REDEEMING RUTH 3 Ptr. Vetty Gutierrez 4:00PM Afternoon Service

2. REDEEMING RUTH #3
God’s Hand in our
Blessing

3. Ruth 2:14-23
“And at mealtime, Boaz said to her, ‘Come here and eat
some bread, and dip your morsel in the wine.’ So she sat
beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain.
And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left
over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young
men, saying, ‘Let her glean even among the sheaves, and
do not reproach her. And also, pull out some of the
bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not
rebuke her.’

4. “So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she
beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an
ephah of barley. And she took it up and went in to the
city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.
She also brought out and gave her what food she had
left over after being satisfied. And her mother-in-law
said to her, ‘Where did you glean today, and where
have you worked? Blessed be the man who took
notice of you.’

5. +
“So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and
said, ‘The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.’ And
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May he be blessed by the Lord
whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.’ Naomi also
said to her, ‘The man is a close relative of ours, one of our
redeemers.’ And Ruth, the Moabite, said, ‘Besides, he said to me,
‘You shall keep close to my young men until they have finished all
my harvest.’’ And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, ‘It is
good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in
another field you be insulted.’

6. “So she kept close to the young women of Boaz,
gleaning until the end of thebarley and wheat
harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”

7. SCRIPTURE is TRUE

8. It is ULTIMATELY INSPIRED OF GOD
through human authors,

9. It is PERFECT

10. It is HOW GOD HAS CHOSEN TO
REVEAL HIMSELF TO US MOST CLEARLY.

11. HERO OF THE STORY OF SCRIPTURE IS
JESUS CHRIST.

12. Furthermore, Jesus told us that everything in scripture
was about him. InJohn 5, a bunch of religious types
came to argue with him, and he said, “Youdiligently
study the scriptures saying that in them you will find
eternal life,yet you fail to recognize that the entire
purpose of scripture is to revealme.” Jesus said that
the whole Bible is ultimately about him as the hero.

13. And so Jesus, as well, instructed on how the
Book of Ruth was ultimately about him.

14. He works on the earth through faithful
people.

15. “And at mealtime, Boaz said to her, “Come
here and eat some bread.” “And dipyour
morsel in the wine.”

16. Numbers 6:24.
• He brings lunch for his employees. Good
management principlehere. Your company’s
contingent upon your people being loyal
andhardworking and faithful and honest, so
take good care of youremployees. They’ll take
good care of you.

17. And he invites Ruth, “Come on. Have lunch. Sit
down with us.”

18. “Come here and dip your morsel in the wine.”

19. Who served Ruth? Boaz. What is he? The boss.
What is hedoing serving her? You see the family
resemblance here, withJesus? Though he’s in
charge, he’s humble; he takes theposture of
a servant. In that culture, the Moabite
womanserved the Hebrew men.

20. Be a gentleman. Be a godly, generous, kind,
humble, servantto all women. And, when God
should bring along your wife,you will have
treated her the way you should have
becauseyou treat all ladies the same way.

21. You also must court her mother.

22. This is very important. Boaz is generous to
her, and hermother-in-law. You gotta court
the mother-in-law. Yourpotential mother-in-
law. The mother. Gotta get her on yourside.

23. VERSE 15, it continues, “After the meal, she rose
to glean.”

24. She’s gonna go back to work. Hard working gal!

25. She receives his kindness and then she goes
back to work, a hard working gal.

26. Speak to the younger men. Give them clear
directives – how to get a job, how to make
money, how to save money, how to court a
woman, how to raise a kid, how to read the
Bible.

27. What I love about Boaz, he keeps telling the
young guys who work for him what to do, not
because he doesn’t love ‘em, because he’s like
a father figure.

28. He’s a defender, protector, provider.

29. He is a godly man. He’s run a company well. He
loves the Lord. He’s very gracious. He’s very
kind. He’s very masculine. He’s a man of
wealth, and wherewithal, and war. And the
young men are listening to him ‘cause he’s got
some wisdom.

30. Ruth gets a lot of counsel from Naomi, an older
woman who loves her, an older woman who
does know God and has for some time.

31. It is good to pursue relationships with older
people who have wisdom, and it is good to
heed their counsel because they are giftsthat
God gives us.

32. “Let her glean, even among the sheaves, and do
not reproach her. Also,pull out some from the
bundles for her and leave it for her to glean,
anddo not rebuke her.”

33. Put her in the most advantageous place that
she can make asmuch money as possible.
Furthermore, if she works hard atthe end of the
day, give her a huge bonus.

34. This is beyond the letter of the law, all the way
to grace. He is making sure that she will do
exceedingly well, providing sheworks hard.

35. She works hard. You will see that Ruth is a
woman who takes theopportunities that God
gives her. She works hard. She acts holy.
Godcontinues to provide opportunities.

36. “She gleaned in the field until evening.” She
worked all day. This is hard work.This is sweaty,
pittin’ out, stinky, blue-collar work. She’s
working hard, all day,until the sun goes down.
“Then she beat out what she had gleaned.”
Again,more hard work. “And it was about an
ephah of barley.”

37. EPHAH is somewhere between maybe 30 and
50 pounds that she hasobtained through her
one day’s labor

38. It was the equivalent, perhaps, of two weeks
wages for the averageworker.

39. Boaz is not looking to take advantage of her. He
doesn’t think that atall. He loves her. He treats
her with kindness.

40. Like Paul says, “As a sister.” And he blesses her
well.

41. “Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.”

42. Naomi is stunned. What’s her question? “She
also brought out and gaveher what food she
had leftover from being satisfied.”

43. “And her mother-in-law said to her, ‘Where did
you glean today?’” She says,“Blessed be the
man who took notice of you.”

44. Romans says that it’s the kindness of God that
leads to repentance.

45. God is lovingly, graciously, kindly, mercifully,
provided for Ruth andNaomi, and now Naomi’s
heart opens up.

46. “She then told her mother-in-law with whom
she had worked and said, ‘Theman’s name with
whom I worked today is Boaz.’”

47. It means “strong man,” “mighty man,”
“godly man,” “masculine,defender, protector,
provider.” Boaz.

48. The cry of her heart, in Ruth, Chapter 2, verse 2,
was that God wouldgive her favor in the eyes of
someone, and God has given her favor,grace,
mercy in the eyes of Boaz. And it gets even
better.

49. “And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, ‘May
he be blessed by the Lord whosekindness has
not forsaken the living or the dead.”

50. HASSED
It’s a very important word here, translated kindness,
or loving kindness. It’s all of the wonderful attributes
of God, the love,grace, mercy, patience, kindness,
long-suffering, provision ofGod. In Galatians, it’s
called the Fruit of the Spirit, love, joy,peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control.It’s this
hassed of God.

51. Naomi says as such, “I knew God was a god of hassed.
And now hehas had hassed on me, and us. And I pray
that God would havehassed on Boaz, ‘cause Boaz has
had hassed on us.”

52. She’s saying that Boaz is here reflecting the nature and
thecharacter and the attributes of God. Not that Boaz
is God –he’s not. He’s just a man. But as an image-
bearer of God, he’sShe’s saying that Boaz is here
reflecting the nature and thecharacter and the
attributes of God. Not that Boaz is God –he’s not. He’s
just a man. But as an image-bearer of God, he’s

53. And in this, Boaz understands, “God has been so good
to me. Inow should be good to others to reflect my
relationship withGod.”

54. Naomi sees all of this and her heart changes from
bitterness to blessing. And she says, “You know what?
He looks like God. He’s lovingand gracious and merciful
and kind, and he provides, and he protects,and he
defends. You’ve met a godly man. Praise be to God for
answeringour prayers.” She goes on to say, “The man
is a close relative of ours,one of our redeemers.

55. Let me explain to you what a REDEEMER does. In
Leviticus 25, a redeemerhas two primary functions:
TO REDEEM PEOPLE AND PROPERTY.

56. The redeemer was the one who would come in and
say, “I’ll pay off the debt to redeem the person from
slavery,” or “I’ll pay off the noteon the land and the
farm to keep it in the family and to bring it backto the
family who desperately needs it.”

57. The redeemer was the one who fixed everything. The
redeemer was the one who was wise and successful,
and who God had blessed sothat they could bless
others and do works of hassed. What she’ssaying is
this, “BOAZ IS A REDEEMER.”

58. He’s not the closest redeemer. And secondly,
technically, this is notnecessarily true, because the
redeemer was obligated to care for thefamily,
including the widows and the orphans.

59. So, if a man died, the redeemer would be the one to look after hiswidow. If a
man and/or his wife died, the redeemer would be the oneto help ensure
that there was provision and care for the children.The redeemer is like the
loving, gracious, patriarchal figureoverseeing the wellbeing of the family.
But he was only obligated tobiological relatives, and Ruth is not a biological
relative. She’s notconnected to the family. She’s not a relative by birth, but
by newbirth, because she’s been converted, born again, to use
thelanguage of the New Testament, she is treated by Boaz as an equal.She is
loved by Naomi as a daughter. She has treated Naomi as amother. And as
such, Naomi is expecting that Ruth should be takencare of and loved, and
redeemed, even though under the letter of thelaw she has no right. Under
the spirit of the law, she is. She is awoman who should be considered a
family member.

60. I’ll say this to you, men, as well. You and I, gentlemen,
as Christian men, part of what it means is to be a
redeemer. Not the big-R redeemer – that’s Jesus.
We’re the little-r redeemer.

61. Those kinds of afflictions have shaped in Ruth a
sanctification so that these have become sanctified
afflictions. Her character is outstanding. Her loyalty is
unprecedented. Her work ethic is noble. And her
appreciation for kindness and provision and blessing
and love is unparalleled.

62. The answer is “Because I want a woman with the
character of Ruth, and sometimes that is only through
sanctified affliction. Secondly, I want to belike Boaz
and Jesus, and I’m happy to be a man of redemption.”

63. Naomi gets it right. She says, “He’s a redeemer.” There
is hope in Naomi’svoice.

64. VERSE 21, “And Ruth, the Moabite, said, ‘Besides, he
said to me, you shallkeep close by my young men until
they have finished all my harvest.”

65. This is a gracious man. He is a man who is showing
that he is readyto be a husband. He has run his
company well. He is generous withhis money.

66. We need to live under budgets. We need to be
prudent with ourmoney and good stewards, I
understand. But he’s demonstratinghere a generosity
that is very important for a husband to have if hiswife
is to have any joy.

67. VERSE 22, “And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-
in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with
his young women.”

68. Some of the prayers have been answered. They gotta
house. They got some food. God’s had favor on them.
Still no husband, still no baby.

69. One author has said that men chasing women are like
dogs chasing fire engines. Should they get one, they’re
not sure what to do with it. You kind of see that here.

70. Here’s what she doesn’t do. This is what I love. She
doesn’t leave the place that God blesses. I would just
encourage all of you to understand this. Some people
say, “God bless me! Please, bless me, God!” Stay in the
place that God blesses.

71. But you can’t drop your standards to where, as some
women do. I mean you need to have holiness, and
you need to stay in the place that God blesses.

72. GOD DOESN’T BLESS SIN.

73. That’s not a parenting philosophy. When the
children sin, Icorrect them, discipline them.
When they live obedient, holylives, then I
bless them because they’re in the place
ofblessing. So many women want to live in the
place – or men,too – in the place of
disobedience and be blessed.

74. And if you know Jesus, you should not date a
guy who does not. Period. “He believes in
God,” so do demons, according to James. “Well,
she’s hot.” So’ shell. I mean, come on! Think it
through.

75. She lives a holy life. She goes to work. She pays
her bills. She reads her Bible. She gets baptized.
She joins the church. She has Christian friends.
She lives in the place that God could bless.
That’s what I want for you all.

76. You men, aspire to be like Boaz. Get your affairs in order.
Treat all women as sisters. Be generous, like Jesus.
Humble, as well. You ladies, Ruth, great example. Walk
with God and his people. Build your friendships. Listen to
older ladies. Walk with younger ladies who love the Lord.
Live a life of holiness. Work in your job. Walk in your faith,
staying in the place that God blesses, trusting that he can
and he will, ‘cause he’s sovereign and good. That’s what it
means to be the God of providence.

77. You can see the family resemblance in Boaz. He is a redeemer, as
Jesus is our redeemer. And Boaz is glorious. Spurgeon calls Jesus
“Our glorious Boaz.” As Boaz came to his land, Jesus came to his
Earth. As Boaz saw Ruth, so Jesus has seen us. As Boaz initiated
relationship with Ruth, so Jesus has initiated relationship with
us. As Boaz was so kind and providing to Ruth, so Jesus is so
kind and providing to us. Futhermore, heis our redeemer. That’s
what is says in the New Testament. Jesus is ourbig-R redeemer,
that we belong to Satan and sin and death and we’rebound for
hell, and like Ruth, we’re in a terrible predicament, and
thatJesus has given this gracious gift of himself.

78. He doesn’t owe us anything, as Boaz owes Ruth
nothing. But he lives without sin, he dies for sin. He
gives us his own death, burial, resurrection, as a gift.
He has favor on us. And like Ruth received the gift
from Boaz, we must receive the gift of salvation from
the Lord Jesus Christ. And he is the God of hassed, the
God of Ruth, the God of Naomi, the God of Boaz is
Jesus Christ. And he is the loving, gracious, merciful,
kind God of hassed.