Searching for a Redeemer (Ruth 3)

This sermon was preached on 26/8/2012

Naomi and Ruth had been back in the Promised Land for a while. The Lord had provided them with ample food for a few weeks and had led them into contact with Boaz. They had recognised that he was a possible source of long-term help (2:20). Boaz was a worthy man, one who would do what was right, the author tells us (2:1). The question now arises for Naomi and Ruth, ‘Should they wait for him to make the next move or should they do something themselves?’ Naomi, at least, knew the answer to that question. She knew that the time had come for Ruth to cease to live as a widow, so she tells her daughter-in-law to dress differently (3:1-4), and this would probably tell Boaz that the time of Ruth’s mourning was over.

The initiative of Naomi

At first glance, the suggestion of Naomi and the behaviour of Ruth in this chapter seem very forward, almost brazen and manipulative. It almost looks as if the two women plotted together to wile Boaz into meeting their needs. Yet that is not what happened at all. In order to understand what is going on, we need some background information about life in Israel, particularly with regard to two details that are mentioned in the chapter.

First, the Lord had provided an arrangement in which a near relative could redeem the estate of a person by purchasing the property that had been lost from the family, perhaps because the individual had been in dire straits and sold the property (Lev. 25:23-28). Or it may have been in the hands of another family member who was powerless to do anything with it, as was the case with Naomi (4:9) who had no living son to pass the estate on to. In whatever way the property had been lost or become useless, it was essential that a suitable relative redeem it in order to ensure that it remained within the family line. Naomi was concerned about this requirement of the Mosaic Law.

The second requirement of which Naomi was aware was the levirate law which allowed a relative to marry the widow of a deceased family member who had no children in order to continue the family name (Deut. 25:5-10). Naomi realised that Ruth was entitled to this privilege because she had no children to her first husband. Indeed it was the only option facing Ruth if she wished to do what God had revealed (Deut. 25:1). Of course, it might not be possible for the closest relative to marry the widow, for example, if he was already married. In that situation, the responsibility would pass to the next nearest relative. The passage in Deuteronomy also stresses that the relative had to want to perform this role. Should a suitable relative refuse to take on this role, he became subject to public disgrace.

So we can see that what Naomi wanted to do was live according to God’s Word. This was her desire, and it was evidence that her return to spiritual life with the Lord was continuing. No longer was she being pragmatic, which had been the response of Elimelech and her when they went to Moab to escape the effects of the famine in Bethlehem. The failure of that response and her renewed spiritual outlook meant that she did not suggest that Ruth should use an unbiblical method in order to obtain the desired goal. All that Naomi wanted was to live according to the Word of God.

As we think about Naomi’s behaviour, we can see that several things had to be in place. To begin with, she had to have the necessary information about what God would want them to do. No doubt she had been taught when she was young about such requirements because they would need to be implemented frequently. Her possession of the knowledge of the Mosaic Law is an example of a very basic feature of divine guidance – we have to know what the Word of God says about a matter. The Lord does not provide basic guidance of his will in any other way.  

Then Naomi had to be willing to act on the information that she possessed. It is straightforward to know intellectually what the Lord requires and forbids, but it is sometimes a different matter to perform it. The failure to obey it may be caused by a variety of circumstances and reasons, but we cannot get away from the fact that failure to do what God requires is disobedience. Naomi could have chosen to wait for Boaz to do something, but if she had, she would not have been obedient to God’s requirements. Or she could have tried to get Boaz for Ruth by adopting other reasons not connected to God’s revealed will. Or she could have ignored God’s Word and gone for a husband who was not connected to her family. The fact is, if God has revealed a requirement for us to perform, we will not get anywhere until we obey it.

A third detail to note is that doing something God’s way will work out for our good. Naomi had the property of Elimelech to sell. How would she then get provided for if she sold the land to someone who would not himself obey the Lord’s instructions? Other similar questions would have been in her mind. Yet she realised that one relative who would obey God was an elderly one, Boaz. So she was willing to sell it to him because he was a worthy man who would fulfil all his obligations, even if his age might have seemed unsuitable at first. We know the outcome of the story and how Boaz provided abundantly for Naomi as well as Ruth. Naomi’s experience is one that reveals the grace of God. She did not lose out by obeying his Word, she discovered that he was able to restore to her the years that the locusts had eaten, and she lived her remaining years in the enjoyment of his fulfilled promises.

The Bible contains many similar encouragements. One such passage is Hosea 14:4-7, where God promises a backsliding people: ‘I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the corn; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.’ This is what had happened to Naomi because she had repented and returned to doing things in God’s way.

There is a fourth aspect of Naomi’s initiative to note and that is she only accepted circumstantial guidelines as long as they fitted in with what God had revealed in his Word. The circumstantial guidelines are the behaviour of Boaz to Ruth after they met in his field during the harvesting. Boaz had blessed Ruth, shown her kindness despite her Moabite background, and protected her from possible physical harm. Yet these circumstantial guidelines would have to be ignored if Boaz did not fit the biblical requirements for a kinsman redeemer. She was not free to use the circumstances as a reason for disobeying what God had clearly revealed. When God arranges a circumstance, he does so to test us to see whether or not we will obey his Word. These kinds of situation happen all the time. Doors may open, but that is no proof that we have to go through them, and we should not if the requirement is disobedience to God’s Word.

What is so striking here is the great change in Naomi’s outlook! When she was in Moab, she had no hope; when she returned to Bethlehem, she could only confess that the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her. But now she is so different. She has a living hope in the sovereign almighty God. That hope enables her to overcome all the apparent obstacles that lie in her path. Naomi has become an example of a failure who became a woman with hopes for the future. We should think of her when circumstances seem to be against us.

The integrity of Ruth

I suppose we can deduce that Naomi’s initiative was the easy part and that Ruth’s actions were more difficult. Ruth was required to meet with Boaz when he was alone, and clearly we can imagine potential adverse consequences. So why did she go? One reason was that she already knew the character of Boaz and could fully trust him regarding her safety. A higher reason was that she depended on the God who had taken care of her so far.

So Ruth here is acting as a believer in God and we have to see all her actions from that perspective. The first thing that she did was uncover his feet and lie down there. It is not clear if this was a traditional action or an innovative one. Her action would depict humility and submission – to be at the feet of someone points to such an attitude. And we know that humility must mark all that a believer does.

Eventually Boaz woke up and discovered a woman lying at his feet. He soon discovers her wish, which is that he should marry her. Ruth provides a beautiful description of marriage when she likens it being under the wings of Boaz. Our minds should go back to how Boaz himself described God as a mother bird affectionately protecting her young (2:12). In other words, Ruth by faith anticipates Boaz will act like God once they are married. Paul reminds husbands that they should care for their wives similar to how Jesus cares for his church, and we see an illustration of such care in Ruth’s request. The reason why Ruth does this is because she wants to honour the Word of God.

As is often the case with us, Ruth too discovered that things don’t go smoothly when following God’s will. She discovers that Boaz is not the closest living relative of Naomi. Instead of becoming the wife of Boaz she could become the wife of someone else. And she is powerless to do anything about it. All she can do is wait and see what God will bring about for her. The next few hours would have seemed very long for her. The following of God’s will often takes us into situations in which all we can do is wait on him to act. Patience is often a way of expressing faith.

The testing of Boaz

No doubt Boaz was familiar with the threatening words of Deuteronomy 25 concerning an individual who refused to fulfil the role of kinsman redeemer to a widow: ‘And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.” Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, “I do not wish to take her”, then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, “So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house.”  And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, “The house of him who had his sandal pulled off”’ (vv. 7-10). But he had not expected to be in this position because he knew that there was another individual who was closer relationally to Naomi and Ruth, who would have to be approached. So he was very surprised at Ruth’s request.

Boaz is here being tested by God. Such tests can come in surprising ways and at unexpected times. We are familiar with athletes suddenly being tested for possible use of illegal drugs. When the test comes, the truth of the athlete’s character will be obvious. It is similar with spiritual tests. They will reveal our character, and here Boaz is facing such a test. We should also remember that often when God tests us, the devil will tempt us in order to cause us to fail.

Boaz was tested as to his concern for biblical priorities over personal interests. It is also important to see that Boaz did not misread providence. He could easily have deduced from the situation that the Lord was bypassing usual protocol and arranging for him and Ruth to get married. But he did not make any assumptions about favourable providences. He knew that another man was more closely related to Ruth and he had the biblical authority to marry her. Therefore Boaz was preferred for biblical requirements to be met than to have personal comforts.

Boaz was tested as to how he would respond to obstacles. At the same time, Boaz did not regard the presence of a closer relative as a reason for not taking steps himself. Some would have assumed the fact of a closer relative as a sign from God that Boaz should not be the husband of Ruth and would have urged him to turn away. Yet Boaz did not because he probably knew that the closer relative would not be able to marry Ruth. Boaz reminds us that obstacles in providence are not always stop signs. Instead of being a red light, they can be a green light. Obstacles have to be examined to see what they are.

Boaz was tested as to his moral purity. All of a sudden he found himself in a situation in which immorality would occur. He was alone with a woman who wanted to be his wife. Other believers, such as David, failed the moral purity test when it happened. It would have been easy for Boaz to misread the situation. Yet he did not. Instead he recognised what God was saying through Ruth and informed her that he would fulfil his obligations.

Boaz was also tested about his kindness. It is clear that the quality of kindness was a strong point in the character of Boaz. He had already shown great kindness to Naomi and Ruth by giving them an ample share of his harvest. But on those occasions there were no personal demands on him. But now it was a different scenario. He himself had a major issue to deal with. In such a situation we might expect a person to be forgetful of others in their needs. Yet Boaz did not forget Naomi in particular but gave to Ruth a large amount of barley for her mother-in-law. Here is a challenge not to forget others when we have our own burdens.

So the occasion proved that Naomi was correct in her initiative, Ruth was correct in her behaviour, and Boaz was correct in his character. The search for a redeemer was used by God in providence to open doors for their futures and for continuing the development of their characters. How was all this possible? One obvious answer is that the wisdom, love and power of God brought it about. The other obvious reason is that each of them, that is Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, were determined to do God’s will.