Selfless Love

Introduction

Provide illustration From Corrie Ten Boom on sacrificing her needs for others and not being selfish when the future is uncertain.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

Corrie Ten Boom trusted God’s plans even when facing the possibility of death each day. She did not take matters into her own hands and seek to serve herself, but continued to honor God and selflessly loving and serving others.

What about us, Do we trust God’s plans when things seem to be uncertain? Why are we often tempted to “look out for number 1” and take matters into our own hands instead of honoring God with our lives regardless of the outcome?

In our story of Ruth, we can see that Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were tempted to think of themselves first and reject what God commanded them to do…especially in the desperate time of the judges they lived in. Everyone else was looking out for themselves, so why shouldn’t they do the same?

Yet, in chapter 3, we see that instead of looking out for themselves, they selflessly loved and served one another.

Therefore, the main point of the text that we see in Ruth 3, is that Through the sacrificial love of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz, God graciously and willingly provides a redeemer for us in the sacrificial love of Jesus.

The Sacrificial Love of Naomi and Ruth (vs 1-7)

Naomi seeks Ruth’s well-being (vs 1-4)

Ruth 3:1-2 “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?

Naomi sought rest for Ruth in finding a husband who could provide and protect her.

Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.”

Explain winnowing barley/threshing floor

Naomi begins to propose a risky plan for Ruth by going to the threshing floor at night, but provides more instructions to help her plan be more successful in her appearance as she continues to say in verse 3...

Ruth 3:3-4 “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. 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.””

Naomi tells Ruth to put on her “best” clothes, to anoint herself with perfume…girls, it would be like you putting on that new outfit or dress to impress your date for the evening.

More importantly it symbolized Ruth, washing herself and going from a posture of mourning to rejoicing in presenting herself to be ready for marriage.

Now Naomi gives some interesting instructions to Ruth when she arrives at the threshing floor…She tells Ruth to uncover his feet and lie down....What does this mean?

Now, the term “uncover her feet” symbolizes many things.

This was a Near-Eastern ritual of marriage proposal.

Naomi told Ruth to do this, not to encourage Ruth to be presumptuous, but because Boaz was a generation older than Ruth, he would not have initiated a marriage proposal to someone so young.

Therefore, Naomi encourages Ruth to make her desire known to Boaz…trusting that he, being a worthy man, would do the honorable thing and marry Ruth.

It is important to see that the context makes clear that this command was not sexually arousing in any way.

Naomi provided a risky plan for Ruth, but it is not reckless....it shows Naomi’s lovingkindness to Ruth in wanting to provide rest for her and to fulfill her maternal role.

Naomi placed Ruth’s well-being above her own....and how does Ruth respond? She, in like manner, seeks Naomi’s well being over her own.

Look at her response in verse 5.

Ruth seeks Naomi’s well-being (vs 5-7)

Ruth 3:5-7 “And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 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.”

Ruth demonstrated her trust in and love for Naomi in being fully willing to obey her.

But Ruth was once again, putting her life, reputation, and dignity on the line for Naomi...

Boaz could easily reject Ruth’s proposal, someone could see her at night and presume she was a prostitute making a sexual advance…yet she laid down her rights and willingly sought to serve her mother-in-law in obeying her wishes.

Mary Hannah comments further on this point by saying:

“Ruth’s love for and desire to provide for her bereft mother-in-law motivates her pursuit of Boaz. By willingly risking her own reputation and safety to propose to him, this young Moabitess continues epitomizing self-sacrificial, covenant loyalty. In meekness, she counts Naomi’s interests as more significant than her own.”

In Naomi’s desperation, she could have forgotten Ruth and just focused on herself. In Ruth’s hopelessness of marriage, being the daughter of a widow in a foreign land…she could have rejected Naomi’s plan and sought a husband for herself that would be less dangerous…however, neither of them did this, but sought to sacrifice oneself for the other’s well-being.

What about us? How will we respond when our situation looks uncertain? Will we forget the commands and example of Christ and seek our own well-being...or will we seek to trust God and his sovereignty…seeking to please him by serving others more than ourself?

Ruth and Naomi’s sacrificial love point us to Jesus’ sacrificial love in giving his life for us on the cross.

We must look to the example of Jesus who continued to serve others over himself…even when he was facing death on the cross.

We must rely upon his grace to give us the strength to continually lay our lives down and put others needs above our own.

We must trust in the sovereignty of God, that he will accomplish his plans for our lives…even though it seems like honoring him in our actions will not lead to a successful outcome.

So, we see a great example of sacrificial love in Naomi and Ruth in scene 1…but we also see another example in the life of Boaz in scene 2....

For in scene 2... we see that Boaz takes responsibility to self-sacrificially provide redemption for Ruth and Naomi…and he does this in a God honoring way in fulfilling the law....look at verse 8...

The Sacrificial Love of Boaz to Ruth and Naomi (vs 8-13)

Ruth 3:8-9 “At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.””

In this verse, Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz.

Remember descriptive vs. prescriptive.

Ruth uses the language that Boaz used earlier in chapter 2, calling him to spread his wings over her to be the Lord’s instrument of protection, provision, and redemption.

She calls him to reward her covenant fidelity to Naomi and to also restore Naomi and her family line.

Boaz responds saying in verse 10, “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. 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.”

Boaz commends Ruth’s lovingkindness to Naomi and shows Lovingkindness to Ruth and Naomi in being willing to redeem her.

By Boaz saying, “you have not gone after young men” he implies that Ruth was not settling for just any bachelor…but she was seeking to honor her mother-in-law by seeking to marry someone from her family to continue Naomi’s lineage.

Ruth was picky…even though she wanted and needed a husband…she did not lower her standard and sought to continually honor God and think of others in her actions.

Boaz extols Ruth as a worthy woman.

Ruth exemplifies the worthy woman who fears the Lord in Proverbs 31.

Everything looks like it is falling into place for a fairy tale ending to the story…but there is another rift in the plot as Boaz continues in verse 12...

“And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.””

Boaz says that there is a “redeemer” closer than him in the family. This could either be Boaz’s brother or his cousin.

The “kinsman redeemer” refers to the law of the Leverite marriage found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, which basically said that if a brother dies without having any sons, his brother, or the closest relative should redeem his land and his bride and seek to have children to continue his name.

The qualifications of a kinsman redeemer were a

Blood relationship

Possessing necessary resources

Willingness to redeem the property and bride.

Boaz possessed all of these qualifications, yet there was a relative that he knew was closer.

Boaz, bing a worthy man, obeys the law and reaches out first to the closer relative. He sought to please God, not himself.

This demonstrates integrity. He cared more about Ruth and Naomi having a redeemer than him being a redeemer....which further demonstrates sacrificial love for others.

Boaz makes clear that he is willing and able to redeem Ruth, and he will do this if the closer relative does not.

Like Naomi and Ruth, Boaz’s sacrificial love points us the sacrificial love of Jesus.

Like Boaz, Jesus is both able and willing to redeem us from our sins meeting all the qualifications of a kinsman redeemer.

Jesus has a blood relationship to us as Hebrews 2:16-17 says that he became like us in every way to become our merciful and faithful high priest.

Jesus possessed the necessary resources to redeem us through shedding his perfect and spotless blood for us on the cross as 1 Peter 1:18-19 tells us.

Jesus was willing to redeem us…1 John 3:16 says that he was willing to lay his life down for us…because of his great love for us....while we were still sinners.

God not only provided a redeemer for Ruth and Naomi through the sacrificial love of Boaz, He has ultimately provided a redeemer for all humanity, through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ.

So Boaz shows sacrificial love to Ruth in being willing to redeem her…but he also graciously gives her a guarantee of his intention to redeem…look at verse 14

The Guarantee of Redemption (vs 14-18)

Ruth 3:14-18 “So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.””

So, Before Ruth leaves for home, Boaz gives her six measures of barley. This would have been twice the amount that Ruth had gleaned from chapter 2. But why did he do this?

This act of kindness was a down-payment of Boaz’s plans to redeem Ruth if the closer relative refused.

It was a seal of Boaz’s oath of lovingkindness to guarantee redemption.

Boaz refused to let Ruth go back empty-handed…which symbolizes the Lord’s grace to Naomi…who came to Bethlehem “Empty,” yet since then has been continually filled by the Lord’s lovingkindness through Ruth and Boaz.

When Ruth returns to Naomi and tells her what happened, Naomi knows that this matter will be settled quickly and author leaves us on another cliff hanger to await the conclusion to if Boaz will be Ruth’s redeemer...

Conclusion

It would have been natural for Ruth and Naomi to wonder what was going to happen....would Boaz follow through on his promise if he was able? Yet, the down payment of the six measures of barley provided them with the assurance, comfort, and hope that Boaz would fulfill his promise.

In the same way, Jesus our redeemer, has given us a down payment of the redemption that awaits us through the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22 says, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory. And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”

The Holy Spirit is our guarantee that our redemption is coming.

Just as Ruth and Naomi wait until the morning…in the suspense of experiencing the fulfillment of the promise, we as believers, after the time of Jesus’ first coming, are waiting for his return, when he will complete our redemption and establish his kingdom on earth.

The guarantee of the Holy Spirit, along with the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are demonstrations and constant reminders of God’s sacrificial love in Christ that will sustain us and strengthen us as we await for the morning when Christ will return and resolve all complications.

In response to these sacrificial acts of love we have been shown in Christ we must continue to trust in God’s sovereignty, that he will be faithful to fulfill his word. We know he has provided a redeemer for us in Christ and he has given us a guarantee through the Holy Spirit who resides within us.

We must cling to this truth and exhibit sacrificial love in placing others needs above our own, imitating our savior.

Because God has provided a redeemer for us through the sacrificial love Jesus displayed in dying for our sins on the cross....as believers who have this promise....“We must never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

The question is…Do you know Him?…and if you know him…do you trust Him?