Ruth Chapter 3

0:00 We're going to be in Route 3, in case you weren't in at the start, so if you want to have your Bibles open or your tablets or phones or whatever it is that you have to get ready for that, we're going to be going through that step by step like we did a couple of weeks ago. Now, doctors, nurses, dentists are going to roll their eyes at me, but when it comes to anything medical, I am particularly squeamish. And the only way that I can avoid certain levels of hysteria is to avert my eyes. And depending on the situation, the angle of aversion sort of correlates to the seriousness of the situation. So for example, if I have to get an injection, I can get away with sort of coolly gazing up into the far corner of the room from the opposite arm. as if I'm pondering something particularly erudite and maybe get away with it. Unfortunately, I can't do that when it comes to a blood test. I need to be over past 180 degrees, looking over my shoulder with my eyes scrunched together, actually, if I'm being honest with you, whenever it's a blood test.

1:12 And then worst of all, thankfully these years are well past for me, but worst of all was whenever my boys were young and they would gleefully, wickedly run up to me Because they knew what would happen here when they wobbled their tooth on the last sinew. That was more than enough. And then they would go off giggling with the pleasure of disgusting me and making me send them on their way. On a more serious note, there are stories. There is history in the scriptures. stories and characters that the Jewish people themselves might well have wanted to avert their eyes from. And often there are stories that we as well maybe want to avert our eyes from. There's the story, for example, of Judah and of Tamar told in Genesis 38, a story of Judah's failure to follow God's law and provide his youngest son to his eldest son's Canaanite widow, Tamar, in a leverant marriage to carry on the family line.

2:27 A failure then compounded more when Tamar takes matters into her own hands to continue that family line, disguises herself as a prostitute who Judah then sleeps with and she gets pregnant with the twins Perez and Zerah. Then there is the story of the deep moral failure of the great king David who from his rooftop sees Bathsheba the wife of his great warrior soldier Uriah the Hittite. He sees her bathing, he takes her, he sleeps with her, he gets her pregnant and then in an attempt to cover his tracks he arranges for her husband's death on the front line of battle. Grave sin leading to graver sin, leading to graver sin. Stories from which you'd rather avert your eyes. And yet, in Matthew's family tree of Jesus that I highlighted a couple of weeks ago because Ruth and Boaz are in that family tree, it's astounding to see that both of these stories too are in that same genealogy. They are mentioned, but they're also mentioned in such a way that the scandal of them cannot be overlooked in any way. It cannot be airbrushed.

3:51 It cannot be hidden in a lack of information. Because when it comes to Judah, Matthew does something that's different from the rest of the family line where he just names the men. And he highlights Tamar as the mother through which the family line continues. And then when it comes to David's story again, instead of calling her Bathsheba, he calls her Uriah the Hittite's wife, as if to shine the spotlight on David's immorality and failure. And the overwhelming message coming out of those mentions in this family tree is that here is these different parts of the heritage of Jesus, the Messiah. These are some of the people he chooses to identify himself with. These stories of moral failure, of sexual immorality, of exploiting and of being exploited. These are stories that he is powerful enough and that he is willing enough in his amazing grace to redeem.

5:05 And it's this reminder that he is powerful enough and willing enough to redeem our stories to whatever they are. And I mention these particular stories for good reason. As we come to Ruth 3, a couple of weeks ago, I encouraged us to think about or to try and look at this story as if it's almost like a play being acted out on the stage. And there are various backdrop scenery behind the story going on that provide context and that provide contrast. So there's the backdrop of the people of Israel. Then there's the backdrop of, remember the beginning of the story, the days when the judges ruled. When everyone did what was right in their own eyes. But in this chapter in particular, there are illusions made that also give us the backdrop of these two avert your eyes, scandalous stories of Judah and Tamar and David and Bathsheba.

6:04 And against these stories, this one of Ruth and Boaz, especially this second scene that we're going to look at, it dazzles in its contrast. The characters shine in their examples of integrity and purity and that chesed, steadfast, loving kindness. This is the opposite of an avert your eyes story. This is glorious, this is beautiful, this is a story that is Christ reflecting. So as we make our way through step by step, let's, like I say, keep all of those in mind dazzles in front of us. So scene one then. Remember we're in Bethlehem, house of bread, and we're a few weeks on since the day played out in chapter two. We are now coming to the time of the end of the harvest.

7:05 It's almost like a point of tension in terms of nothing has happened in the intervening weeks. And is time going to run out, I suppose, in this story? So we begin And one day Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, my daughter, I must find a home for you where you will be well provided for, where you will find rest. And just one little thing to notice here that you pick up. Notice the difference in act three, Naomi, compared to act two, Naomi. Compared to last week, see how clear-minded she is, how hopeful, how motivated, taking responsibility and expressing her love and kindness to her daughter-in-law Ruth. and she has this plan for Ruth's security and Ruth's welfare and her rest. Now Boaz, she tells Ruth,

7:55 with whose women you've worked is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. In other words, here is an opportunity. Here is your opportunity. Wash, she says to her, put on perfume and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don't let him know you're there until he has finished eating and drinking when he lies down. Note the place where he is lying.

8:23 Then go and uncover his feet and lie down and he will tell you what to do. It's this very carefully, very shrewdly thought out plan. Naomi is a strategist. Now, across the historical and cultural divide from this story to us, we could maybe either misinterpret or miss some key aspect of what Naomi is saying here to Ruth. When she says wash, put on perfume and get dressed in new clothes, there's more to this than simply saying make sure you smell good and make sure you look good. Now there's nothing wrong with smelling good and looking good, or looking your best. As we learned in our Vessels Conference yesterday, we have been given by God ascetic sensibilities.

9:18 And so all of that is good advice, and there's no harm in it, but there's far, far more to it here than that. You see, up to now, Ruth has been wearing the clothes of a widow in mourning. And washing and anointing yourself with perfumed oil and putting on fresh clothes indicates to others that you have ended the period of mourning. And there are allusions here to those Avert Your Eyes stories. Those early Jewish readers of this story would have made the connection to David following exactly the same process, exactly the same three steps at the end of his period of mourning after his tragic story of adultery with Bathsheba and the death of the child. And they likely would have also connected this in some way to especially the changing out of widow's clothes to Tamar because Tamar did exactly the same thing before she disguised herself as a prostitute and then seduced Judah. So Naomi is telling Ruth here. So we get all of this.

10:27 to indicate through these specific actions that she is no longer a widow in mourning, but her status has changed and she is now in fact ready to be married once again. She is available. That's basically what this is saying. But of course, those early readers might be wondering as they think about Tamar in the background, is this going to be another sorry tale, a tragic one of immorality and failure? I will do whatever you say Ruth answered. Just this simple faith and loyalty to her mother-in-law. So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do. And then we move to the scene on the threshing floor.

11:15 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits. He went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly uncovered his feet and lay down. Picture the scene. Boaz is here at the end of the barley harvest. He's had this hard day of manual labor. Winnowing involved a pitchfork into the straw and the grain and the chaff and tossing it up into the evening winds and allowing the grain to fall and the chaff to be blown away. And Boaz has been at this all day and into the evening.

11:52 And then he's eaten and he's drank with his workers. And imagine him looking up at the stars. The joy of a new harvest after the interminable years of famine in Bethlehem. And drifting off then into that satisfied, full-hearted sleep. And again, just a little tiny things. look at the providence of God that he chooses to go and sleep on the far end of the green path. It almost mirrors what happens in chapter two, as it just happened that Ruth bumped into Boaz in the field. Now it just happens that he chooses this place where an opportunity for this episode of them being alone can actually take place.

12:45 And Ruth does, as Naomi has told her to do. She takes this bold initiative. She approaches quietly. She uncovers his feet and she lies down. In the middle of the night, something startled the man. He turned and there was a woman lying at his feet. Who are you? He asked.

13:02 I am your servant, Ruth. A different word for the word she used, a servant in chapter two, one of higher status, basically saying, I am the servant of higher status, who is right for you to be married to in that sense, who is at that level. Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian redeemer, since you are a kinsman redeemer of our family. Let's understand the dramatic tension. It's important that we do so in this scene as we see it played out against all of these backdrops. Our writer narrates it from Boaz's point of view for a moment. He changes the angle. And Boaz wakes up startled to find a woman lying beside him, and he has no idea who it is.

13:51 It's dark, of course, and of course, Ruth now smells different and is dressed different, so it's going to be hard for him to recognize her. He needs her to tell him who she is, and she does so, your servant Ruth. She asks him then to spread the corner of his garment, his canap, spread his wings over her. Remember, this is the same word used by Boaz in chapter two when he says to Ruth May, the Lord spread his wings over you. And in asking him to do this, it seems that what she is doing in her culture is the equivalent of what in our culture is getting down on one knee and saying, will you marry me? And this is the high point of tension in this act. And we cannot and we should not ignore the tension and we cannot and should not ignore even the sexual tension that is in this scene. This young woman lying at his feet in the dead of night.

14:57 How will Boaz respond? Remember the backdrops in the days when the judges ruled and everyone did what was right in their own eyes. We might think of Samson and all of those terrible decisions that he made by capitulating to sexual temptation and lust. We think of those other stories before of Judah and Tamar, of David and Bathsheba. And Boaz easily has both the opportunity and the power to act in a similar way. And he's been kind, and he's been trustworthy, and he's been loving so far up to this point. But the question is, that's all happened in the public arena in full view of other people. Will he be the same in the hidden, in the private, in the unseen?

15:49 Especially in this sexually charged moment. Everything here hinges on the character, hinges on the integrity, hinges on the purity, on the steadfast loving kindness of Boaz. Ruth has taken this step of incredible, incredible risky faith. She is in the most precarious of situations. What will happen? And it turns out that Boaz is the real Dean. He is one completely worthy of her faith. Look at what he says to the Lord.

16:32 Bless you, my daughter. This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier. You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. Again, that connection with Proverbs 31. Remember, Boaz is under no obligation whatsoever under the law to enter into a leverant marriage with Ruth.

17:00 He's not close enough in terms of being a relative. He's not a brother. So he could easily wash his hands of all this. He could easily turn her away. Yet he sees the risk that she's taken. He sees the precariousness of the situation that she's in. He sees the motivation for why she has done this. This is no selfish act on the part of Ruth.

17:25 It's a self-giving one, loving kindness to her mother-in-law, loving kindness actually to her late husband Malin and trying to find a way to continue his family line. And being married to a kinsman redeemer and then loving kindness to Boaz as well and choosing to ask him to marry her over potentially younger suitors. Loaz recognizes all this. This is what he chooses to see. And he responds to her chesed with these words, don't be afraid. Words echoing forward, of course, to Jesus who says them repeatedly to his followers. Don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask.

18:17 Don't be afraid. It's me. I'll not turn you away. I'll not treat you with contempt. I'll not exploit you. I will respond to your faith in me with an overwhelming steadfast loving kindness in return. Now there is a little fly in the ointment which will not be resolved until chapter four. Here's how Boaz goes on.

18:38 Although it is true that I am a guardian, redeemer, a kinsman, redeemer of our family, there's another who is more closely related than I. Stay here for the night. She's still really looking after her honor and her integrity. Stay here for the night and in the morning, if he wants to do his duty as your guardian redeemer, good, let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. Lie here until morning. So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized. And he said, no one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor. This isn't about hiding.

19:19 It's not about secrecy. It's about honor and integrity of Ruth. It's about steadfast loving kindness for her. But then he also said, bring me the shawl you're wearing. This is part of the clothes that she is wearing, the new clothes that she's wearing, and hold it out. And when she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. And then he went back to town. He's wasting no time in getting this sorted out.

19:46 So the writer makes clear, she lay at his feet until morning. And yes, the writer is telling us something here. As you remember Judah and Tamar and you have that picture in the back of your mind, as you remember David and Bathsheba, as you remember Samson, she lay at his feet until morning and nothing happened. This is a beautiful picture of honor and of integrity and of purity and of waiting until the right time on the part of Boaz and Ruth, motivated by other-centered love, by steadfast love for the other one. Not selfishness, but selflessness contained within their desire to honor their God. And then just like chapter two, Boaz does it again, another act of abundant generosity. This guarantee of his promise for the future in the form of these six measures of barley. It's like a little message sent to Naomi in the cloak.

20:51 You can trust me, Naomi. Your plan has worked. And then he immediately heads off to town, like I say. He's going to get this sorted. ASAP. So, final scene, back at home. When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, how did it go, my daughter? Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, he gave me these six measures of barley saying, don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.

21:23 And then Naomi said, wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens, for the man will not rest until the matter is settled today. The words the NIV translates here as how did it go, my daughter, are more accurately translated as, who are you, my daughter? They're the same words that Boaz has asked Ruth when he is startled and wakes up. In other words, Naomi is saying, who are you? Are you still Ruth, the Moabite widow? Or has your status changed? Has my plan worked? Are you now Ruth, the betrothed to Boaz in marriage?

22:06 And Ruth tells her everything. She gives her the message of the six measures of barley, this first fruits down payment on what is coming next. And notice the language that Ruth uses. Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed, is what he said to me, empty-handed. Remember Naomi in chapter one? Empty, Naomi. Now the recipient of this abundant generosity, which is only the first fruits of the generosity that she is going to enjoy in the future. And that's Act Three, Chapter Three.

22:45 You'll have to come back next week to see how the story resolves. But for now, and I'm sure as we've gone through the story, you can already pick up, and you already have for yourself picked up from the narrative on many possible little takeaway. But just in the time that I have left, I just wanna zoom in a little bit on each of the three characters and just think about one or two things from each of them in terms of that example. Is there anything, I apologize in advance, that we can glean from their example? See what I did there? No? Okay. First of all, Naomi.

23:28 Now, let's be clear. There are certain things that we should not Take from Naomi's example here, right? If you are the parent of young adult daughters, I would not advise that you tell them to wash, put on perfume, and go down to a field and lie at the feet of a young farmer. That is not a good idea, okay? I would imagine you know that already. But there are things that we can learn. And perhaps one thing is this. We've already highlighted the change in Naomi in the renewed hope that God has not forgotten about her, that God is on the move in her life, in Ruth's life, in their situation.

24:12 But notice, Naomi does not say, God is sovereign, and so I'm just going to sit back and wait for God to act and do what he's going to do. Do you see that? No, instead, she creatively, shrewdly, carefully acts out her loving care for her daughter-in-law in instigating this plan. She seizes the opportunity knowing that it is God who has presented that opportunity. It is a little snapshot of this whole book, God's sovereign providence working itself out through human initiative and action. Naomi's not going to wait around. There's this sense of urgency. And that's not her denying God's providence.

25:06 It's her working with it. It's her understanding how it works. And it makes me think of Paul writing to the Ephesians, be very careful then he says, how you live. Not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. in the same breath he says be filled with the spirit it's this idea of spirit filled spirit fueled initiative and action and urgency bringing about the execution of the plans and providence of God and I suppose that raises the question is are there areas in my life are Are there areas in yours where God is calling us to action, to initiative, to stepping into the next good thing, whatever that is? Or are we paralyzed in passivity in terms of certain circumstances and certain situations and we've just gone, "Well, God, you're going to have to do it." might he be calling us to in the same way as we see Ruth enacting out his providence through her actions.

26:29 And then we turn to Boaz. And there are all sorts of secondary applications that we can glean from him in this chapter. If nothing else, here is a beautiful picture. Here is a challenging example to us all, but especially to us as men of what it looks like to be a godly man. And his integrity and his purity, how they shine against these dark backdrops. In terms of what I was talking about there, this man who is the same in the hidden and the unseen and the private as he is in the public and the open. in his protection, in his God-centered, God-worshipping choice to use his power and his position and his resources sacrificially rather than exploitatively, in his abundant generosity, in his stewardship of all that God has given him, in his spirit of the law, not letter of the law, posture of his life.

27:39 Let's not minimize this example and this call to simply do good and be a good man. Think of the words in 1 Peter 2 when he calls these foreigners and exciles to abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. And a little word, especially to younger men, this is for all of us, but especially to younger men here this morning. please do carefully consider Boaz's example to you. In your life and how you orient it and who it's oriented towards and your values and what's important to you. And what you do with what you've been given, but also specifically in how you treat younger women.

29:00 in a culture, in a world where they are so often objectified and exploited, and in our country where it seems so many are still subject to violence at times. In your relationships, in your choices, in how you speak to and how you speak about Young women, in what you choose and who you choose to be influenced by and in what you choose to look at on screens, are you choosing some sort of passive partnership in the objectification and exploitation or are you choosing active, other-centered, loving kindness under your loyalty to and worship of God in response to his steadfast loving kindness and grace in your life. This stuff matters. And there is more than enough grace for mistakes made in the past.

30:17 But let's not continue on that line. hour, there's also grace to help you change. But of course, the most significant aspect of Boaz here is how he turns our gaze to Jesus. That's the most important thing that we can take, all of us from this. So we see our kinsman redeemer, who has humbled himself, who has become one of us, our relative, our brother, so that he might become our redeemer. Just like Boaz does with Ruth, He doesn't force us to accept him, but gives us the freedom to come to him and ask. Yet as soon as we do, he responds with this overwhelming abundance of steadfast, loving, kindness, faithfulness, and grace. And he places us under the forever protection of his powerful wing.

31:13 And he changes forever the answer to the question, who are you? I once was, Chris, in the words of Ephesians 2, foreigner without hope and without God, but now in Christ I have been brought near. Now in Christ we have been brought near. We have been brought together as his church, betrothed to be the bride of Christ, and he is on the move inexorably towards that goal. And in the gift of his Holy Spirit to us, he does not leave us empty handed, but has given us his spirit as a first fruits down payment, guaranteeing the magnificent, abundant harvest that is going to be ours in eternity. You see the illusions, the pictures. And then lastly, we have Ruth.

32:18 And again, so much that I could say about her selflessness, about her loyalty, about her integrity, about her purity, about God's providence not only being worked out in our public deeds, but in those private, hidden, unseen ones. But what struck me most in this story about her was her all-in faith in Boa. We've already talked about it at a common sense level. No one would ever advise her to put herself in that situation which looks like it is a situation of the gravest danger. And yet I think if you had the opportunity to talk to Ruth, she might respond, dangerous? No, we're talking about Boaz here. I know him.

33:25 He's proved himself from the first day to now to be a man of chesed, loving kindness. He can be trusted. He will protect. He will shelter me under his wings. He will redeem. He will pour out his love abundantly. He will never let me down. I know that that one small move of faith towards him will be met with overwhelming grace coming back the other way to me.

33:54 It's Boaz. I don't need to be afraid. I know Jesus, my kinsman, redeemer. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. While I was still a sinner, he died for me. He said to me, come and I will give you rest. He's promised that no one will ever snatch his sheep out of his hand.

34:28 I know Jesus. He can be trusted. He is faithful. So no move towards him in faith is too risky. No decision that relies on him or his faithfulness is too big or too dangerous. No waiting for him will ever not be worth it. And no situation in my life, however desperate it appears, is ever too far, too deep, too much, for his redeeming power to redeem.

35:20 What might often look like precariousness to the world is utter security in Christ. I don't have to hedge my bets. In fact, why would I? I know Jesus. True eternal joy, true satisfaction, true blessing. Let's find most fully when I put myself fully in his hands when I shelter completely under the shadow of his wings. Therefore, Hebrews 12 says, "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, "let us throw off everything that hinders "the sin that so easily entangle, "and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, "fixing our eyes on Jesus, "the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

36:21 "For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, "scorning its shame, "and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. But consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary, and so that you will not lose heart. We know Jesus, he can be trusted, he is faithful. Let's pray together as the band come back. Father, thank you for all of the stories that we have thought about this morning. Thank you for those stories that many of us would rather avert our eyes from, but that you in your word, both in the old and then again in the New Testament, have put right in front of us.

37:13 Thank you that you have given us these stories, yes, to show us the depth of our own sinfulness, of our own hearts, of our own propensity to sin, but also to show us that we can never fall far enough to fall beyond the redemptive power of your son, to fall beyond his saving grace. And so if our stories, our stories of real struggle and guilt and shame, remind us of this truth this morning. But thank you too for this story that we've looked at of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz, this story of other-centered action and initiative and boldness and love. A story that gives us an example of how to live, but most importantly, a story that points us and reminds us of the steadfast loving kindness that has been shown to us in your son.

38:31 The security that is ours, the peace that is ours, the hope that is ours for eternity. Because Jesus became our kinsman so that he could become our redeemer. and we can only say thank you Lord in his name Amen