124.
It's the season of Advent.
We're looking at the book of Ruth.
Today we come to the conclusion of our series.
The book of Ruth is set in a dark time.
In a society of turmoil.
Due to violent attacks.
Family brokenness.
Cross-cultural suspicions.
The time of God's people.
Individually and corporately battled
depression, grief,
and loneliness.
This is a world not
so different.
But in the midst of this dark and broken world
we see God's merciful intervention
on behalf of three otherwise unknown people.
Naomi,
Ruth,
and Boaz.
But God's provision for these three
otherwise unknown people
is part of the larger story of God's provision
for his people as a whole.
God brings life and hope to a broken family
and God's also bringing life and hope
to his broken people.
And as we see through the events of this book
God was raising up a king
to lead his people Israel,
David.
But God was also preparing the way
to the greatest king of all
for the Messiah,
Jesus.
Who came from the lineage
of Ruth and Boaz.
So we've entitled this sermon series
Prelude to the King.
If you enjoy this series,
if you want to dig deeper,
if you want to share
the message of this book
with someone you love
and care about,
I want to recommend
the book I recommended
three weeks ago,
Paul Miller's book,
A Loving Life.
It sold out,
but we ordered more copies.
So they're down in the book stall,
five bucks each.
They're more expensive online.
But it's,
I just found a really insightful book
into looking into the book of Ruth
and meditating on what it means
to live a life of love
as Christ has loved us
and has broken the world.
Alright,
let's read Ruth chapter four.
We're going to be looking,
I'm going to sort of take
a big picture approach today
to the book of Ruth.
So we're not only going to be looking
at chapter four,
but this is the conclusion
to the story
and what we haven't read already.
So,
Ruth chapter four.
Now,
Boaz had gone up to the gate
and sat down there
and behold,
the Redeemer,
of whom Boaz had spoken,
came by.
So Boaz said,
turn aside,
Fred,
sit down here.
And he turned aside
and sat down
and he took ten men
to the elders of the city
and said,
sit down here.
So they sat down.
Then he said to the Redeemer,
Naomi,
who has come back
from the country of Moab,
is selling the parcel of land
that belonged to our relative
Elimelech.
So I thought I would tell you
of it and say,
buy it in the presence
of those sitting here
and in the presence
of the elders of my people.
If you will redeem it,
redeem it.
But if you will not tell me
that I may know,
for there is no one
beside you to redeem it
and I come after you.
And he said,
I will redeem it.
Then Boaz said,
the day you buy the field
from the hand of Naomi,
you also acquire
Ruth the Moabite,
the widow of the dead,
in order to perpetuate
the name of the dead
and his inheritance.
Then the Redeemer said,
I cannot redeem it
for myself.
Lest I impair
my own inheritance,
take my right of redemption
yourself,
for I cannot redeem it.
Now this was the custom
in former times in Israel,
concerning redeeming
and exchanging.
To confirm a transaction,
the one threw off his sandal
and gave it to the other
and this was the matter
of attesting in Israel.
So when the Redeemer
said to Boaz,
buy it for yourself,
he drew off his sandal.
Then Boaz said to the elders
and all the people,
you are witnesses this day
that I have bought
from the hand of Naomi
all that belong to Elimelech
and all that belong
to Kilion and to Malon,
also Ruth the Moabite,
the widow of Malon,
I have bought to be my wife
to perpetuate the name
of the dead
and his inheritance.
That the name of the dead
may not be cut off
from among his brothers
and from the gate
of his native place
to your witnesses this day.
Then all the people
who were at the gate,
the elders said,
we are witnesses.
May the Lord make this woman
who is coming into your house
like Rachel and Leah
who together built
the house of Israel.
May her back worthily
in Ephrata
and be renowned
in Bethlehem
and may your house
be like the house
Perez
who take our war
to Judah
because of the offspring
that the Lord
will give you
by this young woman.
So Boaz took Ruth
and she became his wife
and he went into her
and the Lord
gave her conception
and she bore a son.
And the woman said to Naomi,
blessed be the Lord
who has not left you
this day
without a redeem.
And may his name
be renowned in Israel.
He shall be to you
a restorer of life
and a nourisher
of your old age.
For your daughter-in-law
who loves you,
who is more to you
than seven sons
has given birth to him.
Then Naomi took the child
and laid him on her lap
and became his nurse.
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.
Now these are the generations
of Perez.
Perez fathered Hezron,
Hezron fathered Ram,
Ram fathered Aminadab,
Aminadab fathered Nashon,
Nashon fathered Solomon,
Solomon fathered Boaz,
Boaz fathered Obed,
Obed fathered Jesse,
and Jesse fathered David.
The book of Ruth begins
with famine,
death,
and bitterness.
If you look back
at the beginning
of chapter one,
we see a famine
in the land.
In the town of Bethlehem,
which means house of bread,
the baskets were empty.
And the famine,
as we saw,
was a sign
of the spiritual dryness
and chaos
of the time of the judges.
What everyone did
is they saw fit
when there were no
moral and spiritual boundaries.
We also see
a family dying off.
first,
the family of Malemalem,
first spiritually
as they left
the promised land,
settled in Moab,
gradually lost
their distinctive identity
as a people of God,
and then physically
as the husband
and the two sons
passed away.
And then we see
a bitter old woman,
Naomi,
left alone,
destitute,
invulnerable,
far away from her native land,
complaining against God.
But the book of Ruth ends,
not with famine,
death,
bitterness,
but with blessing,
life,
and fullness.
Bitter Naomi
is now blessed.
Her empty hands
are now full
as she nurses
her grandson,
Moab.
Where she had once
been a destitute
and vulnerable widow,
she was now
honored as mother
in Israel.
And instead of bitterly
complaining against God,
she's the recipient
of a joyful blessing.
We also see
that the dying family
of Malemalek
has been restored
to life
and hope.
Chapter 4,
verse 10,
Boaz promises
to perpetuate
the name of the dead,
that is,
Malemalek,
in his inheritance,
that his name
may not be cut off.
To the family
that once seemed
to have no future,
now has a future
with hope.
There's also a future
for God's people.
His family,
the stricken people,
have been provided
not only with food,
not only with a good
barley harvest,
and all the rejoicing
that resulted
from consuming
barley products,
but with a new leader,
David.
The book begins
with the name
of the Malemalek
and his family,
who die off
of Moab.
The book ends
with the name
of Perez
and his descendants,
prophetly Boaz,
and culminating
with David,
the son of Jesse.
So we see a journey
from bitterness
to blessing,
from despair
to hope,
from famine
to fullness.
But of course
the question is,
how do we get
from bitterness
to blessing,
from despair
to hope,
from famine
to fullness?
Maybe you're asking
that question
on an individual
level like Naomi.
Maybe you feel like
you can relate to her
in some way
or other.
At the beginning
of the book
she was emptied out,
embittered,
vulnerable,
grieving,
alone.
Maybe the world
looks bleak,
like some of the
cloudy, foggy days
we've had this week.
Maybe you're getting
older.
You look back
on your life
and there are
regrets
and unfulfilled
desires.
For one reason
or another
some opportunities
seem to have
come and gone
and there doesn't
seem to be much
hope of a bright
future.
Maybe you're asking
that question
not just for yourself
but for your family.
If your family
has been inflicted
by sickness
or loss.
Maybe it's
relational conflict,
emotional baggage
that has a long
and unresolved
history.
Maybe you weep
and pray
over your
prodigal sons
and daughters
who have drifted
so far away
from the Lord.
Maybe you struggle
to honor your
parents
when their flaws
are painfully
evident.
Maybe you wonder
what does it mean
to be an agent
of God's redemption
in my family.
Maybe you've
stopped
weeping,
praying,
struggling
and wondering.
You simply
resigned yourself.
It is what it is.
I'll just keep
my distance.
Maybe you're
asking that question
about church.
Is it possible
to move from
famine to fullness?
Maybe you've seen
churches literally
self-destruct
due to internal
conflict.
Maybe you've been
burned out
from serving
in church ministries
where you've been
frequently criticized
and rarely encouraged.
Maybe you're weary
of superficial
small groups,
close friends
have all moved away
or passed away
or had babies
or just don't seem
interested in spending
time with you anymore.
So your inclination
is to withdraw,
to remain
at arm's length
in the local church.
Maybe you were
once a church leader
and you have vowed
never again.
Maybe you're happy
to attend
but you resist
that step
of joining
and committing.
Maybe you float
around from one church
to another
every couple of years
but you never really
settle down anywhere
looking for
an elusive fullness
for love
and truth
and glory
for the spirit
of the word
but
just doesn't seem
to be there
or anywhere.
Is there a path
for individuals,
for families,
for churches,
from bitterness
to blessing,
from despair
to hope,
from family
to fullness?
the book of Ruth
addresses this
very question
and it gives
the answer
yes.
It shows us
the path
that God
and his province
laid out
for Naomi,
for a little
lunch family
and for the people
of God as a whole
during the time
of the judges.
And this very
same God
who made
a path
way back
then
made a way
for us today
in his son
Jesus Christ.
So what I want
to do this morning
is I want to
trace the path
from bitterness,
despair,
and famine
to blessing,
fullness,
and hope.
I want to trace
the path
through the storyline
of Ruth.
If you weren't
here in the last
three weeks
this will serve
as a review.
If you weren't
here I hope
this will put
the whole book
in perspective.
So I want to
sort of do
an overview
of the storyline
of reason
and progression.
Second I want
to consider
the implications
for us
as individuals
and families
and as a church.
So first
what's the path
that we see
throughout the
storyline of this book?
Well from beginning
to end in this book
there are four
movements
that correspond
to the four chapters.
Now the chapter
of the first
divisions
in the Bible
were added
hundreds of years
after the Bible
was written.
So they were
added in the
Middle Ages
for the sake
of easy reference
so you could
easily find
the same spot
as someone else.
And sometimes
you know the
chapters and
verses just
sort of divide
up the text
into manageable
chunks.
But here
in Ruth
the chapters
and divisions
are exactly
where they
should be
to mark
the progression
of the story.
There are four
clearly defined
episodes in this
story and so
it's nice.
Now if you read
each of the four
chapters carefully
what you will
notice is that
in each chapter
there is a key
word that appears
over and over
in that chapter
but not at all
or not much
in the rest of
the book.
And if you're
reading the ESB
the Bible
translation that's
in the pews
it's very consistent
in how it
translates the words
so you can see
it without having
to read Hebrew
just by reading
your English
Bible
we can see
these things.
So I'm going
to point out
these four key
words
which will see
the progression
of the story.
Chapter 1
you remember
right?
Chapter 1
the key word
is return
12 times
in this chapter
only 3 times
in the rest
of the book.
Chapter 1
emphasizes God's
initiative.
Naomi's far
away in Moab
but God's
kindness
leads Naomi
to return
home
from exile.
Chapter 1
verse 6
Naomi arose
with her
daughters-in-law
to return
for
why does she
return?
She had heard
in the fields
of Moab
that the Lord
had visited
his people
and given
them food.
It's God's
kindness
that leads Naomi
to return
God's initiative
that gets the
whole story
going.
in fact
Naomi says
in verse 21
chapter 1
she says
I went away
and the Lord
has brought me
back.
It's actually
the same word
the Lord
has returned
to me.
So we see
God's initiative
to return
Naomi back
home.
Now Naomi
at this point
she's empty
she's bitter
she's vulnerable
she's grieving
she probably
wasn't the easiest
person to hang
around with
because she
was prompted
by the good
news of
God's kindness
so she
returned home
to God's
people
and the land
of God's
promises.
We also
saw that
in her return
God's steadfast
love didn't
leave Naomi
alone.
Ruth
returned
with her.
Chapter 1
verse 22
Ruth returns
swearing
in holy
loyalty
not only
to Naomi
but also
to Yahweh
to the God
of Israel
who made
promises
that through
this one
nation
he would
bless
all the
peoples
of the
earth.
What we
see in
chapter 1
is that
Ruth is
a living
embodiment
to Naomi
of the
steadfast
love
and covenant
mercy
of God
himself.
So that's
the first
move in
the story
return.
Chapter 2
the key
word is
glean.
He appears
12 times
only in this
chapter.
Now this
chapter 1
emphasizes
God's
initiative
bringing
Naomi
home.
Chapter 2
we see
Ruth's
initiative
in going
out to
the field
to glean.
Now the
word glean
simply means
to gather
leftover
grain
during
harvest
time
out from
someone's
field.
And it
was hard
work.
Ruth left
the house
early in
the morning.
She probably
left the
house at
6 a.m.
and says
she worked
until sundown
gathering
grain
in Boaz's
field
leading
over.
It was
back
breaking
work.
And then
she beat
out the
grain
to separate
the part
that we
really want
to keep
from just
the stocks.
and she
carried
up home
30 pounds
of stuff
all the
way in
the dark
by herself.
She probably
left the
house at
6 a.m.
and got
home around
9 or
10 at
night.
It was a
long hard
day of work.
Ruth went
out to
glean,
to gather,
to seek
food for
her and
Naomi to
sustain
them.
And in
this chapter
we saw
how God
provided.
God provided
for Ruth and
Naomi from
his law
which explicitly
allowed
foreigners
and widows
and the
poor to
glean in
people's
fields.
To pick
up the
leftovers
in order
to have
enough food
for them
to live
on.
But we
see that
God provided
not just
what they
needed for
that day.
God provided
generously
through
Boaz.
By his
providence
he brought
her Boaz's
field.
By Boaz's
kindness,
she went
home with
two weeks
worth food.
There's
another sign
that God
was beginning
to fill
Ruth and
Naomi's
emptiness.
We see
these glimmers
of hope
from famine
to fullness
there now.
They have
enough to
eat and
more to
spare.
A sign
of hope
for the
future.
Chapter
3,
moving on,
we've seen
God's
initiative to
return Naomi
home,
Ruth's
initiative to
glean.
Chapter
3 we see
Naomi's
initiative.
Naomi
proposes
an elaborate
and unconventional
plan to
send Ruth
up with
Boaz.
Go to
the threshing
floor late
at night,
notice where
he lies down,
uncover his
feet,
lie down
near him
and wait
and see
what happens.
Ooh,
if you've
listened to
last week's
sermon,
you want to
hear more
about that.
Now the
key word
in chapter
3 is
lie down.
Here's
eight times
only in
this chapter.
Lie down
at his
feet.
But we
can summarize
the theme
as petition.
In the
ancient world,
man's feet
represented his
authority.
Bowing down
before someone's
feet was a
recognized gesture
of humble
supplication
and submission
and petition.
Boaz awoke
in the middle
of the night
and saw
Ruth lying
at his
feet and
said,
Who are
you?
Ruth boldly
made her
petition clear.
She said,
Spread your
wings over
your sermon
for you
are a
redeemer.
Chapter
3,
verse 9.
Ruth wasn't
simply asking
for Boaz's
general protection.
She was
asking for
his particular
loyalty in
marriage.
Of course,
it was a
risky plan.
It was an
uncertain outcome.
But it was
motivated by
well-founded
hope.
You see,
Naomi had
seen how
God had
honored Ruth's
initiative to
seek food,
to seek
nourishment for
her family,
for her
Naomi.
And God
had abundantly
provided even
more than
they needed.
Naomi had
also seen
evidence of
Boaz's
character.
Ruth wasn't
just pursuing
some guy who
she barely
knew.
Naomi saw
Boaz's
loyalty,
to the
Lord,
his
diligence to
protect a
vulnerable young
foreign woman,
for being
part of his
kindness in
inviting Ruth
to join him,
and to join
his young
women,
and then his
table.
So Naomi's
plan wasn't a
foolish risk.
It wasn't just
wishful thinking.
Sometimes our
hopes are
actually not
well-founded,
but Naomi's
hope here was
a bold risk
motivated by
well-founded hope,
what we see is
that God
honors his
people when
they take
bold and
unconventional
risks that
are motivated
by well-founded
hope.
Like Tamar,
Genesis 38,
though that's
another story
for another
day,
and Brahab and
Joshua 2,
also another story
for another day,
but they're both
the same
principle.
They take
bold risks
motivated by
well-founded hope
in God,
and his
promises.
So even by
the end of
chapter 3,
we see the
movement in
Naomi from
despair and
inaction to
hopeful action.
And you see
this process
from bitterness
to blessing,
from despair
to hope,
from famine
to fullness,
but we're not
done yet.
Now we come
to chapter 4.
We see God's
initiative to
return Naomi
home,
Ruth's initiative
to glean,
Naomi's initiative
to set Ruth's
up,
and 4.
We see
Boaz's initiative
to redeem.
The word
redeem or
redeemer appears
13 times in
chapter 4,
8 times earlier
in the book.
Now what does
redeeming mean?
Probably when I
read this at the
beginning of the
passage,
thinking what
exactly does this
mean?
Do you know
redeeming,
the redeemer?
What's going on?
Sometimes we
think of
redeemer,
I think probably
the most common
way we define
redeem is to
purchase someone
out of slavery.
But that doesn't
completely make
sense in this
context.
Nobody's a slave
here who's
involved in the
story.
And in the
multisput context,
the meaning of
redemption or
redeeming was
even broader and
richer than that.
So Paul Miller
summarizes it this
way.
He says a
redeemer was a
male member of
the clan who
rescued another
member, often a
woman, who had
fallen on hard
times.
A redeemer could
restore property,
for example,
property that
had been sold
in order to
pay a debt.
A redeemer could
purchase a relative
out of slavery.
A redeemer could
marry a brother's
widow in order to
raise him a child
bearing a brother's
name.
A redeemer could
avenge a relative's
killing, assist in a
lawsuit, and ensure
that justice is served
for a relative.
Now, interestingly,
as far as we know,
this idea of a
redeemer was unique
to ancient Israel.
It wasn't a common
thing in the ancient
world.
It was a specific
provision of God's
law.
And the key aspect
that distinguished the
redeemer from other
kinds of helpers was
that the redeemer took
personal ownership of
the situation of the
person in need and of
their problems.
So a redeemer didn't
just give someone
advice or tell them
where they could get
help.
A redeemer didn't just
make referrals or
write a one-time
check.
A redeemer could
sustain ownership of
a person in distress
and all their
problems.
Now, in Boaz's case,
Ruth asked him to
marry her, and she
said, and she asked
him to do that on the
basis that you are a
redeemer.
In other words, it was
a relative in the clan
who was eligible to
fulfill this office,
this responsibility of
redeeming.
Now, as we saw last
week, Boaz's initial
response was, if I
could, I would.
But there's a
redeemer nearer than
I.
In other words, there's
a closer relative who
by law or custom has
first dibs.
And so, finally we get
to chapter 4.
Right?
Chapter 4, verse 1
through 6, we have
this extended
conversation between
Boaz and this
potential redeemer.
And you might, again,
you might wonder what
is going on here.
But remember back to
chapter 1.
There's this extended
contrast between
Orpah and Ruth,
the two Moabite
widows of
Naomi's sons.
At first, Orpah
says, Naomi, I'll
go back with you to
Bethlehem.
I'll join you on your
journey.
And then Naomi says,
well, that's very
generous.
But you realize what
it's going to cost you.
You'll probably never
get married.
You'll never have the
security of a husband
or the hope of a
legacy through having
children.
You'll be alone and
vulnerable in a foreign
land.
Go back home to your
mom and dad's house
and you'll have a bright
future.
And so Orpah sees what
the cost is and Orpah
makes the sensible,
reasonable, logical
choice.
She weeps, kisses
Naomi goodbye, and
goes back to Moab.
Now the Redeemer here
in chapter 4 is very
similar to Orpah.
At first, he's very
happy to buy the land,
take care of elderly
widow Naomi for
probably a few more
years, the rest of her
life.
And it's not a bad
deal for him in the
long run.
When Naomi dies, the
land will belong to
him.
But then Boaz says in
verse 5, do you
realize what it will
cost you?
The day goodbye the
field from the hand of
Naomi, who also
acquired Ruth the
Moabite, the widow of
the dead, in order to
perpetuate the name of
the dead and his
inheritance.
Now what does that
mean?
That means if he
marries Ruth, he
supports Ruth for the
rest of her life.
He supports her
children.
Her children get
Ruth's dead husband's
last name, not his.
And when the children
are grown, this guy
would have to give
them the land.
He doesn't come out
with anything for
himself in the long
run.
And so suddenly, he
backs down.
He sees the cost, and
he says, hmm, not
quite worth it.
And Boaz steps up to
steal the deed.
See, in both of these
cases, why is there
this extended contract,
right, this long
dialogue?
It's about the
costliness of
redemption.
The costliness of
redeeming love.
In chapter one,
Ruth counted the
cost.
She made the rare,
risky, restrictive
decision to be loyal
to Naomi and to
Naomi's God, leaving
everything behind in
in order to go with
her to Bethlehem, and
God honored her
decision.
Chapter four, here,
Boaz is counted the
cost.
And he chooses to
redeem Naomi, to
marry Ruth, and carry
on the name of the
family of a little
life.
He's not just
pursuing what will be
good for himself.
He's not even just
pursuing what he and
Ruth would enjoy
with the others.
And Eric, he's
carrying, he's
stepping into this
responsibility of
being a redeemer for
the family, for the
whole family.
God honors Boaz's
decision.
I threw Boaz
and Ruth.
God came to
redeem his people by
raising up a son who
would be the
grandfather of King
David.
And of course, we
can see in hindsight,
God was preparing the
way for a greater
redeemer to come.
For Jesus, the Son of
God, who became our
brother, to deliver
us from bondage, to
redeem us in every
sense of the word, to
take ownership of
our deepest problem, to
bind himself to us in
covenant love and
faithfulness, and say,
I will be yours and
you will be mine, and
I will give you all
that I have, all my
riches and
righteousness and
joy, and I will take
all of your sin and
all of your despair and
all of your bitterness,
and I will be yours and
you will be mine forever.
So we come to the
conclusion of our
story.
Forbitterness, despair,
famine, to blessing,
hope, and fullness.
God's initiative to
return Naomi, Ruth's
initiative to glean,
Naomi's initiative to
petition, and Boaz's
initiative to redeem, and
God's blessing at the
end.
So that's the
storyline of Ruth in
a nutshell.
Now, what are the
implications for us?
I want to consider some
implications of this
storyline for us as
individuals in our
family relationships, and
for us as members of
God's church as people
who belong to Jesus.
So first, as
individuals and as
families, how do we
move from bitterness to
blessing and from
despair?
Now, one of the things
that the book of Ruth
shows us is that this
is an ongoing process,
not an instantaneous
transformation.
Naomi's journey from
bitterness to blessing
does not happen in one
night, or one week.
It takes a year, right?
And when she arrives
home at the beginning
of barley harvest, that
will be April, to the
end of barley wheat
harvest, when she plots
to set up a roof with
Boaz, probably late
June, and then at least
nine more months after
they get married, until
baby Obed is born, and
she's precipitating this
blessing at the end.
And even at the end, if
you read chapter 4, verse
15, there may be a
subtle hint that Naomi's
journey isn't quite
finished yet.
She still doesn't fully
recognize the depth of
Ruth's sacrificial love.
And so the women of the
town have to remind her
of that, and how valuable
Ruth has been to her.
But let me point out four
steps along Naomi's
journey that might be
helpful for us to keep
in mind.
journey at an individual
and family level.
So first, repentance.
Naomi's journey began with
God's kindness leading her
to repentance.
She felt bitter toward God.
She was angry at her
misfortunes, perhaps, but she
immediately left behind the
paganism of Moab and returned
home to God's people and God's
promises.
See, the path of bitterness
to blessing begins with
repentance prompted by God's
grace.
Returning to God's promises
and God's people, even if
there's still a lot of
bitterness and questions and
doubts there.
So repentance.
Second, Naomi's journey
continued with God's provision
of a loyal relative, Ruth.
Ruth's loyalty.
At first, we saw that Naomi
didn't even acknowledge
Ruth's presence.
But Ruth kept on loving her
nonetheless.
Despite Naomi's expressions
of bitterness and hopelessness,
Ruth stuck with her.
At the beginning of chapter 2,
Ruth and Naomi have come back
to Bethlehem.
This is Naomi's home turf.
Naomi knows how things work
here.
But Naomi, but Ruth, has to
take the initiative.
Even though she's a foreigner,
Ruth has to get up and say,
let me go to the field and
glean.
Let me seek food for us so that
we can live and survive.
Naomi's despair fostered idleness.
Ruth's initiative became a means of
God's sustaining grace.
Ruth's prayer.
Brothers and sisters, let me
encourage you not to give up
loving someone who is stuck
in a season of bitterness and
despair.
They may not thank you now,
but you are a means of God's
sustaining grace for them,
as Ruth was, or named.
Third, there's repentance.
Naomi's repentance for his
loyalty.
Third, there's surprising
provision.
Boaz's surprising generosity.
And we actually see that God
releases Naomi from at least some
of her cloud of bitterness by
surprising her with generous
provision in a time of great
need.
When Ruth came home that day,
carried 30 pounds of barley and
a whole plate of leftovers from
dinner with Boaz and his family,
Naomi's spirit revived.
Chapter 2, verse 19, she says,
Blessed be the man who did
notice of you.
May he be blessed by the Lord,
whose kindness is not for
sake from the living and the
dead.
Naomi begins to see beyond
herself.
Instead of merely lamenting her
emptiness for Naomi,
blesses God for somebody else's
kindness.
Sometimes God's surprising,
generous provision releases us
from bitterness and despair.
It gives us new joy and hope.
There's been a few times in the
past year when someone or some
group of people has caught me off
guard as an unexpectedly generous
and undeserved gift.
These expressions of generosity have
lifted my spirits and renewed my
joy.
Sometimes they tend to come to miss
the most stressful times.
But brothers and sisters, maybe
delight in surprising others.
Consider if you can surprise with an
expression of generosity that's not
just the bare minimum of what they
need, but as Boaz did for Ruth,
laugh is provisional.
Because this is part of how God
releases his people from bitterness
and fills us with hope.
Fourth, unselfish love.
Naomi's journey from bitterness to
blessing continued as she looked
outside of herself, as she considered
Ruth's future more highly than her own.
You see, the journey from bitterness to
blessing is not just about God
changing our external circumstances,
or even bringing surprisingly generous
people into our life.
It's also a developing internal
resolve, nourished by the Holy Spirit
to love as Christ has loved us.
And we see that in Naomi's initiative on
Ruth's behalf in chapter 3.
Naomi said, should I not seek rest for you?
That it may be well with you.
Naomi wasn't plotting to advance her own
status.
She wasn't clinging to Ruth and saying,
don't you ever dare leave me.
She was seeking what would be best for
Ruth.
looking outside herself
and loving unselfishly,
even when her own future
was precarious and uncertain.
You see, the basic pattern of Scripture is this.
Our faith is rooted in the love of God for us.
That's where it starts.
It doesn't start with us loving God.
It starts with God loving us.
We love because He first loved us.
But our faith matures in part
when we extend ourselves in Christ's love to others.
Jesus said, the one who loves me
will be loved by my Father
and I will love him
and manifest myself to him.
Paul Miller put it this way.
He said, love deepens faith.
And he says this.
He says, many Christians,
which I found,
I thought it was quite insightful,
he said, many Christians get stuck
trying to grow their faith
by growing their faith.
Practically, this means
combining spiritual disciplines,
reading the Word,
praying,
with reflecting on the love of God for them.
But he says,
that will only get you so far.
In fact, sometimes it can lead
to spiritual moodiness,
where you're constantly taking your calls,
wondering how much you know
the love of God for you.
Or you go on an endless idle hunt,
trying to uncover
ever deeper layers of sin,
oddly enough.
He says this can lead to
a kind of spiritual narcissism,
self-centeredness.
But he says,
Naomi and Ruth discover God's blessing
and grow in their knowledge of him
as they obey.
As they extend themselves
in unselfish love
for the other people
that God has put right in their lives.
So he says,
instead of running
from the really hard thing
in your life,
embrace it as a gift from God
to draw you more deeply
into his life.
Into the life of Christ.
So these are four parts
of Naomi's journey.
Repentance,
her own repentance,
Ruth's steadfast loyalty,
Boaz's surprising generosity,
and God's work in her heart
to make her a person
of unselfish love.
So that's some of the individual
and family journey.
What about as a church?
What's the path of family
to fullness?
You know,
we live in a time,
in many ways,
it's increasingly like
the time of the judges
when Ruth and Boaz
and Boaz lived.
In some people's minds,
the future of the church
in the West is bleak.
What does the book of Ruth
have to say to us
as a church?
Well,
at one level,
it reminds us
that renewal,
revival,
is a gift from God.
There are two explicit statements
of God's action
in this book.
At the beginning,
chapter 1,
verse 6,
the Lord visited
his people
and gave them food.
God's kindness
sets the whole story in motion.
If the famine hadn't ended,
Naomi would have stayed
in Moab
and none of this
would have happened.
At the end,
chapter 4,
verse 13,
the Lord gave Ruth
conception
and she bore a son.
Again,
if Ruth had remained
childless
and it seems
that she had been married
for 10 years in Moab
and had no children there,
if she had remained
childless,
the family of the limelight
would have died off
and King David
never would have been born.
As the psalmist says,
if the Lord doesn't
build the house,
the builders labor
and vain.
But while the book
of Ruth affirms
God's sovereignty
over all things
and our utter dependence
on Him,
the emphasis of Ruth
is that God
accomplishes His purposes
through people who love
and people who pray.
That God works
through human agents.
God's activity
is hidden,
yet He is continuously
present and continuously
working out His purposes
through the initiative
of Ruth to glean,
through the initiative
of Naomi
to petition Boaz,
through Boaz's initiative
to redeem.
The story is framed
by two,
only two statements
of God's explicit action,
the beginning and the end,
not because God is absent
from the rest of the story,
but to show that the whole story
is framed
by God's guiding presence
and sovereignty.
In all these things,
God is at work
for the good of His people.
We also see
in the book of Ruth,
God's plan is carried forward
by prayer.
There's not a lot of statements
that explicitly talk about
what God does,
but there's a lot of statements,
there's a lot of expressions
calling on God
to bless people.
Chapter 1,
Naomi blesses
Ruth in Orpah.
May the Lord deal kindly with you,
the Lord grant
that you may find rest.
Chapter 2,
Boaz blesses Ruth.
The Lord repay you
for what you've done.
A full reward be given you
by the Lord
under whose wings
you have come
to take refuge.
Chapter 2,
Naomi blesses Boaz.
May he be blessed
by the Lord.
Chapter 4,
verse 11,
the elders of Bethlehem
and the people
at the city gate
bless Ruth and Boaz.
was a blessing
that through them
the house of Israel
would be built up.
And finally,
the women of Bethlehem
blessed Naomi
in 4, 14 and 15.
Now what's the point
of all these prayers
of blessing?
You know that
every one of these prayers
in the book of Ruth
is answered.
Naomi's prayer
for Ruth
and Orpah.
Boaz's prayer
for Ruth
that she would
be rewarded
by the Lord
under whose wings
she's come
to take refuge.
Naomi's blessing
on Boaz
that he would be blessed.
The elders of Bethlehem's
blessing on Boaz's
and Ruth's marriage
and the blessing
of the women
of Bethlehem
on Naomi
that God would
restore her life
and nourish her
in her old age.
every one of these
prayers is answered.
So the book of Ruth
encourages us to pray.
In the midst
of troubled times
in our own life
and our family
and the church
and the world
let us call upon
the Lord
to shower his blessing
upon us
and our families
and our future generations.
Sometimes we'll see
the answers
to our prayers.
Sometimes like Boaz
we won't become
part of the answer
to our prayers.
Boaz prays
that God would
protect Ruth
under his wings
and then in the next chapter
Ruth says
spread your weight
over me.
Boaz becomes
part of God's
answer to his own prayer.
Sometimes our prayers
will be answered
long after we have
finished our
earthly pilgrimage.
You see,
Obed was the grandfather
of King David
but Ruth and Boaz
didn't live to see that.
often it's only
in hindsight
that we can see
what the Lord
has been doing
and given the shortness
of our lives
on earth
most of our hindsight
will come
from the perspective
of eternity.
Brothers and sisters,
let us pray.
When we're in the middle,
when we're still
in the middle
of that journey
and we haven't
yet arrived
at the fullness
of blessing
and hope
and renewed life
and joy
and peace
and fullness,
let us pray.
Let us call
upon the Lord
to bless
one another.
Let us trust
that the same God
will answer
the prayers
of those of this book.
Here's our prayers
through His Son,
Jesus Christ.
You see,
what we see
in the book of Ruth
is that God
brought Naomi,
the family of Lebelech
and the people
of Israel
as a whole
from bitterness,
despair,
and famine
to blessing,
hope,
and fullness.
And a thousand years
later,
God would once again
intervene
and come to a woman
in Bethlehem
in a time
when God's people
were wondering,
has He left us alone?
Has He abandoned us
to our own sin?
Will we ever be delivered
from our oppressors?
Is there hope
for me?
Is there hope
for the church?
And into that world
God sent His Son.
God sent His promise
and blessing
and His messengers
say to Mary,
nothing is impossible
with God.
And the New Testament
closes
with a prayer,
come Lord Jesus.
Because we're still waiting.
He's come.
He came for Ruth
and Naomi
and Moaz.
He came
as God's Son
and our Savior
to redeem us.
And He will come again.
Brothers and sisters,
don't tire
in the meantime
of praying
and loving
and waiting
and trusting
that He will fulfill
His promises.
He will bring us
from bitterness
to blessing.
He will bring us
from despair
to hope.
He will bring us
from famine
to fullness.
Let's pray.
God,
we thank You
for Your steadfast love.
We thank You
for Your faithfulness
to Your promises
to Naomi
to a live-lunched family
to Your people
as a whole.
We thank You
that You are
the same God
yesterday,
today,
and forever.
We thank You
that
we have
the even greater
assurance
because You have
sent Your Son.
Because He
has accomplished
our redemption
through His death
and resurrection.
Lord,
we pray that You
would fill us
with blessing
for You,
that we bless
Your name
and bless one another
in Your name.
You would fill us
with hope,
renew our hope
for the future,
and that You
would fill us
with the fullness
of Your Holy Spirit
that comes from
being united
to Christ.
Lord,
make us messengers,
of that blessing
and hope
and fullness
in this Christmas
season
these weeks ahead.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.