the end of chapter one, that it's a barley harvest
has come and it's time to glean. It's time to
gather up the barley, which is a picture of hope.
So Ruth goes with Naomi and they have nothing.
And they discuss and Ruth says, I need to go
glean. Gleaning was interesting. Gleaning was
a system set up for the poor and the powerless
to follow behind the harvesters. And the harvesters
would leave a little bit of scraps -like, and
they would scoop that up, and that gave them
enough to eat because they had no power or position
to get anything otherwise. And it just so happened,
which is, by the way, one of the themes of Ruth,
just so happened, God's sovereign hand is at
play, but it just so happened. that Ruth shows
up and begins to glean in a field of Boaz. Chapter
2, Boaz sees her in the field. This is what Jared
unpacked last week. Sees her in a field and invites
Ruth to come eat with her at his table. This
is a picture, the picture of this is that he
serves her. He provides for her and he protects
her. And then we see that Boaz is this godly
man. He's a tough and a tender man. My boys,
when I, in fact, my middle child, my first child,
first child's middle name is Boaz. Sorry, middle
child, I only have two. Isaac Boaz, his middle
name is Boaz. And part of the reason his middle
name is Boaz is because what we see in this guy
Boaz. That he is a tough and a tender. And so
as my boys, as we were growing up, we always
would tell them, boys, we want you to grow up
to be tough and tender. Tough to deal with this
jacked up world that you're going to face as
you grow into it. And you've got to stand. You've
got to be tough. You've got to be strong. But
you've got to be tender. And you've got to have
compassion for those who are hurting. And both
of those are in play with Boaz. So the name Boaz
actually means strong man. He's a strong man.
And he was. In a lot of different levels. And
in chapter 2, he just invites her in. And so
he's just drawing this picture of a helpless
Ruth and Naomi. And somebody who is strong and
able to provide someone of good character. In
chapter 2, we see this idea of a kinsman redeemer.
I think it's a family redeemer, which is what
is oftentimes described in the CSB version. It's
a redeemer in that we're going to see this idea
of this redeemer coming to full in chapter 4.
We'll get there. Because of his character and
kindness, Boaz, Naomi says to Ruth, you should
continue to glean at Boaz's field because it's
safe. Now, you've got to remember the backdrop
to this book. It's a backdrop of darkness and
destruction. It's the time of the judges. And
so what you see, if you were painting a picture,
it's almost like behind the story is darkness
and destruction and sin. And out of this picture
comes Boaz and Ruth and this story. We've said
it before that it's kind of like a whisper of
hope in darkness. So she says, You've got to
stay at Boaz. It's a safe place. He's actually
demonstrating he will protect you. Now as we
come to chapter 3, what I'd like to do first
is just walk through the story. Because there's
a lot of things. And there's a lot of different
applications you can pull from this story. So
even though I'm not going to hit all of those,
I'll get like again, like the Lord might hit
you with something in this. But we'll walk through
it and we'll just jump into the story. We're
going to like verse by verse through it. So just
start with verse 1. It says, Ruth's mother -in
-law, Naomi, said to her, My daughter, shouldn't
I find rest for you so that you will be taken
care of? Think back to Naomi. Here's Naomi, described
in chapter 1 as bitter. And what we see with
Naomi is she's taking her eyes off of herself
here. And she's looking at Ruth and she says,
Ruth, we've got to take care of you. I mean,
I was just thinking, like, Ruth is probably thinking,
if I die, she has nothing because she's a foreign
lady. What Naomi wants for her is the same thing
she stated back in chapter 1, verse 9, when she
says, may the Lord grant each of you rest in
the house of a husband. Because in order for
Ruth to be taken care of, she needed to have
somebody to provide for her. It was incapable
of doing it on her own. So in order for Ruth
to have security and rest as a woman in an Israelite
society, she needed to be married. So, what Naomi
says is, Ruth, you need a husband. And I have
a plan. Now, My wife and I were talking about
this. Ruth's track record on a plan and a strategy
hasn't been that good. But she has a plan. And
here it is. Verse 2. Now isn't Boaz our relative?
Huh. Haven't you been working with the female
servants? This evening, he will be winnowing
barley on the threshing floor. Oh. Okay, let's
unpack that. Naomi says, Ruth, I don't know if
you've been paying attention, but Boaz is your
man. Like, don't you just love a mother -in -law
who gets up in your business? That's what she's
doing here. She says, Boaz is your man. First
of all, he is a kinsman redeemer, meaning he
is an eligible bachelor. And, Ruth, he has a
job. That's a big deal. Now, we don't have a
lot of single young men around this church. Everybody's
married to 4 .5 kids, so it's a little different,
but man, he has a job. So ladies, if you're looking
for a man, make sure he has a job first. His
house is in order. His house is in order. So
Ruth, it's time to make your move. Tonight. tonight
he there will be this time when he's alone so
here's the plan and now in verses three and four
it starts to get a little shady please use your
imagination okay it's meant to use this so here
we go verse three wash wash okay we'll keep going
put on perfumed oil and wear your best clothes
Okay, so stop right there. It's not that she's
stinky. Something's changing, okay? So we'll
get to that in a second. Wash, put on your perfumed
oil and wear your best clothes. Go down to the
threshing floor, but don't let the man know that
you're there until he's finished eating and drinking,
okay? Ruth, go make yourself beautiful. It's
time to transition from being a widow in mourning,
and to present yourself as available. That's
what's happening. It's time. So here's, so she's
placing herself in front of Boaz now. Now, we
know in chapter two that Boaz has paid attention
to her already, right? He's already recognized
who she is. He's already started to show protection
and care for her. But now Ruth moves in and does
something interesting. She's been kind of just
in this place of mourning, maybe a little dirty.
She's poor. She's got nothing. Maybe just average.
Naomi says, uh -uh. Doll yourself up. Smell good.
Guys are simple. We're visual. That's Caleb's
addition. He's going to notice you. Years ago,
I asked permission to tell this story, so I'm
going to just state that. But I've been married
30 years to a beautiful, but this summer that
I met my wife. We were at Victor Bible Camp,
and I was working as program director. She came
up as a counselor, and I saw her, and I went,
oh, la, la. And I got to know her, but there
was something behind her that she says, I don't
really want a relationship. She would tell me
this. I'm not interested. I came to this camp.
I'm out of the boy scene right now. Like, I'm
just here to serve the Lord. And I went, yes.
Right? But what happened throughout the summer
is I really got to know her. And I knew her heart.
And I began to really like her. And it grew.
And at the end of the summer, we really made
it official. We began to date. I knew at the
end of the summer that was the girl I was going
to marry. And then she moved back down to Memphis,
Tennessee. I was up here in Alaska at the time.
And I get this thing in the mail, and it's this
picture, which I didn't know at first. It was
a beautiful woman. And I looked at it, and I
was like, wait a minute. Is this a setup? It
doesn't look like her at first. But I knew it
was, but she was baiting me because she's like,
so what do you think? And I was like, hmm. If
I say she's really that beautiful and it's not
her, I'm in trouble. But if I don't say she's
beautiful and it is her, I'm in trouble. I mean,
yeah, you hear my dilemma. And finally, I just
like, I got to risk this because she's amazing.
It was beautiful to me. She put herself in front
of me. And it's kind of reminding me of this
text. Like, all of a sudden, it's like, and I
went, oh, wow. Like, it wasn't she was trying
to be ugly. She just said, oh, you want to see
me? Now you see what else you get. It was just
one of those pictures and I was like, I'll just
leave it right there. I was like, yes! What's
that? Sounds bad, I know, but it wasn't. So the
plan is make yourself beautiful and available
and get rid and go hide until your moment comes.
And Boaz is in a relaxed mood. And then you're
going to present yourself. Verse 4. Okay, here's
it goes. This is really messed with a lot of
people. This one mirrors a lot of Song of Solomon.
So here we go. Verse 4. And when he lies down,
notice the place where he is lying. And go uncover
his feet and lie down. Then he will explain to
you what to do. That's weird. Okay, there are
three words in the Hebrew language here to see
here. They're just filled with sexual overtones.
Sorry, that's your Bible. It's loaded in this
text right here. Uncover legs or feet, depending
on which way it's translated in your Bible, and
lie down. Okay, something's happening here. It's
important to know, though, as we go through this,
there is nothing immoral happens here, but is
extremely provocative. And the original readers
would have went, ooh. In fact, a couple of people
have commentated, if the original readers were
reading this, all of a sudden mom would reach
over and cover the ears of the kid in this verse.
This is how charged this is in their language.
And so Ruth's actions of uncovering Boaz's feet
and lying down is a nonverbal, customary means
of requesting marriage. Okay, so she's going
after it. That's what's happening here. She's
like, going for it. So Ruth, she's actually saying,
look at what verse 5 says. So Ruth said to her,
mother -in -law, after the plan has been concocted,
I will do everything you say. I will do everything
you say. Okay, so it's on. So this is a picture
of selflessness and submission of Ruth. Things
could go really bad in this plan. Think about
it. Boaz, she could lay down, do all the things
she said, and Boaz could mock her request for
marriage. And she's just a poor, widowed Moabite.
What is she doing there? This could go really
wrong for Ruth and Naomi. And it could be, she
could also be branded as an adulteress because
of how she presents herself to Boaz. He could
say, get out of here. That's what he could do.
Or, even worse, Boaz could use this night's opportunity
as an opportunity for his sexual pleasure. She's
right there, presenting herself to him, which
would bring her great humiliation. All these
things are risky. Everything she's doing is dangerous.
And yet, Ruth responds, I'll do everything you
say. I'll do everything you say. And this demonstrates
her commitment and trust in Naomi. She's committed.
Look at verse so and look at verse six. So she
went down to the threshing floor and did everything
her mother -in -law charged her to do. And after
Boaz drank and was in good spirits, He went to
lie down at the end of his pile of barley. Now,
before I go any farther, the reason they did
that was two things. One, protect his, that's
cash. It's like he's going to the bank and laying
in his pile of money, okay? But the second reason
they did this was to show, it was to celebrate
God's goodness. And so it was a picture. And
so she, after he lays down in the pile of barley,
She came secretly in. Some versions say softly
in. He's kind of snoozing already. He's sleeping.
She comes in, uncovers his feet, and lays down.
Ruth is stepping out in bold and risky faith.
And this thing is happening right now. Look at
verse 8. At midnight, Boaz was startled. Maybe
a little breeze on his legs. I don't know. Boaz
is startled, turned over, and there lying at
his feet was a woman. Okay. Guys. Can you imagine,
not just guys, but all of you, but guys. Can
you imagine what was racing through Boaz's head
when this happened? Verse 9, so he asked, who
are you? I am Ruth, your servant. She replied,
take me under your wing, for you are a family
redeemer. Ooh, what's going on here? So when
Ruth says, Ruth, I am Ruth, your servant. This
is not, I am Ruth, your slave. It is her saying,
I am available for relationship with you. Wow.
Now Ruth departs from Naomi's plan, right? Naomi's
plan is to say, he'll tell you what to do. And
she says, we're taking it one step farther. She
says, She speaks for herself in this moment.
She says, take me under your wing. She is saying,
boys, I want you to pursue me and marry me. She's
not proposing marriage to him. What she's proposing
is that he propose to her. Like, hey, I know,
guys, sometimes we're not that bright, but...
Hey, I'm available. This is forward. Boaz, bring
me under your care. Take me in. This really,
this goes back to chapter 2, verse 12. Do you
remember what Boaz said to Ruth when he invited
her in for dinner and that kind of thing? She
says, May the Lord, Boaz saying this to, may
the Lord reward you for what you have done. He's
talking about the relationship with Naomi and
how she has just treated her so well. May the
Lord reward you for what you have done. May you
receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel
under whose wings you have come for refuge. This
is the same exact words as used in verse. of
chapter 3. What she is saying is, Boaz, be the
answer to the prayer you prayed for me. You,
Boaz, are the covering and rest for me. I want
to be loved by you. I want your wings around
me. Beautiful, isn't it? And Boaz responds like
he should. And he said, May the Lord bless you,
my daughter. That's an affection, not me, like
my little kid, like my child. My daughter is
an affectionate term. May the Lord bless you,
my daughter. You have shown me more kindness
than before because you have not pursued younger
men with a richer poor. Boaz's first words out
to Ruth are words of blessing. He says, this
kindness, remember the word chesed? Which means,
he says, this chesed, this kindness is greater
than before. Remember what the word chesed means,
right? The first kindness, chesed, was Ruth's
compassionate move toward Naomi. Meaning, chesed
is this word that we cannot define in the English
language that is so full. But it's God's love
and kindness and protection and care and beauty
and... just all so big and encompassing, but
it always comes from God to us. But what's happening
here, he says, this has said, the reason he uses
that term, he says, look, everything you've experienced,
obviously, the vertical you have with God is
a horizontal now to how you've treated Naomi.
And I see it. And then he says it again. He said,
that first has said, this is what you're doing
for me? It's greater than what you did before.
Same word. But now, but now her availability
to Boaz is next level. He is stunned that she'd
be interested in him. We don't know all the details.
Is he older? Is he ugly? I mean, we don't know.
All we know is that he is like, whoa. Look at
verse, and so he continues. Verse 11. Now, don't
be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever
you say. Since all the people in my town know
that you are a woman of noble character. Oh,
there's something to know about Ruth. He's been
observing Ruth, right? Boy, it says, yes, I will
pursue you. And he then points out her noble
character. He's had his eye on her because of
who she is. He's seen it. I could use my imagination,
which is what you have to do here. Probably thinking,
that's a good girl, but man, she's probably out
of my league. I'm older. This verse mirrors Proverbs
31 .10. If you get a chance, read Proverbs 31.
It's the end of Ruth. Now, here's the thing about
Proverbs 30. Proverbs is that many in the Hebrew
believe that the Hebrew Bible was set up in such
a way that Proverbs was there and then Ruth came
right after it. Well, if you look at the very
last chapter of Ruth, you see in chapter 31,
it is really about a wife of, and it says this
in verse 10. And this is the same language as
used in Ruth. So there's this connection, there's
tying this together. Who can find a wife of noble
character? She is far more precious than jewels.
It's kind of what he's saying. Oh, she's that
kind of woman. Oh, she's more precious than anything.
It's like Boaz is saying, you, Ruth, are precious.
Man, that's a good way to... Have a good conversation
now with your wife. Like, do you see your wife
as precious? I think that's what he does right
there. He's like, man, you're precious. I don't
know a woman who doesn't want to be treated as
precious. Isn't this just amazing? Everything
seems to be working out. It's coming together.
Naomi's plan is good. Love is in the air. Hope
is in the air. But wait, there's verse 12. And
nobody likes verse 12. Look at verse 12. Yes,
it is true. that I am a family redeemer, but
there is a redeemer closer than I am. Uh -oh.
Wait, wait, wait, wait. There's another guy?
You can just think of her belly just sink right
there. Maybe this is why Boaz hadn't already
pursued Ruth. What we see in this is Boaz's high
integrity. He's like, you know what? I may desire
her, but I can't do that because there is another
that is family redeemer. Look at verse 13. He
has more to say, though. He says this. Stay here
tonight and in the morning. If he wants to redeem
you, that's good. Talking about the other family
redeemers. If he wants to redeem you, that's
good. Let him redeem you. He will take care of
you. But. If he doesn't want to redeem you, as
the Lord lives, this is a vow, this is like massive
statement, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lay
down until morning. Basically, Boaz is saying,
I am going to fight for you tomorrow morning.
I'm going to do everything it takes to fight
for you. Amen. This is not even my notes. Fight
for your woman. How God's created us. Do everything
you can. And so he does. Verse 14, he says, so
they lay down at his feet until morning and got
up while it was still dark. I'm pretty sure that
nobody was sleeping right there. They were just
wondering what was coming next, right? Then Boaz
said, don't let it be known that a woman came
to the threshing floor. He says, basically, let's
just keep this whole thing quiet. Verse 15, he
told Ruth, bring me your shawl or your overcoat,
something you'd wrap around, a big kind of cape
or something, that you're wearing and hold it
out. And she held it out, and he shoveled in
six measures of barley into the shawl, and she
went to town. Okay. What Boaz does here is really
subtle, but it's massive. He doesn't know if
he's going to get her, does he? But that doesn't
matter. What does he do? He blesses her. That's
a lot of barley. Some people estimate that what
he gave her was 50 to 70 pounds. Ruth's got some
strong muscles. She's got this crossfit. She
can throw the thing over and go. But she blesses
her and Naomi regardless of how things are going
to turn out. And then verse 16, she went to her
mother -in -law, Naomi, who asked her, what happened,
my daughter? You can just see here, she's like,
what happened? How did it go? That's what's happening
right here. Then Ruth told her everything the
man had done for her. Now, I want you to do something
in your Bibles. Circle that for her. It's not
Ruth told her everything the man had done to
her. It was what he did for her. Big thing. And
what he did was bless her. Verse 17, he said,
he gave me the six measures of barley because
he said, don't go back to your mother -in -law
empty -handed. Underline that, empty -handed.
So this verse points back to Naomi's in chapter
1, verse 21, when it talks about, I went away,
what? Full. But the Lord brought me back empty.
It's the same thing. He's pointing back to that.
Don't go back to your mother -in -law empty.
You're going to go back full. Naomi was empty.
But Ruth, Naomi and Ruth were in a place of great
despair. But God is working it out. And they're
trusting God in this. And Boaz just says, you're
going back full. I think the grain is a picture
of the fullness that's coming. It's a fullness
that's coming. Now, Naomi has one last thing
to say. Verse 18. Naomi said, my daughter -in
-law, underline this next word, wait. Wait until
you find out how things go. For he won't rest
until he resolves it today. Sit tight and wait.
Things are in the hand of God. That's the picture.
Trust him. So, As we wrap this up, there are
a lot of different things that we could pull
from this story. I want to zero in on Ruth. I
want you to think about Ruth for a minute. This
is the last time in our story that Ruth or Naomi
speak. This is it. Everything now shifts. So,
it's going to focus on Boaz the Redeemer. I think
Ruth... is a picture to us on how we approach
the great Redeemer, Jesus Christ. So I want you
to think about who she is, and then we're going
to throw this out for discussion, and just for
a second here, just wrap this up with a question.
Over the past three chapters, as you've been
working through this story, what have you seen
about Ruth that informs us about how we come
before God? What is Ruth's posture before God?
What do you see? Because it's pointing at it.
What are some of the things you see about Ruth
in relationship to how she's coming to God? What
are your thoughts? I've got a whole bunch written
down here, but I think you should go. What do
you think? What do you see in Ruth? What kind
of qualities would you see that inform us on
how, in many ways, how we are to approach God?
Or we are to go after our Redeemer. What do you
see? Humility. Good. There's a sense of humility,
like she's humble. She's like, I don't got nothing,
but I humbly lay it down. What else? Okay, what?
A willingness to serve. Yeah, yeah, what else?
I heard desperation. Okay, but there's a calm
desperation in that, isn't there? It's like...
There's almost like more desperation in Naomi
because she's concocting a plan. We've got to
figure this out. But there's this posture of
Ruth where she says, yeah, I got nothing, but
I'm willing to go after it, even go into the
fields to glean. I'm going to do it. What do
you want me to do? Okay, so what else? Available?
Is that what I heard? Okay, what else? Faith.
It kind of comes right out and jumps out at us.
She's got some crazy faith. She's left her own
country and her gods and her family, everything
that she had, and she's following Naomi to where?
To nothing. And yet she says, your God is my
God, and I will follow you. That's some faith.
What else do you see? What's that? I'm sorry,
I didn't hear you. Surrender. Thank you. There's
a surrender, isn't there? Anybody else? What's
that? There's action with what she's doing. Good.
Okay, real life. Character. It's a really high,
I mean, you're a noble character. There is a
woman here that honors God, and you can just
see it. It oozes out of her. That's what I saw
in my wife when I first met her. That was the
thing that I... fell for it was I was like and
she's like don't you say this to me it was true
like I was like oh that's it that's awesome what
else patience what else obedience patience she
genuinely loves Naomi she's willing she there's
that something you don't do that that act like
that or give up everything unless you love somebody
okay what was that She's vulnerable. Yeah. This
is something that I wrote down here. I want you
to just think about Ruth's posture before God.
She's humble. She's loyal. Meaning, she clung
to Naomi and her God. She surrendered. She's
not demanding anything. I think the one that
really struck me the most, which you see really...
It comes out in chapter 2, verse 10, is that
she is poor in spirit. She knows she has nothing.
She falls face down. Why have you found favor
with me? I am a foreigner. And I think she's
a person of noble character. She's a student
of God's law. She's brave and bold. But again,
I think one of the things that really struck
me is how this mirrors the Sermon on the Mount
with Jesus says, blessed are those who are poor
in spirit. The starting point is to say, I got
it. Next week, we will see the Redeemer go to
work to redeem. I think the book of Ruth is a
picture that is ultimately pointing through the
Redeemer, Jesus. it's also pointed to that and
the he is our ultimate redeemer and the question
uh i think that we have to wrestle with is how
are we approaching that redeemer are we approaching
that with humility and surrender or are we approaching
it going what can i get from this god are we
saying i'm poor in spirit are we saying no no
tell me what i can get out of being a christian
tell me what i can get She is not at the center
of her life anymore. She says, your God will
become my God, meaning Ruth. Ruth, God is at
the center. I think that's a challenge for us.
We oftentimes look at our own faith and we go,
yeah, I believe it intellectually, but the way
we function is that we're at the center. Jesus
is our true and final redeemer. And as that,
he willingly, did what was necessary to redeem
us, his bride, the church. Again, this is pointing
to what's coming next week. But the posture,
the thing that really stuck out to me and my
encouragement for us this morning is this. Like
Ruth, we need to walk in selfless humility. We
need to walk as poor in spirit. We need to walk
toward our Redeemer with surrender. Which is
what Jesus did for us, didn't he? When we do
communion every week, it is a picture of us looking
at what Christ did and said, look, and what Christ
did is he came surrendered and gave up everything
for us. His body was broken, his blood was shed.
Why we come back and look at that every week?
Because it needs to look at that and go, Now
the way I approach back my Savior is, God, I
surrender. All to Jesus, I surrender. All to
him, I freely give. Is that the way we live?
So, my encouragement is walk in selfless humility,
walk in poor in spirit, and walk surrendered
before our God. Let's pray together. Everything
in my flesh, Lord, wants to put me first. But
your call to us is to come and be surrendered
before you, the great Redeemer who surrendered
all for us. So Lord, today I pray that as we
examine our hearts, We're all in different places,
Lord, I know that. But as we examine our hearts,
will you prick the areas in our hearts that we
need to surrender? And I pray, God, that we will
be a people that come with humility and surrender
before you. Thank you for being our Redeemer.
In your name we pray, amen. Band, you can come
up.