Ruth 3: A Marriage Proposal
Ruth: The Road to Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Main Point: REDEMPTION requires HUMILITY.
Applications:
1. God PROVIDED for RUTH and NAOMI
2. Boaz’s ROLE as a redeemer FORESHADOWS our greater REDEEMER.
3. Do YOU rely on our REDEEMER?
INTRO: Dismiss kids, highlight next sunday, christmas cookie results, reminder about tonight.
A Wedding proposal is a big deal
Tell story- 3 plans- first plan canceled for covid, second plan, canceled because of covid, third plan, succeeded! YAY!
It’s a big deal, there are a lot of emotions around it. it was one of the scariest and best days of my life!
BODY: As we continue on in our series through Ruth today, we move ahead to Ruth 3.
Ruth has a really fascinating structure to it. We haven’t chosen to talk about it a lot and that’s intentional. But, Ruth begins with a tragic situation.
Things seem hopeless. Everything is falling apart! We SLIP into tragedy (It’s like hiking the Grand Canyon- quick trip down, then it is hard to get across and back up! It may seem impossible!). Then, as Ruth 2 starts, everything seems like it is at Rock-Bottom.
Things begin to improve as Boaz provides for Ruth. Ruth trusts the Lord and keeps her faith in God.
From there, in Ruth 3 we see the situation continue to improve.
To continue using the example of hiking the Grand Canyon , in Ruth 3 we begin climbing the walls of the canyon and in Ruth 4, we will finish climbing the canyon walls and we will see how God has OVERCOME THE CHALLENGES THAT SEEMED INSURMOUNTABLE!
Ruth 3 starts off at another time. We don’t know how much time has passed, but some has. Ruth has been gleaning day after day in the field.
Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find rest for you, so that you will be taken care of? Now isn’t Boaz our relative? Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Wash, put on perfumed oil, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, notice the place where he’s lying, go in and uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will explain to you what you should do.”
Naomi goes to Rutha nd speaks to her. She explains that she still wants to help Ruth find a husband.
God is working in Naomi’s life! Look at this! For the first time, she is not focused inward but is actually looking at WHAT IS BEST FOR RUTH!
She proposes that Boaz is the right man. She points out that he has shown kindness to Ruth and that Ruth has worked with him.
He’s a man of noble character and he is a man who can be trusted with protecting Ruth!
Let’s be clear. Naomi knows that God is at work. After all, at the end of Ruth 2, we saw her bless Boaz in the name of the Lord!
Her faith is slowly being restored. Dry times take time to recover from. Trials don’t just end one day.
It takes time of us intentionally pouring into our faith for full recovery!
Naomi is slowly recovering and she has seen God work. Yet, she doesn’t slip into passivity here. And this is really a risk for any of us as individuals or as a church going through a hard time!
It can be easy to slip into passivity and to just want it over with. We become paralyzed.
Yet, God has not called us to be paralyzed. Instead, we are to seek God’s will and leading!
As individuals and as a church we need to be actively SEEKING GOD’S LEADING! Then, we need to be READY TO TAKE ACTION, just as NAOMI AND RUTH DO HERE!
Naomi takes action after seeking God’s will!
She proposes a 7 step plan to Ruth.
#1- Wash
#2- Put on perfumed oil
#3- Wear your best clothes
#4- Go down to the threshing floor
#5- See where Boaz lies down
#6- Uncover his feet
#7- Boaz will tell you what comes next.
This is pretty straightforward. Ruth is to put off her work clothes and put on the nicest clothes that she has.
She is to clean up and get ready to propose marriage!
I remember the day that I proposed. I was doing it secretly under the guise of taking “Graduation pictures” with Hope.
I woke up, took a long shower, shaved, got my hair just right, made sure everything was ready, brushed my teeth for about 7 minutes and was ready!
My point is simple. This is a big deal! Uncovering his feet was a way to propose marriage.
She is to go and uncover his feet not out of seduction but to make sure that he wakes up!
The threshing floor could be a place of sinfulness as men and women became drunk.
Ruth is to do something unlike others. Instead of engaging in this sinful behavior, she is to refrain from it all.
She is to come totally clean, totally prepared and to humbly lie down and propose marriage in a HUMBLE way!
So Ruth said to her, “I will do everything you say.” She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had charged her to do. After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley, and she came secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
Ruth agrees to do everything that Naomi says.
She then does it. She recognizes that this is not just Naomi having a thought.
She obeys. She sees that Boaz eats, drinks and is in good spirits.
He lays down by the end of his pile of barley, likely to scare away any thieves.
We do see someone go to the stack of barley! It isn’t a thief though! It is Ruth!
She secretly goes there, very quietly of course. She uncovers his feet as Naomi told her to and she lays down.
Ruth is fully committed to this plan. She is fully walking in faith.
What could go wrong? A lot! What if Boaz said no? What if he had her tried for sexual sin? What if he doesn’t wake up? What if he behaved like so many other men at this time and tried to USE Ruth for HIS short term enjoyment.
But in the midst of all those risks, Ruth has to keep her faith fully focused on GOD! She must remain HUMBLE AND TRUST GOD! SHE CAN’T CONTROL THIS SITUATION!
She MUST rest in God! She cannot worry, she MUST trust God!
Friends, what situations in OUR lives require us to put our trust in the LORD?
Hudson taylor, mission burned down in 1868 Yangzhou riot, lost everything.
Charles Spurgeon, downgrade controversy- attacks on scripture and he came under heavy fire for defending the importance of the Bible.
At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman! So he asked, “Who are you?”
“I am Ruth, your servant,” she replied. “Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer.”
Boaz wakes up! He is startled and finds a woman lying at his feet!
He asks who she is and she answers, “I am Ruth, your servant, take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer.”
Ruth uses a very similar phrase to what Boaz said in Ruth 2.
In Ruth 2, Boaz said that she was “Under God’s wing.”
Here, she says, “TAKE ME UNDER YOUR WING.”
Another way to translate it is, “SPREAD YOUR WINGS OVER ME.”
She is asking Boaz to be her protector and her provider.
She is throwing herself at his mercy! This phrase is an example of RUTH’S HUMILITY and of her NOBLE CHARACTER as she TRUSTS BOAZ!
She’s boldly asking for him to redeem her and she’s boldly trusting that he will!
She knows and trusts his character.
She asks for Boaz to TAKE HER UNDER HIS PROTECTION! She is putting herself totally at his mercy and trusting in the character that he has.
Then he said, “May the Lord bless you, my daughter. You have shown more kindness now than before, because you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor. Now don’t be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you say, since all the people in my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Yes, it is true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good. Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning.”
Boaz blesses her for her boldness and what he identifies as “her kindness.”
He praises her because she “has not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor.”
Boaz is a little older. He’s a man of noble character and in the eyes of many he was quite the catch!
But he also acknowledges that he is not perfect. He praises her for pursuing him!
Her choice to pursue Boaz is an honorable decision! It shows her faith in God!
She is trusting in someone who CAN redeem her.
Another aspect of this is that she has WAITED for her redeemer.
She needs her redeemer, but she didn’t settle for the first man that she met. She wait for her GOD-APPOINTED redeemer.
And to be clear, Boaz did not have to redeem her! The law in Deuteronomy commanded brothers to redeem. Boaz is not Elimelech’s brother or son!
Yet he CHOOSES TO PURSUE REDEMPTION!
There’s an application for us. (Our world waited for Jesus, WHO DID NOT HAVE TO COME, BUT DID SO OUT OF LOVE, we were called to WAIT for our redeemer. Also, pursue those around you!
Boaz then makes a comment that ALL THE PEOPLE in Bethlehem know of her NOBLE CHARACTER, which includes her humility! She has returned and has gone back to WORK!
Just as he is known by his noble character, so is Ruth!
Their lives are marked by faith and by their willingness to obey God. Remember, Judges 21:25 rings true right now.
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did whatever seemed right to him.
Although everyone does what seems right IN THEIR OWN EYES, Ruth and Boaz are known by their willingness to follow God!
Hear me though, it isn’t just in Bethlehem that noble character will be noticed.
People WILL notice noble character.
Our families, our coworkers, our neighbors, THEY WILL NOTICE NOBLE CHARACTER!
This isn’t just empty talk. This is the truth. Living in a God-honoring way, having Noble Character- character that is built off of God, will be noticeable.
So let me encourage you, live it out! (Expand- how you act at work- etc)
As great as everything is going, Boaz knows something that he shares.
He is a close redeemer, but he is not the closest. The closest redeemer has the first chance to redeem Naomi, Ruth and the land.
Boaz promises that he will resolve this first thing in the morning.
Boaz then tells Ruth to lie down until morning.
So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark. Then Boaz said, “Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.” And he told Ruth, “Bring the shawl you’re wearing and hold it out.” When she held it out, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl, and she went into the town.
Ruth stays at the threshing floor until the very early morning, but leaves before there is light.
Remember, she can’t be seen there! It would look immoral and would cast doubt on their character.
In some ways, that’s like a part of THE CHRISTMAS STORY!
Mary and Joseph were known to be of good character. Yet, they faced accusations due to Mary being pregnant before marriage.
In Ruth, Ruth leaves before dark to avoid the shame.
Boaz does not send her away empty handed though. He gives her 6 measures of barley.
We aren’t quite sure how much grain that is, but we do know that he SHOVELED IT. Further, the Hebrew paints a picture that this is such a large amount that she has to carry it on her back!
It’s been proposed that he gives her 60-90 pounds of Barley!
Clearly he cares! He is deeply providing for her!
Consider this to be a sign of his PROMISE to her!
It was common in Israelite culture to provide a SIGN for a covenant. For Boaz, he gives her a sign- it’s 60-90 pounds of food!
In the same way, at Christmas, we remember how God gave many signs for our redeemer’s coming. In Isaiah 7:14 we read one of them.
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
So what is the sign of the coming savior? He will be born of a virgin and he will be called IMMANUEL!
The parallels between RUTH AND BOAZ and OUR COMING REDEEMER BEGIN TO BECOME VERY CLEAR IN RUTH 3!
Boaz has provided for her and Ruth goes back to Naomi. Ruth 3:16-18
She went to her mother-in-law, Naomi, who asked her, “What happened, my daughter?”
Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. She said, “He gave me these six measures of barley, because he said, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ ”
Naomi said, “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today.”
As Ruth 3 ends, Ruth explains to Naomi all that has happened and she shows Naomi the food that she has been given!
Look at Naomi’s response. “My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won’t rest unless he resolves this today.”
Naomi tells Ruth not to worry essentially. She knows his character.
As a God-Fearing man of NOBLE CHARACTER, he will be true to his word and he will resolve this today!
He will OBEY GOD and that includes keeping his word. So, Ruth does not need to worry, instead, she can truly rest, knowing that Boaz will handle this.
APPLICATION:
1. God PROVIDED for RUTH and NAOMI
It is inarguable that God is at work throughout the book of Ruth!
It’s obvious throughout. Whether in safe travels, or in provision of a field to glean in and the kindness of Boaz and now in Ruth 3, in Ruth’s proposal being well received.
God is CLEARLY working and PROVIDING for Ruth and Naomi.
Let me make a note about this. God is providing, but that doesn’t mean that it is always easy!
Provision does not promise easy. God is stretching Ruth and Naomi! Their faith has to GROW in this season!
Hear me on this, God will ALWAYS provide! If God has put you somewhere or brought you into a season, he is going to provide!
Ruth, Naomi and even Boaz experience this in Ruth and they are not alone.
Another great example of it is Lottie Moon.
Lottie Moon was a missionary in China from 1873-1912. Lottie’s younger sister, Edmonia was the first single, female missionary that the SBC sent.
Lottie spent almost 40 years doing direct evangelism!
She worked tirelessly visiting villages, at one point traveling to 44 different villages and engaging in evangelism in all of those over just 11 days!
It was not an easy work or an easy time to be on the missions field, despite what some publications thought in North America.
Listen to how Lottie described her early time on the mission field.
“I am always ashamed to dwell on physical hardships. But, this time I have departed from my usual reticence because I know that there are some who in their pleasant homes in America, without any real knowledge of the facts, declare that the days of missionary hardships are over. To speak in the open air in a foreign tongue from six to eleven times a day is no trifle.
The fatigue of travel is something. The inns are simply the acme of discomfort. If anyone fancies sleeping on brick beds in rooms with dirt floors and walls blackened by the smoke of many generations, the yard also being the stable yard and the stable itself being within three feet of your door, I wish to declare most emphatically that as a matter of taste, I differ. If anyone thinks he would like the constant contact with “the great unwashed,” I must still say from experience, I find it unpleasant. If anyone thinks that the constant risk of exposure to smallpox and other contagious disease, against which the Chinese take no precaution whatsoever, is just the most charming thing in life, I shall continue to differ. In a word, let him try it! A few days of roughing it as we ladies do habitually will convince the most skeptical.”
But as hard as it was, Lottie endured! Why? Because God PROVIDED! God would soon move her out of that itinerant ministry and would settle her down in one place.
It did not remove the struggles, but God continued to provide!
Part of why we remember her at Christmas with the Lottie Moon missions offering is the hard work that she did in raising funds for the SBC missionaries of her time!
Money was often tight, but yet again, GOD ALWAYS PROVIDED!
My point with this is simple. Dear friends, God will ALWAYS provide! Whether for Ruth and Naomi, or for Lottie, or for us, God WILL PROVIDE!
That should give us such peace and comfort! In the midst of uncertainty in the world, we can REST, knowing that God WILL provide!
2. Boaz’s ROLE as a redeemer FORESHADOWS our greater REDEEMER.
Our second point of application mirrors the coming salvation that we see throughout this chapter.
We talked earlier about how Ruth 3 starts the upward direction of this book.
In Ruth 3, Boaz’s role as a redeemer becomes clear. But here’s the thing, his redemption is temporary, his redemption is for one person and his redemption is limited.
In other words, Boaz’s redemption will not save Ruth from her sins, that is the wrong that she has done before God!
Ruth will still have to offer sacrifices for that.
Boaz’s redemption will not make all the pain go away. Ruth still has lost her family, her father-in-law, her first husband and her people!
Boaz is going to try to redeem her, but it is not a PERFECT redemption!
Praise God, we have a GREATER REDEEMER!
GOSPEL
Speak to Dennis, Mike or myself
3. Do YOU rely on our REDEEMER?
If your faith is in Jesus, do you truly TRUST him to provide? I MEAN REALLY TRUST HIM!
Do you throw yourself at the feet of your redeemer, relying totally on him?
If not, let me encourage you to take some time today to go to the Lord in prayer about that.
