A Match Made in Heaven (2)

Introduction

Ruth 3:1–18 ESV

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.” 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. 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.” 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.”

If I were to take a poll of this room posing the question, “Have you ever tried to play matchmaker before?” I have no doubt that at least a few of you have thought, “You know, my friend such-and-such and my friend, so-and-so, I think they’d make a nice couple. Maybe I should make a little love connection here.” And I’m sure that some of y’all have tried to put that thought into an action plan. And I’m fairly confident that the success rate of those action plans is fairly low.

I have my own failure at match-making many years ago. Even though I failed, I don’t regret the attempt. I was in college and trying to play match-maker between two friends from high school. This is the late 80’s, so there’s no email communication. I’m writing letters to each friend, “you like her? You like him? We should connect when we’re back home for summer break.” When summer came around, I drove my friend and a few other guys over to the young lady’s neighborhood to hang out with she and her friends. This way the two of them could get some time to connect with less pressure.

Well, in spite of all my efforts, the two of them didn’t even make it as a couple through the summer. The reason I don’t regret my match-making attempt is because the young lady was Kim’s younger sister. That night I drove my friends over was also the first time I met Kim…We started dating that summer… And here we are, 39 years after that first meeting - married for 34, 4 children and two grandchildren.

Here’s the deal. This isn’t an encouragement or a discouragement for whatever match-making agenda you might have. The point is that we have reasons in our minds as to why we think two people would make a good couple - common interests, similar life plans and goals, or they just look cute together.

Last week I told you that one of the reasons I love the book of Ruth is because it’s an ordinary story. God is clearly at work even through the ordinary life circumstances of the people and place in the story. This chapter is a match-making chapter. We know what it’s like to play match-maker, have someone play match-maker on our behalf, or at least watch it on some reality tv show.

Naomi is playing match-maker in this chapter. This isn’t friend to friend match-making. It’s a mother finding a match for her daughter. And we hear Naomi’s heart and her motive in v. 1,

Ruth 3:1 ESV

“My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

Remember, they are in dire circumstances. They are poor widows, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. And all of a sudden, a ray of hope has broken through the darkness. Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelek, has provided food for them. Not just for a day, but for months. The last verse of ch. 2 says that Ruth kept close to Boaz’s young women, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. That’s about seven weeks of harvesting grain for she and Naomi.

Now Naomi says, “My daughter, I want you to be provided for permanently. I want your life to go well, and here is the opportunity.” Naomi is recalling her prayer from ch. 1:8-9 when they were still in Moab.

Ruth 1:8–9 ESV

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.

For Naomi, Boaz is a good match for her daughter not simply because he’s a relative of Elimelek and therefore a redeemer. But because he demonstrated the ability and the desire to provide. What we find out from Boaz down in v. 12 is that he’s not the only redeemer. There’s a closer relative than him. But he’s the one Naomi wants for Ruth because he’s demonstrated kindness.

But this message isn’t simply, A Match Made by Naomi. Our message this morning is A Match Made in Heaven. Here’s why they’re a match from the heavenly perspective. Look back, or listen to what we’re told in 2:1,

Ruth 2:1 ESV

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Now look at what Boaz says in v.11 of our passage,

Ruth 3:11 ESV

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.

They are described in the same way. Boaz is a worthy man, or as I like to translate it, “a man of valor, a virtuous man.” And Ruth is a woman of valor, a virtuous woman. This is a match made in heaven because of what God is doing in the hearts of these two people. You see, we might be surprised that Boaz is a virtuous man because it wasn’t common to find faithful Israelites during that time (Judges21.25)

Judges 21:25 ESV

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Even though it wasn’t common, the surprise to the audience isn’t that Boaz, an Israelite, is a virtuous man. The surprise to the audience is that Ruth the Moabite is a virtuous woman. The surprise is that the foreigner is the model of a true Israelite. And don’t miss the fact that this match made in heaven, therefore, is a cross-cultural one. Also don’t miss the fact this this match made in heaven points us forward to the ultimate match made in heaven, Jesus Christ and his cross-cultural, every-nation bride, the Church. This story points forward to the reality we are pursuing by faith right here in Ward 5, Brookland, DC at Grace Mosaic church.

Let’s follow this part of the story through three S’s, The Set-Up, The Surprise, and The Solution.

The Set-Up

Now that the gleam of hope has returned to Naomi’s eyes, she becomes the match-making mother-in-law at the beginning of our passage. In our society, a match-making mother would very readily be viewed as a meddling mother. We have one or two mothers in here. Let me ask you this. How many of y’all consider it your job to work out a plan to set-up your daughter or son with a potential spouse of your choosing? Listen, movies have been made and books have been written with meddling mother characters who can’t seem to let their grown children figure out their relationship challenges on their own.

However, Naomi isn’t being a meddling mother in initiating this set-up. When she says, “Should I not seek rest for you my daughter,” she’s saying, “I must do this. This is part of my responsibility. I have to look out for your well-being. And a part of my looking out for your well-being is to help you find a worthy husband.” This is even more significant given Ruth’s status as a foreigner. Whether or not the cultural customs were the same in Israel as they were in Moab, there wouldn’t have been the expectation that Ruth could’ve figured this thing out on her own.

Let me double down here on what we’ve been saying about grace. Naomi is launching into an action plan. We hear her laying out this plan. She is full of vigor and life. Gone is the bitter woman we’ve encountered. The constant through it all has been Ruth’s covenant faithfulness - her hesed. It’s been translated as kindness, and it has made all the difference. Ruth has not treated Naomi the way she deserved based on Naomi’s actions. Ruth treated Naomi with the dignity she deserved as image bearer of God in spite of how she was acting. And it’s that extension of grace that the Lord uses to bring about the change in Naomi’s heart.

Now with life and hope returned to her soul, Naomi’s focus turns from her own circumstances to serving Ruth’s needs. Do you see the fruits of grace here? It’s beautiful. I love the fact that Naomi’s faith is alive and now she is able to extend grace to Ruth. The apostle Paul says to the Galatians in Gal. 6.9-10

Galatians 6:9–10 ESV

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

Do not grow weary in extending grace. You do not know when the due season of reaping will come, but it will come. Persevere in extending grace, persevere in doing good by the power of God because that grace is never wasted.

Naomi’s set-up plan is bold. She tells Ruth that Boaz will be winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. The threshing floor is a place of joy and celebration at the end of the harvest because that’s where they’ll gather up mounds of grain and realize the abundance that the Lord has provided. Naomi knows that they’re going to be feasting.

She tells Ruth, “here’s what you do. Wash up. You’ve been working all day, and the workday’s dirt ain’t going to do for what I’ve got planned! Bathe yourself, put on some perfume, and get dressed.” She’s instructing Ruth to go down to the threshing floor dressed like a bride would be dressed.

She says, you’ve got to do this thing secretly. You’ve got to go down there at night. Observe where he’s laying down for sleep after he’s had his fill of food and wine. Go and uncover his feet. Lay down at his feet, and he’ll tell you what to do.

There’s tension in the story here because it’s risky. This ain’t the normal way that wedding proposals happen. Make no mistake about it, that’s what Naomi is instructing Ruth to do. You’re going down there to ask him to marry you. What if Ruth is seen? It’ll be scandalous. What if she’s rejected? The law frowned upon marrying a Moabite,

Deuteronomy 23:3 ESV

“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever,

There’s risk here, and the tension heightens, culminating in the surprise.

The Surprise

Ruth, the faithful daughter-in-law, tells Naomi, “I’ll do everything you say.” This is exactly what happens. The narrator says in vv.6-8.

Ruth 3:6–8 ESV

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!

Can I tell you something? This isn’t a scene that’s made for viewing by young eyes! She uncovers his feet. That’s not just rolling up the blanket to his ankles. He’s startled and turns over! Boaz isn’t concerned with covering up his feet! The narrator is giving us, as one writer puts it, strong hints of intimacy to come.

Teaching Ruth and Esther: From Text to Message Ruth with Naomi (vv. 1–5)

And the verb ‘to lie down’ is used eight times; there is a lot of lying down, which is precisely what a responsible parent tells their teenager not to do with a girlfriend or boyfriend (!).

Here’s how we’re being drawn into the story. Boaz, in his surprise is covering himself up. We know that Ruth is full of integrity and isn’t coming with any immoral intentions. Her intentions are pure, but she’s made herself extremely vulnerable. I love what Christopher Ash says in his commentary on this part of the story.

Teaching Ruth and Esther: From Text to Message Ruth and Boaz (vv. 6–15)

[We observe] that faith makes us very vulnerable. True faith abandons all other securities. What we are going to watch Ruth doing is a very risky thing. Ruth, an unaccompanied young woman, is going after dark to a harvest threshing-floor full of relaxed and off-duty men (and only men, see 3:14). In most places in the days of the Judges such action would be to lay oneself open to the possibility or most likely, the probability of drunken abuse. In doing what Naomi says, Ruth abandons all the vestiges of safety and security that she might have held on to. She is going to entrust herself to one redeemer, believes that he will protect her and treat her right; she has no other hope. It is important for us to feel the scariness of what Ruth now does.

“Who are you,” Boaz asks. Ruth3.9

Ruth 3:9 ESV

“I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

Ruth reminds Boaz of his prayer of blessing for her when she came to glean in his fields.

Ruth 2:12 ESV

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!”

She now says, “I want you to be the one the Lord uses to give me refuge under his wings. I want you to marry me, Boaz. You are my one redeemer.” Do you feel the intensity of this scene? You’re the one who’s going to protect me and treat me right in this corrupt world. You’re my hope in this world.

Ruth made a profession of faith in chapter 1 when she clung to Naomi. She said,

Ruth 1:16–17 ESV

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

Now we find her making, not a profession of faith, but a powerful expression of faith in calling Boaz to be faithful to the covenant promises that he is supposed to embody. There is no way for you and I to live out our faith in Jesus Christ without becoming vulnerable. She’s saying to Boaz, “You have a covenantal obligation, not just to give me food, but you are my kinsman-redeemer. You have an obligation to marry me and raise up children to carry on the name of my dead husband.” How devastating and painful it would be if he rejected her!

Can we take it up a little higher y’all? Can you see the straight line to the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ? Can you see how this points to the need every one of us has for the one Redeemer who came down from heaven to spread his wings over us that we might find hope, security, and safety in the midst of a corrupt world!

Paul says in Ephesians 2.12-13

Ephesians 2:12–13 ESV

remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Jesus is the one under whose wings we take refuge. In fact, the Bible says in Hebrews 6:18 that Christians are people who have fled for refuge in Jesus Christ. And that because we find refuge in him we have strong encouragement to hold tightly to the hope set before us.

What is the answer to the question of how we can persevere with hope in a corrupt world where everyone does what is right in their own eyes? It is to find our refuge in Jesus Christ. It is to know that our Redeemer will always be faithful to his promises. It is to move in this world as people of hope, unafraid of being bold with our love and grace, because we have a Redeemer who will never leave or forsake us.

The Solution

We find that kind of faithfulness modeled in our story by Boaz. He responds to Ruth’s surprise proposal by promising to provide the solution. He speaks tenderly to her again in v. 10

Ruth 3:10 ESV

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.

He’s old enough to be her father. Boaz is humbled by the fact that she didn’t go after the young men. In our culture we find that a little sus. But Ruth is no gold digger. She is faithful to her mother-in-law. She told Naomi, “I’m going to do everything you say.” This is Naomi’s plan, and Ruth submits to it as the best plan for her.

Boaz again speaks to Ruth’s heart with words of comfort just like he did in chapter 2. “Do not be afraid, my daughter,” he says in v. 11. “I will do for you everything that you ask.” He’s proving to be a virtuous man. He’s going to keep his covenantal obligation, and he’s going to do it in the right way.

Naomi had said in 2.20 that Boaz was one of their redeemers. Now, we find out in v.12 that there’s another one who is a closer relative. Boaz is characterized by hesed, by kindness. What about this other guy? The tension is still there. We won’t find the full resolution until next week!

But we know that Boaz will take the matter all the way to the end. He says in v. 13,

Ruth 3:13 ESV

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.”

He makes sure that her appearance at the threshing floor stays a secret. She sleeps at his feet until the morning and gets up before the sunrise. He commands his people to keep quiet about her coming to the threshing floor. Then he sends her back to Naomi with more grain. This helps Naomi know that Boaz is serious about his promise.

“How did it go, my daughter,” Naomi asks in v. 16. Ruth tells her everything, and Naomi says,

Ruth 3:18 ESV

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.”

The final solution doesn’t come until chapter 4. But there’s a solution for today at the end of this chapter. The solution is that they’re still waiting. The chapter begins with Naomi taking action to force a response from Boaz. And the chapter ends with both of them waiting. The chapter ends with both of them aware of the fact that they are not in control of the outcome. Here’s the conclusion of the matter for today. Faith waits! In fact, faith has to wait. Faith means waiting for outcomes that our outside of our control.

I said that this match made in heaven between Boaz and Ruth is a foreshadowing of the match made in heaven between Jesus Christ and his Bride, the Church. The ultimate match made in heaven is Christ and the Church. Boaz and Ruth were a good match because Ruth, who was once far off, has been brought near by faith and become a worthy bride. This is precisely what God does in redemption. We receive Christ’s righteousness and become a worthy bride. But, listen, we’re still waiting for the wedding day! We live life in this world as a waiting people. We’re still waiting for the fulfillment of Rev.19.7-9

Revelation 19:7–9 ESV

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

We’re still waiting for the wedding day of Rev.21.2

Revelation 21:2 ESV

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And what this means practically for you and I beloved, is that in our waiting we will always be living with a longing for things to be better than they are. The life of faith involves living with a longing for our relationships to be better than they are. The life of faith involves living with a longing for our jobs to be better than they are. The life of faith involves living with a longing for our bodies to be better than they are. The life of faith involves living with a longing for our politicians and our government to be better than they are. The life of faith involves living with a longing for our world to better than it is. But it most significantly involves living with a patient confidence to wait on the Lord for him to make things better than they are.

We declare the words of Ps27.13-14

Psalm 27:13–14 ESV

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting…

I don’t feel no ways tired. I’ve come too far from where I’ve started from…

And here’s the beauty of waiting for the Lord. Our waiting is waiting with trust and dependence that he’s going to work it out. It’s not waiting in passivity. No, we act with boldness, courage, humility, faith, hope and love in all of our longings. Ruth and Naomi are waiting because they took action. They took steps in faith, leaving the outcome to the Lord. That’s what waiting looks like.

May God grant us the courage to wait in all of our longings. The match in heaven has already been made. Our one Redeemer will keep us sheltered under his wings…