Sermon Cloud

Text: Ruth 2.1-13
Theme: God, chance, and simple obedience
Aim:

INTRO: “Redeeming the Mess”
    All of Life is INFUSED with the ACTIVITY of GOD: from mundane to sensational, he is in it, working
    Problem: we don’t SEE IT – often we think he is absent; other times we question his goodness
        See it in the MIRACULOUS; can we learn to see it in the invisible hand of PROVIDENCE
Point of Ruth: as we see his PROVIDENCE in their lives, we can become more aware of His work in our own
    Tonight: see God’s activity in what seems so accidental, so random, chance, and so redemptive
    So that we KNOW, in our own darkness & confusion & messy lives, he is THERE WITH US, TOO
   
V.1: BOAZ
1.    Naomi had a relative of her husband’s: quick SUMMARY of where we’ve been – mess of NAOMI’S life
a.    Married a fool who moved them to Moab & then died; boys marry pagan, they die – BAD START
b.    Ruth comes back with NAOMI – the bitter old hag: upset with how God is ruining her life!
c.    BAD START is ABOUT to become a REALLY BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY!
2.    Narrator INTERJECTS: this looks REALLY BAD – but there is a DUDE named BOAZ
a.    Boaz: Strength! A pillar in the temple named boaz – masculine strength to hold up this story!
b.    Worthy Man: integrity, wealth, strength of influence in the community
c.    The Masculine Strength of Boaz is a main theme… NARRATOR: Keep your EYE on this GUY!
3.    God is up to something REDEMPTIVE: and he brings along a strong, masculine, good man to get it done

v. 2-7: CHANCE
1.    Ruth’s initiative – an act of faith
a.    The Law of Gleaning – at the end of their rope! PROVISION for the POOR & NEEDY
i.    Don’t harvest edge of crops, or go over twice: way for God & his people to provide for needy
ii.    Law of Grace: not just for them to make $ & survive, but for them to bless!
iii.    And – the poor could go to work and provide for themselves
b.    Equivalent: poverty to work program – training, schooling, meals, rental assistance: not handout!
i.    Created a community of radical generosity & mutual responsibility
ii.    Haves and the Have-nots existed together in a community
c.    Her sacrificial service to Naomi – to a bitter old hag!
i.    Took great COURAGE and deep HUMILITY
ii.    Courage to go work – as a foreigner! And she is INDUSTRIOUS
iii.    Humility to voluntarily place herself at the service of Naomi at great cost to her self
d.    The way she says it is KEY: Her simple faith in God: hesed again!
i.    She is obedient to what God has made clear, though hopes for more.
ii.    She does BOTH: trusts God and she steps out in obedience
iii.    Hyper-spiritual person says, “I’m trusting God” and then sits around and does nothing
iv.    Under-spiritual person says, “I will do it” and let God make up the slack
e.    Ruth: Trusts God and starts with OBEDIENCE! Not all figure out: Do what he has put before you!
i.    Pray, dream, plan, hope – and keep moving forward in faith!
ii.    HOPE: She is at the bottom of the barrel here… turning point was a half-days work away!
2.    Happened to Come – v.3
a.    Totally unprecedented in Scripture: “her chance chanced” or “It just so happened to happen”
i.    Narrator intentionally downplaying it - Wants us to SEE: God is at work!!
ii.    But wants us to KNOW: this is Ruth’s experience of it!
iii.    Not planned or intentional, nor does she know how good it is about to become
b.    And then: BEHOLD, BOAZ – just happened to show up at his fields at the right time!
i.    Prays for his people, blessed their work – what a BOSS!
ii.    And then “notices” RUTH: whose young woman is this? Hebrew for “Whose your daddy?”
c.    IT JUST SO HAPPENED… the whole thing: THIS IS NO ACCIDENT! NOT CHANCE!
3.    God in our “Accidents”
a.    The FACT that God is directing this SO OBVIOUS! You can’t read it any other way!
i.    BUT – we experience it, often, as RUTH & BOAZ are – seems coincidental, accidental
ii.    HIDDEN HAND of PROVIDENCE! God is sovereign & good, in it all for good purposes
iii.    REMEMBER: They DON’T SEE IT or KNOW IT!
b.    That is CLEAR; but HOW God is directing this is NOT!
i.    Has he overridden Boaz or Ruth’s freedom? Are they nothing more than pawns?
ii.    Contrary: as they have been obedient, they are in the right place when he wants them
4.    The LESSON: YOU do what is IN FRONT OF YOU: the daily habits of faithfulness & obedience
a.    Ruth: goes out to glean – hopes for God’s favor – but she isn’t “looking for a man to save her”
b.    Boaz: Why is he not married? Doing the “right stuff” – loves God, job, works hard, faithful, leader
i.    He’s not married because he is called to Redeem Ruth – how often has he asked “WHY?”
ii.    YOU don’t know what God is up to; THEREFORE: PRACTICE OBEDIENCE TODAY!
iii.    THIS is GOD’S WILL FOR YOU! To KNOW GOD and LIVE FAITHFULLY BEFORE HIM!
1.    Not all that complicated, really.  His WILL is your SANCTIFICATION!
2.    Eccl 11.1-6: “cast your bread…” POINT: You DON’T KNOW the ACTIVITY of GOD
5.    MORE: Seems particularly important for those of you hoping to be MARRIED SOMEDAY
a.    Marriage becomes an IDOL – often spoken of in church as “arriving” (Ruth: “finding rest”)
b.    BALANCE: singleness is a gift – Jesus and Paul! MARRIAGE only brings REST if not ULTIMATE
c.    How did BOAZ find the woman of his dreams?  How did RUTH find her Big bad BOAZ?
i.    FIRST: THEY were obedient to what was in front of THEM, and
ii.    SECOND: NOTICED WHO was RIGHT IN FRONT of THEM!

v.8-13: FIRST CONVERSATION
1.    Boaz initiates conversation with Ruth (good move, good start, brilliant!): initiates conversation.
a.    My daughter: Family
i.    She has no one in Bethlehem but Naomi; he, a bit older, is treating her as a daughter
ii.    “Treat young women like sisters” – this is how Boaz sees Ruth: not trying to take advantage
iii.    But embracing her as family – same wording Naomi used
b.    Glean here: Provision
i.    Some men were legalists: how much of the edge should I leave?
ii.    Boaz: Invites her in to glean with the young women, female workers… he hires her!
iii.    Next week – commands the men to leave extra on the ground for her to get & feeds her
iv.    Using his resources – time, job, money – to bless & care for her generously: HESED!
c.    Young women: Community
i.    Go after them! Stick close to the gals I’ve hired… they are good gals (giving her a job)
ii.    Equivalent to introducing her to his friends at church; they would have rejected her!
d.    Young men: Protection!
i.    Fairly young, vulnerable, foreigner… very risky to be out here, so far from town, with boys
ii.    Touch her & I’ll bury you in the field: hates the weak men who see her as easy
iii.    Like a true ELDER: he is telling the young men what to do & what not to do!
e.    Drink: We call this Chivalry!  A lost art!
i.    Not just protect her, HONOR her – tells the boys to draw water FOR her!
2.    Living like Boaz – using our STRENGTH to place a PROTECTIVE SHIELD around RUTH!
a.    Man of the WORD, Man of GRACE: goes so far beyond the letter of the law!
b.    BOAZ THE KNIGHT: gentleness combined with strength, a picture of masculine strength
i.    Knows how to be tender, caring, comforting to Ruth in her needs & vulnerability
ii.    Knows how to be strong, bold, fierce – shrewd businessman, good boss, protector
iii.    SEE PERFECTLY in JESUS: the LION and the LAMB!
c.    Not talking about his PERSONALITY – extrovert, introvert, type A or B – about CHARACTER:
i.    A seriously masculine DUDE: history of faithful obedience so he can step up to the plate
ii.    Something in the HEART of a MAN of GOD to DO HESED: justice, grace, redemption
iii.    Men FAIL this VISION because it isn’t the pattern of their lives
3.    RUTH’S humble response
a.    Fell & bowed – custom of gratitude & honor: custom, not suggesting it… but it’s still pretty cool
i.    Not flattered by BOAZ: Driscoll, “doesn’t go to the altar emotionally”
ii.    Narrator has told us BOAZ is a worthy dude; Ruth is too (see it later): she doesn’t see it!
iii.    She is NOT SELF ABSORBED!  Again, she is BUSY BEING FAITHFUL & OBEDIENT!
b.    Why? Good question – write this one down ladies!
i.    What is the end game?  Where is this going? What are your intentions BOAZ?
ii.    IMAGINE THIS: handsome, wealthy, godly single dude; She’s not looking real hot!
iii.    Take notice of the unnoticeable?
c.    Favor: Boaz has been a conduit of hesed to her! He has answered her prayer (w/0 his knowledge)
i.    This is reflective of GOD’S KINDNESS, love, mercy!       
ii.    Theme of the character of BOAZ and RUTH: they imitate the HESED of GOD
4.    Lets him ANSWER! (good technique)
a.    What has he noticed? Why is he drawn to her? What has led him to such kindness towards her?
i.    NOT because she is HOT (this is not her finest hour!)
ii.    NOT because she fits the LIST:
1.    Not a good Christian girl: not a virgin, raised in a cult, parents are pagans
2.    Been married before, pagan background, & baggage of a poor, bitter old hag!
3.    Is that on your list men?  If not, you might be missing a RUTH
iii.    V.11: Practical Character: what she’s DONE for Naomi
iv.    V.11: Courage: left her family to come here – Abraham: FAITH IN ACTION – VISIBLE!
v.    V.12 Conversion: under whose wings you’ve taken refuge: where her character flows from!
b.    I noticed you because I have HEARD of WHO YOU ARE & WHAT YOU HAVE DONE
i.    You are a woman of character and faith, you are out here selflessly serving Naomi
ii.    He is in AWE of her, praising her RIGHTLY: HER RESPONSE to God’s grace in her life!
c.    And then he PRAYS for her! Nice touch! A DUDE who KNOWS HOW TO PRAY!
i.    Repay & Reward: God’s full blessing on her life
ii.    Provision, protection, marriage, family – that her emptiness would become his fullness!
iii.    And the beauty: he is going to be the answer to that… does he know?

5.    V.13: Comfort and kind words (Do you hear the girlish giggle?)
a.    I have found is literally, “May I continue to find favor” – gratitude & invitation for more!
b.    Mutual honoring of each other – “my lord” (could be translated “SIR”)
i.    How the holy women of old adorned themselves, like Sara calling Abraham “lord”
1.    Outward beauty is GOOD, too – but can’t be the FOCUS
2.    Lipstick on a Camel
ii.    Before you get all worked up: it was a way of speaking to a man with RESPECT & HONOR
iii.    Doesn’t mean she thought he was god; like calling him “you big stud” – guys are EASY!
iv.    Steward your Words – we actually believe them, for good or for ill!  “You’re my Boaz”
c.    Comforted: lit, “allayed my fears”
i.    Boaz used his strength to be for her in protection & provision, relieving her anxiety, fear
ii.    WEAK MEN use their strength AGAINST women: abuse or abandon or abdication
iii.    Spoken kindly: encouraged; but also translated “courted or wooed” –meant to be vague?

6.    FOCUS of their CONVERSATION is on CHARACTER – don’t miss that! Heb Bible: Proverbs 31
a.    Two people of exemplary faith and obedience: they’re amazing because THEY’RE GODLY

b.    Contrast of Wealth in them: BOAZ is RICH; RUTH is POOR; BOTH are RIGHTEOUS

c.    Don’t aim to be like them in character without knowing the God they worship: JESUS
d.    Boaz & Ruth POINT US FORWARD to JESUS: the God who is ORCHESTRATING ALL THIS
i.    Is the GOD who has STEPPED INTO OUR WORLD to REDEEM US
ii.    Used HIS STRENGTH to provide, protect, and rescue us by DYING for OUR SIN
iii.    The GOD of HESED – covenant love and faithfulness to messy, sin-sick people like us

COMMUNION
Tragedy is beginning to give way to beauty – and it is no accident: this is getting GOOD (first date next week!)
    This is WHAT OUR GOD MAJORS IN: taking the PLAN B MESS that we’ve made of our lives
And making them into PLAN A PERFECTION – beyond what we can think or imagine