Second Presbyterian Church

"Blessed:
Preaching from Ruth"
August 29, 2004

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Sermons Homepage » Sermons for 2004 » Sermons for August 2004 » Sermons from the Series on Ruth

#4 in the Series on Ruth
The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.

• Ruth 4: 13-22

In this final sermon from Ruth we come to the conclusion of the story. Although, by the end of last week's sermon (4:12) we were aware that the end would be quite different than how the story began, it is still in these few verses where the implications of the story take place.

Briefly let's review this passage. Boaz took Ruth as his wife and he consummated the marriage. The Lord gave Ruth conception and she bore a son. The women of the town Bless the Lord for His faithfulness for He has not left Naomi bereft of security and the continuation of the family. Then the women of Bethlehem named the son, Obed, and wished upon him that he would be renowned in Israel. And the genealogies say the rest. Obed was the grandfather of King David, the most beloved and renowned king of Israel. The genealogy is redone, this time from Perez, the son of Tamar, down through Boaz and again it stops at David.

The writers of commentaries can discuss all they want about when Ruth was written. What seems important here is that part of the book's intent was to provide some familial background of David. More than that, it was written to demonstrate, once again, that the LORD works intimately through the affairs and lives of men and women. Sometimes He works behind the scenes and sometimes The LORD is the initiator. In Ruth we have examples of both. Through most of chapters two and three one gets the sense that all the activities initiated by the participants of the story (Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz) were coming together for a grand purpose. Although, at any particular point in the story it probably was not apparent to those involved. I seriously doubt Ruth was aware that the Lord was seeing to it that she meet Boaz while gleaning for food. Naomi wasn't aware that her plot to have Boaz redeem her land and marry Ruth was part of what the LORD first had in mind when there was a famine in Judah and Naomi and her family went to Moab to live, and while she was there Mahlon married Ruth.

One gets the distinct sense that all the apparently random events in the story were not random at all, but God's plan to provide for Israel through the rule of David and his successors.

Yet there were two times in the story when the LORD acted directly. And because of these two incidences we develop a clear sense that the other, so called "random" events were part of God's plan through it all.

The first time the LORD acted directly was at the beginning of the story. Naomi was already in Moab, widowed and her two sons had died. In verse 6 the narrator mentioned that the LORD had "visited his people and given them food." That's the first direct intervention by the LORD. It was the intervention that caused Naomi to decide to return to Bethlehem. Of course once she did, with Ruth, the events of the story developed rapidly.

The second direct intervention by the LORD is when Ruth and Boaz were married and "the LORD gave here conception and she bore a son." Throughout this story is the implication that Ruth was barren. She had been married to Mahlon for possibly as long as ten years and they had had no children (verse 4). Now with the second direct intervention by the LORD Ruth conceived and had a child.

Just the fact that the two direct interventions, one at the beginning and one at the end of the story, give the story of Ruth a clear sense that all these events were orchestrated by the LORD for the benefit of his people, Israel.

What benefits? First of all, for Naomi. Her future was now secured. She now had a grandchild (by marriage) that secured here place, economically. The elders of Israel were cared for by their children. This, perhaps, is the least important redemption. Even so, it was just two months earlier that Naomi could have never imagined any future at all, much less one that was quite bright.

Secondly, the story of Ruth was written in part to give light to the family of King David. Indeed he was the fulfillment of prophecy and the actions of the LORD. It was no coincidence that the women of Bethlehem, in their blessing, mentioned that the LORD had provided a redeemer and that his name be renowned in Israel (4:14). David was definitely renowned in Israel. He was the king that united the 12 tribes of Israel. He was the king that subdued the enemies of Israel (of which Moab was one) and expanded the borders of Israel to their maximum size. It was David who, by far, was the most religious and faithful king that Israel ever had. It was David who wrote so many psalms that expressed his faith, his struggles and his joys in the LORD. From a purely Hebrew perspective this second point is the main point.

From a Christian point of view the context and point can be made even broader. Who here, does not think of Jesus Christ when we read the women's words of blessing, "Blessed be the LORD who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!" (Verse 14)

And that is the point that we need to take home with us. In appreciation of the context of Redeemer, next of kin, as understood by a Hebrew audience, we need to move on to the blessedness of the Redeemer as we know it in Jesus Christ. It is no coincidence that the genealogy in Matthew includes Ruth and Boaz. Matthew also understood that the blessing of the Bethlehem women included not only David, but also saw to it that it connected with Jesus, the Christ, the Redeemer - not of land or line of inheritance, but our Redeemer who redeemed us from sin and the trap of self-centeredness from which we all suffer.

The story of Ruth and Naomi also reminds us that tragedy happens. We all experience suffering and injustice in lives. We live in a world where anything can happen to us. It raises the question; do we have the spiritual fortitude and faith to survive those times in our lives that are so painful and hard? The answer is "Yes," when we remember whom our Redeemer is and that our Redemption is a blessing from God that is free, gracious, and that it expresses God's love for us. It may seem trite, but it isn't, when we acknowledge just how blessed we are; Jesus Christ has chosen us to become his disciples and to follow him.

The blessing is that we are never alone again in our situations. When tragedy hits, Jesus is there to help us. When injustice strikes, Jesus is there with us to help us. Jesus Christ never promised us lives of ease. He did promise us that we would never be alone in our lives, regardless of what happened.

If you take anything with you from our time together with Ruth it is my hope that you take with you the sense of how God can be involved in our lives regardless of what's happened to us, regardless of how tragic it seems, and God can use these events for great blessings in our ministries. Through the tragedy of Naomi, God blessed her and blessed Israel. May it increase our faith, especially for those times when we just plain can't see the purpose in what's going on! Amen.

The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min.