El Shaddai

Ruth 1:22–2:23 NKJV

22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. 1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!” 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10 So she fell on her face, bowed down 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?” 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” 13 Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.” 14 Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back. 15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.” 17 So she gleaned in the field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 Then she took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.” 21 Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ” 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.” 23 So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

Slide

Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem

Last Sabbath we left Naomi, returning home to Bethlehem, as a widow and a bereaved mother from her time in Moab.

What a brave decision that was to leave the graves of her dead husband and sons!

We left her accompanied by Ruth, the Moabite, her daughter in law, also now a widow and childless.

Another huge decision to leave all she knew and follow Naomi.

With those words,

Emphasis

The New King James Version Chapter 1

Your people shall be my people,

And your God, my God.

That will echo down the years all way to the very lineage of Christ our Saviour.

The Famine is Over

The famine is now over in the promised land.

Naomi and Ruth arrive in Bethlehem at harvest time.

Bethlehem, meaning the house of bread, has grain again for bread!

Can this be Naomi?

All the city was excited because of them.

Slide

Ruth 1:19 NKJV

19 Now the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened, when they had come to Bethlehem, that all the city was excited because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”

Bethlehem would have been a small city.

Headline news would have spread like wildfire.

The woman of the city are saying, “Is this Naomi?”

The literal is “This Naomi?”

How would you say the inflection of the voice with such a question?

Surprise and happy

Is this Namoi?

Incredulous

Is this Naomi?

Mocking

Is this Naomi

The Net Bible and the NIV translates this, “Can this be Naomi”.

I think that captures the sense of it.

An incredulous gasp!

Bitter and Empty

Naomi response is simple, direct and disarming in its brutal honesty.

Slide

Ruth 1:20–21 NKJV

20 But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went out full, and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”

Emphasis

Do not call me Naomi, meaning kindness, don’t you dare call me that anymore!

Call me Mara, for I am bitter.

I left full, but the Almighty brought me back empty.

Emphasis * 2

I was full, but the Almighty, El Shaddia, made me empty.

El-Shaddai (the Almighty) has made me bitter and empty.

El-Shaddai has used His Almightiness against me

Life has dealt very hard with me.

It has left me bitter and empty.

Pause

Can this be us?

Can such a question be asked of us?

“Is this ?”

Are there areas of our life where we are basically bitter and empty?

We might hid it.

But it is always there.

We are ok in the most, but there is that one area.

Pause

Emphasis

Naomi misunderstands the character of God.

Her words reflect that.

But they are honest words!

The Lord will show her who is really El Shaddai! God Almighty.

Ruth 2 will start soon.

Our misunderstanding of God does not limit His working out His good purposes!

Meet Boaz

Ruth 2:1 introduces us to the next person to enter centre stage in this unfolding drama .

His name is Boaz.

A relative of Naomi’s dead husband.

Slide

Ruth 2:1 NKJV

1 There was a relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz.

The Rich Relative

The rich relative!

And so much more.

Boaz was a man of great wealth.

He was not just wealthy, but he had great wealth.

The Hebrew means more.

It has the sense of great standing in the Community

And of good character.

Boaz literally means pillar!

The Generous Boss

Boaz has his own agricultural business.

He is industrious, hard working, organised and successful.

He has land, fields and workers

Slide

Ruth 2:4 NKJV

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered him, “The Lord bless you!”

What a way to greet your workers!

Imagine a boss like that.

Emphasis

Maybe it was the custom of the day, but this Boaz meant it.

If you are a Boss of others, be a boss like that!

His workers greet him, “The Lord bless you”

If you are a worker, be a worker like that, and mean it.

Even if you do not have a boss like Boaz!

You cannot help but like this guy.

The initiative of Ruth

He immediately recognises that there is someone new in his field.

Slide

Ruth 2:5 NKJV

5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”

We are told earlier that Ruth had gone out to the fields to glean heads of grain for food.

Something allowed within the Levitical law. We will come to that.

Ruth did not just sit back and expect help.

This is an industrious young woman.

She takes the initiative.

That is the pattern in her life.

She “happened” to come to a field belonging to Boaz.

We all know about those “happened” in our life.

We see the mysterious, providential will of God working out in everyday life.

The foreman tells Boaz about Ruth.

He even points our her hard work (Ruth 2:7).

Good workers recognise good workers.

Be the Sermon

Youth theme last year - “Be the Sermon”

Be a good worker, wherever you find yourself.

It is such a great testimony for the Lord.

Be a good student.

People notice these things, I assure you of that!

Be the sermon!

Boaz speaks to Ruth

Norma and I just celebrated 30 years of Marriage on the 5th of August.

It was a low key event given Covid but we had a nice day in Norwich.

It even occurred on one of those eat out to help out days. Those are good deals.

We were meant to be on a cruise in a couple of months, returning to where we went for our honeymoon, but that has been postponed to next year.

I still remember the day and the events of meeting Norma for the first time, some 35 years ago.

I am sure those of you married or in a relationship can relate.

One can imagine Boaz re-telling the account of his first meeting with Ruth over and over again.

Their first day together.

It will lead to a life together.

Call be a bit of a romantic.

As I said last week the book of Ruth has it all, including Romance.

Val and I were talking yesterday how we love these type of smaller OT books and the lessons for life within them.

The First Conversation

Boaz and Ruth first conversation is recorded for us in Ruth 2:8-13.

We read it earlier.

After the report from His foreman, Boaz breaks the ice so to speak.

He makes the first move.

Slide

Ruth 2:8 NKJV

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.

The use of the term “my daughter” gets Ruth’s attention.

It should get our attention ad well

It conveys a genuine sense of protection, of inclusion and even responsibility

It reflects an older Man addressing a younger woman.

But this is a Moabite woman, a foreigner, an alien, even an enemy of Israel

Boaz cuts through all that!

The Foreign Woman

I am reminded of a certain other man addressing a certain other woman, at that well, at high noon.

She was also a foreigner, an alien, in the land

An enemy of all true pure Jews.

And Her response to Jesus reminds me of Ruth’s response to Boaz

Slide

John 4:9 NKJV

9 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

And Jews certainly have no dealings with Moabites.

But Jesus does!

He breaks down human barriers and injustices.

And Boaz does.

Slide

Ruth 2:10 NKJV

10 So she fell on her face, bowed down 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?”

That Samaritan woman had no real husband!

Ruth is a young widow.

But they both found their Redeemer that day!

In the most unexpected place!

It is suffice to say that Shaddai is showing himself as El Shaddai in the most ordinary places of life.

That is how the Lord most often works, in our everyday circumstances!

Under His Wings

Boaz continues after recounting her loyalty to Naomi,

Slide

Ruth 2:12 NKJV

12 The Lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”

Boaz lifts Ruth eyes to El-Shaddai, with one of the most beautiful pictures of divine care in all of Scripture.

He imagines El-Shaddai as a mother bird who offers her wings (kānāp) for the protection of her defenseless young.

El-Shaddai protection of the alien, the widow, the fatherless, the foreigner, the oppresxed and the poor.

Let her glean even among the Sheaves

Boaz and Ruth have lunch together.

It says Ruth was satisfied and kept some back.

Slide

Ruth 2:15–16 NKJV

15 And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”

Boaz kept the levitical law of harvesting and it allowed for,

Slide

Leviticus 19:9–10 NKJV

9 ‘When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God.

The corners of the field and what fell from the harvest was left for the poor and the stranger.

But Boaz went much further for Ruth.

Boaz went to the heart of the law, not the letter of the law.

He made sure she gleaned in the harvest, not at the corners or the left overs.

Christ is the Harvest

There are so many object lessons we can draw here.

But today I would like to focus on just one,

In the context given for Ruth 2, of return, bitterness and emptiness.

Slide

Emphasis

There are too many of us gleaning at the corners of the field when Christ is bidding us to come freely and fully into the Harvest of His Righteousness!

Imputed righteousness by faith alone

Imparted righteousness as we yield to the Holy Spirit

But we stay at the corners of the field!

Why?

We even seem content to stay at the corners of the field.

We miss the bigger blessing, the bigger filling, the deeper friendship with Christ.

How can this be?

Is this really Naomi echoes the question?

There can be bitterness and emptiness that remains in parts of our lives that should have been filled long ago with the harvest of Christ’s righteousness.

Time and time again Christ has invited us to come more fully and dine at His bounteous table, but we are so often content with mere crumbs.

Come fully to the Lord of the Harvest

I end with this.

I wonder if you’ve ever pondered the fact that, on average, your life will last about 36,792,000 minutes.

That is based on 70 years of life.

Unless Jesus comes again.

Some of you are past that age already.

So some of you are on borrowed time.

You will sleep for approximately 12,300,000 minutes. Some more, some less.

You will eat for another 3,000,000 minutes—again some more, some less.

You will work for approximately 13,000,000 minutes.

That leaves us about 8,000,000.

Once you deduct time for taking showers, baths, grooming, etc—which is something the ladies tend to do more than the men, especially now with Tropic skincare, you’re down to about 6,500,000 minutes.

At eighteen years old, you’ve already used a quarter of your allocation.

So get this: at 18 you got 5,000,000 minutes left unaccounted for.

At 50, ok lets stop this crazy maths, , having turned 55 this year.

Here is the point, what are you going to do with those remaining minutes?

That’s another minute gone.

Because the only thing that will count eternally is what we do for Jesus!

Are we going to stay at the corners of the field?

We have been invited fully into the harvest!

Are we going to come fully into the harvest of Christ’s righteousness

It will mean some hard work for Christ!

But my friends, It is time for all of us to come in from the corners of the harvest !

It is time to let El Shaddai fill any emptiness in your life.

It is time to let El Shaddai take away any bitterness in your life

That is my message today

It is time to let El Shaddai be all He wants to be for us.

Slide

El-Shaddai

El shaddai, el shaddai, “God Almighty” El-elyon na adonia, “God most hight, please my Lord” Age to age you're still the same, By the power of the name. El shaddai, el shaddai, Erkamka na adonai, “I love you my Lord” from Ps 18:1 We will praise and lift you high, El shaddai.

After Ruth reports the events of the day,

Ruth 2:20 NKJV

20 Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”

Emptiness, Bitterness is going away.

El Shaddai is filling that space.

Truly the Lord also brought Naomi to the harvest that day.

In my mind’s eye I can imagine Naomi now talking and singing about Shaddai a changed person compared to how we found her at the end of Cahpter 1

Is this Naomi? Yes this is Naomi, and Ruth

Is this us?

Slide

Sing now as a prayer of commitment.