Ruth 2:8-16 - God's providence is shown through acts of grace, kindness, and generosity
Notes
Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Welcome to this live stream gathering of Redmond Christian Church
We gather on the Lord’s day to worship the triune God together for who he is and what he has done, especially in the person of Jesus Christ, his son who he sent into the world in order to reconcile all things to himself.
So we will worship God through song, through the preaching of the word of God, through the giving of our resources to support the gospel witness of our church, and through the taking of communion to remember what Jesus has done for us.
As we get started, we have a few things we want you to be aware of in the coming weeks and months.
We have added to our calendar a monthly outdoor public gathering that we hope you would consider attending
This livestream service is of course not the ideal for the people of God, and we want to begin moving in the direction of creatively figuring out how we can gather in person, and this is the plan so far
As always, it helps us greatly to know if you plan on coming, so please let us know if you are attending through our planning center app. We will put the link for the September gathering in the comments, and you can check it out from there.
Let’s pray as we get going this morning
Introduction
Introduction
A Christmas Carol
Scrooge - the transformation of a miserable and stingy man into a kind, compassionate, generous person
How does that happen?
In the story, it happens because Scrooge encounters three ghosts that show him visions of his past, present and future
That’s certainly not a normal method of transformation, but as we look into Ruth today we’ll see another avenue.
The story so far
The book of Ruth is the story of an Israelite family that flees Israel because of a severe famine
They go to Moab, where the father of this family, Elimelech, dies and leaves Naomi a widow
Naomi’s two sons marry Moabite women and then die, leaving Naomi with two daughters in law who are also widows
Upon hearing that God had once again given Israel bread, Naomi leaves Moab to return to Bethlehem, the town she came from
Naomi pleads with Ruth and Orpah, her daughters in law, to leave, but they are devoted to her
She eventually convinces Orpah to leave her, but Ruth’s fierce devotion cannot be overcome by Naomi’s attempts to push her away
Ruth and Naomi arrive in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest
We were introduced last week to the character of Boaz
Ruth sacrificially works to provide for Naomi
Ruth sacrificially works to provide for Naomi
At this point, Ruth and Naomi are in Bethlehem, but they do not have any means of supporting themselves
So Ruth sets out to glean in the fields of Bethlehem
Ruth 2:2-3
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech.
What is gleaning?
In the Torah, we find laws concerning the rights that landowners had to the crops their land produced
Deuteronomy 24:19-22
Leviticus 19:9-10
Leviticus 23:22
22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Two main facets of these laws
You may not harvest your field right up until the very edge
You may not return a second time to harvest what you missed the first time
These were intended to provide a means of the poor, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow to support themselves
So the poor would go along the edges of the field, and they would follow along behind the harvesters catching what they missed
This was actually viewed as the rights of the poor - the produce was not a “gift” from the landowner to the poor, but rather a recognition that the land and what it produced belonged to God, and God had given part of it to the poor
Gleaning could be dangerous, especially in the time of the judges when this story is set
Because harvesters were evaluated on how well they harvested the first time around - if too much was left for the poor, it meant the harvesters had been lazy in their duties
Further, it appears from many texts that gleaners were often women, and the male harvesters would give unwanted attention
This is why both Boaz and Naomi warn Ruth to stay in Boaz’s field, “lest in another field you be assaulted.”
Application: Ruth is a hard worker who doesn’t wait around for someone to serve her, but rather sacrificially works to serve others
Ruth loves Naomi, and is willing to work exceptionally hard to provide for Naomi’s well being
This once again flies in the face of our consumeristic culture that is primarily and most often asking, “what about me? what about what I want?”
Even in the church, it’s all too easy to believe that the church exists to serve me and provide for my spiritual needs
In reality, we are the church, and we exist for others, including the world around us that doesn’t know Jesus
It is possible to foster an unhealthy inward focus in the church so that all we seem to be concerned with is our experience, our well being, our desires, our wants
This breeds the mentality that I come to church to get something rather than us all being the church in order to contribute something
The church is not about you, and it’s not about me
It’s about God and what he wants to do - he wants to redeem his broken world, to reconcile all things to him in Christ, and he invites us to participate in what he is doing - he does not play for your team, but he invites you to play for his
Boaz takes note of Ruth’s hard work ethic, inquires as to who she is, and then displays an unreasonably radical generosity toward her.
Boaz's generosity goes beyond the requirements of the Torah
Boaz's generosity goes beyond the requirements of the Torah
Boaz takes notice of Ruth’s hard work ethic, and he hears about Ruth’s loving devotion to Naomi at great cost to herself
Ruth 2:5-7
So Boaz showers Ruth with gracious favor
Important point: Ruth has not earned this favor - she doesn’t work for Boaz, and she herself wonders why Boaz would see her with such favor
He responds that he knows how Ruth has been gracious to Naomi, but that doesn’t totally explain the radical, above and beyond generosity that Boaz has for Ruth.
This is similar to how Ruth displays חֶסֶד to Naomi, though Naomi has not earned such steadfast love and loyalty
Boaz’s favor for Ruth is shown in 5 ways
Ruth 2:8-16
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. 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 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?” 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!” 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.”
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
Ruth is welcome to remain in Boaz’s field
Ruth may drink water from the vessels that Boaz’s workers have filled
At the beginning of each day, workers would go to the town cistern or well and draw water for the day
This water was for Boaz’s workers, not for every random gleaner that showed up
Boaz has given specific instruction for his workers to not harass Ruth (this sounds a lot like a modern anti-sexual harassment policy!)
Boaz shares a lavish meal with her
Boaz gives instructions to his workers to give Ruth extra sheaves of grain
She can glean even among the areas that his workers have not yet harvested
They are to pull out some grain from what they have already harvested and drop it in front of her in order to supplement her efforts
There’s a couple of things I want to draw out for us here from Boaz, because Boaz is going above and beyond here
The fact that Boaz is obeying the Torah is itself astounding in the time of the Judges
The Torah only commands Boaz to a) leave the edges of his field open for gleaners, and b) not go back a second time to harvest more
It does NOT command him to allow gleaners to drink from his water vessels
It does not command him to drop extra grain for gleaners
It does not command him to feed gleaners during their work
It really doesn’t command him to DO anything other than simply allow gleaning to take place
Boaz is not the kind of man to simply seek to meet the minimum standard
Boaz is generous, gracious, and kind beyond even the technical requirements of the law
He is a demonstration of a person who is not just trying to live up to the legal code written on stone, but rather he has the law of God written on his heart
Boaz demonstrates the character of God himself, his kindness, compassion, and gracious favor
There are two ways in which we can dishonor God while still thinking we are toeing the line of acceptability
What is the minimum standard I can get by with?
What’s the minimum I can give and be acceptable?
How generous do I really have to be?
How humble and selfless do I need to be before I can demand what I want?
How much can I get away with?
How far can I pursue and demand my own desires before its idolatry?
How “me” focused can I be before it’s selfish and self centered?
This kind of posture of the heart demonstrates a serious spiritual immaturity that doesn’t actually want God or to grow in faith
Rather, it just wants to satisfy it’s own need for validation
It just wants to do the minimum required to feel like I have an ok faith and am going to heaven
Boaz is the means by which God is providentially at work to provide for Naomi and Ruth
The means by which God is providentially at work to bring about his good purposes is often the kindness and generosity of human beings, especially his people
Even the gospel message is mediated to people through other people
Your kindness, generosity, and grace on others is often the means by which God bestows his
God is providentially at work for Ruth and Naomi’s good through the radical generosity, kindness and grace of Boaz. Ultimately, it is not Boaz providing for Naomi and Ruth, but God, and Boaz himself even recognizes this.
God ultimately generous to us in Christ
God ultimately generous to us in Christ
Boaz’s blessing
Ruth 2:10-12
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?” 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!”
Ruth asks why she has found such favor in Boaz’s sight - she wonders why he would show her such favor
He responds that he has heard about her devotion to Naomi, and then pronounces a blessing upon Ruth
“May the Lord repay you for what you have done, and may a full reward be given to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
Boaz recognizes that Ruth, by her pledge to Naomi, to Naomi’s people, and to Naomi’s God, has taken refuge under the wings of Yahweh.
Boaz gives a beautiful picture that the scriptures often use as an image of God’s protective compassion and love - as a mother bird who offers her wings for the protection of her defenseless young.
And here Boaz is displaying an awareness that the kindness he is showing to Ruth is really just the providential blessing of God on Ruth because she has cast herself on the God of Israel.
But there’s more going on here - the imagery of God’s “wings” is woven throughout the old testament leading right into the new testament
Hebrew כָּנָף = kanaf - wings, tassels, fringe
God is often spoken of in the Old Testament as gathering up his people under his wings
Malachi 4:2
2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
A messianic hope arose that when Messiah came, he would have healing power in the wings, tassels, fringes of his cloak
And in Matthew 9:18-22, we see this come alive. Matthew 9:18-22
18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” 22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.
More than a thousand years after Ruth, another woman took refuge under the wings of God, except this time she saw even a much clearer picture of his grace and kindness because she was looking Jesus, God’s son, in the face.
Standing on the other side of the cross, we have a much better picture of God’s grace and kindness than even Boaz or Ruth did, or even the woman who touched the fringes of Jesus’ cloak to be healed.
Because we have seen the most radical, supreme display of God’s grace, kindness, and radical generosity in Jesus’ death on the cross for his enemies, for us.
Like Ruth, and like the woman who touched Jesus’ cloak, we who take refuge under the wings of God experience his kindness and grace
He provides for us and generously lavishes compassion on us, not because of anything we have done to merit it, but because he loves us
I often wonder with Jesus as Ruth did with Boaz, “what have I done to warrant such favor from you? What do I have to offer God? What have I done to earn his grace?” And the beautiful gospel answer is: nothing.
I have done nothing to warrant his favor, I can do nothing to warrant his favor, I will never do anything to warrant his favor.
We are then generous, kind, and full of grace because we are people who have experienced God’s generosity, kindness, and grace
Have you received the grace of God through faith in Jesus? Have you taken refuge under Jesus? If not, please cast yourself on him today. You can place your faith in Jesus today, be baptized as an act of obedience and faith, be reconciled to God, and be received into his family.
Do you respond to God’s grace with the same kind of kindness and compassion toward others? Does God’s unmerited favor and generosity to you affect how you treat others?
This is why I did a devotional this week on 1 John 4 - this is why you can’t receive God’s grace and then hate other people - it means that you don’t actually understand what God has done for you!
Are you generous? Are you kind? Are you full of grace and compassion and mercy? If you aren’t, then you need to return to the first question and turn in real faith to Jesus.
Transition to Communion
May we be a people always taking refuge in Jesus and standing in awe of his grace, compassion, generosity and kindness.
And may we reflect that same kindness into the world around us, that God may work out his providential purposes through our compassion, grace, and generosity.