Word of Salvation – Vol. 45 No.42 – November 2000
Relative Blessings
A Sermon by Rev G H Milne
on Ruth 2:17-23
Scripture Reading: Romans 3:9-26
Beloved in the Lord,
Last time we noticed how Boaz showed special interest in Ruth, this foreigner who had come to live with God’s people and worship the God of Israel. Remember how he had arranged that she would now glean among the sheaves and be ensured of plenty of grain to take home to Naomi. Today the beautiful love story of Ruth continues and we will get a foretaste of blessing that flows from a close relative.
We will see, firstly, that this is preceded by the diligence of Ruth and the generosity of Boaz, and secondly, it is recognised in Naomi’s remarkable hope.
1. The Diligence of Ruth and the Generosity of Boaz
In verse 17 we see that Ruth returned to the barley field to glean. We read that she gleaned until evening. Then she separated the grain from the husk leaving about an ephah of barley. The Hebrew word translated “beat out” here means beat out with a wooden hammer or curved stick, which was used for threshing small quantities of grain. The threshing of larger quantities involved using the hooves of cattle or horses, or alternatively, the wheels of a threshing cart threshing the grain on an open floor. An ephah was a loan word from Egypt and probably originally meant basket. However, we can work out that the quantity of an ephah was about 30 lbs or 14 kilograms.
God had provided for her, through Boaz, who had made it easier for her to gather sufficient grain for her sustenance and that of Naomi her mother-in-law. And Ruth had taken advantage of the kindness of Boaz, working hard until evening and then beating out the grain. And she had been very successful, ending up with a lot more grain than a gleaner would normally expect to gather.
Why does the writer comment on the quantity? Well he wants to impress us with the large amount that she had gathered. Two things could be concluded from this fact. Firstly, Boaz’s generosity. This amount of grain was equivalent to at least two weeks wages in that economy, and so Boaz, who had made it possible for her to gather this much, was really handing her something very valuable. But secondly, it tells us of Ruth’s hard work. She worked until evening and gathered a large amount, which must have been difficult for a woman to carry.
In applying this to ourselves, we may say that your reward in this world is in a direct relationship to your industry or hard work. There is always a temptation to daydream, to dream that you will receive something for nothing. But the Bible teaches us here and elsewhere that God blesses hard work.
Proverbs 31:27 says that the virtuous (woman) watches over the ways of her household. And does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 12:27 says that the lazy (man) does not roast what he took in hunting. But diligence [is] man’s precious possession. And Proverbs 13:4 says the soul of a lazy [man] desires, and [has] nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.
This attitude can become a national characteristic if people are obedient to the Word of God. I think that if you did a survey here in New Zealand (Australia) and asked with what race do you associate hard work, many would give the response that the Dutch stand out in this regard. This is a generalisation, of course, and there are hard workers in every other race as well, but I cannot but be tempted to see a link between the recognition of the Dutch in this regard and the impact of the Reformed Faith which stresses that these sorts of qualities should be found in a child of God. Well, as I say, we certainly find this quality with Ruth.
Young people, can I say that one of the best things that your parents could do for you is to make you work hard at home and not give you rewards for doing nothing. You might think that you would be far happier if you got something for nothing, but if this is the case then your character is being irreparably damaged. Hard work, as many have said, never killed anyone. Take a leaf here out of Ruth’s book and be diligent in whatever you do. Work hard at school, even when you feel like being lazy, and you will be blessed. Be lazy and careless, and you will have a miserable life and a weak character.
The scene changes now. We see Ruth struggling home with this great pile of grain probably contained in a shawl that she had slung around her head with the filled shawl resting against her back. She enters the city and goes straight home to her mother-in-law. No doubt Naomi had been waiting at home all day worrying about and wondering just how much grain Ruth would be able to glean.
And we are told another very interesting piece of information. Have a look in verse 18, where we read, “She also took [it] out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.” The it is supplied here by the translator and may mislead us. What the narrator is really saying is that Ruth took out of her pocket some of the meal that she had been given by Boaz and gave it to Naomi. This little detail just helps reinforce for us the exact character of Ruth: pious, diligent and unselfish. She showed a real regard and care for her ageing mother-in-law.
This last quality was something that had already been drawn to the attention of Boaz. In verse 11 we read, “And Boaz answered and said to her, ‘It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband.’” Beware of having a good reputation that you know is unearned. And beware of resting on your laurels. Here Ruth’s character is not by reputation only. No, she lives the life, she walks the talk, as they say, as this little event tells us.
So Ruth returns home and we are about to learn of Naomi’s remarkable hope. And that is our final point…
2. Naomi’s Remarkable Hope
Naomi now asks her about her day and without knowing for certain at this stage that she had gleaned in the field of Boaz, wants the person who had made their prosperity possible to be blessed by God. “May he who took notice of you be blessed.” In other words, she gives a benediction. Naomi is responding according to godly wisdom. In Proverbs we read, He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor. We should always want to see kindness rewarded.
Ruth now reveals that it was Boaz. And Naomi has cause to wish a blessing again upon this man. Notice what she says in verse 20, “May he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead.”
This phrase gives indication that Naomi was interpreting providence. Her reaction seems greater, her benediction out of all proportion, than we would expect to the return of Ruth with the grain – even with such a large amount of grain. Her benediction seems out of all proportion.
We know this because of her reference to the kindness of Boaz to the living and the dead. Obviously the dead are not going to benefit from the grain. So who are these dead, and how has Boaz shown kindness to them?
To answer these questions, I want us to notice the similarity in idiom or the saying found in Genesis 24. There, Abraham’s servant is sent on a journey to find a wife for Isaac from among the relatives of his Isaac’s father. In verse 27, in that chapter, we read, “And he said, ‘Blessed [be] the Lord God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master’s brethren!” Is Naomi anticipating a wedding?
In the provision of grain, Boaz’s special interest in Ruth was evident and obvious. And the reference to the dead most likely refers to the custom recorded in Leviticus, whereby a kinsman had a responsibility to marry a childless widow of a deceased brother, buy back family land that had been sold and look after the helpless members of the family.
That Naomi has these thoughts in mind is confirmed by the reference to “our relative”. “The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives.” Naomi sees in the special interest of Boaz an anticipation of greater blessing.
Last time we noticed the connection between blessing and obedience. And Naomi is right to anticipate greater blessing to flow from the obedience of Ruth.
We, too, should live our lives in the constant hope that God will bless us – that God will answer our prayers.
I know that the temptation is to doubt God’s goodness, to doubt His willingness to bless. But the Bible tells us here that God does indeed reward obedience and diligence. We have already looked at some of those references in Proverbs. Is God not blessing you right now? Do you only see a little puny pile of grain after a day’s work and therefore no hope of some greater blessing? Are you a perpetual pessimist, perhaps not daring to think that God will reward you just in case you get disappointed? Well, consider the example of Naomi. She sees blessing and anticipates greater blessing. Are we first of all obedient and diligent in our Christian life? Are we really living for the Lord Jesus Christ and only Him? Well, then expect God to bless you wonderfully. Not necessarily in material terms, but in a way that will truly satisfy you – in spiritual terms.
Notice that Naomi draws another inference from this set of facts. Naomi endorses the advice of Boaz that Ruth reports in verse 21. “It is good that you listen to his advice,” is what she is saying. And notice, too, that Ruth stays close to the protection of Boaz until the end of the barley and wheat harvest – all the while living with her mother-in-law.
In her hope we really see the faith of Naomi. Faith and hope are never to be separated. Unless you have faith, you will not have a sure hope. And Naomi has both. What was the basis of that faith? It was, of course, the Word of God. Naomi knew that God would provide through a close relative, because He had said so in His law. Will God provide? If He has said so, He will, for it is impossible for God to lie.
But there is something far more relevant to us than temporal blessing – blessing in the here and now. The mention of these words, “closest relative”, points us to something highly significant. The word in the Hebrew is ‘Goel’. It is a word that contains two ideas. The first meaning is that of relative or kinsman. The second meaning is that of redeemer, or someone who purchases something back for another.
We see the two ideas combined with respect to property in Leviticus 25:25, “If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.” And we see it used of the redemption that God grants His people in the Old Testament. Isaiah prophesying the salvation of God’s people from Babylon cries out, “Say the Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.” This redemption is connected with forgiveness of sins in Isaiah 44:22. And in verse 23 of that same chapter, the whole of creation is urged to shout for joy, for God’s glory is shown in the redemption of His people. It is the same word that Job uses when he says, “I know that my redeemer lives.”
We can conclude that when we see this word in the Bible, its primary reference is to the purchase of God’s people from their slavery to sin and death.
Naomi’s anticipation is that of marriage of Ruth to Boaz and the redemption of the family land. But it is an anticipation that teaches us this spiritual lesson. God has framed this lesson in a number of ways in the Bible. And here in Ruth we have it taught in a love story. And that’s appropriate because God is love.
The Bible even describes the love of God for His people in terms of marriage. The church is his bride and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom.
Boaz has given much grain to Ruth, and this, as Naomi correctly recognises, anticipates the full blessedness of marriage and the return of an inheritance – a redemption that cannot be divorced from the spiritual redemption for the pious Jew.
As the Apostle Paul writes to the Galatians, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Jesus is our redeemer. We, too, need to see beyond the blessings of this life to our greatest need, our need of redemption, our need to be the bride of the Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you not see this? If not, then I urge you to go home and pray that God would give you the sight that Naomi has, the understanding of your need for redemption.
Your poverty and mine is not that of material things, of food or clothing or money. If we have all those things in abundance and they don’t provoke us to gratitude to the Giver of that wealth, then these things will testify against us on the Day of Judgment.
No, our poverty is the fact that we are slaves to sin. None of us are any better in God’s eyes than President Clinton or any other publicly exposed adulterer. All of us, if we lack a redeemer to purchase an inheritance of eternal life, will only inherit eternal damnation.
The Bible teaches us that we are God’s enemies, because we are slaves to sin. What is a slave? He is one who is bound to a master and cannot escape his master. The Bible says that we all have a master who is sin. “All have sinned”, the Bible says. What is sin? It is disobedience to God.
You say, “I don’t disobey God”. God demands that you believe Him and worship Him in the way He has ordained. Do you do that? Do you believe the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is God Himself come to earth in the form of a man? If you deny that, then you are disobeying God, for all men are commanded to both acknowledge this same Jesus Christ as God and Lord and Saviour, and to worship Him.
Well, if you haven’t done that, you are still disobeying God, you are still a sinner and no sinner will be found in Heaven, the inheritance of God’s people only.
Do we see our need of Jesus? You say, “I don’t see it. It still doesn’t seem real to me.” Then I urge you, when you’re back home, to pray that you might see – that God would open your eyes to see your need of redemption. Without Christ we are not only in danger with every step we take in this life, our lives are meaningless and without purpose. No matter how much we enjoy prosperity or a challenging job or a growing family, without the redemption that can only be had by trusting in Jesus, our lives are like fragile porcelain ready to be shattered at any time, like a paper boat upon the sea. It will only be a matter of time until it sinks.
A Swiss aeroplane crashed into the sea killing all its passengers some time ago. At this stage it seems that the electric cabling was vulnerable to fire in such a way that the entire function of the plane would shut down and fall from the sky out of control. Our lives are like that. We may have the illusion that the plane is safe, but without an infallible cable, without the Redeemer, our lives will certainly be wasted, not just in this life, but in eternity.
And why is Jesus a Redeemer? Because He paid the price for sin and lived a life of perfect obedience in substitution for those who in their poverty could not possibly pay the price. As our Lord Jesus says in Mark’s Gospel, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
May each of us be found among the Redeemed, and not only us, but all men.
Amen.