BOOK OF RUTH Week Two

Transcription

1 BOOK OF RUTH Week Two ACT II Chapter 2:1-23 I. THE SHAPE OF LOVE: 1:22 A. THE PAGAN VIEW: TRAPPED IN THE CIRCLE OF LIFE B. THE HEBREW VIEW OF LIFE A JOURNEY OF HOPE 1. We don t know how or when resurrection is going to happen it is God s work not ours. 2. We don t even know what resurrection will look like. We can t demand the shape or the timing. 3. Like Jesus we are called to embrace the death that the Father has put in front of us. The path to resurrection is through dying, not fighting. 4. Resurrection always comes. Because he has risen. II. LOVE LANDS GOD S PROVIDENCE: 2:1-7

2 Q. What is your only comfort in life and in death? (in the J-curve) That I am not my own, but belong body and soul, in life and in death to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ he watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Gen. 50:20 III. LOVE PROTECTS: 4-9 Ancient Hebrew Social Hierarchy 1 King or Judge of Israel 2 Tribal Leader (Judah) 3 Clan Leader (Bethlehem) 4 Clan-subgroup leader (Ephrath) - possible Boaz status 5 Older father 6 Father (Elimelech) 7 Eldest son 8 Son 9 Wife (Naomi) 10 Daughter 11 Male servant 12 Female servant (amah) 13 Female servant lower class (sipha) 14 Resident alien 15 Male foreigner 16 Female foreigner - Ruth's status The presence of a male represented more than protection. If a male was with Ruth, it declared her status and said that she was properly fitted into a family structure and was a respectable woman. She should be treated as such. If she was unaccompanied, it

3 signaled that she was not a respectable woman and therefore did not have to be respected. It was fine to treat her any way you chose. The presence of a male communicated that the family she belonged to cared enough about her not to send her out without a chaperone, so if you messed with her, you could assume that her family would come after you. If she was alone then she either didn t have a family to protect her, or they didn t care much about her, so you could probably molest her with impunity. Libbie Groves IV. LOVE BEGINS - BOAZ S HESED OF RUTH: 8-9 What are the barriers that separate Ruth from Boaz? Why do you think Boaz is so specific with the men saying, Don t touch her? when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn. V. THE WORLD MOVES FOR LOVE: A. THE MOTIVATION FOR BOAZ KINDNESS

4 What is striking is that Ruth has tasted God through Naomi who is in agony with God. Ruth has the maturity to look past Naomi s bitterness, not get caught up in it, and hang on to Naomi s faith. B. BOAZ BLESSES RUTH: 12 What has Boaz done with each of the five dangers we listed that were threatening Ruth as she walked out alone? C. RUTH RESPONDS: RUTH 2:13 VI. HUMILITY: THE PATH OF LOVE: 14 Six Reflections on Humility 1. When Jesus tells us to take the lowest place (Luke 14:9), he is quoting Proverbs 25:6-7. Humility is very physical. It always involves a physical placement that is, in some way, lower. 2. You can see humility. It is not vague. You see it when Ruth got out of bed on a cold April morning to do backbreaking work in the hot sun. You can see it in her words as she talks to Boaz. You can see it in her body posture as she throws herself to the ground in gratitude. You can see it in the way she seats herself away from the group. You can see it in the way she gets up first to go back to the harvest. 3. Many sins such as anger, jealousy, and quarreling are rooted in our unwillingness to take the low place. When someone treats us badly they are putting us in a low place, so we lash out because we don t like the low place. 4. When you are humble, people don t notice you. Feels like you are disappearing. 5. Humility is not secondary to the gospel. It is the path of the gospel. It is the path that a gospel-centered life takes. It is the footpath of the pilgrimage.

5 6. The great joy of the low place is that is where God dwells (see Isaiah 57:15). VII. LOVE CREATES COMMUNITY: THE PROBLEM OF COMMUNITY He said also to the man who had invited him, When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just. Luke 12:12-14 Search for community where I am loved become disappointed with community Show hesed love create community VIII. LOVE INVITES RESURRECTION: IX. LOVE BRINGS REDEMPTION: 20B