MPC, 10th March 2002.Ruth 3 - "Marry Me!"
Phil Campbell MPC, 10th March 2002.
On Valentine's Day Phil Paterson took his girlfriend Katrina Johnson to a café at Circular Quay in Sydney for a romantic dinner – and Phil had a surprise planned. As dusk was falling, he pointed to the sky; where a skywriter was just finishing the words MARRY ME TWEENY. "Isn't that sweet?" says Katrina.
Trouble was, Phil was expecting to see MARRY ME TREENY…. Which was the message he'd paid $2300 to have written in the sky. TREENY is Katrina's nickname. And she had no idea MARRY ME TWEENY was meant for HER. So Phil had to do the traditional thing and get down on one knee and PROPOSE. The good news is, TREENY said YES. And Phil's negotiating a discount with the skywriter.
I guess that's nothing compared to some of the PROPOSALS you might have seen on TV lately in that new show called MARRY ME. Steven is proposing to Donna at the Movies… so while she's watching the trailers of the upcoming movies, suddenly, there's STEVE ON THE SCREEN. Proposing.
Or Maurie, who's proposing to Maureen. And wants to prove he'll DO ANYTHING FOR HER… so proposes in a wetsuit from a tank full of sharks.
Or Michelle, who's modelling in the Melbourne Bridal show. When the commentator stops her midway along the catwalk. And in walks Rob…. Who says in front of a crowd of hundreds of people "When I look into your eyes, you take my breath away. You're my SOUL MATE… will you MARRY ME?"
And Michelle falls into his arms and whispers "Yes I will." Misty moment.
Exactly the same sort of misty moment you get in Ruth chapter 3. Which on one level at least is the story of a DRAMATIC MARRIAGE PROPOSAL.
Except that in this case there's more to it than meets the eye. If you think back a couple of weeks to when we were last here in Ruth, you've got NAOMI AND RUTH cast adrift. Destitute widows. In an age where the only real safety was to be under the protection of a husband.
Naomi and Ruth have come back from the land of Moab. And they've COME HOME EMPTY. Naomi's husband had been shooting for the big time. Looking for success a long way from God's promised land. And by the end of chapter 1 Naomi's home again. With nothing but her foreign daughter-in-law. Verse 21 in chapter 1, she says, I WENT AWAY FULL… but the LORD HAS BROUGHT ME BACK EMPTY.
Which is the experience of a lot of people who look for blessing a long way from God. Seems like a great idea at first. But the time comes when you realise where you've been. It's the story of the prodigal son played out all sorts of different ways. And the Lord brings you back EMPTY and DRY.
Chapter 2, there's been a flicker of hope. Because young Ruth has found herself gleaning in the fields of BOAZ. Who we're told is a RELATIVE of ELIMELECH. Which puts him in a particular position. As a KINSMAN REDEEMER. Here's someone who can step in and CONTINUE THE FAMILY LINE. If he wants to. Here's the one who can SAVE THEM from their distress. Here's the one who can FILL THEIR EMPTINESS.
To REDEEM SOMETHING is to BUY IT BACK and SET IT FREE. So here's Boaz. Kind landowner. A kinsman-redeemer of the family of Elimelech. Dead husband of Naomi.
Which sets the scene for our romantic proposal.
Now these days, the MOTHER IN LAW gets pretty bad press. I mean, you get the hundreds of MOTHER IN LAW JOKES… like the one where the bloke says, "My wife and I went car shopping, and the salesman asked if I wanted a car with an Airbag. I said, 'No thanks. I already have a mother-in-law.'"
Or the Cannibal who says "My mother-in-law is AWFUL," and the other cannibal says, "Well, just leave her on the side of your plate and eat the vegetables."
The mother-in-law finds herself in a complex situation doesn't she? Knowing how things need to be done. But not wanting to meddle. Except unfortunately sometimes the other way around.
But here she is at the start of chapter 3; and verse 1 says "one day Naomi her mother-in-law says to Ruth, "My daughter, shouldn't I try to find a home for you, where you'll be well provided for?" Which is literally, shouldn't I TRY TO FIND REST FOR YOU… shouldn't I try to get you SETTLED?
Which in those days was more or less what a parent did. And we need to be alert as we read to all sorts of customs and traditions in the middle eastern culture that are very different from ours. So mother-in-law Naomi is hatching a plan. With the best interests of RUTH at heart. She says, it's obvious, isn't it? She says, isn't that BOAZ with whose servant girls you've been harvesting a KINSMAN OF OURS? Tonight he'll be WINNOWING BARLEY at the threshing floor. So here's the plan. And on she goes.
Now the way the harvest worked back then, you'd beat out the grain, or cattle would TREAD IT OUT on the THRESHING FLOOR so the grain and the husks and the straw were all mixed in together. And when the WINDS CAME UP in the evening, you'd shovel it all up in the air, and the husks and straw would blow away in the breeze and leave just the grain. Which is called WINNOWING. So that's what Boaz is doing.
So Naomi says, here's what you do. Put on your best clothes, splash on the perfume, do yourself up really nicely… then she says in verse 3, go down to the threshing floor and stay out of sight 'til he's finished work and he's had dinner and a few drinks. Then when he lies down and goes to sleep, make your move.
Here's the PROPOSAL COMING UP. And it's not like ANYTHING you'll see on Marry Me on TV. SHE'S GOING TO PROPOSE TO HIM. And in a not too subtle way.
Here's the custom. I mean, we talk about women who'll throw themselves at men's feet. Well, this is LITERAL. That's what she's going to do. Naomi says, watch where he lies down, then GO AND UNCOVER HIS FEET and LIE DOWN. He'll tell you what to do.
And so verse 5, Ruth says, "I'll do EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY." And she does. Scrubs up, perfume, best clothes, and down the road to the threshing floor in the fading twilight.
And she's watching Boaz from the shadows as he finishes work. And eats his dinner. And verse 7 it says when Boaz has finished eating and drinking and he's in good spirits, he goes to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. And Ruth leaves it long enough to know he's asleep and she sneaks over and uncovers his feet and lies down. Which is exactly how things stay 'til midnight. When something STARTLES BOAZ. And he rolls over. Awake. And finds in the midnight darkness someone lying at his feet. Smells the perfume. But can't make out who it is. Verse 9. WHO ARE YOU?
"I'm your servant RUTH," she says. And she's about to pop the question. I mean, she's thrown herself at his feet already. But here it is. And there's a little something that you can miss in the English translation. Follow it in verse 9. I am your servant Ruth, she says. "SPREAD THE CORNER OF YOUR GARMENT OVER ME, since you're a KINSMAN REDEEMER." Which in the original Hebrew is SPREAD THE WING OF YOUR GARMENT OVER ME… since you're a Kinsman redeemer.
Now that's got an ECHO TO IT, hasn't it? Because if you think back to chapter 2, Boaz says to Ruth, I'm CARING FOR YOU because you've come to seek shelter UNDER THE WINGS OF GOD. And now Ruth's saying to him, and here's the proposal… how about REDEEMING ME? How about you MARRY ME and rescue us from our desperate situation?
Which again, you might remember is something there in Israel's law. That the unmarried BROTHER-IN-LAW on the closest next of kin was expected to TAKE ON THE CHILDLESS WIDOW… and the first child of their marriage was counted as CARRYING ON THE FAMILY LINE of the first husband. Which to our ears sounds kind of strange. But that's all part of what a KINSMAN REDEEMER can be called on to do.
And that's what Ruth's asking. As she clings to the feet of Boaz in the darkness of the night.
It's a big ask. And let me say right from the start it's NOT COMPULSORY. Boaz doesn't HAVE TO SAY YES. I mean, REDEEMING IS COSTLY. And more to the point, we're going to see in a moment there's a PROBLEM.
But Boaz, we're going to see, is a man full of both INTEGRITY and KINDNESS. Besides which he's a middle aged bachelor.
Funny, watching that MARRY ME show on TV the other night, when the BIG QUESTION WAS POPPED, you really had to lean forward to hear the answer. The WILL YOU MARRY ME question was up there on the movie screen in huge letters, and the answer came in a WHISPER.
But not with Boaz. Verse 10. The LORD BLESS YOU MY DAUGHTER. He says, "You're the one being kind to ME!" He says, I'm not much of a catch. You could have gone after the young blokes. Even the rich ones." I reckon she's TERRIFIED. And he's putting her at ease. And so he says, verse 11, "And now my daughter, DON'T BE AFRAID." Stop trembling. "I'll do for you ALL YOU ASK." It's a YES! And all my fellow townsmen know you're a woman of NOBLE CHARACTER. Just the sort of woman I'd be wanting to marry anyway!
But here's the problem. And they reckon in any good ROMANCE STORY there's got to be a problem. Like that show ED on TV, you kind of know Ed and Carol are meant to be in love with each other, but first along comes someone to distract Ed and make Carol jealous, and then when that's over and Ed's keen, Carol falls for the guy at the school. What's a good LOVE STORY without the OTHER GUY who's going to mess things up? And HERE HE IS. Waiting in the wings. We'll meet him in person next week.
Here's the guy who can spell the end to a beautiful friendship. Because even though BOAZ is related, even though he's a KINSMAN REDEEMER, even though he's IN LINE to take responsibility for saving Naomi and Ruth from their poverty; he's NOT FIRST IN LINE.
There's another relative. Closer.
And Boaz breaks the bad news in verse 12. He says, even though it's true that I'm NEAR OF KIN, he says I'm not technically NEXT OF KIN! He says there's something your MOTHER-IN-LAW has overlooked. "Although it's true I'm NEAR OF KIN, there's a KINSMAN REDEEMER NEARER THAN I." There's another guy who's CLOSER.
But he says, wait here until morning. And we'll sort it out then. If he wants to redeem, good, let him redeem. But if he's not willing, verse 13, "I vow that as surely as the Lord lives, I'll do it. Lie here til morning."
And so for the next three or four hours, Ruth I guess is left lying there sharing the warmth under the wings of Boaz's cloak. Wondering what's going to happen in the morning. Because it's one thing to know that there's another possible kinsman redeemer. But that's NO GUARANTEE she's going to find the same sort of KINDNESS… that she's found in Boaz.
So our chapter closes with Ruth getting up at the crack of dawn and heading back to town; Boaz doesn't want it known that she's been there. Except that he doesn't want Ruth going home EMPTY HANDED.
And again, if you're an ALERT READER there's something going on. Ruth and Naomi came back to the promised land EMPTY. But Boaz has taken it on himself to MAKE SURE THEY DON'T STAY THAT WAY. And so he says HOLD OUT YOUR SHAWL. And he piles it full of Barley; six measures; as much as she can carry back to town. And sends her off.
MOTHER-IN-LAW meets her at the door. How did it go? And she tells her. And then adds in verse 17, "He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, don't go back to your MOTHER-IN-LAW EMPTY HANDED."
Here are Ruth and Naomi; they've come from Moab and they're looking for REFUGE in the PROMISED LAND. They're empty. Looking for shelter under the wings of God. And Boaz says, don't go home to Naomi EMPTY HANDED. A signal. You've come to the right place. Your EMPTY DAYS ARE OVER.
And Naomi says in verse 18, let's wait and see what happens. Because Boaz won't REST until the matter's settled. She doesn't have to wait long. But we'll have to wait til next week to see what happens.
Now I wonder, as we read a chapter like this one, what we're meant to make of it? There's a prior question to that. If you were an Israelite back then… what are you meant to make of it?
Because here's this FOREIGN GIRL… looking for refuge with a man of Israel. More than that. Looking for REDEMPTION. In quite a tender story. I know with most Aussie blokes, when there's a show on like MARRY ME on Channel 9, that's when you go out the back shed; or reach for the remote controller. Too much of this soppy sentimental stuff. And maybe for a hard-nosed Israelite, the feeling might be the same.
And yet there's a very clear link they're meant to see… between BOAZ THE REDEEMER and GOD THE REDEEMER. I mean, it's obvious enough, isn't it? It's there in the passage. Spread your garment over me… protect me. Be to ME how God has been to HIS PEOPLE.
And yet there's one significant difference. I mean, maybe for Boaz it's EASY redeeming a girl who's young and attractive with her best perfume on. But listen to this.
Because there's another passage in the old testament with strong echoes of this one. It comes from Ezekiel. At a later time.
Ezekiel chapter 16. Where God says to Ezekiel, remind Jerusalem what she's really like. Remind MY PEOPLE of the story of their past. REMIND THEM that I'm the one who SPREAD MY GARMENT OVER THEM… when they were ANYTHING BUT BEAUTIFUL.
If the kindness of Boaz is impressive, if that warms your heart, what about the kindness of the GOD WHO REDEEMS THE FAR FROM BEAUTIFUL. Read it sometime. Ezekiel 16. And see the contrast with Ruth.
God says, to Ezekiel, remind Israel of her ancestry. Remind Israel she was like a child abandoned – born in the wilderness and deserted. Filthy and naked.
And then God says, verse 8:
I passed by… and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign LORD, and you became mine. 9 I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. 10 I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put leather sandals on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. 11 I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, 12 and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
You became very beautiful. And rose to be a queen.
And then, says Ezekiel, Israel became PROUD. And threw it all away. Forgetting where they started. How God had redeemed them from NOWHERE. Made SOMETHING… out of NOTHING. For which they should always be HUMBLE and THANKFUL.
Which the New Testament says is the same picture for us. As REDEEMED PEOPLE. Not redeemed because there was anything beautiful about us. Romans 5;8. A verse worth remembering. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners… Christ died for us."
So what is there to BOAST ABOUT?
So as you see Ruth and Boaz and you want to get a picture of God and us, take all the appeal out of Ruth. And multiply the kindness of Boaz. And you get some sort of idea of it. Here's the story. Turn back to God from where-ever you've been. Do it humbly. And you'll find he's already provided a redeemer FOR YOU. A redeemer better than Boaz. A redeemer who goes to the cross – to pay the redemption price for rebels like us. Jesus Christ. And you don't even have to make yourself beautiful for him to be acceptable. That comes after.
And so as we share in the Lords supper this morning, we're reminded of that. That we've been provided with just the redeemer we need. That as you humble yourself at the foot of the cross, there's a hand to lift you up. From where-ever you've been. To fill you. No matter how empty.
And a reminder I guess to all of us… to never forget where we've come from. That as forgiven sinners we all come from humble circumstances. And none of us has pride of place. As we give thanks together to the ONE WHO REDEEMED US AT GREAT COST.
Let's remember that together now… as we share in the Lord's Supper together.