Ruth 4 - The Redeemer

 Ruth 4 The Redeemer Summer Hill Church 26 May 2019 1. A life out of control a. The end of the journey i. come to the last of our series in the book of Ruth (1) as we’ve seen over the past few weeks it’s a brilliantly recounted story of what happens in the life of Naomi. (a) who begins in chapter 1 with a husband, 2 sons, in the promised land, but quickly ends in Moab, a widow and childless, and empty, with the hand of the Lord against her ii. her life is careening out of control, and she returns with Ruth, to try and rebuild her life. (1) the next two chapters are then setting us up for chapter 4. (a) we were left with Boaz, ready to do the right thing and redeem Ruth and Naomi’s property, but knowing there was someone closer who had the legal responsibility first (2) so Naomi and Ruth are left not knowing… will it work out? Or will there be another outcome. b. the uncertainty of life i. there are times in life when we can feel like that. (1) that there’s just stuff beyond your control. And nothing seems to be working out. (a) you try and do the right thing, and you pray, and you trust God, but things feel out of control, even dangerous ii. at some stage in our lives nearly all of us will encounter cancer. up to 1/3 of us will suffer from cancer ourselves. (1) our own church has faced it head on with Beth’s diagnosis 2 years ago now. iii. 31 years ago Janet and I faced cancer, not in ourselves, but in our 1 year old daughter. It was a malignant eye cancer, and from diagnosis to operation was 11 days. (1) Our lives spun out of control as our perfect little girl had an operation to try and save her life, but also that would remove her eye. (a) it was an awful time. I had been in ministry less than a year. Our faith was strong, or so we thought, but the storm of life was seriously breaking on us. (i) where was God in all this? Where was God in the life of Naomi and Ruth, iv. Well, the hand of God is there, the whole time 2. The chance meeting a. as it turned out i. back in chapter 2 we saw God’s providence at work in Ruth’s choice of a field to glean in (1) So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek. 2:3 ii. and we pointed out when we read this that nobody who knows the God of the Bible reads this and thinks it was sheer luck, blind chance. No it was the hand of God. (1) and so we see the same thing happening at the beginning of chapter 4. Boaz has to find and shirtfront this closer relative. iii. so he goes and sits at the city gate (1) the city gate was like the town square. It was the place you went to trade, to conduct business, and to have meetings. iv. there was no communal town square, and so if you went to the town gate you would very likely come across someone… (1) and you can see here a typical iron age gate with a bench for people to sit on... v. So Boaz is sitting there minding his own business, and guess what! (1) Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down. v1 vi. Boaz happened to sit there just as the guy came along! (1) and we all know that’s no surprise, actually. (a) Friday night Janet and I were watching “The Bletchley Circle” - and at one stage as Susan went to the asylum looking for clues to the killer, she met the custodian, and we both IMMEDIATELY knew he was the killer (2) it was the way the writers make it happen. (a) and in Ruth, it’s not the writer, it’s God. He makes it happen. (i) Boaz sits down and along come the guardian redeemer. b. a man of standing i. Boaz gets straight to the point - and he makes it clear that he (1) Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. vv2–3 ii. so, he sets it up - 10 witnesses, elders, and he lays it all out. (1) and I noticed something about Boaz here. (a) his name means “in strength,” and he really is. (2) he says to the redeemer - SIT HERE, and he does. Then he goes to the 10 elders and says “sit here” iii. the authority is unmistakeable. He has the status in town to make the elders sit to listen, and yet he doesn’t use that authority just to get what he wants! (1) you see, he is far more concerned for righteousness than he is for what he can get… (a) the law said there was another who had a prior claim on the redemption, and Boaz wanted to do the right thing and allow the other to redeem according to the law. (i) 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.” v4 iv. it might be worth just reading the law, and getting an idea of what is said. (1) If one of your fellow Israelites becomes poor and sells some of their property, their nearest relative is to come and redeem what they have sold. Leviticus 25:25 (a) under the law, nobody owned land actually, so what they were selling was the right to use it (2) so, Elimelek had most likely sold the right to use his land until his death or redemption. v. and so by asking the G-R to redeem it, they were in effect getting their land back. (1) and so starting the process of securing their future, (a) there’s lots of disagreement about how the marriage stuff works here though (2) in the law there was a thing called Levirate marriage where the brother of a deceased man was required to marry the widow so that the brothers name would not be lost to the land (a) But that’s not quite what is happening here. (3) I think that they expected Naomi to come with the land, because it was “hers” and as she was beyond having more children, that wasn’t an option (a) but Ruth is the complication. A woman of childbearing age. (4) see children were wealth. The more children, the richer you could be - unlike today (a) in the AW - your children worked, and so added to the family wealth from an early age. (5) nowadays they don’t add to the family wealth at all, in fact it works the other way - they generally cost quite a lot. That we as parents nearly always happily pay, but the system was very different. (a) for Ruth, she would have to have children to be secure vi. so what’s going to happen? Will this purposely unnamed G-R take on Naomi and Ruth? Will Boaz drop out? 3. The reversal of fortunes a. the reversed decision i. Redeemer A jumped at the idea. (1) “I will redeem it,” he said. v4 (a) You can almost see the $ signs pop up in his eyes (i) he thought it was quite a windfall to get this land. (b) but we all know there’s more to the story and Boaz let’s him know (i) Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” v5 (c) So the way for Elimelek and Mahlon’s name - the clan, the family, the inheritance, to continue was in Levirate marriage (i) where the close relative marries the widow in order that she may have children, and the first child is counted as the dead husband’s. (2) and this caused Redeemer A to change his mind, his property was threatened and obviously for him the cost was not worth the benefit. (a) but it was done not just in the letter of the law - but in the Spirit of the law. (i) neither Boaz nor the other man were required by the law to marry Ruth, but there was no other way she was going to be cared for. A Moabite, woman, in a strange land. b. from empty to full (a) so at every step we see Boaz, not just fulfilling the law, but going beyond it. Generous, loyal, strong, a man of enormous reputation, and, even though it’s a bit out of fashion to say it these days, virtue. (i) anyway, in a sandal swapping ceremony, it was made legal and the transaction was complete 1) in v9 and 10 with the 10 town elders as witnesses he takes Ruth as his wife, (ii) we can feel uncomfortable about this, as it feels like Ruth being treated as property, but in a world where most women were either married or beggars, this was one way of ensuring they were cared for and not destitute. 1) This is not the way we should, or need to, do things today. This law is not for us to obey, but for ancient Israel. (b) and so Boaz’s generosity shines through again. (i) even though he didn’t have to, he is caring for Ruth and her future. (2) and the elders response is remarkable. (a) Then the elders and all the people 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 family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. v11 (b) This is just plain astounding. - From Ruth, the MOABITE, may you have great standing in the family of Israel. (i) and the family of Perez, from whom the Bethelehemites themselves have come. (c) through this gentile woman, who loves Yahweh, may your name be remembered forever. (3) and the journey is completed by the blessing to Naomi, when her first grandson is born (a) The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a guardian-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. vv14–15 (4) and so we have the resolution of chapter 1. (a) “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” 1:20–21 (5) in the birth of this son, he brings NAOMI, renewal, and provision as she gets older (a) the turnaround is complete - Naomi, back in the land, at home, no longer bereft, no longer destitute, and with a family future. (6) through the son shall her life be renewed. (a) and isn’t it tempting to jump to Jesus as the son who will bring us life here. But I’m not, because this is about Naomi. God restoring her, being faithful to her, showing chesed, that we saw last week, despite her lack of faith. (7) but there is more to the story. 4. The unexpected king a. the unexpected genealogy i. So it feels like the story of Ruth is finished. (1) the climax has come, and the epilogue is over, and all we have to do is roll the credits (a) but the writer has more to say. He doesn’t finish there with the happily ever after. (i) they could have finished with 1) The women living there said, “Naomi has a son!” And they named him Obed. _______________v17 (ii) that’s the happily ever after moment. The beginning - once upon a time (when the judges ruled) and the end cradling the infant Obed in their arms. (2) but he ruins the end doesn’t he - and gives us a genealogy. (a) __________And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. v17 (3) From Perez (Judah’s son by Tamar) through Salmon, to Boaz, Obed, Jesse and then David, the king. (a) the man who started the story - Elimelek - my God is king, and ends with David, the king of God’s choice. (i) These actions of faithfulness, of law-keeping, of love, culminate in the beloved king - David. The one of God’s choosing. b. the unexpected woman i. and unexpectedly in it all is a woman, a Moabite woman. So the archetypal king of Israel is not a pure-blood Israelite. (1) he looks back to the gentile great grandmother. (a) When you read the genealogy in Matthew, there are 3 women other than Mary mentioned. (i) Tamar, Boaz’ 6th great grandmother - mentioned here. (ii) Rahab - Boaz’ mother! (iii) and Ruth - and of those 3, two are gentiles. (2) in the plans of God, even the plans of God for Israel herself (a) the gentiles are incorporated in. Israel is not independent of the world, and God is not just the God of the jews, but of all humanity. (3) the same God who provided salvation for Jacob and his sons in Egypt through two Egyptian midwives, also are inextricably woven into the story of David. (a) the king to whom all Israel looked as the golden one. The ideal king. c. the unexpected king i. and who would have thought that this woman would have been in David’s line (1) A Moabite! An enemy. But who chose to put her trust in the God of Israel and come to the land of promise. The promises that God had made to Abraham and to Isaac and Jacob ii. she was to be the ggm of David, and that would have shocked and surprised everyone. (1) not that Boaz would be the ggf, but that Ruth would be the ggm! (a) see God has always had a heart for the gentile. The outsider. The ones no-one loves (i) he cares for the alien and the stranger, the gentile in the land. (b) and in his plan, he brings them in to his kingdom, if like Ruth, they will put their trust in him. d. the king of kings i. and of course that’s why we read that little section from Matthew earlier (1) so we could see that Bethlehem, so central to the story of Ruth, was also central to the story of the king of kings (a) Jesus Christ, who came as the great king of all the world. but also as the great redeemer of all the world (2) he traced his ancestry back to Ruth (a) Yes he was a Jew, yes he was the perfect Jew, but he was also descended from a gentile woman, who came to be part of the kingdom of God, by leaving all, and coming to the God of Israel. (3) She could be one of God’s people not by being born one, not even by trying hard to keep the law, but by simply clinging to the promise of blessing, that came through her redeemer. 5. The hidden hand of God a. working through history i. So how can we conclude this wonderful story (1) probably the most important thing to see is that Ruth has such a central place in the history of the whole bible ii. when we were looking at Ruth 2, I suggested that the Biblical story funnels down through Ruth. It brings in the outsider, into the very heart of Israel and into the very heart plans of God (1) we see God’s plans at work, his ordering of history, his arrangement of the details of life (a) and even working through human rebellion, and human selfishness to bring his plans to fulfillment. (2) the story of Ruth shows us the mighty hand of God in even the smallest life (a) and in the most unexpected, and sometimes extraordinary ways. b. working through us i. because what we can see is that God works through his people (1) he uses us even in the extremities of life. In the times when we feel completely out of control. When we are at our weakest, he is at his strongest. ii. I spoke at the beginning of my daughter’s eye cancer. It was, and is forever seared into my memory, as the worst time of my life - at least so far. (1) I remember the tears, the fear, the struggle after the surgery to think beyond every next step, but I also remember with great clarity being told that how we handled it, how we cared not just for one another, but for those around us, really impacted the ward staff. We had no idea at the time. (a) God uses us, even when we are weak, sometimes especially when we are weak, because then we lean on him even more, to do his work in this world. c. working for us i. But he doesn’t just work through us, he works for us of course. (1) he brings salvation to all who believe. He brings comfort to the afflicted, he brings rest for the heavy laden. (a) if we will only trust him. d. last week I challenged us to be thankful every day. Just in something. This week I want to raise the bar. I want to challenge you. Every day this week, thank God that he has brought you to be one of his people, against all expectations, simply because you came to him, and put your trust in him. Praise him. And praise him not just to yourself. To anyone who will listen. (1) Because this news is good enough for everyone to hear. (a) and if you don’t know that news yet. If being one of God’s people is still a foreign concept, if you still feel like an “outsider” then come on in. ii. God will accept you just like he accepted that ancient Moabite woman, if you will just come to him, and ask him to be your redeemer. LETS PRAY