There is a Redeemer Ruth 4

Transcription

1 There is a Redeemer Ruth 4 We finish our study in the book of Ruth this morning. And I d like to set up our time with a short review. In chapter 1 we learned about a family of four the mom, Naomi, the dad Elimelech, and two boys Maylon and Chilion who left Bethlehem because of a famine and went looking for food in Moab. The family of four settled there and began to put down roots. Over a period of ten years, the father and husband Elimelech died, the two sons married Moabite women and then in the course of time the two sons died also. Naomi was left with two Moabite daughter-in-laws. She heard through the grapevine that God had visited his people in Bethlehem with food and so she headed back with one daughter-inlaw, Ruth, to her home town, the place of her childhood, the place where the family had a homestead. It was the start of the barley harvest when they arrived in Bethlehem. In Ruth chapter 2, Ruth decided to go glean in the fields. And it just so happened that she gleaned in the fields of Boaz, a near kinsman. We used the term providence to describe the fact that Ruth ended up on Boaz land. President Bush used the same word in his State of the Union Speech. Providence the belief that God is moving all things to a purposeful conclusion. Ruth stayed in the fields of Boaz until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were completed. Last week in chapter 3, Naomi hatched a plan to get Ruth hitched to Boaz. The plan involved a rendevouz on the threshing floor in the middle of the night. We gave Naomi an A for faith in coming up with a plan and a D- for executed provocative plans. Ruth went down to the threshing floor in the middle of the night where Boaz was. She lingered secretly until Boaz was asleep, uncovered his feet, and waited. Startled in the middle of the night he awoke and asked Who are you? Ruth answered I am your servant Ruth, Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsmanredeemer. As we said last week, Ruth in her poetic and figurative wording, was appealing to stipulations in the law that protected families when tragedy and loss came. And these stipulations all centered around the person of the kinsman-redeemer, the man in the white hat so to speak, someone who was in the family circle who could help family members in distress. We briefly reviewed four responsibilities of a redeemer that are sprinkled through out the old testament law. POWERPOINT To provide an heir for a brother who died (Deut. 25: 5-10) To redeem land that a poor relative had sold outside the family (Lev. 25: 25-28) To avenge the killing of a relative (Num. 35:19-21) To redeem a relative that had been sold into slavery (Lev. 25:47-49) When we consider these in more detail, for example the first one to provide an heir for a brother who died, the focus is making sure that the family name doesn t die off. It s

2 making sure the family legacy continues. I have two brothers. If we lived in Israel at the time and one of my brothers died without having an offspring, there would be the potential that my brother s name would be blotted out from Israel. And it would be my responsibility as a brother-in-law, I would be one of the possible redeemers, who could prevent this from happening. I would take my sister-in-law for a wife and hope to raise up offspring that would prevent my brother s name from disappearing from the city records, from disappearing from land of Israel. Now admittedly looking through 21 st century glasses, this all seems very foreign. And I could only imagine the heartache that would come to my family as I tried to raise up another family through my sister-in-law. And I began to wonder and ponder why this is such a big deal to God? Why would he legislate provisions in the law to prevent a family name from going out of existence? Why does God want families to leave a legacy? Consider the second one up there--to redeem land that a poor relative had sold outside the family (Lev. 25: 25-28). If one of my brothers was poor and had to put his land up for sale, as a redeemer I would purchase the land to hold for the time that it would be given back to them. All of this was to keep the inheritance in the family. Again, why would that be so important to God? The land had been allocated to different tribes in the book of Joshua. In fact if you look at the uses of the word inheritance you ll find that the book of Joshua has more uses than any other book. Each tribe got land, each clan got land, each family got land. It was their inheritance. And it was a big deal to God that that inheritance stayed within the family. There is a little story of a family of daughters that pops up twice in the book of Numbers that illustrates how important this is to God. If you ve read through the scriptures you probably encountered this story and wondered why was it there? It s about the daughters of Zelophehad a family of five daughters and no sons. Well the father dies. And the daughters realize that the land allotted to them as an inheritance would change families. And in Numbers 27, these daughters who think the land should stay in their family approach Moses. And Moses is baffled about what to do. He approaches the Lord.and the Lord gives a ruling. The Lord says, they are right they deserve an inheritance in the nation of Israel. Why is this such a big deal that God himself would weigh in and make a ruling? Why all of the focus on inheritance? I think it comes down to this thought--when God gives an inheritance he wants it to last In the Old Testament the inheritance was the promised land. In the New Testament it has to do with spiritual realities salvation, glory, blessing, and incorruption. In the same page as your bulletin insert you ll see a hand out called inheritance taken from the New Bible Dictionary. I ll let you read it later but let me read the introduction. The book of Ruth is all about helping a family keep the inheritance (and I would add leave a legacy) that God had given them in the promised land. The kinsman redeemer was to play the key role in helping the

3 family keep their inheritance. In that way, Boaz, specifically is a type (advance presentation) of Jesus, our redeemer, the one who accomplishes and guarantees our spiritual inheritance. This whole issue is a big deal to God because when God gives an inheritance he is faithful he s not an Indian giver he moves mountains to make sure the inheritance is inherited and He sent our redeemer so that we would receive the inheritance that God intended for us to have. With these initial thoughts of inheritance before us let s get into Ruth 4 On your outline I. Boaz Explores Redemption (vs. 1-8) 1 Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsmanredeemer 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 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. 5 Then Boaz said, On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, you acquire the dead man s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property. 6 At this, the kinsman-redeemer said, Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it. 7 (Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) 8 So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, Buy it yourself. And he removed his sandal. Vs. 1 Boaz went up to the gate The gates of Israelite cities served an important function. Most cities were closely built and there were no large open spaces the gate became the center of city life in East Texas, 100 years ago, the courthouse in the middle of the square is where business was transacted. In Israel, the city gate is where the elders dispensed justice, the poor waited for help, and ordinary people met to exchange news. Everyone had to pass through the gate, so it was the obvious place for Boaz to go if he wanted to be sure to meet this other potential redeemer. Driving home the importance of the gate in Israel I Kings 22:10 says that the King of Israel and Judah were sitting on their thrones at the gate. II Samuel 15:2 When Absalom wanted to steal his father s supporters, he chose te gate as the place to meet them and persuade them that his father didn t care as much as he

4 did.. In Lamentations 5:14 Jeremiah moans that with the city of Jerusalem in ruins, elders no longer sit at the gate So Boaz went to the main place for business and called a business meeting. First he called the kinsman-redeemer that was closest to Naomi the one that had the first right to redeem he bade him sit down. Then he got 10 city elders to sit with him. Later in the history of Judaism, 10 men were required as a quorum for a synagogue and ten was also the number that was required for the marriage benediction. (Wycliffe Bible Commentary, page 271) Vs. 3 Naomi is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. Some versions say Naomi sold the past tense..naomi sold doesn t seem to fit the context as well.the context makes more sense that Naomi is putting her land on the auction block. And again the issue is inheritance. What is to happen to Elimelech s inheritance? The land had potential to leave the family line the inheritance could possibly be lost. Vs. 4 Boaz says that he wants to bring the matter of redemption up because this redeemer whose name we never know has first dibs on redemption. Evidently there was an order of redemption and we re not really given the details about that. Leviticus 25:49 mentions uncles, sons of uncles and cousins but we are not sure that that is the specified order of redemption. And Boaz is very pointed Will you redeem if not tell me so I will know. And the nearer redeemer says I will redeem it. Now if this were Hollywood there would be a commercial here.. And we would be left in suspense for 3-4 minutes here the story was building toward this great climax Boaz and Ruth riding off into the sunset together Boaz wearing the white hat and now the other redeemer throws a monkey wrench into the whole thing he will act as a redeemer. We have two guys ready to wear the white hat. And the wrong guy is going to get the girl. But Boaz shares the rest of the story in verse 5 if you acquire the land you must also acquire the dead man s widow in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property. The total picture of redemption will be buying the land and giving a son to Ruth and Naomi who will ensure that Elimelech s name is not lost forever. And when Boaz mentions you acquire the widow, he is talking about Ruth not Naomi. Marrying Ruth, who is still able to bear children, must be part of the deal. Why? To maintain the name of the dead with his property.

5 Vs. 6 the kinsman-redeemer said, then I can t do it because it might endanger my estate. Why would the kinsman-redeemer not go through with the deal once he realized that Ruth was part of it? He knew that Ruth was a Moabite. Some have suggested that he may have been superstitious because her first husband had died. But the real reason seems to be in the text it would endanger his inheritance. How could this be? If the widows were not included in the deal, then the redeemer would pay for the land and most probably keep the land in his family. With the widows included in the redemption, if Ruth has a son, the land would revert to that son. So the redeemer would be out the money and the land eventually. It would be further complicated if this redeemer s only surviving heir was the son by Ruth. If that son was his only surviving heir, the redeemer s own property plus the property he redeemed would revert to the family of Elimelech. All that to say there were several ways that the redemption of the land and the young widow could have endangered his inheritance. Vs. 7 we explained last week.when property was sold, the seller gave his sandal to the buyer it was a way of saying figuratively I no longer have a right to walk on the land. It is yours. Vs. 8 So the kinsman-redeemer said to Boaz, Buy it yourself And he removed his sandal. Since Naomi is really the seller of the land it s a little confusing who took off whose shoe. The Targum Jewish tradition says that Boaz did.others believe that the near relative gave Boaz his shoe symbolizing the transfer of the right to redeem. Some have noted that this kinsman-redeemer comes on the page of scripture anonymously and exits anonymously never to be heard of again. And we remember him most for what he wouldn t put at risk his inheritance. Just like the rich young ruler in the New Testament. The pull and tug of riches in this life hinder the focus on a spiritual legacy We come to point two of our outline II. Boaz Executes Redemption (vs. 9-12) 9 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!

6 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. Vs Boaz turns to the crowd of elders and witnesses who had gathered, and publicly announces his intention to redeem all of the property of Elimelech and his two sons and also Ruth here s that thought again to maintain the name of the dead with his property so that his name will not be erased. The importance of maintaining the inheritance inside the family. The importance of leaving a legacy as the generations move through. And then the elders and others seem to join in a series of prayers or blessings May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. You remember in Genesis these two women and their maidservants were the mothers of the twelve men who became the twelve tribes of Israel. That s some prayer may Ruth be like those women from whom a whole nation came. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Boaz may your name be great in this fair city of ours. The gist of the prayer in verse 11 is that a famous family line will spring from the union of Boaz and Ruth that the legacy of these two people will be profound. Vs. 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 and many people in the audience are descendents of Perez.. Perez was the offspring in that terrible story in Genesis 38 where a daughter-in-law dressed up as prostitute and seduced her father-inlaw Judah. Two children were born Perez and Zerah. Again evidencing God s ability to redeem the terrible sinful results of the union between Judah and Tamar. Evidently God had done something very special with this man Perez. God s favor had been upon his family And the people at the gate say, Boaz may your family be like that of Perez. And we ll see later that these prayers by the people were ultimately answered in ways no one would ever imagine. III. Boaz and Ruth give Naomi a Redeemer (vs ) 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. (Notice that the ladies say that this new-born son is Naomi s real kinsman-redeemer. Boaz is the redeemer of prominence but for these two widows, Obed is the redeemer)

7 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. And we ve come full circle in the book of Ruth. POWERPOINT The Structure of the book of Ruth Naomi was emptied and now she is filled. Clearly Boaz has been a wonderful redeemer for Naomi and Ruth. I alluded to this thought last week but Boaz is a type of Christ as a redeemer. A type is an advance presentation of New Testament truth that shows up in the Old Testament. From last week. We learned last week that the redeemer had to be a near kinsman, a close relative and in the same way our Lord through the incarnation became our near kinsman and could then redeem. Galatians 4:4-5 4 But when the fulness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.1 We learned that Naomi and Ruth were helpless to solve their own redemption they needed one to come along not strapped by the same circumstances to offer to redeem them and in the same way we were helpless to redeem ourselves and needed a Savior. And then from chapter 4 this morning we see 1.. Boaz stepping forward and taking initiative to redeem (vs. 1) in the same way our Lord took initiative to be our redeemer. 2. We see Boaz more than willing to be the redeemer in the same way our Lord was willing to be the redeemer. 3. We see Boaz is able to pay the price for redemption (vs. 9-10).in the same way our Lord was able to pay the price for our redemption his own blood. And only he was able. There was one and only one redeemer. Jesus said I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 4. Also, we see Boaz publicly claiming the ones he redeemed and in the same way the scriptures go out of their way to portray how Christ payed for our redemption 1The New American Standard Bible, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1977.

8 publicly Galatians 3:1 YOU foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?2 Romans 3:23-25 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption (there is the word) which is in Christ Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. 3 Our redemption, like Naomi s and Ruths was public. Finally, 5. We see Boaz insuring and securing Naomi and Ruth s inheritance. And in the same way our inheritance salvation, blessing, glory, and eternal life, incorruptibility-- were secured by our redeemer Jesus Christ. Well the book of Ruth ends with a geneology and we come to the fourth point in our outline. IV. Boaz and Ruth give the World a Redeemer (Vs ) 18 This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, 19 Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, 20 Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 21 Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, 22 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. 4 The author of the book looks back six generations before Boaz and looks forward three generations after him. It seems strange to end a book with a genology.but a geneology is a striking way of bringing before us the continuity of God s purpose through the ages. A geneology is a striking way to put our lives in the context of a legacy what we leave behind. It s like standing on a railroad track and looking one way and seeing the track disappear in the distance of the past and then turning around and seeing it disappear into the future. There is a continuity of purpose in every family line. Let s trace this thought out. POWERPOINT The Impact of an Obedient Life (We ll move through this slide slowly follow my lead) I recently found out that my great grandfather was a preacher in Center, Texas. And I found out that my grandfather was the fire chief and mayor of the city for a short period. He also led an instrumental band that was very popular in the city. He died of a heart attack after fighting a fire and his picture is painted on a fire truck which still resides down at the new Center fire department. Did my great grandfather, the preacher ever 2The New American Standard Bible, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) The New American Standard Bible, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

9 pray for me? As I was contemplating this idea of legacy I remembered an illustration that was in one of the Christian history books when I taught history. It was about the legacy of Jonathan Edwards, the famous American pastor and preacher in the 1700 s Jonathan Edwards, born in 1703 and married to Sarah Edwards had eleven children. The scholar B.B. Warfield studied the legacy of their 1394 descendents---13 college presidents, 65 college professors, 30 judges, 100 lawyers, 60 physicians, 75 army and naval officers, 100 pastors, 60 authors of prominence, 3 United States Senators, and 80 other public servants in other capacities including governors and ministers to foreign countries, and one vice president of the United States. the story of Jonathan Edwards is an example of what some sociologists call the fivegeneration rule How a parent raises their child the love they give, the values they teach, the emotional environment they offer, the education they provide influences not only their child but the four generations to follow. What parents do, in other words will extend for five generations. Warfield studied another man who was a contemporary of Edwards a man by the name of Max Jukes. As an adult, Jukes had a drinking problem that kept him from holding a steady job. He was unfaithful to his wife and kids. He would disappear sometimes for days and return drunk. He made little time for loving and instructing his children. Warfield was able to trace 540 of Jukes ancestors. They offer a stunning contrast to Edwards legacy. Of Jukes known descendents, 310 died as paupers, at least 150 were criminals (including 7 murderers), more than 100 were drunkards and half of his female descendents ended up as prostitutes. This way of looking at our lives is important. It s important that we walk out on the railroad track of our lives and see that with God s help our lives can have impact, like Boaz s and Ruth s, beyond what we could imagine. And there is nothing in our live-for-today world that would help us here. If materialism is reality and that is what we learn in our world Then after we die there is nothing, why live in such a way that a legacy is left?: You only have one life to live, go for the gusto. The truth is however as we obey God, as we walk by faith, as we serve him and invest in eternity, who knows what God could do with our lives and those who come after. This isn t just a message for parents. This is a message for couples without children Invest in things that are eternal. This is a message for college students invest in things that are eternal. This is a message for singles invest in things that are eternal. You might not, at this point be leaving a physical family line, but you can invest so as to leave a spiritual family line And what s eternal? God s word and people. Invest in God s word today and in people and watch with wonder at what God does with your life.

10 A short postcript for the message. In your freezer section at the grocery store, there is a pie called the Edward Pie. Brookshires actually has four varieties. Supposedly, and I ve never eaten one of these, when you get to the bottom you find an inspirational saying and even a bible verse on the pan. I had heard from my brother who is a preacher that the Edwards of Edwards Pie was a descendent of Jonathan Edwards. Wow I thought 250 years after the death of Jonathan Edwards one of his descendants is still spreading the word. So I determined to nail this one down. I went to the internet and found a phone number for Edwards Pie and left a message for one of the corporate customer affairs ladies asking if she knew of the relationship between the Atlanta Edwards and Jonathan Edwards. I got this fax back--- Quote letter Remembering that the pastor or Grace Bible Church in College Station, Dwight Edwards, is a descendent of Jonathan Edwards so I called Grace Bible Church and faxed the following message to a lady named Darce. Read letter Well Dwight s out of town And so maybe we ll never know the connection. But as a way of encouraging you and I to think of our legacy to see our life in a continuum of God s purpose just as the book of Ruth ends with a genology our lives are part of a genology I thought I d give this pie to someone who is a first generation Christian. IN other words is there anyone here who standing on the track, can t go back one generation and find another Christian?