Dover Assembly of God
If you have read the book of Esther, you know that in the entire book, the word “God” is not used once.
And the Hebrew religion is also not mentioned, yet throughout that book, we read about the providence of God.
The catch phrase of the book is this:
Esther 4:14 NIV
Everything laid out in Esther was a plan mapped out by God, even though he isn’t mentioned. Ruth is similarly a plan mapped out by God but in this case he is mentioned.
The point of both is whether or not we see God working or we see the plan or not, God’s providence will be accomplished.
We left off in our study of Ruth with Ruth finding a field that just so happened to be the field of Boaz who just so happened to be her relative by marriage.
Boaz took a liking to her and gave her some privileges that were not common back then.
Ruth 2:14-18 NIV
Ruth 2:19 NIV
Can you see a slight change in Naomi? She arrived in town a bitter woman who was blaming God for all the hardships in her life. She assumed that life for her and Ruth would be very hard and unrewarding.
But all of a sudden, Ruth comes home with a basket of food. One commentator says she had enough for 2 women for nearly a week. Ruth also brought the leftover lunch home with her.
In the grand scheme of things, a week’s worth of food is fine, but you’re still in a hard place. So why did Naomi’s attitude change?
She said in her comment, “blessed be the man who took notice.” Now she is recognizing that God may be involved with this.
And you know what that produced? HOPE!
Sometimes I pray for God to just show me a little sign that he’s involved, because it’s easy to just let life just happen and throw your hands up and say “oh well” C’est la vie. No matter what I do, nothing will change so why expect it to.
That was Naomi’s attitude until Ruth came home with the food. I don’t think it was only the food. I think she was thinking maybe God is working on my behalf. Maybe there is a light at the end of this tunnel and, maybe I won’t stay in this situation forever.
Now she’s thinking that God maybe didn’t cause all this pain, but maybe he’s there to help her thru it, she began to have hope.
Sometimes I think God just does something little for us to let us know he’s still around and he’ll be with you and bring you thru it. That you’re not a total mess up and he still loves you.
That produces hope!
Ruth 2:19-20 NIV
Not only did she say “Blessed be the man”
Now she knows who it is and says "The LORD bless him!"
She goes from bitterness to blessedness . . . all because God gave her some hope.
Sometimes we look for the big miracle or the big answer to prayer, when all we need is just a small event to let us know that God is here and he cares about you.
Ruth 2:20 NIV
The wording of this verse is confusing.
It sounds like Naomi is saying that Boaz has not stopped showing kindness, but the New American Standard words it better . . .
Ruth 2:20 NASB1995
The Lord is the one who has not stopped showing kindness, not Boaz.
Even when we don’t feel it, the Lord is showing kindness to us.
So Naomi is coming around to faith and encouragement again.
Ruth 2:20 NIV
Up to this point, Naomi knew that she had a kinsman-redeemer and she knew his name, but she probably didn’t know where he was living.
If she did, don’t you think she’d have Ruth go there?
And Ruth knew Boaz, but didn’t know anything about the kinsman-redeemer thing. Boaz could have existed without Naomi even knowing about him, let alone his name.
Ruth could have gleaned in that field and never met Boaz.
Another dot in the providence of God.
So what is a kinsman-redeemer?
Leviticus 25 gives us a description, but I’ll give you some bullet points.
1) They are to ensure that the hereditary property of the clan (Elimelech) never passes out of the clan.
2) To Maintain the freedom of the individuals within the clan by buying back those who have sold themselves into slavery because of poverty.
3) To track down and execute murderers of near relatives.
4) To receive restitution money on behalf of a deceased victim of a crime.
5) To ensure that justice is served in a lawsuit involving a relative.
When Elimelech moved to Moab, he would have sold his property, but neither Ruth or Naomi could afford to buy it back. But Naomi realized that Boaz could.
However, whoever bought that property back would also have to marry Ruth with it.
Boaz would be responsible for any children Ruth had and the land would then go to Ruth’s kids if she had any. And the kids would retain Elimelech’s name, not Boaz’s.
So there was drama included with this.
Ruth 2:21-23 NIV
I don’t know if Ruth sees it yet, but I’m pretty sure Naomi does. She understood the kinsman-redeemer rules and saw what could happen! And because of what God was doing in Ruth, Naomi was being blessed.
God used Ruth to turn Naomi’s bitterness into gratitude, her unbelief into faith and despair into hope.
One person trusting the Lord and obeying his will can change someone else’s life. This is one of the reasons that God tells us to gather together. And not from afar. Because God uses other people to work in your life.
Here is where the story gets interesting. There has been some time lapse between chapters 2 & 3.
This didn’t happen overnight. Sometimes we have to wait just keep on doing what we normally do while we wait for God’s provision to happen.
Ruth 3:1 NIV
Naomi’s attitude is continuing to shift. She went from bitter, to having hope. Now she is helping Ruth instead of just looking out for herself.
At first, she was just trying to get rid of her in Moab when she said stay and find a husband.
Now she seems genuinely concerned about her.
Ruth 3:2 NIV
Remember, it is the parents (on in this case, mother in laws) who arrange the marriages, so this is not out of the ordinary.
She knew that there would probably be other men who would want to marry Ruth, but none of them would be a redeemer.
She wanted the best for Ruth and she knew that marrying a redeemer would be the best, so she starting making the arrangements.
Since Boaz was favorable to Ruth, they needed to find out his intentions.
It appears that he is interested in Ruth, but would he redeem / marry her?
Naomi needs to find this out.
One way to find out. While this approach is kind of unique to us today, it was not during this time. It was normal for their culture.
So Naomi tells her to get ready. First, take a bath.
For us that’s no big deal, but back then, water was scarce so bathing would be for a special event. The Jews also had ceremonial washing which would precede a special event. It appears that Naomi was telling Ruth to act like a bride for her wedding.
Since this event is an example of Christ and believers, we’ll also look at the corresponding analogy.
If Boaz is a type of Christ, then the approach Ruth uses should also apply to us.
What do I mean? Many times God uses the term wash to cleanse us from sin.
2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT
1 John 1:9 NLT
Ephesians 5:25-26 NIV
If we want to have a close relationship with Christ, then we need to allow Christ to wash the sin away.
Not only when we first come to Christ, but daily.
Ruth 3:3 NIV
The NKJV uses the term anoint which symbolizes a fragrant oil. Obviously used to make yourself smell nice.
Ever around someone who doesn’t have a nice fragrance?
I came across this article in Newsweek, so it’s not a joke or satire. Evangelist David Heavener Says Pastors Who Lack Pungent Body Odor 'Not Preaching Real Sermon'
I’m not sure where this guy is coming from, but I’m not sure I agree with that.
Oil is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Our life style should be one that is directed by the Holy Spirit which makes us pleasant to be around.
What is our “fragrance” when we are out? Do we reflect or put off a good fragrance? One that points people to Christ?
Or are we “pungent”? In other words, our attitudes are not controlled by the Holy Spirit and therefore people don’t like to be around us.
2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT
Are we attractive to those to whom we minister? Or do we repel them?
Ruth 3:3 NIV
She also probably didn’t have “best clothes” remember, she was a poor widow that had to glean for food, but what she would have probably worn was a widow’s outfit.
Clothing is also has a spiritual meaning.
Isaiah 61:10 NLT
Colossians 3:12 NIV
Romans 13:14 NIV
Revelation 21:2 NIV
If we want to enter into a deeper relationship with the Lord, then we need to be sure that we are dressed in the righteousness of Christ.
Ecclesiastes 9:8 NIV
All of the things that Ruth does to present herself to Boaz, we need to do to present ourselves to Christ.
Wash our sins away, (forgiveness), fill us with the Holy Spirit so that we are spiritually attractive and let the fragrance of Christ come thru.
Ruth 3:3-4 NIV
While this may seem weird to us, this was the norm and the prescribed way for this encounter to take place.
Naomi knew that if Boaz was as spiritual as she believed, he would understand this gesture.
Notice that she had to go to him, but he was responsible for the rest.
God the father draws us to himself, (Boaz was drawing her thru his interaction on the fields) but we have to come to him in the manner He describes, (Humble and knowing that we have nothing to offer) and when we do that, God takes it from there.
When we come to Christ, he doesn’t tell us to fix everything, get right, then come to him.
He says come as you are, and I’ll take it from there.
I’ll renew your mind, I’ll make you a new creation, I’ll change your desires and make them mine.
Ruth 3:5-6 NIV
Divine providence does not eliminate human effort.
I’m sure that Ruth not being a Jew didn’t fully grasp why she was doing what Naomi said to do.
But by faith, she obeyed. She didn’t ask a million questions like “will this work” “why do we do it this way” or “isn’t there another way”
We all probably have questions about why God does things the way He does, but faith accepts what God is doing and when we obey, we get blessed.
Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation. D. Elton Trueblood
When God draws you and wants to have a relationship with you thru Christ, more often than not, we don’t fully understand what’s happening or what will happen after you come to Christ.
But we do it by faith. If we wait to have every question answered, we’ll never experience the blessing of witnessing what faith can do.
It’s not faith in faith, but faith in Christ!
Do you feel that God is calling you to take this type of chance?
Like Boaz was drawing Ruth, he was doing things in her life that got her attention, do you feel God drawing you? Is God putting things in your path to get your attention?
It might be for salvation, but it also might be for something you have been praying for, but now God is making you step out in faith before you see it.
What weird thing do you think God is asking you to do?
We have 100 outreach cards that we want to pass out to our neighbors. Going door to door isn’t the most comfortable thing, but unless we reach out to our neighbors, we’ll never know how God can use us to bless them.
We’re going to see how Ruth’s obedience resulted in a great blessing in her life. I believe that same type of faith and obedience will result in a blessing in our lives as well.