Ruth 2: "Laboring Under the Shade of Kindness"`
Notes
Transcript
REFLECTION: PSALMS 111
TEXT: RUTH 2
INTRODUCTION:
Last week Mark brought us into this story with that insight into the MOABITE people.
It’s easy for us to be critical of Naomi and Elimilech’s actions from this side of the story but HUNGER IS A COMPELLING NEED
You’ve seen it play out recently in the news. Food supply trucks that are trying to get into war-torn countries or regions are often “robbed” before they make it to their destination.
In Gaza, there have been multiple reports of Hamas terrorists and leaders eating the “first fruits” of the food relief trucks while families stuck there are compelled to fight over the little that makes it to them.
LET’S REMOVE THE POLITICS FOR A MOMENT.
Of all the needs that humans have:
the need to earn a living and provide for ourselves
the need for acceptance
the need for companionship
the need for shelter - a home to live in - protection from the elements
the need for a sense of right and wrong
the need for a relationship with God
Ecclesiastes 3:11 “11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”
Psalm 42:1–2 “1 As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?”
the need for food, though…is the most basic…the most primal search of all.
for some in this world - it is a never-ending, daily obsession that takes over people lives.
people will do extraordinary things to feed their children…to stay alive
God used famine in Scripture to purify His people and punish those who would not repent of their wickedness
That was the reality of Naomi and Ruth that Mark unpacked.
The Moabites were a despised, hated, “unclean” people in the eyes of the Jews and even other nations.
This is Naomi’s and Ruth’s world.
They may think they will likely be professional beggars for the rest of their lives - just hoping to get enough food to survive.
They lost their husbands, homes, and their honor…
“your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.”
THEIR ARRIVAL
When Naomi returned to Bethlehem with Ruth, in great need, and not hopeful as widows.
Remember, though…we are in the time of the Judges - when no KING ruled over Israel and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. JUST BECAUSE THERE IS A LAW…DOESN’T MEAN IT WILL BE FOLLOWED!
But, by God’s kindness, they had come into an homestead where law and custom were shaped by the Law of Moses!
That meant that landowners were in the habit of providing for people JUST LIKE NAOMI & RUTH. Their situation is exactly the one the law allowed for especially at harvesttime.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
1. TRUSTING GOD’S PLAN (2:1-7)
1. TRUSTING GOD’S PLAN (2:1-7)
It was God’s plan that landowners would behave in certain ways.
It was God’s plan that Naomi & Ruth would find themselves here…
It was God’s plan that they should encounter BOAZ.
So we come to another person in this historical account. Boaz.
Notice the description of Boaz in the first few verses…
BOAZ (v1)
A relative of her Naomi’s husband
A worthy man (pr. “ghē-bore”) = mighty man of valor
RUTH TAKES INITIATIVE
(v2) Let me go and glean…after him in whose sight I will find favor
She knows some things about the culture / the laws
She told Naomi that she would follow Naomi’s God
She IS ABLE TO LABOR…BECAUSE GOD’S PLAN WORKS!
Boaz notices Ruth in verse 5.
Ruth is identified as a young Moabite woman (v6)
Remember the Moabites were not a loved people. Could the servant have said this with DERISION - there is nothing in the text to indicate that.
In fact, the way Boaz greeted them and they responded (The Lord be with you — The Lord bless you) indicates that these were likely men of honor.
A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS BEFORE WE MOVE ON…
THOUGHTS FOR APPLICATION
THOUGHTS FOR APPLICATION
Never discount the people that God puts you around - He is working his divine plan.
26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
Care for others (even when suffering/when down & out)
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Work Hard…someone will notice (“No matter what you say or do, someone is always watching you.”)
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
THOUGHTS ON GOD’S REDEEMING LOVE
THOUGHTS ON GOD’S REDEEMING LOVE
The thread of redemption begins to appear pretty strongly here…
This legal situation that protected the lives of needy people was a divinely inspired plan
What an incredible plan – that merciful God would’ve established a way for the poor to be rescued!
Let’s move on and notice how Ruth was protected…WHILE SHE WAS LABORING…
I KNOW IF I USE THE “SHADED” that meaning has been hijacked to mean something else.
But I need you to think back to the UNBEARABLE HEAT we had a couple of weeks ago…what you wouldn’t give for a cool breeze and the protection of some shade.
GOD’S PLAN WORKED! SHE CAN TRUST GOD’S PLAN…
WHILE RUTH WAS LABORING, SHE WAS CLEARLY
2. PROTECTED BY GOD’S KINDNESS
2. PROTECTED BY GOD’S KINDNESS
…through Boaz
God has a way of showing his kindness through people doesn’t he?
WHO HAS SHOWN UNUSUAL KINDNESS IN YOUR LIFE? WHO COMES TO MIND WHEN I ASK THAT QUESTION?
take a moment and just thank the LORD for that person in your life.
Think about the text we read earlier - vv 8-13
Boaz says, “I see you”
Ruth 2:8–9 “8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them…
“I’m looking out for you”
Ruth 2:9 “…Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.””
(10) Ruth says, “Why Me?” “What Have I Done?”
Ruth 2:10 “10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?””
there is great humility here:
she gets low (face down, on the ground)
Boaz Responds, “I know about your story. The LORD is rewarding you…”
Ruth 2:11–12 “11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!””
Notice her refuge is NOT under Boaz…but under the LORD
Ruth knows she is protected by the LORD”s kindness through Boaz
Ruth 2:13 “13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.””
Notice her humility lingers: “I am not even one of your servants”
COUPLE OBSERVATIONS HERE AS WE THINK ABOUT GOD’S KINDNESS PROTECTING US
God sees us…He knows us.
We know because…God has spoken to us by His Word
A right response would be to HUMBLE OURSELVES…to get LOW in the presence of this HOLY GOD who created the universe
11 “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
Song: We All Bow Down
And we all bow down
Kings will surrender their crowns
And worship Jesus
For he is the love, the unfailing love
He is the love of God
The New Testament speaks of Jesus’ kindness:
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
IN HIS KINDNESS, HE HAS SENT REDEMPTION…
9 He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!
21 But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
RUTH CAN TRUST GOD’S PLAN - WE CAN TRUST GOD’S PLAN
RUTH IS PROTECTED BY GOD’S KINDNESS - SO ARE WE
Now there is a shift from hunger, death, grieving, hoping to survive…to
3. REAPING GOD’S BOUNTIFUL GRACE (2:14-23)
3. REAPING GOD’S BOUNTIFUL GRACE (2:14-23)
Let’s notice what Boaz does here…it’s OVER THE TOP!
v14
Boaz invites her to dinner
Ruth ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over
(NOTE: JUST A PREP FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WILL BEGIN HOSTING OUR STUDENT GATHERINGS SOON…”UNTIL THEY ARE SATISFIED” can cause you to wonder at just how much that is!” :)
v15-16
Ruth gets up to glean
Boaz instructs the reapers/workers to go WAY BEYOND what is reasonable…necessary…kind
v17
After working hard all day Ruth … threshed the barley, beat out the grain from the stalks, and had an ephah. This was about half a bushel, an unusually generous amount for one day of gleaning. It weighed about 30 pounds and was enough food for many days.
vv18-19
Naomi, “Where did all this come from?”
Ruth, “Boaz”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
I need to pause here for a moment:
Naomi’s “night of sorrow” had endured. JOY was dawning right in front of her eyes.
Remember, God was the source of her sorrow (1:20–21),
NOW, He is the source of her joy.
God’s kindness is shown through the living…(ḥeseḏ)
Naomi’s mind immediately perceived the significance of the situation.
Though Boaz was not a brother to Mahlon, Ruth’s deceased husband (Ruth 4:10), he was a close relative to the family and could act as a redeemer if he so desired.
Naomi sensed the willingness of Boaz.
(NOTE: She doesn’t mention this yet to Ruth)
vv21-23
Naomi and Ruth recognize the Providence of God here, and Ruth continues to harvest from Boaz’s land.
WOW! WHAT A SAGA! WHAT A STORY!
There is so much kindness and Providence and grace in Ruth’s story from beginning to end. It is especially visible in this chapter.
By the time Ruth leaves the field of Boaz, she has received more than the law required or could have been reasonably hoped for.
It’s a great reminder that when God provides, it’s not measured out in symbols, it is overflowing!
Malachi 3:10 “10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
John 10:10 “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Lamentations 3:22–23 “22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Romans 5:5 “5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
FAVOR IS MENTIONED 3 TIMES IN THIS CHAPTER…
1 IN EACH SECTION (2, 13, 19)
THERE’S ANOTHER LESSON HERE ABOUT HARD WORK…
NOT THAT WE CAN WORK OUR WAY TO GOD!
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
BUT RUTH DID WORK…she labored under the SHADE OF THE LORD’S KINDNESS.
RUTH 2:12 is listed as the memory verse for our young children this week!
When we work…or do anything that’s worth doing…we should do it as A GIFT OF WORSHIP TO THE LORD
without grumbling
without complaining
with our BEST EFFORTS
BUT THE BEST PART OF RUTH 2:12 is where Boaz acknowledges that RUTH HAS TAKEN REFUGE UNDER GOD’S “WINGS”!
This picture was used in Psalms AND Jesus used it in the NT
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
37 “…How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
BELOVED,
LET’S LABOR - LET’S WORK HARD FOR THE KING OF GLORY!
Invite people to worship with you on Sundays.
Ask people if they’ve ever heard about the good news of Jesus.
Get to know your neighbors
BUT LET US NEVER FORGET THAT WE ARE UNDER THE SHADE OF GOD’S KINDNESS
He has given us a measure of life, health, and strength to live for HIM and honor HIM!
He protected you so that you could hear the Gospel…the good news…
He kept you in the midst of great turmoil.
