More Than Romance: The Deeper Story of Ruth 3

In this episode, we walk through Ruth chapter 3 and uncover a powerful picture of God’s redeeming work through the story of Ruth and Boaz. What may seem like a simple romance is actually a deeper reflection of God’s pursuit, provision, and faithfulness to His people.

We explore the balance between trusting God’s sovereignty and taking faithful action, the true meaning of redemption in Scripture, and how God often works through ordinary moments to accomplish extraordinary purposes.

This message also challenges us to trust God even when His plan doesn’t align with our feelings, reminding us that obedience is never wasted when God is at work.

If you’ve ever struggled to see God in your circumstances or wondered how faith and action work together, this episode will encourage you to trust His timing and recognize His hand in your story.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Thank you, Daniel and crew, for leading us in that song. What an interesting but beautiful song that speaks of just the really the qualities and characteristics of God and reminding us that we praise God for who he is in all aspects. And so part of that song speaks about God's wrath coming in a storm, and we're praising him for that, which seems something odd to praise someone for, but God's righteousness and justice is proven in the fact that his wrath is borne out against all that's evil, and that's a good thing. Yet we also sing about his tenderness and his mercy. And we look at God and we look at the complexity of who he is, and every part of God's being, every part of God's character, all of his qualities are equally worthy of our praise and devotion. We praise him just as much for his mercy as we do for his justice. We praise him just as much for his grace and kindness as we do his wrath. And these are all parts of who God is, and they're all good, and they're all right, and they're all true. And this is the God that we worship and the God that we praise. Well, Ruth chapter three, we're continuing in this beautiful narrative of God's redeeming work, and he's showing it to us really through a romance. And so if you like romances, you're gonna love the story of Ruth because what we're seeing before our eyes is a romance that's unfolding. But the romance is more than just a romance about a man and woman. God is using it to tell us the story of his pursuit, of his rescuing, of his redemption in the life of his covenant people. And one of the things that we see in the Bible is that God tells us that the covenant love between Christ and his church is the ultimate display of the marriage relationship. And so the reason that marriage exists isn't just about men and women walking in happiness and commitment to one another and God blessing their union with children and procreation and all of these things. That is part of it, and God's very much working in it. And the husband and wife relationship in those contexts is a very beautiful, sacred, and important thing. But the ultimate reason that marriage exists is to display the covenant love between Christ and his church. What we're seeing in the book of Ruth unfold is a picture of that, that Boaz is this representative of this redeeming Christ figure and how God is going to work and in midst of our difficulty, he's gonna step in and redeem us. But as we look at the story today, we're gonna see some beautiful things begin to unfold. And they require us to stop and to think biblically about some things, because if we're not careful, we can read this uh story through a 21st century mindset in our heightened sexual uh culture by which everything is about sex and miss, there's more to the story than this. Matter of fact, there are some modern and even uh, dare I say, say, more liberal mindsets that want to make this out to be a seduction on the part of Ruth and want to look at it that she's sexually seducing him. But when we look beyond the scenes of this, that's not what's happening. And really, to be honest, the only reason that we would interpret the story this way is because that's the culture and world in which we live in. That we live in a world today that everything's about sex and everything is about uh sexual fulfillment and seduction and things of that nature. I mean, I would almost tell you that it's hard to watch any form of television any longer, read any form of story that doesn't involve some form of sexual seduction in it. Now, part of that is because we live in a world today that so runs rampant with sin that that is the way that men, and dare I say, even women, tend to operate in the world today. And not to go on a bit of a rant, but one of the things that we've seen with the shift in our culture, with modern feminism, and when I say modern feminism, I speak of it to the type of feminism that's that's contrary to what the Bible teaches, because there is a view of feminism that's beautiful, that's important, uh, and and and and femininity and women are uh very much a part of God's creation and very much bear the image of God. They are equal in all respects in their value as the same as man, uh masculinity is. And so when I say that, I'm not speaking negatively about the idea of femininity. I'm speaking about it in the secular modern context that basically we've seen role reversal take place to where women are just as sexually aggressive as men are. And with that mindset, then this story very much could fit into that modern way of thinking. That if we want to read it through that lens, we can almost treat Ruth as if she is the sexual aggressor in this story and trying to get Boaz in a position to take her as his wife. But let me just be very clear, while you could read it in there with some form of modern way of thinking, that's not what's unfolding before our very eyes. And what we're gonna see really is a couple of things. We're gonna see Ruth's trust of Naomi, her plan, and how God is going to use that to bring about this redemption that's gonna take place. And I do think one of the principles we can kind of take away from this chapter is that trusting in the sovereign work of God does not mean that we sit idly by and do nothing. That God is working through our uh understanding of Him and He calls us to action and He calls us to take steps and he calls us to walk in faith. And what we see, I think, in this moment is God's sovereign hand working by bringing Boaz and Ruth together for this purpose of redemption. But as Naomi begins to see it, and I think one of the things that's kind of unfolding in in chapter three is God is waking Naomi up a little bit. Remember, at the end of chapter one, we see her in a very depressive state. I mean, she she's had a rough go of it. She refers to herself as empty and she refers to herself as bitter. And I mean, and granted, she's lost a lot and she's returned back home, but but her life is completely different than it was when she left. And so in chapter two, we see her at the beginning of that chapter, almost just kind of in just out of it. Ruth is having to look at her and say, All right, mom, I'm gonna go start going to the fields and gathering grain to provide for us, because she just seems to be in one of those fogs where she can't almost think, think clearly. But as God begins to provide and work and she begins to see him and feel him, I think one of the things that's happening in chapter three is she's waking up and saying, wait a minute, no, God is working. God is providing. The fact that Ruth has met Boaz, who's one of our kinsman redeemers, like this isn't coincidence, but God is working in this narrative and story. And as her faith is being awoken and she's seeing God's providential work, what she's now doing is saying, All right, well, this is how we need to respond to that. This is how we need to take action. This is what we need to do. And I do think one of the things that we need to understand is that even though we believe, and I preach this and will never stop because I believe it's a theme that runs so clearly throughout the Bible, of God's sovereign divine hand at work in all things and all creation, that doesn't just mean we sit idly by and do nothing. No, we act because we know that God is at work. And if we're following Him and His lead and His plan, that type of sovereign work, He works through us and calls us to action and calls us to walk by faith. But what happens when we're operating according to God's sovereign plan and will is it actually means that what we're going to do is not in vain, but it has purpose and has a plan for that. And I think we're seeing a little bit of both. We're seeing God's sovereign work and bringing them together, but we're also seeing a bit of human responsibility to take initiative and do things. And I think we need to have that balance. And it's a hard balance to strike. And I think it's why we need to walk by faith and walk by the Spirit, because He's going to help us to know when to move and when to sit still. He's going to help us know when to act and when to be patient. And one of the things that I think that Paul is telling us in Romans chapter 12, when he says that we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, that way we might be able to know what God's good, perfect, and acceptable will is, is how do we know God's will when it's not explicit in Scripture? I mean, when it's explicit in Scripture, we clearly know what God's will is, right? I mean, there are some things in the Bible that are just explicit. We know yes, no. But what about in those moments where Scripture's not completely explicit? Well, how do we know God's will? How do we know how to apply Scripture in the proper context, according to God's will? Well, he renews our mind by the work of his spirit, and he helps us to know how to make sense in these situations. And so as we look at this situation, we're going to start in verse one where it says, Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi said to her, My daughter, shouldn't I find rest for you so that you will be taken care of? Now she's waking up, right? At the beginning of chapter two, she's not taking care of herself or anyone. Ruth has kind of taken this responsibility for the both of them. But God's working, God's moving. She's beginning to see God's hand at work. And all of a sudden now she's like, wait a minute, I need to start thinking about you. You've thought about me, you've cared for me, you've provided for me, but now I'm thinking in terms of a mother as an elder, and I'm looking and saying, I've got a responsibility here. And so, Ruth, you've been faithful, you've been good. Shouldn't I find rest for you so that you will be taken care of? Now, isn't Boaz our relative? Haven't you been working with his female servants, this evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. Now, what happens after the harvest, and for those of you who are used to farm life, you know that you don't just harvest the wheat and just leave it sitting there. What do you do? You take it to the co-op or different places. Why? Because there's a process that it's going to go through. And the process at this day in time was they would take it to the threshing floor. They would uh winnow the barley. And essentially it was a process that they would take it through, and eventually the chaff would be stripped away and you would be left with the full grain. And then what would happen is typically the men would stay with it while it was there until it was loaded up and taken off or sold to make sure that no one came and stole it, to make sure thieves didn't come by and steal it. And so she knows the process, she knows what's gonna unfold. Another thing that I want to point out is why Naomi is so important to this story is remember where Ruth comes from. She's a Moabitus. She is not familiar with all of the plans, all of the commands, the process of redemption that God put into effect for the people of Israel. And so the reason that Naomi needs to be behind the scenes trying to help her understand, well, here's what you need to do and how you need to do it. Part of it, I think, is this picture of Titus chapter 2, right? Older women instruct younger women. So here she is saying, all right, well, here's the process, here's what you need to do. But also she understands the covenant law that has been given to Israel and knows the laws about redemption. And so she's needing to help uh Ruth understand that there's a process and way that this plays out, and she's helping to help her uh to make that come to be. So here's what she says. Verse three wash, put on perfumed oil, wear your best clothes, go down to the threshing floor, but don't let the man know you're there until he has finished eating and drinking. So she's changing her clothes, she's changing her garments. She is presenting herself as available. She's not just wearing the clothes that she was out there getting barley in. She's not just sweaty and stinky. We all know this, right? I mean, in one sense, we're thinking about she's getting ready to try to go on a date. And all of us know in that courting relationship, like the best way to go on a date is not to show up in your worst and your smelliest, right? There's some proper decorum that takes place. There's a way that we can make ourselves more attractive. And while it's not just about physical attraction, we, as we talked last week, we know that that does indeed have something to do with it. So she says, prepare yourself. Now, this is where it starts getting a little questionable, but then we'll try to make sense of it. When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying down. Go in and uncover his feet and lie down, then he will explain to you what you should do. Now, this is a bit odd, I have to admit, right? Get cleaned up, wait till no one's looking, find the place that he's lying down, and then go uncover his feet. And there is a little bit of debate as far as what does all of this mean? Like, like what is the reasoning behind it? And I think the most reasonable example that I can find is that once he went to sleep, the reason that she was called to uncover his feet was that hopefully when it began to get cooler as the night went on, he would wake up from the cold, his being uncovered, and then he would notice her being there. Some want to try to twist this and make it sound like, well, she's seducing him. And I'm just going to be honest, you can even find some type of commentary that will reference that uncovering his feet is taking off his garments and unclothing him. Again, I think you have to be reading it from a sexualized context that's not there to cause that to be. And so then he will explain what to do. Verse 5. So Ruth said to her, I will do everything you say. Now, can I just stop here for a moment and say, this is a high level of faith and trust. Right? This is a high level of faith and trust on Ruth's part to listen to Naomi, who really, for the last little bit,'s not quite been herself. And now all of a sudden she comes to and she's like, Hey, here's what we're gonna do. I've got a plan. Get cleaned up, get your best on, get all gussied up, some of you might say, right? And then, under the cloak of darkness, once he goes to sleep, slide on in there, uncover his blankets, and then wait for him to tell you what to do. But Ruth, trusting God through trusting Naomi, says, Okay, I will do everything you say to do. She went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had charged her to do. After Boaz ate and drank and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley, and she came secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Now again, why is he laying at the end of the pile of barley? It's because he's protecting it. The reality is, and one of the reasons that she was gonna go in probably stealthily is because many of the other men would have been around in that area, and part of their idea was to protect. We we've had this harvest, we don't want anything to happen to it. We've we've took it to the winnowing floor or the threshing floor, it's been taken care of, and now uh we're gonna take it into town and sell it before long, but we've got to protect it so no one comes and steals it for us. Look at what happens at ver in verse 8. At midnight, Boaz was startled, turned over, and there lying at his feet was a woman. He asked, Who are you? Now, why would he ask that? It's dark. There's no lights, no light switch to flip, no cell phone to like, hey, he knows there's a woman there, and he says, Hey, who who are you? I am Ruth, your servant, she replied. Take me under your wing, for you are a family redeemer. Now I want you to think about this, and I want to take you back to verse 9, or excuse me, verse 12 of chapter 2. And Ruth is kind of using a poetic play on words here, uh, because look at what Boaz prays for her back in chapter 2, verse 12. May the Lord reward you for what you have done, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. And so Boaz's prayer for her is May God protect you, may God bless you, may you find yourself underneath his wings, these wings of protection for you. Now, Ruth is appealing to that in verse nine. When she says, I am Ruth, your servant. She thinks she speaks of herself in a different context, even here, rather than being this Moabite as she's saying, I'm your servant. And she's making appeal to him to fulfill an obligation of the law to redeem and provide for. But I think she's also doing it under the cover of like she knows there's some form of connection there. God's ordained this connection to place, and she says, Take me under your wing. I think what she's saying is this will you be the one to fulfill the prayer that you prayed for me? You prayed that God would provide and take us underneath his wing. And how does God work most of the time? Through people and situations, right? When we pray and ask God to do things, how does he tend to work? In the ebb and flow of life. Ruth is trusting. Ruth seeing God's provisional hand, bringing Boaz after her conversation with Naomi. They see God at work. And so she's making a very bold appeal here. She's putting herself out there and trusting in Boaz in God, but trusting also in Boaz's character and goodness. And she says, Will you take me under your wing? Will you be the hand of God's provision and protection? And then she appeals to the fact, for you are a family redeemer. Now, what does this mean, this idea of redeemer? So, one, the theme of redemption runs all throughout the Bible. I mean, the theme of redemption comes in in a variety of ways. It comes in the whole idea of the entire sacrificial system. The whole idea of the sacrificial system is based on redemption. That the price of something else is atoning and paying for you. So the reason that animals were sacrificed as atoning sacrifices is the blood of these animals were the price that was going to be paid to pay what you should pay for sin. So it's paying the price for your forgiveness, it's paying the price for your freedom. Another way that redemption was used in the Bible was to free a slave. So there was a price to be paid to bring that person out of captivity, to bring that person out of slavery. The idea of God being a redeemer takes place in the Passover when you see that when that death angel passed over, they sacrificed a lamb that night before, and the blood post on that uh doorframe of that house was the price that was paid so that the firstborn didn't have to die in that home. Fast forward later to seeing Jesus, the ultimate redeemer, right? The ransom that was paid. We looked at this this last weekend, as his blood was shed, and that was the price. Now, this idea of redemption even worked its way into the law. And so one of the things that a family was responsible for was looking out for the other parts of its family, especially for that of a widow. And so, for instance, if if someone got in financial hardship and they had to sell a field to make ends meet, a family redeemer was responsible to buy the field and then later give it back to them. So essentially to keep them from having to sell their land to someone else and never get it back, a family member was this redeemer who would step in and say, I'm gonna buy the field, give you the money for a time, but ultimately I'm gonna return it back to you. I'm gonna make sure your children get this. And it was a way for wealth and the legacy of the family to continue to be perpetuated. And again, remember, this is an agrarian society that we're talking about. Land in a place to live, in a way to produce things, whether it's with sheep or whether it's with farming, is the way that a family is gonna survive. And so, growing up in a rural community, you know, I've seen this with my very own eyes. I mean, one of the greatest things that a father historically could pass down to his children was that of land. Why? Because it was a way for the family to sustain life, livelihood from there on out. And so, if indeed someone got in a situation where things were bad and they didn't have the money anymore to be able to pay it, a family member was supposed to be a redeemer and come in and say, Hey, here's what I'm gonna do. I don't want you to sell this field, and and your family loses the legacy and the ability to provide for themselves. So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna give you the money for the field right now. It's gonna enable you to live. And then later, I'm gonna give either back to you, or I'm gonna give it back to your children. That way they can make sure that they have a way to continue this. That was one way that redemption was covered in the law. Another way that redemption was covered in the law was that of slavery. And so a guy could get himself in such a bind that he would literally sell himself into a form of slavery. And so it was kind of like an indentured servanthood. I think one of the things we need to see is it's a little bit different than the forced modern slavery that we're familiar with that happened where people were forced from their homes, taken. That did happen, but that was not the type of slavery that was under the covenant law of Israel. It was if a person finally got themselves in such a bad strait that they're like, I have to sell myself as an indentured servant or slave to someone. And so you would be there for a period of time. And a family member was responsible if you couldn't get out of it on your own, to come and redeem you, to purchase you back. That way your family line and everything could continue. The third way is what we're seeing here. When a widow who has no sons and no husband finds herself in a situation where the family line can't continue. She doesn't have really anything left, that a family redeemer was supposed to come in and do two things. One, purchase the land, as I talked about before, to give her the money, and then make sure her and her descendants can have it. But the second responsibility, and this is odd for us, and I sometimes still struggle to know exactly how this works in the scope and scheme of God's plan of marriage being for one man and one woman. But the Redeemer was also to have offspring with the woman or her daughters. That way she could have sons and the family line could perpetuate and continue. Now that's the appeal that Ruth and Naomi are making here to Boaz. It's not only just about a field, that's part of it. But also, will you take me as your wife? Will you be my protector in this sense? Will you then continue to have children for our family? And the children would bear the name of the original male, and that line would pass down through them. So all the blessings, all of those things would perpetuate that family lineage and name. So that's what she's asking. You're our family redeemer. Will you do this? Now, one of the other things that's interesting about this, and I think it's one of the reasons that she wants her to come under the cover of darkness, and this is a very sensitive situation. We know, I think it's in Hosea chapter 9, verse 1, that during this time of year, prostitutes would actually come to these areas. And Naomi and Ruth want to make sure that it's known. She's not a prostitute, she's not harloting herself. But that's one of the things that would happen. And we know this historically, right? Where men gather, women can gather, right? And vice versa. But you know, there's a reason why there are certain places where it's known where working men gather, and women who want to make money off of that can gather as well. And so it was not uncommon for prostitutes to go to these places where the grain was going to be at. Why? There's a lot of men, and they're not always good, godly men. They're just men that are there. And there was a way for prostitution. And so Naomi is really putting herself out, or excuse me, Ruth is putting herself out here in this plan. She's not a prostitute. She doesn't want to appear to be one. She's stealthily sneaking in so she's not confused with confused by one. And she's appealing to the good character of Boaz, his respectability to receive this message. Verse 10, here's the response. Then he said, May the Lord bless you, my daughter. Now this is odd to us, and I'll tell you why it's odd to us. One, for there to be a marriage conversation that's taking place, and for a man to call you his daughter. There's an age gap here. We don't know how much it is. Some historical Jewish literature says it could be between 20 and 25 years. Some say it could be less than that, maybe closer to 12 to 15. But there's a noticeable age gap. And in our culture, the way things work, we're like, well, is he a predator? Right? I mean, watch enough dateline, you're like, hey, this guy could be a predator. I mean, here he is with this young woman who's appealing to him in this way. And like, is Ruth just a victim of all of this? Is she a victim of a male patriarchal society where she's just a pawn in this game? And you have to wade through the way that we see things in our Western culture and go back to seeing how things got how God designed things and how they orchestrated at a different place in time. And so it's odd to us that he would say, Well, the Lord, Lord, bless you, my daughter, especially since she's so much much younger. Why didn't he just give her money if that's what she's after? Well, because it's it's there's more to it than that. It's about preserving a family line and legacy according to God's plan. And I admit to you that from our Western sensibilities, this seems odd. It seems odd that a mother or mother-in-law would coach their daughter up in this way to do this type of thing, but you got to see it through a different lens and a different place in time. So look at what he says. He sees her respectability. You have shown more kindness than now than before, because you have not pursued younger men, whether rich or poor. So here's what I think's happened. In chapter two, I think we're undeniably seeing that there's some type of connection between these two. There's a favoritism that's been shown, and there is some form of what we would call attraction that's taken place in the way that they interact and talk with one another. That's again why it's a romance, right? This happens. I mean, chances are if you're sitting there with a spouse or you've been married, something like this transpired and happened. And hopefully it wasn't you sneaking in his bedroom, uncovering his feet, and lying down. However, if that's the way that God worked, then so be it. But chances are, like, some interaction took place, and you're like, I notice you and you notice me. We call it flirting, right? And flirting's not a bad thing in the right context. God works through that. There's an attraction. All of a sudden you see something beautiful about the person, and oftentimes it begins physical, and that sometimes it begins the other way. And at first, maybe physically you weren't attracted, but then all of a sudden you got to know this person and saw something inside of them, and you begin to dialogue and you begin to talk and you begin to sit and eat together. And you know, that's the whole idea of kind of dating. And you know, chances are there was a day and time for some of you that grew up in church, you saw a girl and you made your move. You went and sat by her. And by God's provision and the way that he's made men and women to be, the conversation began. And I think we see kind of a bit of that in chapter two, this give and take. He notices her, he shows favor to her. She doesn't call him a creep and run. She's receptive of it, right? She communicates back in him. She doesn't come back home to Naomi and say, hey, I'm at a creep today by the name of Boaz. You know, he's a he's a perv. He's, you know, all these languages that we use, words that we use today. He's just this old crusty dude who, you know, kept giving me barley. Like, no, she's receptive to it, and Naomi sees it, and it's this flow. And part of it, I think, is reminiscent, and I don't want to read too much into it, but I think it's reminiscent of how God moves and works in us, right? I mean, he begins to call us to himself, and we begin to notice him, and there's this wooing that typically takes place, and even though it might seem instantaneous oftentimes in our life, like I don't think that's how anybody's salvation works. I mean, every now and then I'll have a person over the years who I preach about how we don't seek God according to Romans, and and and you know, and like the only way that we're saved is because God sought us, and there'll be a guy who will come and say, Well, wait a minute, I don't know if I believe that. I mean, you know, I've I began to seek after God. Like, I begin to have questions and I begin to look into the Bible, and then all of a sudden I saw God, and I'm like, well, what made you want to start asking questions about God? Where do you think that came from? I mean, don't give yourself too much credit. Like, like, don't think just all of a sudden you had an epiphany and you're like, oh, I'm a sinner, and I've got some questions about God, and I think I'm gonna go figure this out. That might seem to you how it happened, but where did that desire even come from? And at the end of the day, that's the question that no one can answer. Because here's what I am convinced of. We make choices out of our desires, and they're real choices. What you can't tell me is where your desires came from. And you can say, well, they were just there, but it doesn't work that way. Nothing is just there. Everything exists by God, for God, through God. And so the fact that you even have a desire is because God put a desire there. And so even if you thought you were the pursuer of God, you were not. He pursued you. And even though if the story looked maybe a little bit about like Ruth, where all of a sudden you thought you were the one who was going up and asking him to be your redeemer, the reality is he was orchestrating this plan to even bring you to a point to even ask the question, much less be receptive to the answer. And so what we see that's happening is he looks and says, You know what? I have great admiration for you. I'm gonna paraphrase here, but I think this is essentially what's being said. You're a young, beautiful lady, and I'm older than you. And you could have gone and looked for other younger men, whether they're richer or poor. I mean, Boaz is a man of means, we clearly can see, but he's like, You had other options. Yet, for whatever reason, you have chosen to be here in this moment. In a sense, you've chosen to be here with me. Now, don't be afraid, my daughter. What a response. I will do for you whatever you say, since all the people in town know that you are a woman of noble character. Now, how do I know this isn't just some sexual encounter? Well, one, the nature of the Bible. And not that he can't work just through random sexual encounters, right? Not that he can't work through deception and trickery because we know the story of Judah and how God worked through that. So God can even work through those moments, but look at what he says about her. Everyone in town knows you're a woman of noble character. Proverbs 31, right? A noble woman. Everyone knows this about you. Now you don't say that about a woman who comes in and enclothes you in the middle of the night. You might say some things and they might even be complimentary on some level, but that's not what you say. You don't say, Well, I know you're a woman of noble character. And you definitely don't say everyone knows that, because in that moment, if that was her only agenda, well, all of a sudden people wouldn't say that about her anymore. Yet, this is what he says. Everyone knows that you're a woman of noble character. Now, Boaz is going to prove that he's a man of noble character. Yes, it is true that I am a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. Now, he could have, under the cloak of darkness, tried to find a way to make this word, but he says, you know what, I know something. Now, what does that mean? There were levels, just like in any family, of the closest relative. And so, who was going to be the redeemer of a woman? Well, there's a could be a brother. Well, remember, all that's gone, right? Her excuse me, Ruth's husband and her brother-in-law are gone. There's no redeemer there. And so he looks and says, you know what, there is somebody actually closer, maybe cousin, we we don't know, but he's saying, I'm not next in line, I'm second in line. And so rather than him just saying, you know what, you like me, I like you, there's a way we can make this work. Let's just go get married and we'll deal with the fallout later. He says, No. You're right, and I and I want to do this. However, there's a right way to do this, and we're gonna do it that way. So he says this yes, it is true that I'm a family redeemer, but there is a redeemer closer than I am. Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that's good. So here's what he's gonna say. Even though this isn't what my heart wants, I trust the way that God's gonna work. That's a hard thing to say right there, isn't it? I mean, there are moments when your feelings get involved and the heart wants what the heart wants, and clearly there's a connection here. One of the reasons that we know that there was no type of sexual interaction that took place is because he's willing to take this step back. I mean, you know, he's he's not just having had this interaction saying, all right, we gotta make this legit somehow, some way. He's saying, you know what, I'm gonna trust God in this. And there's a way that God has orchestrated things to work. And as such, even though this is what I want, if this other person is willing to do what God says needs to be done, then that will be good. It's hard to hard to say that, isn't it? I mean, there's been a lot of moments in my life where I know what God says and I know what I want, and they don't always line up. And so here's what I have to do by faith. I say, God, I'm gonna trust how you've ordained things to be. There's a passage of scripture that in this moment doesn't seem to make sense to me. And it goes completely against everything inside of me of what I want about what I think is right. But God, I trust you so much that if I'm obedient to what your word says, that's what's gonna be good, not just what I want or how I want it. And can I tell you what? That is what faith really looks like in action. When we get to those crisis moments in life and we know what God has spoken and what God has said, and it doesn't line up with what seems right to everything inside of us naturally, but we say, God, I'm gonna trust you anyway, because whatever the outcome is, I know that your plan, your way is gonna be right and it's gonna be good. And what a moment of faith here, I think, that that he's exercising. So if he wants to redeem you, that's good. Let him redeem you. I'm reading between the lines, I'm gonna be sad. I'm gonna cry. Yet it'll be what's right. But if he doesn't want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will now lie until morning. So she lay down at his feet until morning, but got up while it was still dark. So why is he sending her off before the light comes up? He doesn't want anyone to misread the situation. He doesn't want he's protecting her. I don't want anyone to think less of you. I don't want anyone to think that you're some. Can I just speak speak Western Oklahoma for a moment? I don't want anyone to think you're some huzzy that just snuck in here and now you're sneaking out. And so so I'm protecting you. And so she waited, he had her wait until morning, and uh he says, uh, well, it was still dark, then Boaz says, Don't let it be known that a woman has come to the threshing floor. I don't want anybody to think less of you or to think you're a prostitute or anything else. And he told Ruth, bring the shawl you're wearing and hold it out. Now this is interesting, and I and I don't want to read too much into it, but just a little bit of food for thought. Like, there's some question about what is the shawl that she's talking about, and we know that it's not the primary garment because he tells her to take it and to lay it out. Some are suggesting that it was a type of shawl that a woman would wear uh when she had a child and would keep the child in it, and there's something symbolic here about her taking it filled with barley in there. I I don't want to read too much into it, but just a little bit of food for thought. And when she held it out, he shoveled six measures of barley into her shawl and she went into the town. Now, this is a sense of a commitment or payment, dowry, maybe, if you will, an engagement ring, promise ring, whatever we want to call it, of him saying, This is the way I'm proving to you that I'm gonna keep my word. I mean, there's a reason why promise rings are a thing, engagement rings are a thing. What is it? It's symbolic of I'm going to do what I say I'm gonna do. There's a commitment that I'm making to you. I'm promising you that if this is going to work out the way that we hope it will, I will indeed do what I've told you tonight that I will do for you. So she went to her mother-in-law Naomi, who asked, What happened, my daughter? Now I'm gonna bet you this. I don't think Naomi slept much that night. I could be wrong, but I know how moms are. I know how when a plan is trying to come together, and I think, you know, maybe she just sat there by the lamplight all night long, just waiting for her to return. And she's probably thinking, well, she's not back yet. That's a good sign. That's a good sign. And then when she comes back in the door, she's like, All right, tell me what happened. Kind of like the A-Team. I love it when a plan comes together. Yeah, she's kind of like, all right, how has the plan came together or not? Then Ruth told her everything the man had done for her. She said, He gave me six measures of barley because he said, don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed. Naomi said, My daughter, wait until you find out how things go, for he won't rest unless he resolves this today. She's like, The plan's working. Let's just give it some time. But we're gonna find out because he's not gonna let this go. Why? All the signs, everything that unfolded. She's like, he's in. I think Naomi's probably a little proud of herself in the moment. I know how people can be. I told you this. You know, and I think how how quickly we forget. Naomi's probably like, I told you this would work out fine. And Ruth's just biting her tongue, like, Lady, a few days ago, you couldn't even tell me to go pick up barley. Like, like, don't all of a sudden act like this was your plan the way that you orchestrated it. But what does she see? God's hand at work. And there are moments in life, don't we get, that we just see God's hand at work. And aren't they beautiful moments? There are some things we won't find out till eternity that God was at work in. There are things that we get the view of like years later, oh, that's what God, that's what you were doing. And then there are just moments in life where all of a sudden you just see the hand of God at work and you're like, oh, look, there he is. I love those moments because they're moments that fuel our faith. There are moments where we can stop and say, you know what, God, even if there's been a moment where I can't see it, but I trust that you're working, boy, how these moments when I can see you working affirm and rejuvenate my faith. And chances are we probably all have a story like that. We have a story of just how God affirmed us what he was doing. You know, one of the things that I've come to learn is that everyone who's a faithful giver has what can be called sometimes a tithing testimony. And what I mean by that is everyone who said, God, I'm gonna trust you. And I'm gonna be obedient to give to you off the first fruits, whatever it is that you've laid on my heart, how to do that. I'm gonna be faithful. I'm gonna try, I'm gonna trust you, and I'm gonna try you and prove to you, has a testimony of how God proved himself faithful in that. I I've never not met a person who's committed to that who doesn't have a story like that. And one of the reasons that I think God gives us those stories is because he said, I told you to trust me, I told you to try me, I told you to prove me. And now what I'm showing you is I am faithful. I will reward your faithfulness, I will provide for you and take care of you. And you know what those are? They're little glimmers and moments of how God rewards our faith with blessing for us to say, and that's why I'm gonna continue to trust you. And what do you do in those moments? You cling to them. In other moments where all of a sudden things aren't seeming to line up and your faith wants to get weak and you begin to question, you stop and you say, Oh, wait a minute. God, you you've been faithful. It's a milestone moment, right? That you look and say, Wait a minute, I can go back and remember a time when God did this. And you know what? I'm so thankful for those moments. There are moments in life that I've been obedient to the Lord, and I still have yet to see the outcome of why He wanted me to do that. And you know what? That's why I continue to operate in faith. Faith isn't just what you see, it's it's what you trust in God in. But then also there's moments that I can look back on and think and just see how God has been faithful. I remember one of the biggest ones uh was when I was getting ready to leave First Baptist Church, Fort Cobb, to go to El Reno. And man, my heart's just torn. And I'll tell you this: anytime I've ever moved churches, like my heart is torn because literally for me, and I think this is the way it should be, I have to fight the feeling of betrayal because I know that's not what I'm doing. But like, when you love your church family, it should not be easy for you to go. And so, like, I can remember that that God began to move in my heart that it was time for us to go. And and I'm getting a little afraid, to be honest with you. I'm like, God, I'm 20, 29 years old. What if I go to this church and I mess it up as if as if God's not bigger than me? One, as if like, you know, anything good happens is because I'm so good. And secondly, like as if I'm so bad that I can thwart God's plan and just completely mess it up. But I I just began to have this fear. And, you know, and I talked to my dad and I said, Dad, I don't know what to do. I don't know if I should go, if I shouldn't. And he and he gave me some great words of wisdom. He said, you know, if you don't feel it's time and you don't feel it's ready, don't go. You're not wrong for that. He said, but if it's because you're afraid, the Bible says that God hasn't given us a spirit of fear. And if God's called you to something, you've got to trust that he's gonna provide whatever it is. Now, now I need to tell you something here. Like, like El Reno is small to you, it was big to us. It had a Brahms and a Walmart. It had places that were open after two o'clock. I mean, do you guys know something? Like, like this church is bigger than the town of Fort Cobb. I mean, so just to kind of give you a little perspective, now you gotta remember there's rural area and stuff around there, but like, so I mean, all of these steps for me uh being like mindful and And plus, there's just this whole feeling of should I leave these people that I've invested five and a half years of my life in and see how God is moving and working? And I remember the day that I finally said yes, I was mowing my lawn. I'm a person of action. And so one of the ways that I think and process is not to sit still, but but to do, you know, and so so I get behind my lawnmower. I don't even know, I can't remember if my lawn needed to be mowed or not, but like when I when I need to process things, I get busy physically, and then my mind has peace and works. And I know that might seem awkward to some people. But I'm walking behind this lawnmower, and I don't know. I might be talking out loud, like people might think I'm crazy because me and God are just having this moment of battle. Like, are we gonna do this? Are we not? Finally, I just said, okay, Lord, whatever you say. And I watched how God's hand worked through that whole situation and brought us to the point where for 12 years almost, we we did what the Lord had us to do. Now, why do I tell that story? Because it was a milestone. I saw God work, proved himself faithful, I saw his hand in all the parts of it. And you know, sometimes I think God has a way of repeating and affirming things to you because then almost 12 years later, I get a phone call from this place. Same things are beginning to happen, same feelings are coming out. Am I betraying? Am I stepping out on my church family? I mean, is it is this the way that it's supposed to be? And what if I mess that place up? I mean, gosh, it's a big step. It's a three million dollar budget. I could make a big mess if I'm not gonna, I mean, all these thoughts go through either your mind. And then you watch God's hand unfold it. And you know what I was able to rely on that time? Well, God, we've been here before. We've we've walked this path, and just as you were faithful and I saw your hands at work, I see your hands at work. I joke about this, but I've never sent out a resume to a church, like just trying to find a job. And all of the churches that I've pastored was because somebody saw heard me at a funeral. So I joke with people, like if all of a sudden you see me doing funerals all over the place, you know I'm looking for another job. You won't find a stack of resumes on my desk being moved out. You'll find me calling every funeral home in Oklahoma and maybe Texas, and just being like, hey, uh, you got any funerals to do? You know them? Nope. Don't need to. This is my jam. This is what this is what's what I do when I when I need the job. And so it, I mean, two, just so many details, the exact same pattern and thing play out. And and I'll be honest with you, one of the reasons that I'm like, oh no, this might be time for me to go is when Mike Johnson back there said, Well, you know, I was at a funeral. I'm like, again? Again? I mean, people have to die for me to get jobs. It's a tragic thing. But it happens that way. And I and here's what I come back to God, you're faithful. And here's what I'm getting at. When we see God working in the midst of situations, he does that for us, I think, just to fuel our faith and to give us moments for the future when we have doubt, to say, no, we've been here before. And in this story, I think what Naomi is just seeing, and Ruth and all of them, look at God's hand weaving together this story. You want to know why she speaks with such confidence? He's not gonna let the day go without resolving this. It's not just because there's a romantic connection. It's not just because he sent barley. She's like, God's in this. And praise God when God's in things and he shows that to us. Let's pray, and then we're gonna eat lunch. Father in heaven, thank you for working in ways that we can't fathom and ways we can't comprehend. God, thank you for getting us out of the way so that your hand can work, but then also weaving us into the story that you're doing of bringing people to yourself. Father, there are moments that our faith is weak. And Father, thank you for being patient with us and renewing steadfast spirits within us and bringing us back to a point of faith. God, thank you in Naomi's life that you brought her from being empty and bitter, and all of a sudden she's beginning to trust and believe again. Thank you, God, for using a little Moabitus young lady who was willing to forsake her own family and trust you and cling to her mother-in-law and cling to a people who are not her own by faith. And God, how she was willing to work, how she was willing to toil out in a field, how she was willing to listen to what seems like us a ludicrous, crazy plan of her mother-in-law, but trust that God was going to work through her. Willing to put herself out there, Lord. Thank you for Boaz's faith to look and say, God, I'm willing to do a redeeming work that that was a financial responsibility as well as uh a deeper personal responsibility, but because he trusted you, thank you that that he didn't let his feelings get in the way, but instead said, Lord, this is what I want, but I'm gonna trust that your word is the right way. So if if it doesn't work out the way I want, it's still good. God, would you create that kind of faith in us today? Lord, would you help us to be a people who trust you, your commands, your plan, even when they go against our feelings and even when they seem hard. I thank you, God, for loving us and allowing us to be a part of what you're doing. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.