Ruth Sermon

Sermon Summary
May 26, 2002
Bible on-line

Listen to this Sermon
(requires Media Player - click here)

Ruth

The Surprise: The Message of Ruth

Old Testament Historical Books #3

Mark E. Dever

5/26/02

"No fear can stand up to hunger," wrote Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness. Conrad went to Africa deliberately to experience hunger, corruption, and other evils and to find what he calls darkness in himself. And that's what he found there.  There are many kinds of trials, not all inward ones: hunger, poverty, loneliness, and hopelessness are only a few.  For Christians, the trial of all trials is our sin. Ironically, such troubles are the stuff of good stories. It is easier to describe evil in a novel than good. The evil character is more understandable and explicable to us as humans. 

    The book of Ruth is set in dark times, but there is no bad character in the book unless it is God Himself. It is set in the time when judges ruled Israel.  It is four chapters long and is one of only two books in the entire Bible that are named after women.  There are many possible reasons the book of Ruth was written: to plead for racial tolerance, to call for family responsibility, to show the importance of individual faithfulness (even in a time of widespread immorality), to show the influence of a Godly woman, or just to tell a beautiful story.  All these are aspects of what the book is about, but this story is chiefly about kindness and mercy.

    Verse 1 ff. gives the background.  There was a famine in the land; Naomi's husband took the family to the land of Moab, where he died, as did their two sons.  In this dark setting, there are two things to notice: 1) many displays of human kindness and 2) an argument for God's kindness.

1. This is a story about human kindness.

Naomi described the support she received from her daughters-in-law Orpah and Ruth as kindness. They set out with her when she left Moab intending to return to Bethlehem (1:6 ff.). She thanked God for their kindness and showed kindness to them in turn by praying for them. Her prayer for Ruth would be answered, but not in the way Naomi thought when she uttered it!

     Ruth showed an even greater kindness than Orpah--she clung to Naomi.  She had to overcome what seemed like "anti-evangelism" from Naomi in verses 14-19, where Naomi is insisting that the women go back to the Moabites and their gods. It is less likely that Naomi was trying to discourage them from following Israel's God than that she was being considerate and was fearful about not being able to support Ruth once they came to Bethlehem.

    Naomi dissuaded one daughter-in-law, but not the other. This shows that the journey was voluntary and not forced. There is an old comment on the two thieves at Calvary: "One was saved, that none might despair; but only one, that none might presume." The two daughters-in-law stood at the cross-roads, and Orpah turned back. Ruth went on with Naomi, a journey of about 50 miles, leaving her own people. She was showing great kindness for Naomi.

    During bad times we experience kindness, too--not by everyone always, but often.  This isn't surprising because humans are made in the image of God with the capacity to know him and reflect Him, though now fallen. People are going to do wonderful things. A person who acts horrendously can also act kindly.  Christians understand both. Our convictions that everyone needs the gospel shouldn't keep us from also working for the public good, in our jobs, if that is our profession.  As a church we should care for more vulnerable members. Pray for the relationships you have with those in need. It is good to be kind to others (kindness is listed by Paul in Galatians 5 as a fruit of the Spirit).

    The point of the book seems to be a challenge to the kindness of God – are people more kind than God? Naomi experienced great love and care from Orpah and Ruth, but what about from God?  In verse 21, Naomi says that the Lord brought her back to her home empty. She had Ruth with her, but her eyes were fixed on what she had to complain about.  She and her husband had experienced famine and consequently left Israel and went to Moab (a foreign and non-friendly land). While they were in Moab, her husband died, her sons married local girls (against God's command) and each died without children. All her life's labors seemed to have been for nothing – seemingly good reasons to complain.

    Thank God that in the midst of our complaining, He is faithful to work blessings for His own – here His blessings for Naomi include Ruth and the barley harvest (verse 22).  How is your complaining this morning? In the hymn "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" William Cowper shows appropriate reticence to judge God's ways by what we can see in the present alone. We see for a time "a frowning providence," but behind it there is a "smiling face." God will in the course of His actions, over time, make it plain. We cannot read God's providences when we're in the middle of them.

    So how are you in trying times? James tells us to consider it pure joy when we encounter trials of many kinds "because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." (James 1:2-4). Christian, don't think you've seen the end of what God is doing in your life. God has a purpose in His actions and will use the sorrows of His children for good ends.  Have we been serving good circumstances or our always sovereign, faithful, loving Lord? May God teach each one of us to endure in trust.

2. The argument for God's kindness.

In Ruth, God's vindication will affect us all. The question for Naomi is: would she, as a widow, find herself hungry once again, even back in Bethlehem? In Chapter 2, verses 1-23, we see clearly that God worked through Boaz to provide food for Ruth and Naomi. Boaz shows a kind concern for Ruth. Ruth probably was staying on Boaz's fields for a few months, until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. You can never tell all the future results of present faithfulnesses, regardless of how small they may appear. Ruth had worked hard to make sure Naomi was fed, but in all this, you see the activity of God; He is vindicated from the charge that He did not care for Naomi.

God provided food.

One way we see God's care is His laws that provide food for the poor by requiring some of the harvest to be left for the poor to pick up, or glean (Leviticus 19:9, 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19, 22).  The Lord Himself was sovereign over the weather and harvest to provide something for Ruth to glean.

God provided a husband for Ruth.

Of course Naomi's trials were not only about food, she was also destined (it seemed) to be alone and always threatened by ruin and destitution. This is where the center of the story comes in – finding a husband for Ruth (Ruth 3:1-4:13). The book is mainly about two key days in the life of Ruth – the day she was fed and the day she was wed.

    Perhaps Naomi was scheming, but she had a responsibility for finding a husband for Ruth in order to carry on the name of the family and to provide for her. Naomi was very active in that role, advising Ruth on how to appeal for the protections of the law. In those days, without a welfare system, you had to go straight to those who could help you.  The text doesn't suggest that Ruth seduced Boaz; Boaz realized that Ruth was asking for his protection, an honorable thing. Boaz answered this request using Biblical imagery of protection (see Psalm 104:6, Ezekiel 16:8).  According to Leviticus 25 and Numbers 35, a kinsman-redeemer is to restore property that family members had to sell due to poverty. A kinsman closer to Ruth showed some interest in the land, but none in Ruth, making Boaz the next in line. Boaz publicly announces his intentions to take Ruth as wife, and he fulfills his intention (4:13).

    As active as Boaz, Ruth and Naomi are in this, don't you see that the Lord was behind this wedding? Naomi must have known this: in 1:9 she prayed that the Lord would do just this for Ruth. Naomi recognized that a belief in God's sovereignty does not disallow concerted efforts on her part. For all her planning, she knew that the outcome was from God. That's why she prayed as she did.

God provided Naomi with a family and children (Ruth 4:13-17).

Naomi saw the fruit of her hopes in Ruth's son. God used Ruth repeatedly in the story, but in the end the provision was from the Lord – notice that "the Lord enabled her to conceive" (4:13). This child was Obed, the father of Jesse, who was the father of David, who became King David, a man after God's own heart (4:17). God is kind because He used Ruth, a landless Moabite woman in His plan to provide Israel with a king.

     Ruth sincerely desired to follow the Lord. She left everything she knew in Moab out of a love to Naomi and Naomi's God. Both Naomi and Ruth chose to repent and turn from evil. The story of Ruth makes it clear that it is the will of God for Gentiles to share in the covenant blessings of Abraham. And no small part of that inclusion is in this young Moabitess becoming the great-grandmother of King David.

So, is the Lord kind?

The story answers, Yes, the Lord is kind! (Psalm 36:7)  Unfailing love is a kindness we see in Ruth, and it is God's kindness. God has given us many blessings, regardless of how we are disposed towards Him. Are you grateful to God for His blessing?  How have you thanked Him for this? Christian, realize that God has worked all things out for your good (Romans 8:28). God is always working faithfully – He is sovereign and kind. Even while Naomi was complaining, Ruth was by her side, and the barley harvest was beginning – God was there acting providentially with kindness.

    The very fact that this story takes place in Bethlehem has meaning. In Micah, the Lord spoke and declared that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Hundreds of years later, because of the census, Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born.  Ruth is mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew chapter 1, as part of the genealogy of Jesus.  So God worked through Boaz not just to redeem Ruth and Naomi, but to bring about the great redeemer, Jesus Christ!

    Jesus saves us not from merely earthly worries but from the most serious worries we could have – our worry about being lost in our sins. We were made in the image of God, but we have all sinned.  Jesus is the redeemer of all those who repent of their sins and trust in Him. He had no sin, but dying on the cross, He took upon Himself the penalty for the sins we have committed, no matter what "Moabite-ish" gods we have served. We have only to turn and trust in Him to be saved.

    As Christians, we have surely seen God's kindness (Ephesians 2:6-7) and grace (Romans 8:30-32) despite the fact that we are, by nature, as obnoxious to Him in His holiness as any Moabite ever was! Looking at how we have lived, we know we are the undeserving recipients of God's grace.  And yet, God has been good to us.  In the midst of all our complaining, He continues to bless us.  Like Naomi, when you are tempted to doubt during bad times, remember that God provides.  He allows you to go through such trails to show the depths of His providence. Do you see the depths of His providence in freedom from your sin?  Hear the good news of this kinsman-redeemer we all need: Christ Jesus.