Kindness Matters

Good morning church.

You would just go ahead if you have your Bible, turn to Ruth chapter two.

And if you're here last week, I mentioned that I was trying to work in a little bit of the youth, slang.

And so if you didn't catch any of it last week, you missed out. But just so y'all know today's service is going to be dope.

If you interpret that differently, you need to look that up. Because

just

just trying to speak to the young people.

All right, if you weren't with us last week, we we saw her Naomi and Ruth, they leave Moab from Bethlehem, after this tragic death of Naomi's husband elimelech. Then the death of both of her sons, her other daughter in law heads back to her family and Moab.

So all this happens really quickly. And then they arrived back in Bethlehem to this great fanfare.

Alright, but because of all the events that led them back, Naomi, has allowed bitterness to dictate her life.

And Ruth, on the other hand, pledged her loyalty to Naomi, and the God of Israel leading us towards and pointing us towards our Savior in Jesus. All right, so let's look at this week real quick. So this week in chapter two, we're going to continue this redemptive story of the Lord using Ruth, to restore Naomi, while also saying how it paints this picture for us, of how God use Jesus, to restore us to him.

So as we enter the text, we're gonna see how chapter two can kind of be broken down into three sections. first section is we see Ruth, step out of her comfort zone, as she continues to nurture Naomi.

Second thing we're gonna see is we see Ruth's humility fully on display here. And third thing, we see Ruth's care, and her devotion.

So if you would pray with me as we dig into Ruth, chapter two, Heavenly Father, we are so grateful for what you do for us how you speak to us, Lord, use your word this morning, to transform our lives. Lord, thank you for the sound of children, and the joy that they bring to our life on this family worship. God just be with us this morning, and your name we pray.

Amen. Real quick, before we continue on today is family worship. And so if you're visiting with us, there are kids in here and we are excited to have kids in here. They do not bother me. Actually, I think the ones making the noise are mine. So I'm used to it. But no, we love having kids with us. This is a time for us to teach them what worship is all about. So let's be excited that kids are with us. All right. So if you would, Ruth chapter two. Let's first look through the first three verses here says now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side. He was a prominent man of noble character from elimelech family. His name was Boaz, Ruth, the mobis. Ask Naomi, will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone with whom I find favor. Naomi answered her Go ahead, my daughter. So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. she happened to be in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from elimelech family.

Alright, so we are immediately told about this man named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi's dead husband elimelech.

it right away tells us what kind of person he was. He was a prominent and noble man.

So what can we take away from this, that he was known in the community? And he was really liked, which is good.

So if you're not familiar with this story, you may be sitting there thinking, Okay, that's great. But what does this have to do with anything they're telling me about an ant man named Boaz?

God was one

To establish with us very quickly what type of person Boaz was, even before he is introduced to us because his role in this story is vital.

The vitality to that is that he had to be a really awesome guy, and Gods like, right out the gate, I want to paint this picture for you that this is a remarkable person.

One thing that is also established is we get a glimpse of the life of the poor.

So there were not many ways of making a living, open to widows, but one such was provided by this custom called gleaning.

Alright, it was laid down in the law, that at harvest time, a man must not reap his land to the very border, nor should he pick out what was left after the Reapers went through it.

And if you forgot a sheaf and left it in the field, he was forbidden to go back and get it if you don't, unless she says a sheaf is basically a bundle of grain.

So in such ways as these, a certain provision was made for the poor, so they could go through the fields after the Reapers had gleaned what they could.

So Ruth and Naomi were obviously poor. And it was not by coincidence that they arrived in their new home at the beginning of the harvest,

because it immediately gave them away to get food.

So she goes to Naomi, Ruth, that is knowing they need this food, and wanting to take care of her mother in law, and ask to go glean and they always like, Sure, go for it.

So Ruth is stepping out in a huge way here, because of her social status. Not only is she a woman, but she is a Moabite woman, a foreigner. And this could be very dangerous for her in many ways. But she does it because she it needs to be done. It's the only way they're going to get food.

And her faith is leading her to do it.

I don't know about many of you, but if you know that you could go out and everyone hates you.

Because just because you're a motorbike and you could be killed or who knows what we all be like, Well, I think I'm going to stay in.

Naomi, it's much safer for you to go out. But Ruth goes, No, this is this is what I've pledged myself to do.

So she goes out to do it. And she goes out and she enters this field. And who does it belong to Boaz?

The Hebrew text says literally, her chance chanced to work in the fields of Boaz. This was an expression intentionally exaggerated so that we could see her action. This is to draw attention to the Henry ality that Gods intervening here that he's leading her. This was not accidental.

But it's the way God was working the situation.

Continuing and Ruth starting in verse four, says later when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, The Lord be with you. The Lord bless you, they replied, and Boaz asked his servant, who is in charge of the harvests. harvesters, whose young woman is this?

The servant answered, she is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the territory of Moab. She asked, Will you let me gather falling grain among the bundles behind the harvesters. She came and has been on her feet since early morning, except that she rested a little in the shelter. Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen, my daughter, don't go and gather grain in another field. And don't leave this one. But stay here close to my female servants, see which field they are harvesting and follow them. Haven't I ordered the young men not to touch you? When you're thirsty go and drink from the jars the young men have filled. She fell face down, bowed to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor with you? So that you notice me although I am a foreigner. Boaz answer her everything you have done for your mother in law, since your husband's death has been fully reported to me, how you left your father and mother in your native land and how you came to a people you didn't previously know. May the Lord reward you for what you have done in May you receive a full reward from the Lord of God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. My Lord she said I have found favor with you for you.

For good and encouraged Your servant, although I am not like one of your female servants at mealtime, Boaz told her, come over here and have some bread and dip it in the vinegar sauce. So she sat besides the harvesters, and he offered her roasted grain. She ate and was satisfied and had some leftover. When she got up to gather grain bow as odit ordered his young men, let her even gather grain among the bundles, and don't humiliate her, pull out some stocks from the bundles for her and leave them for her to gather. Don't rebuke her. So Ruth gathered grain in the field until evening, she beat out what she had gathered, and it was about 26 quarts of barley.

Alright, so enter Boaz.

We immediately see his character, as he says to the harvesters, The Lord be with you,

showing that his faith was on display.

Boaz then quickly sees Ruth and inquires about her

servant tells Bo is that she came this morning and asked if she could gather the barley.

And then we kind of see finally here in verse eight, we see this very beginning interaction between Boaz and Ruth as he calls out to her.

And he says,

Listen, my daughter,

kind of a weird expression.

And we look at that, and it probably reflected an age difference between them.

He may have been closer in age to Naomi's husband elimelech. But it also was a term of affection commonly used when addressing a foreigner.

So we immediately see Bo has taken interest in Ruth wellbeing. He wants her to stay in his field, with his female servants,

even going as far to command his servants, do not mess with her.

This was very uncommon.

I mean, we can read this and go well, this must have been a natural thing. No, this was an extremely uncommon thing.

It was uncommon just to do it with a poor Israelite woman, nevertheless, doing it with a Moabite woman.

member, she is poor.

She's mobile during this time, it was it was really uncommon.

Or it wasn't uncommon, I should say that the Reapers when they're reaping the field for the poor to come clean before they were even finished. So usually when that would happen, if they weren't finished doing their job, and the poor came in the the Reapers would become extremely physical with them, beating them all sorts of things. But by Boaz, ordering His servants that leave Ruth alone, this would let her not only glean before they were done. It also allowed her to leave with the best

before anyone else would get in there and get to pick it up. He also shows his care by letting her drink from the water his men Drew. This was important because harvesting in the fields was hot. So it was a way for her to stay cool. But it also if she were to have to go draw her own water. It would cause her to lose valuable time gleaning crops. It wasn't like if we got thirsty, and Oh, it's hot. I'm gonna go in and pour glass of water. No, they had to go miles away to a well draw the water.

This saved her valuable amounts of time. Boaz was certainly looking out for her well being.

And a step further, God had had her best interest in mind, as he had led her to this field in the first place. God always has our best interest, even when it doesn't seem like it to us.

Immediately when this all happens, what does Ruth do? She falls down

and asks a very obvious question for someone of her status. Why have you found favor with me since I am a foreigner?

Ruth, this was such a big deal because at this time, foreigners were not looked upon kindly. They were not allowed to do many things that Israel lights were allowed to do. And they were treated differently. So for Boaz to go out of his way, and helper was really shocking.

I would even imagine that his servants were like, what is what's up with Boaz? Like he's a good guy, but wow.

So once again, we are seeing God at work here.

Let me repeat this for for you from last week. We see how cultural norms and social status do not matter to

God, and that he can and will use any of us to further his kingdom work.

It may have been a big deal to the to the Israelites that she was a Moabite. But to God,

it didn't matter.

We also see Ruth humility on full display here. She has no clue why Boaz would be so kind to her, not a clue. And it and isn't even thinking about herself.

She realizes Boaz is going above and beyond what he has to

one of my favorite movies, or I guess it's a movie slash tv show. It's called Band of Brothers. Anybody ever seen Band of Brothers before? Raise your hand, about three of you.

Come over, I own it.

But it's about World War Two. And it's about Easy Company. And one of my favorite parts is near the end of this series is about an eight part DVD series.

There is his guy who served with Easy Company, his name was Carlton liftin.

And he had been kind of the stable character the whole

time. I don't want a movie because it was a real story.

And towards the end, they promoted him.

And before they promoted him, the guy, the his superior officer standing there talking to him going, you know, we need to promote someone because all of the hire officers have been killed. And I've been thinking about someone and someone who has been with EZ company the whole time, who is pledged their life who has done all these amazing things. And he looks at him and goes, you have no clue who I'm talking about. Do you?

And his responses? No, I don't. He says it's you.

That's humility.

And it's the exact same thing that we see from Ruth right here.

As he's doing all of these kinds of things for her. And she throws herself the ground going, why? What have I done to deserve this kindness

is because everything Ruth has been doing hasn't gone unnoticed.

Always tells her that everything she has done has been told to him.

So others are noticing what she is doing. She has cared for Naomi. And look at how he says this, since your husband's death. This is like the first time we see someone to actually address her

for the death of her husband. right up until this point, it's been all about the loss that Naomi has had.

He notices the incredible loyalty Ruth has given since she lost her husband. He even takes notice that she has not only lost her husband, but she left everything she knew

her family, her home. And she came to a place that she had no knowledge of.

Really the last time we saw this kind of sacrifice is when Abraham the father of Israel, left his native land, with his wife with just a trust in God.

This can show us church that we need to be mindful of our daily actions as people are watching.

It's not that we need to be putting on a show. We need to be genuine in our love for God,

as to step out and serve others so people see that we are truly different.

not expecting something in return. This isn't Hey, look what I'm doing.

Can I get a applause? Can I get a pack? pat on the back.

That's not what humility is.

Humility is literally doing it and having no clue why someone is saying thank you.

I'm just doing what I'm supposed to.

And as we see here, Boaz ends this kind of this section with this little prayer asking God to return everything to Ruth in full because of everything she has done.

Boaz is seeing God working through Ruth. He even furthers his kindness to her by allowing her to eat near him and have the roasted grain.

By the way, the roasted grain was the good stuff. All right. Like if whatever you think is the best, okay? You might be like, ooh, chipolte Lei. Sounds awesome. Okay, that's what she was having. Okay, the roasted grain. He's like, hey, come have the roasted grain. And he gave her so much that she had too much. Oh, I can't eat all this rest of grains way too much. And most likely,

he did this on purpose. So she'd have to take some of that home.

And there would be some for Naomi to. Alright. Think about like Boaz is an amazing guy. Okay, guys, gentlemen, be like Boaz, okay? If you're on Facebook, sometimes you see those memes or whatever. It's like, this is so and so he does this and this this. Don't be like sewing. So be like Boaz. Alright, we'll make up shirts will wear him. Alright.

He is really

Gucci.

Okay.

For those of you like Gucci, isn't that a handbag?

That means good. Okay.

So here's the thing, he orders his man to let her pretty much gather wherever she wants not to humiliate her.

And this is really saying don't say anything to her, just leave her be.

Just let her do her thing

and leave her alone.

And she leaves with a lot of grain.

Probably enough to last her Naomi several weeks.

It also shows us how generous Boaz is.

And then we see Ruth and her hard work. She is willing to do what is needed to serve her mother in law.

This was God providing for her and Naomi.

Still have your Bible open. We're gonna wrap this up with Ruth. To 18 through 23

says she picked up the grain and went into the town where her mother in law saw what she had gleaned. She brought out what she had leftover from her meal and gave it to her. Her mother in law said to her Where did you gather barley today? And where did you work? May the Lord bless the man who noticed you. Ruth told her mother in law whom she had worked with and said the name of the man I worked with today is Boaz.

Then Naomi said to her daughter in law, may the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead. Naomi continued, the man is a close relative. He is one of our family redeemers.

Ruth the Moabite is said he also told me stay with my young men until they have finished all of my harvest. So Naomi said to her daughter in law, Ruth, my daughter, it is good for you to work with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field. Ruth stayed close to bow as his female servants and gather grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother in law.

So Ruth meets up with Naomi and ask where she had been working.

So route tells her it was the field that belonged to Boaz. And Naomi responds with a praise to God.

Look at that, again, the Naomi said to her daughter in law, may the Lord bless him because he has not abandoned his kindness to the living or the dead.

So what is it? What are we seeing here? God is working through Ruth to soften Naomi.

This is the same Naomi, that does just a chapter earlier, said God made her bitter and left her empty.

Her life has been such a disappointment to her. And we saw from last week how she allowed bitterness to dictate her life. But here she sees what Ruth has done. And the kindness that Boaz shows. And her first reaction is to praise God.

If only all of us would allow that to happen, even on our best days,

God is working. And he is fulfilling his redemptive story here. And he continues that work today.

So as we finished the chapter, we see Ruth being referred to as the mo abiertas. Still,

God is not wanting us to forget where she comes from.

Why because he can use anybody.

So Naomi confirms what Ruth is doing and tells you to keep working in that field. One it shows her commitment to serving but to it shows her pre appreciation to Boaz.

If she went to another field, it could be construed she didn't appreciate his generosity. And then something could have happened to Ruth because she didn't have that protection that Boaz had given her. So she does

Until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, which was actually a really significant amount of time, she did this every day.

And that timespan was probably around three months. So think about that going out through every day, all day long,

just picking up. And then next week, we're going to talk about it. But then they would have to take this to the threshing floor, which is a whole different process. It was a very strenuous thing.

her devotion to Naomi is completely evident, because we in here with this line, and she lived with her mother in law.

At any time, she could have taken off, she could decide, hey, this, this is not for me, I could go back to Moab. Get me a husband, and not have to put up with this.

She wasn't bound to her by law, or inheritance. Actually, she didn't even have those rights. So she was steadfast in her devotion to Naomi, though, much like Christ is steadfast to us.

Regardless of the situation, or how tough it is, he is always by our side.

So church, what can we what can we take away from chapter two?

First thing, stepping out in faith is necessary. could say that differently stepping out of our comfort zone is necessary.

Here's what Luke chapter 957. And 58 says, as they were going along the road, someone said to him, I will follow you wherever you go.

And Jesus said to him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Jesus does not want us to play it safe.

Ruth shows us this by continually stepping out of her comfort zone to follow faith.

She could have been met with extremely harsh circumstances. But she did it nonetheless.

We have this ability to hold ourselves up, look for the easy way out or even flee.

God doesn't want us to do any of those.

He wants us to trust Him and follow Him wherever he is taking us.

So church the question this morning is how much do we trust him?

How much are we willing to say God?

Yes, you know everything.

My faith is in you

want to trust what you have for me.

Here's what I want us to do for just a second here.

Because I think oftentimes we go through this process. And

we finish and we pray and you're like, Okay, lunch. I do it too.

We don't take a moment to really process. I want you to take a moment just bow your heads. We're not done yet. So I don't want to get you excited for a second some of you got smiles on your faces.

I want you to take a moment just to kind of bow your head and think about this question.

Think about how much

do we how much do I trust him? How does my daily life show how much I trust him. Take a moment just bow your heads

may invite you to keep going if you're still processing through that but

are we following his way or own

because when we follow our own, it is not by faith. We are walking

by our own selfish desires.

Second thing I want us to take away is humility.

Philippians two tells us do nothing out

Have selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others, adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross. For this reason, God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth and on under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Lord is Christ, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus showed us humility.

Never at any point did Ruth elevate herself wine to Naomi about everything she was doing, seeking attention for her works, she simply did them because it was the right thing to do.

It is what God calls us to be. Humility is the essence of Christ's love, shining through.

Christian author and speaker Bob Gough says this of humility, the hidden cost of pride is isolation, humility, and joys pay off his community.

Naomi had allowed her grief, pride and bitterness to push her into isolation. But Ruth's humility is redeeming. And as we're going to see next week, it will pull her out of it towards community.

As a believer, humility is something I must strive for. Because it is essential to how we show Christ's love.

humility, makes it not about us.

The last thing church is devotion.

When dl moody was visiting England, he heard Christian speaker Henry Varley say, the world has yet to see what God will do with a man who is fully and wholly devoted to the Holy Spirit.

Moody would later comment, he said, a man He did not say a great man, nor learn man or a rich man, but simply a man, a man and it lies within the man himself, whether he will or will not make that entire and full devotion. I will try my utmost to be that man.

Ruth was a shining example for us, of what devotion was, she continued to stay with Naomi, through all of the rough times. How fleeting is our devotion to each other and to God.

At its core, Ruth's devotion can be defined as her immense love for Naomi. She exhibits a quality of kindness rarely seen.

How are we exhibiting that to those around us? And then ultimately, to our Savior?

There's, I want to, I want you to just take one more moment.

And if you're like, I'm still working on humility here or on stepping out, do that, but

how devoted

are you to him? How does your life reflect your devotion to him? Is it well, I go to church every Sunday.

That's not what he calls us to do.

Yes, that's what you should do.

But there's so much more to it. So church, take a moment.

Talk with the Lord.

Work on how devoted are you to him?

Bob Gough also says,

Give away kindness, like you've got a hole in your pocket.

Like Ruth, our lives are

Completely on display

more so now than ever.

How are you showing the world? How to Treat others?

How are you showing what faith really is?

How are you displaying the qualities of God?

My challenge to all of us this week is if you don't have enough holes in your pockets,

or any and all

that that sucker out.

God is worth it.

Others are worth it.

Don't put it off. Do it today.

Let's pray.

Questions

Who shows kindness in chapter 2? What makes this significant?

Why is kindness so important for us as believers?

Like Ruth’s devotion to Naomi, how are we to show devotion to God? What about to others?