0950 Ruth 2.1-23 Naomi & Ruth's Glimmer of Hope - When God's Sovereignty Brings Grace
Exploring Biblical Characters • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsAll is not lost. When we think that it's all over, God graces His people with hope that blesses their future.
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This is a scythe & he takes out the whipper snipper in this contest
Most of us older people have heard of the Grim Reaper
The Grim Reaper is a skeletal character shrouded in dark robes & carrying a scythe
This mythical figure appeared around the 14th C. & represents, not the devil, but death
If you are familiar with 14th C. Europe, you might be familiar with what was called the Black Death or Black Plague & the figure of the Grim Reaper first appeared during this time
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This is where the pandemic, most likely that of Bubonic Plague, killed about a third of the European population
The Grim Reaper is said to depict this horrible time & you would have noticed that he is carrying a scythe
But why the skeletal figure? Why the scythe? Why the robe? Skeletons are symbolic of death, representing the human body after it has decayed. The robe is thought to be reminiscent of the robes that religious figures of the time wore when conducting funerary services. The scythe is an apt image taken from agricultural practices of the time: harvesters used scythes to reap or harvest crops that were ready to be plucked from the earth…and, well, that’s kind of what happens when humans die: they are plucked from this earth. — https://www.britannica.com/story/where-does-the-concept-of-a-grim-reaper-come-from
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Video - Reapers are the ones who use a scythe or sickle - a sickle is a mini scythe to cut down the stalks
Sheaves are the bundles of the wheat or barley that are cut & dropped on the ground
All that is reaped, you then have to gather & tie into bundles (called sheaves) which are then taken to the threshing floor where the grain is beaten off the stalk or threshed off by the use of a big flat wooden skid that is dragged over the top of the unbundled sheaves
The mixture of the grain & the chaff (the leaves/stalk/residue) is then taken outside - preferable somewhere open to the wind - & it is thrown in the air with a big folk - a winnowing fork
The wind then carries away the light stuff - the chaff - & the heavy grain just drops to the ground where it is gathered up
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The next step, of course, is for the grain to be ground up so you have the flour left so you can make bread, cakes, scones & the like
We saw an old grinding mill when we were in the states
The mill stone was used to grind the grain into flour
You know how Jesus says that it is better to have a mill stone hung around your neck & be drowned in the sea than to cause one of His own to stumble into sin - they’re very heavy
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The chaff that blew away over the ground was also gathered up & then burned - since it is useless to the owner
You should also know the message of John the Baptist who uses the analogy of the chaff as He refers to what God will do with the “chaff” of the earth who refuse to repent
12 “His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Unquenchable is an unmistaken reference to the unquenching fire of hell
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In the NT, you also have the figure of angels who gather or reap from the earth the harvest of the people who will be judged
18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.
The sickle works similarly to the scythe - the sickle you could say is a mini scythe
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In this next passage that I will show you, Jesus speaks of wheat & tares
Tares are actually weeds but are indistinguishable from wheat - they look the same
It’s only at the harvest that you can then tell them apart
But Tares produce nothing & some are, in fact, poisonous
37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
So here you have the analogy to the harvesting of the wheat & the tares
The tares are bundled together & along with the chaff are burned - the analogy to the fires of hell
This is the meaning here too we find in Jesus’ words to His disciples
6 “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
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In this chapter today from Ruth, we see her go to a field & she follows after the reapers - Ruth is a gleaner - gleaning the pickings & leftovers of what the gatherers failed to pick up on their way through
Now Ruth could not help herself to the bundles that the reapers cut down & gatherers collect
Ruth was going after all the pieces they had left behind
You might think that that would upset the owner of the field
Well, on occasion, yes - it would upset the owner who was ungodly & greedy
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The law of God actually made provision for the poorer people in this way
The godly owner would allow it to happen because he fears God
Here are some passages that speak to this provision
9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
Ruth went gleaning behind the reapers & gatherers
To glean is to pick up what remains after the gatherers had bundled the stalks into sheaves
In other words, the reapers & gatherers were not allowed, by the law of God, to go through the field a second or third time to get as many pickings/gleanings as they can
They had to leave it for the poor - the corners of the field were even to be left for the poor
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 “When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not go over it again; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 “You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
1. Ruth’s Mission
1. Ruth’s Mission
Ruth was a widow & under the law, she had every right to be in the field at harvest following after the reapers & gatherers
The Scripture here neatly puts what was highlighted in the first chapter - that under God’s providence, life can be very difficult - & I subtitled it - “When God’s Sovereignty Works Against You”
Yet by the same token, it’s not over till it’s over, as Paul reminds the church at Rome
28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
In v.3 we see that it just so happened that Ruth came to the portion of the field that belonged to Boaz - oh really, it just so happened
I think we are to see here a measure of the grace of God operating through this happenstance
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What we see in Ruth is a model of virtue
Not only was she loyal to Naomi, but she is a hard worker & content to be in the situation she finds herself in
Yes, times were difficult - she lost her husband & joined another people & another God
She had stepped out, but she keeps giving & going forward
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So many people would want to give up at this stage being so miserable with their lot in life
Perhaps, Ruth had these struggles, but the image we get of her here, at least, shows that it had no impact on the way she acted
She put herself to work relying upon the grace she may find in the eye of the field owner
2. Reputation Rewarded
2. Reputation Rewarded
It just so happened that the field’s owner is Boaz & unbeknown to Ruth, Boaz is a near relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband
Boaz feared God. To the reapers, he says, “Yahweh bless you” & they respond, “may Yahweh bless you”
Boaz happens to notice the person of Ruth among, no doubt, other women gleaning in the field
Q. Did she catch his romantic eye? Perhaps, it may have been that she seemed very young to be gleaning - that she has lost her husband at such a young age
I tend to think that he had an eye for her, but we don’t know for sure
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But his interest surely intensify’s once he finds out who she is
6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
Whoa, I know about her, what she has been through & what kindness she has shown to my relative Elimelech & Naomi
This woman is a woman of excellence, despite being a Moabitess
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.”
The sense there of a young bird coming under the wing of protection of it’s mother
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Ruth had a right to glean behind the reapers & gatherers, but she did not presume to do so, without permission
She asked the servant if she could do this - & got permission
She worked all day long in gleaning from the leftovers in the field
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Boaz, however, immediately pours his grace upon her
She is to...
Not leave his field to go to another owners field
She is to stay with his maids
She can go for whatever field he has & glean till her heart’s content
She can be at ease since he has commanded his servants not to touch or harm her
She has absolute freedom to drink all the water she wishes, from what Boaz’s servants draw
With that she bowed to the ground in gratitude
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However, it did not end there
Boaz commanded his servants that she be allowed to glean even among the sheaves that were bundled on the ground - so right up behind where they were reaping & gathering to bundle into sheaves
At mealtime - at noon - Boaz invited her to dine with him
She sat beside the reapers - with them - & Boaz served her roasted grain - he served her!
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If you have any idea of the social structure at this time, that would be considered out of line
This is a turn about face - meals were not eaten with just anybody
She was, technically, not on the same level in society as the reapers, after all, she was gleaning the fields for the dregs of what was left - she was, for all intents & purposes, a scavenger
But Boaz caused her to sit alongside his reapers & he himself served her food
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Q. Was she being rewarded for her kindness to Naomi or did Boaz have an eye for Ruth?
I know you romantics out there are probably reading into the story Boaz’s attraction to Ruth
Granted, it may well have been there
However, this is clearly an expression of his compassion & generosity to the woman who stuck by his relatives through thick & thin & he is rewarding her for her loyalty
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Oh yes, his generosity went even further as he says to the ones who gathered the stalks after the reapers cut them down
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.”
So his gatherers are to pull out some of the stalks from the sheaves & oh, accidentally drop them on the ground so that Ruth could pick them up
She is getting special treatment from Boaz - she is being rewarded for her good character which was shown by her loyalty to Naomi
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It’s a rare happening nowadays - I actually remember a time when loyalty was rewarded, but that has certainly fallen away
Take Electricity & Gas companies for example
If you are with the same company for a good while, you once were rewarded because of your loyalty & got the best rates
No more - you are usually left to pay the higher prices because these companies are more interested in new business so the person who shifts to them is rewarded with the best price
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Ruth ends up beating out an ephah of Barley - that is a good amount for a day
An ephah is about 22 kilograms or one tenth of what a donkey could carry
So about 22 Kilograms of barley grain, which is a huge amount
3. Naomi the Matchmaker
3. Naomi the Matchmaker
There’s an interesting story about how Ros & I came to be as a couple & it revolves around my sister who became a scheming matchmaker
I’ll have to congratulate her, though, she was successful & just as well for me
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By the same token, Naomi sees an opportunity here for her future & for Ruth’s future
But before we can appreciate what Naomi is doing, we have to understand the values these people held to
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Naomi was not interested in love, per se - so sad for the romantics
She was interested in children - specifically, the on-going name of her husband & sons
Having a husband & children was the chief aim of a woman in that time
The entire future of her husband, family, clan, was tied up in her having offspring to carry on the name of the family
In fact, the way we perceive of salvation was the way they perceived of having offspring to carry on your name
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The thought was that your life carried on through your offspring
Yes, they thought very differently from us but, in this, we see the importance of Boaz to both Naomi & Ruth
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The excitement we see here for Naomi when she finds out that Ruth had been favoured by Boaz is that he is a close relative
Yet, it goes way beyond the fact that he has family ties - it goes to the fact that he has family obligations & this is what she is excited about
Actually, he is a possible suitor for Ruth
The word here is that he is one of our redeemers
Or, I prefer the longer name, kinsman-redeemer
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There is a history here & it is spelled out in the law of God
Remembering that Naomi, Ruth & her ex-husband Mahlon have no son, in fact, no children, period
The daughters-in-law have no children & all the men of the family have died
What does the law of God say of this situation...
5 “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 “It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.
7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’
8 “Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 “In Israel his name shall be called, ‘The house of him whose sandal is removed.’
We see from this command, that a brother has a responsibility or obligation to his dead brother should he have no son when he died
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The name that has been given to this is “Levirate marriage” & this comes from the Latin, Levir which means brother-in-law
Boaz, however, was not Ruth’s brother-in-law per se, so he doesn’t have the immediate duty to redeem her husband’s name
But he is eligible as a close relative to be able to redeem her late husband’s name by marrying Ruth
1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
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You can imagine Naomi’s excitement! All the boxes are being ticked
Q. Is Yahweh shining on us? Is God about to do a great thing for us?
No doubt, after all Naomi has gone through, she is second guessing everything that is happening
Most likely, desperately trying to contain her excitement, lest she be let down
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Life is like that often - we never know what turn of events are around the corner
We cannot predict what will come under the sovereignty of God, but here is the crucial point of it all
No matter what comes, “His grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness”
The key, then, for every Christian situation, whether good or evil, is to honour God IN SPITE of what is happening around you
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This is what God is achieving by allowing situations that stretch & even threaten to tear us apart
We use the wisdom we have from God to navigate that situation, but it never ever changes our Christian values or what motivates & drives us
In allowing these situations to exist, you tend to find out how genuine you really are with the Lord
You could give it all away & give into sin
You could do, like Job’s wife told him to do, “curse God & die”
You could turn your back on God
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Or, you could persevere as a Christian, refusing to allow sin to get you out of a bad situation
You could resist the temptation to lash out at the one who’s giving you grief
You could stay true to God, trusting in Him that He is good & believing that He cares for you, apart from any bad situation in which you find yourself
You could look at disappointment as opportunities to either try again, if its a God-honouring pursuit, or change direction - but through it all, to accept, accept - that God will work all things out according to the counsel of His will
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Naomi is so wrapped, you can literally hear the excitement come off the pages here
22 “Good!” Naomi exclaimed. “Do as he said, my daughter. Stay with his young women right through the whole harvest. You might be harassed in other fields, but you’ll be safe with him.”
After all the despair of poor Naomi & Ruth, we end chapter 2 with great excitement for what might happen - a glimmer of real hope in the sad lives of these ladies