Ruth 11: A Good Ending

Transcription

1 Ruth 11: A Good Ending Ruth 4: So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Today we come to the conclusion of the story of Ruth. o It is an ending that is remarkably different that its beginning. o This is a story that began with sorrow now ends with rejoicing. o It started with devastating death but now it ends with the beauty of birth. o It began in the evening time of life, as a cloudy, stormy night descended on Naomi o but now it ends with the dawning of a new day with new life and new hope o for all involved. That s the way we like our stories to end. o Everybody loves a story with a good ending. In the story of Ruth we are reminded o that the difference between a bad beginning and a good ending is the blessings of God. It is the gospel that brings good news o into a life that is filled with hopelessness. It is the gospel that changes our direction, o that transforms our night into day, and that turns old, worn out, stories of brokenness, into new stories of restoration and life. o That s what God does! We see this displayed in several ways in the book of Ruth. o First we see that it takes redemption

2 to transform a bad beginning into a good ending. o It was the work of redemption that bought about this wonderful ending. o It was redemption that lifted Ruth from the low place where she began to the pinnacle of joy and peace. Through the story of Ruth o we are reminded that through redemption our stories can be transformed. Your story doesn t have to end where it is right now. o Redemption changes all of that. Through the grace of God, o wherever you find yourself this morning, you can find a good ending to your story through Jesus Christ. We also see, in the story of Ruth, o that a good ending is the direct result of a new birth. It was a new born child o that brought a good ending to this story. Likewise, in your life, o it is new life that transforms the old life, it is new birth that rights the wrongs and turns a bad beginning o into a good ending. Perhaps you remember the story of Nicodemus, o who came to Jesus by night and declared his faith in Jesus. John 3:3-7 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. In the phrase you must be born again, o the word you is in the plural. Jesus wasn t just

3 o addressing Nicodemus with that statement. He was expressing a truth o that applies to you, all, as in every man, woman, and child who ever lived: you must be born again! o Because that s where good endings come from. So lets look at Ruth s good ending: 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. Our narrator begins by compressing o at least 9 months into a single verse. o First Boaz married Ruth. This was the fulfillment of the promise he had made. He demonstrated that his word was good. Aren t you thankful that Hebrews 10:23 tells us o that He that promised is faithful? He always comes through. He always does what he said he will do! Having Married Ruth, the scripture tells us o that Boaz went in unto her, this is an idiom for the consummation of marriage and, as their marriage was consummated, o the Lord gave her conception and she bare a son. Now, on the surface o this may not seem so remarkable. But, when you consider o that Ruth had been married to Mahlon for ten years, in the prime of her youth, and had failed to conceive a child, o it leads you to the conclusion that Ruth must have been unable to conceive. Now, though, God graciously gives her conception. o The language here is the language of giving a gift. The child was God s wedding gift, of sorts, for Ruth and Boaz. o This is the narrator s way of pointing out that a miracle has transpired.

4 The barren wife has produced a son. And the narrator, rightly, o gives God the credit for that tremendous development. Let me tell you something about God, o when he changes your life, he revives hopes and dreams that have been dead for many years. o He restores passion and purpose that has long since faded. The Bible promises o that he will restore to you the years that you have lost. No doubt Ruth had already reconciled herself o to the fact that she would never be a mother, but the grace of God changed everything! What he did for her, o he will do for you! He will transform your life o and make old things brand new, if only you will let him! 14 And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. When the women of Bethlehem o hear about the birth of a son to Ruth and Boaz, they go, not to Ruth, but to Naomi and say, Blessed be the Lord which has not left thee This statement has to be interpreted o in light of Nomi s statement back at the beginning of this story. If you will remember, o when they came back to Bethlehem these same women met Naomi and asked, is it really you Naomi? Naomi s response o came from the depths of her brokenness. She told them to no longer call her Naomi, o which meant sweet but, instead, to call her Mara, which meant bitter. She then lamented, o I went out full,

5 but the Lord has brought me home again empty. o She said the Lord testifies against me, the Almighty hath afflicted me. Now those faithful friends are back o to remind Naomi, that God has never forgotten her and he did not leave her o He did not abandon her. o She, and her husband left God. They went to Moab. And Moab was a costly detour in her life. o But now that she has returned God has provided for her a kinsman. This whole story has revolved o around a kinsman for Ruth but that is not the kinsman that these women are referring to. When they say o that the Lord has not left her without a kinsmen, they are making reference to the child o that has been born. That child will be her redeemer. o He will be the one who will provide for her future. Remember the leviterate law, o that child is regarded as the child of Mahlon, her son. o He is, in some important sense, God s gift to her as well. He will continue the line of Elimelech o and he will bear responsibility for his grandmother s well being. o And his name will be famous in Israel! I am reminded of another child o who was a redeemer and whose name is famous. The angel stood before Joseph o and told him that Mary had conceived a child of the Holy Ghost, it was a conception

6 o that was a gift from God to the whole world! The angel told Joseph, o You shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). That child would become his redeemer. o Not only his but ours as well. Through Jesus Christ, and an old rugged cross, o redemption would be purchased for you and me! His redemption turns the foreigner o into an heir to his promises, it takes the bitter Marah and restores her to the sweet Naomi, o and it will take whatever condition you are in, this morning, and transform it into o something beautiful. Because my God specializes in good endings! 15 And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. The first line of this verse o presents a stark contrast to Naomi s bitter declaration at the beginning of the story. All is not lost. o She who came back empty is now full again. This child will be a restorer of her life, o the nourisher of her old age! In the beginning of this story, o Naomi had bitterly accused God of emptying her life by robbing her of her husband o and her two sons. But now the women console her: o she may have lost her sons, but she has gained a daughter-in-law. And what a daughter-in-law Ruth is! o First, Ruth loves Naomi.

7 In fact, in her action we observe one of the most dramatic demonstrations o of genuine love. Ruth willingly gave herself, o she became a gleaner in the field, took on the lowest station in that culture, in order to provide for her mother-in-law. She demonstrated her love in her actions. And these women now declare o that Ruth is better for Naomi than seven sons. The reference to seven sons o reflects the ancient Israelite view that the ideal family consisted of seven sons. This is an amazing affirmation o of the character of Ruth. All Bethlehem knew she was a noble woman, o but these women place her value above that of seven sons. In Ruth, Naomi has gained o much more than she lost in Moab. 16 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. This is a pretty straightforward verse. o She took the child, loved it, and become its nanny. With that child in her arms, o Naomi has come full cycle, she who was empty is now full again. 17 And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. The story of Boaz, Ruth, and Naomi o comes to a fitting conclusion in the naming of the son born to Ruth. But this last statement o is also extraordinary for several reasons. First, this is the only place in the Old Testament o where females took part in the naming of a child. They named him Obed. This doesn t mean that the child s parents o had no input on the name

8 Close but it does give some indication that this child is a gift, of sorts, o to the whole community, not just Ruth and Naomi. There is, once again, the echo of Jesus here. o The angels told Mary and Joseph what to name their son and he was more than just a gift to them, o he was a gift to the whole world! They named him Obed. o Obed is a shortened form of Obadiah. The name defines him o as a worker or a servant but also identifies him as a worshipper. o He is a servant of the Lord. That s what the longer form, Obadiah, adds to the name. But narrator doesn t stop with the name, o he goes on to give the historical significance of the child. This has been more than a story o about a Hebrew man and a Moabittess girl who fell in love. It is story about the lineage of king David. o For Obed is the father of Jesse, who is the father of King David. And what the Old Testament Narrator could not tell, o because it had not happened yet, was that the promised Messiah, the King of all Kings, o would be born into that same kingly lineage! The heartbeat of this story o is the transformation of Ruth s status. She started this story as a foreigner, o an outsider, one who was not heir to the promises of Abraham. Then gradually, as the story unfolded, o the narrator increases her status. Later she was called a lowly servant.

9 o This is still not a high station, but a step up from foreigner and outsider. Next, she was called a handmaiden. o We can see her status shifting. A handmaiden may still be a servant but it is a reference o to a much higher social position than the lowly servant. And then, finally, she becomes a wife. o Ruth, the Moabittess, she who was a stranger from a strange land, marries into the kingly lineage of Israel o and becomes a joint heir to the promises of Abraham. And that isn t even the end of the story. o She gives birth to a son, that son will be the grandfather of King David, the greatest king in all of Israel s history. o And the lineage of David, will produce the messiah. Ruth not only becomes heir o to the promises of Abraham, she becomes a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ! God grafts her into the lineage o of the lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world! Ruth s story is not just a fairy tale. o It is a true story and it is given to us as an example. It declares to you and me o that our present status in life, isn t the final word on our lives. This doesn t have to be the end of your story. o As long as grace flows from the cross, as long as the blood of Jesus is cleansing hearts and lives, o there is a promise that your story can have a good ending too!