Fall Kick off '22 Vision and Direction

Who will you decide to be this year?

Ruth 3:1-11, 4:17

Recap

Last week we looked into the first 2 chapters of Ruth, and I hope that we were able to see some things that maybe we hadn’t considered before. A few of the main things that we talked about were that:

God’s Promises are unending Even though we know God’s promises, we still often ignore them and try to do it on our own. We all have to realize that we need to “Come Home” to the Father

Ruth 3:1–11 ESV

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.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 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.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

3 Observations in this Passage, and yes I’ve alliterated this one HAHAHA

We’re all Searching

The human condition is one of constant exploration. We constantly want to “find this” or “understand that”. We are innately curious, or in pursuit of, about where to go next.

Ruth 3:1–5 ESV

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.”

Avoid the Fall Story

An Elderly man was walking alongside a young man one afternoon. As they continued down the path, the older man suggested they turn left up ahead. The young man, not concerned with the coming darkness of nightfall, chose to continue to the right. A few moment pass and the older man hears exactly what he had been expecting to hear. The sound of an old bridge falling, and the screaming of the man as he fell through. Of course, he came to his aid immediately, though the fall was small. The young man asked how he knew going that way was dangerous? He replied, “ I built the bridge when I was a boy, and the wood was rotten then…”

We are all searching, but we rarely take the guidance of those who have already found what we are looking for.

In this passage we see a great example of discipleship before it was even cool. Lol Naomi knows the way the culture works (Vs. 1-5) and ruth was smart enough to listen!

We all need to surrender

Ruth 3:6–9 ESV

6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 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.”

We talked a little bit about surrender last week when we saw Naomi’s decision to return to Bethlehem.

But what is surrender?

Surrender is defined as to “abandon oneself entirely to….

Notice it doesn’t say that we become lethargic, pessimistic, or defeated.

When we surrender to Jesus, we then join in his ranks. We join into his family. Which should grant us more joy, hope, and direction than we’ve ever felt of had before!

Ruth has been given everything that she needs to approach and find favor with Boaz, and she does it! In todays world she she would’ve come up with so many excuses as to why she couldn’t do what Naomi had advised her!!!

I can’t do this because….

What if he rejects me? What is I’m not good enough? I have a past…

Jesus will respond to these excuses with..

I will never reject you! My Grace is sufficient for you! I want your past, your present, and your future!

Ruth comes and says:

Vs. 9b - “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over you servant, for you are a redeemer.”

We are born for Salvation

Ruth 3:10–11 ESV

10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

In Some of your translations Vs. 9 may say “garments” in the place of wings. DON’T PANIC!!! This is not a contradiction or mistake! This is a cultural declaration of redemption, of safety, of salvation! Some have attempted to make this out to be ruth seducing boaz, and his consenting… but that’s not what is happening at all!!

Ruth is humbling herself at the feet of Boaz, her kinsman-redeemer!!1 She is abandoning herself, becoming vulnerable, becoming defenseless in the hope the she will be redeemed!!

Guess what… vs 10-11 show us that her surrender pays off. Her vulnerability pays off, her defenseless pays off ten fold what she could have even imagined!!!

Not only do ruth and Naomi gain redemption!! We also see that they have a child, and we see something awesome in Ch 4:17!

Ruth 4:17 ESV

17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Oh, you don’t know obed? Well let me drop some knowledge on you. Obed is the 27th great grandfather of Jesus Christ!!!

The Correct Path

Salvation is Step #1. We surrender our lives to the make and creator of the universe, and then we follow him!!! There’s no telling how you will be used for the kingdom.

I know you're searching, surrender today, and let’s see what the lord has in store for your life!!