Have you ever gotten tired of waiting for God?
Waiting for Him to answer your prayers?
! Maybe for a job?
Maybe for a wife or a husband?
Or maybe for some other problem?
An answer to prayer?
Have you ever been tempted just to take matters into your own hands,
rather than trusting in Him?
You know, sometimes there's a fine line between moving ahead in faith
and blundering on in our own strength.
Today we continue our series on the Book of Ruth.
As we recall from previous weeks,
Naomi and Elimelech went to Moab with their two sons,
abandoning the promised land during a time of famine.
Her husband and sons have died,
and she has returned to Bethlehem with one daughter-in-law,
Ruth, a Moabite, an outsider.
Last week we saw Ruth gleaning in the fields of Boaz.
Boaz, a near kinsman,
a possible redeemer who took Ruth under his wing.
Now, months have gone by.
Naomi has seen God's provision,
but Ruth is still living with her.
In contrast to Naomi's prayer in chapter 1,
Ruth still has no rest in the house of her husband.
She has no husband and no prospects.
In chapter 2, then, we begin to see Naomi's faith is being restored.
Naomi knows that God loves His people,
all of His people, including Naomi and Ruth.
And she has seen God more providentially,
or moved providentially,
to bring Ruth into the field of Boaz.
She has seen God's loving kindness expressed through Boaz
and His kindness toward Ruth.
But Naomi is getting impatient.
God is not moving at her pace.
He has not resolved the question of a husband for Ruth.
Certainly not to Naomi's satisfaction,
not on Naomi's timeline.
Naomi has decided that something must be done.
And she's the person to do it.
Now, when the children of Israel entered the promised land,
God made two points very clear.
One about the land,
and two about the family.
First, the land is the Lord's,
but it is given as a perpetual inheritance to His people.
And secondly, blessing came through the family name.
A name that would be remembered through all generations.
So first, let's look at the land itself.
The land was to remain within the family.
And there were provisions for,
and an obligation to redeem the land,
to buy it back if it passed out of the family's hands.
Leviticus 25 says,
If your brother becomes poor,
and sells part of his property,
then his nearest kinsman,
his nearest redeemer,
shall come and redeem the land
that his brother has sold.
And there were provisions and obligations
to perpetuate the name of a man who died without heirs.
Deuteronomy 25 says,
If brothers dwell together,
and one of them dies and has no son,
the wife of the dead man
shall not be married outside the family to a stranger.
Her husband's brother shall go into her,
and take her as his wife,
and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.
And the first son whom she bears
shall succeed to the name of his dead brother,
that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
You know, it's not clear
when this obligation for the brother to marry the widow began.
It certainly dates as far back as the time of Jacob,
as we see in Genesis
with the story of Tamar and Judah.
It may have been an established custom before then,
but certainly we see it in Genesis.
As you know,
Jacob was the son of Isaac,
the son of Abraham.
And Jacob had 12 sons
by two different wives,
Leah and Rachel,
and their two servants.
Now, most of us know the story of Jacob's favorite son,
his 11th son, Joseph.
We know the coat of many colors.
We know of him being sold into slavery.
We know of him rising to be the ruler of Egypt under Pharaoh.
But we hear a lot fewer sermons about Judah,
the fourth son.
Genesis tells us that Judah was the brother
who convinced his other brothers
not to kill Joseph,
but to sell him into slavery instead.
Some brother.
But their father, Jacob,
on his deathbed,
blessed Judah.
He established the royal line in Israel
through Judah,
saying the scepter
would not depart from Judah.
I'm going to spend a few minutes now, though,
on the story of Judah and Tamar
because it has a bearing here.
And it has a bearing in the next couple of weeks,
as we'll see,
because it's part of the blessing
that will show up in Ruth 4.
And, of course,
it has an element
in the broader story of the Bible itself.
Judah had three sons.
His first son,
Er,
married a Canaanite woman
named Tamar.
Er died without a son.
Judah's second son,
Onan,
was to marry Tamar
and raise up a son
in Er's name.
But he refused.
And he died
because of that refusal.
Well, Judah had a third son.
His name was Shelah.
But Judah was afraid
that he, too, would die.
He wanted to protect him,
so he sent Tamar
back to her family.
But he promised her
the third son
when the son was old enough
to marry.
Well, time went by.
Judah's wife died.
Shelah grew up.
But Judah never called for Tamar.
So Tamar took matters
into her own hands.
She dressed in her finery
and she waited
at the side of the road
for Judah to come by
because she knew
on that day
he would be going up
to shear his sheep.
and she pretended
to be a cult prostitute.
While not realizing
who she was,
Judah offered her
a young goat
in payment.
But he didn't happen
to have correct change
of a young goat
on him at the time.
So he left
his signet ring
and a cord
and his staff
as a pledge.
Basically as collateral.
These were,
in essence,
his identification.
But then Tamar disappeared.
Sometime later,
word reached Judah
that Tamar was pregnant.
And Judah sought
to have her executed
for immorality.
In her defense,
basically to prove
who the father was,
she presented
Judah's ring
and his cord
and his staff.
Genesis 38 tells us
that then Judah
identified them
and said,
she is more righteous
than I
since I did not
give her to my son
Shelah.
Tamar was deemed
honorable in this
by Judah,
by the Lord
through Moses
when he wrote
the book of Genesis
and by the tribe
of Judah.
She bore two sons,
twins named Perez
and Zerah
who became two
of the three family
heads in the tribe
of Judah.
Now obviously
this is a bizarre story.
Bizarre at least
to us.
But it would have
been widely known
in the tribe of Judah
at the time.
A woman winning
what was rightfully hers.
And this may have
given Naomi
an idea.
Naomi had a number
of dilemmas.
Ruth needed a husband
and yet Naomi
was a widow,
no money for a dowry.
Ruth was a Moabite,
an outsider
with few if any
prospects
of marriage.
Ruth and Naomi
needed a redeemer.
one who could come
along and pay
the debt.
One who could
raise up an heir
to Naomi
and Ruth.
One who would
care for them.
But who is
their redeemer?
As Naomi said,
Boaz is a redeemer,
a near kinsman,
but is he
the redeemer?
Boaz possibly
had an obligation
to redeem the land.
He was a near
kinsman.
And the commandment
to redeem the land
is given to the
nearest kinsman.
But then again,
what good would
the land
if there was no
one there to work
it?
On the other hand,
under the letter
of the law,
Boaz was under
no obligation
to marry
Ruth.
Deuteronomy 25
said,
her husband's
brother shall
go into her
and take her
as his wife,
that the name
may not be
blotted out
from Israel.
Well,
both Malon
and Kilion
were dead
and there
was no brother
to perpetuate
the name.
Even if
Boaz is the
nearest kinsman
redeemer,
what would he
be willing to
do?
Would he
marry Ruth?
Would he
even act as
a matchmaker
for Ruth?
Boaz had
certainly cared
for her and
protected her
in the fields,
but that's a
far cry
from marriage.
And after all,
this is the
time of the
judges,
where each
man did what
was right in
his own
eyes.
Another
dilemma,
though,
is how do
you approach
Boaz?
In that
culture,
a woman
really could
not approach
a man
without it
being very
awkward.
And if
either one
of them,
Naomi or
Ruth,
went to
Boaz,
the whole
town would
know.
They would
know,
first of all,
that she
went.
They would
know why
she went.
And they
would certainly
know the
outcome of
any such
meeting.
And certainly
a public
meeting like
that would
put Boaz
in a very
awkward
situation.
How would
he react?
Would he
feel pressured
into marriage?
Would the
awkwardness push
him away from
marriage?
And how
would the
village react
to Ruth,
a Moabitess,
an outsider?
Boaz said
no?
How could
Naomi or
Ruth recover
from such
a rejection?
From the
humiliation?
From the
shame?
From the
embarrassment?
And certainly
how would
Boaz, who
have been so
kind to
Ruth over
the last
few months,
treat them
after that
point?
But Ruth
needed a
redeemer.
So Naomi
comes up
with a
plan.
She tells
Ruth,
prepare
yourself.
Wash
up.
Splash
some
perfume
on
yourself.
Wear
a
cloak.
Now,
the
cloak,
is that
because
it was
cold out?
Or was
it to
hide who
she was?
Go to
the winnowing
floor,
and after
all are
asleep,
lay down
at his
feet and
await his
instructions.
And Ruth
obeyed her
mother-in-law.
She went
to the
winnowing
floor,
because
after all,
Ruth
needed a
redeemer.
So now
the scene
shifts.
The
midnight
rendezvous.
Boaz
has been
hard at
work all
day.
The
harvest is
over,
the grain
is dried,
now is
the time
to separate
the grain
from the
chaff.
Last week
we talked
about Ruth
separating the
chaff by
hand,
beating on
the grain.
Threshing
and winnowing
are really
larger scale
operations for
a full-size
farm.
See,
after the
grain is
dried and
is
threshed,
animals such
as oxen
are driven
across the
grain,
across the
sheaths,
and their
feet break
up the
straw and
free the
grain from
the chaff.
After the
threshing
comes the
winnowing.
That's where
the winnowers
would take a
pitchfork or
a shovel and
toss the
straw and
the chaff and
the grain into
the air.
The heavier
grain would
fall first,
and if it
was done on
a windy
day,
the straw and
the chaff would
be blown to
one side,
separating the
wheat from
the chaff.
Now, I'm sure
you've heard
whole sermons
written on
separating the
wheat from
the chaff.
We won't go
into that
today.
But Ruth
does as
Naomi commanded.
And when
Boaz is asleep,
she lays down
at his feet.
She does not
wake him.
She does not
lay down beside
him.
But she lays
down where a
servant would,
at his feet.
And she
waits.
Naomi had
given Ruth no
further instructions
other than
simply, he will
tell you what to
do.
Now, what was
Naomi trying to
do?
Was she telling
Ruth to approach
Boaz in secret
under cover of
darkness to
avoid an
appearance of
impropriety or
confrontation?
Was she
trusting Boaz to
be honorable and
respectful?
Or was she
trying to
copy Tamar?
Was she
intentionally
placing Boaz
into a
compromising
position?
Was she
trying to
extract Boaz?
All of these
possibilities have
been posed.
And the
answer is,
the text
doesn't tell us.
We don't know
what the intent
was.
But in the
middle of the
night, Boaz
wakes.
And he's
startled to
find a woman
at his feet.
It's too
dark to
recognize anyone,
but suddenly,
my guess is
he's wide
awake.
There's a
woman there.
You can tell
by the perfume
if nothing
else.
And here we
begin to
wonder if
maybe the
author is
trying to
give us a
parallel picture
to another
image from
Genesis.
Parallels to
a different
story that
would have
been quite
familiar to
the Israelites,
a picture
from the
Garden of
Eden.
For Adam,
alone in
the garden,
is contrasted
with Boaz,
alone in
his fields.
Adam,
lying down
surrounded by
the bounty
of God's
garden.
Adam,
or Boaz,
rather,
going to
sleep next
to his
piles of
grain,
symbols of
the bounty
of God.
Adam,
going to
sleep alone,
waking up
to find
Eve,
the woman
specifically
designed for
him.
The one
element
that he
knew was
missing
in his
life.
Boaz,
going to
sleep alone,
waking to
find Ruth,
and of
course,
in both
cases,
God knowing
that it
was not
right for
man to
be alone.
Of course,
there are
differences
between those
stories,
too.
Adam
names the
woman,
immediately
claiming her
as bone
of my
bone and
flesh of
my
flesh,
knowing
that the
woman was
specifically
made for
him.
Boaz,
on the
other hand,
doesn't know
this.
He asks,
who are
you?
And by
implication,
what are
you doing
here?
And Ruth
responds,
I am
Ruth,
your servant.
Spread your
wings over
your servant,
for you are
a redeemer,
a rescuer,
one who
could provide
what she
could not,
an inheritance,
a husband,
the rest.
Ruth,
remember,
needs a
redeemer.
But Boaz
responds
honorably
and gently.
He does
not immediately
take Ruth
as his
wife.
He doesn't
take advantage
of her.
He doesn't
chastise her
for coming
to the
thretching
floor.
He does
not chase
her away,
but he
listens to
her plea,
and he
praises her,
and he
blesses her.
He calls
her a
worthy
woman,
in verse
11.
That word
again,
kail,
used in
chapter 2
to describe
Boaz,
a man of
worth,
a man of
value.
And now
Boaz uses
it to
describe
Ruth in
the same
way,
a woman
of worth,
an honorable
woman,
a virtuous
woman,
as it's
translated in
Proverbs
31.
Ruth had
not chased
after the
young man
of the
town to
seek a
husband.
She had
trusted the
Lord.
She had
trusted her
mother-in-law,
and now
she was
trusting
Boaz.
Apparently,
though,
Boaz had
already
researched
the
situation.
He
certainly
knew the
responsibilities
of a
kinsman
redeemer,
but he
also knew
that there
was another
kinsman
who was
closer to
Naomi,
a closer
relative.
And as
such,
he knew
that this
other
kinsman
had both
the rights
and the
responsibilities
to be
the
redeemer
for Ruth.
Boaz
didn't
jump the
queue,
he
didn't
claim
Ruth
as
his
own,
but he
promised
to ensure
that Ruth
would be
cared for
properly.
So he
told Ruth
to remain
until early
morning,
to leave
before it
was light
enough for
anyone to
recognize her.
He protected
her,
as it wasn't
safe for a
woman to be
wandering around
out in the
fields alone
at night.
But he
also protected
her reputation.
He said,
let it not
be known
that a
woman came
to the
threshing
floor.
Now,
it was likely
that he
said this
to his
workmen
that might
have been
around.
If he
was saying
it to
Ruth,
I don't
think he
would have
said,
let it
not be
known
that the
woman
came to
the
threshing
floor.
And he
gave her
a promise,
a pledge,
six measures
of barley.
Now,
a measure
is a
generic
term.
Sometimes
it equates
to an
ephah,
which we
talked about
a couple
of weeks
ago.
Sometimes
it's an
omer,
a tenth
of an
ephah.
Now,
unless the
author was
exaggerating
for effect,
it's not
likely that
this was
six ephah,
because that
would have
been about
90 kilos.
You can
imagine the
picture of
her trying
to drag
90 kilos
down the
road.
She would
have needed
a wagon.
It's more
likely then
that it
was six
omer,
or about
nine kilos.
Still a
lot of
grain,
and an
amount that
would fit
within her
cloak that
she could
carry and
put over
her shoulder.
Boaz tells
Ruth,
you must
not go
back empty
handed to
your mother-in-law.
Now,
you have to
wonder if
this was a
message that
he was
sending to
Naomi.
You may
have gone
away full
and returned
empty,
but you're
not empty
now.
I will
see to it
that Ruth
is redeemed
because Boaz
knew that
Ruth needs
a redeemer.
Ruth asks
Boaz to
spread his
wings over
her.
Now,
over and
over again
in the
Old Testament,
wings are
used to
depict God's
protection and
redemption of
his people.
God redeemed
them from
Egypt on
eagles'
wings,
as it says
in Exodus
19.
And David
throughout the
Psalms talks
about being in
the shadow of
God's wings,
a place of
love,
a place of
refuge,
a place of
protection.
And Jesus
in Matthew
23,
and repeated
again in
Luke 13,
weeps over
Jerusalem,
saying,
O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem,
the city that
kills the
prophets and
stones those
who are sent
to it,
how often
would I have
gathered your
children together
as a hen
gathers her
brood under
her wings,
that you
were not
willing.
But we also
think about
wings,
think about the
picture of the
Ark of the
Covenant.
Sometimes
called the
Ark of
Testimony.
Covered in
gold,
this box
contained the
Ten Commandments,
it contained
Aaron's rod
that bloomed,
it contains the
bowl of
manna,
all reminders
of God's
covenant with
Israel,
kept in the
most holy
place in the
tabernacle,
a testimony
of God's
grace and
mercy.
On either
side of the
lid was a
cherub.
Now,
when we think
of cherubs,
what do we
think of?
Well,
normally we
think of
cute,
chubby little
baby
cubits,
right?
Well,
that couldn't
be further
from reality.
The cherubim,
plural of
cherub,
were the
warrior angels.
They were
the powerful
guard angels
that stood
around the
throne of
God.
And after
the fall,
cherubim
were placed
at the
edges of
the Garden
of Eden
with flaming
swords to
guard the
tree of
life and
to keep
out sinful
man.
On the
Ark of
the
Covenant,
two
cherubim
faced
each other
and spread
their wings
over the
mercy seat.
The
mercy seat
at the
center of
the lid,
where the
grace of
God was
extended to
his people.
For every
year on
the Day
of Atonement,
the high
priest would
bring the
blood of
the sacrifice
and pour
it out on
the mercy
seat to
cover the
sins of
the people.
As the
cherubim
spread their
wings over
the mercy
seat,
so God
spreads his
wings over
his people.
Providing
refuge and
protection,
reminding them
of the
promise of
a Redeemer
who would
come,
the seed
of the
woman,
who would
crush the
head of
the serpent,
who would
restore a
right relationship
between God
and man.
At
Sinai,
God had
given the
law and
the sacrifices
to show
that sin
led to
death,
that without
the shedding
of blood
there could
be no
forgiveness
of sin,
and to
act as a
reminder that
the blood
of goats
and bulls
and sheep
was not
enough,
to teach
the people
of their
need for
redemption,
for a
Redeemer.
In Psalm
19,
David refers
to the
Lord as
my rock
and my
Redeemer.
a
Redeemer
to free
us from
the slavery
of sin,
to restore
that right
relationship.
Yes,
Ruth needed
a Redeemer,
but also
we need
a Redeemer.
And God
the Father
sent His
eternal Son
as our
Redeemer
to live
that perfect
obedient life,
to die
an atoning
death,
to pour
His own
blood
onto the
heavenly
mercy
seat
to cover
our sins.
Isaiah
53
says He
was pierced
for our
transgressions.
He was
crushed
for our
iniquities.
Upon Him
was the
chastisement
that brought
us peace,
and with
His wounds
we are
healed.
Peace
and rest
through a
Redeemer.
Ruth returned
home with
them with a
promise,
a promise
backed up
by a
token,
the barley
itself.
And Naomi
sees this
as a
pledge and
says He
will not
rest until
the matter
is settled.
In the
final two
weeks of
our study
of Ruth
we will
see how
Boaz,
this kinsman
redeemer,
fulfilled this
promise,
but also how
this story of
Boaz as a
kinsman
redeemer fits
into the
overall story
of the
Bible,
of the
Lord who
provides a
true
redeemer for
us,
and how
because of
His steadfast
love and
faithfulness we
can trust our
redeemer.
We can trust
that redeemer in
our daily
struggles,
in our
waiting,
in our
wondering what's
going to
happen next.
And we
can wait
and see how
God will
work it out.
We can
trust that He
cares for us.
Let's pray.
Thank you.