The Missionary God at work, Ruth the unlikely missionary

The Missionary God at work, Ruth the unlikely missionary

Introduction

Good afternoon class. After Genesis, Now time for drama!

Not Korean drama, or THAI soap opera.

my presentation today mainly came from this two books.

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The power of love, written by Rev Dr Gordon Wong.

A highly recommended, read the book of Ruth

from pastoral perspectives.

And The mission of God by Christopher Wright

The Book of Ruth, its narrative is about love, a romantic love.

I never thought about the book of Ruth in term of mission before,

until Canon Yee Ching Wah, dean of Thailand

Who represented Diocese of Singapore

presented Ruth chapter 1 at the New Wineskins for global mission conference in the States, a few years ago.

He said, “Ruth is actually a missionary book”.

So it is my inspiration to read through the book of Ruth again but from the missional lenses.

The Book of Ruth is a short narrative.

It is rather short, only four chapters.

we can read through the whole book in one sitting.

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It tells us about the family of Elimelech, driven from their home

in Bethlehem by famine to make their lives in the land of Moab.

Moab is located on the other side of the Jordan river.

Who are moabites?

Moabites are the descendants from Lot’s son who born from the incest with his own daughters.

Chemosh is the national god.

Worship of Chemosh requires child sacrifice.

The sons of Elimelech and Naomi, Mahlon and

Chilion, take Moabite wives, Ruth and Orpah.

In due course all the men die,

leaving Naomi and her Moabite daughters-in-law

facing the question of how to survive.[1]

The four chapters of Ruth give a simple structure to the book.

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Chapter 1 tells how Elimelech’s family moves to Moab and

later returns to Israel.

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Chapter 2 relates events in the Boaz’s fields, where

Ruth gleans with the servants of Boaz.

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Chapter 3 a Romantic scene concerns Ruth’s

meeting with Boaz at the threshing-floor

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And the final Chapter, the action takes place in the city-gate of Bethlehem,

where the legal issues about

Ruth’s future, are settled.[2]

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Missional themes that we can learn from the Book of Ruth:

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The book of Ruth tells us about “The Missionary God at work” in our daily life.

God still is in His business, Mission.

“Mission is about God ongoing involvements in this world

to bring about the fulfillment of the covenant He has initiated with mankind.

And in fulfilling his mission, He involves many chosen

ones

and ultimately His own begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

And in the process, He reveals his characters of holiness, faithfulness and love to all of us.”

It reveals His characters while the drama of redemptive

plan of God to be unfolded.

Here are two missional themes from the book of Ruth:

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Our missionary God cares for those marginalized and neglected in society.

God’s mission involves ordinary people with extraordinary Cares.

God actively involves in the ordinary people.

God’s Mission is about caring for those weak, voiceless,

marginalized, and neglected in our society.

God gives ordinary people like you and me,

who do simple, ordinary things a privilege

to participate in His redemptive plan.

The Book of Ruth is simple and direct.

It was placed in the time of the judges,

but it forms a contrast between two books.

The book of Judges tells of war and strife,

hero characters - warriors and prophets.

BUT the book of Ruth is a story of Ordinary people

going quietly in their lives.

“Ordinary People and Earthly Problem”[3] is highlighted

in Gordon Wong’s book - the power of Love.

It is about two widows,

The bitterness of Naomi.

The struggles of an ordinary woman confronted by personal tragedy,

Bereavement and loneliness.

And The determination and loyalty of Ruth to her mother-in-law.

Perhaps we might wonder:

What does the story of an ordinary woman have to do with mission -

winning the world for Christ ?

and the evangelization of the world?

Why is such an ordinary story found in the Bible?

It teaches us the important lesson about Missionary God.

God of the Bible cares about ordinary people

with personal problems and pain.

God cares and He indeed cares!

I often heard sermons say something negative about Naomi when comparing with Ruth.

People are response differently in their sufferings.

Naomi indeed needs pastoral cares,

not the judgmental sermon.

It is easy for us to judge rather than to act, isn’t it?

The act of compassion and mercy

To takes part in the healing of the disastrous persons

or perhaps even to pray for them.

This God who is active in the affairs of men.

is gracious to both ladies;

He works his purpose out

and blesses those who trust him.[4]

Naomi, underwent much hardship,

but at the end received peace and security.

Ruth attached herself firmly to her mother-in-law

and to her mother-in-law’s God

with determination and loyalty.

She also received the blessings from God

and become the channel of blessings

to her mother-in-law.

In the power of love, Gordon Wong refers

these two widows to the ordinary people

but I have slightly different view,

these two ladies are not ordinary people.

They are marginalized and neglected in society.

In the patriarchal society,

which women considered as men’s possession.

These two women are not only widows.

They are childless widows.

They don’t have any hope in their family.

They came back with brokenness

from the foreign land, Moab

and one of them is not even Israelite,

she is Moabite!!!.

[The same as you and me,

once we didn’t have any hope like them.

We are foreigner, gentiles, an aliens,

alienate to God.

Missionary God at work

through ordinary people like you and me

to give hope to those in needs.]

Their situation and status socially are worsening than only ordinary people

when Naomi left Bethlehem ten years ago.

The widows in Israel are in a weak position socially.

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In Deuteronomy 14, 24,

widows are grouped or classified with orphans and resident aliens (Deut 14:28-29; 24:19)

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,

29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless

and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,

and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. [5]

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19 When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it.

Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow,

so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.[6]

God indeed cares for the bitter-woman as Naomi

and her gentile, Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth.

And He commands the community of Israel,

the ordinary people help one another in the community

especially the foreigner, orphans and widows in our simple daily, ordinary life.

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Mother Teresa said “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

Mission works could be as simple as cares for the orphans.

Filed Education class last two week.

When Clara shared her internship experiences

about the cross-cultural mission in Thailand,

where she served for a month

in the orphanage house – “Bethlehem house”.

Her responsibilities are ordinary and simple tasks

as the caregiver for those children.

Elena flew over the weekend

with mission team to Manila,

helping distribute foods to slum communities

in Manila, the poorest of the poor.

It reminds us that

God’s mission is about care for those who in needs.

A story of a pregnant nursing student,

She lost everything, her future, her career,

Her reputation, shame of her guilt

and has to pay back the scholarship,

as she had to drop out from her study at nursing college.

She walked into our Church in Bangkok,

crying and did not know what to do

with her life and her son.

Moved with compassion, the church gave her work.

Today she is one of our certified social worker,

recognized by Thai government.

For your information, the government generally recognizes

only the social workers who are government officers.

It is hardly to get the license of social worker

for the private sector.

She is one of the exceptions.

She helps hundreds of people through

our Anglican social works

by networking with government social workers.

She, the only woman,

helps managing our outreach ministries

throughout the whole Country.

Through her actively involvements

in the social works supported by Anglican,

one day, the Queen mother visit and noticed the good

works that she does.

And there is the new initiative royal project,

Queen mother specifically hand pick her

to be part of the pioneer team

For the hospice project.

She now is going to work for the hospice project

under the royal patronage of the Queen Mother.

God choose the unlikely, unexpected, once vulnerable,

weak people in his redemptive plan,

the same as God chose Naomi and Ruth.

Indeed ladies have a significant role in mission works.

I remembered when we started our new church in Lat Krabang.

She graciously prepared lunch for us.

Out of her busy schedule,

she woke up early in the morning

to prepare lunch for us.

I come to her place to pick up the foods

while on the way to Lat Krabang church.

She told me that she always praying

over the foods while she was cooking

that these foods would be the blessing for us.

It is simply things that make a different

when we do it with great love.

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“Our missionary God cares for those marginalized and neglected in society.

God’s mission involves with ordinary people with extraordinary Cares.”

Our God is missionary God

and Ruth, the unlikely missionary.

Ruth is the unlikely missionary.

She was a foreign woman, poor and statusless.

How can she be the instrument of God’s mission

to perpetuate the covenant to the nations?

And you know the story,

Ruth was grafted into Israel history,

to the line of Judah.

She became the great great grand-mother of King david.

In her was the seed that Jesus Christ would be born.

In her was the seed that bring forth the salvation

for you and me

In her was the reason that you and I are here today.

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Are we willing to embrace those

who are different from us into our community?

Are we willing to do the simple, ordinary things

for God’s mission with great love?

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(2) Our missionary God cares for the whole person,

not only with our soul.

God’s Mission redeems persons in the holistic approach

across all barriers.

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David Bosch in his book transforming mission.

“motive of conversion” narrow the reign of God

spiritualistically and individualistically

to the sum total of saved souls.”

In the book “The Mission of God” by Christopher Wright.

God’s Model of Redemption

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go’ el – in Hebrews, a redeemer,

found 8 times in Ruth chapter 3 and 4

Ruth 3:9, 12; 4:1, 3,6, 8, 14

go’ el is any member within the wider family group,

who has the duty of acting to protect

the interests of the family

or another member in it who was in particular need.

The term might be translated as “kinsman protector”

or “family champion”.[7]

Go’ el represents the act on behalf of God.

Go’el means the protector, the defender.

There are three situations illustrates the scope of the role

(1) Avenger of blood.

If someone was murdered,

a member of the victim’s family

took on the responsibility of pursuing the guilty one

and bringing him or her to justice.

This can be found in Numbers 35:12, 19,

the NIV translation go’ el as

the Avenger or avenger of blood.

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12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger,

so that anyone accused of murder may not die before

they stand trial before the assembly. [8]

19 The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death;

when the avenger comes upon the murderer,

the avenger shall put the murderer to death.[9]

(2) Redeeming land and slaves.

If a kinsman fell into debt

and was forced to sell some land

in the hope of better economically

any better-off kinsman had the responsibility

of redeeming the land

in order to keep it in the wider family.

If the kinsman fell into such economic destitution

that he had no choice but to offer himself

or his family into bonded labor for his debts,

it was again the duty of a wealthier kinsman

as go’ el to rescue them from slave.

(Leviticus 25)

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25 “ ‘If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor

and sells some of their property,

their nearest relative is to come and redeem

what they have sold.

26 If, however, there is no one to redeem it for them

but later on they prosper and acquire sufficient means

to redeem it themselves,[10]

(3) Providing an heir.

If a man died without a son

to inherit his name and property,

a kinsman was under moral duty

to take the dead man’s widow

and seeks to raise an heir for the decreased.

The law on this practice in Deuteronomy 25:5-10

does not use the ga’ al root,

but find in the illustration of this practice

in the story of Ruth and Boaz repeatedly in Ruth 4

In the Book of Ruth,

the author does two striking roles in this connection.

(1) He connects the above right of a go’ el

to redeem a relative’s property

with that law of Levirate marriage

which can be found in Ruth 1:11,

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11 But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters.

Why would you come with me?

Am I going to have any more sons,

who could become your husbands? [11]

In Ruth 2:12 Boaz says to Ruth

“May the Lord repay you for what you have done.

May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel,

under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Ruth 3:9 Ruth says to Boaz

“I am your servant Ruth,”

she said “Spread the corner of your garment (literally = wing) over me,

since you are a kinsman-redeemer.”

Ruth response to Boaz,

“You prayed that I might find blessing

under the protective wings of God.

Please now spread your protective wings over me”.

The law which is concerned with

the redeeming of a person.

In fact, he reagrds the two laws as one.

What is “Law of the Levirate marriage”,

“Levir is from Latin means “brother-in-law”,

the brother who marries his dead brother’s widow

is not known as a go’ el.

author of Ruth is the first to assume that

he is go’ el of the woman as well as of her property.

(2) By regarding the two aspects of the one duty of the go’ el,

our author is suggesting that

Ruth the person cannot be redeemed

unless her property is redeemed along with her.

This is a situaltiom in full accord with

the general biblical understanding of the relationship

pertaining between matter and spirit.

The Bible writers accept the principle that

a man’s soul cannot be separated from his body.

A man’s nature is conditioned by his health,

and working conditons

just as much as by purely “spiritual” factors.

The bible has not just say to us about “saving souls”.

Here in the book of Ruth,

it insists that the fields are to be redeemed

along with Ruth herself.

Ruth’s redemption implies the redemption

on all that she has.

The connection of this biblical concept of soul being

interlocked in its physical environment.

The devil pervades not just human souls

but the whole of the physical world,

then the redemption in Christ is

the redemption of “field” as well as of person.

We should not dichotomize between the two,

indeed our mission theology should consider

as holistic mission,

the wholeness of mankind.

Christopher Wright in his book, the mission of God

in “God’s Model of Restoration”

He expanded it in the wider context

by consider bewteen the two:

“Evangelism and Social action”.

The saving souls vs the pursuing for justice, intergrity,

compassion, care for creation..

and the list goes on.

Both should go together, hand in hand.

There is Another big question

for the ancient Jewish readers

on this redemption,

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which Gordon Wong called it “The scandalous Love”

in his Book,

Moabites were Israel’s religious enemies.

There was a law in Deuteronomy 23:3 which said:

“No Moabite or any of his descendants

may enter the assembly of the Lord.”

No Moabite can come into the sanctuary

to worship God.

Deuteronomy 23:6 says

“Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them

as long as you live.”

But in this story,

Boaz shows great kindness towards Ruth,

who is a Moabitess.

Is he accoused of disobeying the law in Deuteronomy 23?

Is he too liberal in theology and practice?

In addition, In the post-exilic,

Nehemiah cites the Deuteronomy 23

passage (in Nehemiah 13).

He appears to be upset at Israelite men

who had married Moabite women.

Ezra 9, also records the dismay felt by the Jewish leaders

when they realised that

many had married foreign women,

with Mobite women explicitly included in the list.

This scandalous Love - to reach out beyond ethicity,

gender, or even the enemies.

Boaz’s scandalous kindness

is exactly the same as love which Jesus

showed towards prostitutes, tax collectors,

samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4

the Syrophoenician Woman in Mark chapter 7.

Jesus’s outstanding kindness towards them

regarded by the religious leaders of his day

as scandalous compromise with evil,

so Boaz’s kindness towards Ruth the Moabitess

would have raised many questions also

For the ancient Jewish readers.

The Centrifugal mission of the New Testament church

in Jesus ‘ disciples and his great commission,

and its centripetal theology in OT.

This challeges the religious prejudices against certain people.

And perhap it challeges our prejudices as well.

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Are there any people whom we would refuse

to show kindness and love?