Kinsman Redeemer — A Story of God’s Faithfulness

Text: Ruth 1:1-22

Theme: Ruth serves as a wonderful example of God's providential care of his people, and of his willingness to accept Gentiles who seek him.

Date: 08/14/2022 File Name: Ruth_01 Code: OT08-01

We’re going to begin a mini-series — just four sermons — through the Book of Ruth. The story of Ruth tells of a young Moabite widow who, out of love for her widowed Israelite mother-in-law, abandoned her own culture, declaring, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (1:16). Though she was destitute and needing to rely on the kindness of others, Ruth’s disposition and character captured the attention of Boaz, a close relative of her deceased husband. Boaz fulfilled the role of kinsman-redeemer and took Ruth as his wife. The story of Ruth serves as a wonderful example of God’s providential care of his people, and of his willingness to accept all who seek him. It’s also a great love story!

When Benjamin Franklin was the Ambassador to France, he occasionally attended the “Infidels Club” — a group of French philosophers who spent most of their time searching for and reading literary masterpieces. They also made no bones about their disdain of the Scriptures and the things of God. While Benjamin Franklin was not a Christian himself, he valued the Bible as literature. On one occasion Franklin read the book of Ruth to the club — kind of. Franklin wrote out the story of Ruth in his own handwriting, changing all the Hebrew names to French ones, and Biblical locations to French locations so it would not be recognized as a book of the Bible. When he finished reading his story, his aristocratic listeners were unanimous in their praise. They said it was one of the most beautiful short stories that they had ever heard, and demanded that he tell them where he had run across such a remarkable love story. He took great delight in telling them that it came from the Bible, a book they all despised!

The Book of Ruth is more than just a Hebrew romance novel. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Paul is referring here to the Old Testament, including the book of Ruth. It is a wonderful Hebrew romance story, but, as we shall see over the coming weeks, it is so much more — it’s the story of God's providential care of His people, and of His willingness to accept all who seek Him.

Ruth’s Desperate Condition

Ruth’s Devoted Decision

Ruth’s Divine Provision

I. RUTH'S DESPERATE CONDITION

1. let me take a few minutes to give you the “back-story” to Ruth’s story

Her story begins with her father-in-law. He is an Israelite, and his name was Elimelech.

He had a wife named Naomi. Together they have two sons ... Mahlon and Chilion

They are living during the historical period of the Judges where, according to the last line of the Book of Judges we’re told, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25, ESV)

Elimelech and Naomi are both from the city of Bethlehem, with means "the house of bread." But because of Israel’s idolatry there is a famine in the land — there is no “bread” in the “house of bread”

They leave Israel with their two sons and went into the country of Moab — a small kingdom in the highlands just East of the Dead Sea — hoping there that they could escape the famine in Judah. (The Moabites are what we would today call Israel’s kith and kin, tracing their ancestry to Abraham’s nephew, Lot)

While liivng in Moab Elimelech dies. The two boys married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.

Sadly, within a decade of her husband’s death, both of her sons have also died, leaving Naomi and her two daughters-in-laws as widows.

They received word that the famine in Judah had ended and they make plans to return to Bethlehem.

2. this brings us to the life-event Ruth is now experiencing

a. there are three things to know about her life

A. RUTH LIVED A CURSED LIFE

1. Ruth was a woman under a curse, from a people under a curse

a. and why was she under a curse?

1) because she was a Moabitess

““No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the LORD forever,” (Deuteronomy 23:3, ESV)

a) God is clear — no Moabite should ever be allowed into the family of Israel

2) why was there such a curse upon the people of Moab?

2. if you remember the story, Moab was the son of Lot through an incestuous relationship with his own daughter

a. by the time of the Judges the Moabites had become a thorn in the side of Israel

1) they were hated by Israel, and the Moabites returned that hatred in kind

ILLUS. You might remember that it was the Moabite Kind, Balak who hired Balaam to curse Israel.

b. the Moabites were representative of all the pagan nations around Israel who hated God and hated the people of God

c. but Ruth loves her mother-in-law and becomes a convert to the One True God making Naomi’s God her God

3. why is this part of the story important?

a. Ruth represents all of us — we were once under the curse of God, but God received us when we came to Him in faith

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:11–13, ESV)

b. just as Ruth was a girl that had a curse upon her and was outside the household of Israel, and the commonwealth of God, all of us were once unsaved, and in the same condition

1) spiritually, we were under the curse

c. but like Ruth clung to Naomi and Naomi’s God became Ruth’s God, someone told us about the one true God, and in faith we now cling to Christ as our only hope, and when we did God became our True God and Father

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Ephesians 2:19, ESV)

B. RUTH LIVED A CRUSHED LIFE

“and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.” (Ruth 1:5, ESV)

1. at that time, to become a widow was a calamitous event

a. unless a woman had sons or grandsons to take care of her a widow either had to remarry relatively quickly, or be reduced to poverty and perhaps starvation

1) young women, like Ruth and Orpah, if they didn’t remarry soon, might be reduced to prostitution

b. with the death of Mahlon and Chilion these women’s lives are literally hanging in the balance

2. Ruth’s life is also filled with sorrow — her husband is dead, she’s been left childless

a. her life has just become very complicated and very quickly

b. her mother-in-law is strongly encouraging her to return to her own family

“But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”” (Ruth 1:11–13, ESV)

1) Naomi essentially tells her daughters-in-law, “I have nothing to offer you. You need to go home to your families.”

3. sooner or later, this is true of every unsaved person

a. sooner-or-later everyone is crushed under the heel of Satan, sin, sorrow, and death!

C. RUTH LIVED A CONDEMNED LIFE

1. because of her circumstances, Ruth is condemned to a life of sorrow and a life of destitution

a. whatever inheritance her husband may have left, it all went to his nearest male relative — Ruth got nothing

b. and unless she is redeemed by a near kinsman of her deceased husband she is condemned to a life of poverty

2. outside of Christ, all men are as equally condemned just as Ruth was condemned by the death of he husband

“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:18, ESV)

a. each of us has the mark of Adam upon us — because of Adam’s sin we will all die physically, but more seriously, because of Adam’s sin we all died spiritually in him

1) Adam forfeited the inheritance of sinlessness and immortality that initially belonged to all men

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12, ESV)

b. in Adam each of has been condemned to spiritual poverty, physical death, and eternal perdition

3. like Ruth, we need a miraculous intervention if we are to survive

... Ruth’s life, after the death of her husband, is an illustration of the lost man’s predicament — his life is cursed, crushed and condemned

II. RUTH'S DEVOTED DECISION

“And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.” (Ruth 1:15–18, ESV)

1. Ruth makes a decision that goes against all rationality — she plans to stay with her mother-in-law whatever the cost

a. she will devote herself to Naomi — where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people ... Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried

b. but more significantly, she will devote herself to Naomi’s God — your God [will be] by God

2. Orpah went back to her gods, went back to the Moab way of life, went back to the curse

a. she turned her back upon Israel’s God

b. she turned her back upon the way of faith

3. Ruth, however, will turn away from idolatry to faith in the One True God

a. in so doing she will become the great-great-grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ

4. two women — both of them with equal opportunities, both of them hearing an equal message — but one chooses to travel the narrow way, and the other takes the broad way

ILLUS. Billy Sunday was the Billy Graham of his era — the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was born into poverty and grew up in the Iowa Solders’ Orphans’ Home. Because he was exceptionally athletic, he became a professional baseball player.

In his biography, he tells how in 1886 he was walking down State Street in Chicago. He and some of his friends had come out of a saloon. There on the street corner there was a crowd gathered listening to some people from a rescue mission singing hymns, and preaching. His buddies were there and they all heard the same thing, but they scoffed.

But Billy Sunday said, “Something came up in my heart, and a lump came into my throat. And I began to weep as I heard those people sing, as I heard them testify, as I heard them preach. They invited us to come to the mission place.” He said, “I left my friends. They jeered at me. They laughed at me. But I turned my back on my friends, and I went down to that mission hall to listen to those people preach.” He said, “I went back again night after night, until one night, I stumbled out of my sins and into the arms of Jesus.”

He then writes, “If you will go to that mission house today, and if they still have the same floor there, I can show you the spot on the floor; I can show you the knothole where I kneeled and gave my heart to Jesus Christ.”

a. why is it when there is a group of baseball players — why is it there’s a man like Billy Sunday who hears the voice of God and says, “I’m going God’s way,” and the others go the other way?

b. the only explanation is the work of the Holy Spirit in a man’s heart

... Ruth’s decision was to devote herself to the God of her mother-in-law and to make her life among God’s people

III. RUTH'S DIVINE PROVISION

“So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. 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.” (Ruth 1:19–2:3, ESV)

1. Naomi and Ruth make the decision to return to Naomi and her husband’s hometown — Bethlehem

a. it’s certainly a bittersweet moment for Naomi

1) as these “strangers” arrive it becomes apparent that many of the city’s women remember Naomi and are delighted to see her

b. but Naomi’s response is subdued ... “Don’t call me Naomi, but call me Mara”

1) Naomi means pleasant, but Mara means bitter, and describes the path of Naomi’s life over the last decade

2) her’s was a pleasant life, but it — as we say, “went South” — and her life became bitter

3) she tells her old friends, “I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty”

2. but in the last verse of the first chapter, there is a hint of hope for Naomi and Ruth ... And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest

A. THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD

1. God gets them in the right place at the right time

a. they’ve arrived in Bethlehem at harvest time

b. in that day the widows and the poor were permitted to come behind the harvesters and glean any grain that had fallen off the barley stalks

““When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.” (Leviticus 19:9–10, ESV)

1) this was one of God’s safety-nets for the poor, but it was a two-way street

c. gleaning is a process in which landowners have an obligation to provide poor and marginalized people access to their crops

1) but, it was not charity in that the poor and marginalized had to work for it themselves

2. the text tells us that Ruth “just happened” to glean the field of Boaz who “just happened” to be her deceased husband’s nearest relative who “just happened” to be a worthy man who “just happened” to come around at just the right time

ILLUS. When the Bible says that Boaz was a “worthy man,” Adrian Rogers says this is “bible speak” for Boaz is the town’s most eligible bachelor.

a. Boaz is the one who holds the key to Ruth’s future happiness and her redemption

3. none of this is by happenstance — God is providentially behind every step, every move, every event in this story — which is exactly what the author wants his readers to understand

a. God's providence is God's caring provision for his people as he guides them in their journey of faith through life, accomplishing his purpose in them

1) it’s God working in the major, and mundane circumstances of our lives

2) it’s His assurance of His active and engaged presence in all matters in creation

b. what is God’s purpose in the believer’s life?

1) God's mission is to save people and shape them to be more like Jesus

4. God providentially brings the right kinsman-redeemer into Ruth’s life and just the right time

“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.” (Ruth 2:5–6, ESV)

a. don’t miss what is happening in this love story

1) the most eligible bachelor in Bethlehem comes to inspect the harvest of his land at just the right time and sees Ruth gleaning barley in his field and exclaims “Wow! Who is that?”

2) he asks the chief harvester “Where did this girl come from. I’ve never seen her around before.”

ILLUS. Boaz would have made a good candidate for the Married at First Sight reality TV show. He sees Ruth and it is love at first sight. He’s smitten and in that you see the providence of God at work.

b. God positioned Boaz to rescue the women from their trouble

B. THE GRACE OF GOD

1. in this story we see the providence of God at work, but we also see the grace of God at work when Boaz becomes Ruth and Naomi’s kinsman-redeemer

a. what was a kinsman-redeemer?

1) it was a relative whose responsibility was to “act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need”

2. Boaz demonstrates, perhaps better than any other character in the Old Testament, how God’s grace is woven into Old Testament Law

a. Boaz responded to Ruth’s plight with compassion, generosity, and without delay

b. his redemption of Ruth wonderfully foreshadows how Jesus Christ would redeem all who trust in his name from the slavery of sin and death

3. it’s a beautiful picture of God’s grace — which is abundant and free

IV. THE LESSON: The Sufficiency of the Redeemer

1. what lessons do we learn from the 1st chapter of Ruth?

A. God’s Sovereign Rule

1. God the almighty reigns in all the affairs of men

a. He rules the nations (Daniel 2:21) and he rules families

1) His providence extends from the U.S. Congress to your kitchen

2. let’s be like these two women of faith in the Old Testament

a. whatever else they doubted, they never doubted that God was involved in every part of their lives and that none could stay his hand (Daniel 4:35)

1) He gives rain and he takes rain

2) He gives life and he takes life

b. in him we live and move and have our being

3. He is the all-encompassing, all-pervading reality

B. God’s Mysterious Providence

1. God’s providence is sometimes very hard

a. God had dealt bitterly with Naomi

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19, ESV)

2. neither the Old Testament nor the New Testament promises that believers will escape affliction in this life

a. but even in the midst of affliction, God is at providentially at work in our lives

b. His goal, ultimately, is to conform us into the image of His own Son, our Lord

C. God’s Good Purposes

1. not only does God reign in all the affairs of men, and not only is his providence sometimes hard, but in all his works his purposes are for the good and happiness of his people

a. who would have imagined that in the worst of all times — the period of the judges — God was quietly moving in the tragedies of a single family to prepare the way for the greatest king of Israel ... and ultimately Israel’s Messiah and the Savior of the World

b. but not only that, he was working to fill Naomi and Ruth and Boaz and their friends with great joy

2. learn from Ruth that God is right now at work for you to give you a future and a hope

a. trust him; wait patiently

D. Freedom Like Ruth’s

1. finally, we learn that if you trust the sovereign goodness and mercy of God to pursue you all the days of your life, then you are free like Ruth

a. if God calls, you can leave family, you can leave your job, you can leave Linn, and you can make radical commitments and undertake new ministries

2. when you believe in the sovereignty of God and that He loves to work mightily for those who trust him, it gives a freedom and joy that can’t be shaken by hard times

The book of Ruth gives us a glimpse into the hidden work of God during the worst of times. And so like all the other Scriptures, as Paul says (Romans 15:4, 13), Ruth was written that we might abound in hope.