"Kindness to the Living and to the Dead"
Ruth 2:13-23
June 10, 2007
by C.W. Powell
We will continue this morning with the delightful and blessed story of Ruth. “In the days when the judges ruled.” Not a good time, as we saw, for every man did that which was right in his own eyes. Later on, Irrael desired a king, and then every man did that which was right in the eyes of the king, for one form of humanism cannot be cured by another form of humanism. After Jesus had risen from the dead He sent forth the Holy Spirit, so that His people might be led by the spirit—neither the following what was right in their own eyes, or in the eyes of kings. They would have in them a heart to love and do the will of their father.
But even though men did that which was right in their own eyes, yet there were the godly in Israel, and we saw that God had not forgotten His promises, but was stirring the heart of a young woman in the land of Moab, Ruth, who would place herself under the wings of Jehovah. God had plans for her that would bring about the blessing that God had promised to the world in His revelations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In the events before us, Ruth had gone out to glean in the fields of Boaz
I. Boaz and Ruth Vs. 11-13:
- And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
A. As we saw, Boaz had been told all the kindness that Ruth had showed to her husband who was now dead, and to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Alse, Boaz knew that she had left her home and family and her religion to come under the wings of Jehovah, the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
B. The gracious words of Boaz are reciprocated by Ruth. She did not take the kindness of Boaz as her right, for she did not presume even to be counted among the servants of Boaz. “Favor” means grace.
C. It is not straining the Scripture to see Christ in this account of Boaz and his church in the figure of Ruth. We do not strain the picture, but Christ extends grace to us and we receive his grace in humbleness of mind. WE come to Christ because he speaks kindly to us and we find comfort in Him, as our catechism says.
- And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
A. As Jesus said to his disciples, Come and Dine, so you and I are invited to eat from the hand of our Lord. It wasn’t too many years ago that a scene like this could be seen in many places in the Middle East, and perhaps even today.
B. Her hunger was satisfied and she went back to her work.
III The Kindness of Boaz Vs. 15-18.
And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.-
A. How easy is that work that Christ sets us to; how delightful and pleasant are the fields that he prepares for us. Boaz saw that the work in the field was a pleasant and productive work, so that by the end of the day she had a very good measure of barley to take back to her mother-in-law. Boaz had his young men drop handfuls of grain; and allowed her to glean even amid the sheaves themselves.
B. Why didn’t he just give her the grain. Because he knew her character. She was willing to work hard, for this is the portion of mankind. He just saw to it that her work was profitable. So it is with us. God has called us to work and labor, but He sees to it that our labor is profitable and useful. This is the reason that we pray for our daily bread; it is also the reason that we go out and work for it. What a beautiful account this is.
C. Ruth not only brought home the good amount that she had gleaned, but she also brought out what had been left over the parched corn [wheat] that had been left over of the food that Boaz had given her.
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IV. The Kindling of Naomi's Hope.Vs. 19-20-
And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
A. Naomi recognizes the hand of God in leading Ruth to Boaz. Naomi did not arrange this meeting between Ruth and Boaz—if she had tried to do so, her human wisdom would have led her to think differently, for they had a closer relative than Boaz. It was God who was shaping the events.
B. In fact, there seems to be even a bit of surprise in the voice of Naomi? “Where did you glean? Where did you work? Blessed be the person who noticed you!!” When a person is in a state of bitterness and despair, nothing good is expected and the good that exists is overlooked.
C. But poor Naomi is not in such a mood that she cannot lift her head when hope arises. She had not left off her faith in God and she was able to see the hand of her heavenly Father in these events and she was roused by the next words of Ruth.
D. Ruth said, “The man’s name is Boaz.” It was this name that kindled the hope and faith of Naomi, and she be-gan to take heart. Naomi, I think, began to believe that God was moving in her life and the circumstances. Her great grandson David the King would someday write in Psalm 30:
I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.
3 O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.
4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
5 For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
E. For his own secret purposes that may or may not come to light later in our lives, God may send us through great trials and troubles, but they are just for a moment. His anger endures but a moment; his favor is life; We may cry at night, but joy comes in the morning.
F. Ruth’s husband, her two sons were dead as far as this earth, Naomi, Ruth, and that generation were con-cerned, but they were not dead as far as God is concerned. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. See “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Mt 22:31-32 AV) Abraham, Issac, Jacob were not dead dead, but awaiting the resurrections, and God would bring them with Him when He comes to raise the dead. Our Lord said, "Fear not him that can kill the body...."
G. “Kindness to the living and to the dead….” God’s actions toward Ruth not only had reference to Naomi, but also the her husband Elimelech and her sons Mahlon and Chilion. God’s mercy is to a thousand generations of them that love him and keep His commandments. You, in you troubles and struggles, may be laying the foundation for centuries to come in your descendants. Blessed are they that die in the Lord. The promise is to you and to your children. Amen and Amen.
H. But the blessings are spiritual and legal, not of the flesh. Messiah would not carry the genes of Elimelech nor Mahlon, no, the genes of Ruth. Mahlon’s line ended in Moab, but the children of Ruth would be counted to him, although born of Boaz. We will see this shortly in these sermons.
V. The Good Advice of Naomi Vs. 21-23:- And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
A. Naomi gives good advice to Ruth. Be focused. Success is finding out which way God is leading and then going that way. Ruth is not to wander all over the place trying to find something better.
B. She is to make friends of the maidens and servants of Boaz. God is leading you, but you have something to do and you should do it wisely. It wouldn’t be good for the girls to find Ruth gleaning in other fields. She should be loyal to Boaz and the friends she was making there and try to be with them.
C. Ruth recognized the good advice of the older woman, and she followed it.
A. Trust the Lord with “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” (Ps 37:3 AV) “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” (Pr 3:5-7 AV)
B. Build communion and faithfulness. “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” (Pr 13:20 AV) Naomi’s advice was good advice. “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Pr 18:24 AV) Build relationships wherever you are; and be faithful to the ones you have. There are three major groups: church; family; work. “I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.” (Ps 119:63 AV)
C. How beautiful is this wonderful, but it is more than a story; it is the story of the mighty power of God, who using the normal and natural behavior and the millions of choices, to bring us all to the place that he has for us in Christ Jesus.
May God bless you. May God bless you.
Amen and Amen.