Last Sunday, I concluded the study with Boaz telling Ruth to
go back to Naomi and wait there and he would do all that was
required.
11And Boaz said to her, I have been made fully
aware of all you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of
your husband, and how you have left your father and mother and the
land of your birth and have come to a people unknown to you before.
12The Lord recompense you for what you have
done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel,
under Whose wings you have come to take refuge!
When
Ruth went home to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked what had happened
and Ruth told her. And then Naomi said…
Ruth
3:18
"Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man
will not rest until the matter is settled today."
And Ruth chose to obey her as she had in everything else. I want to
point out that Ruth didn’t have to obey Naomi. She CHOSE to submit.
We all have Godly authority of some kind over us and we have to make
the choice to submit or not. That choice will determine our destiny.
We've been following the Book of Ruth and the
path of good choices and obedience. We all have choices to make
every day. Some are "small choices" and may not seem to affect our
life. Others are "big choices" and they change the course of our
lives and the lives of those we love; some even change the course of
history.
Maybe you have been making good choices---being
obedient to God---and you are wondering "where is my harvest?" DON'T
GIVE UP! YOUR HARVEST IS ABOUT TO COME!
Galatians 6:9 So
don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and
give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate
time.
The choices Ruth and Naomi made (and now Boaz)
would do all of that---change their lives, the lives of their
descendents, and the course of history. In fact, the choices they
made affected your life and mine because, by their obedience, they
became the ancestors of King David, and through his bloodline, they
became the ancestors of JESUS our Lord and savior.
We started our study today with Naomi telling
Ruth to sit in the house and wait while Boaz went to the gates of
the city to establish his claim as "kinsman redeemer". Ruth could
not go to the field today. She and Naomi sat together and trusted
God for the outcome, knowing that Boaz would not rest until he had
won the right to marry Ruth and protect her and Naomi---or a closer
relative would. I'll bet they were praying REAL HARD it would be
Boaz.
Ruth 4: 1 Meanwhile
Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the
kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, "Come over
here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down.
Boaz had just the right amount of faith and
works. He made the godly decision to go about asserting his claim in
the way that was lawful and right.
IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO DO A "GOOD THING". WE HAVE
TO DO IT THE RIGHT WAY. TAKE A LESSON FROM SPORTS. IF YOU DON'T PLAY
BY THE RULES, YOU CAN BE DISQUALIFIED. Many of us are left confused
when things don’t work out and yet we’ve done the right thing. Maybe
we didn’t do it the right way, or the right time, or with the right
people. All those things must be right or what we do will end up
being wrong!
Well, Boaz's faith and obedience was rewarded.
He won the right to marry the woman he loved and build a
family with her. He could have just married her on his own, but
then, she would have lost her own inheritance—from the house of
Elimelech.
The custom was to go to the gates, where the
elders sat and state the facts about Ruth and Naomi’s case.
The gate of a town or village played a large part in the cities
of Judah in these times. Excavations reveal that cities in Palestine
were very closely built, with no large open spaces like the Roman
forum or the Greek agora. There was some spaceat the gate
for people to gather and do business, and the gate was the center of
city life.
The gate was the place for any important assembly, but it was
primarily for legal business. For example, the kings of Judah
and Israel sat on thrones "in the entrance of the gate of Samaria"
(1 Kings 22:10). Similarly, King Zedekiah sat "in the gate of
Benjamin" (Jer. 38:7).
Ruth 4:1-4 1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat
there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz
said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and
sat down.
2
Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and
they did so. 3 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.
4 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 [a]
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.
The nearer relative
wanted the property himself and was quick to affirm his claim. But,
Boaz reminded himthere is a slight complication…
RUTH 4:5 "Then said Boaz,
What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy
it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance."
When a widow sold the field of her deceased husband for the time
that it was in her possession, on account of poverty, and a relation
of her husband redeemed it, it was evidently his duty not only to
care for the maintenance of the impoverished widow, but if she were
still young, to marry her, and to let the first son born of such a
marriage enter into the family of the deceased husband of his wife,
so as to inherit the redeemed property, and perpetuate the name and
possession of the deceased in Israel.
Upon this right, Boaz based this condition, which he set before
the nearer redeemer, that if he redeemed the field of Naomi he must
also take Ruth, with the obligation to marry her, and through this
marriage to set up the name of the deceased upon his inheritance.
RUTH 4:6 "And the kinsman
said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance.
Redeem thou my right for thyself; for I cannot redeem it."
The fact that marriage with Ruth went hand in hand with redeeming
the field changed the whole picture for the kinsman. He does not say
"I will not redeem", as if he were refusing. Rather he says, "I
cannot redeem," indicating that there is an impediment to the
transaction.
It is not clear what prevented him from fulfilling his obligation.
He was ready to buy the field without marrying Ruth, but he couldn't
do both.
One possibility is that he did not want to marry a Moabite woman.
That would have been understandable, and it probably would not have
been held against him.
Another reason is that paying for the land and taking on the
responsibility for caring for Ruth and Naomi would have involved a
considerable expense. He would pay for the land, but the land would
stay with Naomi's family.So his own family would suffer the
loss of some of their own inheritance. And the kinsman may already
have been married and not wanted to have a second wife.
Whatever the reason, the kinsman was emphatic about it, even
repeating his statement so there would be no doubt.
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. 10 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!"
11
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.
12 Through the offspring the LORD gives you by this young
woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to
Judah."
Boaz earned the respect of the elders of
Israel---he also won their blessings on the marriage—which would
never have happened had he not done things the right way. If you
want respect and blessing on what you do—do it the right way.
Naomi and Ruth, sitting in their house and
waiting were doing the hardest and most blessed work of the
kingdom---waiting upon the Lord. That's not laziness---that's
obedience!
13
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.
14 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! 15
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."
16
Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.
17 The women living there said, "Naomi has
a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the
father of David.
There ends the Bible's account of this glorious
story of obedience. But, for Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, it was the
BEGINNING of a life of blessing and an inheritance that would save
the world.
Think about choices they had to make—they were
all difficult ones that meant sacrifice, trust, faith, loyalty. But
those decisions changed their lives. It will change yours too.
We always have a choice and the choices have
consequences. Some choices even bring either life or death. Let’s
determine in our hearts that, no matter what others say or do, WE
WILL ALWAYS CHOOSE GOD'S WAY!
Deuteronomy 30:19 I
call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have
set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses;
therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live
Joshua 24:15 b "but as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord".
How do we choose life? By choosing Jesus who
said “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the
Father but by me.”
Because God loved the world so much that He gave
His only son that “whoever would believe in Him would have eternal
life.”
WHAT DO
WE NEED TO DO?
BELIEVE---RECEIVE---CONFESS.
For if you confess with your
mouth that Jesus is Lord and
believe in your heart that
God raised him from the
dead, you will be saved. For
it is by believing in your
heart that you are made
right with God, and it is by
confessing with your mouth
that you are saved. As the
Scriptures tell us, "Anyone
who believes in him will not
be disappointed”
Romans 10:9-11
If
you want intimate fellowship
with God---if you're looking
for Hope and for purpose,
this gift is for you. And it
all begins with a simple
prayer…..
“Heavenly Father, I
see my need for you and your
Son, Jesus. I confess that
I've fallen short of your
mark of perfection and I ask
your forgiveness, in the
name of Jesus. I believe
that He died for my sins and
rose from the dead. I
believe that His sacrifice
was enough to save me.
Please take over my life and
fill me with Your Holy
Spirit. Guide me, and
teach me Your will for my
life. Thank you...God. Amen”
If you prayed that prayer
with all your heart, God
heard it and has entered
into a Covenant relationship
with you. Your life
will never be the same.
