Ruth 4: “Today You are Witnesses”

May 18, 2008

 

There are a lot of ways to live in this world as a Christian. While some may at first appear to be “more spiritual” the book of Ruth teaches us that God is working in all of our lives to bring us closer to Him.  It teaches us that no matter where we are at in our Christian walk, the surprises He has in store for us are better than our plans. Trusting Him is always the best way. Let’s see if we can’t insert ourselves into the last chapter of the book of Ruth and be as surprised by our Father’s love as Ruth, Boaz, and Naomi were.

 

Would you categorize yourself as a practical Christian?  A “practical Christian” for the purposes of this message is the kind of Christian who goes to church regularly, believes the Bible to be the Word of God, and knows a good amount of the Old and New Testament Bible stories and a somewhat equal amount of its teachings. They live in a pretty normal household (meaning everyone goes to work, the bills get paid, the kids stay out of trouble and have made a good start in life), and everyone in the family has friends and a fairly normal social life. This type of Christian lives like he or she doesn’t really need God all that much because one day is pretty much the same as the next. This type of person has figured out how to make life work.

 

Or would you categorize yourself as a newer and more naïve Christian?  The “naïve Christian” is the kind of Christian who still gets excited about going to church, believes the Bible is the Word of God but really doesn’t have much of a clue as to what the Bilbe says because so many of the stories and customs seem don’t make sense. They come from any kind of household—ranging from totally dysfunctional to mostly normal—and may find themselves in any stage of life.  This type of Christian readily admits he or she needs Christ but at the same time is dependent on others to teach them how to live a Christian life. He or she may not know much about Christianity but is ready and willing to learn. Every day is still a new adventure in Christ.

 

Or maybe you would categorize yourself as a “seasoned warrior” for Christ.  The “seasoned warrior” is the kind of Christian who always attends church because he or she decided long ago that when the church doors were open they would be present. This person enjoys reading the Bible and listening to messages hoping to add some new piece to their well-on-to-complete picture of Biblical knowledge. They have a certain amount of pride in the lives their children. They also spend much of their lives helping others. This person is able to make plans and carry them out because it has been a long time since life has really surprised them. He or she knows God is good and seeks to enjoy more of the same each day.

 

Wherever we insert ourselves into the story of Ruth—through one of these caricatures of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz or in some combination of them since none of the three categories will fit us perfectly, let’s find out what God wants to say to us this morning.

 

We have learned that Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were brought together in Bethlehem through a series of circumstances that turned each of their worlds upside down. When Naomi’s husband lost his job and couldn’t find work, the entire family chose to move away to where the jobs were. They settled and began to make a new life—Elimelech’s job was not as good as the one he lost, but it was okay. Naomi settled into the new house but she missed the old neighborhood; the new neighbors had some strange ways about them. Still the kids found wives and jobs, and everyone was making a new start in life. Naomi’s practical nature allowed her to accept this compromise by rationalizing that “the important thing is that we are still together.” Still she couldn’t shake the feeling that something just didn’t seem quite right, but she kept her mouth shut. Then when, as things so often seem to happen in three’s, Elimelech and her two sons died in quick succession, that nagging voice shouted, “You knew what you were doing was wrong and now God is punishing you.  That is what you get for refusing to do what you knew you should have done all along.” Naomi felt she couldn’t explain these doubts and fears to the Moabitesses, Ruth and Orpah, so she decided it would be better to accept God’s punishment and return home empty and bitter.

 

Ruth, however, was so excited about what God was doing in her life she refused to listen to reason; Orpah showed more common sense.  Ruth believed Naomi was wiser in the ways of the Lord, so she decided to do whatever Naomi told her to do as long as they could be together.  Ruth didn’t have to be much of a Christian to know she needed to work if she wanted to eat. But when Naomi also thought working was a good idea, Ruth worked and God kept providing the food she needed to live.  This Christianity stuff was simple and it was working pretty well. To top it all off, Ruth was meeting a lot of nice, new people. She was happy and enjoying her time with Naomi in Bethlehem. The practical Christian was empty and bitter; the naïve one was alive and growing.

 

Boaz had come to the point in his life where he had accepted things as they were and stop desiring any big changes. Life was good; he was “settled” and happy. The last thing on his mind was a new bride, especially a trophy bride, until that fate-filled night when he woke up and found a beautiful young lady at his feet saying she would happy to be his wife. Boaz had come to know Ruth quite well. He had watched Ruth care for her mother-in-law.  He knew she wasn’t afraid of hard work. So the next morning he was at the city gate, the happening place in any town, waiting for God to surprise him one more time.

 

When the kinsman-redeemer [Boaz] had mentioned [to Ruth] came along, Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line."
      "I will redeem it," he said.

Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property" (Ruth 4:1-5).

 

Boaz figured Ruth and Naomi’s nearest kinsman redeemer (unnamed throughout the book) had the resources to purchase the land but not purchase the land and then also provide for Ruth and Naomi’s needs. Boaz was willing to fulfill the regulations God had put in place during the time of the Exodus to protect widows like Ruth. Our God’s purposes can traverse 100’s of years to take care of ordinary people. Isn’t He wonderful?

 

“At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it." (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal.

Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from the town records. Today you are witnesses!"

 

“Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah" (Ruth 4:6-12).

 

These are some of the customs and smaller stories that still confuse a lot of Christians. For the purposes of this message please understand that Bethlehem was in the tribal area belonging to Judah. Though the “marriage” of Judah to Tamar (Genesis 38:1f) was not a pristine event, it resulted in the birth of Perez who continued the genealogy that ended with Jesus.  Rachel, the favorite wife of Jacob who was the father of Judah, died and was buried just outside Bethlehem.  We remember her death each Christmas we recount the verse, “Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more" (Matthew 2:17-19).

 

What all of this means is that all of Bethlehem was really happy for Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi. They asked God to bless Ruth and Boaz with as many as a dozen male children, just like Rachel and Leah bore to Jacob, and through these children to make a name for them that history would remember!

 

It had taken God more than the years of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz’ lives to prepare for this moment. He not only prepared their individual hearts and minds, but He brought them to this time and place for His special purpose. No matter how they perceived God or what they thought He was or was not doing, God’s providential grace had overseen every event in their lives. And, now that they were ready, God had one more special surprise in store for them. The story concludes:

 

“So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her, and the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

 

“Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David” (Ruth 4:13-22).

 

God granted Ruth the Moabitess and Boaz the godly older man the privilege of participating in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the greatest gift He could give to an Israelite couple. Those who sought only to survive became the great-grandparents of the greatest Old Testament king Israel ever knew. God changed the poor, alien widow into the mother of Obed the father of Jesse, the father of David. Our God is a God of wonderful, grace-filled surprises! He does marvelously wonderful things beyond our ability to conceive!

 

There is another hidden treasure for us in the last few verses of this book named for Ruth. As the book concludes Naomi is the one who is highlighted, not Ruth. The women of Bethlehem praise Ruth for being better to Naomi  “than seven sons” but also said, “Naomi has a son.” Naomi was the one who took Obed and laid him in her lap and cared for him. Once empty and bitter, God had granted Naomi far more than the redemption of a kinsman redeemer.  God had filled an empty heart with the sights and sounds of new-born laughter and hope!  Boaz, the faithful and godly man who asked for nothing, was given the love of a beautiful woman and a son history remembers. The book of Ruth shouts—“never give up on God because He never gives up on us!  His greatest pleasure is to surprise us with that which is beyond our ability to conceive.”

 

No matter where you inserted yourself in the story of Ruth, no matter who you identified with, no matter where you are in your walk with Jesus Christ, His greatest desire is to surprise you with His joy.