Many of you have heard the story of the monk who became a
reformer, Martin Luther. But have you heard the story of
how he married a runaway nun? It was the 16th century.
At that time, it was extremely dangerous to disavow the
monastic life. But after hearing Martin
Luther's teachings, 12 nuns requested help to escape their
monastery. So Luther orchestrated their
escape and tried to return them to their families.
These nuns, or you could say fugitives, tried to return to
their families because they were entirely dependent on their
family's willingness to help them.
But if they couldn't return to their families, they tried to
get married. And one nun couldn't return to
her family, nor could she find a husband.
That one nun was Katarina von Bora.
So no support from her family. Can't find a husband.
She had two failed proposals, so she wrote and informed Martin
Luther and his friend Nicholas von Amsdorf.
She said that she would only marry one of them.
That's a bold proposal even for standards today, especially for
the 16th century. But Luther, who helped her
escape, felt responsible to care for her.
And on May 4th, 1525, Luther wrote in a letter to his
brother-in-law. If I can manage it before I die,
I will marry my Katie to spite the devil.
Luther said challenge accepted, let's get married.
And they were married. A former monk and a former nun.
Married June 13th, 1525. Today in the book of Ruth, we
hear an even bolder proposal. Turn in your Bible to Ruth
chapter 3. If you didn't bring a Bible,
just raise your hand. It'd be helpful to follow along.
Somebody will bring you a Bible right now.
Raise your hand and you can follow along in God's Word.
And if you don't own a copy, let that be our gift to you.
Ruth chapter 3. We've been considering a small
town story of the little town of Bethlehem.
There one family face, bitter Providence, famine, 3 funerals,
infertility, and yet we've seen that God was subtly working
behind the scenes. He was working for their good,
providing them food, bringing them barley.
He was working for the nation's good, providing the nation of
Israel, eventually a king in David.
We've even seen that he's working in the book of Ruth for
our good, providing us what we need, a Redeemer.
As I read Ruth chapter 3, hear the word of the Lord.
Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, should
I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Is not Boaz our relative with whose young woman you were?
See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
Wash therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your cloak
and go down to the threshing floor.
But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished
eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe
the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and
lie down, and he will tell you what to do.
And she replied, All that you say I will do.
So she went down to the threshing floor, and did just as
her mother-in-law had commanded her.
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry,
he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
Then she came softly and uncovered his feet, and lay
down. At midnight the man was startled
and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet.
He said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your
servant. Spread your wings over your
servant, for you are of Redeemer.
And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord.
My daughter, you have made this last kindness greater than the
first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or
rich. And now, my daughter, do not
fear, I will do for you all that you ask for.
All my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
And now it is true that I am a Redeemer.
Yet there is a Redeemer nearer than I remain tonight and in the
morning. If He will redeem you, good, let
him do it. But if not, but if he is not
willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem
you. Lie down until the morning.
So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one
could recognize another. And he said, Let it not be known
that the woman came to the threshing floor.
And he said, Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.
So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and
put it on her. Then she went into the city, and
when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, How did
you fare, my daughter? Then she told her all that the
man had done for her, saying these six measures of barley he
gave to me. For he said to me, you must not
go back empty handed to your mother-in-law.
She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter
turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter
today. If you read chapter 3 before
this morning, maybe you've been meditating on it this week.
You might have wondered a few questions, like what exactly
does Naomi ask her daughter Lauder to do in verses 1 to 5?
Is she asking her to do what it seems like she's asking her to
do? Or what exactly goes down at the
threshing floor between Ruth and Boaz in verses 6 to 13?
These are important questions. I intend to answer them, but I
don't want you to miss the message of chapter 3.
Church, there is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son.
Rest in your Redeemer. That's where we're going.
Rest in your Redeemer and help us get there.
Here's three points. First point 1A, Bold act of
faith, verses 1 to 5, Chapter 3 begins with Naomi's bold
initiative. Look at verse one.
Naomi asked Ruth, my daughter, should I not seek rest for you,
that it may be well with you? Naomi seeks rest for Ruth, that
is, she seeks a husband and a home.
She seeks provision and protection and after how God's
supernatural and subtle Providence provided in chapter
2, who do you think comes first to Naomi's mind?
Ruth just happened to come to the field of Boaz in chapter 2.
Boaz just happened to come from Bethlehem, and Boaz just
happened to be one of their redeemers.
In verse 2, Naomi naturally asks, is not Boaz our relative
with whose young women you were? And next Naomi makes a plan.
But before we look at her plan, do you remember from chapter 1
her prayer flip back to chapter 1 quickly.
Verse 9, see Naomi's prayer for Ruth.
The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you, in the House
of her husband. Naomi previously prayed for the
Lord to provide rest for Ruth, and now Naomi plans to help
answer her own prayer tonight. For tonight, Boaz is winnowing
barley. During the harvest, barley was
tossed into the breeze with a winnowing fork.
The wind would separate the stalk from the chaff and all
this would happen at the threshing floor.
So Naomi commands Ruth to act. Listen to how the verbs Dr. the
narrative. Verse 3 Wash, anoint yourself,
put on your cloak, go down to the threshing floor.
Don't make yourself known. Verse 4 observe.
Go uncover his feet, lie down. Naomi's saying, Ruth, tonight I
don't want you to take a shower. Put on some good perfume.
Get dressed. Go to the threshing floor.
Remain secret. Wait till Boaz is asleep.
Uncover his feet. Lie down next to him.
Now is a good time to answer that question, That lingering
question. What exactly does Naomi ask her
daughter-in-law to do? Is she asking her to do what it
seems like she's asking her to do?
And to understand, we need to make sense of a few facts,
because this is a tricky text. The fact, first fact, fact #1
the author explicitly states Boaz and Ruth's godly character.
That's been explicit. Boaz is a worthy man.
Chapter 2. He's a man of moral courage, a
man who protects and provides meaning you can go to his fields
and not fear for your safety. He's godly.
And Ruth, Ruth's godliness was the talk of the town in chapter
2. Everybody was talking about the
fact that she's from Moab, but that she's taking refuge in the
God of Israel. You could say, as we just read,
she's a Proverbs 31 woman. She's godly.
They're both godly people. That's what the author
explicitly states. But fact 2, the author
implicitly presents Naomi's heart change.
Remember chapter 1, Naomi did leave the Lord.
She departed the promised land for Moab, but after bitter
Providence, she returned. She repented.
The author made that explicit 12 times in chapter 1, saying
return, return, return. And remember.
She did lament in chapter 1, but her lament turned to praise in
chapter 2 as she began to see the kindness of God who is
providentially providing barley through Boaz.
She physically returned to the Lord in chapter 1, and now it
seems she's trusting him even more in chapter 3.
In other words, I think the Naomi of chapter 3 right now is
different from the Naomi of chapter 1.
She's had a heart change. But there's a third fact, and
this is what makes this text tricky.
Fact 3 The author uses words that can imply sexual activity
in some contexts. The word no in verse 3 and the
words uncover and feet and lie down in verse 4 can refer to
sexual activity. Also the harvest and the
threshing floor were often associated with fertility.
And honestly, if you just read it, it just takes a little bit
of common sense to see what could happen here.
Here's the recipe. Midnight.
Two people alone after someone's been drinking, lying down next
to each other. That's a recipe for disaster.
So how do we put all this together?
I could be wrong here, but based on Naomi's current faith in the
Lord, I don't think she's being reckless or foolish or risque in
her request to Ruth. In other words, I don't think
Naomi falls into ungodly pragmatism where the ends
justify the means. Naomi knows Boaz's character.
She knows Ruth's character. If Naomi were even asking Ruth
to sin based on Ruth's godliness, I don't think Ruth
would have responded the way she does in verse 5.
Verse 5, All that you say I will do.
Remember Chapter 1? Ruth was not afraid to go
against her mother-in-law. She did it three times in
chapter 1. So what then is Naomi asking?
She's boldly asking Ruth to take a risk after all.
Remember the context, Ruth. Chapter one, verse one.
These are the days when the judges ruled midnight on the
threshing floor after eating and drinking was ordinarily not the
place for a young woman. This plan was not normal
practice in Israel. Most of you, I presume, shower
or take a bath every day or every week at the least.
I hope that was not normal practice in daily Israel.
Some of you wear perfume or you wear deodorant at least.
That also was not normal practice in ancient Israel.
It wasn't normal practice, but it was a bold plan.
A plan for Ruth to propose, to signal to Boaz that she wanted
to get married. It was a plan for Ruth to find
rest, rest in a Redeemer. It was a bold act of faith.
Ruth is a book about God's Providence.
Providence, that wonderful doctrine that God himself
constantly cares for creation. God, who is most holy and wise
and powerful, is absolutely sovereign over everything.
He's in charge of every matter. He's the orchestrator of all
things. He's the director behind the
scenes. So you may wonder why, if that's
the case, should I do anything? Perhaps you've thought, if God's
going to do everything he wants either way, what difference does
it make if I do anything? Or perhaps you've not thought
that, but if you look back on your life, when you've learned
about the Providence of God, it's actually produced
passivity. Sitting back, relaxing.
Brothers and sisters, don't let the sovereignty of God be an
excuse for your inaction. Divine sovereignty and human
responsibility are compatible. We should not separate friends
Providence. That's God's job.
Prayer and planning, those are our jobs.
In fact, divine Providence doesn't preclude prayer or
planning. Now, as you think about God's
Providence and prayer and planning, first read God's Word.
We're going to see in the second point that Naomi's actually
acting based on the law of Israel.
Read God's Word and then pray and plan accordingly.
Plan boldly by faith. Like Katarina proposing to
Martin Luther to marry her. That's bold.
Like the Apostle Paul scheming to get the gospel to people in
Spain who've never heard the name of Jesus Christ.
Like so many of you who strategize and scheme about how
to share the gospel with your family and with your friends,
plan boldly. Pray boldly by faith.
Like the widow who persisted in prayer over and over again,
crying out for justice. Or like Paul's friend Epaphras,
who Paul said he always struggles on behalf of you in
his prayers, like so many of you who have been persevering in
prayer for weeks, months, years for the salvation of that family
member or that friend. When you rightly understand God
and his Providence, you shouldn't be passive.
God will actually use His Providence to encourage you to
produce bold faith, a faith that plans and praise and and Naomi's
a good example of that here. Verses one to five, she has bold
faith point #2A godly Redeemer. Verses 6 to 13, a godly
Redeemer. Starting in verse 6, Ruth obeys
Naomi. She stealthily goes to the
threshing floor. She watches Boaz eat and drink.
She observes where he lies down. Then she softly uncovers his
feet and lays down next to him. And look what happens in verse
8. At midnight, the man was
startled and turned over. And behold, a woman lay at his
feet. Parents, you know what this is
like. You're asleep.
Maybe you hear the door open, Sir.
You're wondering what is there someone in the room staring at
me? You open your eyes and there's a
child. Behold, with a request.
And how do you respond? How would Boaz respond?
What happens next takes place between two individuals in the
dead of night with no witnesses. Ruth takes a risk, and perhaps
you're wondering what exactly goes down at the threshing floor
between Ruth and Boaz. Remember the godly character of
Boaz and Ruth? Naomi's plan only works if both
participants fear the Lord, and we're relieved to find that Boaz
and Ruth are the same in the dead of night as they were in
broad daylight. They're the same in public as
they are here in private. In other words, Ruth does not
seduce Boaz. To be clear, no sexual
immorality takes place at the threshing floor.
So why then, you may wonder, does the author suggest the
possibility of sexual immorality?
Why is there this narrative tension?
Why use these certain words leading up to this point?
I think one reason is because Moabites had a reputation for
seducing Israelites. In fact, the last time an
Israelite man encountered A Moabite woman in the Bible is
Numbers 25, Numbers 25. The Moabite women seduced the
Israelite men and 24,000 drop dead because of God's judgment.
We the readers are left wondering here.
Will tonight be the same? But another reason the author
suggests the possibility of sexual morality is because of
Israel's own dark history of deception.
In Genesis 19, Lot's own daughters seduce him under the
cover of darkness. That's how the Moabites become a
people through that seduction. Then in Genesis 38, Tamar tricks
her father-in-law, Judah. She covers herself with a veil.
She waits for him to pass by before presenting herself to him
as a prostitute. When Ruth arrives at the
threshing floor, the author suggests the possibility of
sexual morality. And so we the readers are left
wondering, will Ruth follow in the footsteps of her ancestors?
But look what happens in verse 9.
Boaz wakes up and he asks, who are you?
And Ruth responds with her request.
I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your
servant, for you are a Redeemer. Before we consider Ruth's
request, do you remember Boaz's prayer from chapter 2?
Look back briefly at chapter 2, verse 12.
A full reward be given to you by the Lord, the God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
In Boaz's prayer, the wings of the Lord depicted God as this
mother hen who's protecting and providing for his people.
Now Ruth turns to Boaz, and she requests that he spread his
wings here, meaning the corner of his garment over her to
protect her. In other words, Ruth requests
that Boaz be the answer to his own prayer.
You prayed for my blessing, Would you bless me?
You prayed for my refuge, Would you be my refuge?
Essentially, Ruth is asking Boaz, will you marry me?
That's a bold proposal. It was a surprise proposal. 11
years ago. I asked Hannah that very
question, not will you spread your wings over me?
I asked her, will you marry me? Just be clear.
And it was a surprise. But you know how it works
nowadays. It's a surprise.
But they they know it's coming. Like you've already talked about
it. That she knew I was going to ask
her to marry her, but the date was a surprise.
You know, when's it going to happen?
And you have to coordinate an engagement party and all that
stuff. You know, the basis of my
proposal was our mutual affection for one another.
I love you, you love me. We love the Lord.
We want to serve the Lord together.
Brothers, if you're married, many of you ask your wife that
very question, will you marry me?
And I'm sure you had a similar basis for your proposal.
Notice the basis of Ruth's appeal.
For you are a Redeemer. Not their love for one another,
not their affection for one another.
A covenant obligation. According to the law in
Leviticus 25, if a family member found themselves in debt and
sold into slavery or if their land was lost because they fell
on hard times, a Redeemer in the family was responsible for
paying for the price of their redemption.
The closer the family relationship, the larger the
obligation. By appealing to Boaz's covenant
obligation, Ruth not only proposes marriage.
Will you marry me? She's also making a request to
Boaz that he purchased a Limilex land, which includes caring for
Ruth's mother-in-law for Naomi. And so that's why in verse 10,
when Boaz responds, he says may you be blessed by the Lord.
And he tells her that this last kindness is greater than the
first. What's the first act of
kindness? It was Ruth's loyalty to her
mother-in-law. She clung to her mother-in-law.
She followed her, left behind her family and followed her all
the way to Bethlehem. And here it's a greater kindness
because Ruth is seeking marriage to provide for Naomi, and Boaz
knows that. In verse 11, Boaz comforts Ruth.
My daughter, do not fear. She took a risk.
Boaz says she'll be rewarded because everyone in Bethlehem
knows that she's a worthy woman. Here in the days of judges, A
worthy man has met a worthy woman.
But there's one complication. Verse 12 There is a Redeemer
nearer. Yet this isn't a big deal
because Boaz instructs Ruth to remain till the morning.
He says, if that brother won't redeem you, Boaz swears, as the
Lord lives. Verse 12 I will redeem you, He
assures her. In the Old Testament, the laws
of redemption were built on a foundational act of redemption
at the Exodus, when God rescued his people from slavery to
Egypt. So the Israelites, in light of
that salvation, were instructed how they were to treat one
another, to be kind, to be generous, to redeem one another
if they ever needed it. But even that great act of
redemption and the Israelites acts of redemption among one
another just pointed forward to a final act of redemption, a
greater exodus, the cross where God rescues sinners from their
slavery to sin. Friends, there is a Redeemer.
There is only one Redeemer. Everyone of us in this room
needs a Redeemer. We need redemption.
We need someone to save us from our sin, someone to buy us back
from the debt that we owe, someone to protect us from
death. The devil and from death itself.
And friends, there is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son.
Jesus, our Redeemer died on the cross for our redemption.
He rose from the grave and he'll return and we can call upon him
to fulfill his covenant obligations to sinners.
Flee from your sin. Seek rest that's only found in
Jesus. Believe in him.
He will not hesitate. He will gladly act, which is
what we see him do over and over again in the New Testament.
The unclean leper in Mark 1 asks Jesus, if you're willing, you
can make me clean and moves with pity.
Jesus responds, I am willing. The Canaanite woman in Matthew
15 comes to Jesus in great need. Have mercy on me.
She seeks rest for her daughter. She's content just to eat from
Israel's leftovers. She throws herself at Jesus feet
and Jesus blesses her. A woman great is your faith.
Let it be done for you as you desire.
Friend, Will not Jesus respond to you the same way if you
repent of your sins and boldly request your redemption?
Church, there is a Redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son.
Praise the Lord, we have a Redeemer.
And if Jesus is our Redeemer, how should we then live?
What should mark us as a people? Well, there's two things from
this chapter that we see. One is godly character.
The second is mutual care. Godly character, mutual care.
We're going to park here for just a minute and reflect on
these two. Now.
First, I'm sorry to say that despite many sermons, Ruth has
nothing to teach us about dating.
Just want to clear the air. I would not commend any ladies
in the church who are looking for a spouse to follow Ruth's
example. Do not approach a man at
midnight. Do not go by yourself, do not
uncover his feet or lie down next to him.
No different contexts. But Ruth does have something to
teach us about godly character. And perhaps then I can make one
or two suggestions about dating if you're seeking a spouse, One,
be a godly person. 2 be attracted to godliness, godly
character. One of the amazing features of
the book of Ruth is the ordinary godliness of each individual.
These are the days when the judges ruled, when everyone did
what was right in their own eyes.
These are days of moral decline. And yet every character in the
book of Ruth reflects the kindness and the love of God.
Boaz and Ruth are the same in private as they are in public.
We should ask ourselves, is, is that true of us?
Boaz and Ruth are the same in the night as they are in the
day. We should ask of ourselves, is
that true of us? We cannot hide what we believe
about God. God sends us bitter Providence's
which are trials and troubles and tribulations, and they
reveal our theology. They reveal what we believe
about God, which is seen in our character.
Friends, you may not receive any applause for ordinary godliness.
Nobody's going to clap for you. Nobody will celebrate you.
Nobody's going to care even that you work hard when no one's
watching. Nobody might notice that you
privately check up on other members in the church who are
facing difficulties, or notice that you lead and care for your
family well, or that you read the Word with your kids, or that
you carefully hold every thought captive.
Nobody's going to notice even how you repent of sinful
desires, or that you're marked by private prayer.
You may not receive any applause for any of that in this world,
but in the eyes of God, your ordinary godliness is of great
value. The book of Ruth also also shows
us the great blessing of mutual care.
Think about the book of Ruth. Chapter 1.
Ruth clings to Naomi to care for her.
Chapter 2, Ruth brings back her leftovers for Naomi.
Chapter 3, Naomi seeks rest for Ruth.
Chapter 3 Also, Ruth in return returns that kindness and seeks
provision for Naomi. The local church, God's people,
should be marked by mutual care. Let each of you, Paul says, look
not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. Let no one seek his own good,
but the good of his neighbor. Bless others and let others
bless you. Serve others and let others
serve you. Now, is this simply kind of a,
hey, you scratch my back, I'll scratch your back.
Is this a I'll pray for you? Are you?
You're praying for me, or I'll bring you a meal because last
time you brought me a meal. Is that what's happening here?
Of course not. It's seeking the good of others
without guarantee of good in return.
It's treating others how you want to be treated even when
they don't treat you how you want to be treated.
It's pouring yourself out for the sake of others in this
church and trusting that God will use others to fill you up.
Brothers and sisters, when we do this faithfully, when we
ourselves are marked by godly character and we as a church are
marked by mutual care, we show the world that Jesus is our
Redeemer. Point #3 A call to wait.
Verses 14 to 18, A call to wait. Ruth returns home to Naomi, but
not before leaving with a blessing.
What's the blessing? Look at verse 15.
Boaz says bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.
So she held it out, and he measured out six measures of
barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
The blessing is barley. Now you probably don't care much
about barley, but Naomi who had lived through a famine, loved
barley. When Naomi, when Ruth returns to
Naomi, Naomi asks her verse 16, How'd you fare my daughter?
Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying
these six measures of barley he gave to me.
For he said to me, you must not go back empty handed to your
mother-in-law. Did you hear with the barley
came a blessing? You must not go back empty.
Empty. It's as if Boaz overheard
Naomi's bitter lament from chapter 1.
Do you remember her lament? The Lord has brought me back
empty. Of course, Boaz never heard that
prayer, but the Lord did. And the Lord fills Naomi's
emptiness with barley from Boaz once again.
Have you ever wondered reading the book of Ruth, why do each of
the first 3 chapters of Ruth end with barley?
Barley, barley, barley, barley. Why all the barley?
Chapter 1 ends with the beginning of barley harvest.
Chapter 2, an ephah of barley. Chapter 3-6 Measures of barley.
It's so much barley in Chapter 3 that Boaz has to place it on
Ruth. Why all the barley?
Maybe you're wondering that little bread.
To us it might seem insignificant, but to those in
need it's a lifeline. Barley's an indication, a little
one, that God's not forgotten his people, that though they
faced A bitter Providence he was providing for them.
Barley was an assurance from the Lord that he would not let Naomi
run on empty any longer. Naomi's empty days are over, and
Naomi is assured when she sees the barley and hears Boaz's
blessing. Naomi, who gave a smattering of
commands in verses 3 and 4, ends the chapter with just one.
It's a call to wait. Verse 18, Naomi says Wait my
daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out.
For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter.
Today all it takes to assure Naomi is a down payment of
barley that makes her trust this Redeemer.
So she says, wait, Brothers and sisters, we too are called to
wait. We're waiting for our Redeemer
to settle the matter. Saints in the Old Testament
waited 400 years. There's 400 years of silence
between the Testaments. They waited for redemption, the
coming of Jesus Christ, and he came to redeem.
But redemption's not yet complete.
We're waiting for the day when Christ will return.
Christian, you are right now sitting in a waiting room.
Are you waiting well, you're waiting for your Redeemer.
Are you waiting faithfully? Are you at rest in him?
Christ's final words to his bride?
Surely I am coming soon. Christ has given his church a
down payment, a sign that he'll keep his promise.
He's given us the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who helps us wait by
producing patience in His people, The Spirit who helps us
wait by bringing to remembrance to our minds God's promises to
us. The Spirit who helps us wait by
even interceding for us when we don't even know or can't even
think of what to pray. Are you, brothers and sisters,
waiting for redemption, for sin to cease, for suffering to end,
for relationships to be reconciled, for conflicts to be
resolved, for good desires to be satisfied, and for wrongs to be
made right? For faith to become sight, for
that day when he's promised that he'll make all things new?
If you're waiting, then wait with bold hope, because you can
rest in the character of your Redeemer.
He will settle the matter soon. Let's pray.
Father, You know our needs before we ask, and You have
provided abundantly for our greatest need, redemption, the
salvation we need from our sins. Lord, help us be a people who
reflect the great Redeemer we serve.
Help us be a people who wait patiently for the return of our
Redeemer. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.