Ruth 2 Redemption Recognized

Ruth Chapter Two

(Redemption Recognized¦

Last week we left Naomi & Ruth in need of Redemption. Naomi¦s choice to leave Bethlehem for the land of Moab had led her to point where she had lost family & home. She was hopeless, poor, & in need of help. This week we will she God¦s hand of grace reach down and enter the lives of both Ruth & Naomi.

1. The Redeemer found vs.1-7

1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

In this opening verse of chapter two we are introduced to Boaz a kinsman of Naomi's.

? We left Naomi & Ruth last week in need of help, in need of someone to redeem them & the family name.

? This would take two things. First of all someone from the Elimelech's family to take Ruth and marry her to have children in his name.

? Second someone with some wealth to provide for them & buy back the field they had lost when they went to live in Moab.

? Boaz is someone who met these criteria. He was both a kinsman & of great wealth. He could be the kinsman redeemer they needed & were looking for.

All along when Naomi thought they was no hope God had a plan. When Naomi thought things hopeless God was busy providing for her in His love & in His grace.

? What a lesson for us. When we are in those seemly hopeless times to look to God who is always caring for His children.

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Beyond this Boaz is a picture or type to us of are kinsman redeemer Jesus Christ.

? Jesus was both a kinsman, a man, & of great wealth, a sinless life.

? Therefore He could redeem us in your hour of need.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favour." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter."

Ruth who is an outsider to the people of God, the Maobitess, now says to Naomi hey let we go glean in the field.

This was her signing on for welfare. It was God's welfare system.
It shows us that she saw her need for help. It would have been a humbling thing to do.
But even beyond this she says she & Naomi were in need of favour, of grace. That they were beyond helping themselves out of the circumstances they were in, the need for redemption.
This is the attitude of her that we all need to have before we can experience God's redemption for us in Jesus Christ.
We must first confess are need of help & our inability to help ourselves.
It was Ruth also saying she does not deserve help but desires a favour or grace. We must also come to this point ourselves. We are sinners in need of God's favour/grace in Jesus Christ.

3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

So Ruth goes now to out to glean in the harvest fields. She is out to find that needed help & favor and where does she end up? In the field of Boaz a possible kinsman redeemer.

? We read she happened to come there. But did she happen to come there by chance or design?

? I believe it was by design. God led her right to the very one that could help her.

? When someone, anyone, comes to the point in their heart where Ruth did, knowing their need for help & grace. God will lead them to their kinsman redeemer Jesus Christ.

Boaz might be the one able to save & redeem Ruth but would he be willing to do so? She it took more than ability to redeem it also took the willingness to redeem.

4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you."

From this verse we start to get insight into Boaz & his character.

We see he is a man who God fearing. He believes in Yahweh the God of Israel. (day of Judges)
And secondly he seems a find & friendly man. Treating his own workers with kindness.
So far so good. This just the kind of man Ruth needs. Can redeem her & most likely would because he fears God (and God's Word), & his a kind man to others.

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

This is a great verse. In it we see that it is Boaz the kinsman redeemer that notice Ruth first.

At this point Ruth still has no idea who or what Boaz is. Ruth has no idea of what Boaz could do for her or Naomi.
It is Boaz that sees her & wants to know more about her. Before she ever has a chance to hear about Boaz he has taken a personal interest in her.
Keep in mind there would have been other women in the field gleaning.

This picture or type of Jesus Christ continues for us.

Jesus' interest in us came long before we even her about Jesus.
He has taken a personal interest in us & are welfare just as Boaz does here for Ruth.

6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.

7 "And she said, "Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while."

So Boaz is introduced to Ruth by "The servant in charge of the reapers".

? He tells Boaz all about her, who she is, where she from, & what she is doing.

? This too is a wonderful picture but not of Jesus Christ. It is a picture of the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation.

? Who is the one in charge of the reapers (Christians) & introduces us to Jesus Christ our kinsman redeemer.

2. The Redeemer¦s favor vs.8-13

8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.

9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw."

Boaz now gives Ruth an invitation of help & care. He tells her to stay in his field & not go to another & he will take care of her needs.

? He tells her to remain faithful to his field & not to go to another. This is a call to commitment.

? He tells her that he command his servants not to touch her. This is protection.

? He tells her she to drink of the water jars of his servants whenever she is thirsty. This is status.

? God was meeting all of Ruth's needs in His loving care for her.

Jesus our kinsman redeemer has offered all these things to us as well. He has come & given us an invitation of help in our hour of greatness need.

? He offered to meet our need of the forgiveness of our sins.

? All He ask is that we remain faithful to Him. That we commit ourselves to Him and go not to another field.

? He gives us the protection we need as He looks out for our welfare.

? Plus He changes our status from a Moabite to a servant or from a sinner to a son.

10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favour in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"

Ruth shows first of all a since of respect as she bows before Boaz.

Boaz was the lord of the harvest thus Ruth showed him respect that was due to him.

She also knows what Boaz has offer her is more than she could ask for. She even says "Why have I found favor in your sight"...?

She knew Boaz did not have to do this wonderful thing for her.
Why should he seeing she was even a foreigner and thus excluded from the congregation of Israel.

And is not the same true for us. Jesus has offer us more than we deserves. More than we could possibly ever ask for. All out of the goodness & love of His heart. He did not have to do anything for us.

remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. (Eph 2:12)

11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.

12 "May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."

Two things stand out to me about Boaz answer to Ruth.

? Boaz favor or grace to Ruth was because first of all she had taken care of mother-in-law by leaving her family & land for she did not know.

? Than secondly, she was seeking refuge from Yahweh the God of Israel.

? God does reward us according to our works. But salvation comes to us when we turn from our past live to seek refuge from the Lord. Salvation is always by God favor, by His grace to us.

13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."

As a result of Boaz's favor & grace Ruth was comforted & became one of his maidservants even though she did not start off like them.

The grace of Jesus will bring these two things;

1. Comfort to our hearts as we realize that our sins have been forgiven.

2. We will become Jesus' servants. Not out of compulsion but out of a heart of gratitude.

3. The Redeemer¦s fullness vs.14-23

14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar."

At mealtime Boaz invites Ruth over to sit and eat with him & his men. This was an important act. He was inviting her to come have fellowship with him.

? To eat with someone was to become one with them. So Boaz was calling Ruth into a deeper relationship with him not just lunch.

? This is true of us and our kinsman redeemer as well. Once we have experienced His grace we are called by Him to experience a deeper more full relationship with Him.

? It not just here the help you need now get lost.

? It is come here and draw close to Me in every way.

? It is also important to point out that Boaz was not ashamed to be identified with Ruth this Moabite.

Notice also the meal they took together here. It was bread & wine or sour wine (vinegar). What a picture this is!!!

So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left.

Here she goes over to join the men eating with Boaz and he serves her.

? He is very personal with Ruth and even serves her.

? Should she not have been the one serving him? He the one that has already given so very much to her. Yet He serves her & as she draws near to him fellowship he draws near to her.

? This once again shows us a picture of Jesus Christ. As we draw near to Him in fellowship He comes all the nearer to us.

Secondly here we see for the first time in the story Ruth is satisfied & full. She also has some food left over from what she has not eaten.

? What a change from when we first find in the field hungry looking for food.

? It is that way for us as well. We only find the satisfaction & fullness of life we are looking for once we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ our redeemer.

15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her.

16 "Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."

Boaz provided the best of the harvest for Ruth not just the leftovers.

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.

Ruth was now able to work in the harvest field of Boaz with peace in her heart

She knew she had food
She knew she had protection
She knew all her needs would be met by Boaz.
We too can have peace once we enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ

In one day she gleaned a week's worth of food for both herself & Naomi.

18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, ``Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.'' So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, ``The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.''

Now how would Naomi response to all Ruth would bring home with her?

Last time we saw Naomi she was bitter against God.
But now she blesses Boaz & the Lord.
The goodness of God is now changing her old bitter heart. (Remember it was God's goodness that brought her back to Bethlehem.)

20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ``May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.'' Again Naomi said to her, ``The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.'' 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, ``Furthermore, he said to me, `You should stay close to my servants until, they have finished all my harvest.' '' 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, ``It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that others do not fall upon you in another field.'' 23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Naomi now has hope where as last week she was hopeless. The introduction of a kinsman redeemer has changed everything for her as well. Now there is the hope of Redemption of both herself & Ruth. Plus the family name & land.

Because of who Boaz was - a kinsman (V. 20)
Because of what Boaz did - show kindness (V.20)
Because of what Boaz said - promised care & protection (V.21)

Naomi has new hope because of her kinsman redeemer & the providence of God.

God's goodness has moved Naomi from bitterness to hope & praise.