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It was Sunday morning and Harry was off. He pulled out of his
driveway in his 2-seater convertible, with the roof closed because of typical
Melbourne driving rain, and headed for church. But as he turned into the
main road he saw ahead of him three bedraggled figures huddled under a single
umbrella at the next bus stop. One was old Mrs Fletcher. She still insisted
on getting to church by herself, despite her arthritis which was always
worse in wet weather. There was Dr Jones, the local GP. A year earlier Dr
Jones had diagnosed a rare and dangerous disease that Harry had contracted
on an overseas holiday, so Harry virtually owed him his life. And the third
person was Judith. Harry had had a crush on Judith for the past 6 months
since she joined their church but had never had the courage or the opportunity
to ask her out. |
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Harry had about
3 seconds to decide what to do. There was only one spare seat. Who should
he offer a lift to? But 3 seconds was enough. He pulled to a halt, jumped
out, passed the keys to Dr Jones, helped Mrs Fletcher into the passenger
seat, then modestly waved them good-bye as he huddled close to Judith under
the umbrella. |
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As we'll see as
we move on in our story of Ruth and Naomi, in matters of romance, chance
and good sense often go together to bring about a happy ending. In fact
in so many areas of life God's will is brought about by a combination of
divine providence and human responsibility. |
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Last week we saw
how Naomi and Ruth returned from Moab after a series of disasters, widowed
and without any visible means of support; destitute, bitter and seemingly
without hope. For Ruth it was worse because she was a foreigner, a member
of a cursed people. What's more she was without a dowry, she was apparently
unable to have children, having been married for 10 years without bearing
a child, and therefore her marriage prospects were poor. All told, their
future was grim, a future of loneliness and poverty. |
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Yet as we know,
the story of Ruth has a happy ending. Ruth will find a husband. Naomi will
become a grandmother. Ruth and Boaz will begin a family that will become
a Royal dynasty, that will include David and ultimately, God's own Son,
Jesus Christ. But first, our main actor, Ruth has to do something about
it. God puts her into the right place. She just happens to begin to glean
in a field owned by her kinsman, Boaz, but divine providence isn't all that's
required. She has to do her bit. Human responsibility is there as well.
If you like, God buts Boaz by the bus stop, but Ruth has to find a way to
get herself under the umbrella. |
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There's no doubt
as you read through this narrative, that the author wants us to understand
that in everything that happens, God is at work. Naomi sees this clearly
from the start. God has provided food for his people again. She calls herself
Mara, bitter, because of what the Lord has done to her. She went away full
but the Lord has brought her back empty. She knows how the world works.
Even if her conclusion is a little premature, she knows that God is sovereign
in all that happens in this world. But what she doesn't see at this stage
is that there's nothing arbitrary about the disasters she's experienced.
Nor are they God punishing her for leaving Judah. Rather, they've happened
in order to bring Ruth into this situation so God's plan for the salvation
of the world can be progressed. The scale of this plan, you see, is enormous.
What started off as a plan involving a small group of descendants of Abraham,
who were blessed of God, is about to be shown to extend even to those who
are under God's curse. Ruth, the pagan Moabite is about to be brought into
God's plan in the most significant of ways, by becoming the great grandmother
of David and the ancestor of Jesus Christ. 'God moves in mysterious ways,
his wonders to perform.' |
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By the way, there's
a lesson here about the way God brings about his will that would be helpful
for us to learn. It would appear at first glance that Elimelech's decision
to take his family to Moab was a big mistake. That was certainly Naomi's
conclusion. Yet if he hadn't made that mistake, none of the rest of the
story would have happened. Yet how many times have you heard Christians
expressing the thought that they've missed out on God's best because they
made some wrong decision in the past. How often have you heard preachers
teaching that sort of idea. As though God was bound by circumstances or
by our poor judgement. As though if you don't get every decision right in
your life, or at least the major ones, you'll have to settle for God's second
best! I've heard those exact words used. But what sort of God are we talking
about here? Where in the Bible have human mistakes of judgement ever stopped
God from doing what he planned? So if you've made mistakes in your life,
don't let them bind you. Confess them and get on with your life. Thank God
that he can use even your wrong decisions to bring about his purposes. And
of course, learn from your mistakes so you don't make them next time. |
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Further evidence
of God's providence in action is found at the beginning of ch. 2. "Now
Naomi had a kinsman on her husband's side, a prominent rich man, of the
family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz." Our narrator tells us this
at the beginning, to alert us to the fact that even in the midst of tragedy,
God is at work. In fact God has been preparing for this moment for many
years. Back in the days of Moses, God had made laws that allowed for the
poor to glean in the fields after the harvesters had been through, prohibiting
the harvesters from going back over the field to pick up the bits they'd
missed. That way those who were poor, who didn't own any land, could get
enough grain to live on. And he'd provided a safeguard for women like Ruth,
to ensure that they wouldn't be left destitute and without heirs in the
case of their husband dying, through the institution of the kinsman-redeemer
who would marry her and give her an heir. |
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And so God's providence
moves on. Ruth is out gleaning, as it turns out, in Boaz' field and again,
just by chance, Boaz happens to call in to check on his workmen. It's like
something out of a movie. The poor widow who's given up everything to care
for her mother-in-law. The rich and handsome grazier. Their eyes meet and
the electricity flies. He has to know who this strange woman is. She hurries
home at the end of the day to tell Naomi all about this wonderful man who's
been so kind to her. And Naomi again sees the hand of the Lord at work,
but this time for their good. She says of Boaz "Blessed be he by the
LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!" Naomi's
faith has been tested, but now it springs back to life. The sky has been
dark, but now she can see a patch of blue, a sign perhaps that the storm
clouds are going and the sun will shine again after all. |
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But first the
main actors have to do their parts. God has done his, now it's up to Ruth
and Naomi and Boaz. Naomi recognises what's needed. She understands God's
provision for his people, particularly widows like Ruth. So at the start
of ch 3 she explains it to Ruth. She tells her what to do. She's to go to
Boaz in the middle of the night and lie down with him at the foot of his
sleeping mat. And notice how she's to get ready. She's to wash and anoint
herself, and put on her best clothes. Nothing's changed has it? Spray on
Chanel No 5. Put on that slinky red number. And make sure you catch him
unawares. Wait until he's had a few drinks and is in a relaxed mood. Then
you can act. Do you get the impression Naomi knew what she was doing? |
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So Ruth goes down
to the threshing floor, waits for Boaz to lie down and fall asleep and then
lies down at his feet. |
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Which brings us
to Boaz. Now from what we've read up to this point in the story, we have
something of an idea about Boaz' character. What comes out in his dealings
with Ruth in ch2 is that he's a man of principle. A righteous man. Even
before he appears on the scene, you see a hint of what Boaz is like. The
way his workmen treat Ruth is an indication of how their boss would treat
her. The fact that his servant girls are allowed out in the fields to glean
shows that Boaz took God's law seriously and made sure his workers did too.
But his treatment of Ruth when he hears how she's been looking after Naomi,
makes it even clearer. He wants to reward her for her faithfulness to Naomi.
He appreciates the sacrifice she's made and the fact that Ruth has bound
herself to the people of God and he wants to repay it somehow. He shows
real concern for her welfare and safety. He gives her the protection of
his workers. He offers her food at lunch time, and even tells his harvesters
to leave her some extra stalks of grain to gather, and not to stop her even
if she picks some stalks out of the standing sheaves. It's an act of a generous
man isn't it? |
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But now we come
to the scene at the threshing floor. It's midnight and here's Boaz lying
in the dark when he stirs and feels something against his feet. Well, that
wakes him up if he wasn't already. He rolls over and there at his feet is
a woman! So what does he do? He's found a woman lying in his bed, just asking
for trouble and what's his response? Does he take advantage of her? She'd
certainly taken the risk that he might. But no, when he finds out who she
is he treats her with great respect. In fact it seems he's actually flattered
by her advances. He says how kind she is that she'd think of approaching
an old guy like him when there are all those younger men around. |
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But before we
go any further I want you to notice what Ruth says to him in v9. She says:
"I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for
you are next-of-kin." Now look back to 2:12 to the way Boaz blessed
Ruth when they first met: "May you have a full reward from the LORD,
the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!" It's
as though Ruth has taken the words Boaz used back then and is now saying,
if I'm to find refuge under the wings of the Lord, it'll only be if you
take me under your wings. That is, if you marry me. She could have seduced
one of the young men and manipulated him into marrying her perhaps, but
that wouldn't have resulted in God's blessing. Only by following God's law
would his blessing be secured. |
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Well, Boaz understands
this and is obviously pleased with the idea, but still he's a righteous
man and just as he won't take advantage of Ruth's vulnerability, so too,
he won't usurp the place of another. It seems he knows of someone who's
more closely related to Ruth than he is and who therefore has first right
of refusal to Ruth as well as to any property that belonged to Elimelech.
So he agrees to talk to this man first and if he doesn't want to marry Ruth,
then he'll gladly do it. |
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He completes his
kindness to Ruth by telling her to stay with him while it's too dark to
walk home by herself, but then sending her off before it gets too light
so no shame will fall on her for being with him during the night. And as
she leaves he gives her a gift of 6 measures of barley to take back to Naomi
as a gesture of goodwill. |
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So Ruth returns
to Naomi with the good news, and the barley which Naomi takes as sign that
Boaz will settle things quickly. |
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Meanwhile we discover
that not only is Boaz a righteous man, but he's also a wise man. If he were
to simply go to this other man and ask if he wants to marry Ruth, he'd leave
himself open to some serious bargaining. Instead, he makes out to be acting
on behalf of Naomi. He calls a meeting with the man with 10 of the elders
as witnesses and begins to negotiate over the sale of Elimelech's land.
Then, when the kinsman says he'll buy it, he drops in the fact that with
the land comes Naomi and Ruth. The implication is clear that if he takes
Ruth as his wife he'll be expected to father her children. What will happen
then is that their first born son will inherit the land that belonged to
Elimelech. That way the land will stay in his family. Well, this other kinsman
decides he doesn't like the sound of that. Why should he work Elimelech's
land if his own first-born son won't inherit it. So he changes his mind
and Boaz gets the answer he wanted. They then complete the formalities and
Boaz is formally betrothed to Ruth. But not before the elders pronounce
this blessing on Boaz: "May the LORD make the woman who is coming into
your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.
May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; 12and,
through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may
your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." It's
as though God is putting words in their mouths that prophesy Boaz and Ruth
between then forming a new dynasty like that of Israel and Judah, a new
family line that will become the new people of God. |
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And that of course
is how our story finishes, with Boaz and Ruth marrying, and straight away
God enabling her to conceive and bear a son. Naomi is full once more, with
her grandson in her lap, and the women of Bethlehem rejoicing with her.
And the book ends with the family tree of Boaz recounted from Perez, the
son of Judah, down to David the son of Jesse. |
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What we discover
in this Tale of Two Widows is that faith in God is at the same time passive
and active. It's passive in the sense that it depends on God acting. There
are times when faith in God requires us to wait, to see what God will do
to bring about his purposes. Paul reminds us in Eph 1:11 that God "accomplishes
all things according to his counsel and will." That perhaps is where
Ruth's faith is shown first of all, as she refuses to give in to bitterness
like Naomi, but trusts God to look after them. |
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But that doesn't
mean that faith equates with inaction or complacency. There's no room for
fatalism in the Christian worldview. Because, while faith requires us to
trust God to act, it also demands action, enterprise, initiative. Imagine
how this story would have ended up if Ruth and Naomi had just sat around
waiting for God to do something. They'd be dead and gone and forgotten long
ago. No, faith implies acting on what you know about God. (Heb 11:8 NRSV)
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place
that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where
he was going." Sometimes faith requires us to take risks. Calculated
risks perhaps, but still to act without knowing exactly what will happen,
but trusting that God will be with us and will fulfill his purposes for
us. |
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The fulfilling
of God's purposes so often depends on that interaction between God's providence
and human responsibility, between God's provision and our initiative. That's
the tension in which we need to live, between waiting in passivity for God
to act, and being so self-reliant we neither wait for God nor feel the need
for him to act. To walk the narrow path of patience and enterprise. In other
words, to walk by faith. |
