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The Lovingkindness of God #4

Gary Stedman on July 13, 2014
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The Lovingkindness of God #3

Gary Stedman on June 29, 2014

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3:1-5 Naomi Hatches a Plan

The attention that Ruth received from Boaz opens up a possibility of deliverance that Naomi had not expected – the existence of a redeemer. There are two legal principles at work here.

One is the right to redeem land (Lev. 25:23-34, see also the right to redeem an Israelite from slavery Lev. 25:39-55). This was a right that was given to someone who was near of kin (Lev. 25:48-49), which is why we call him the kinsman redeemer. The other is the duty to keep a family line alive (Deut. 25:5-10). Again, this was a duty that fell on the close relative to keep a family name alive.

In the story of Ruth, these two principles are both at work. Naomi and Ruth need to have their land redeemed, but they also need a line to receive this inheritance, because it can’t be passed on outside of the family (Num. 36:9).

The plan is for Ruth to be deliberately seductive towards Boaz. She is going to wait for the right moment to approach Boaz, but part of this is that she is bypassing any interaction with other men so that she can focus solely on Boaz.

6-9 The Threshing Floor

The threshing of the grain is accompanied by a celebration of feasting. Naomi chooses this moment, ripe with innuendo, for Ruth to approach Boaz. Ruth calls Boaz to fulfil the role of redeemer. The request to cover her with his wing, is a request for him to be her husband (Ez. 16:8 and the prohibitions of sexual infidelity – Deut. 22:30, 27:20, etc.). But it is also a reminder that Ruth’s seeking of refuge with Boaz is her seeking refuge with Yahweh (2:12).

10-11 The Blessing of Boaz

Boaz recognizes Ruth’s faithfulness for what it is. Her faithfulness gets better and better ( John 2:10). He grants her request and then Boaz pays her a very high compliment, calling her “a virtuous woman.” This corresponds with the description of Boaz (2:1) and sets Ruth as the embodiment of the perfect woman (Prov. 31:10-31). Ruth stands for two things here, the first is what real biblical femininity looks like. The second is what real biblical faith looks like (without regard to gender).

12-13 A Nearer Kinsman

But Boaz notes that there is still a kinsman that is nearer to Naomi than himself. The duty of being the redeemer falls first to this nearer kinsman and then to Boaz. Ruth will have to be patient while he sorts this matter out.

14-18 Ruth Returns to Naomi

Ruth returns to Naomi with the news that Boaz will act. But she also brings back a gift of barley from Boaz. But remember that the barley is just a token of a much larger and more significant provision.

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The Lovingkindness of God #2

Gary Stedman on June 29, 2014

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2:1 Boaz

In Numbers chapter 1, God orders Moses to take a census of all the men of war in Israel. And God appoints which man will stand as the head of the army of each tribe. The head of the tribe of Judah was a man named Nahshon, son of Amminadab. He was a man of great significance in the leadership of Israel at that time (Num. 7:12, 10:14, Ex. 6:23).

His son Salmon, we don’t know much about. He most likely fought under Joshua and Caleb when the Israelites invaded Canaan. And he is the man that took Rahab, the prostitute of Jericho, as his own wife. And the son of Salmon and Rahab was a man named Boaz. The book of Ruth says that Boaz was a very mighty warrior. We also know that Boaz was an Ephrathite, one of the older, established families in Bethlehem. As one commentator put it, “Boaz’s fullness is the counterpart to Naomi’s emptiness.”

2:2-7 Ruth Gleaning

The right to glean after the harvesters was a right reserved to the poor by the law of God (Lev. 19:9-10, 23:22, Deut. 24:19-22). Ruth has made it to Bethlehem just in time to participate in the harvest and wastes no time in getting out there. In God’s providence, Ruth ends up gleaning in the field of Boaz. When he visits his field, Boaz takes notice of Ruth immediately. She has already distinguished herself in the eyes of overseer of the harvesters. But Boaz already knows of her for another reason.

2:8-12 Boaz’s Favor

What Naomi had seemed to think was Ruth’s foolishness before (limiting herself to this family), Boaz now turns into a blessing. The farewell blessing of Naomi on Orpah and Ruth (1:8) is now being fulfilled in the field of Boaz (2:12). And the vow that Ruth made to Naomi (1:16-17) is now the basis for Boaz’s kindness to her (2:11). So we see two characteristics of Ruth that have been testified to in this chapter. First, she is a hard- working woman (2:7). Second, she is a woman of deep loyalty (2:11).

Notice that Boaz sees Ruth’s devotion also as a conversion. She has come under Yahweh’s wings (Ps. 57:1, Ps. 61:4, Ps. 91:4). There are several layers here.
1. Ultimately, this is about the line of Jesus. She has walked away from everything to give herself to Jesus (see Mat. 1:5).
2. The author of this story probably saw this in terms of the line of David (Ruth 4:17-22). 3. And a simple reading of this story would just see this as her giving herself to Naomi. It’s just the story of a really good friendship.
But even Boaz sees this as about an unreasonable and sudden devotion to Yahweh, and seeking refuge in him. Faith in the Old Testament, looking forward to Christ, had a different content, but the same object. We shouldn’t hesitate to be reading Christ back into these stories, even though they probably would not have been able to express the content of their faith in the same way that we would describe it for them.

2:13-18 God’s Provision

Boaz sees to it that Ruth’s gleaning is profitable. He also ensures her protection and provision throughout the day. When it was all over Ruth had gleaned a full ephah of grain – probably equal to just under 30 pounds, which is rather tremendous. At this time, this was equal to two full weeks wages for a field worker. But this is only a small thing. The provision proves that she has found favor in Boaz’s eyes, which is a far bigger deal.

2:19-23 Returning to Naomi

Ruth is quick to get home and share her proceeds with Naomi. Naomi sees that a possibility has been opened up that she did not anticipate. She advises Ruth to take her “all-in” attitude and focus it on Boaz.

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The Lovingkindness of God #1

Gary Stedman on June 22, 2014

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1:1-5 Moab

The passage begins with a time marker – “In the judging of the judges.” The book was written looking back on the period before Israel was ruled by kings, a lawless time when Israel was plagued by foreign oppression and national apostasy. At this time Israel lacked a true leader. And so it is significant that this book is about the establishment of the line of David.

Famine strikes in the house of bread. In the past, famines drove the patriarchs out of the land temporarily, to experience greater blessing – Abram (Gen. 12:10), Isaac (Gen. 26:1), and Jacob (Gen. 41-50). But Elimelech ends up in a very different story. Our temptation is to think that we see the story that God is telling and then we try to script for God how he will bring blessing out of disaster. That doesn’t usually work. We learn from history to trust in God’s promises, not to rest in your own prediction of how God will work things out.

Elimelech leaves Israel for Moab (v. 2), on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, a nation descended from Lot’s incestuous union with his daughter (Gen. 19:30-38). Relations between Israel and Moab were strained. Balaam was hired by the Moabites to curse Israel (Num. 22-24). They and their descendents were not to be permitted to come into the assembly of the Lord (Deut. 23:4). And during the time of the judges, Ehud killed Eglon, king of Moab ( Judg. 3:12-30) and subdued them under Israel.

And Elimelech dies (v.3). The sons then take wives for themselves from the Moabites and then dwell there ten years (v. 4). It’s time for something to happen, and what happens is both sons die. The story of deliverance in Moab is not off to a good start.

1:6-13 Goodbyes

6-9 Naomi sees the hopelessness of her situation in Moab. Hearing that the famine has lifted from Bethlehem, she begins to return home. Her daughters-in-law begin to follow her. She thanks them for the kindness (chesed) that they have shown (v. 8) and gives them a definitive goodbye (v. 9).

10-13 No, really, goodbye. Naomi explains that she is a dead end. Don’t tie your future happiness to her because she is a lost cause. The hand of the Lord, the power by which he orchestrates all that comes to pass, has gone out against her. The sovereignty of God is against Naomi, so don’t stand next to her.

1:14-17 But Ruth Clung to Her

This is the vocabulary of marriage (see Gen. 2:24). Orpah has returned to her people and to her gods. But Ruth makes a strikingly poetic vow to Naomi.

First, notice it is much bigger than just a promise of friendship and loyalty to Naomi. It includes people, place, and God. It extends beyond Naomi’s death, to Ruth’s death. And it ends with an oath before Yahweh (thus confirming that Naomi’ God is now Ruth’s).

Where did this come from? This is one of the clearest pictures of a conversion in the Bible. It closely parallels Abram’s conversion (Gen. 12:1-5), except for the fact that Abram converted after receiving a wonderful promise from God. But Ruth converts in the face of Naomi’s despair. Ruth exemplifies the Gospel commitment that Jesus would teach over a thousand years later (Mat. 8:21, 10:37, and 19:29).

Ruth is the embodiment of chesed, a term that will become a theme for the entire book.

1:18-22 A Grim Return

Ruth is determined. Naomi sees this and gives up on trying to convince her otherwise. Both Naomi and Ruth have been left empty and hopeless. One is young, resolute, and still determined. The other is every bit as determined, but it is a determination that is soaked with bitterness and resentment. She returns to God, but almost like a satellite that has fallen from its orbit and plummets to earth. Naomi seems like she has just resigned herself to the gravitational pull of God’s sovereign will. Naomi is fairly honest about where this has left her.

Now it was the beginning of the barley harvest, which was in late April or early May and was followed two weeks later by the wheat harvest. The harvest was a festival time, a time of celebration like our Thanksgiving. So how strange must it have been for Naomi to return home bitter at just this moment.

Remember also that we began the book with the statement that there was no bread in Bethlehem. At the same time that Naomi is telling everyone to call her “bitter,” God is beginning to change their circumstances. And they are about to learn that God’s ways are not our ways, and his story is not the story that we wrote for him.

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