Sermon Cloud

Text: Ruth 1.6-22
Theme:
Aim:

INTRO: “Redeeming the Mess”

About half way through – briefly summarize where we’ve been, esp if you are new
    Tragedy – a result of sin, foolishness, and circumstances: Naomi is bitter and destitute, returns to God
        Ends with Hope: Ruth was with her (recent convert) and beginning of Barley harvest
    Ch 2 starts with the courageous & sacrificial move of Ruth to glean: collecting cans
        “Happens” – the main theme of how God is at work, invisibly reigning over the circumstance
        And not just ruling over it all, but orchestrating it and working it to GOOD ENDS
    He is the ALMIGHTY GOD and the GOD OF HESED – loving kindness, mercy, and steadfast love
        Begin to believe last week that TRAGEDY might give way to BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY
Boaz, the worthy man of character, wealth, and high standing in the community: gracious provision to Ruth
    Ruth: widow, foreign, Moabite, new to town, poor but recently converted and “worthy”

TONIGHT: the love story continues, first date: starting to turn around
    MORE: What happens when GOD’S GRACE FLOWS FREELY IN THE HEARTS OF HIS PEOPLE!

14-17: BOAZ is a MAN of GRACE
1.    Mealtime – time for lunch, and Boaz pulls out the BBQ and treats her like a lady!
a.    Romantic – watch how suave this guy is!  Single folk take note!
i.    Boaz is a “worthy” man: Wealth, Wisdom, War.  He has a job, loves Jesus, Masculine.
ii.    Boaz calls her and invites her to dine with him – He Pursues her (she welcomed it in v.13)
iii.    Boaz brought some bread, wine, and roasted grain = fine dining… no sporks!
b.    Passed to her roasted grain – he sits her down and serves her – another nice touch
i.    Attending to her, waiting on her – the boss serving the grunt worker
ii.    Attentive to her, displaying tender love & care – not treating her like one of the guys!!
iii.    Some men think they should be served, waited on; think wife is for them – not Boaz!
c.    Ate until she was Satisfied and had Leftovers –
i.    He is liberal with his resources towards her – a man who spends money well (greedy men)
1.    Necessity for budgets and self-control; but as means of being a blessing to others
2.    Some date nights are Starbucks; some are Luna; most are in between, none Dutch
ii.    AND: She has a doggy bag for the bitter old hag: DRISCOLL – courting the mother-in-law!
d.    v.15 - MORE: Abundant Provision
i.    Hiring her, using his strength to provide abundantly for her – the rest of the harvest
ii.    Speaking to the men: Like an elder, about how to treat a woman like Ruth
1.    See her as prey: vulnerable place for Ruth out in the fields far from town (already?)
2.    He’s saying she’s a sister to be honored, protected, provided
3.    This image ought to be burned in their memory now – to see Boaz do this!

All great stuff: a strong godly man caring for a humble godly woman…

2.    Most BEAUTIFUL: THINK ABOUT the AFFECT his ACTIONS are HAVING on HER SITUATION:
a.    He removes the stigma of being a foreigner: she is a family member at his table (daughter, table)
i.    Uses his influence in the community to draw her into full membership of community
ii.    Gone out of his way to embrace an outsider, an outcast, a social & religious: FAMILY
b.    He removes the shame of gleaning: equivalent of welfare – publicly humiliating, assoc. w/sin!
i.    He hires her with no benefit to himself – actually, at a loss – now she is a WORKER!
ii.    From HUMBLE gleaner to HONORED GUEST & HIRED WORKER
c.    He removes the pain of hunger: she eats until she is satisfied & takes some home!
i.    Gives her more than a week’s wage in one day – supplying year’s need in 7-8 weeks
ii.    From HUNGRY to SATISFIED w/LEFTOVERS!
d.    Physically, Emotionally, and Socially he is BRINGING WHOLENESS to HER LIFE.

3.    Boaz shows us what it looks like to not just OBEY the LAW of GOD, but also to DELIGHT IN IT
a.    Laws, regulations, commandments often thought of as the antithetical to relationship with God
i.    Many people – Christian and not – see commands as burdensome, hard, life-stealing
ii.    Reality: they are when they are not understood in context of relationship
1.    My home: we have used Eph 6, honor & obey: special, more, positive attitude
2.    Rule? YES! Consequences when it is not followed
3.    BUT: obedience or disobedience doesn’t change our fundamental relationship
4.    IN FACT: the point of the RULE is to give boundaries that PROMOTE relationship!
b.    GOD IS A FATHER who GIVES RULES for OUR GOOD & to promote RELATIONSHIP
i.    GENESIS: God blessed, and then commands (rules not basis for relationship)
ii.    EXODUS: RESCUED from SLAVERY: drawn out of Egypt, then given the law
1.    LAW outlined “best practices” for GOD’S REDEEMED PEOPLE
2.    Rules aren’t BASIS but the OUTWORKING of RELATIONSHIP
iii.    THROUGHOUT NT: Commands always connected to what GOD has done in JESUS for us
1.    He lived perfectly obedient, died the death we deserved: nothing left to DO
2.    We are accepted, loved, saved b/c of what HE DID – commands teach us to live it!
c.    Why CHRISTIANITY is DIFFERENT from RELIGIONS
i.    Religion: obey in order to be accepted, saved, loved by God
ii.    Gospel: obey BECAUSE you are accepted, saved, and loved by GOD

4.    BOAZ BELIEVES the GOSPEL: because God has been gracious & merciful to his people, Boaz obeys:
a.    Bethlehem means “house of bread” – a fertile land, the land of God’s abundant blessing
i.    Start of story – a famine in the land of bread: God’s judgment on the sin of his people
ii.    The Lord visited his people and given them “bread” – God showed GRACE!
b.    Here is a man on whom the LORD has showered his GRACE and FAVOR – HARVEST!
i.    So he GOES BEYOND the letter of the LAW and OBEYS the INTENT of the LAW!
1.    Letter: keep a margin, don’t go through twice, leave some for foreigner
2.    Intent: God loves the foreigner, cares for outcast – BOAZ FOLLOWS HEART!
ii.    Because of God’s favor on him (brought bread), he DELIGHTS in OBEYING LAW!
1.    He is ABUNDANT and FULL OF GRACE in his OBEDIENCE
2.    Loves the outcast, foreigner, poor, widow – allows the gleaner, keeps the margin
3.    But then – he hires gleaner, he feeds gleaner, he serves the gleaner
c.    It was the Pharisees (and others) who turned it into moral straightjacket, many Christians do, too!
i.    This FLOW is so IMPORTANT to UNDERSTAND!
ii.    More you understand and believe what HE HAS DONE, you WANT & DELIGHT to OBEY!

Because GOD has done so to him, he then TURNED AND DID SO FOR RUTH… and for NAOMI!

18-20a: NAOMI RENEWED by GRACE
1.    Into the city –
a.    Naomi: Sees the abundance, Gets the doggy bag, Recognizes the inkling of hope & prays
b.    And SUDDENLY the BITTER OLD HAG is WORSHIPPING and PRAYING AGAIN!
2.    V.20: Our KEY WORD HESED shows up AGAIN! Loving kindness or steadfast love!
a.    In the tragedy of chapter one, NAOMI believes God is SOVEREIGN – over everything, responsible
b.    Questions is HESED – his heart of grace & mercy: she doesn’t SEE IT
c.    But NOW – when things TURN, she recognizes THIS IS THE HAND OF GOD!
i.    Just like US: we judge God’s character based on our circumstances!
ii.    Makes life into a roller coaster: Today we believe; tomorrow we don’t – no consistency!
d.    The HESED of GOD means YOU HAVE AN ANCHOR, a SOLID ROCK: providence!
3.    Whose “hesed” is she praising God for?  Ambiguous in Hebrew, possibly INTENTIONAL!
a.    God’s favor pours out of BOAZ and envelops RUTH and then begins healing NAOMI
b.    THE FLOW OF A GRACE in the life of a righteous PERSON: God, Boaz, Ruth, Naomi!

4.    You are BLESSED to BE A BLESSING – how are you doing? Where is grace flowing through you?
a.    God provided rain & sun, and Boaz worked his job to the glory of God & his abundance!
i.    Where is the ABUNDANCE in your LIFE BEING SHARED?
ii.    Or do you think it is ALL YOURS?
b.    He noticed the unnoticeable, and then invited her to dinner: who are you FAMILYING?
i.    He heals her shame and reproach, makes her a part of the family of God
ii.    He celebrates her and honors her and serves her rich food and drink
c.    Flows from GOD to BOAZ to RUTH to NAOMI… AND SHE actually NAMES IT!

v20: A REDEEMER
1.    Redeemer: She names what has in a sense already been experienced (Requires a little BACKGROUND)
a.    Dominate OT Themes is GOD’S REDEMPTION of HIS PEOPLE in the EXODUS
b.    In the context of the community of Israel, certain people were known as Redeemers: elder male
c.    Various ROLES, but 2 are important to RUTH:
i.    Land: if land was sold to pay a debt, the “redeemer” could buy it back for the family
ii.    Lineage: if a man died without children, the “redeemer” could marry the widow & have kids

2.    Technically, BOAZ is not a redeemer to RUTH: she is a MOABITE, a foreigner, related through marriage
a.    But again, NAOMI assumes that A MAN LIKE BOAZ would GO BEYOND the LETTER of the LAW
b.    The whole STORY is now coming CLEAR: there is HOPE because BOAZ is a REDEEMER
c.    Only QUESTION: will he do it?

3.    V.21-23: Leaves it unanswered – the harvest season ends, and there is no REDEMPTION
a.    7-8n weeks of gleaning, and no further development of the relationship…
b.    Ruth & Naomi day after day – did you see Boaz? What did he say? What are his intentions?

Chapter 2 closes with question – will he be a REDEEMER? Will he DO IT?

BUT ALSO POINTS US FORWARD to the FINAL REDEEMER:
WE have a REDEEMER WHO is MIGHTY to SAVE: Have you noticed the family resemblance?
    The one who used his NOTICED the UNNOTICEABLE
    The one who took the FOREIGNER and the OUTCAST and CALLED US FAMILY
    The one who USED his STRENGTH to SERVE US AT HIS TABLE, breaking BREAD & pouring WINE
   
Again, BOAZ POINTS US FORWARD TO JESUS, the GOD of HESED
    Jesus redeemed us by living the life we could never live, dying the death we deserved to die, and was raised from the dead 3 days later to rescues us from SLAVERY TO SIN, SATAN, DEATH and HELL.

His name is JESUS, and he is the GOD OF HESED
    If you are a CHRISTIAN, we invite you to come to his table & partake
    If you are NOT A CHRISTIAN, we invite you to become one tonight:
Ask him to forgive, thank him for his death & resurrection
And trust him to REDEEM your MESS