The Story of Naomi, Ruth and Boas. Paul Versluis

The Story of Naomi, Ruth and Boas Paul Versluis The story of Ruth touches the heart, because it is our story, or the story of someone we know. It is a story of hard times and Naomi is a female Job. She has done nothing wrong, and as difficult things pile on, she feels abandoned by God. The story of Ruth awakens the heart, because it might be our story, or the story of someone we know. It is a story of hard times that gives way to better times, a story of redemption and second chances, of surprise and unexpected providence or coincidences. At the end of the story one might ask the question, is there a cycle of life that moves from emptiness back again to fullness. Is there a providence that redeems, a healing power that restores? And the question, what can turn the bitter to sweet? [As I tell the story, what one idea, theme impresses you to share?] The story was too long for one teaching so this Sunday I will tell the story of Ruth, interspersed with a few comments about Jewish laws and customs. In a following Sunday I will share how I think the Story for Ruth speaks to the themes of kindness, courage, the power of women in patriarchal settings, immigration, sex, beer and last but not least, So, can we Trust God? The story of Naomi, Ruth and Boas. Times were hard. There was a famine in the land and no work, so in desperation, Elimelech and Naomi decided to leave their home in Bethlehem and cross the border [the Jordon River] going west into Moab, [the country of Jordan]. They and their two sons become immigrants. [Aliens] Things don t turn out well. Elimeleck died, and Naomi was left with her two sons, Mahlon and Kilion. When they came of age they married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. [In those days it was frowned upon for a Jew to marry a Moabite.] They lived in Moab for the next ten years, and the hard times pilled on. Both Mahlon and Kilion die and Naomi is left without her husband or her sons. She heard God had been pleased to visit her own people and give them food, so she decided to return home to Bethlehem, thinking she would take Orpah and Ruth with her. But after they began their journey, Naomi changed her mind. [She

didn t think that Moabite women would be able to find husbands back home in Bethlehem.] So Naomi told Orfpah and Ruth, go back to their mother s tent. [There was a saying, that a widow is always welcome in her mother s tent.[ Naomi gave her daughters her blessing, she asked God to be as kind to them as they had been to her and her sons, and to give them each a husband and a home. As they embrace, they tell Naomi, we want to go on with you to your people. Naomi had made up her mind. Go back, my daughters; the way ahead is not promising. Even if I could find a husband and have sons, would you wait until they are grown? [Jewish law provided that if a women s husband died, the widow could marry her husband s brother. Naomi knew that she would not remarry, have sons and they would all wait until they grow up. Story of Naomi, Ruth, Boas and Jewish law.] Naomi has little hope for a good future. She says to Orpah and Ruth, My heart has become bitter. The hand of God is against me. God has abandoned me, brought upon me calamity. With tears, Orpah kissed Naomi goodbye, but Ruth, she clings to Naomi and won t let go. Naomi pushes Ruth away, go back to your own gods and people, but Ruth stand her ground, please, let me stay with you. Where you go, I will go. Where you live, I will live. Your people will be my people. Your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die and I will be buried with you. So help me God, may not even death come between us. When Naomi saw Ruth was determined to go with her, she said no more and they crossed over the Jordon. When they arrived the town was all stirred up and people said, is this our Sweet One who has come back home? [For the word Naomi means pleasant or sweet] Naomi shook her head, Don t call me Sweet, call me Bitter [Mara] for God has dealt me a bitter blow. I went away full and have come back empty. The Almighty has dealt harshly with me, God has forsaken me. It was the beginning of the barley harvest.

Ruth second chapter Now Naomi had a relative on her husband s side, a prominent and wealthy man by the name of Boas. One day, Ruth came to Naomi and said, I need to try and fine some work, so let me go glean in the fields. Perhaps, they will treat me with some kindness. [Gleaning was a Jewish law to help provide for the poor; widows, the orphans, immigrants, Ruth being all three. You don t harvest your grain a second time, and what is left over is available to those in need, a immigration law that provided for the lease of these.] When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes; you shall leave them for the poor and the [immigrant]; I am the Lord your God. Lev 19:9-10 When you reap your harvest in your filed and forget a sheaf in ht field, you shall not go back to get it; if shall be left for the [alien] immigrant, the orphan, and the widow, so that you God may bless you in all your undertakings remember, that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, therefore I am commanding you to do this. Deut 24:19-22 Naomi said, go ahead my daughter. It just so happened Ruth gleaned a field that that belonged to Boas, who was Naomi s kinsman. [In Hebrew, the word Go el means kinsman redeemer. Boas is a Go el, a male relative who according to Jewish law is responsible, if they so choose, to act on behalf of a relative, to rescue them from danger or need, redeem their property, or avenge them. Land belonged to the tribe and most likely, Naomi s husband had sold his land during the famine. This land could be redeemed by a Goel, a make relative, which would be Boas. Naomi, being a women, could not own or redeem the land herself, she needed a Go el who might do this for her. When Boas came to his field he greeted his workers, God be with you! They answered, God bless you too. [Where our standred worship greeting comes from]

Boas noticed Ruth and he asked his foreman, Who is that young women? The foreman said, That is Moabite girl who came back with Naomi. She asked permission to glean behind the harvesters and she has been working hard all day without stopping to rest. Boas went and spoke to Ruth, Listen to me my daughter. Do not glean in other fields. Stay in this field and stay close to the women. I will tell my workers not to harass you. When you get thirsty, you can drink from our water buckets. Ruth bowed her face to the ground and said, How is it that I am an immigrant, and you show me such favor and kindness? Boas answered, I have heard of your kindness to Naomi, and your courage to leave your people and come to live in a strange land. [I have seen your good work.] May God reward you for your kindness and may you find refuge under the wings of God. [story full of blessings] Ruth said, Your words are very kind and they comfort me a stranger in your land. When it was time for lunch Boas offered Ruth bread dipped in wine and she ate her fill and had some left over. Boas told his workers to treat her well and make sure they left plenty of grain for her to glean. Ruth gleaned until evening and ended up with a whole bushel of barley. Back in town, she gave Naomi her left over lunch and Naomi was noticed all the grain she had gleaned. Naomi said, Whose field do you glean? May God bless the man who showed you favor. Ruth told her mother in law, I worked in a field that belongs to a man by the name of Boas. Naomi said, God bless Boas for his kindness. Ruth, Boas is our relative, our kinsman. The Moabite said, He told me to stay with his workers in his field until the end of the harvest. Naomi to Ruth, That s incredible. That means you will be safe from being harassed and raped.

So Ruth stayed close to Boaz s women gleaners and worked his fields until the end of the barley harvest, and she continued to live with her mother in law. Ruth Chapter 3 One day Naomi said to Ruth, It s time for me to try to arrange for your security, so it may be well for you. This is my plan. You have been working with Boas young women and Boas is our kinsmen. Tonight, Boas will be sleeping in his barn guarding his barley. Take a bath, put one your best clothes, some perfume and go to his barn in secret. Make sure that he has had plenty to eat and drink, and after he falls asleep, go to him and lay down at his feet. This will let him know that you desire to be his wife. Then wait, and he will tell you what to do. Ruth said to Naomi, I will do it, and she did just what Naomi asked her to do. That night Boas ate and drank his fill, he was content and went to sleep in the barley and Ruth laid by his feet. In the middle of the night Boas woke up surprised to find a women sleeping with him. Boas says, Who are you. Ruth answered, I am Ruth. I would be your wife. You are my Kinsman. Protect me under your wings. Boas said to Ruth, May God bless you my daughter. You could have chosen a much younger man, rich or poor? Do not be afraid. I will do as you ask. Everyone knows you are a worthy women. While it is true that I am your kinsman, there is another more closely related than I am. Stay here for the night and in the morning I will see if this other man will exercise his right of kinship. If he is not willing, then I redeem you. Lie down until the morning. Ruth slept at his feet and got up while it was still dark. Boas figured it best that no one should know that Ruth spent the night with him in his barn. He asked for her shawl and filled it up with grain and put it on her back and she went home to her mother in law. So, how did things go my daughter? And Ruth told her all Boas had done, how he gave her six full measures of barley, saying, I can t send you back to your mother in law empty handed.

Naomi said, Wait and see how things turn out. I think Boas will settle this matter today. Ruth Chapter Four Boas went to town and the guy who had first claim to Naomi and Elimelech s property just happens to be passing by, so Boas calls to the man, Sit down here, old friend, I have a proposition, and Boas gathered ten men to hear his proposal. [legal proceeding.] Boas says, You know Naomi, who has returned from Moab, the land that belongs to her husband Elimick. You have first rights to the land. If you don t redeem the land, then I will. What do you say? The relative said to Boas, For sure, I want it. Boas added, When you buy the land from Naomi, you get Ruth the Moabite as well, the widow of our dead relative, and the redeemer responsibility to have children with her to carry on the family inheritance. [In that case the property would go to Ruth s son and not the kinsman] The kinsman said, In that case you can have it, I can t do it and he took off his shoe, as was the custom with regard to the sale of property, and gave his shoe to Boas, You buy it, it s yours. Then Boas spoke to the elders and the people, You are witnesses that I have redeemed all that belonged to Elimeck, including my responsibility to care for Ruth, to be my wife, and keep the inheritance alive, the land will go to Ruth sons. All the people said, We are witnesses. The women said, May God make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built the house of Israel. May God make you well and prosperous. Boas married Ruth and slept with her and by God s grace she bore a son. And the women of the town then said to Naomi, Blessed be God. God didn t leave you without a family to carry on your life. May this child care for you in your old age. Your daughter in law Ruth, she is worth more to you than seven

sons. And Naomi became the child s nurse, and he was named Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. In conclusion There is another story of a woman that I know, a story like the story of Naomi. She lost twins in childbirth. She lost her husband to infidelity. Things pile on and she lost her father, and then her job, and then her health insurance, and then maybe she is losing her daughter. Like Naomi, in her suffering, she feels abandoned by God and she has become embittered. And my mother, when she used to have a car, she would go to the cemetery, just west of Standale, just west of the Versluis Farm, and she puts flowers on the grave of her twin granddaughters, Ruth and Naomi. Will they God s wings of mercy, a Boas or a Ruth? Will their emptiness turn toward fullness? I want to believe that God is up to something good. I believe that Jesus is my kinsmen redeemer, my ancestor, who lives to save and restore us all. Henry Nouwen writes in a book entitled, The Dance of Life; weaving sorrows and blessing into One Joyful Step, [pg 56,] The dance of life finds its beginning in grief here a new way of living is revealed. It is the way in which pain can be embraced, not out of a desire to suffer, but in the knowledge that something new will be born in the pain. Ruth is a story about Kesed, kindness. George Saunders asked himself in a commence speech, what did he regret in life. What I regret most in my life are failure of kindness. It is kindness that turns the bitter to sweet. The kindness of Boas, the kindness of Ruth, and thru them, the kindness of God. The story of Ruth is a story about Kesed. Kesed is a Hebrew word meaning kindness, mercy, love. Boas shows Ruth Kesed. Boas owns the farm, and Ruth is a migrant worker. He notices her, inquires about her family, gives her some bread and wine, he tells his workers not to harm her and to let her glean and make sure they leave her some grain.

Kesed is a kindness that goes beyond the law, doing more than the law requires. The law requires widows and immigrants be allow to glean in their field, to glean what is left over. But Boas goes beyond the law and tells his workers to make sure that they leave plenty of grain. Ruth recognizes Boas kindness. She asks, Why have I found favor in your sight that you should notice me, when I am a foreigner? And again, You have comforted me and spoken kindly to me even though I am not one of your servants. Ruth shows Naomi kesed. She goes out to glean in the fields and brings the grain home to share with Naomi. After she eats the bread dipped in wine she saves some to bring home to Naomi. When we show kindness to someone in need, our kindness helps to transform futility into fertility. When we extend mercy to someone in need, our mercy can help to turn despair into hopefulness. Human kindness is transformative. When we act with kindness, we become agents of divine empowerment. When we do our part in repairing the world, God is with us. Naomi believed God had forsaken her. She cries out, Don t call me sweet [Naomi], call me bitter [Mara] for God s has turned against me, God has delt harshly with me, the almighty has brought calamity upon me. I would like to think that at the end of the story, some sweetness is returned, because of the kindness of Ruth and Boas. Small acts of kindness can revive the soul. When we encounter someone like Naomi who says don t call me sweet, call be bitter may we be kind to them like Ruth and Boas. Cling to them and don t let thm go unblessed. It might sound simple, just be kind, but it s not easy to know how to do it. I think we need to ask Jesus for wisdom, to show us the way of kesed. The kesed we do, works toward Shalom, especially when God s presence in the world is not evident. Our kindness becomes a channel of God s healing transformative power.