Requesting Redemption
Notes
Transcript
Handout
A big month for anniversaries
A big month for anniversaries
This month has been big for anniversaries around here - 9 couples have anniversaries in May!
the Brills - 29th
the Ringlings - 24th
Mugos - 27th
Pete and Jackie - 2nd
James and Amy - 8th
Zoerners will celebrate their 13th this week
Bormans will celebrate their 19th this week
We also have two milestone anniversaries this month!
Yesterday, Bryan and Karen celebrated their 50th!
The Curingtons will celebrate their 50th at the end of the month.
I don’t often announce anniversaries - maybe I should more. I do try to send cards. In light of what we’re covering today in the book of Ruth, I thought it would be great to hear a bit of how one of these couples met and learn about their engagement story.
Now, it’s been quite common for men to be the one to ask the blessing of the future father in law and then propose to their beloved. Even today, 95-99% of all engagements happen because men pop the question. Sometimes it’s elaborate. Sometimes it’s quite simple. As we will find today, it doesn’t always have to work that way. Ladies, there is hope and a precedent if your man is not asking the question.
Before we dive into that, let’s catch up on a little…
Background
Background
Famine - escape to Moab - running on empty - meeting “death and tragedy”
Naomi heard about God visiting her people and decided to respond to where God was working - Ruth - made a clear decision to remain with Naomi - identifying with her people, position, and her God.
Back in the land - Naomi begins to recount what she has experienced - blaming God for her situation
As we saw a couple of weeks ago, Naomi began to see hope on the horizon as Ruth experienced great blessing from God’s provision through the generosity of Boaz - someone that Naomi was reminded could help them - he was a redeemer.
So, as we turn the page to chapter 3 of Ruth’s novella, we get to learn from these women in a few different ways. First of all, we learn from them that we should…
Recognize our need to be redeemed (1-5)
Recognize our need to be redeemed (1-5)
Let’s begin by looking at these first few verses of Ruth 3:
Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
It was clear that Naomi and Ruth were destitute. In a society where men were the ones who had the primary voice and the primary means of income, Naomi and Ruth were left with few ethical options. They needed someone who could pull them out of their situation. As Naomi mentioned, they needed someone who could provide rest. They needed a redeemer. Which begs the question…
What is redemption?
What is redemption?
Today, we think of redemption as being a fulfillment of a purchase. For example, if you were to buy a ticket to see the latest Marvel movie or to watch Kate’s next ballet performance at the Kennedy Center today, redeeming your ticket would mean turning it in and experiencing the performance at some date in the future. (While Kate’s next performance is not at the Kennedy Center, it is free and at Whalen Commons on June 2!). So in Ruth and Naomi’s case, it’s a purchase - transferring ownership or transferring obligation from one entity to another.
Redemption in the OT took place in a couple of ways - namely in the “levir” and the “go-el”
Levir - from which we get the term levirate - refers to the obligation of a brother or near kin to provide an heir for the deceased. The first time we see this is in the book of Genesis 38 - Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, had married a woman. They had three sons - Er, Onan, and Shela. Er married a woman named Tamar. Er died before they had any children. Onan was supposed to provide a child to Tamar in the name of his dead brother. He essentially refused to do that - and died. Judah, in some ways thinking that his daughter in law was a sort of black widow, told Tamar to return to her father’s home until Shela was of age. He was supposed to fulfill this obligation - but Judah did not give Shela to Tamar. You can read the rest of the story to find out how that was eventually fulfilled - incidentally it ties into our story. The point being, it was the obligation of a sibling of the deceased to provide and heir. In the case of Ruth, the next of kin (her brother in law) was now dead. The tradition seemed to be that they would follow the family line until a suitable “levir” could be found. But that brings us to another term.
Go-el - is a kinsman-redeemer - a relative who can purchase the property of the deceased in order to help the destitute.
“If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.
One of the things that these gleaning, levirate and redemption laws reveal is that God has a place in his heart for those who are poor and in need. He knows that those who are impoverished need an advocate - they need someone looking out for them.
I think this is in part why we need to continue to be generous and mindful regarding how we minister to those in need in our area. We recently received a beautiful note of thanks from a woman who is caring for her 91 year old mother. She comes regularly to get food. She is grateful for God’s provision through us and through WUMCO. I pray that we will continue to be intentional in our service to those in need.
But let’s get a little personal…
Why do we need redemption?
Why do we need redemption?
For Naomi and Ruth - destitution was clear. When they moved back to Bethlehem they were in poverty with no immediate advocate. They needed someone who could purchase the land, providing Naomi with sustenance and on-going care and someone to provide an heir in the name of the deceased. They needed a redeemer.
For us - we may be in various states of financial stability - some very well off - others working paycheck to paycheck. But at some point in time we have to come face to face with our own spiritual destitution - recognizing our sinful poverty and God’s gracious love. We need someone who is eligible or has the means of pulling us out of our sinful poverty.
Boaz had the financial means that could meet Naomi and Ruth’s needs - we need someone who is perfect and holy - with sufficient spiritual means to address our spiritual debt. Boaz had the relational proximity to be able to fulfill the levirate responsibilities - we need someone with a relational proximity who can identify with our need and can provide a lasting, eternal hope.
(is this the right place for this?)Jesus is our goel - our redeemer. He is the one who purchased our sin debt with his life.
Naomi recognized the need that they had for a redeemer. She devised a plan and put that in motion - leaving up to Ruth to…
Respond to the opportunity to be redeemed (6-13)
Respond to the opportunity to be redeemed (6-13)
As we saw earlier, Naomi and Ruth responded to where God was working and returned to Bethlehem. They made the most of God’s provision through the law for the sojourner and poor - and were blessed by it. In the process - a potential redeemer was revealed - providing hope for them. So Naomi devised this plan to have Ruth respond by making known their request to be redeemed.
So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
Ruth responded to the opportunity and made her request known. Boaz - was personally flattered - there may be a bit of romance here. I certainly don’t think there was anything dishonorable. I suspect he was a bit humbled by this request. But he also recognized in their culture, there was someone nearer who could redeem - someone who essentially had the first right of refusal. He also recognized that Ruth was coming to God for redemption - to Yahweh.
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Boaz seems to want to be completely proper in fulfilling this obligation. He wants to follow the rules appropriately.
But notice something else here, Boaz calms her - “do not fear.” Imagine being a foreigner in a foreign land - being totally helpless to meet your own needs. For some of you, this is not hard to imagine, in fact you’ve experienced this. But there is a very real fear in putting this request out there. She could be rejected. She could be misunderstood. She could be abused and neglected.
But not only does Boaz calm her fears, he commits to see this through - he commits to get to the solution quickly.
Like Ruth, you and I need to get to a place where we can respond. So often we think that our salvation is our choice, but as we saw with Naomi and Ruth, God was making himself known, he was revealing. In a similar manner, God is the one who can and does redeem.
Decision-ism - some of us have grown up in church traditions or have listened to churchy leaders that propagate a sort of decisionism - as if our ability to follow God is completely up to us. There are some who have decided time and time again to follow Jesus - leaving our deciding up to the whims of our emotions.
But that’s not how God works.
God reveals himself and his solution.
God gives us faith to believe that he can redeem us from the mire of our sin.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
He then gifts us his son -
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
God chooses those whom he will call and then completely accomplishes the work that he started.
For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Just as Ruth’s redemption was totally up to someone else, so too, our redemption is totally up to God.
But there is another part of this. When we have an incorrect view of God and His salvation, we can tend toward a view that might be labeled as…
Eternal Insecurity - Now, this is a view that is not necessarily labeled this way by theologians - this is my term, but it’s a view that exists in several different theological realms. Similar to decisionism where we think that our salvation is up to us, eternal insecurity would add to that that our keeping our salvation is up to us as well. You could find this in some of the so-called “holiness” traditions where they might urge that evidence of your salvation must be present throughout your life in order for redemption to happen. They are correct that there should be evidence of our salvation - becoming a Christian should impact how we live, how we speak, what we watch, how we think, how we respond. But I think where they are incorrect is in the idea that we can lose our salvation.
Think about Ruth - what made her eligible to be redeemed? Her poverty and proximity to a redeemer. What makes her eligible to stay redeemed? That’s totally on someone else - it’s totally up to Boaz.
In a similar manner - our redemption, our salvation - is totally up to God. Because it was not up to us to get redeemed, it’s not up to us to stay redeemed. It’s all in God’s capable hands. Consider these truths from the first chapter of Ephesians:
Ephesians 1:3–14 (ESV)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
(tease out some further implications)
So Ruth and Naomi recognized their need for a redeemer and then responded to his ability to redeem by making a request. While redemption is promised or guaranteed - what now? What is she to do? When we respond to Jesus Christ and the redemption that is found in him, what are we to do?
As we saw in that passage in Ephesians, we get to…
Rest in knowing redemption is secured (14-18)
Rest in knowing redemption is secured (14-18)
So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
Ruth’s request was an act of faith - Boaz promised that he would do something, but when? How long would this take? Being the man of integrity and action that he was, Naomi assured her that he would get it done quickly. All that she can do is rest in the promise and wait for redemption to be realized.
In the mean time, Ruth received some initial benefit - blessings now - barley. As we saw in chapter two, Boaz did not want her to go home empty handed.
For us, while Jesus died back then, and we respond now - the full realization of our redemption is in the future. It’s as though we have the ticket, now we are simply waiting for showtime. So we can rest in the promise of that redemption. But like Ruth, our resting is not fruitless. In the present, she went home with barley.
In the present, while we rest in the promise of our redemption, we get the blessing of…
the food of His word - to teach us about God, how he works, what he is doing. We get this blessing in our personal times with God in His Word as we daily read, reflect, meditate, and memorize Scripture. We also get this in our family devotional times as we seek to think biblically together about the world in which we live. We also get this in our corporate times together - here in our main assembly as we read, sing, pray, and preach the Word. We also get this corporately in our community groups as we read the word together and then personally apply it to our lives.
the fellowship of His people - We are not in this alone. We are individually saved - but we walk this journey together. This is partly why our gatherings are so important - both corporate worship gathers but also smaller community group gatherings. I think this is why the book of Hebrews urges us to not “forsake the assembling” of ourselves. Did you remember that this is part of our covenant?
the fulfillment of his mission - We will see in a couple of weeks that Ruth’s redemption was not just a temporary fix - this was a solution that had ramifications for generations - in fact it still does. When you and I respondo to God’s redemption through Jesus Christ, we get the joy of being on mission with him -proclaiming the good news of what we have in Christ - letting others know. We get to be his ambassadors in this foreign land - extolling his goodness.
While we wait for Jesus to return. We are redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Like purchasing a ticket well in advance, we get to wait with great anticipation!
Closing thoughts
Closing thoughts
Friend - do you see your need for a redeemer? Do you recognize that you need eternal help with your sin - just like Ruth and Naomi needed help from their poverty? Then respond today. Respond by repenting of your sin and receiving God’s free gift of eternal life. And then rest in his finished work until your redemption is fully realized when Jesus returns.
Beloved - how are you doing resting? Are you resting confidently in the work that Jesus did? Are you reminding yourself of the promises of His word? Are you engaging with others or are you isolating yourself? Are you accomplishing the mission that God has for you?
Sources:
Atkinson, David. The Message of Ruth. The Bible Speaks Today Commentary. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983.
Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder, eds. The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.
Block, Daniel Isaac. Judges, Ruth. Vol. 6. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.
Piper, John. Providence. Wheaton, IL. Crossway, 2020.
Reed, John W. “Ruth.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
Wiersbe, Warren W. Be Committed. “Be” Commentary Series. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993.
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/ruth/
Questions for reflection and discussion
Read: Ruth 3.
What was Naomi’s plan and why did she seek “rest” for Ruth?
What did Ruth do to fulfill that plan?
How did Boaz respond?
How is Ruth’s request for redemption similar to our coming to salvation in Jesus Christ?
Have you been redeemed?
When will our redemption be fully realized?
How did Ruth rest in the promise of redemption? How can we rest in that promise of redemption?