Ruth 2:17-23

Ruth 2:17–23 ESV

17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied. 19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man 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 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.” 21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep 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, lest in another field you be assaulted.” 23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Introduction

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Textual notes

Ephah = 9 gallons

Ruth returns to the city and shows Naomi what she had gleaned

Ruth also gives to Naomi the leftovers from her lavish lunch with Boaz

I. Naomi sees God’s hand in what appears to be random luck

Naomi’s question “where did you glean?”

Naomi notices something is off

Naomi sees that this is actually God’s kindness and providence

“God’s kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead”

This is very different from the last time Naomi was talking about God

II. That random luck was simply Boaz’s obedience to the Law

What Naomi thinks is extraordinary fortune is really just Boaz obeying the scriptures

Deuteronomy 24:19

Deuteronomy 24:19 ESV

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.

Boaz obeyed God in a time of Israel’s history when many people didn’t

What is the purpose of the law?

Deuteronomy 4:6-7

To give God’s people the wisdom to live in obedience to him

To reflect to the rest of the world the character of God

God’s Law is God’s Character

Boaz is reflecting God’s character to Naomi through his simple obedience to the Law

III. What is the Christian relationship to the Law?

The Law is God’s self revelation and the basis of all understanding

Academic term - epistemology - the question of what we can know

On what basis can we know what can be known, what is true, what is right and wrong

God’s Law reveals to us what he is like

OT law reveals what God is like (see Deuteronomy 4:6-7)

Deuteronomy 4:6–7 ESV

6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

Case law - law reveals principles that are close to the heart of God

Gleaning - God’s concern that there be a safety net for the poor

God’s Law reveals what he expects from humans

Moral judgments

Discernment of right and wrong

Objective source of truth

The OT has not been abolished

Jesus elevated the Law Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17–20 ESV

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

God reveals his character through his people’s obedience to the Law

Matthew 5:13-14

Matthew 5:13–14 ESV

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Example: Hearing that God is generous on the pages of scripture vs. seeing the character of God displayed in a person being generous in submission to the Scripture

Illustration: Coworker

God desires that the world hear what he is like from the teachings of scripture and then see what he is like in the obedience of his people

God’s Law reveals our need for deliverance

Galatians 3:24

Galatians 3:24 ESV

24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

The Law reveals to us that we can’t keep it

The Law points us to the gospel

Conclusion

Let us respond to the gospel with faith because don’t keep the law

Let us obey God and keep the law