Short Talk from Ruth
Last week, I gave a storytelling of Ruth at Wodonga Baptist. At the end of it, I gave a short talk on the three main characters.
Here's the audio - media.wodongabaptist.org.au/audio/2009/Services/WDBC%2021%20June%202009%20AM%20Backyard%20Bard%20-%20Book%20of%20Ruth.mp3
Here's the text:
I was asked to give talk on the book or Ruth as well this morning.
We only have a very short time available so I thought the best way would be to make
some brief observations on the three characters.
Ruth, Boaz and Naomi.
What do we learn from the character of Ruth.
Naturally she's the character to be greatly admired.
She is obviously a woman of vast kindness and fierce loyalty.
She has initiative - when Naomi had lost hope,
Ruth had the drive to pull things together to make sure they had food.
She is a woman of impressive industry and work-ethic as the forman of Boaz' harvesters saw.
She is a woman of humility - she doesn't presume on Boaz' kindness and generosity.
She's an amazing woman.
Jewish Bible's of about a 1000 years ago used to have the book of Ruth
directly after the book of Proverbs
which meant that you read Proverbs 31 about the woman of noble character
and then you read the book of Ruth where Boaz uses the same phrase about Ruth.
She's surely a great woman to admire and emulate but of course she's even more than that.
She's a living example of the promise that God gave to Abraham in Genesis 12 -
the people's of the world would find blessing through his descendants.
Ruth was a foreigner, a widow, she was destitute
and she attached herself to God's people and to God himself.
Like Boaz said she'd come under God's wings to take refuge.
Like a mother bird protecting her children and keeping them close.
That's like us isn't it.
Nearly all of us here would be foreigners to God's covenant people Israel.
Yet, like Ruth, we've thrown ourselves on God's mercy and kindness -
we could never presume on God's mercy just as Ruth couldn't.
But because of the overflowing kindness of God,
we have received blessing as we've found refuge in God's protective wings.
God's promise to Abraham saw it's fulfillment in Ruth's great great descendant Jesus.
His death and resurrection mean that people from every nation
can come and find blessing in the God of Israel.
If you here today haven't yet done that - thrown yourself on God for mercy,
please come today and do it.
He's good and loving as you have seen in this story.
He'll welcome you with open arms as he did for Ruth.
Take refuge under the loving wings of God.
Secondly - what do we learn from Boaz.
Again he's a wonderful man to look up to isn't he.
His very name means something like - 'man of strength'
He's a man whose life was centred on God.
I think that's the reason why our storyteller who wrote the book of Ruth introduced him as he did.
For some reason, how Boaz greets his harvesters is recorded for us.
'Yahweh be with you' you he says.
Our storyteller wants us to see that Boaz is a man who is on about God.
You see it in Boaz's overwhelming generosity to Ruth and Naomi.
You see it with the way he treats Ruth with purity on the threshing floor.
Boaz is an excellent example of godly biblical masculinity.
Guys - do you think you would have done what he did at the threshing floor?
That was strength - that was the godly and manly thing to do wasn't it.
He's strong but he's selfless. He treats women with honour and respect and gentleness.
But again Boaz is more than just an godly example.
In the story, he is the vehicle of God's kindness as well.
That's the way Naomi saw it didn't she.
When Ruth came home that first day with all that grain - who did she thank? God.
This is a great story because even though there aren't miracles and all that -
God's hand is unmistakable.
And Boaz in this story was the character that God used to bring about his blessing.
Boaz' generosity was God's generosity.
Do you want to now what the God of the universe is like?
Look at the tender mercy He showed these women through Boaz.
Boaz, as the redeemer in this story is a picture for us of God as our Redeemer
God, like Boaz, rescues us out of devestation and shows us compassion & mercy.
Ultimately Boaz is picture of Jesus, Boaz' great great descendant,
who would die for our redemption so we could like with him in freedom forever.
Finally, let me mention Naomi.
She gets a hard time from people today - especially preachers.
But I haven't suffered anywhere near what she suffered so, personally, I'm going to hold off on criticism.
Her emotions are so raw and real.
Her despair is raw and honest.
That's real life. Life is hard and downright awful and horrendous sometimes - it especially was for her.
It may be for you today.
You might not have lost your husband and children - but you may be suffering the same.
What does Naomi's suffering show us?
That even when we are despairing, even when we've lost all hope,
even when we feel like God is dealing very bitterly towards us,
if we are God's family - God is working for good and glory.
Through Naomi's ordeal,
God not only purposed Ruth's salvation, gave her a new family and grandson
but also brought about the coming of King David and ultimately Jesus Christ himself.
If we saw the end from the beginning like God does,
it would make sense but of course we can't - at least for our own stories.
But we can for Naomi's story can't we. And we see that God is good.
So for you going through suffering at the moment.
Listen to Naomi's words, after her eyes were opened to God's goodness through Boaz' generosity.
Yahweh has not stopped showing kindness to the living and the dead.
Even if it doesn't look like it - God is working for good.
Read the stories of the Bible - time and time again we see this truth.
read the story of how God worked good
through the ultimate suffering of Jesus Christ through the cross.
We cannot see the end of our stories but that's why we have the stories in the Bible
so we can see what God is truly like and trust him in our own lives.
I'll pray now for us to finish.
God, thank you that you are so kind to us.
Thank you that, like Ruth, we can come under your wings to take refuge.
Thank you that you have shown us generosity and love and kindness through giving us Jesus.
Please God help us to get through tough times now and even though it may be hard to see your goodness in our circumstances - please open our eyes to see you as worthy of our trust and that you'll be with us, working for our good as we pull through.
In Jesus' Name.
Amen
Posted by Robert Turnbull on Sunday 12:06 am, June 28 2009 - Permalink
Categories: RuthSermon,
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- Lessons from Paul's Third Missionary Journey
- Short Talk from Ruth
- New Workshop Structure - 'Connecting' and 'Communicating'
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- The low-hanging fruit in church
- Tips for better Bible reading
- A brief history of Public Bible Reading
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- Jesus: A Short Life - John Dickson
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- Gabriel would tell us off as well
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