Boaz and Ruth (Part A)

In the camp, there were Moabites and they were trying to corrupt the people of God.

They could not conquer them on the battlefield so they sought to corrupt them with these relationships and something we watch out for to this very day. To learn how to see when you are being seduced by Satan through people and or things to your destruction. Thus the parable of the sower.

Jesus said the cares of this world choke them out. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Ruth.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Ruth chapter one as he begins a brand new message called Boaz and Ruth. Let's turn to Ruth chapter two, the book of Ruth chapter two.

Boaz and Ruth, that's who we were discussing last week. It was Naomi and Ruth and of course in time you realize that the Bible teaches us that God works with us through hardship and we want the hardship to be removed by him. So we worship by endurance.

Preference is a form of worship if it be for the Lord. The cross, the Lord endured the cross, suffering the shame where we read in Hebrews. And the story of Ruth, it would be nice if God would just swoop right in and take away the hardship from the lives of Naomi and this small bite widow, but he doesn't do it as quickly as I'm sure they would have liked him to have performed it. There are worse stories in scripture as far as how long one had to endure hardship, tough times.

Job of course is one, David running from the maniacal, Saul, King Saul, so difficult to show any deference to him. Anyway, we look now at verse one, there was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz, a very manly name, a dying breed amongst some men that is. Well, in contrast to Elimelech, which is a relative of Boaz, Boaz doesn't leave the Promised Land evidently during the times of famine. He stayed and he prospered and so there's a contrast offered up, Boaz prospered and Elimelech did not.

And I don't want to read too much into that, but it is there in the story. He is called a great man of wealth. Well, he is great, he's a Gebor, that's the Hebrew word. He's a very powerful man that is.

Not only does he have money, but he has power. And here in Bethlehem, evidently you much didn't get done without coming across the desk of Boaz, we'll find that out in the story. Other men were called Gebors, King Saul's father Kish, Nimrod was one.

We read about them in Genesis 6, which a lot of commentators and Christians like to turn into a sort of a spooky kind of a story between angels and people. I don't go that route, but I believe those men were mighty men of wealth and influence. Well, anyway, to redeem in this culture, to come to the rescue of a family member in financial need or one who had been enslaved to be a goel, a redeemer, you really needed to have money. It made it a lot easier and possible because redemption is costly business and I bring that up because of course he is the redeemer in the story and there are parallels between his role and the role of Christ and the redemption of man. We see a type of Christ in the role of this man Boaz. Incidentally, he is the Lord of the harvest in this story, as Christ is the Lord of the harvest. In fact, the Lord said, you know, when you lack workers, go to the Lord of the harvest. Matthew chapter 9 verse 38, Jesus speaking, says, therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Especially you ministry leaders, if your ministry is lacking servants, you go to the Lord of the harvest.

You pray, you ask him to send laborers. Trustworthy, faithful, and even adorable. It's okay to ask for adorable servants. I have friends that are adorable here. Anyway, we'll meet with the barriers, barriers which Boaz must overcome, this man of wealth and power, and not in a negative way.

Just because he is wealthy enough, we'll find out that he's actually, he has endeared himself to the people. In verse 2, Sir Ruth, the Moabitess, said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him, in whose sight I may find favor. And she said to her, go my daughter.

Now we've already covered this wonderful relationship between the two women. But Ruth, the Moabitess, she's a foreigner, she's a widow, and she's poor. What else? Three strikes, but she's not out.

What else? Is that the lower end of the society? Maybe the lepers are lower, but there's not much lower to go for her. And that she's a Moabitess, I mean, these were troublesome people to the Jews throughout their history. Less than 500 years ago, they had crept into the camp of Moses. And there, you know, Zimri and Cosby, though they flaunted their sin under the direction of Balaam. And, of course, Phineas rose up and skewed them, killed them both. But it was in the camp, they were Moabites, and they were trying to corrupt the people of God.

They could not conquer them on the battlefield, so they sought to corrupt them with these relationships. And something we watch out for to this very day, to learn how to see when you are being seduced by Satan through people and or things to your destruction. Thus, the parable of the sower. Jesus said the kids of this world choked them out.

Anyway, that's only one portion of it. She said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean grain. Not content with just being home and poor and hungry. She says, let me go to work.

Let me do something. She initiates work for herself. Things needed to change. She knew that, and so she had to act on it. But she doesn't go over the head of Naomi. She's under Naomi's authority. She's put her, by consent, she is under Naomi's authority. She doesn't have to be. She'd go home to Moab. Her parents are still alive, according to the story.

But, of course, they had a beautiful relationship, and they made it work. And so, refusing to allow life to bully her, she goes to work. It says, after him, in whose sight I may find favor.

Let's read that in context. So Ruth of Moabites said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I might may find favor. Now this is not a reference to Boaz, per se.

It's to any landowner owner who's harvesting his field. That's the reference. Boaz enters in momentarily. In other words, she's saying, perhaps someone will be kind to me.

Perhaps I will find grace as I get out amongst the other reapers, the women, the other people that are poor. Something will happen. In basketball, you have a character that's called a playmaker. He's put on the court to make something happen for his team because nothing's going on. We need to get this, we need to get this going.

Somebody needs to get there and energize us. And she's doing that, not because she's saying, well I'm going to be a playmaker and getting here to make something happen. She's just saying, I can't stay home watching the walls close in and hunger.

I got to go to work. She does this, hoping she'll find grace. It was her right, according to the Mosaic law, to be out in the field, to glean, to pick up grain and take home. It was her right. That was in Leviticus.

It's covered in Leviticus 19 and again in Deuteronomy 24 and throughout the scripture it's referenced. So the law that fed the poor also hindered the greedy. The landowners were told, you know, don't harvest the corners of your field. If you drop a, you know, a bundle, if you pick up a bundle to put on the cart and the grain falls off, don't rush down and scoop it up. Leave it for the poor. In fact, if you were just not poor, just walking around through someone's field or by it and you wanted to take some of the grain off, you could. You know, rub it together, blow the husk off and chew on it, you were free to do that. You just couldn't bring a barrel with you and take his grain and sell it out on the corner back to him or something. You could not do that.

So those, there were laws in place to stop abuses. And now we go to verse 3, and then she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. I've heard Elimelech's name pronounced three different ways. El Elemek is another way, and the third one I don't remember, I don't really care.

Elimelech is what you're going to get from me. She left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. These aren't the grim reapers, they are the happier reapers. And here she is, a virtuous widow, not a busybody. Virtuous wife, we read about her in Proverbs 31, she's a virtuous widow. Paul writes this to Timothy, instructing the pastor how to pastor, therefore I desire that the younger widows marry, bear children, manage the house, give no opportunity to the adversary to speak reproachfully. She got that one.

She gave the adversary no opportunity, no, we read of none. Now the entry of Boaz into their lives is a game changer, it changes their lives and his also. God sent this man of strength and means, one thing to be strong, it's another thing to be able to use your strength, and he's got the combination. Not as Samson, but certainly as Boaz. I wish I had a letter Z in my name, I envy the name Boaz.

I wonder if a name change, if it's too late. Anyway, she happened to come to the part of the field of Boaz. At some point, she drifts to his field, she's out in someone's field, but it's not his, but she ends up in his, not by chance, and not by her doing, it's a divine appointment. This is providence of God, God is leading this, and so we go to the video tape.

They don't say that anymore. Genesis chapter 24, this is that unnamed servant of Abraham, who goes to fetch a bride for the beloved Isaac, and he finds her and he makes this comment, he says, and he said, blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his mercy and truth toward my master as for me. Being on the way, Yahweh led me to the house of my master's brethren.

I was lost, and God just got involved and led me here. Then there's, of course, King David. King David, that man so magnificent that he drew men to him, men who did not say bad things about him, even though David was not perfect.

To this day, that's in effect. To this day, I'm not going to badmouth David and not tolerate any unsubstantiated badmouthing of King David, because he did more good than he did bad. And, I mean, where would we be without Psalm 23, for example? Anyway, then David said to Abigail, again, let's just paint the scene here, David's on his way to slaughter people for messing with him. And Abigail gets wind of this, and she rushes out to intercept David, and she doesn't bring swords, she brings donkeys and food, and any man just can't resist that. And, of course, David said to Abigail, 1 Samuel 25, 32, blessed be Yahweh, God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. So in both cases, we find the hand of God there with the unnamed servant, leading him to the house of Laban, there with David sending or dispatching Abigail, David recognizing that it was God, and here we have Ruth drifting into the field of Boaz, but not yet recognizing it's God.

That comes later. God's hand led her into this field, knowing that Naomi would be all over it. When Naomi finds out what is going on, at the end of this chapter, Naomi is on it. She knows where this can go. Ruth is like, I'm going to get more grain tomorrow. And Naomi's like, we're going to bag this guy.

But we'll get to that. So here we find this need, but this man, Boaz, God was at home with this man. Just the kind of man that God would dine with. There have been many of them in scripture, not all of them so good right away.

Zacchaeus, come down, I must dine with you. He is God's choice of the man to match with Ruth. And of course, this is the messianic line. The Messiah will attach himself to this line, this Jew and this Gentile. God is the great matchmaker for everything. The problem is, to get to the match, whether it is in finding one's beloved or in finding one's job or vocation, calling in line, whatever it may be, he is the great matchmaker. But the problem is, sometimes you've got to go through it to be developed for it. In verse 4, and you know, I figure in about another 50 years, I'll be done with all this.

Well, wait a minute, I'm in my teens now. Okay, let's get back to that. Verse 4, now Boaz, now behold, and of course that's the drama music play, now behold is... Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, Yahweh be with you, and they answered him. Yahweh bless you. From the outset, from the very, very beginning that we are introduced to this man, he is presented to us as a godly man. And those under his care, testify to that.

Now he lives in Bethlehem, as Ruth and Naomi, a very surrounding area, and they go out of the village and into the fields to work. But this is one of the most beautiful exchanges in scripture. He is the employer, and they are the employees, and he shows up at the job and he says, he initiates the blessing, Yahweh be with you. And they respond, Yahweh bless you.

I mean, if it's genuine, what could be better? What could be a better way to start the morning? So important to say good morning to people. I mean, unless it's night. Good morning. Anyway, it's very important. You know, if you give in and you're not ready if I haven't had my coffee yet or whatever it is, you're missing the joy of the discipline.

Make yourself say good morning to the other person, unless they've stolen something from you. Well, okay, I shouldn't say those kind of things. Here, this exchange reveals this close relationship that they have with each other and the Lord. There are a lot of godly people in Bethlehem at this time in her history.

Yeah, it's back and forth, but right now it's pretty good. When Naomi and Ruth return to, well, when Naomi returns with Ruth to Bethlehem, the women, they greet her. I mean, this is Naomi and they were just so happy to see her. Even here are these godly workers. There's the kind task master who is the foreman and he lets Ruth come and glean and lets her rest in the house.

We'll get that in a moment. This Boaz himself. And then at the end of the story there are the women who bless Naomi. When Ruth has Obed, gives birth to Obed, the women say to her, very lovingly, see, told you God's good.

And it's just a very good story. Verse five, then Boaz said to his servant, who was in charge of the, he said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this? The equivalent is, who's the new person? Who's the new guy on the job? In this case, the gal.

It is a routine inquiry at this point. There's an unfamiliar face. He knows who the village reapers are and he doesn't recognize this one. Clearly, she's not dressed in mole-bite garb or has any signatures that would alert him that she's not Jewish. But the women, they were subjected to a male covering. And that's why he says, whose woman is this?

There has to be a male over her, ideally. Of course, she's connected to Naomi, to the house of Elimelech, and there's history there. Paul, when he writes to the Corinthians, he's got a lot of this Jewish culture in mind many times. And he makes these statements to churches and Christians that we struggle with because we're removed. Endersheim, Alfred, his life and times of Jesus the Messiah and other writings, you know, he gets into this very in detail.

If you can stand it and you have the time, it is a blessing. But he opens a lot of these difficult passages up. Well, in Corinthians, we read, Paul says, I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of every woman is man, the head of woman, not every woman, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. So there's that chain of command. And he's saying there's a covering, there's an order that we follow, because the church is largely modeled after the Jewish synagogues. And the synagogues, of course, were attached to the model of the temple. And Paul is preserving what is good, and he does it in these ways. Listen, we have a structure in the church, but when we start moving outside that structure and we lose the definition of the role of the man, the role of the woman, when it gets upside down, it just gets getting worse, like Levin does, and look at the society today. I saw someone walking in my neighborhood the other day, I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl.

They're about my height. It wasn't like that when I grew up. And if it was, you knew it was wrong, you knew that's a guy trying to look like a girl.

And that wasn't right. But nowadays, it's, I don't know, maybe some of you all don't see it, you're so accustomed to it, what are you talking about? The roles are important.

I don't care what universities say, what the culture says, I thumb my nose at their bad doctrines. Anyhow, I don't believe the story is introducing a romantic attraction at this point. I think he is just asking, who is she? Because he's a rich man. And if he wants shallow beauty, he has a better chance of finding that than not rich people. And that was the way it was in those days. If you could afford to buy beauty, you would do it.

And as far as men go, there were downsides to this male-dominated environment also, we can't lose sight of that. Verse 6, so the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, it is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. Ruth had no idea they're talking about her. She's trying to pick up grain and just working hard and here they are discussing her. She is being faithful with the little big things like grace. She is the breadwinner for the home.

She's going to take this grain back for her and Naomi. God took it from there. She was the kind one. God blessed her for her kindness.

That's one of the great lessons of this book. Naomi's kind to Ruth. Ruth is kind to Naomi. Boaz is kind to Naomi.

I mean, everybody's happy. It is like the letter of the Philippians in the New Testament, this book of Ruth. You know, there it is nestled between, you know, Judges and 1 Samuel. Tough books as far as how life was in the name of the Lord. Well, Boaz, again, being faithful to God and his word, not chasing the stranger out, taking care of the widow and the poor.

He is being an honorable man. Both of them are honorable and we read the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi. Word got around quickly. Now Boaz knew the story.

He did not know the face. Now the face has been put on the story. And the mention of Naomi's name, again, switches it all up for Boaz. Ruth, he knew, looked out for Naomi. Widow for widow. They looked out for each other. And it registered deeply with this man. Maybe he himself was a widow.

He's an older man. That comes out in the story too. I know I'm writing these promises. We'll get to these. We will. Just you won't remember we are.

Nor will I. In verse 11, we'll get to that where he, this registers very deeply. And it sort of snowballs with him. As he starts showing kindness to her and like he can't stop.

It's not that bad. I don't want to smudge it. In verse 7, and she said, now the foreman is telling Boaz what the exchange he had earlier with Ruth. And she said, please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from morning until now.

Though she rested a little in the house. The house was a hut. Not, they're out in the fields. There's no house. There's these huts that they have. But we have them too.

We put up these little tents, little gazebo-like things. Anyway, the servant is a gentleman. He, you know, he's not evidenced anything against her or you're a mobite or okay, but stay 50 feet away from everybody. You know, he doesn't do any of that.

Evidently stuff like that took place because Boaz is going to lay down some laws. All he has to do is say it one time to kind of tell us about his authority in that area of the world. Thanks for tuning in to Cross Reference Radio for this study in the book of Ruth. Cross Reference is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia. To learn more about this ministry, visit our website, crossreferenceradio.com. There you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick, and we encourage you to subscribe to our podcast. When you subscribe, you'll be notified of each new edition of Cross Reference Radio. You can search for Cross Reference Radio on your favorite podcast app or just follow the links at crossreferenceradio.com. That's all the time we have for today, but we hope you'll join us next time as we continue to learn more from the book of Ruth right here on Cross Reference Radio.