Sermon Tone Analysis

*“Favor to Foreigners”*

*Ruth 2*

 

Have you ever felt as though God’s hand was against you?

Do you find yourself at a time when all the chips are down?

Do you struggle to know that God is good and that his timing is perfect?

Such was the case with one of our key characters in the book of Ruth.

As you may recall, Naomi had left Bethlehem with her family because of a famine in the land.

And rather than repenting and trusting God to provide, her husband Elimelech chose “to do what was right in his own eyes.”

He led his family to go to the land of Moab – a nation that had been in opposition to Israel.

While in Moab, Elimelech died and their two sons died – leaving Naomi with her two daughters-in-law to fend for themselves.

Sin has consequences.

And it would appear that this is the case here.

Having heard that the Lord had provided for his people, they set off to return to Naomi’s homeland.

Along the way, Naomi challenged both of the women to choose a path that would be favorable to a new life of protection and provision for them.

Orpah chose to return to Moab and Ruth put everything on the line to follow after Naomi and her God.

Throughout the rest of chapter 1, it seems as though Ruth is the one who is full of faith and Naomi is the one who is bitter against God.

She seemingly blames him for her situation and does not accept any blame for herself.

She openly pities herself in front of the people of Bethlehem and exemplifies little faith in God.

We recalled how Naomi missed much of God’s plan in the midst of her circumstances because of her bitterness.

In fact, she cannot see beyond her immediate situation.

Bitterness affected her relationship with God, to her family, and to her townspeople.

This is a very direct correlation in our relationships today.

Bitterness will cause you to see things with a distorted perspective.

You will not view God favorably.

You will not trust people that you should.

You think, like Naomi, that everybody is against you.

This may lead you to become divisive, rather than promote unity.

It is pervasive.

And yet the story doesn’t end here.

Even at the conclusion to chapter one, the author points out this sliver of hope.

It is indicated that “Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab.

And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.”

And the curtain falls.

It’s as if while watching your favorite show, there is a “to be continued” at the bottom of the screen.

You are left wondering what will happen next.

Will Naomi snap out of her funk?

What will happen to this foreigner named Ruth?

Will the people accept or reject her?

Will this relationship between the two women go well?

Will the circumstances prove beneficial to these women and to the town?

With the entrance into chapter 2, the tone of the music has changed.

You realize how strategic the use of music is in movies and such.

Throughout chapter 1, we would have experienced a somber selection of music.

But with chapter 2, it’s as if you might begin to hear an upbeat tone and tempo.

Things are changing.

But we have yet to see how.

Turn in your Bibles to Ruth 2 if you have not already done so.

And we’ll read it together as we get underway.

*READ.*

Our first point this morning is *God’s Providence.

*The author begins with the introduction of another character into the story.

I sort of read this story as a play.

You can hear the voices in the many dialogues that take place in the story.

And you come upon verse one and it’s as if the narrator speaks like this: “Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name is Boaz.”

And so, right out of the gate, we are like “Hey, I wonder who this guy is…” And we’re given some very helpful information about him.

Boaz is a “worthy man.”

This description of “worthy” can be understood in a couple of ways.

First, it denotes a man of “substance and wealth” a man “of standing in community.”

And yet it also refers to being noble with respect to character.

And so his actions would be deemed heroic.

This is essentially a broad commendation of Boaz’s ability and courage and success.

In the end, he is an admirable man.

And we will see this as the story unfolds.

With this new information, the story continues in verse 2 by indicating that Ruth got up and made an effort to change their situation.

We will begin to see some noble character qualities of Ruth as well.

She rises, approaches Naomi and requests her permission to go to work.

She says, “Let me go to the field and glean ears of grain in whose sight I shall find favor.”

We do not know why Naomi does not also attempt to go with her to make provisions.

Perhaps her bitterness has lead to depression and despair.

Whatever the case may be, we see that Ruth steps out in faith.

Faith also involves action.

It does not sit around and wait for things to drop from the sky.

Ruth understands that it is as we do what we are called to do, and as we trust God, that he will provide for our needs.

Ruth does not know where she will end up but the only way to find out is to trust and get to action.

On the side, this is where government systems often fall short.

We have an obligation to care for the poor and needy.

But the solution is not handouts, but providing the opportunities for the poor to work for their own needs and the needs of dependents.

So we need to think through how we can improve on providing more of these opportunities and avoid neglecting the poor.

Ruth got it.

Upon receiving the approval of Naomi, Ruth sets out.

She goes out and gleans in the field after the reapers.

To “glean in the field” was to come behind the hired workers and pick up any scraps they may have left behind.

In fact, provision was made in the Mosaic Law for the poor.

In Leviticus 19:9–10, Moses records “9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest.

10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard.

You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”

And in Deuteronomy 24:19–21 “19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it.

It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again.

It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.

21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward.

It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow.”

So Ruth has gone out into the field and look at the next phrase, “and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was part of the clan of Elimelech.”

It just so happened that she found herself.

In today’s language, this would likely be rendered “as luck would have it.”

But because many of you know your Bibles, you would respond with a different understanding – God’s providence.

The purpose of this statement in verse 3 is to undermine any rational explanation for human experiences and to refine the reader’s understanding of providence.

“She happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”

We begin to see that the same hand that had sent the famine to Israel and later provided food is the same hand that brought Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem at the right time of harvest and has now guided Ruth to that portion of the field belonging to Boaz.

As Ruth trusted in the Lord, he directed her steps unwittingly to exactly the right location.