead Sea. She had come back with Naomi after their husbands had died. Word of her dedication to Naomi had spread. Additionally, the foreman tells Boaz what a hard worker she is. She wasn’t out there doing as little as possible, she was working hard. Remember, it was Ruth who suggested she go out and work, not Naomi. In fact, it’s interesting that Naomi didn’t join Ruth in the fields. Perhaps she was too old or not in good enough health to do the back breaking work of. Whatever the case, Ruth was more than willing and put all that she had into it the work at hand.

8 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 the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.” (Ruth 2:8-9)

As I mentioned, it could be dangerous for a young woman working alone. But Boaz assures Ruth if she stays and works only in his fields that she will be safe. He’s talked to his workers. They will not harm her and will protect her from anyone else that might harm her. Not only that, but she is more than welcome to drink from the water jars prepared for the hired workers. What we see is Boaz going over and above what was required of him for the poor gleaning his fields. And Ruth understands this.

10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me – a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10)

Ruth shows humility in bowing and asks why he is so kind to her.

11 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. 12 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.” (Ruth 2:11-12)

Even though he had not met Ruth, he knew about her and the kindness she had shown to Naomi. The prayer of Boaz is that God would treat Ruth as kindly as Ruth has treated Naomi. What he doesn’t know is the role he will take in being an answer to the that prayer.

13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant – though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:13)

Ruth understood that as a foreigner she had no social standing. She was lower than the lowest servant, yet Boaz was going out of his way to provide for her. His words brought her comfort. He spoke kindly to her. Literally, the Hebrew says he spoke to her heart. “You have put me as ease by speaking to my heart.” And the kindness continues.

14 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. 15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her. 16 Even pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don’t rebuke her.” 17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah. (Ruth 2:14-17)

At this point we might begin to wonder if Boaz isn’t attracted to Ruth. It doesn’t seem so. When he asked about her earlier he referred to her as “that young woman.” Boaz understood the difference in their ages. He was at least twenty years her senior. And as the story unfolds we’ll find out that he also knew he wasn’t the closest relative. The closest relative had the responsibility to marry her that she might have children. But it is because of her kindness to Naomi that Boaz is kind to Ruth. First, he provides her with lunch. None of the other workers is invited to do the same. Second, he makes sure she goes home with plenty of grain – much more that she would have collected if he hadn’t intervened. One commentator illustrated what Boaz requested like this.

Did anyone lick the bowl or the beaters when their mother was baking a cake? My aunt made a pound cake while we with with her last week. After she poured the batter into the bunt pan I proceeded to lick the beaters just like I’d done when my mother had baked cakes when I was growing up. You don’t get much batter, but it’s good. That’s what the gleaners like Naomi would normally get. What was left over. But imagine your mother taking some of the batter from the cake pan and putting it back into the bowl for you. That’s what Boaz requested his servants do for Ruth.

18 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. 19 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. (Ruth 2:18-19)

Naomi took notice of the amount of grain Ruth brought home. We’re told in verse 17 that Ruth brought home an ephah of grain. That would be around six gallons which would have been enough to feed fifty soldiers. How long would it have fed these two women? Not only that, but Ruth brought back enough food left over from lunch to feed the two of them for dinner. Naomi then peppers her with questions. And when she found out it was at the field of Boaz she was pleased.

20 “The Lord bless him!” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. “He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” She added, “That man is our close relative; he is one of our guardian-redeemers.” (Ruth 2:20)

Naomi pronounces a blessing for Boaz and affirms the goodness of God. She understood the providential care of God leading Ruth to that particular field. It was important because of the fact that Boaz was a kinsman or guardian redeemer. He was in line to buy whatever property that belonged to Elimelek and to marry Ruth. Ruth might not understand all those implications, but Naomi did.

21 Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.’ ” 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with the women who work for him, because in someone else’s field you might be harmed.” 23 So Ruth stayed close to the women of Boaz to glean until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law. (Ruth 2:21-23)

Even though we don’t see God, we know that God was working to provide for these two women. Even in the discouraging times God’s plan was unfolding. What Naomi and Ruth couldn’t understand is the role their lives would play in the coming of the Messiah.

In the first chapter the main characters were Naomi and Ruth. In the second chapter the focus shifts to Ruth and Boaz. What might we learn from these two?

First, consider Ruth. Ruth was not the kind of person who demanded her rights. She was not a “taker” but a “giver.” She did not presume upon Naomi, on the field supervisor, on Boaz, or even on God. As far as she was concerned, she found a dream job on her first day at work; the working conditions and benefits exceeded her expectations. Her boss was a man of chivalry. She never, even unconsciously, felt that she was owed grace; rather, she felt awed by grace. May we be known as givers, not as takers.

Second, consider Boaz. Boaz was a businessman who lived his faith in the workplace. He didn’t divide his life in parts – one part where he worshiped God and another part where he did business. Instead, Boaz allowed his faith in God to affect the way he ran his business. Remember, these were the days of the judges when everyone was doing whatever they wanted. Boaz would have had some rough people working for him. Despite that, Boaz was upright and honoring of the opposite sex; there was no hint of impropriety on his part toward Ruth, even though she was even more vulnerable than most women, being a foreigner and a widow. He was a man of faith. Live your faith wherever you are – at work or at play – and people will notice.

Most of all, don't lose hope; God remains on his throne. In chapter 1, Naomi was dismal. Her husband and two sons had died. She was bitter and blamed God. However, when we leave chapter 2, Naomi was delighted. She could begin to see how God was providing for her and Ruth.

John Piper once commented: SLIDE 5

God is not an employer looking for employees, God is an eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings.

God is always with us. Do we trust in him whatever problem we might face?

PRAYER

O Lord, you have told us that we may be content in our earthly circumstances because our citizenship is in heaven. We confess that it seems easier to us to walk by sight than by faith; we ask forgiveness for those times when we gauge our understanding of your love by our circumstances rather than by your promises. We ask that we would take courage from your grace, be awed by your loving-kindness, and take refuge in your wings. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Series: Ruth

Title: One Amazing Woman

Scripture: Ruth 2

Date: August 22, 2018

Location: WSCC

Proposition: