Sermon Cloud

Text: Ruth 4.13-22
Theme:
Aim:

INTRO: “Redeeming the Mess”
If you have kids, run for the hills!!  Park for 30 minutes – be back for pizza!

WIDE ANGLE: the time of the Judges – ZOOM IN to Naomi & her tragedy
Beginning Again: the tragedy of Famine, Foolishness, and a Move to MOAB
    Naomi is the FOCUS – she has nothing left; worst of all, she has no legacy – the end of the line
    “I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty” – that is her assessment of it
    Moved away from a focus on Naomi – the love story of Ruth the Moabite & Big bad brother Boaz
BOAZ is up the challenge: the LAND became Boaz’s, and Ruth became is wife – but what of NAOMI?
    She now has provision of FOOD through Boaz, and a son-in-law who cares for her: but LEGACY?
    The Missing Piece is a SON through whom the FAMILY LINE continues ON.

On Wedding Night: Marriage, Legacy, & Redemption

v.13: Marriage, Consummation, & Babies
1.    The continuation of the Wedding – Genesis 2 gives 3 stages: leave, hold fast, one flesh
a.    3.9: COVENANT or PROMISE; Ruth’s request, Boaz’s promise, as LORD LIVES
i.    Engagement: a period of preparation for the life-long commitment of marriage
1.    Point: leave the parents, actively work toward relational maturity required
2.    Should be short! (though 1 day might be pushing it!)
3.    Taking off the rose-colored glasses: pre-marital counseling (I pray for fights!)
ii.    Sexual purity KEY: See in BOAZ & RUTH, & Bible gives at least a few REASONS why…
1.    Gen 2.24: Sex is for Grown-ups: Boaz and Ruth exemplify this
a.    BOAZ & RUTH live in the very REAL WORLD of responsibility
b.    Focus on simple things: GED, job, house, !
2.    Physical intimacy is appropriate only when you are FULLY giving ALL of yourself
a.    My relationship with Rosauer’s is as a consumer: meets my needs, WALK!
b.    No Binding Agreement beyond “if the product is good & price is right”
c.    Relationship NOT built on life-long commitment is CONSUMER-BASED
d.    Stay as long as the product is good and the price is right – better deal? Go!
e.    Unless you are FULLY GIVING YOURSELF whether/not needs are met
f.    SEX is a product – it will never soar, be poetry, be FREE or FULFILLING
g.    Sexual intimacy can masquerade as true commitment: BUT ARE YOU?
i.    Yes: then why aren’t you married? Still reserve right to leave!
ii.    No: then you are missing out on what you are really after.
3.    Scripture says NO because it says YES to satisfying, beautiful, poetic lovemaking
b.    Beginning of 4: Public Declaration
i.    Boaz invited the elders & the people to be witnesses; agreed with prayer & blessing
ii.    Ceremony: Taking your PROMISE SERIOUSLY, and publicly
1.    Helps for us to sense the weight of what we are committing to
2.    You are a new social reality in the world: You CLEAVE, are UNITED
iii.    MORE: public celebration of GOD’S HANDIWORK! Grace of marriage!
c.    4.13: BECOME ONE
i.    He sweeps her off her feet, and she gets a new identity: His Wife, “went in to her”
ii.    SCRIPTURE celebrates SEXUAL INTIMACY! Genesis 2, Prov 5, 30; 1 Cor 7 & Heb 13.4

2.    And the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son: HONEYMOON NIGHT!
a.    Second time narrator has mentioned the LORD directly: bread and babies
b.    Ruth was barren for 10 years in Moab with Mahlon – her or him (sickly!)
c.    Children come as GIFTS from HIS HAND: “the LORD gave her conception”
i.    Not all babies are planned… but that doesn’t mean they aren’t GIFTS
ii.    A new eternal spiritual being comes into existence – weighty reality
Narrator: The LORD has DONE THIS! And we are coming FULL CIRCLE in Ruth, back to NAOMI
    Camera steps back, zooms out a bit – Boaz & Ruth step out of the picture; always been about Naomi!

v.14-16: LEGACY
1.    Women (her community) Interpret: Blessed be the LORD who has not left you w/o a Redeemer
a.    Naomi’s Emptying
i.    Ch. 1: She left FULL – of her plans, of her family, of her self-reliance
ii.    God brought her back empty – disciplined her, a sanctified affliction
iii.    But his purposes have not been for HARM, but for ULTIMATE GOOD
b.    The WOMEN who formed NAOMI’S community in tragedy are now celebrating
i.    Freely confessed her bitterness in chapter one – God has ruined my life! I Hate Him!
ii.    Brought the opportunity for this CELEBRATION of HIS GOODNESS, Hesed!
2.    WOMEN are like a Greek Chorus, punctuating the completeness of this work of GOD
a.    This Son will be a Restorer of Life and a nourisher of your old age: “feed your gray hairs”
b.    This daughter-in-law clearly loves you; more than 7 sons (perfect Hebrew family!)
3.    This final picture of NAOMI: grandson on her lap, tears in her eyes, renewal in her heart
a.    God is a good God, and he has shown her so – the bitterness has made the sweet even more so
b.    ME!  A Nurse! Humbled Joy & Gratitude to God – she has been REDEEMED!


v.17-22: REDEMPTION
1.    His Name is Obed – why named by the women is unclear
a.    Servant: because of the ROLE he will PLAY TO NAOMI
2.    Move from small scale to large: zoomed in on insignificant family
a.    Not big names, not great stories, no miracles, prophets, voice of God
b.    Rather: foolish decisions, tragic deaths, loneliness, bitterness, work, bread, dating, sex, babies
c.    NOT where we expect GOD to BREAK IN and do something REMARKABLE
3.    BANG!!  Suddenly a new ASPECT to the STORY: Ruth is the great-grandma of KING DAVID
a.    Total redemption in Ruth’s life – a matriarch with full inclusion!
b.    Mystery of God’s purposes – why go get RUTH? Surely other women for Boaz? Why not Israelite?
i.    God’s concern for the outsider – and why we should show hospitality to strangers!
1.    Lev 19.34: You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
2.    Logic of GRACE: b/c of what he has done for you, you turn and do it, too!
ii.    Grace comes in unexpected ways – salvation is a gift, not something earned
c.    Reality: you don’t know what God might be UP TO in & through your LIFE.
4.    The KEY LESSON for the Book: God’s redemption moves forward in the mundane details of today
a.    Love this book because of the normalcy of this people – people of faith, for sure…
b.    BUT: they are simply people who’ve responded to the HESED of GOD – trust HIM
i.    Not that they are great in and of themselves
ii.    Rather, they are great because they are trusting God and being obedient
iii.    Ruth doesn’t know – long dead by the time DAVID comes along!
c.    Lesson: BE AVERAGE!
i.    Reality is you are not going to be the next Billy Graham or Mother Theresa – FINE.
ii.    You be YOU & believe that God uses SIMPLE FAITHFUL OBEDIENCE (not average)
5.    Legacy: you CANNOT just live for today! Your children in the STORY LINE of REDEMPTION
a.    Go forward to JESUS & his lineage: Full of sinful women, plays out like a good Springer episode
i.    Tamar – husband Er dies, Onan spills it, so she plays prostitute & gets pregnant by Judah
ii.    Rahab – grandma or great-grandma of Boaz was a Jericho prostitute and a good liar
iii.    Ruth – Moabite outsider got dolled-up & uncovered the feet of Boaz
iv.    Bathsheba – took a bath on a roof, tempted & had sex w/David, he killed her husband
v.    Mary – teenager from a dumpy rural town who swore God got her pregnant
b.    KEY: each of these women were brought into the story b/c it is a STORY of REDEMPTION
i.    God is taking the messiness of our lives and he is making things RIGHT in JESUS
ii.    Jesus is the REDEEMER: Sinful women w/messy lives are INCLUDED!
 
6.    This is the GOOD NEWS, the GOSPEL at the center of CHRISTIANITY
a.    Matthew: writing to RELIGIOUS PEOPLE who think they are saved & loved b/c they OBEY
b.    Starts by Reminding them of the STORY of REDEMPTION, Just like RUTH DOES
i.    God is taking the messes of our lives: sin, rebellion, foolish decisions - wickedness
ii.    And the question: how can he rid the world of all of this without destroying us?
iii.    Answer: only if a REDEEMER COMES and PAYS THE PRICE
1.    Like us: must be a human to redeem humanity (sacrifices of OT insufficient!)
2.    Not Like us: must be able to fulfill God’s law perfectly on our behalf (God!)
c.    Christianity says that he has DONE IT ALL
i.    In LOVE OF US he GAVE HIS SON
ii.    Lived the LIFE we couldn’t live, died the death we deserve, and rose as a first-fruit promise
iii.    In JESUS: God has reconciled us to himself, and will do so with all of CREATION
d.    And in the meantime, we live in that VERY STORY
i.    We are reconciling ALL THINGS to HIM, being about REDEMPTION in all things
ii.    Seeing where our world is broken, and stepping in to carry the weight and bring healing
iii.    Redemption requires costly sacrifice: LEXI and the SQUIRTER, Mos is like most of us


Final Applications:
1.  When the stuff hits the fan: the Hesed of God reminds us that he doesn’t hate or forget us
    He has good plans to give good gifts – but sometimes it comes in hard ways
    Naomi lost everything, but gained a grandson… she did not have one in MOAB!
        The tragedy is REAL, HARD – nothing can replace that LOSS
        BUT – the LORD is GOOD & moved NAOMI from legalism to grace
    Legalism: bad stuff happens to bad people, so you better be good
    Grace: bad stuff happens to good and bad, but so does good stuff, and both are gifts!

2.  When you feel insignificant: be faithful, let God decide what he will do with it
    Delight in God and in his word
    Trust his providential care and concern, his plans not for harm but for good, to prosper
    And throw yourself into the Redemptive Story – LIVE to the FULLEST for HIS GLORY

3.  When you are empty: consider that your fullness may not be far off (about a year!)
    Also: 3000 years ago GOD was at work to sustain this family line or the KINGDOM – JESUS
    GOD so loved the world that he sent his Son for YOU: this plan culminates in YOU
        And he will REDEEM IT ALL: empty is temporary!

4.  Live your life out-loud: The whole CITY is CELEBRATING b/c of GOD’S REDEMPTIVE WORK
    How a hologram works: each piece, fragment, contains the whole… that is redemption lived out
    And that is how a CITY is changed – as each piece is infused with the whole, mundane redemption
    Except: redemption is never mundane!