Ruth 3:1-18

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 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.

Let's pray.

Thank you.