Below are some of the resources I used while preparing my sermons in Ruth. I commend them to you for personal study as well as teaching and preaching. Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of resources. I have placed them in order of helpfulness.
ESV Study Bible
Teaching Ruth & Esther: From text to message
Ruth: Redemption for the Broken
From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth
To see a summary of chapters 1-3, see the posts linked above. There are three key pieces of information from chapter 3:
Boaz promised Ruth that he will act as her redeemer (Ruth 3:13).
There is a closer relative to Elimelech and Naomi than him (Ruth 3:12).
He will settle the matter today (Ruth 3:13, 18).
BIG IDEA: Through the work of a redeemer, God changes our past failures into a promising future according to his plan and for his glory.
Through the work of a redeemer, we have an inheritance (1-12)
The city gate (v. 1) was the place of activity in the town. Here, business transactions and legal proceedings took place. Today, we might think of the city gate as the chamber of commerce, the courthouse, and the supermarket rolled into one. Here, people of status could be found. We would find the mayor, the city council, local judges, and businessmen.
Archaeologists have found benches near the city gates in ancient towns. To sit was the position of authority or doing business. Boaz has 10 elders to sit down and conduct business (v. 2). These elders were men that were not those of a certain age but were the men that administrated the affairs of the community. They had significant life experience and could help guide the community.
In v. 3, Boaz reveals to the man why he wants to talk. Naomi has returned from Moab and is selling the land that belonged to Elimelech.
Ruth 4:3-4
“Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
We might wonder, is Naomi a landowner? Not technically. Numbers 27 speaks to this issue.
Numbers 27:8-11
8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Here, Boaz is saying that the land is to be transferred to the nearest kinsman, the kinsman-redeemer, and then used to provide for Naomi.
Three Qualifications of a Kinsman-Redeemer
He must be a blood relative.
He must have sufficient resources to buy the property and care for the widow and her family.
He must be willing to buy.
At first, the nearer redeemer is salivating at the prospects of adding land to his estate. He says in front of the elders, “I will redeem it” (v. 4). At this point, the redeemer is thinking this is a good business transaction. He would get free land and in return he would simply have to provide for Naomi, who is past childbearing age until she dies. Then the land would become part of the inheritance for his children.
In vv. 5-6, Boaz lets the man know about Ruth.
Ruth 4:5-6
5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
Three Responsibilities of a Kinsman Redeemer
Marry the widow and provide for her (Deut 25:5-10).
Take the land (Lev 25:25-28; Num 27:8-11).
Protect the family line by providing an heir for the estate (Deut 25:5-10).
Levirate Marriage
Deut 25:5-6
5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Now the game has changed. The redeemer will have to marry Ruth, who is a Moabite. The redeemer has a responsibility to raise up an heir for Elimelech through Ruth. The oldest son will then inherit the estate. Additionally, any additional children that Ruth had would have had to be provided for and would cut into the inheritance of the unnamed redeemer’s own children.
The unnamed redeemer sees that the redemption is now too costly for him. He says, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.” I think we’re all tempted to think like Mr. So-and-So. It’s so easy for us to think only about what is best for us instead of thinking about how to love our neighbors well.
In verses 7-10, Boaz takes on the responsibility to be a redeemer for Naomi and Ruth. Boaz is willing to take on the responsibility to perpetuate not his own name, but the names of Elimelech and Mahlon. The elders then pronounce a blessing on Boaz (vv. 11-12).
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Perez was an ancestor of Boaz (vv. 18–22) who was born to Judah and Tamar through circumstances related to the practice of levirate marriage (Gen 38).
Through the work of a redeemer, we have an inheritance. But not only do we have an inheritance, we also have a family.
Through the work of a redeemer, we have a family (13-17)
Boaz and Ruth consummate their new marriage and in one verse (4:13), every problem in chapter one meets a solution:
Ruth, who is without a husband, now has one.
Ruth, who was likely barren is granted immediate conception.
Naomi, who was without a son to take care of her in the future now has one to continue her family’s line.
The child born of Boaz and Ruth actually continued two family lines – those of Boaz and Elimelech.
Only twice is the Lord explicitly said to be the cause of actions in the book. In Ruth 1:6 the Lord provided food. Here in Ruth 4:13 God grants conception to Boaz and Ruth. Perhaps Boaz’s ability to father a child was in doubt, as certainly Ruth’s ability to bear one was since she had not conceived with her previous husband.
In v. 14 the word “redeemer” is not talking about Boaz, but about the son that has been born. When the story begins, Bethlehem is a place of famine, but it becomes a place of fruitfulness because of God’s faithfulness.
A young guardian-redeemer is born for Naomi who will grow and protect her family and inheritance (v. 15). The image of Naomi holding the child on her lap is very beautiful. This formerly bitter woman now has a grandson to play with and this boy will continue the family line of her late husband (v. 16). The son born in these unlikely circumstances (Obed) became the grandfather to Israel’s greatest king.
Burying a child is arguably the hardest thing to do in this life. On the flipside, the birth of a child brings more joy than anything else. The book of Ruth begins with the death of a man and his two sons. It ends with the joy of new birth. The book of Ruth takes us from death to life, from devastation to joy, and from despair to hope.[1]Christopher Ash, Teaching Ruth & Esther: From text to message, 127.
The book of Ruth takes us from death to life, from devastation to joy, and from despair to hope.
Christopher Ash
Through the work of a redeemer, we have a future (18-22)
During a period when many people did what was right in their own eyes, there were at least three who did what was right in God’s eyes.
God worked through Boaz to redeem not just Ruth and Naomi, but to bring about David, the greatest king of Israel. The same godliness that drove Boaz would guide David to bless his nation and redeem their lives from the moral chaos of the judges.
God was doing far more than Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz could have realized during their lifetimes.
Conclusion
God worked through Boaz to redeem not just Ruth and Naomi, but to bring about the great redeemer Jesus Christ (see the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1).
Remember how the book of Ruth started:
moral chaos
famine
funerals
incredible pain
desperation
Naomi and Ruth experienced incredible pain and hardships. Naomi wanted to be called bitter (Ruth 1:20-21). But God, in his goodness which shone through the kindness of a redeemer, gave Naomi and Ruth:
provision
protection
an inheritance
a family
joy
future
How did that happen?
For Ruth, it meant turning to the one true God.
For Naomi, it meant returning to the one true God.
Together, they went to God’s place (Bethlehem) to be with God’s people and to experience God’s presence.
But things really changed when they approached their redeemer in faith.
Things change when we approach our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, in faith.
During our lives, God lets us go through trials in order to expose the depths of our need and to show us the fullness of his provision.
This morning, whatever you’re going through – the pain of loss, the pain of a bad diagnosis, the pain of strained relationships, or perhaps sadness over your sinful past and past failures, here is what I want you to know this morning.
BIG IDEA: Through the work of a redeemer, God changes our past failures into a promising future according to his plan and for his glory.
Matt 1:1-6, 16-17
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, 4 and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
16 and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.
Boaz, the kinsman redeemer of Naomi and Ruth, points to our great redeemer Jesus Christ.
Remember the Three Qualifications of a Kinsman-Redeemer
Blood relative (Gal 4:4-5)
Sufficient resources (1 Pet 1:18-19)
Willingness to buy (Mark 10:45)
(1) Jesus is our blood relative.
The eternal Son of God was born of a woman and become a man.
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
(2) He has the sufficient resources to buy.
He obeyed God’s law perfectly and was thus an acceptable offering for our sin.
1 Peter 1:18-19
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
(3) Jesus was willing to buy.
He paid the penalty for our sins by dying on the cross for our sins.
Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Through Jesus, God’s own son, not only do we have the forgiveness but we also have a spiritual inheritance – we inherit the righteousness of Christ and spiritual blessings. We have a family – the church. We have a future with God forever (Ruth 1:16; Rev 21:3-4).
The story of Ruth is the story of the Bible. We are sin-sick Moabites who are hopeless without a redeemer. But, when we throw ourselves at the feet of our Redeemer, we have an inheritance that never fades. We have a family that never leaves. And we have a promising future. All of this is because of the work of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins in our place so that we can be reconciled with God.
Ruth has gleaned in Boaz’s field during the two months of the harvest (2:23). Now the harvest is drawing to a close and we wonder what will happen next. During her time in the field, Ruth met Boaz, a worthy man, a redeemer that has provided for her and protected her during this time. But this is not a lasting solution.
Sermon Text: Ruth 3
There are three Scenes in chapter three:
Ruth and Naomi at home in the afternoon (1-5)
Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor (6-15)
Ruth and Naomi at home at dawn (16-18)
In the first scene we see that Naomi longs for Ruth to have rest (3:1; 1:9). That’s something we can all identify with. We all long for true rest.
We all long for true rest (1-5)
In vv. 2-5, Naomi comes up with a daring plan for Ruth. She essentially tells Ruth to go to the threshing floor and propose to Boaz. Naomi knows that Boaz is a relative (v. 2, cf. 2:1, 20).
Naomi knows that Boaz is spending the night at the threshing floor. The threshing floor was an open-air setting where grain was loosened from the straw (usually by cattle treading on it). Then the grain was “winnowed” (tossed up with winnowing forks so the wind would blow away the straw and chaff, leaving the grain). The men would remain at the threshing floor to celebrate the harvest and protect their grain.
Naomi instructs to Ruth to wash and anoint herself. This is possibly indicative that her time of mourning for her husband had come to an end (cf. 2 Sam 12:20 – David and Bathsheba’s child).
If so, this is a good reminder for us. There comes a time when we must all move on. I’m not saying that all widows have to remarry, but we as Christians should not be defined by our pain or prisoners to our pasts.
Paul says it this way: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Phil 3:13).
Naomi tells Ruth to lie down at his feet and he will tell you what to do (v. 4). Ruth is a woman of faith. She replies, “All that you say I will do” (v. 5). Ruth is trusting in God’s covenant care through His laws. She is trusting that Naomi wants the best for her. She is trusting that Boaz is indeed a worthy man.
Before going further, it’s worth asking – is this good counsel that Naomi gives?
In the Bible, there are things that are prescriptive and things that are descriptive. Something that is descriptive is simply described by the biblical author. For example, when Judas betrays Jesus for silver. Prescriptive writing happens when biblical authors are telling us what to do. For example, Paul’s letters are written to give instructions to his original audience (and to us).
Ruth 3 is not prescriptive. It’s descriptive. The purpose of Ruth 3 is not to teach young women about dating. It’s to tell us about Naomi’s care for Ruth and Ruth’s great faith. The Bible does not commend young women to follow Ruth’s example unless:
They were to go back in time and become ancient Israelites.
They are destitute.
They have a destitute mother-in-law.
They live in a society where a relative of their mother-in-law might be a kinsman redeemer.
Instead, young women should learn about purity and wisdom from other Scriptures and older women (Titus 2:3-5).
In verses 1-5, we see that we all long for true rest. In verses 6-15, we find that we must seek rest in a redeemer.
We must seek rest in a Redeemer (6-15)
Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions and lays down at Boaz’s feet (vv. 6-7). The text says in v. 7 that “[Boaz’s] heart was merry.” This phrase covers a spectrum of meanings from drunkenness to a cheerful exuberance. From what we know about Boaz’s character, he likely is relaxed, cheerful, and tired after a day of hard work, a good meal, and a drink or two. He goes to the “end of the heap of grain” to lie down.
Think about what Ruth is doing. This is a very risky move to go to a harvest threshing floor full of relaxed and off-duty men. She is putting herself in a vulnerable position, potentially in harm’s way. This is what faith does. When we exercise true faith, we are to abandon all other securities and entrust ourselves to our redeemer. During the days of the judges, most men would have taken advantage of Ruth. But Ruth trusts Boaz’s character. Just as Ruth trusts Boaz, we should trust in Jesus, even more so during difficult times.
At midnight, Boaz was startled and he discovers that a woman is lying at his feet (v. 8). Naturally, he asks, “Who are you?” Ruth says, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer” (v. 9). Remember Boaz’s words to Ruth in 2:12 (read).
Ruth 2:12
The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
In v. 9, Ruth asks Boaz to redeem her. Ruth is proposing to Boaz. She’s asking him to marry her by appealing to his duty as a kinsman redeemer. Ruth is asking Boaz to redeem her along with Elimelech’s land. She is appealing to the laws of land redemption (found in Lev 25:25-28) and levirate marriage (found in Deut 25:5-10, cf. Gen 38).
Lev 25:25
“If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
Deut 25:5-10
5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 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.’ 8 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,’ 9 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.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
So you see, being a kinsman-redeemer was costly. To redeem Ruth, Boaz would be assuming the significant cost of caring for the widow (and Naomi in this case), helping to raise her child, and then giving the deceased relative’s property to the child.[1]Dean Ulrich, From Famine to Fullness: The Gospel According to Ruth, 98.
Boaz is surprised at Ruth’s request (v. 10). When Boaz says that Ruth’s last display of kindness was greater than the first (Ruth’s willingness to cling to Naomi and to care for her), he was making reference to levirate marriage.
Ruth is showing astonishing covenant kindness to Naomi by being willing to raise up an heir for Elimelech. Essentially, Ruth is willing to be a surrogate mother for Naomi. The line of Elimelech would have ended, but Ruth is willing to birth a son that will continue the family line. Boaz is surprised at Ruth’s request for marriage, assuming she would have preferred a younger man – “you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich” (v. 10).
Boaz tells Ruth that he will redeem her – “Do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman” (v. 11). The phrase “worthy woman” is the same Hebrew used in Proverbs 31:10.
An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
In v. 12, the plot thickens. Boaz tells Ruth, “There is a redeemer nearer than I.” LIke any good story, there has to be a certain amount of tension. This reminds me of a movie when two characters obviously love and care for each other. The other characters in the movie know it. The audience knows it. And yet, there is a problem. In this case Boaz is not the nearest of kin.
Boaz tells Ruth to rest until the morning and promises her, “As the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until he morning” (v. 13). Can you imagine the relief that Ruth felt in that moment. She was able to lie down. She was able to find rest in her redeemer.
Did you know you can find that same rest? Your heavenly Father cares for you and knows what you need before you ask it (Luke 12:22-34). He is willing to receive your anxious prayers (Phil 4:6-7). You have a redeemer in Jesus Christ who died for your sins. If we are truly in Christ, nothing can separate us from his love (Rom 8:31-39)!
Boaz could have taken advantage of the situation and married Ruth before informing the other kinsman. Nothing forced him to delay the wedding or divulge the information to the other man.
Boaz displays exemplary integrity. He is a model of purity. He was a man with a merry heart and was visited in the dark by a freshly washed and scented woman. And yet, both restrain themselves. They are truly both of noble character. We see three principles for marriage here.
In marriage, covenant commitment precedes consummation. Second, a good name and a good legacy is more important than a good time. Third, God thinks in terms of generations (see Ruth 4:18-22). The takeaway is this: if you want a godly heritage, then your present decisions matter.
If you want a godly heritage, then your present decisions matter.
Boaz gives Ruth a sign of his promise (vv. 14-15). Boaz tells Ruth to stay with him until morning because it would have been dangerous for her to be out alone at night. Boaz tells the other workers to not mention that a woman came to the threshing floor. Boaz protects Ruth’s reputation as well as his own. Boaz does not want anyone getting the idea that he has been with a prostitute. It was normal practice for prostitutes go out to men in the threshing floors and offer their services (Hos 9:1).
Boaz sends Ruth a gift of barley to Naomi as a sign of his promise to redeem Ruth and to care for them both (a dowry in a sense).
We all long for true rest. We must seek rest in a redeemer. Finally, we should trust our redeemer for our future.
We should trust our redeemer for our future (16-18)
Back at the house, Naomi asks Ruth, “How did you fare my daughter?” (v. 16). Ruth tells Naomi about all that Boaz had done (vv. 16-17). Naomi tells Ruth to wait, for the matter will be settled today. Naomi knows that Boaz is a man of his word (v. 18).
Last week’s big idea was this – In your despair, trust God’s providence. This week’s big idea is this – In your despair, find rest in your Redeemer.
In your despair, find rest in your Redeemer.
At the beginning of the book, Naomi and Ruth found themselves in a hopeless situation.
As they turned to God in their pain, God cared for them in their despair, and now we see that they have a promise of redemption.
Ruth first encountered Boaz in his field as an empty-handed poor Moabite woman. Now she has left him at the threshing floor with a promise of redemption.
What a picture of the gospel! We are all hopeless – all sinners who deserve God’s wrath in hell. As we turn to God in our desperation, we find the truth of the gospel – that we have a perfect redeemer who has come and lived and died in our place for our sins.
We must come empty-handed, confessing that we bring nothing except the sin that made Jesus’ death necessary. We turn from our sin and trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Just as Ruth trusted in God’s promises and redemption through Boaz, let’s hold fast to the promises of God we have in the redemption of Jesus.
Boaz sent Ruth and Naomi a gift of barley as a sign of his promise to redeem Ruth and to care for them both. In the same way, Jesus has given us the gift of his Holy Spirit as a sign of his redemption of us.
Eph 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
When we come to Christ, God gives us his Spirit as the down payment – the guarantee of our inheritance. That’s the glory of the gospel. We come empty-handed. We throw ourselves at the feet of our Redeemer. He redeems us and gives us his Spirit to guide us the rest of our days until we go to live with God forever and find our true rest.
Before getting into today’s text, I want to quickly want to summarize Ruth 1. Ruth took place in the days of the judges. The period of the judges, which was a time of spiritual turmoil, lasted about 325 years. During this time, there was no king in Israel – everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).
The opening chapter of Ruth tells us there was a famine in Bethlehem. A man named Elimelech took his wife Naomi and their two sons to Moab. Moab was not a place that any Israelite should be. Elimelech had led his family to forsake God’s presence and God’s people in Bethlehem to seek provision in Moab. While in Moab, Elimelech died. After marrying Moabite women, Naomi’s two sons also died.
After 10 years in Moab, Naomi, the wife of Elimelech, heard that the Lord had provided food in Bethlehem. She decided to make the 50-70 mile journey back to Bethlehem. She encouraged her daughters-in-law to go back to Moab so that they would be provided for. Orpah turned back, but Ruth decided to go with Naomi to Bethlehem and embrace Yahweh as her God.
When Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred. Naomi asked the women to call her Mara (which means bitter). At this point in the story, Naomi is a bitter woman. Because there is no man in her life, she and Ruth have little in the way of provision.
Naomi and Ruth’s return to Bethlehem signaled that they were returning to God and his people. If you have sojourned into sin and neglected God and his people, what kind of reception should you expect to find? We get a glimpse of the character of God this morning as he cares for these women.
First, the narrator sets up the Ruth’s meeting with Boaz (1-7). Second, we read about Boaz and Ruth’s meeting (vv. 8-16). During this meeting, Boaz shows great generosity to Ruth. Third, Ruth returns home and visits with Naomi about her blessed day at Boaz’s field (vv. 17-23).
Setting up the Meeting with Boaz (1-7)
In v. 1, the narrator introduces Boaz to the story. He knows something that Ruth doesn’t. After grieving her husband’s death (1:9,14), Ruth trusts God (1:16) and gets to work (2:2-3,7).
In ancient Israel, God’s law provided for the poorest of the poor to eke out a meager existence by gleaning in the grain fields. Gleaning was hard work with little reward, and harvesters didn’t always take kindly to gleaners, but it was a way to stay alive.
Lev 19:9-10
“When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
Deut 24:19-22
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.
Gleaning involved gathering left-over grain after the harvest. Harvesters would cut the stalks of grain with one hand and catch it with the other. The grain that fell to the ground was left to the poor. Perhaps a modern-day equivalent would be rummaging through a dumpster to find food (though I would much prefer the Israelite alternative).
Ruth was not looking for a handout, but instead is willing to work hard. We know that ultimately God is our provider, but that does not excuse us from working hard (Prov 10:4).
Ruth trusts that God will help her find favor with a man (v. 2). She trusts that her work ethic will give her favor with a man who owns a field. In God’s providence, v. 3 says, “she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz.”
When times get tough, remember these truths:
Life is hard (John 16:33).
God is good (Ps 34:8).
He will never leave me nor forsake me (Heb 13:5).
I will trust in Him (Prov 3:5-6).
In your despair, trust God for provision (1-3).
In vv. 4-7, Boaz arrives at the field. He comes to the field from Bethlehem and blesses the reapers in his field – “The Lord be with you.” (v. 4). In this verse, we see that Boaz is a man that loves God. I can’t help but think of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:13-16 where Jesus calls us to be salt and light. In a time when everyone did what was right in their own eyes, Boaz is a blessing to his workers. He is not a man that is full of himself. Even though he is the owner of the field, he cares for his workers. In addition, Boaz even notices Ruth, who is a gleaner, the lowest of the low.
In verse 5, Boaz asks, “Whose young woman is this?” Boaz wants to know whose family Ruth belongs to. Boaz’s field manager tells him who Ruth is – the Moabite woman that returned to town with Naomi (vv. 6-7).
The meeting of Boaz and Ruth (8-16)
Finally, Boaz and Ruth speak. The first thing that Boaz does is promise Ruth protection (vv. 8-9). When Boaz calls Ruth “my daughter” this indicates an age difference between Boaz and Ruth.
Boaz notices Ruth, a young, vulnerable woman with no protector. Rather than take advantage of her, Boaz chooses to protect her. What an example to us as men. Men of God, we, like Boaz, have been called to protect women (vv. 8-9, 22).
Boaz goes even further by giving Ruth permission to drink from water that his men have drawn. In this culture, typically foreigners drew the water for Israelites and women would draw water for men. So when Boaz gives Ruth (a foreigner) permission to drink from water drawn by his (Israelite) men, this is indeed extraordinary.
How does Ruth respond? With great humility. Look at v. 10 – “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
Even after her hard work, she knows that she doesn’t deserve Boaz’s generosity. It’s so easy for us to think, “Of course God will notice me. I’m working hard for him. I deserve His favor.” When we do have that attitude, we lose sight of God’s kindness to us. Everything we have is a gift from God (Jam 1:17; 1 Cor 4:7).
Boaz has heard of Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi (v. 11). In v. 12, Boaz prays for Ruth. He prays for the Lord to repay Ruth for her kindness to Naomi. As we will see, Boaz doesn’t just pray to this end. He himself blesses Ruth in extraordinary ways.
In v. 13, Ruth again expresses humility and thanks to Boaz. At this point, I want to speak to any young women reading this post. Ladies, our culture says that marriage is outdated. Perhaps your family is encouraging you to go to college and work the rest of your life. But remember, marriage is God’s idea. There is great blessing in being married to a man that will lay down his life in service to Christ and his family (Eph 5:25-33). Ladies, let godly men care for you and receive God’s blessings with humilty.
At mealtime (vv. 14-16), Boaz shows even more generosity to Ruth. The fact that Boaz ate with his harvesters says something about the man, but his actions at this meal must have caught everyone by surprise. He invites Ruth to his table. Remember, she is a single woman and he is a man. She is poor and he is rich. She is a Moabite woman and he is an Israelite man. But notice that she ate until she was satisfied and she had some left over (v. 14).
Boaz is tough and tender. He is in charge of his fields. His workers respect his authority and listen to him. But he is also tender. He treats his workers well. He protects the young women that work for him. Men, let us be tough. Let us be men of conviction and courage. But let us also be tender towards our wives and daughters.
Boaz was not concerned with the opinions of others. He didn’t care that Ruth was a Moabite woman. He was not too proud to associate with her. When you love God, you love people and you don’t care what other people think (1 John 4:19).
As Christians, we should reflect the character of Boaz. Boaz was generous. He shared with those in need and extended compassion to the poor. Our culture says that there are two kinds of people – poor and rich. The Bible, however, describes four kinds of people: rich and generous, rich and selfish, poor and generous, and poor and selfish. I’ve heard it said that you will either love money and use people or you will use money to love people. Boaz used his money to love people and so should we.
Boaz was welcoming. We are to help those who may be outsiders to feel at home in our church and family. Boaz was in a sense evangelistic. We should share the gospel with those like Ruth who are written off by society.
May we be people that are generous, welcoming, and evangelistic. If we will be this kind of person, we’ll change the world. Finally, in vv. 15-16, Boaz instructs his men to let Ruth get as much food as she wants and to not rebuke her.
Processing the Meeting of Boaz and Ruth (17-23)
Gleaners usually took home just enough to live on. Paid harvesters might be given a liter or so of grain for their work, which was enough to support a family. Ruth took home an ephah (v. 17), which is between 30-50 pounds of grain. This would’ve fed her and Naomi for around two months.
In vv. 18-19, Naomi wants to know how the day went. Naomi sees the enormous amount of food that Ruth has brought back, which not only included the 30-50 pounds of grain but also the leftovers from lunch. She wonders, who was the man who took notice of you? Ruth then names Boaz.
Naomi is elated! She says that Boaz has shown kindness to Ruth and Naomi and her dead husband. Remember from verse 1 that Boaz is a relative of Elimelech. Naomi informs Ruth that Boaz is a redeemer! We’ll talk more about this next week, but a kinsman-redeemer was a family member that was to care for the family of the dead.
In vv. 21-23 Ruth tells Naomi about Boaz’s promise of protection and Naomi tells Ruth to stay in Boaz’s field, because she could be assaulted if she gleans in another man’s field. Ruth gleaned in Boaz’s field throughout the harvest season, which would have lasted about two months.
Naomi and Ruth came back to Bethlehem empty. When Ruth left for the morning, she was empty. Ruth came to Boaz’s table empty and went away full. Ruth came to Boaz’s field empty and went away full.
Here’s the main takeaway from Ruth 2 – in your despair, trust God’s providence.
In your despair, trust God’s providence.
God’s fingerprints are everywhere in the story:
Ruth “happens” to end up in Boaz’s field (v. 3). Boaz notices her (vv. 3-6). Boaz extends generosity (vv. 14-20). Boaz offers protection (vv. 8-13, 21-23). Boaz is a kinsman redeemer (vv. 1, 20). Boaz was a “worthy man” (v. 1) that had the total package–integrity, valor, moral character, and wealth.
Conclusion
When you step out in faith instead of throwing a pity party, God will provide. While we don’t always understand God’s ways, we can trust He is working for our good.
In what ways can you see God’s hand at work in your life?
Ruth left for the day empty and she came back full. Ruth came to Bethlehem as a foreigner and a widow. As she trusted in God’s providence, he gives her provision and protection through the generosity of Boaz.
Boaz points to Jesus while Ruth points to the church and God’s people.
You and I are like Ruth:
She came from Moab – we come from a spiritually sick family (Rom 3:23).
She came empty handed – we come empty handed. We have no righteousness to offer to God (Rom 3:10-11).
All that we have is what we have gleaned from God’s field of goodness and grace (Jam 1:17). As the great hymn How Great Thou Art says, “All thy needs thy hand had provideth.”
Boaz points us to Jesus:
Boaz came to his field – Jesus comes to earth (John 1:14).
Boaz pronounced a blessing over his people – Jesus came to save his people (Matt 1:21).
Boaz approached those who were not his people and spoke love and grace to her. Jesus came to teach us about the Father (Heb 1:3).
Boaz blessed Ruth with his generosity. Jesus blesses us by generously dying for our sins in our place (2 Cor 5:21).
The whole story of the Bible is that Jesus is a glorious Boaz and we are needy Moabites like Ruth.
The whole story of the Bible is that Jesus is a glorious Boaz and we are needy Moabites like Ruth.
If you are not a Christian, you are separated from God and you are without hope. The Bible says that God’s wrath remains on you (John 3:36).
In our story, Ruth threw herself at the feet of Boaz, thankful for his generosity. If are not a Christian, you need to throw yourself to the feet of Jesus and trust in his finished work on the cross. If you turn from your sin and trust in Christ, you will be brought near by his blood.
Ruth and Naomi came to Bethlehem in ruin, and now they are rejoicing because of the Lord’s kindness.
In your despair, look to God for provision and protection as you trust in His providence.
It’s quite likely if you’ve lived long enough that you have felt so overwhelmed by the circumstances in your life that you have no idea what to do next.
How have those hard times affected the way you think about God? During those hard times, maybe you:
Blamed God
Ignored God
Questioned God
Prayed to God
Decided God doesn’t help
How we respond to hard times reveals something about our worship. Have we really been serving our good circumstances, or have we been serving our loving, sovereign, faithful, unchanging Lord?
Today’s post begins a new series in the book of Ruth. Ruth is one of two OT books named after a woman and the only book named after a non-Israelite. Ruth is a story of God’s grace and providence in the midst of difficult circumstances.
This book shows that even when God appears to be absent that He is still present with his people. At first glance, the book appears to be a simple love story between two people, but it is actually a happier ever after story with eternal consequences for you and me.
Before continuing, I would encourage you to read Ruth 1.
Seeking life and hope apart from God always leads to ruin (1:1-5)
“in the days when the judges ruled” (1)
The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the judges. Judges 2 provides a summary of what life was like during the time of the judges, which spanned about 325 years.
After Joshua died, Judges 2:10 says, “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
Judges 2:11-19
Israel sins against the Lord and serve other gods (2:11-13)
God judges Israel and gives them over to other nations (2:14-15)
The people of Israel would be in distress (2:15) and cry out to God
God would raise up judges to save Israel (2:16-18)
After the judge died the cycle would repeat itself. This was the state of affairs in the promised land for over 300 years.
In Joshua, Israel was in possession of the land because of God’s favor.
In Judges, Israel was continually oppressed by the people of the land due to their sin.
Judges 21:25
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
The overall picture of the time of the judges was grim, but there were faithful individuals, as we will see.
“there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.” (1)
A man led his family to sojourn in the country of Moab because of a famine in Judah. He didn’t plan for them to be there long. This man is seeking to provide for his family. This seems like a noble thing to do until you learn more about Moab.
Moab was not a place where God’s people should be.
The Moabites were related to the Israelites as they were descendants of Abraham’s nephew Lot. They were considered unclean. Their family line had begun with Lot having an incestuous relationship with his two daughters (Gen 19:30-38).
The Moabites were the people that hired Balaam to curse Israel (Num 22-24). In Num 25 the Moabite women seduced Israelite men and lured them into idolatrous worship.
The Moabites oppressed Israel during the judges for 18 years (Judges 3:12-30).
The main Moabite god was Chemosh. In 2 King 3:27, when a battle with Israel wasn’t going so well for the Moabites, the Moabite king had his oldest son and heir sacrificed to Chemosh in hopes of changing the outcome (also see Num 21:29).
This family did not go to a land where the people of Israel were blessed; they went to a land where the people of Israel were cursed. Moab was a place where if you told a blasphemous joke about the God of Israel, people would probably laugh. Elimelech and his family had left God’s covenant people and were now outsiders among the Moabites.
So let’s set the scene:
The story begins with a flight away from the land of covenant promise, away from Bethlehem (which means the house of bread).
In Deuteronomy 28, while in the land of Moab, God laid out the promises for obedience and the curses for disobedience. The famine in the land was due to the sin of the people of Israel. But rather than repenting, as was prescribed in Deut 30:2-3, the man, whose name is Elimelech, was seeking to take the provision God promises apart from the repentance God requires.
There are many today who want God’s blessing who do not walk in obedience to His commands. They want eternal salvation, material prosperity, and good health, but they don’t want to submit to the lordship of Christ.
When we turn our back on God and sojourn into sin, we never intend to do it for long. It is only going to be for a little while for a little sin. But it rarely works out that way.
When we turn our back on God and sojourn into sin, we never intend to do it for long. It is only going to be for a little while for a little sin. But it rarely works out that way.
Sometimes when life gets hard we want to go live in Moab instead of repenting of sin, trusting in God, and remaining with God’s people during the hard times of life.
We are meant to live in God’s presence and with God’s people.
Elimelech was the man of the house and the leader of his family and he led them away from God’s presence and away from God’s people and into ruin.
vv. 2-5 – The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
We’re told that Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died (v. 3). If that wasn’t bad enough, her sons married Moabite women (4). Marriage with other nations was forbidden because of the pull to worship false gods (Deut 7:3). Moabites were deemed especially troublesome because of their treatment of Israel in Numbers 22-25 (Deut 23:3-6). It gets even worse. In verse five, both of Naomi’s sons die.
Elimelech’s decision to move his family to Moab proved to be a decision that led to death rather than life.
Men, when you lead your family away from God’s presence and God’s people, you are leading your family to ruin.
Men, when you lead your family away from God’s presence and God’s people, you are leading your family to ruin.
Maybe for you it’s not a lack of food. Maybe you are leading your family to find fulfillment in the American Dream, materialism, or earthly success when you should be leading them to find their joy and hope in Jesus.
Once again, seeking life and hope apart from God always leads to ruin. Don’t miss the irony: Naomi went away during a famine with a full family and now she is in a land with food and is empty.
Now, Naomi is a woman devoid of the protection and provision of a man and was in deep distress.
Have you ever felt empty inside and completely vulnerable before God and others?
Naomi faced the most extreme and desperate circumstances possible for a woman in ancient Israel:
Marriage was the only source of stability and security for a woman in the ancient Near East.
Widows were to be provided for by their sons.
Now she is far from home, without a husband and children and past her childbearing age (1:11).
The situation seems hopeless. What will Naomi do?
Turning to God is costly but necessary (1:6-18)
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the LORD had visited his people and given them food.7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
Naomi begins to face reality. She realizes that the decision to move to Moab has literally killed her family. That’s what sin does. It takes you farther than you want to go and keeps you longer than you want to stay.
Sin takes you farther than you want to go and keeps you longer than you want to stay.
Naomi hears that the LORD has provided for his people and decides to return home (6-7). She begins to make the 50-70 mile journey from Moab to Judah. This would take about a week, depending on where Naomi was settled in Moab.
Naomi’s Journey (from the ESV Study Bible)
8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. 9 The LORD grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
Naomi thanked Orpah and Ruth for their kindness and implores them to return to their families where they will be taken care of (8-9).
In some sense, Naomi is being kind and sensible. Naomi is telling Orpah and Ruth that nothing is guaranteed. If the women go with her, there will be no promise of financial security or prosperity. There will be no husband. No provision. No hope from a worldly perspective.
Naomi lays out the alternatives. The ladies can worship the one true God and have nothing in Bethlehem or have provision and protection in a worldly sense but not have the one true God in Moab.
There will be times in your life when you feel that you have nothing but God. Is He enough for you?
10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”
They tell her they want to be with her and her people (v. 10).
11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? 12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons, 13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.”
Naomi explains the situation even more clearly (11-13). You can tell that she cares for these women. While the narrator calls them her daughters-in-law, Naomi calls them her daughters (“My daughters”). These ladies have a close relationship. They had spent hours mourning the loss of their husbands.
You can tell that Naomi wants these women to know that there is no hope of her bearing any more sons that could be their husbands.
Interestingly, Naomi speaks of God’s sovereignty (v. 13). She Naomi knows that whatever happens next whether good or bad—like everything that has come before, must pass through the sovereign control of the one true God.
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
Orpah leaves, but Ruth clings to Naomi (14). The word “clung” is the same word used in Genesis 2:24 – that man leaves his father and mother and clings (hold fast) to his wife.
Bitter experiences provoke many different feelings about God. The right response is to cling to him, knowing that he also clings to us. (Jared Wilson)
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.” 16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the LORD do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.” 18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
For the fourth time, Naomi urges Ruth to return to Moab (v. 15).
Christopher Ash: “Moab is not just a place, a society, an ethnicity, and a culture; it is a religion. To return to Moab is to go back to worshipping Moab’s gods. This decision has eternal significance. Naomi’s urging of Ruth to return is kind and sensible; but it is not the urging of faith.”
16-17
In verses 16-17, we see the turning point of the story. This is where the story starts to change. We see here Ruth’s profession of faith. This is what repentance looks like. You go from facing sin and having your back toward God to turning your back on sin and turning towards God.
Who or what do you need to walk away from? What sin in your life needs to end so that you can know God for the first time or have the joy of your salvation restored?
In God’s providence, He uses Naomi’s suffering to bring Ruth to himself!
Ruth is committing to Naomi’s faith and to her people, regardless of what it means for her—so much so that when Naomi dies, Ruth isn’t bailing. She isn’t ever going back to Moab.
Ruth’s commitment to Naomi is like Jesus’ commitment to us. However, while Ruth is an imperfect sinner and prone to wander, the sinless Christ has made his vow to us no matter what.
Jesus, like Ruth, makes his commitment to the ones He loves for better or worse. But unlike Ruth, he knows just how bad the worse is going to be and still he stays.
When you leave Moab, it can be costly. When Ruth trusted God, it meant leaving everything she had ever known–her family, friends, way of life, gods.
When we follow Jesus, it means that we love him supremely. We love him more than our families and friends (Matt 10:34-39). We leave our old way of life and our idol worship behind and we follow Him unto death.
“Faith means giving up everything for Jesus because of his unwavering faithfulness to us.”
Jared Wilson
Seeking life and hope apart from God always leads to ruin. Turning to God is costly but necessary. And finally, returning to God may hurt, but He is our only hope.
Returning to God may hurt, but He is our only hope (1:19-22)
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them.
Naomi is without child and Ruth is without husband. Together, they face the realities of poverty. Ruth returns with Naomi to start a new life. The whole town (of 200-300 people) was abuzz about the return of Naomi and a Moabite woman that has converted to the God of Israel.
And the women said, “Is this Naomi?” 20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. 21 I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
In v. 20, Naomi asks to not be called Naomi (which means pleasant). After 10 years and a dead family, her name doesn’t fit anymore. Instead, she wants to be called Mara because she is a bitter woman. It’s like she went to the Bethlehem DMV to get here driver’s license renewed and she said my name is not Naomi – it’s Bitter Old Woman. Naomi is weary and in need of rest (v. 9).
In v. 21, Naomi says that she went away full but the Lord brought her back empty. She goes on to say that the Almighty brought calamity upon her.
Maybe she forgot, but she and her husband chose to leave God and His people but she is bitter against God. Oftentimes we make bad decisions and sin against God but then also blame God. Instead, we should own our sin, repent of it, and thank God for his grace!
The good news is that God can use sadness and emptiness to bring you to him (Ruth) or back to him (Naomi). God is always working everything for good for those who love him. God doesn’t waste our suffering and neither should we!
Naomi is beginning to move from brokenness to healing. She is a broken woman who is a widow and has lost her two sons. She doesn’t have any grandchildren. I want my church to be a place where broken people can be honest so that they can be healed. The church needs to be place that receive people like Naomi and help them to heal.
Naomi complains in v. 21, but there is hope in v. 22 (the harvest).
Today, like Naomi, you can move toward life with God and his people instead or you can hide away in our own self-pity and bitterness. If you choose to move toward life with God, in time there will be a harvest of growth in dependence on him and contentment in Christ.
Conclusion
Naomi and Ruth are suffering because of the sins of others. Jesus, the King of Kings, who was eventually descended from Ruth and was born in Bethlehem grows up and suffers for the sins of others.
Just as Ruth gave up all she had known to enter the land of the foreigner to bless Naomi, Jesus Christ gave up all he had known to take on human flesh and live with people like us. But Jesus didn’t just live among us, he died for our sins in our place. Jesus didn’t just rescue us from Moab. He rescues us from hell. Through faith in Christ, we can have eternal life.
Considering what we have read in Ruth today[1]Mark Dever, The Message of the Old Testament, 230.:
Whatever trials you are presently facing, do you really think God has no plans or purposes for you?
Do you really think he has completed everything he means to do in your life?
Be encouraged. He’s not finished yet, and the harvest may be about to begin.
When everything falls apart, where will you turn? Friends, return to Christ and trust his promises.
The events in the book of Ruth took place during the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1). The book of Judges took place after the conquests recorded in Joshua and before the establishment of the monarchy in 1 Samuel. Judges 2 provides a picture of what life was like during the time of the judges, which spanned about 325 years.
After Joshua died, Judges 2:10 says, “And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
Judges 2:11-19
Israel sins against the Lord and serve other gods (2:11-13).
God judges Israel and gives them over to other nations (2:14-15).
The people of Israel would be in distress (2:15) and cry out to God.
God would raise up judges to save Israel (2:16-18).
After the judge died this cycle would repeat itself (2:19).
This was the state of affairs in the promised land for over 300 years.
In Joshua, Israel was in possession of the land because of God’s favor.
In Judges, Israel was continually oppressed by the people of the land due to their sin.
The last verse in Judges is a summary of this period:
“In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25).
The events of Ruth cover about eleven to twelve years, ten of which are in Moab (Ruth 1:4).
Purposes for Writing
To provide a strong contrast to the covenant unfaithfulness that pervades the book of Judges.
To show God’s providence in meeting the physical needs of his faithful people.
To show how God works through the kindness of ordinary yet faithful people.
To highlight God’s covenant faithfulness and his gift of a redeemer.
To show the providential ancestry of King David.
To show how God can use even the worst of situations for his glory through a redeemer.
To show that God welcomes non-Israelites into the covenant. Ruth joins Tamar and Rahab in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Matt 1:1-17).
Structure (John MacArthur)
Elimelech and Naomi’s ruin in Moab (1:1–5)
Naomi and Ruth’s return to Bethlehem (1:6–22)
Boaz’s reception of Ruth in his field (2:1–23)
Ruth’s romance with Boaz (3:1–18)
Boaz’s redemption of Ruth (4:1–12)
God’s reward of Boaz and Ruth with a son (4:13–17)
I recently preached a sermon series called Commit at my church on what biblically committed church membership looks like. This post is based off of the eleventh sermon in that series.
Sermon Text: Matt 28:16-20
Today is the last sermon in our Commit sermon series and I think it’s a fitting end. I want to quickly summarize the series.
In our first sermon, I preached from Acts 2:36-47. There, we saw the pattern that we see throughout the New Testament. The gospel is preached. People are converted to Christ, baptized, and added to a local church.
Next, I preached on the importance of committing to a local church through believer’s baptism and church membership. The last seven sermons have covered what committed church membership looks like.
Regular attendance and involvement
Submitting to God’s Word
Fervent prayer
Generous giving
Serving faithfully
Biblical fellowship
Church discipline / rescuing those caught in sin
Our final sermon in this series is going to focus on the biblical plan for church growth. We all want our church to grow both numerically and spiritually. So, how do we do it according to God’s Word?
Some of us tend to think about church this way: We attend services when it’s convenient and we take away what helps us to feel better about ourselves and yet we have little concern for others.
But Jesus has given His church a mission in which He calls every believer to participate. This mission is found at the end of Matthew’s Gospel.
Matt 28:16-20
16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The theme of evangelism and discipleship is a major theme of Jesus’ post-resurrection teaching (Matt 28:16-20; Luke 24:46-49; John 20:21-22; Acts 1:8). Since Jesus repeatedly emphasizes this, we as His disciples cannot miss this important command.
BIG IDEA: The mission of every church is to make disciples of Jesus that glorify God with their entire lives.
Context
Jesus rose from the grave probably within the past week or two before he gave the Great Commission. Both before and after his resurrection, Jesus had directed His disciples to meet him in Galilee. He had already appeared to his 11 disciples in John 20-21, where we read that He restored Peter after Peter had denied Jesus.
Verse 16 reiterates that “the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.” The text doesn’t tell us who all was present when Jesus gave the Great Commission. Obviously from v. 16 we know the eleven disciples were there, but some commentators believe that it was the group of more than 500 that Paul mentions in 1 Cor 15:6.
So, that’s the context. Jesus is with his 11 disciples and possibly more. He knows that in a few weeks he will be returning to the Father and he gives his disciples clear instructions to make more disciples.
To make disciples, we must submit to Jesus’ authority (17-18)
“When they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.” (v. 17)
Jesus’ worth is the fuel of our mission and his worship is the goal of our mission. John Piper says, “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.”
“Missions exist because worship doesn’t.”
John Piper
There are people that do not know Jesus or worship him and they are headed to hell. I read this week that over 147,000 people die every day without Christ.
“some doubted”
Perhaps some of the 11 disciples doubted their ability to carry on the mission without Jesus. If more than the 11 disciples were present, perhaps some of the other people had a hard time believing in Jesus’ resurrection.
To reassure them, Jesus comes toward them. The text says, “Jesus came and said to them” (v. 18). And look at the words that Jesus spoke: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18).
Jesus is not just Lord of the Jews. He is Lord over all nations. He is the exalted and resurrected Son of God. We often speak of Jesus being our personal Lord and Savior. We might say, “I decided to make Jesus my Lord and Savior.”
The reality is that we do not decide to make Jesus Lord. Jesus is Lord whether we choose to acknowledge that fact or not. Jesus is not just our personal Lord and Savior, but the universal Lord and Savior over all. Jesus is not just the King of the Jews, but the King of every nation.
If you read the Gospels, you will see Jesus’ authority over nature, over disease, demons, and even death (Mark 5).
Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, and he has authority over our lives. He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow Him. We are to submit to the lordship of Christ.
To make disciples, we must follow Jesus’ plan (19-20a)
Jesus spoke to the masses but spent much of his time with the 12 disciples. What is a disciple? A disciple is a learner or a follower. A disciples is someone who seeks to learn from a more experienced rabbi.
In short, a disciple of Jesus is a genuine, lifelong follower of Jesus. In the New Testament, the word disciple is used 269 times. The word Christian is used three times. The word believer is used two times. It’s clear that Jesus wants us to make disciples rather than just people who mentally assent to biblical truths.
So, what is Jesus’ plan? To make disciples. To make disciples is the imperative in these verses. There are three participles in the text that correspond to the three steps of making disciples:
Go with the gospel.
Baptize those who respond.
Teach them to obey Jesus.
(1) First, we are to go and tell the good news of the gospel (19)
Even if we don’t serve as vocational missionaries, we are called to be missionaries in our context (Matt 4:19). We all know people that are not Christians. Disciples are to be on mission for Jesus by sharing the message of Jesus. We think of evangelism as knocking on doors but think of relationships you already have (work, neighbors, family, sports, school).
As Christians, we need to get outside of our comfort zone and go to where non-believers are and be a witness among them. Here are some practical tips for evangelism:
Pray for lost people you know.
Love them enough to get to know them.
Invite them into your home.
The more of a relationship you have with someone the more effectively you can share hard truths with them.
Use a tool. There are many good gospel tracts available.
The word translated “nations” is ethne, which means people groups – every tribe, nation, and tongue. Christianity isn’t just for middle class Americans in Poinsett County. It’s for every tribe, nation, and tongue.
Rev 7:9-10
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
So, we go with the gospel. Second, we baptize those who respond.
(2) “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (v. 19)
Those who respond to the gospel in repentance and faith are to be baptized. Baptism is an outward symbol of an inward transformation. When someone is baptized, he is going public with his faith. He is identifying as a Christian and proclaiming that he belongs to the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Baptism does not save you, but it does point to the reality that your sins have been washed away because of the work of Jesus (Titus 3:4-7). Christians must be baptized in obedience to Jesus. To neglect baptism is to disobey and dishonor Jesus.
Baptism is not the finish line, but it is the starting point of new life in Christ.
Baptism is not the finish line, but it is the starting point of new life in Christ.
So, we go with the gospel. We baptize those who respond. And third, we teach new believers how to obey Jesus in all of life for the rest of life.
(3) “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (v. 20)
After someone responds to the gospel and is baptized, we are to teach that person how to follow Jesus Christ. We as disciples are supposed to show this new Christian how to read and apply God’s Word, how to pray, how to worship, how to share the gospel, how to manage their money, how to love their families, and more. When someone decides that they want to follow Christ, that is not the end—it’s the beginning!
Personally, I came to Christ at a young age (8-10) but my parents were not Christians. No one helped me grow spiritually for several years. Then, in college God used several people to help me grow in my faith.
The typical practice in many churches is that after someone walks down the aisle we say, “God bless you, good luck.” We pat ourselves on the back and say mission accomplished. Then we wonder why we don’t see them after a few months. One pastor says, “Many Christians are frustrated because they know what to do but they’ve never been taught how to do it.” I think he’s right, and I think those people will either stop going to church altogether or they will go somewhere where they will be shown how to grow.
How many of you have been shown how to read the Bible by a more mature believer? How to pray? How to share the gospel?
In Mark 3:14 Jesus calls his disciples to be with him. Jesus spent three years living with his disciples and training them and we think Sunday school is sufficient. We think of teaching with more of a western mindset. We tend to think of teaching in a classroom whereas the eastern idea of teaching implies a relationship – being with someone personally.
Again the more relationship you have the more influence and the more truth you can speak into their life.
1 Cor 11:1
Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
If someone watched your life, would they learn how to be a disciple of Christ? We are called to make disciples and not just converts. Jesus did not say, “If anyone would follow me, He must pray this prayer.” He said, “If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
“Maybe the reason that we are making fewer converts is because we have failed to disciple the converts we have made.” (Jared Wilson)
Once we teach a new Christian how to be a disciple, now it is their turn to replicate the process. It’s clear from this text—a disciple of Jesus makes disciples of Jesus, and a church that worships Jesus is to be a church that makes disciples of Jesus.
None of us can do all the work of the ministry. We must train and equip others, and that starts with me as the pastor of the church (Eph 4:11-12).
To make disciples, we must depend on the presence of Christ (20b)
Lastly, some encouragement. Jesus promises to be with us. Look at the last part of verse 20—“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” This mission of making disciples is not to be done alone, but by the power of Jesus living in us through the Holy Spirit. The mission is not based on who we are or what we can do, but it is based on who Jesus is and what He is able to do in us and through us.
Near the beginning of Matthew (Matt 1:23), Jesus was called “Immanuel” which means “God with us.” As Jesus gets ready to go back to the Father, he promises that he will be with us.
All authority and heaven and on earth are his and he promises his presence until he returns.
The mission of every church is to make disciples of Jesus that glorify God with their entire lives.
The Great Commission is the defining mandate for us as individuals and as a church. We must be with Christ after the lost.
CONCLUSION
The Great Commission is not a comfortable call inviting Christians to be baptized and sit in one location, but to make disciples by going to the lost, baptizing those that respond to Christ, and teaching them to obey all that He commanded.
Are we as a church willing to follow King Jesus’ plan to build his church?
Will we commit to making disciples and not just settle for decisions?
Will we seek to help each new Christian that God sends our way grow in spiritual maturity so that he or she can help reach and disciple others?
