Old So & So

Welcome

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me —practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6–9)

Announcements

Equip — Saturday, August 24th 8-11:30am

New COG In The Wheel — explain

†CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 9:12

Pastor Austin Prince

Minister: Christians, the Lord is calling you into his worship!

Congregation: We will give thanks to you, O LORD, with our whole heart; we will tell of all your wonderful deeds. We will be glad and exult in you; we will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer. (5/19/24)

†OPENING PSALM OF PRAISE #100B

“All People that on Earth Do Dwell”

†CONFESSION OF SIN & ASSURANCE OF PARDON

Romans 12:1-2, Ephesians 1:7-14

BEFORE CONFESSION

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

Minister: Christians, we are called not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our minds. He has given us the Holy Spirit, and, by testing, we may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Congregation: But many times, and in a variety of ways, we have failed to discern and failed to do God’s will. We have much to confess.

Pastoral Prayer of Confession

Almighty God, we acknowledge and confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed; we have not loved you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. Deepen within us our sorrow for the wrong we have done, and the good we have left undone. Lord, you are full of compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy; there is always forgiveness with you! Restore to us the joy of your salvation; bind up that which is broken, give light to our minds, strength to our wills, and rest to our souls. Speak to each of us, and let your word abide with us until it has wrought in us your holy will. Amen.

Minister: Christians, in him we have redemption through his blood.

Congregation: In him we have the forgiveness of our sins, 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. In him we have obtained an inheritance, according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to the counsel of his will. When we heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and believed in him, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. All to the praise of his glory, amen!

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE. 2 Timothy 2:1-13

Steven Hoffer, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #478

“Jesus Loves Me, This I Know”

SERMON Ruth 4:1-12 // “Old So & So”

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Teach us thy ways, O Lord; we will walk in thy truth. Unite our hearts to fear thy name. Amen.

TEXT RUTH 4:1-12

Ruth 4:1–12 ESV

1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” 7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Amen.

INTRO

Let me tell you of another story from scripture that sheds so me light on our text today from Ruth. This story is connected by theme, the situation of the characters, and also (as we will see more next week) connected by direct reference and bloodline. It’s the story of Judah and Tamar from Genesis 38.

“And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the seed on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.” (Genesis 38:6–11, ESV)

If you know the rest of the story, you know that Judah is a scoundrel. He doesn’t take care of Tamar himself but asks her to go and live with her father until his youngest son is old enough to be a Levirite. But Tamar is abandoned and forgotten. She disguises herself as a prostitute and Judah tries to buy her services with a goat. But in her shrewdness she has him give over a signet ring. She is given her rightful due by this man’s line by becoming pregnant, but Judah is enraged upon finding out and this widow’s pregnancy and plans to have her burned until she produces the signet ring and humbles Judah, where he declares, “she is more righteous than I.” Tamar goes on to have twins, the firstborn being Perez (who will show up in our story shortly).

But there are three things that I think we should pay attention to that this story from Genesis reflects back upon our text from Ruth. They are not only stories that parallel in scripture, they are tied by bloodline but also illuminate the concept of hesed done well or done poorly. (flesh out hesed?)

Cost

Name

Inheritance

Cost:

When it came time for Onan to serve Tamar and his deceased brother as the Levirite (the living brother who would perpetuate a deceased brother’s bloodline), Onan considered the cost to be too high, the text saying “but Onan knew that the offspring would not be his” (Gen. 38:9). He would have to support this child and this family until this child was old enough to support himself. But this of course didn’t stop Onan from enjoying Tamar while tricking her. He can look like he’s stepping up to be a redeemer while only being a scoundrel. And he is put to death for it.

But the second theme to notice is name.

Name:

This theme becomes even more pronounced in our Ruth narrative, but much is made of names throughout scripture — how they define your character and echo through ages your blessings or your curses. For Onan’s part, his choice to act in unfaithfulness, to abandon hesed, was to have his name blotted out of his family and inheritance, but also to be remembered through the ages (even until this day) with the practice of Onanism and abdication and weakness.

And the third dynamic that we should note is that of inheritance.

Inheritance:

Onan loses his and his bloodline is cut off. It’s the righteous act of Tamar, surprisingly, that is honored and rewarded, even when Judah was faithless. It’s her actions and God’s blessing to them that produce Perez and Zerah, who become the forefathers of Boaz, David, and of Christ.

And, by the way, you need to notice that so many of the Old Testament stories end with the anticipation and birth of a child. It’s not only that in these stories a birth is unlikely and then God blesses them (which is true), but also that since the time of Adam and Eve the house of faith is looking to their offspring to usher in righteousness and redemption, and the people of faith are hoping that their righteousness will serve somehow in the redemption and restoration of the world.

Cost, Name, Inheritance

Old So & So

Let’s look back at our text from Ruth and see how these three themes are at play here:

We left off last week with Boaz telling Ruth that he would be glad to be her redeemer, but that there was another relative that was closer than him who had the first rights. So in our text we pick up with Boaz heading to the city gates to find this man. This is the choke point of the city — everyone was to pass through those gates. Boaz sees the man and asks ten other men to come over and join them to serve as witnesses for Boaz’s proposal.

And Boaz begins to unfold the situation before this potential redeemer, but he does it in a calculated way, revealing only part of the situation.

“Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”” (Ruth 4:3–4, ESV)

At this the reader is on the edge of their seat — “This can’t happen, Ruth must end up with Boaz!”

But in Boaz’s shrewdness, he carefully lays out a bit more of the story.

“Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”” (Ruth 4:5–6, ESV)

By laying out the situation in this way, Boaz is making sure that this redeemer and the witnesses are following the rules of redemption correctly and honorably, but also highlighting the demand for hesed faithfulness in this act of redemption.

The two men agree to the terms and we are told a bit of specific information about the exchanging of a sandal. Let me explain what that was and then let’s look back at this story through the themes of cost, name, and inheritance.

The sandal ceremony represented dominion. A person’s foot stands upon the ground beneath it, representing ownership and headship. Jesus’ enemies come under his footstool. Moses must take his sandal off on holy ground, etc.

And there is another symbolism that is happening here, too. In Deuteronomy 25, the chapter that articulates Levirite marriages and responsibilities to widows by their brother’s-in-law, we get this text:

“And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’” (Deuteronomy 25:7–10, ESV)

The man should be ashamed and become a byword among his people.

Cost:

For potential redeemer, the cost to redeem Ruth proved to be too much. At first, when he was told that some land was available and it came with an old maid, he was ready to redeem it on the spot. He can buy the land, there is no heir that he has to pass it on to in the future, Naomi is old and won’t be a burden to him for very long, and he can likely get some social credit for doing this — he is acting as the kinsman redeemer but also turning a nice profit. But when Boaz includes the bit about Ruth, the man is immediately ready to pass over this responsibility. Ruth will need children and those children will inherit the land themselves. They also will stand to possess some of the redeemer’s inheritance upon his death, which will further divide his wealth among his children and their now half-brothers. This proves too much and so he passes. His faithfulness to Ruth and Naomi and to his family is calculated around benefit. The cost is too much.

Let’s look at name

Name:

What is interesting is that this redeemer, this close relative’s, name is never given. He is simply addressed as “friend” in the text, but the Hebrew phrase is pelō·nîʹ ʾǎl·mō·nîʹ (פְּלֹנִי אַלְמנִי), which means something like “Old So & So”.

Maybe it was removed to spare him embarrassment. Instead of Ruth coming to pull off this man’s sandal in public for his refusal of redemption and spitting in his face, instead of this man’s name becoming a byword, Boaz asks the man to remove his sandal himself and hand it over to him.

Boaz is the man with the name. He is the one who ends up in Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 1 as the forefather of Christ. When Solomon, his great, great grandson builds the temple, Boaz is the name that Solomon gives to one of the two pillars which uphold the vestibule at the front door. The other man’s name is forgotten, this pelō·nîʹ ʾǎl·mō·nîʹ, this Old So & So. Boaz is the gibbor chayil, the worthy man. Ruth also has a name — a name that is praised in the gates. She is the Eshet Chayil, the worthy woman.

Inheritance:

And, of course, Boaz is the one to reap the inheritance. He is the father of Obed, the grandfather of David, the forefather of Christ.

Applications:

These themes of cost, name and inheritance, and these stories, help us to see what’s at stake in living by hesed (faithful, loving-kindness).

Loving-kindness will always come at a cost. If you remember our sermon series through 1 Cor. 13 we said that “love demands sacrifice”.

But often times, we aren’t willing to take that sandal off.

For some, they are like an Onan, willing to take pleasure from others but not willing to love or take responsibility. Girls, there are men everywhere who would treat you this way, who wouldn’t take that sandal off for you.

There are those like pelō·nîʹ ʾǎl·mō·nî who are willing to imitate responsibility and reap some benefit from until it proves too difficult or too costly.

What we are called to is hesed love. A kind of love and faithfulness and overabundance that reaps a name and an inheritance.

Is you marriage strained, each of you have desires and wants and frustrations that keep you at odds with one another? It will cost you greatly to swallow your pride and forgive and to love one another day after day and year after year. But do you know what? That also comes with glory and an inheritance. What a gift to give your children, that they and perhaps even your grandchildren watched sacrifice and love and how it overcomes a multitude of sins. Let your name not be a byword of bitterness and self but faithfulness. Like Solomon who remembered the name of his great great grandfather and his reputation, let it be that your family sees you take that sandal off. Saying, “I will take responsibility for this home — it is mine and I stand her upon it.”

What about children? It’s a high cost to give ourselves for them. What is it like for them to watch us like Ruth perhaps watched these redeemers. Do they see us eagerly stepping in to provide and protect and to bless, or does our affection and sacrifice for them depend on if they please us and serve us and benefit us? Is our love calculated in that way? Do we only pay the price of love and affection and grace if it will turn a nice profit for something else that we are wanting? No, don’t give your name over to that. May you name stand in for hesed (abundant loving-kindness in your home).

The decision to even have children or a marriage in our culture, there really is a calculation that happens all the time. People celebrate the savings that they will gain by making no sacrifices — cutting off their names, and having no inheritance. But do they see the beauty in it? Do they see the glory? Does the church embody this joyful and sacrificial love? I hope you have seen that type of love and faithfulness through this book.

Hesed love gives and glorifies. That’s because it’s the love that comes from Christ. Look at how Philippians 2 connects these themes together.

The Name Above All Names

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Cost)

Christ has taken that sandal off, bearing the cross and its shame. Not unwillingly, not calculating the loss. Not grasping onto his equality with God and His throne, but laying it down.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, (Name)

What other redeemer do you have? What’s their name?

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Inheritance) (Philippians 2:5–11, ESV)

He is a glad redeemer, no matter the cost. And that foot that was pierced is also propped upon the world as his footstool — it’s his, and he is working all things for the good of those who love him.

Boaz’s, like Ruth’s, hesed is to be emulated, and Christ’s is to be marveled at.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #214

“Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH

The Apostles’ Creed p. 851

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

This table is for those who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his Church. You who do truly and earnestly repent of your sins, and are in love and charity with your neighbors, and intend to lead a new life, following the commandments of God and walking in his holy ways: draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament to your comfort; and make your humble confession to almighty God.

PRAYER

Minister: Let’s pray together.

Congregation: We do not presume to come to this thy holy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table: but you are the Lord, who is always able to have mercy.

Grant us therefore, by thy grace, so to eat the flesh of thy dear son Jesus Christ, and to drink his blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by his most sacred Body, and our souls washed through his most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in him, and he in us. Amen.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

†OUR RESPONSE #248

“All Creatures of Our God and King”

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Peace be to you, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord with love incorruptible. Amen.