Ruth 4

And turn back to Ruth chapter 4. It's on page 224.

Ruth 4 · chapter mention

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Well, the book of Ruth, it appears, doesn't it, in one of the darkest, most disheartening parts of the whole Bible.

We saw, didn't we, three weeks ago as we started this book, it begins in chapter 1, verse 1.

In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.

And if you know the Bible story well, you'll know that it's a particularly dark period in the life of God's people.

Where there is famine, there is disobedience, and there is dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

Before the book of Ruth, the book of Judges, it is shot through, isn't it, with the repetitive downward spiral of the problems caused by human sin, of moral weakness, and stupidity.

And it's a realistic picture, isn't it, of the world in which we live, actually.

And yet God graciously gives us this piercing ray of light.

This little shaft of light, this book, it's only four chapters long, isn't it, but it's like a small but bright star

in the middle of an otherwise ordinary dark black sky.

And it twinkles, doesn't it.

It shines with the hope of God's kindness to his people in their mistakes and in their sins.

And it gives hope to outsiders like Ruth.

We've seen the book deal with lots of themes, haven't we, with God's justice and his holiness.

But unashamedly, we want to say tonight that it's a book that is largely about love.

It's a book about love.

God, in his wisdom, has seen it as the right thing to do, to teach us about his character through this book,

through a true story of romantic love.

Of a relationship between this man, Boaz, and this woman, Ruth.

It's a love story.

So it says to us, doesn't it, that God is a God of justice and of holiness.

Ruth wasn't allowed in, was she, as a Moabite.

But he is a God of great love.

He is stupendously, overwhelmingly loving to human beings who come to him,

even from the darkest places, places furthest from him.

And in this last chapter, chapter 4, we see that God's love reaches its fruition in her life

through the love of this Christ-like figure, Boaz.

We see the love of God in Christ, in Christ Jesus.

And the first thing that we notice tonight is that God's love is a complete love.

It's a complete love through Christ Jesus.

Now on Sunday evenings, you're probably sick to the back teeth now, aren't you,

of period drama, love story illustrations.

Some of you more than others.

But you might know Mr. Collins.

Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice.

Yes, David.

He is the rich, stuck-up parson, isn't he, who lives down the road in the village.

And he wants to buy the love of Elizabeth Bennet, who is the main female character.

Now as you watch the story, you see Mr. Collins kind of squirming.

And you feel that they just don't belong together.

We know that she doesn't love him, but the parents know that he's rich and they want her to marry him.

It's a marriage of convenience.

And so there's a tension there.

There's an unease.

You want to shout at her, don't marry him.

Don't marry him.

Don't do it.

And isn't that the stuff of all great love stories?

Where you watch the girl and the guy, they grow together, don't they, in love.

And then another suitor appears at the last moment to steal her from the aisle, just before they get married.

There's a tension.

And one of the great things that the author brings out at the beginning of chapter 4 and the end of chapter 3 is a tension in the romance of Ruth and Boaz.

So do you remember last Sunday evening we were left, weren't we, on the edge of our seats, after Boaz gives Ruth a pledge of his willingness to marry her, to redeem her in marriage, to give definitive security and rest to her.

But there is news of another relative of the same clan, who could be the first in line to marry Ruth instead.

Now we've watched, haven't we, this pair grow in love together, in their courtship.

And by now, even the most unfeeling, even the most unromantic amongst us, is desperate to see them together, aren't we?

Not this other relative guy.

But Boaz, he is a man of God's law.

And he knows that he has to do things by the Levitical law, God's law, to fulfil righteousness.

Which does entitle this other guy to have first dibs, if you like.

So Boaz, in verses 1-4, he arranges a public meeting with this other man.

He gets the elders of the city together at the gate.

At the gate is where public contracts would have been signed, where goods would have been exchanged.

It was a public place, so that people could recognise this discussion.

And he gives this other redeemer the first part of the deal, doesn't he?

To which he is entitled to.

Which is to buy the land from her mother-in-law, Naomi.

And as the conversation goes, our hearts slowly sink, don't they?

As we hear that this other redeemer is actually up for this.

We hear the words in verse 4, don't we, at the end of verse 4.

I will redeem it.

This other redeemer, he says, yeah, no, that sounds like a good deal.

Buying the property would have been a pretty lucrative move.

This other redeemer could buy the land and then earn from its produce.

He could afford to do that.

And so the Ruth Boaz dream could be about to be shattered.

But the whole law, the whole law must be fulfilled.

And Boaz is clever here, isn't he?

Fair enough, he says, but just one other thing.

Verse 5.

Buying the land will also mean taking on the responsibility of marrying Ruth.

And fathering her children.

To perpetuate, isn't it, the line of her dead husband.

So the lucrative part of the deal, the land, it also comes with the lass, with Ruth.

They're not sold separately, are they?

The complete package to be redeemed and paid for holds within it the responsibility towards Ruth and her family.

As well as owning the land.

So that makes it a significantly less attractive deal, doesn't it?

For this other guy.

Look at verse 6.

The redeemer at this point said,

I cannot redeem it for myself.

Lest I impair my own inheritance.

Take my right of redemption for yourself.

For I cannot redeem it.

This other guy, he's got his own family, hasn't he?

And it would cost him to buy the land, which his own children may never receive as an inheritance.

It would have to go to the children that he would father with Ruth.

It's Ruth's side of the family who would be entitled to the property in the long term.

That's how the law says it must be done.

But it's too much of a sacrifice.

Too much for this redeemer to bear.

I cannot redeem it, he says.

Twice.

I cannot redeem it.

He could afford the deal earlier on, but only to a point.

He could redeem the land, but he can't redeem her.

It's going to actually cost him to do that, isn't it?

He will lose out.

He can't afford the loss of having Ruth involved in this deal.

The cost was too heavy.

The responsibility too high.

The price too great of fulfilling the whole law of the matter.

In the words of the great philosopher Meatloaf in that song,

I would do anything for love, but I won't do that.

I can't do that.

There was a limit to his redemption.

He's got to look after his own family, hasn't he?

There was a limit to his redemption, and that limit was his limited love.

There was no love for Ruth herself, was there?

No affection for Ruth.

So don't we see at this point here, don't we, in the book of Ruth,

Boaz's love for Ruth more than we ever did.

That where another has realised the full cost, and has not been willing, he is willing.

Where another has a limited interest, Boaz has a complete love for her.

Where he takes on the burden, and the responsibility of her, of redemption, not just of the good bits, the lucrative bits.

He is willing to fulfil the whole law for her.

Which will mean giving up his rights.

He's willing to pay the full price, with a full sacrifice, really, of his life, isn't it?

The rest of his life for her and her family.

It was a complete love.

And we get a very public declaration from Boaz, of his complete love.

He confirms this transaction to redeem Ruth and the land, to continue the line of Malon, the dead husband.

And he takes his sandal off, doesn't he?

In verse 7 to 8.

Now I'm not 100% sure on why that is.

But the passage says, doesn't it, that that was the custom of the time.

The interesting thing, though, is the obsession in this transaction with witnesses.

Did you notice that?

There are witnesses everywhere, aren't there?

Witnesses in verse 2.

Ten men from the elders.

Verse 9.

The elders and all the people.

He says to them, you are witness.

Verse 10.

He asserts to them again, you are witnesses.

Witnesses.

Verse 11.

All the people said we are witnesses.

Witnesses, witnesses, witnesses everywhere.

And it shows to us, doesn't it, that Boaz wants this exchange to be totally watertight.

To be legitimate.

Completely binding.

To be public.

And recognised.

He wants there to be no doubt in anybody's mind, let alone Ruth's mind, that this is real.

That he means absolute business.

That this is not a fly-by-night kind of love.

This is a complete love.

He wants the whole world to know about his love for her.

You know, it's a hard thing, isn't it, often for us to get our heads around.

But God has always loved his people.

God has loved his people.

The Bible teaches clearly, doesn't it, that in eternity past, say, before creation came into being,

God was, God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, made a covenant together.

They made a contract to work a great and loving redemption in his people's lives.

Paul, in Ephesians chapter 1, he says,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him.

In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.

And it would have to be a complete love, wouldn't it?

It would mean fulfilling his holy law.

His justice would have to be fully, completely dealt with to adopt us.

Justice had to be done.

God's own righteousness has to be fulfilled.

Responsibility for the sin of his loved people would, nevertheless, have to be taken on.

And the burden fully paid for.

And as they decided on that in love, in love they knew that it would mean the way of the cross.

In love they did that.

God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.

The Son, in love, he faced the prospect of the cross, didn't he?

And he never said to his Father, you know, I will do anything to love these people, but I won't do that.

Looking at the cross, I won't do that.

Not my will, but yours be done.

And God the Holy Spirit, he leads him, he empowers him to go to the cross.

Because God's love is a complete love.

He's willing to pay the full price.

You know, that passage that we looked at with the children earlier, it's a great one, isn't it?

You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things,

such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ,

like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

The complete price of bearing the responsibility of you and of me.

A price paid in blood.

He doesn't pay with money, with credit, with perishable things,

but with himself.

His own blood.

A complete kind of love.

Where he loses his rights, he becomes a man, he dies.

He looks at the prospect of the cross and he says,

Yes, I'd even do that.

I'd even do that.

You know, we're so grateful, aren't we, for people who love us,

around us, maybe our family and friends.

People who love us in different ways.

People who take responsibility for us.

But you know, those people, they will always fall short, won't they,

of paying the full price needed to bring us rest and redemption and eternal life.

Nothing that they can do, or that I can do, can buy us out,

can buy you out of your death.

If you're in prison, isn't it, they offer a price of bail to be paid.

But they cannot pay the bail money on the prison of death.

But God shows his complete love in the Lord Jesus to satisfy our need completely,

bring complete security.

Only he can take us on.

Only he can pay the full price to afford that.

He pays the bail money with his precious blood.

God's love is a complete love.

So what a turnaround in Ruth's life.

The book, it begins, doesn't it, with misery, with widowhood and death.

The graves of Elimelech and Malon and Chilean,

they're left behind, aren't they, in Moab.

But it ends, in chapter 4, with happiness and marriage and new life.

Just look at verse 13 for a second.

Boaz took Ruth, she became his wife.

He went into her and the Lord gave her conception.

And she bore a son.

Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.

The Lord gave her conception.

There's a black and white sort of contrast, isn't there?

It couldn't be more different at the end than it was at the beginning.

And so secondly tonight, God's love is a transforming love.

It's a transforming love.

Ruth's love, it becomes totally turned around, doesn't it?

Because of this redeeming man.

She's brought into the blessings of his house.

Of Boaz's house.

Have a look at verse 11 to 12.

All the people were there at the gate and the elders said,

We are witnesses.

May the Lord make the woman who is coming to your house, Boaz,

like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.

May you act worthily in Ephraha and be renowned in Bethlehem.

And may your house be like the house of Peres,

who Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you

by this young woman.

You see, in his house, she had a transformed life.

Her life is blessed with prayer, isn't it here?

It's blessed with prayer.

She is held by prayer, by the petitions of others,

for blessing upon her and Boaz's life.

Saints around asking for blessing.

Now, hasn't prayer been a driving force behind the circumstances of this book?

Prayer has driven the storyline.

It's perhaps not something that we see immediately, is it?

But chapter 1, verse 8,

Naomi prays, I think, there for Ruth.

It is a request, isn't it, to the Lord,

that the Lord will deal kindly.

May the Lord deal kindly with you,

as you've dealt with the dead and with me.

The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you,

in the house of her husband.

Then there's the mutual prayer and encouragement of Boaz and his workers.

In chapter 2, isn't it?

The Lord be with you.

And they answered,

The Lord bless you.

Boaz's prayer for Ruth.

In chapter 2, verse 12,

The Lord repay you for what you have done.

And a full reward be given you by the Lord.

Then Naomi's prayer for Boaz.

Chapter 2, verse 20,

May he be blessed by the Lord.

Boaz's prayer for Ruth.

Again in chapter 3,

May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.

This is a community, isn't it,

of people petitioning blessing

from the Lord upon each other.

It is a community that saturates events

and people's lives with prayer.

Where God works through this story

as people pray.

Where blessing and redemption

for Ruth and Boaz,

these individuals,

has come through the prayers of the saints,

even in such dark times.

So Ruth is about providence, isn't it?

We love that about Ruth.

But you know, it's also about prayer.

They're not just sitting back, are they?

And letting God show them their fate.

But these are saints

relying on the Lord in prayer,

recognising his sovereignty

over their circumstances,

calling out for his blessings

on each of their difficulties.

It's a transformed life for Ruth.

Because we get to the end of the book

on the road laid with prayer.

And now Ruth and Boaz

are showered in prayer, aren't they?

What a transforming thing it is

to be in a community of prayer.

Prayer is how things have happened.

God has worked and blessed

and brought things about

as his people pray.

God's love has brought her

into a community of prayer.

And it's a transformed life, isn't it?

Of purpose.

Prayer and purpose.

Ruth has been given a purpose

as part of the kingdom of God.

The prayer that she would be,

verse 11,

like Leah and Rachel,

the wives of the patriarch Jacob,

who together built up the house of Israel.

Ruth has a new purpose.

A glorious part to play

in a glorious kingdom.

And the gift of conception

is given to her.

God now gives her

a part to play

in building up

God's kingdom.

And he does that

through her,

through human things

like childbirth

and relationships

and family and children.

He gives his people

a part to play

in his body,

to build up his church.

And through those children,

Ruth's name

will be remembered

forever.

Her transformed life

has permanence.

That desire

that we have to make a mark

to do something significant,

to be remembered,

to be remembered forever,

even,

comes as we're brought

into the permanence

kingdom of God.

It's a transformed life,

isn't it,

with eternal significance

and purpose

and substance.

Isn't that why

thousands and thousands

and thousands

of years later,

Ruth,

the outsider,

the nobody,

the Moabite,

the widow,

is remembered.

Her name,

written in the annals

of God's word,

people she never

has even met

here tonight,

remember her

because of God's

transforming love

for her,

a transformed life

of her prayer,

of purpose

and of permanence.

And isn't it lovely,

too,

that Naomi,

Ruth's mother-in-law,

receives the blessings

of leading her daughter

to the Redeemer.

There's an incredible

transformation

in her life,

too,

isn't there,

in verse 15

to 16.

He shall be to you

a restorer of life,

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 lay him

on her lap

and became his nurse.

What a turnaround

for her,

too.

A son has been

given to you,

Naomi,

the women say.

Just think back

to the end

of chapter 1,

the people

who saw Naomi

return from Moab,

the scarred,

tired-looking

Naomi,

now pronounce

these blessings

on her,

don't they?

She is young again,

isn't she?

She is youthful,

even in her old age.

The years of waste

and of famine

and of separation

from the Lord

in Moab

are returned

to her.

In Moab

she buried

her child,

didn't she?

But in Bethlehem

she nurses

a child.

Through this

Redeemer,

the years of the past

have wasted years,

perhaps,

the years that

maybe we look back

on with regret,

the years that

we've hurt others

or we've been

hurt by others,

the years in which

we've been scarred,

that have robbed us

of our zeal,

our youthfulness

for life.

they can be

restored,

can't they?

Even in old age.

Because God's love

is a transforming love.

There's a great

analogy by

Martin Luther

who illustrates

the gospel

as if a great king

were to go

to a slum

and find a woman

and she's in

the worst state

possible

and take her

from the squalor

of the pavement

to live in the

palace.

And one of the

things that

hopefully has

struck us

as we've

looked at this

book

is how it

deals with

the very

unexpected

kind of love

that God

shows through

this Redeemer.

It is a

relationship,

isn't it,

that should never

really have

happened in the

first place

where the

excluded

Moabite

is included

through the

mercy and

kindness of

this Jew.

It is a

redemption of

an outsider.

And so it is

lastly,

isn't it,

and probably

most starkly,

it is a

love which

is an

unexpected

love.

An unexpected

love.

As the book

closes,

there are

reminders,

aren't there,

that we should

really always

expect

the unexpected

from God's

love.

So in the

last four

verses or so,

we get the

family tree of

Boaz,

don't we?

And it's

headed up

there by

Perez,

and it ends

with David,

the great

king.

Now Perez

is also

mentioned

earlier,

isn't he,

by the

praying women

in verse

12,

as the

great

descendant

of Judah.

Do you

remember

Judah,

the great

man?

What a

titan of

godliness

he was,

wasn't he?

Well,

no.

Perez,

he was the

child of

Judah when

he got his

own daughter-in-law

pregnant in

Genesis chapter

Genesis 38 · chapter mention

38,

because she

posed as a

prostitute.

Perez is not

the kind of

person you'd

expect to be

on a royal

family tree,

and celebrated

as being so.

But isn't

he one of

so many

unexpected

people that

God has

chosen,

and loved,

and used?

Think of the

children of

Adam,

Cain and

Abel.

Cain should

inherit,

he is strong,

he's the

firstborn,

but God

chooses Abel.

Abraham's

sons,

Ishmael and

Isaac.

Ishmael is

the firstborn,

he should be

next in the

family line,

God chooses

Isaac.

Isaac's

sons Esau

and Jacob,

Esau is the

one who

stands to

inherit,

God chooses

Jacob.

Jacob's

sons again,

Reuben is

the firstborn,

but the

covenant

promises fall

on Judah

and then to

Perez.

We should

by now in

the Bible,

shouldn't we

be seeing

the pattern

that God's

love and

choice of

his people

is an

unexpected

love.

And you

wonder,

don't you,

that Boaz

knows,

whose own

mother,

we're told

in Matthew

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

was Rahab,

Rahab the

prostitute,

who herself

had been

brought in

to God's

people as

a foreigner.

You think

maybe Boaz

has learnt

that lesson

from seeing

his own

mother.

Boaz

understands

that this

is the

way that

God works,

by choosing

and bringing

in nobodies,

by loving

outsiders,

by redeeming

them,

by paying

for them

to be

amongst

his people.

We expect

the unexpected

with God's

love,

that he

would choose

even us

tonight

to be united

with his

son,

his

redeemer.

God's

book,

it twinkles,

doesn't it,

in such a

dark place

in the

Bible,

and it

shines,

and it

says to

us,

you are

never too

far away,

you are

never in

too dark

a place

to come

back to

him

tonight.

It isn't

a usual

royal family

tree,

is it,

but it's

God's

royal family

tree.

It leads

to David

at the

end there,

and it

leads

eventually

to the

great

king,

king of

kings,

king

Jesus,

the most

unexpected

king of

them all,

the king

of God's

kingdom,

who loves

us in

such an

unexpected

way,

the

overwhelming

and complete

love that

he shows

us upon

the cross.

So,

you know,

as we

finish this,

but for

now anyway,

we ought

to read

it really,

we ought

to read

Ruth,

and trust

in Christ

and feel

loved.

We ought

to see a

picture of

the love

that we

have in

and through

our

redeemer,

the Lord

Jesus.

If we're

trusting in

him,

I wonder

how we

usually think

God feels

towards us.

The Lord

judges me,

it's

true,

perhaps the

Lord is

disappointed

with me,

the Lord

tests me,

or perhaps

more now,

the Lord

loves me,

the Lord

loves me,

because we

know,

don't we,

that he

means business,

that it's

not a fly

by night

kind of

love,

this is a

complete love,

love,

and he's

taken you

on,

to transform

you,

amongst his

praying people,

for the

glorious purpose

of his

praise,

forever

and ever.

Let's

close and

pray together.