Ruth pt 2

Ruth  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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When we left Ruth and Naomi last week, they had returned to Bethlehem and Naomi had renamed herself Mara- bitter. That’s a hard place to be in. Returning to where you started out, in worse shape than you were in when you left.
So many of us have been there though. We strike out on what we think is the best course of action- divorced from what God said was His best. Trying in our limited knowledge to make the best of a bad situation. And we crash and burn.
And what is so crushing, is for so many people when they come hime, they think to themselves, God is done with me. I was disobedient. I didn’t have enough faith. I failed. What good can I be now. God is not going to want anything to do with me.
We go into survival mode.
That is where Naomi is. She is trying to get by. To salvage what is left.
But let me tell you some good news- God is not done with you. And the name you have given yourself- failure, bitter, angry, faithless, useless. God has another name for you.
Redeemed.
Look with me at Ruth 2:1-7.
First thing, Ruth is noticed.
Her willingness to be humbled and glean catches the eye of Boaz and the leader of the reapers.
Judges, Ruth Scene 2: The Initiative of Ruth (2:2–3)

In either case she seems to be aware that the right to glean was frequently denied to the destitute; she was dependent upon the mercy (hēn) of the men in the field. This word provides the key to interpreting the next scene

Church, your hardship has not gone unseen by God.
Now you may say- this is my fault. I earned this. This is the just desserts for my actions.
But God sees your soul work that you are doing.
Church sometimes we need baby steps before we can learn to run again. Ruth is doing what she has to do to survive.
For some of us this morning, gleaning is all we can do right now. We can read a verse. Or get one truth from a sermon. Or sing a verse before we collapse into tears.
That’s enough.
God sees your heart. Just like Boaz saw Ruth’s heart. She was doing what she could.
Go to verses 8-12
Next, we see Ruth entering under Boaz’s protection.
Judges, Ruth (2) The Second Interchange (2:8–14)

From the first time Boaz opens his mouth until the last words he utters (4:9–10), his tone exudes compassion, grace, and generosity. In the man who speaks to this Moabite field worker biblical ḥesed becomes flesh and dwells among humankind

When God sees us taking one step, He is swift to meet us at that point.
Look, let me be blunt. The last thing the enemy wants you to do is to return to God. He wants you defeated and downcast and destroyed. He may not be able to get your soul, but he wants you out of the battle and your state is one he will exploit.
Ruth is at her most vulnerable. She has to glean. She has no other way to support herself. And Boaz knows that others may not be as kind or as gracious or as righteous with someone so vulnerable. So he steps in for her.
Judges, Ruth (2) The Second Interchange (2:8–14)

it arises out of the genuine sense of responsibility that Boaz feels for Ruth. Despite the fact that she is a Moabite, and he knows it, like a loving father he will offer this foreigner his protection and his resources

Friend hear me this morning. Jesus is the same way. He sees you and He wants to protect you. He wants to bring you home.
Here is the other thing about Boaz- he knows the character of Ruth. He knows what is at her heart- her selflessness, her faithfulness, her love for others.
Judges, Ruth (2) The Second Interchange (2:8–14)

The reports that he has heard have emphasized two details about her in particular: her extraordinary kindness to her mother-in-law and her extraordinary courage in accompanying her back. Her kindness is referred to simply as (lit.) “all that you have done for your mother-in-law” (kol ʾăšer ʿāśît ʾet-hămôtĕkā). Later these actions will be characterized as ḥesed

Church, you have not lost that and Jesus knows that. It may be hardened for a season or covered over by pain. Or difficult to act on, but you are STILL the person Jesus was ad is making you into. He has not abandoned His work. (Ps 138:8)
And Ruth responds to his kindness with thankfulness (v13)
Church how do we respond when God intervenes for us? Do we remember to thank Him?
Go to verses 14-16.
Third, we see Boaz providing for Ruth.
Boaz goes further than just placing her under his protection. He goes out of his way to provide for her more than she even deserves.
Look at what happens-
She is fed and has leftovers
She is allowed to glean in areas beyond the usual places
She is given gleaning from the sheaves
It COSTS Boaz more to care for her and he does it willingly.
Judges, Ruth (2) The Second Interchange (2:8–14)

The narrator hereby shows how Boaz took an ordinary occasion and transformed it into a glorious demonstration of compassion, generosity, and acceptance—in short, the biblical understanding of ḥesed

This is what Jesus does for us. Goes above and beyond to win us and keep us.
(Gospel presentation here)
Go to verses 17-23
Finally, Naomi reveals to Ruth who Boaz really is.
Church while we may be suffering or just getting by, there are others more mature who can guide us to the Savior. Even in Naomi’s bitterness she can see the hand of God. And in an instant, hope arises.
Judges, Ruth Scene 4: The Results (2:17–23)

When Naomi learns that Ruth has met up with Boaz, the sun rises again in her life. Yahweh has been gracious to her deceased husband and her sons by sending a potential “redeemer-kinsman” into their lives. Here the use of the plural (Boaz is “our near relative,” he is “our kinsman-redeemer)” suggests the wheels are turning in her mind, a conclusion that is confirmed in the next chapter

Some of us this morning are like Naomi. We have been made bitter as well. And yet when we see God at work our heart leaps. Do not quench that work of the Holy Spirit!
In the same way Boaz is drawing Ruth, and by proxy sustaining Naomi, Jesus can use the fledgling faith of an other to restore your faith in Him.
God will not leave you in your bitterness, but if you won’t seek Him then He will come and find you.
Judges, Ruth Scene 4: The Results (2:17–23)

Specifically, in Naomi’s eyes Ruth’s coming upon the field of Boaz was a demonstration of God’s grace and favor. In 1:8–9 she had prayed that Yahweh would match Ruth’s ḥesed to her family by granting her rest in the house of her own husband

Where are you today- are you trying to survive?
Are you buried in bitterness?
Are you hoping for deliverance?
Wherever you are, God is not done with you yet.
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