Ruth: Holy Risks

Ruth – Holy Risks

Ruth 2:1-16

Ruth 2:1–16 ESV

1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech. 4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” 6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.” 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.” 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 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!” 13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” 14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”

1. Introduction – This morning we come to a very important section in the book of Ruth.

a. If you’ll recall, I have been stressing the importance of dialogue throughout our study so far.

i. Dialogue in Hebrew literature in general, and in the book of Ruth specifically – has a couple of different functions.

1. First – in Ruth the dialogue serves to move the plot of the story along.

a. The narrator of the story rarely interjects.

i. Dialogue is the driving force behind this story – and we’ll see that play out today.

1. The story loves from gloomy to hope-filled through the characters speaking to each other.

2. And secondly – dialogue is the main way characters are developed.

a. We learn about each person by the words they speak – today we are going to learn a lot about Boaz.

ii. We were introduced to him last week. We learned that he was a man of substance – possibly a man of wealth.

1. We learned that he was from the same clan as Elimelech – Naomi’s deceased husband.

a. Boaz was an Ephrathatite from Bethlehem.

i. And we learned from his first spoken words that he is a man who is focused on YHWH.

b. And today – while it is a look at the events and circumstances surrounding Boaz and Ruth – today’s passage is really a deep dive into Boaz’s character.

i. Why did he do all of this for Ruth? What holy risks did Boaz take in order to help Ruth?

1. How can we learn from his example? Hear God’s Word – Ruth 2:1-16.

c. We backed up to verse 1 today simply to get some context. Today we’ll mainly be focusing on vv.5-16.

i. And really in this one big section there are 3 smaller scenes.

1. Scene 1 is between Boaz and his field foreman. It runs from vv.5-7.

a. Scene 2 is a conversation between Ruth and Boaz and it runs from vv.8-13.

i. And scene 3 is a mealtime scene running from vv14-17.

d. So this morning we are simply going to walk through this section.

i. What do we learn about Boaz? What do we learn about Ruth? What do we learn about God?

1. What do we learn about God’s people? How should we act and respond to people in need?

a. A lot to cover today – so let’s dive in.

2. Scene 1 – The scene begins with Boaz talking with a young man who is in in today’s terms would be the foreman of the field.

a. Boaz begins this conversation with a very strange question. He takes in his surroundings and he notices something…someone…unusual.

i. So he asks his foreman a question – “Whose is she? Whose young woman is this?”

1. `he doesn’t ask “who is she? Who is this young woman?

a. No, no – he asks ‘whose’ a statement of possession. To whom does she belong?

i. The question could mean “Whose daughter is she? Whose wife is she? Or Whose servant is she?

2. Boaz is trying to place this young lady into his society – where does she fit?

b. And did you notice that this simple and brief question elicited a rather lengthy response?

i. In answering this question, the foreman spoke about Ruth’s nationality, her travels, her request, and her work ethic.

1. So let’s look at the foreman’s response. First, he says “this is the Moabitess, you know – the one that came back with Naomi”/

a. He tells Boaz that this is the young lady who sent the town buzzing. This is the young woman who lit the town rumour will on fire.

i. This is her, in the flesh…that Moabitess.

ii. But the foreman goes on – not only does he highlight Ruth’s nationality – he also highlights her integrity.

1. He tells Boaz that Ruth approached him at the beginning of the day and asked if she could glean in the field.

a. This wasn’t a necessity under the law. Someone who was forced to glean didn’t have to further lower themselves by asking for permission.

i. But here’s Ruth, it doesn’t seem she wans to take gleaning for granted or take advantage of someone’s field…she doesn’t simply want to assume she can glean in the field.

1. So she has enough integrity and fortitude to ask person to glean.

c. and finally, the foreman acknowledges her work ethic and persistence.

i. Remember what was said last week – gleaning was hard work. It was done after the harvesters went by, after the reapers had gathered the harvested crops into bundles.

1. I imagine the field was a mess afterwards…and gleaners would have to sift through all the chaff left behind in the field, in hopes of finding anything.

a. It was hard, intensive work. It was hot, out in the sun, no combine…no real shade.

i. And remember Ruth is a foreign widow in the field…opening herself up to all kinds of abuse.

2. But the foreman tells Boaz that she had been hard at work from when she arrived to that present moment.

a. Minus a few short minutes to rest. Ruth was determined to find food.

3. Scene 2 – All of this information caught Boaz’s attention, so Boaz went right over to Ruth in order to talk to her.

a. And when we read the passage earlier – did you notice that Boaz gives Ruth a series of commands.

i. Well, not really commands, but requests…he outlines for her a benevolence program that will help her in the field as she gleans.

b. First, Boaz says – don’t go to another field. Usually, gleaners would go from one field to the next to next trying to find a good place to work and glean.

i. Or maybe fid a field that is getting a better yield.

1. Boaz says stay right here…don’t go away from here…stay in my field.

c. And what Boaz says next is absolutely astounding…it’s an incredible act of generosity.

i. Stay with my servant girls…followed up by saying – watch where they go in the field and follow them.

1. Gleaners were never counted among the workers – and by law, the land owners didn’t have to provide anything for them.

a. Gleaners had to sort through what was left in hopes of finding something to take home

i. But Boaz tells Ruth – don’t simply stay in the corners of the field where you’re allowed to be…

1. Follow the hired hands – go where they go…that way Ruth is bound to get more gleanings to take home.

d. After making sure Ruth would be successful in her gleaning – Boaz also gives Ruth a measure of physical protection.

i. Today, it would be called sexual harassment policy – remember, when gleaning, people opened themselves up to all kinds of abuse…physical, emotional, maybe even sexual…and Ruth was a foreign widow…so there was even more danger for her.

1. Boaz tells Ruth – stay here in my field…my field will provide you with adequate food…and the workers in my field will not harass you.

a. They won’t touch you…they won’t hoot and holler at you…they won’t make cat calls at you as you work.

e. And finally – Boaz tells Ruth that whenever she is thirsty – she can get a drink from the water jars that have been filled already.

i. This is an astounding statement for 2 reasons.

1. First – she is a woman – and in that culture – woman usually drew water for men.

a. But here – a woman is to drink from jars of water that men have filled.

i. Secondly – she is a foreigner – and in that culture – foreigners usually drew water for Israelites.

1. But again, Boaz takes a holy risk for this foreign widow.

a. She, a Moabitess, was allowed to drink from the jars that Israelite men filled.

i. A radical concept in those days.

f. And Ruth’s response shows that she recognizes Boaz has gone above and beyond what he is required to do by law.

i. “Why have I found favour in your eyes,” she asks…Who am I that you should show me such grace?

1. She is surprised and humbled by what Boaz has done.

a. And while she doesn’t know who Boaz is…he knows who she is and what she done for Naomi – who Boaz knows is a relative.

i. He knows that Ruth abandoned her family, her nationality, her gods in order to take care of Naomi.

1. He acknowledges Ruth’s Gentile faith in Israel’s God.

2. He knows that she left everything behind – and Boaz wants Ruth to experience God’s comfort and provision. And he is doing his part to make sure that happens.

a. He prays that God will repay her for the kindness she displayed to Naomi.

g. Now – that’s the kind of response that Ruth’s pledge deserved.

i. Remember a few weeks ago…where you go I will go…and so on….

1. And remember how Naomi responded? Silence…she stopped talking to Ruth.

a. Naomi told the people in Bethlehem hat she came back empty.

ii. Well, Boaz is now responding to Ruth that way Naomi should have.

1. Even though Ruth left everything behind, he wants her to experience refuge under God’s wings.

a. And Ruth once again replies…I have found favour in your eyes!

i. Hold up…did you hear that??? What is this? What is she saying?

iii. Well, what this is is an answer to prayer. Earlier we read Ruth 2:2 and it said this….

1. And now, here in Ruth 2:13 – she is using the exact same phrase to express what Boaz has done for her. She found favour in his eyes…and she is experiencing God’s refuge, God’s comfort, and God’s provision.

4. Scene 3 – And later in the day, at mealtime, Boaz continues to show kindness to Ruth.

a. The gleaners weren’t usually included in the provided meals.

i. But Boaz makes sure Ruth is provided for. She is allowed to dip her morsel in bread the wine….

1. Most likely giving flavour and added moisture to old, stale, dry bread.

a. She was also given a treat – roasted gain.

i. And she ate until she was satisfied…and she still had leftovers.

1. This poor widow probably hasn’t had a full stomach in ages. She probably forgot what it was like to be satisfied…and she was still bringing some home for Naomi.

b. And then Boaz takes another risk for Ruth – this time he instructs his workers.

i. Make is easy for her. Let her glean among the sheaves – that is among the works who are bundling the harvest.

1. Usually gleaners were only allowed on the field after the bundles had been taken to the threshing floor.

a. But Boaz permits Ruth to glean right alongside his reapers…and even instructs the reapers to pull some sheaves from their bundles in order to Ruth to lean more.

5. Why? – So that’s what happened in the passage, but the question that has to be answered after looking the details of this passage is this…Why? Why did Boaz do all of this?

a. Was it because of love at first sight? Some would want us to believe that – and maybe the hopeless romantics among us will see it that way.

i. But the text gives us no indication that it was out of some sort of romantic love that Boaz acted.

b. So what was it then? Well – it comes down to one word – my favourite word – hesed. Loving kindness.

i. Boaz wasn’t doing all of this for Ruth because he loved her romantically or with some sort of erotic love.

1. It was done because Boaz was loved by God…because Boaz felt God’s blessings…and because Boaz knew that God’s love was to be shown to others.

a. Love your neighbour as yourself.

c. Boaz knew that the blessings he was given by God weren’t meant to be hoarded by him, but he was to use those blessings to bless others around him…even a foreign widow.

i. Boaz provided for Ruth and Naomi – far above what he was required to.

1. He spoke to Ruth with dignity. Notice that in their dialogue, Ruth highlights their differences…

a. But Boaz speaks to her with respect…rather than emphasizing their social differences, Boaz affirms Ruth’s personhood and even elevates her standing in the group.

6. For Us – There are 2 specific lessons we can learn and put into practice in our lives from this passage. They are similar, but each deserves to be highlighted.

a. First, we learn about the fact that hesed…loving kindness, isn’t something that is primarily felt.

i. It’s not simply thought about or discussed…hesed, loving kindness, steadfast love…is something that is shown.

1. What good would it have done if God told his people he loved them…told his people that he is abounding in steadfast love, hesed, but he never showed it to them in practical ways?

a. It would have done no good at all! But God, who is indeed abounding in loving kindness…abounding in steadfast love…shows his people his love.

i. His hesed is practically displayed to his people.

ii. And Boaz, in this chapter, shows us what hesed in action looks like. Loving kindness is going above and beyond what is required.

1. We talked about this when we studied the SM. There’s the letter of the law, but there is also the intent and the spirit of the law.

a. The Law said to let gleaners glean in your field…after a certain time and only in a certain part of the field.

i. Boaz knew the letter of the law, but he also further understood the intent of it…

1. That since God showed favour on him, he should also show that grace and favour to others.

iii. In my teenage years I listened to DC Talk – so cheesy its great…even today.

1. And they have a song called “Love is Verb” – and that’s really what needs to be driving home here.

a. Hesed, love, steadfast love, loving kindness…it isn’t primarily a feeling…lovey dovey romantic feelings – it is kindness in action…expressed and shown.

iv. Now, we most likely won’t be approached by a foreign widow asking to glean in our field…

1. So what does it look like to show hesed to others today?

a. Shoveling a neighbour’s driveway? Cutting a neighbour’s grass? Buying clothes or groceries for someone who can’t afford it?

i. There are a myriad of ways to show hesed to others – just as Boaz did for Ruth.

1. Comforting someone in their grief – being involved and invested in someone’s life. That is showing hesed to others.

b. And closely related to that…this passage teaches us how to treat the ‘others’ in society.

i. You see, we have a keen eye to see people who look like us, talk like us, act like us, smell like us.

1. We see these people in our neighbourhoods in our community.

a. We make friends with them…arrange for our kids to have playdates.

i. But what about the others? Those who are new to the community? The outcasts, the stranger, the immigrant…the homeless…the poor and need?

1. Do you see them? Do you help them?

a. Do they see God’s love and grace through your actions towards them?

b. Do they, as the song says – know we are Christian’s by our love?

c. What this scene shows us is that God’s grace sometimes has a human face. For Ruth, Boaz was the human face of God’s grace.

i. God’s love had touched him, and all that God had done for him made a difference in his life. He was different because he felt loved by God.

1. So Boaz exhibited his gratitude in unconventional conduct towards a foreigner.

a. He reached out to a disadvantaged Moabitess with unprecedent generosity – with seemingly no concern for his personal reputation.

i. He was the human face of God’s grace in Ruth’s life.

d. And for Christians’ today – even though we don’t have a depiction of his face – Jesus is the face of God’s grace or us.

i. Jesus represents the unprecedented measures God went to in order to secure our salvation…

1. To show his steadfast and unfailing love for us.

a. And since God went to those extreme measures in order to show us his love for us…

i. What God has done for us in Christ Jesus should make a difference in our lives…

ii. And like Boaz, we should show generosity and grace to the ‘others in our society.

1. And like Boaz, we should do so being absolutely unconcerned about our personal reputation in the process.

a. God’s grace sometimes has a human face…how and to whom can you show that grace?