Redeeming Love

Let's pray.

Loving Heavenly Father, we thank you that you speak to us in your word.

And we ask, Father, that you would open our hearts and minds

and hear what you have to say.

Lord, we ask, as James encourages us, Lord,

that we would not only be hearers of your word, but doers of the same.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

I remember a little Australian boy some 30-something years ago

who was diagnosed with an allergy to chocolate.

Right before Easter.

Now, I'm sure for any 37-year-old or maybe 47-year-old adult,

self-denial of chocolate is a serious thing.

But for a 7-year-old before Easter, this was a serious moment of abstinence.

Now, I'm honestly not sure whether the provision of a carob Easter egg

made it harder or easier.

But in any case, life presents us with these occasions

when what is best for you actually requires you to say no.

To yourself.

But there's a good deal of illogic here, isn't there?

I mean, it doesn't feel like you're acting in your best interests

when you're saying no to yourself.

And we're actually pretty good at thinking of arguments

to somehow convince ourselves that that's actually not what's going on.

But it doesn't change the situation.

Life does present us with situations where what is our best requires us to say no.

And life under God is no different.

Saying yes to God regularly involves us saying no to ourselves.

But it can be hard to keep trusting that what God wants is in fact actually best.

And this is the truth that this episode of Ruth is there in the Bible

to engrave that on our hearts and minds.

This truth.

Now it's not easy.

But truly, when we say yes to God and no to ourselves,

we are serving our best interests.

And that's actually what makes the question that Naomi poses

at the beginning of this episode so ironic.

The story resumes in chapter 3 with Naomi saying to Ruth,

Now, taken by itself, the question is actually not so ironic.

Yes, of course.

Naomi should seek Ruth's best interest.

That would be a good thing to do.

It would be a kindness in return for everything that Ruth has been doing for Naomi.

Naomi should indeed find a home for Ruth.

But Naomi is about to hatch a plan that looks a lot like the plan

her husband Elimelech came up with when he made that fateful decision

to return to Moab.

If you remember back several weeks ago when we began our sermon series

in the book of Ruth, you'll remember that it turned out very badly

for Elimelech and his family when Elimelech had decided to go to Moab.

He was effectively turning his back on God and his promises,

even though he thought that he was indeed securing his best interests.

And this is actually what makes Naomi's question so very ironic.

Yes, Naomi should seek the best interests for Ruth.

But not by making the same mistake her husband Elimelech had made

that brought her family into such a disaster.

And even more than that, this plan that Naomi's hatching sounds an awful lot like

one of the most sordid moments of the Old Testament.

Naomi's plan looks a lot like the plan that Tamar hatches in Genesis chapter 38

Genesis 38 · chapter mention

to secure an heir from Judah.

Now, if you're not up in your Old Testament stories, that's okay.

This one's tucked away in the back corner of Genesis.

But the basic plot of that story is that one of Judah's wicked sons is struck dead by God.

And Onan, his brother, is obligated to provide an heir for his young widow, Tamar.

Now, Onan doesn't want to do this because providing an heir for his dead brother

is actually not in his best interest.

And God strikes him dead as well.

So we're left in the situation where Judah doesn't want to actually do this either

because he's scared that he might get struck dead and it leaves Tamar with only one option.

So Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute in order to get Judah to get her pregnant.

And the plan looks like clockwork.

Poor Tamar realizes the only way to get an heir from Judah is to dress up like a prostitute.

This is effectively the plan that Naomi is hatching for Ruth.

In verses 2 to 4, Naomi tells Ruth to conceal her identity

and sneak down to the threshing floor when the festivities have died down

and see if she can seduce Boaz.

Now, some of the cultural distance between us in Edinburgh 2017

and the ancient world of the Old Testament

can actually conceal some of the basic contours of this plan.

But the biggest giveaway is the fact that Naomi is telling Ruth

to uncover Boaz's feet.

Now, feet is a euphemism for genitalia in the Old Testament.

But even if you miss this, Naomi is telling this young woman

to uncover a man's legs in the dead of night

after he's been consuming significant quantities of alcohol

and to nestle up next to him on the threshing floor.

Now, if you hear in the previous sermons in Ruth,

you'll remember that we've even been reminded

there's a very real risk of rape for young women in the harvest season.

And that it's a good thing that Ruth is actually being protected from that danger.

But here we have this scenario

which sounds a very strong echo from the story of Tamar and Judah.

And this is Naomi's plan.

Naomi is also after an heir in place of her dead sons.

She's sending Ruth in to Boaz

with a slightly milder version of Tamar's plan

to secure the same.

My daughter,

should I not try to find a home for you

where you will be well provided for?

Yes, you should, Naomi.

But this is certainly not the way to go about it.

What's happening here is that Naomi is showing

that she has no idea what it looks like

to seek the best interests of Ruth.

She is just as lacking in wisdom

as her dead husband, the Limelech,

when he decided to head for Moab.

But in stark contrast to Naomi,

in this chapter,

Ruth and Boaz show us exactly

what it looks like

to seek our own well-being.

And this is at the very heart of the story.

Ruth and Boaz put faithfulness to God

ahead of their own interests.

They obey God

even when it comes at some personal cost

to themselves.

Now let's look a little more closely

at exactly what Boaz does.

We see that Ruth defers to Naomi

and she goes along with her plan.

So she covers herself up.

She goes down to the threshing floor

and in the dead of night

she lies down next to Boaz

and uncovers him.

What's kind of interesting

is how half-hearted Ruth is

in all of this.

She just lies next to Boaz.

That's all.

And the irony increases

when we hear that lying there,

the uncovered Boaz gets cold.

And he wakes up

and he literally bumps into Ruth.

Who are you?

I'm your servant, Ruth.

Spread the corner of your garment over me

since you are a kinsman redeemer.

Well, what is Boaz going to do?

He's being solicited by this beautiful young woman

but Boaz puts faithfulness to God

ahead of his own interests.

Ruth is offering herself to him

but he knows he cannot succumb.

He knows there is a kinsman

nearer to Naomi than he.

And unlike his great-grandson,

Boaz will not sin against his brother.

King David would take another man's wife

for himself

but Boaz refuses

to take a woman

who belongs to another man.

Boaz doesn't take Ruth

under his blanket like she asks.

Instead, he tells Ruth

to sleep at his feet

until daybreak.

He passes up what could be his

and he puts God

ahead of his own desires.

Boaz says yes to God

and no to himself.

But let's take a little look at Ruth.

It's even more under the spotlight

than it is with Boaz.

Yet again we see Ruth

put faithfulness to God

ahead of her own interests.

If you have been here

for the previous sermons in Ruth,

you'll remember.

We've seen this before.

There's a pattern of behavior

going on here.

At the very beginning of the story,

she declares to her mother-in-law,

Naomi,

your God will be my God.

And she leaves all that she has

and returns with Naomi

to Israel.

Boaz actually draws attention

to this next time

that we see Ruth

putting faithfulness to God

ahead of her own interests.

In verse 10,

he says,

The Lord bless you, my daughter.

This kindness is greater than that

which you showed earlier.

You have not run after younger men,

whether rich or poor.

Once she's in Israel,

Ruth doesn't seek out

a young bachelor.

Instead,

she's willing to marry

a kinsman of Naomi

so that she can give

Elimelech an heir.

But Ruth's faithfulness

doesn't stop there.

A third time,

we see her say

yes to God

and no to herself.

Ruth actually listens

to Boaz

and accepts what he says.

She embraces the possibility

of being married

off to some other

unknown kinsman redeemer.

Who knows what this guy

might be like?

Boaz is old,

but at least he's rich.

Faithfulness to God

now means turning her back

on what would have been

a very materially

comfortable life

with Boaz.

Ruth could very easily

have continued

with Naomi's plan

and seduced Boaz,

but she doesn't.

In fact,

it probably would have

been more tempting

to actually go along

with Naomi's plan now,

but yet again,

she chooses faithfulness

to God.

There's a nearer

kinsman redeemer

and she should marry him.

Once again,

she says yes to God

and she sleeps

at Boaz's feet.

In contrast to Naomi,

Ruth and Boaz

show us exactly

what it looks like

to seek our well-being.

They say yes to God,

even when it comes

at some personal cost.

They put faithfulness

to God above their

own immediate interest.

But why?

They do this

because ultimately

they know that we are

never saying no

to ourselves

when we say yes to God.

Saying yes to God,

even when it comes

at a price,

is always

in our very best interest.

This is something

that Jesus was eager

for us to learn too.

In Luke 9,

Luke 9:23

verse 23 and 24,

Jesus says,

if anyone would

come after me,

he must deny himself

and take up his cross

daily and follow me.

For whoever wants

to save his life

will lose it.

But whoever loses

his life for me

will save it.

Jesus is saying here,

if anyone would say

yes to God,

they will be regularly

required to say

no to themselves.

In fact,

Jesus is saying

that if we are

unwilling to say

no to ourselves,

we cannot say

yes to him.

Saying yes to Jesus

means saying no

to yourself

at regular intervals

along that path

behind him.

But crucially,

saying yes to him

and no to ourselves

is ultimately

in our best interest.

And that's what

Jesus means

when he says,

whoever loses

his life

will save it.

not only

do we receive

forgiveness of sins,

resurrection from the dead,

and eternal life,

but as we say no

to ourselves

at these regular intervals

down the path

behind the Lord Jesus,

our lives gradually

come to look more

and more

like his.

Is there anything

that could be

more precious

than having our sins

and guilt stripped

off our backs

and being clothed

with the beauty

of Christ

now and forevermore?

Following Jesus

will mean

saying no

to yourself

at regular intervals

behind the path

of Jesus.

It will present you

numerous occasions

when you're presented

with the choice

of saying yes to him

and no to yourself.

But whatever this

might cost,

it is ultimately

a very small price

for what he holds

out to us.

Is that something

you need to learn

afresh tonight?

Or perhaps take to heart

for the very first time

if you're following

Jesus without a cross

on your back,

take Ruth's words

onto your lips.

Say to Jesus tonight,

your God shall be

my God.

Jesus has overcome

the grave.

He's taken away

the power and penalty

of sin.

He holds the keys

to life in his hands.

In our time of prayer,

speak to Jesus

from your heart.

Do that too

if you are following

Jesus with a cross

on your back.

Learn afresh

what that means

tonight.

Pause to consider

what does that

look like

in my life?

Or perhaps better

said,

what does that

not look like

in my life?

Now,

in certain ways,

it actually does

look exactly the same

as it did

for Ruth and Boaz.

This is something

we shouldn't overlook.

Now,

the situation

they're in

is extremely contrived,

but God still

makes some claims

on our lives

in the area

of marriage.

For Ruth,

saying yes to God

meant making God's

choice of a spouse

her choice,

even if there came

some conflict

in between these two

things.

Saying yes to God

for Ruth

meant marrying

the nearest eligible

kinsman redeemer.

Now,

we don't live

under the old covenant

like the people

of Israel did,

but God still

makes a claim

on our lives

when it comes

to who we marry.

Paul is completely

clear that if we

do have a choice

in the matter

of whom we marry,

that person

must be a Christian.

He addresses this

as clear as day

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 7:39

chapter 7,

verse 39.

It's actually

the only verse

in the New Testament

that relates directly

to the situation

where a Christian woman

faces the decision

of who to marry,

and Paul says there

he must belong

to the Lord.

Now,

the risk of increasing

the awkward factor

by 100

and making the unmarried

people in our

congregation totally

embarrassed.

I'm going to do

that anyway.

I'm going to point

out that the example

of Ruth is an obvious

application for your

life.

Should you choose

to get married,

you'll find many

fine people.

You will meet

many wealthy people,

many charming people,

many beautiful people,

many interesting people,

many honourable people,

but God tells you,

you must marry

someone with a cross

on their back.

Now,

Kate and I have been

married for nearly

20 years now,

and that's long

enough to actually

be able to count

on our hands,

the number of

people we know,

our friends who

didn't marry

followers of Jesus,

and you know what?

They're not following

him anymore either.

That choice of saying

yes to God and no

to themselves,

that choice cost our

friends their faith.

So saying yes to God

in this area of your

life might well say,

be saying no in

exactly the same way

that Ruth did.

And we need to see

that God's way is

always in our best

interests, even if it

comes at a cost.

For Boaz 2,

saying yes to God

meant saying no to

himself in this area

of marriage.

Boaz knew that

sleeping with Ruth

would be adultery

against this nearer

kinsman redeemer,

and adultery is always

wrong.

Men, if we are going

to follow Boaz's

example, this must be

etched on our hearts

and minds.

And it must also be

etched on our hearts

and minds that yielding

to this kind of

temptation is never in

our best interest.

It can only lead to

disaster.

In this area of

marriage, saying no to

ourselves and yes to

Jesus actually looks

very similar to what

it meant for Ruth and

Boaz, even though our

lives are totally

different and this

situation is so

contrived.

But the really big thing

here is not to say,

it's not just about

marriage.

It's not the only area

of our life where we

face this choice of

saying yes to Jesus

and no to ourselves.

There are many other

instances in our days,

days in, day out,

where we face this

same choice.

The other night at the

end of an irritating

day, which was at the

end of an irritating

week, I was racing

down to the chemist.

Kate had rung them up

and said that I was

coming, that I might be

there a minute or two

after seven, and they

said, yeah, that's

fine.

So I get there and

they shut the door in

my face.

Now the irritation

omit is now sort of

inching into the red,

which is why that I

could no longer see

that I was faced with

exactly one of these

situations.

Where saying yes to

Jesus means saying no

to yourself.

So when I get there,

it's worth thinking

about, what would it

have taken not to tell

that chemist exactly

what I thought of him

for shutting the door

in my face, but rather

it would have said,

you have a good

evening, you must be

tired.

What would it have

taken?

What brings yourself

to saying no to

yourself and yes to

Jesus is seeing the

gain you are passing

by if you do not.

This opportunity to

say no to yourself is

an opportunity to

clothe yourself in the

beauty of Christ.

It's an opportunity to

be conformed to his

likeness.

when you see the

immense gain that

Jesus is holding out

to you, you will

always say yes to

God and no to

yourself.

Whatever that choice

might be, whether it's

a choice between a

harsh word or a kind

word, the choice

between grace or

bitterness, whether it's

a matter of our heads,

our hearts or our

hands, we will always

say yes to God.

if we really can see

that turning our backs

on this chance is

actually not in our

best interest.

If you can see

yourself clothed in

Christ's beauty, you

will want that beauty

more than whatever it

is that is alluring you

away from him.

If you can see

yourself reflecting

Christ's glory, if you

truly can see that,

you really won't take

up whatever shameful

alternative is

presenting itself,

whether it's a matter

of our head, our

heart or our hands.

Because isn't that the

choice that you made

when you first resolved

to follow him?

Isn't that what you

could see?

I was reflecting on

this a little later in

the week when a driver

nearly opened the door

in front of me when I

was riding down

Morningside Road,

reflecting on the

gain Jesus holds out

to us in denying

ourselves.

I was a little

better equipped to

handle that situation.

So what difference

will that make to

your life this week?

Perhaps it's worth

reflecting now on the

kinds of situations

that you regularly

face.

That where saying

yes to God requires

you to say no to

yourself.

Following Jesus does

mean saying no to

yourself at these

regular intervals on

that path behind him.

And the only way we

can say that to

ourselves is by fixing

our eyes on the

great gain that

there is in saying

yes to Jesus.

Not only do we

receive forgiveness

of sins,

resurrection from

the dead,

and eternal life,

but in denying

ourselves his Holy

Spirit clothes us in

Christ's beauty and

conforms us to his

image.

And we need to know

that deep in our

hearts if we are

indeed to not grow

weary in saying no

to ourselves when we

say yes to God,

even if it comes at

a cost.

And at the end of

this episode,

you know what?

The book of Ruth

wants to remind us

of this great reality.

At the end of

chapter 3, we just

get this little hint

of how the story

will end.

As Ruth steals

away from the

threshing floor just

before daybreak,

Boaz tells her in

verse 15,

take off your

shore.

And he pours out

six measures of

seed for her to

take home to

Naomi.

Naomi.

It's a little

hint of how the

story will end.

We see the

resurrection.

We know how the

story ends for us.

But here we go,

a little hint.

Boaz is giving

Naomi seed by

Ruth.

This is more

euphemistic

pictorial language.

The story will

conclude with

Boaz marrying

Ruth.

And we will see

Naomi cradling

Elimelech's ear.

We will see

Boaz giving

Naomi seed by

Ruth.

This little hint

of how the

story will end

reminds us that

God has our

well-being at the

very heart of his

purposes for us.

Saying yes to

God is never

saying no to

yourself.

Faithfulness to

God is always in

our best interests.

And that's because

God doesn't play

games with his

people.

No eye has

seen, nor ear

has heard, nor

mind has conceived

for what God has

prepared for those

who love him.

whatever it may

cost to say yes

to God, it is

not worth comparing

with the glory that

will be revealed in

us.

And when we stand

in the resurrection

and see the Lord

Jesus face to face,

we will not ever

regret relinquishing

whatever it was that

it cost us to say

yes to Jesus.

We will remember

that that was a

choice well made.

And so Naomi's

question is actually

a very good one.

Should we not seek

our own well-being?

Yes, absolutely.

We should seek our

well-being and that

of others too, but

that well-being is

bound up in the

promise of the

gospel.

And receiving that

promise inevitably

involves us saying

no to ourselves.

So why don't we ask

our Heavenly Father

now that he would

indeed give us the

grace that we need

to do to save this

every day to our

Lord Jesus.

Loving Lord, you

know our weaknesses.

You were clothed

in human flesh.

You still are clothed

in human flesh.

You knew our life

then and you know

our lives now.

We ask, Lord, for

the grace to follow

you down your path

with a cross on our

back.

We pray, Father, for

the grace to say

yes to you and no

to ourselves, whatever

the cost.

Fix our eyes, Lord,

on the joy that is

set before us.

And give us grace,

Heavenly Father, not to

grow weary in doing

good.

We ask this in your

Son's precious name.

Amen.