Ruth is another non-Israelite who is listed in the lineage of Jesus in Matthew 1. She was a Moabite. She was a descendant of Lot, Abraham’s nephew. Moab was one of Lot’s sons. Warning, it’s a messy story. Lot’s daughters got him drunk, took advantage of him and got pregnant. One of them gave birth to Moab from which we get the Moabite nation. God chose the lineage of a Moabite woman through which Jesus would descend. God isn’t afraid of our mess, y’all.
Ruth was a daughter-in-law of Elimelek and Naomi. Naomi, Elimelek and their two sons moved to Moab due to a famine in Bethlehem. The two sons married Moabite woman. Some time passed and all three men died. The three women were left without spouses. Naomi, the mother-in-law heard learned there was grain again in Bethlehem. She decided she would go back to Bethlehem and try to make a go of things on her own. She told her daughters-in-law to go back to their family home and offered a blessing that they would each find a new husband. One of the girls took her up on the offer, but Ruth wouldn’t hear of it. She was going to forge a whole new life with her mother-in-law in Bethlehem.
Naomi didn’t want her to give up the hope her home country would offer her and said in Ruth 1:15: “Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
No doubt when both girls married their Israelite husbands, even though they remained in Moab, the God of the Israelites had become their God. They had begun to live as Hebrews even though they had been raised differently. At Naomi’s invitation, the one daughter-in-law went back home to her people AND to her pagan gods. Not Ruth. Verse 16b-19: Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. 19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.
In this declaration, Ruth was forsaking the gods of the Moabites and was turning to the God of the Hebrews. She wasn’t just making a commitment to Naomi, but she was making a commitment to God.
Friends, Naomi wasn’t an easy person to be with. Most of us are prone to try to avoid Negative Nellies and Bitter Bertha’s but not Ruth. Naomi even called herself bitter. She was angry at God for the circumstances of her life, and she let her feelings be known. She didn’t consider that God was up to something that was just ahead, that God had a blessing in the works back home in Bethlehem. Naomi didn’t think about what God might be taking her to. She could only focus on what she was going through. She was bitter toward the very God who was about to bless her beyond her wildest dreams.
In the Hebrew culture of that day there were two laws that God set up to help protect the poor and vulnerable. The first law required that workers in the fields would leave some of the crops in the fields so that poor people could come behind them and pick the grain up for food. The second law was the law of the Kinsman-Redeemer. If you owed a debt and you were unable to pay it, you could be sold into slavery and be forced to work to pay off your debt. But a family member could come along and pay your debt. That person would be called your kinsman-redeemer because he would redeem you out of slavery by paying your debt. If the slave owner had seized your land, the kinsman-redeemer could buy it back. Poor people who didn’t have a kinsman-redeemer would live a difficult life.
Since the law made provision for her to gather leftover grain that the harvesters dropped, Ruth went out to work the fields. This was a sometimes-dangerous thing for a female to do as the fields weren’t always a safe place for a poor woman.
The field where she found herself was owned by a man named Boaz. He took notice of her. He asked one of his workers some questions about her and heard about her story. Boaz went to Ruth and told her to stick to his field. He assured her she would be safe in his field because he had told the harvesters not to mess with her. Before he could continue, Ruth asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” Ruth 2:10
He said he had heard about all she had done for Naomi, and he added this blessing to her in verse 12:12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.” As he spoke, he affirmed her decision to turn to the Lord and to trust Him for His provision. She replied in verse 13, 13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
He then basically asked her to dinner. When the dinner was over, he gave orders to his men to drop some grain on purpose to make it easier for her to glean in the fields. She worked all day and took so much grain home that her mother-in-law asked where she had worked and added, “Blessed be the man who took notice of you!” She knew that no one could gather that much grain in a day without some help, without some favor.
When Ruth told Naomi she had been in the field of Boaz, her ears perked up. She knew he was one of the good guys and that he was a close relative and was one of her family’s kinsman-redeemers. The wheels started turning in Naomi’s mind as she began to picture the possibilities, as she began to let hope live in her heart.
Naomi created a plan for Ruth to capture Boaz as a husband. Y’all know I love, love, and I sure love a good proposal. I love the video clips of people who go all out to plan just the right romantic moment. They make sure it is special. They make sure the details of the moment match the magnitude of the moment. I gotta say that Ruth’s proposal (and yes, she was the one who proposed to Boaz) was less than stellar.
She did get gussied up, but after that it was sorta downhill, folks. She waited until Boaz had finished work and had fallen asleep on the threshing floor where he had been processing the grain. She crept up to him and uncovered his feet and laid down beside him while he slept. That was the proposal. You could say Boaz even had cold feet before the wedding. You’re welcome. I’m here every week.
While this is wildly weird to our western understanding, the practice of uncovering someone’s feet was a demonstration of subjection and submission. As she pulled back the covering from Boaz’s feet, she was signifying a willingness to become his wife. He gladly accepted the proposal and said he would also be her kinsman-redeemer. There was a formality that had to be worked out because there was an even closer relative who sort of had the first right of refusal for the job of kinsman-redeemer. That guy was willing buy to the property, but once he learned the job came with Ruth as a wife, he was out, and Boaz got to redeem the property and take Ruth to be his wife.
Boaz and Ruth got married and had a son named Obed. He was the father of Jesse who became the father to King David, and as we have studied, Jesus descended from the house and line of David. Naomi wasn’t bitter anymore. She was blessed because as she looked back, she traced the hand of God to endear Ruth to her, to enable her to come back home, to be cared for, to be provided with a kinsman-redeemer, to watch Ruth take him as a husband and to become a grandmother.
Allow me to share three quick points from the story:
- When we align ourselves with God we are never without hope.
Ruth and Naomi found themselves widowed and without hope. Things looked bleak for both women. The pain of grief was heavy. Remember, Naomi not only lost her husband, but both of her sons as well. When they left for Bethlehem, they were broken and destitute. But God. God was at work to give these two women a hope and a future. They couldn’t see it, but God was making a way for them. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Believer, at the end of your pain is the unfolding of God’s plan. Your story isn’t over. Let the hope of Christ, the hope of Christmas move you to align yourself with Him and to trust Him to bring your though.
- When we align ourselves with God, we will be given favor.
God led Ruth to the right field to glean grain. She didn’t know it was the field of Boaz, a relative of her late husband and potential kinsman-redeemer. That is the favor of God, Church. God led her not only to the right field, but He led her there at the right time. When you read chapter two, the story highlights the timing of the events. 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!” Boaz just happened to arrive on the scene at the right time to be able to catch a glimpse of Ruth. He was intrigued. She caught his eye. He wanted to know more. Chapter 2 is all about how Ruth found favor with Boaz. Verse 10, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” Ruth knew she had been given favor. Special treatment. Goodwill was being extended to her. Special kindness was being given to her. Boaz gave her extra help. She didn’t deserve it, but he paid her extra attention. She didn’t ask for it. She couldn’t have produced it, but God gave her favor through Boaz.
This is what God does for those who align themselves with Him. Mary, the Mother of Jesus was called “Blessed and highly favored,” by the angel who visited her in Luke 1 to tell her she would give birth to Jesus. Mary was a virgin. Virgins didn’t have children. It was because of God’s favor that she conceived and gave birth to Jesus. Favor comes with provision. Favor produces miracles. Hear me, you want the favor of God. He can cause people’s hearts to open to you. He can open doors no man can shut. He can elevate you in situations that create opportunities for you that you could never have maneuvered. He can create a stream of provision in your life that will keep you going. He can cut through red tape. He can create space for you when you need that appointment, when you need access to someone. He can cause people to treat you kindly, to go above and beyond for you like Boaz did for Ruth.
- When we align ourselves with God, we will be redeemed.
Boaz serves as a “type” of Christ. Boaz was a preview of what Jesus, our Kinsman-Redeemer would accomplish for us on the Cross. The Hebrew word for kinsman-redeemer is “goel,” which refers to a kinsman who has the “right to redeem” someone. Jesus has the right to redeem us because He lived a sinless life, qualifying Him to die as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. I love this verse in Hebrews 2:11, “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.” Jesus, our Brother has redeemed us all! Is Jesus your Kinsman-Redeemer?
Ruth and Naomi were in the middle of a mess, but God turned it around and from that mess, the Messiah, Jesus, descended. Ruth and Naomi started the trip to Bethlehem empty, and God filled their lives with provision, purpose and enabled them to be part of His plan to bring redemption to the world. Wow!
Are you bitter in this moment toward the very God who wants to bless you? Do you need the hope and favor that come from aligning yourselves with God? Have you been redeemed by God through Christ? If not, you can be today. Those are the Christmas messages from the mess Ruth and Naomi found themselves in. Let what God did for them lead you to let God do the same for you.
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