Word of Salvation – Vol. 46 No. 06 – February 2001
Learning to Trust
Sermon by Rev. G. H. Milne on Ruth 3:10-18
Scripture Reading: Matthew 11:25-30
Beloved people of God.
Introduction:
In the first part of this chapter, Naomi’s plan is put into action – a plan that endeavoured to increase Boaz’s interest in Ruth and facilitate the redemption of the family land. Ruth had exceeded her brief, as far as we know, and had unsubtly proposed marriage to Boaz. Today we notice the wages that flow from virtue. We notice a potential complication in Naomi’s plan. And finally the bottom line, needing to wait in peace for God’s blessing.
1. The Wages of Virtue
Boaz’s response to Ruth’s proposal of marriage in Verse 9 is recorded in verses 10-13. He is flattered by her attention and agrees to give Ruth what she asks for. He promises her marriage and the redemption of land. He gives the reason why he will endeavour to help her: “For all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.” This can also be translated as “a virtuous woman.”
This is a fascinating reference is it not? And what it shows is that her loyalty and her diligence were things talked about widely in the city. But it almost seems over the top. Yes, she was loyal and hard-working and humble, but no doubt there were others like that as well. I can’t help wonder whether this statement by Boaz is prophetic as well. Perhaps God has given him and others the insight that this was a special woman indeed one who was to become the founding mother of a royal dynasty and not only that of David’s but that of David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus, who was a direct descendant of Ruth.
Application:
But we can learn from her virtue, loyalty and diligence, that the reputation of an insignificant person can have a tremendous impact. People do recognise genuine virtue. And when it is a Christian who is praised, God, too, is being praised. You might think that you are too poor, just like Ruth, too insignificant to have any impact in this world. But the world does recognise the truly excellent, and God can use this in a wonderful way – your life will be a challenge to the ungodly.
The word excellence is literally ‘strength’. Her strength was not in her possessions, in her education or in her racial connections. It was in her character. We see the same word used of the ideal wife in Proverbs 31. So far we have seen these following strengths in Ruth’s character – trustworthiness, industry, shrewdness, generosity toward those in need, and her efficiency. These are qualities that each of us should strive for.
You can be a role model, by your diligence in prayer, or by your unselfish labour, expecting no reward. And others will want to know why you are that selfless person who always seems to put others first. And some, who knows, may as a result glorify our Father who is in heaven.
Boaz seems to be willing to help Ruth precisely because of her reputation and character.
The word translated ‘excellence’, not only can mean virtue or strength, but can also be translated ‘wealthy’. It is applied to Boaz in Chapter 2 Verse 1, where he is called a “mighty man of wealth.” And even though Ruth is not materially wealthy, the same term applies to her. And it is Boaz who is saying this to her.
And what Boaz is also saying is that she is no longer a stranger or foreigner, but she, too, is accepted, not just as an Israelite, as one of those in God’s kingdom, but as his peer. The term that describes him describes her. She is then, definitely eligible for marriage.
Application:
It is true of all of who are citizens in the Kingdom of God. We are amazingly joint heirs with Christ. We have been elevated to the position of sons and daughters of the living God. What a marvellous privilege.
Illustration:
Ex-President Clinton was taken from the relative obscurity of being a State Governor to being appointed as the President of one of the most powerful nations on earth. The power and prestige of his office, notwithstanding his besmirching of it, is unparalleled in history. At his fingertips as commander in chief of a nuclear arsenal, militarily as well as economically, there is a lot of muscle resting in one nation and one man. If you were given the choice of that power and prestige, or the opportunity to be a poor, insignificant person who, for a living, had to glean the scraps others left, but who was also welcomed into a kingdom, not of this world, but heaven, with a glorious inheritance which would one day be yours for all eternity, what would you choose? Of course, there is no comparison.
Let’s marvel at our place in God’s Kingdom, though poor in worldly terms, possessing a wealth that money or gold could never buy.
Boaz’s response then is to agree to Ruth’s proposal. He responds to Ruth’s virtuous character. But a potential complication arises in Naomi’s plan, and this is our next point.
2. A Potential Complication in Naomi’s Plan
Now Boaz qualifies his offer of help. He admits that he is a close relative, a kinsman redeemer, but there is even one closer. And he advises to find out if this man will redeem the land for her. “If he doesn’t, then I will, as I have promised.” Then he tells her to go to sleep.
Application:
Notice, too, that Boaz does not try and manipulate events so that he could have Ruth and control over her property as a husband. He accedes to custom, a custom established by God. It would have been morally wrong to take advantage of this opportunity.
Have you ever had the opportunity to possess something or to do something that is morally wrong? Sure, the world doesn’t mind, but you know it’s contrary to God’s revealed will. Stolen food may taste sweet, but there is a bitterness that will later sour you. Forgo the opportunity and choose the way of Boaz, the way of the revealed will of God. It is the better way.
There is another comfort in walking the narrow road that might seem to some a life of lost opportunity. You can be sure that as you walk obediently down that narrow road, that the blessing that you do receive – for you surely will – is from the hand of God’s beneficent providence. Boaz was in God’s will because he obeyed God’s will. If marriage did eventuate for Ruth and Boaz, it was because of God’s design for good.
It is legitimate to try and change your circumstances – but only when you do it according to the teaching of the Word of God and not against the Word of God.
The high moral standards of Boaz and Ruth are subtly conveyed in Verse 13 as well. Telling her to remain the night, he uses the word meaning ‘lodge’, a word that carries no illicit connotations.
Ruth has used this word in Verse 16 of the first Chapter. Remember her commitment to Naomi, “Do not urge me to leave you [or] turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge.” There is perhaps a hint that Ruth will be rewarded for her loyalty and piety with marriage to this man. Her pious promise to lodge with Naomi may be rewarded by marriage.
Boaz wisely does not let her wander off in the middle of the night when she might be attacked. Neither does he allow the possibility that her reputation be sullied in his instructions to his workers in Verse 14. “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” He is very practical and does not want the redemption of Ruth’s land to be jeopardised, raising questions about her character.
Boaz also shows that he means business with the phrase, “I will redeem you, as the Lord lives.” The phrase is emphatic. The pious oath “As Jehovah lives” accompanies a promise which he will certainly fulfil if the other relative does not redeem Ruth.
Notice, too, that Ruth, having done all she could to relieve her situation, can now rest. Even though her hope that Boaz would solve her problems personally might be thwarted.
Application:
One of the great problems for many people is an inability to leave things with the Lord. We know the theology, that God cares for us, and yet we continue to worry about future events.
Here Ruth is given a commitment that will change her circumstances. She no doubt believed Boaz, and although it might come about in a different way than she was expecting, her circumstances were certainly going to improve.
Our situation might be different than that. We may have done all we can and yet received no assurance that anything will change. In fact we might think that it is likely that things will get worse for us. But the fact is that God has promised us that we can overcome anything in His strength. “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us,” says Paul.
Let’s start taking God at His Word. Why don’t you say to the Lord: I can’t do it, Lord, I can’t change the things I want to change; I just leave it with you. But I claim the promise that you will give me strength. You will renew my strength.
Why is it that we find that so hard to do? I think it is something we have to learn through hardship. Ruth might well have thought, “Well even though I have these promises, perhaps he will forget them. Or perhaps he will suddenly die and the other kinsman will not recognise me as a rightful heir?”
I suggest that the reason Ruth did not go through this worrying process was that she was experienced in leaving her worries with the Lord.
So often we say that we do this, but we don’t, really. We can go through the crucible of suffering without practising handing our troubles to the Lord. I am convinced that if we constantly try – though often failing – to do that, we will get to the point when we will, having done all we can about a situation, learn to lie down and get a good night’s sleep. Perhaps Ruth, when she did lie down, was not thoroughly convinced that things would happen as Boaz had promised. But here was a woman whose husband had died and left her destitute, who had found that there was One who stuck closer to her than a friend. God had brought her into the Promised Land. She had been accepted as a Bethlehemite, with her accent, perhaps poor grasp of the language and all. God had helped her through her grief when she thought that her heart would never be mended. And God had provided food and unexpectedly even more food than she could have possibly anticipated. God had proved to be a God who sustained her as she trusted in Him, though perhaps often beset by many a doubt.
Dear child of God, you, too, must learn to cultivate this trust. Especially when your problems seem insurmountable – for only God can bring you through them, and He always will. Perhaps it will require a time in the wilderness valley of grief, a time of poverty and disappointment. And yet, just as He had not forsaken Ruth, so too will He never forsake you. As the Form for the Lord’s Supper says, “Jesus felt forsaken of God the Father, so that we might never be forsaken.”
Perhaps we need to be poor to learn this lesson. You could not have gotten much poorer than Ruth. It’s only when you are prepared to give up every precious thing to the wisdom and government of God that you find the contentment seen in Ruth. This means nothing less than forsaking all to follow Christ – that’s the real secret of happiness.
Ruth had learned to wait for God’s blessing in peace, and this is our final point.
3. Needing to Wait in Peace, for God’s Blessing
Ruth gets some more grain from Boaz. No gleaning this time. She has awakened from her sleep of trust to discover that her situation just kept improving. God indeed was blessing her wonderfully, though her prayers had still to be answered. This, again, was a great deal of grain and would have required great strength to carry it.
Notice in Verse 15 that it says “she went into the city.” You might see in your margin that a variant has “he went into the city.” Either way, the scene at the threshing floor has now closed and we see Ruth returning to Naomi, the match maker, who is no doubt very eager to hear what had transpired.
When in Verses 16 and 17, Ruth has told Naomi everything that had transpired, Naomi is convinced that Boaz will settle the matter of who would redeem the land that very day.
It is the gift of grain, and the words accompanying that gift that gives Naomi this confidence. Ruth stresses the size of the gift in Verse 17 and she says why Boaz had given the gift, “Do not go to your mother-in- law empty handed.”
We have noticed different verbal links so far in our study of the book of Ruth. Here is another one. The word ’empty handed’ is the same word Naomi has used in bitter complaint in Chapter 1:21. “I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.” ‘Empty’ is the same word and refers to childlessness. The two great problems that Naomi and Ruth faced, that of poverty and widowhood, are being addressed. Ruth had shared in the emptiness of Naomi.
Boaz, in supplying this grain, takes away a portion of this bitter complaint of Naomi. Food is no longer a problem. And it is likely that the threshed grain, a symbol of fertility, told Naomi that soon the famine of widowhood for Ruth and, therefore, vicariously for Naomi as well, would be resolved in the fruit of the womb. Just as this Hebrew word meant ‘childlessness’ in Chapter 1, so too, the generosity of Boaz provoked by Naomi’s emptiness foreshadowed the fruit of the womb.
Now in Verse 18, it is no time to press any further. The outcome must rest in God’s hands. Nothing more can be done. “Wait my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out.”
This phrase ‘turns out’ or ‘falls’ literally is a reference to lots. Naomi did not know which way it would go. Would Boaz or the other unnamed relative marry Ruth? This required only waiting.
The circumstances would fall out favourably for Ruth, but the detail, even very important detail, remained unresolved and in the balance.
Conclusion:
The story so far has involved a young woman from a pagan past, entering the kingdom of God’s people. Her problem of famine has been resolved. This has come about in God’s providence when Boaz has recognised a loyal and pious young woman and provided for her and Naomi as the person in the middle, the link between Naomi and Boaz. Naomi has hatched a plan to try to bring about the redemption of the land and resolution to the problem of providing an heir through Ruth’s marriage to a kinsman redeemer. We have noticed how Ruth is qualified to be such a bride.
But, although human ingenuity has played its part, that too was under the providence of God. And the scene closes in Verse 18, with the question mark still hanging as to which relative will marry Ruth – which kinsman redeemer will buy back her land. This very much rests with God alone. Nothing more can be done but await His purposes.
And all the while what has been happening is of far more significance than the resolution of Naomi and Ruth’s material and familial problems. In these engaging events, in this delicately poised story, God’s great plan for the redemption of His people is being played out. An event necessary to the coming of the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, is still future. And yet it will happen. In all this domestic and pastoral detail, God’s inevitable purpose is coming to pass.
Application:
Your happiness might appear to you to rely upon so many circumstances coming together at the right time. So complex are the issues that you might even doubt that it could ever happen. Well, remember with God all things are possible. That which seems most unlikely can as easily come true.
And the most important problem that we will ever have, that of our acceptance with God, has been resolved through a billion circumstances more intricate than can be imagined.
God will not accept us without a kinsman redeemer paying the price for our rebellion or sin. He has provided that Redeemer in the physical descendant of Boaz and Ruth – the Lord Jesus.
And if you receive Jesus Christ as your redeemer, not only does an eternity of perfect happiness await you, but every circumstance in your life will ultimately prove to be to your benefit. Yes the death of a husband and a time of poverty and uncertainty were Ruth’s circumstances, but they led to a far greater happiness and fulfilment that made up for all the pain.
May we learn this lesson well in our own lives.
Amen.