Redeemed for Rest
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Living Nativity Update
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
Starting with the end in mind - Naomi does this.
Weeks have passed and now the harvest has ended. Naomi and Ruth are in a better spot emotionally, not great, but Naomi is now thinking about the future and she realizes that she must act in order for Ruth to find rest or a resting place.
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
So what is this rest Naomi is seeking for Ruth? A place to lay her head or something more? It is something more, much more. Naomi desires for Ruth a secure life, a home, provision, and protection.
Bird in the storm needing a place to land
She wants Ruth to have a place where she can have a future and a hope and the only way for Ruth to have this rest is through a redeemer.
So Ruth goes to the threshing floor and worked the plan.
She waited for Boaz to finish working.
She waited for Boaz to finish eating and drinking.
She waited for Boaz to fall asleep.
Then she went in and uncovered his feet and legs and laid down.
Midnight he wakes up and says
9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
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!”
So Ruth has come and asked Boaz to the the agent of God to cover her.
Boaz is amazed that Ruth came to him and not a younger man.
Boaz agrees to redeem Ruth if the nearer redeemer won’t.
They lay until morning and he sends her away with food before others awake so none will think that Ruth was prostituting herself.
Ruth returns to Naomi and recounts the night and shows the ground barley.
Naomi believes their redemption is happening soon.
Now it is easy to get lost in this chapter, there is intrigue, questions, suspense, shock, etc. but we have to remember the tension,
Ruth needs a resting place and the only way for her to have that is through the work of a redeemer.
This is the exact situation all peoples have today.
We are all without a certain hope for the future. We know the reality of life and certainty of death. We need rest. The Psalmist knew this,
1 I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.
2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!”
5 Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; our God is merciful.
6 The Lord preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
Resting place isn’t just this physical thought, it is emotional and spiritual as well. So where Naomi is concerned about rest in the physical, the Psalmist points out that in the midst of life when we cry out to God he not only addresses the physical but the emotional as well. This resting place for our souls is what we need. Jesus knew it and promised it.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
but how do we get this rest for our souls?
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Through knowing the redeemer, the one who saves the helpless and hopeless by His grace,
In 1987, eighteen-month-old “Baby Jessica” fell twenty-two feet into a Texas well. Rescuers labored nonstop to save her. After fifty-five grueling hours, her life hanging in the balance, they finally reached her and extracted her from the well. The nation breathed a sigh of relief and cheered the heroes. This was not the story: “Baby Jessica clawed her eighteen-month-old body up the side of that twenty-two foot well, inch by inch, digging in her little toes and working her way up. She’s a hero, that Jessica!”
The story was she was helpless and needed total help, just like Ruth and just like you.
GOSPEL - final rest
Look to Jesus - plan of Naomi
Pray to Jesus - Plea of Ruth
Trust in Jesus - Response of Boaz
Walk with Jesus - Hope of Naomi