Faithfulness & Protection: Ruth 2:4-23 (Nicole Tatum)

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All right.

Good morning.

Um, gosh, it's so, I love hearing the
story read aloud 'cause it's just such

a good story and as I'm listening to
it, I'm like, there are a thousand more

things I could say on this passage.

So I, uh, you know, I
encouraged you last time.

I'm encouraging, encouraging you again,
stay in this passage throughout the week.

Like keep, uh, reading over it.

Read the whole, like, read
all four chapters together.

Um, because it's such a beautiful story
and there's so much to take from it.

Um, so, uh, yeah, spend time
in it throughout the week.

And, you know, we're now three weeks
into this book and last week we were

briefly introduced to a man named Boaz.

And this week we're really
going to get into his character.

Uh, as I said a couple weeks ago,
the Book of Ruth is this really great

short story, and it does such a great
job of laying out the setting for us.

Um, the, the three main characters,
the action, the plot, um,

there's all this really great
short story, um, elements in it.

And so now we know we've gotten the
names of our three main characters.

We knew Ruth and Naomi,
and now we know Boas.

And this is the part in the story
where the action really takes off.

Um, but before we get into this week's
scripture and learn more about Boas, I

think it's really important to remind us
of what we already know about the story.

So to recap what we already know,
Naomi is an Israelite whose family

immigrated to Moab, which was a pagan
country, and they had to do that because

there was a famine in their country.

And while they're in Moab,
uh, Naomi's husband dies and

she's left with her two sons.

So already Naomi's experienced a couple
of traumatic moments in her life.

You know, she's had to flee her
country, uh, and address a fame, a

famine, and she's lost her husband.

So now she finds herself in a
foreign country with her two sons.

Her two sons marry and they marry,
uh, women named, uh, Ruth and Ora.

But then after 10 years, those men died.

So that means that in this story we've got
three widows and two women who were, have

unable, been unable to have children yet.

So Naomi, at this point in the
story, and remember this is all just

like very beginning of chapter one.

We get this.

Naomi decides that
she's gonna return home.

She has heard the famine is over.

Um, and so Ruth decides to go with her.

And while we, there's a first
overview, cursory reading of that,

you might think that this is all
driven by kindness for Naomi.

You know, that there's some just,
they, she must have this really great

relationship with her mother-in-law.

Uh, but it's also clear that Ruth has
chosen to put her faith in Naomi's God.

And you know, there's this famous verse
that we're all familiar with where, uh,

Ruth tells Naomi, your people will be
my people and your God will be my God.

And so in declaring her loyalty to Naomi,
what she's also doing is she's also

declaring her faith in God and his people.

And so those two women show up
in Bethlehem, but they show up.

They are worn out.

They are broken, they are grieving,
and they're really vulnerable.

Naomi is very clear about how she
feels at the end of chapter one.

We looked at that last week where
she, she says, don't call me Naomi.

Call me Mera, 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.

So Naomi has this posture where
she believes that the Lord

has basically ruined her life.

And I, I think it's easy to read
these words and to judge those

words a little bit to think, um.

If that feels a little harsh to say
like, are you, you really sure you

wanna kind of put that on God, that
you really wanna say those words?

Surely you don't really mean
that, you know, maybe those

should be inside thoughts.

Um, is there a way to kind of
tone that down a little bit?

I think we all can kind of
understand that perspective.

Like I maybe should, you
shouldn't say that out loud.

Um, but I want to pause for a minute
here and consider your own life.

Has there ever been an experience for you
or a season that you have gone through or

maybe a season that you're in where you
have thought, I think God's maybe left me.

I don't know if God cares about me.

I don't feel his care.

There's too much pain in my life right
now to believe that God really loves me.

'cause why would God let me
suffer so much right now?

And I think if we're honest,
many of us have probably toiled

with those thoughts before.

There's probably been a point in our life
where we have questioned similar things.

I have, um, there have been seasons of
my life where the thoughts that I have

wrestled with the prayers that I have
prayed, the things that I have journaled,

have felt very similar to Naomi's words.

God isn't listening to me anymore.

I'm out here on my own.

I've got, I'm the one that has to figure
this out now where I have been tempted to

believe that God has maybe forgotten me.

Naomi was vocal about these thoughts.

These were not just internal grumblings
or things she wrote down in her journal.

These were external cries.

That she made known, she
shared that pain with others.

And here's why that stands out to me
as this story moves into chapter two,

and we look at it today because at
the beginning of this chapter, Ruth

is the one who goes to pick up the
leftover harvest from the fields.

So my mind immediately wonders as I
read this, would Ruth have taken action?

If she didn't know Naomi was having
a crisis of faith, would she have

actually taken charge and gone
out in a foreign land as a, as a

vulnerable woman looking for food?

How much of Ruth's actions were
motivated because she knew that Naomi

was in a bad state, that she knew?

She knew that Naomi
needed help and support.

Would the story have been any different
if Naomi had kept that grief to herself?

The reality is we don't have to let
people into our vulnerable moments and our

thoughts and our heartaches and our pain.

We don't have to, but what
might change for us if we did.

Because we all fall into the pit
sometimes, or we will one day, we

have all experienced those dark nights
of the soul, or you will one day.

And I'm convinced that the longer we keep
those things private and to ourselves,

the longer we live in that dark space.

The longer we go without the help we need.

And I really want us to cha uh, to
challenge us to take that to heart

because it's good to let others in
and to receive help, to let others

know, Hey, I'm not okay right now.

My faith is barely hanging on right
now because our role as a community is

to help carry one another's burdens.

But we can't do that for each other
if we're not willing to let others in,

if we're not willing to sometimes take
those internal heartaches and pain and

speak it out loud to somebody else.

So, yes, Ruth needed food and
provision for herself, but she was

also carrying the burden of Naomi
and responding in love with action.

And that is a really powerful thing.

So with that, we get to look at the story
today where, um, this is where we're

gonna pick it up as we anticipate the help
that is coming for both Ruth and Naomi.

And there's two parts to this scripture
that we get to bear witness to.

First we see, uh, Ruth's encounter
with Boaz, and we get to learn

about him and his character.

And then the second part is we
get to experience Naomi's response

to Ruth's encounter with Boas.

So first, Ruth meets Boas, our
third main character of the story.

So Ruth has asked to glean among
the harvesters of a man named

Boas, and Ben mentioned this
last week, this act of gleaning.

He explained it.

I wanna draw our attention to
it again now in light of Boas.

So gleaning was this really beautiful
way that God cared for the poor and

the marginalized through the law.

It was a mosaic law he put into place.

Um, and we, you can read about it
in Leviticus and that law, what it

does is it commanded farmers to leave
the leftovers for those in need.

And so this is, but this is bigger though
than God just providing for the poor.

These gleaning laws,
uh, reveal God's heart.

God's heart that says he is ready to
rescue the powerless and the vulnerable.

So, um, that's why that, so this was the
law that was put into place, but here's

why this is significant and this is why
I wanna draw our attention back to it.

We can understand that that was obviously
a sign of generosity from Boas, right?

Yes.

You let people glean from your field.

But here's why it's important, because
if you remember the backdrop of the

story, what's going on in the background
here, and we learned about that all

the way back to chapter one verse one,
where it says, the very first thing

it says is in the days of the judges.

So that's the setting that Ruth is taking
place in in the days of the judges.

And then we learned how, if you look
back to the very last verse of the book

of judges, it tells us that there was no
king and everyone did what they wanted.

So that is the culture that
they are living in right now.

A time where there was no king and
everybody did what they wanted.

If everyone does what they want, how
many people are going to actually

choose to follow the law, right?

So that's, that's the, the what's
going on in the background.

So gleaning is this beautiful
concept that humans kind of ruined.

In reality, uh, in this cultural
setting, Gleaners were often

mistreated and they went hungry.

They weren't cared for, and
they could be thrown out.

Unattached women were
particularly vulnerable.

So we've, uh, when you read Ruth, you kind
of romanticize this idea of gleaning, uh,

but Ruth just as easily could have had a
different experience in a different field.

This story could have gone
very differently for her.

So not only is this generous of boas,
it was probably actually a standout

quality of him in the midst of a culture
that was concerned only with doing

what they wanted to do for themselves.

So instead, what we see as boas is
obeying God's word, and by doing

that, he's giving dignity to Ruth.

And what I love about this is what it
tells us is that God's word is actually

structured in such a way that if we
follow it, we will naturally live a

life that offers dignity to others.

That's the beauty of God's word.

That if we follow it, if we listen and
obey, we live a life that naturally

offers dignity to other people.

So Boas now comes onto the scene,
but before he does, I wanna

say one more thing about this.

We are about reading scripture, okay?

We are not meant to read this story and
perceive it in this way, that if you're

a woman, you're supposed to be like Ruth.

And if you're a man, you're
supposed to be like Boas.

I, I, I don't want you to read
the story like that, rather

both of these characters.

Embody Christlikeness that both
men and women can learn from.

So if you have been conditioned to read
the story through that lens, I want

to invite you to consider turning the
diamond to catch a different glimpse.

We talk about that, right with scripture.

How you know when a diamond spins,
you catch the different glimpses of

it, of its beauty, and I want us, if
that is the way you've read this story

before, that you as a woman are meant
to identify with Ruth, and you as a

man are meant to identify with boas.

I want you to turn the diamond and see
how you are meant to identify with both

of these characters through Christ.

So listen to the scripture again, chapter
or verse four, starting in verse four.

Just then Boaz arrived from
Bethlehem and he greeted the

harvesters, the Lord be with you.

The Lord bless you.

They answered.

Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters,
who does that young woman belong to?

The overseer replied, she's the
Moabite who came back from Moab.

With Naomi, she said, please let
me glean and gather among the

sheaves behind the harvesters.

She came into the field and has remained
here from morning till now, except

for for short rest in the shelter.

So Boaz said to Ruth, my
daughter, listen to me.

Don't go and glean in another
field and don't go away from here.

Stay here with the women who work for me.

Watch the field where the men
are harvesting and follow along.

After the women.

I have told the men not to lay a
hand on you, and whenever you are

thirsty, go and get a drink from
the water jars the men have filled.

So one way people have read Ruth before
is that they see this is the moment

where Boas starts to fall for her.

Right.

He's got his eyes.

He's like, oh, there,
that's, that's my woman.

Okay.

That's, I want us to pause
and not think that, okay.

Um, he's wondering here though, he's
wondering who this woman is, but here's

why it would not be seen as romantic yet.

Because Boaz is a wealthy man.

Ruth is not a wealthy woman, nor
does she have status to her name.

Boas was in a different social league.

So when he asks about Ruth,
he's simply trying to identify

the stranger in his field.

He's not motivated by infatuation,
but rather a heart for God.

In fact, I want us to be careful
to not assume that he had ulterior

motives because I don't want
us to negate his kindness here.

What he's doing here is he's actually
modeling Christ-like love, and here's how.

The first thing as a foreigner,
she would not have been welcome.

Not only does he let her stay, but
he tells her not to go anywhere else.

He gives her the right to be there,
welcomes a stranger in a foreigner into

his field and affirms that it's okay.

You're welcome here, Ruth.

The second thing that he does
is as a woman, she would've

been vulnerable to abuse.

Or taken advantage of.

And he says to her, I have told
the men not to lay a hand on you.

He's defending her and
he's protecting her.

He's, and he's doing those things
before anything has even happened.

And three, as someone without
resources or livelihood, she would

have naturally been thirsty and hungry.

And he meets her needs by telling
her to help herself to the water,

and then later on in the story,
he invites her to eat with him.

Those are all things that
reflect the life of Christ.

It is such a picture of the
Lord's lavish love and care.

He treats her with dignity
and he recognizes that her

life has value as it is.

Boaz is calling that out and recognizing
her identity as a child of God.

And the truth is, humans should
not have to earn the right

to be treated with value.

Our dignity is inherent.

Nobody's worth should be
debatable because each one of

us is made in the image of God.

We are all born with inherent worth
and dignity and value, but that is

not often how we treat one another.

How closely do our actions
reflect God's kindness?

How often do we actually notice the
poor or welcome the foreigner, protect

the vulnerable person, speak kindly
to the new person or the lonely

person, or the different person guys.

That is how we actually get
to reflect the heart of Jesus.

It's the ability for us to look around,
notice others, and then respond with love.

Ruth's race and her class did not
prevent boas from showing her compassion,

and it shouldn't prevent us either.

Instead, what happens is Ruth
receives grace from Boas.

Ruth found favor In the eyes of boas, you
have found favor in the eyes of Jesus.

Do we believe that you have infinite
worth and value over your life?

No matter what anybody else has said
differently to you, you have found

infinite worth in your life because God
made you to have infinite worth and value.

And because of that, because of our
own identity, we are called to extend

that same posture to those around us.

When we bear the name of Jesus and
we remember that he is with us.

We have the opportunity to bless the
lives of others in powerful ways.

That is our call as followers of Jesus.

So take an inventory of your life
today and this week as you go about

where do you see the vulnerable or
the overlooked or the undervalued?

What would it look like for you to
model Christlike love, particularly

if you know that there is not
anything they could do to repay you.

Ephesians two, uh, verse 19
tells us, consequently, you

are no longer foreigners.

You, it's talking about us.

You are no longer foreigners and
strangers, but fellow citizens with God's

people and also members of his household

as fellow citizens of God's
people, we have tasted grace.

So who are we to keep it to ourselves?

The right response to his
grace and his love is for us to

show grace and love to others.

It's for us to show
grace and love to others.

So the second part of this chapter is
where we are introduced, uh, to this

concept as Bo Boaz as the redeemer.

As their redeemer.

And this idea is really what
drives the rest of the book.

And we'll talk more about that
in the coming weeks, but for now,

the focus shifts back to Naomi
and Ruth 'cause Ruth returns home.

And, um, and it's worth mentioning
here, you know, she returns home

with food and, uh, good news and
it's, it's worth pointing out.

I think that she is still showing her
mother-in-law, kindness, and care.

She has not quit.

She has not, um, Naomi has not become
too much for her to handle, and so I

want to read their interaction again.

Looking at verse uh, 19, her mother-in-law
asked her, where did you glean today?

Where did you work?

Blessed be the man who took notice of you.

And then Ruth told her
mother-in-law about the one at

whose place she has been working.

The name of the man I worked
with today is Boaz, she said.

Verse 20, the Lord bless him,
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law,

he has not stopped showing his
kindness to the living and the dead.

She added That man is our close relative.

He is one of our guardian redeemers.

The whole book hinges upon this verse.

Ruth discovers that boas is the redeem.

For now, I wanna circle back to something
else that first came up for us in

chapter one and is now again in this
chapter and it's this concept of hesed.

In chapter one, verse eight, Naomi tells
Ruth, may the Lord show you kindness or

hesed as you have shown kindness hesed.

And we talked about that briefly.

That happened in, uh, chapter one.

And now again in verse 20, Naomi says,
he has not stopped showing his kindness.

Or has said, and this word is a
concept that is difficult to translate.

We use words like kindness and
steadfast love and, and and

loyal commitment to describe it.

But none of that quite
captures what it means.

Um, Hebrew scholars say that it's a
Hebrew word that is meant to sum up

the ideal lifestyle of God's people
the way that God intended for humans

to live together from the beginning.

It's the way that God fully
and completely loves us.

In Psalm 1 36, uh, you
might be familiar with this.

It says, give thanks to
the Lord for he is good.

His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of
Gods, his love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of Lords.

His love endures forever.

And on and on the Psalm goes, the
word love used there is hesed.

His, he said, love endures forever.

So going back to verse 20, it's hard
to tell from Naomi's words if she's

referring to Boaz or the Lord, and I
kind of like that because I think what

we see here is that it's boaz's kindness.

It's an incarnation of
the Lord's kindness.

This kindness, this hesed is driven by a
deep commitment, a loyal, selfless love

that motivates a person to do something
that they are not obligated to do.

It's the kind of love that we find most
fully expressed in the person of Jesus.

Hesed is the gospel lived out,
God's has said is the centerpiece.

Of the Ruth's story and it's what
motivates that Redeemer theme found

in the second half of this book.

The question that Naomi has
been facing up to this point

is through her suffering, while she's
suffering, while she's carrying this grief

is if God's has said, has run out for her,

and what is so beautiful.

Is that the way this question is
answered for Naomi is not by a divine

encounter with the Lord, but by God's,
by God's people engaged in simple,

yet extraordinary acts of hassad.

What this chapter is doing for us from
start to finish is it's really giving us

a call to show hesed to those in need.

God's people then and now are called to
show that kindness to the marginalized

and the oppressed, the abused, the
poor, the refugee, the immigrant.

We need to embrace our responsibility
to care for those who need help.

It's not simply an invitation, but
it's actually a responsibility.

It is okay and good and right
to challenge the social and the

political and the cultural conditions
that hurt or endanger others.

That devalue other people
as the people of God.

We can extend Hess said and help
others find hope and healing.

And we do all this because we have first
experienced and receive God's loving

kindness through no earning of our own.

We are motivated to give
because we have first received.

God loves us and we have the opportunity
to love others as he loves us.

One way that God renews this world is
often by ordinary individuals sharing

the extraordinary love of God with
those whose paths we happen to cross.

Who was the one that was showing?

Ruth has said, was it Boaz or was it God?

And it was both.

It was God working through os.

What that means is it's about us living
an interruptible life, a life that

notices and observes needs, that we
encounter a life that is attuned to the

prompting of the Holy Spirit that is
reminding you to be a person of love.

What would our community look like?

What would this room of people look like?

If that is how we lived, what would Fort
Worth look like if that is how we lived?

Or a more sobering thought, what
would our country look like if that

is how we as the people of God lived?

What would change if we lived a life
motivated by the hesed love of God?

But I wanna remind us, uh, as we end
and partake in communion together,

one of the most freeing things, and
it's so important that we remember.

In our flesh, we cannot
do any of this on our own.

If we try, we just place burdens upon
ourselves that are not meant to be.

Sometimes it is really
hard to love people.

Sometimes it is really hard to serve
and to care for others, or to care

for the poor or the marginalized.

We can try and we might
do some things well.

We might do a good job for a
little bit, but our job, we have to

remember, it is not to fix the world.

Our job is to be a signpost
to another kingdom.

We are to be a light in this world.

God, in his steadfast, has said love.

He says, I want to be in
relationship with you.

I want to redeem you for myself.

You are not a foreigner to me.

You are not a stranger to me.

And what he does is he sends Jesus
God incarnate to rescue us because

Jesus is the true and better Boaz.

And what's so beautiful to consider,
uh, when we take communion is that

in communion, we show up as Ruth, we
show up as the foreigner empty handed.

And pour in spirit with nothing to offer.

But when we show up, we know
that we are seen and we are

valued, that we are provided for
out of sacrificial generosity.

And just like Boaz invited Ruth to,
to his table to dip bread into the

wine, we also are invited to the
table to dip bread into the wine.

And Jesus gave us this meal to remind
us how he demonstrated, has said to us

by shedding his blood for our sins, by
dying in our place, by by resurrecting and

inviting us into that experience with him.

He takes our place.

He took our responsibility
at a great cost to himself.

In Jesus, we experience grace
and mercy and True has said.

And communion invites us to remember this.

It is a visible sign of what
Jesus has done for each one of us

because we were all once outsiders.

We were all once foreigners,
helpless, lost, vulnerable.

When we take communion, we remember
who we once were and remember the

gift of new life found in Jesus.