John Piper, “Ruth: Sweet and Bitter Providence,” Lesson 3

It's time to go to chapter 3. I'm not trying to get away from it.

In fact, I love it.

So let's go there. Chapter 3. I Have one phrase. I want you to keep in mind in this chapter and that is the phrase.

Strategic.

Righteousness.

It's my phrase. I'm not borrowing it from anybody. May not be the best. I'll explain what I mean by righteousness. I mean something very simple of doing the the right thing. Doing the God-honoring thing doing the thing that looks Wise and.

God.

Centered in the moment. Trusting in the Lord. Just doing right. Strategic means that you you have put some thought into this. This is why I said I'm turning the tables on the non plan emphasis from last night.

Do do plan. Let your righteousness be thought about. Plan some righteous behavior at the University this fall. Plan some righteous.

Activity.

Plan how to grow in righteousness. Plan how to treat people. Righteously, so what we have here first in Naomi and then in Ruth and then in Boaz. We'll take them just like that. We have strategic.

Righteousness.

So first Naomi and verses 1 to 5 and then Ruth in verses 6 to 9 and Then Boaz in verses 10 to 15. We have three of them acting out.

Strategic.

Righteousness.

So first Naomi in verses 1 to 5 that the sheer fact that Naomi has a plan is Very significant here's here's the significance When you are hopeless as she was Apparently for a season in chapter 1 You don't dream dreams.

Hopeless people don't dream dreams. They don't make plans. They don't pour Thousands and thousands of dollars or pounds into conceiving and printing 400 ,000 copies of Mark, you don't do that. You're hopeless.

You dream dreams and you make plans when God is Reminding you Helping you feel encouraged that there's gonna be a tomorrow and there's gonna be some Significance in your life and then dreams begin to happen.

So the very fact that Naomi Has this strange plan to send Ruth down there at night? means She's begun to feel Like there's a future like there's hope and her plan of course is I'm gonna get a husband for you Ruth I'm going this Boaz that you have Happened on to his field.

Oh, yes.

Boaz is a is a limo next.

Kinsman, and so she thinks that through and she comes up with her Plan a very very strange plan. So let's read it verses 3 4.

Says do her daughter-in-law.

Wash.

Therefore and anoint yourself and Put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down observe the place where he lies and then go and uncover his feet and lie down.

He will tell you what to do. Go to the threshing floor. Dressed and clean. After he's gone to sleep lift the blanket and Lie down at his feet. Now at that point you're thinking. Ruth is thinking. Everybody's thinking.

What are you telling her to do and instead of answering the question? Which everybody's asking. Everybody's asking instead of answering the question she says. He'll tell you what to do. I'm not going to tell you.

He'll tell you what to do. Breathtaking. What. That's not clear as to what's gonna happen here. You start to think about the possibilities here. One possibility would be he wakes up. He's a godly man.

He's been presented as a godly man, and he drives her away and says I thought you were worthy. That'd be one possibility. Get out of my life. Wouldn't be interested in any woman who would act like that.

That's that's a risk that Naomi's taking or. The possibility that most people would think of is he would look down there. Being a man. She's obviously presenting herself, and and he simply has sex with him.

Now both of those are bad ideas. That's not a good plan. Fornication was wrong in the Old Testament, and it's wrong today. It was wrong then. It's wrong now. Naomi knew it was wrong and Ruth knew was wrong and Boaz knew it was wrong and yet he wants.

Naomi wants this to happen. She wants us to work. So what in the world is she doing? Presenting this this idea to.

Her.

Daughter-in-law to go down there in such a sexually Alluring and tempting way. Or will he have enough integrity to say so you are Offering yourself to me as a wife. Thank you. I Will take care of it with the elders tomorrow and we will move on this in a proper way.

Well, if that's the plan, it's really risky and really really strange so much for Naomi's Strategic righteousness, that's the plan. She's she wants Boaz to marry Ruth and She's sending Ruth down there in this inexplicable so far Behavior, but it's a plan and we will see a remarkably.

Subtle.

Profound plan. So now we turn to Ruth and Her participation in this strategic righteousness. Verses 6 through 9. Let's read these. So in verse 5 she says to her mother-in-law everything you say I will do so.

She went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry He went to lie down at the end of the grain the heap of grain.

Then.

She came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was startled and turned over and behold a woman.

Lay at his feet and.

He said who are you. And she answered now what she says here. According to the text anyway Naomi hadn't prompted her on this. Naomi hadn't put the words in her mouth. She said dude that he'll tell you what to do.

So these words now are words perhaps that they agreed on doesn't say that these are Naomi's I mean Ruth's.

Words.

She says to him Now the translations here are gonna go haywire in your versions. All right, so we got to decide what is going on here in the.

ESV it says.

Spread your wings. Over your servant. Now your version if you got the NIV says garment. The King James says skirt the NASB says covering. Only the ESV does this wings thing. So let's just go with garment.

Because if wings is proper, it's a double meaning and we may be on to something. But you're reading garment. If you got the NIV or the NASB or the King James Version or some other version that's really the common ordinary one.

We'll come back to that. So she says. Spread your garment or whatever this wings thing is over me over your servant.

For you are a.

Redeemer. In other words, I Know my mother-in-law knows you're the relative who could marry me.

Give.

The name of my husband. Mail on a future and perhaps.

More.

If we had children. It's really clear what she's saying. What is going on with this word? Skirt garment covering that the ESV translates wings.

So.

Really helps to know your Hebrew here. So I I got it out got it out again last night got it out 24 years ago. Did I looked at every one of them again last night. The word It's used 34 times in the Old Testament maybe all but four is.

Wings.

Wings of angels in Ezekiel.

Wings of birds. Wait, it's wings. It's just wings a few times.

Because of the context it seems to mean garment in some kind of metaphorical.

Way.

There's one other place outside of Ruth Where it's used in relationship to lovers. I'm gonna read that one to you.

It's Ezekiel.

16 verse 8. Ezekiel 16 is one of the most beautiful and horrible chapters in the Bible about God's coming and marrying Israel. Finding her like a baby weltering in in its blood utterly disgusting thrown out to die and God sees this horrible scene.

And he and he takes the baby and when she's grown he marries her. So here's verse 8. When I passed by you again. In other words later when you'd grown and looked upon you behold you were at the age for love and I spread my garment my skirt and that's the same word.

I Spread my skirt my garment my covering my wings over you and covered your nakedness. Yay, I Plighted my troth to you and entered into covenant with you Says the Lord and you became mine. That's the closest analogy in the Old Testament to this text and the use of the word.

Wings.

So it would be I think Very Contrary to the author's intention and Ruth's intention if we jumped to the conclusion that what's going on. Here is a conniving mother-in-law and a risque Loose woman Ruth to get a man.

That's not the feel if you know the language. This is language of God covering Israel and making a covenant with her when she was very unworthy and Had been so despicable in her weltering blood. So if there's an offer going on here, which there clearly is.

It is a noble offer. It's an offer of a desire for a covenant relationship and for something like a covering of God to happen from Boaz. I want you to cover me Boaz. With your wings. Now, I'm sure some of you are already ahead of me and where I'm going from last night.

There's only one other place in this book where the word wings is used. Back in chapter 2 verse 12 Boaz had said you've come to my field Seeking help from me. Seeking protection from me and and seeking food in my field and seeking water at my well.

And you're asking Why have you found this favor. And his answer comes back? You took refuge under the wings of God when you came here. It's Boaz who sowed the seed in Ruth's mind that there's a connection between Boaz and his care and his protection and his provision and his love as a possible husband and God as the one under whose wings she has lived now for about Ten years or so and where she finds her security.

Boaz sowed the seed of that connection and she goes home Evidently and and talks this over with Naomi. He said this and he did this he did this and they sit down either together. I don't know how I'm just guessing and they say All right.

We can't be really sure. That's what he meant that he was really suggesting. That you're coming to him. Finding his resources and his provision and his protection and his leadership husband-like has a relationship to your Going to God so that if you go to God you go to him.

If you go to him you go to God. And he really really would like to be that for you. He's an older man. He's set not married. Is he really saying that he's open to this and I think what they hit upon is a symbolic activity that is just as subtle and profound as Boaz's words to Ruth were on the field.

You're coming to me in my field my protection my food and seeking security provision rest and I I recognize in that. That you are a godly woman that you take refuge under God's wings. Implicit. That's the kind of woman.

I would like to take under my wing.

So she goes.

She lies down. She puts a cover over her and she waits.

He awakens.

Who are you. And at this moment everything hangs on? What response he's going to give to this sentence. Because she's gonna take words upon her lips that Experiments with whether she's got it, right? She's gonna she's going to say I'm Ruth.

Would you cover me With your weight. In other words, he'll understand what I'm saying if I've got it, right? He'll understand what I'm saying. And if I don't What's gonna happen? That's Ruth's strategic righteousness.

She thought she planned very subtle. I mean, I hardly know what to say here in terms of.

What this implies.

Concerning the delicacy the subtlety and the profundity of relations. I mean Boaz, I just try to imagine this is an awful thing to do. But let me do it. This is terrible. Suppose my wife died. Hope she doesn't before I do.

I'm 62. Should I remarry? How old should the woman be that I remarry?

40 50 60 70.

What if there were a 45 year old woman in my church. That I just wondered. Just wondered if it could work. That would be a hard thing to approach Wouldn't it? I mean, what if she said you're 62. You just feel so humiliated you just thank you.

So I just I put myself in Boaz's shoes. He what he says to her is You haven't gone after any of the younger men you've come to me. He he's he's amazed.

He wanted it.

But he wasn't sure that he could. So what do you do? And and I think the answer is you do something very delicate something very subtle something very profound. I wouldn't have that skill. I'm sure to be able to do it, but he said it.

She got it. She returned the subtlety and then. You've got clarity.

And.

Now we turn to what does he do? What does Boaz? Do here. So let's go to Boaz and finish with him verses 10 to 15. He said May you be blessed by the Lord my daughter.

Daughter.

You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men.

Whether poor or rich.

And now my daughter do not fear. Now the two things she could have feared she's gonna be right. Or she's gonna be rejected as a slut and he won't do either of those. My daughter do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask.

You've called me the Redeemer. You've said you're willing. I'm going for it. I'll do all that you ask for all my fellow townsmen know you are a worthy woman. And now it's true that I am a Redeemer. There's I'm a relative of a limit like You there?

Yes, there is a Redeemer nearer than I. There's another relative. We haven't heard of him before he just shows up here and we all want to say no. It's a bad turn of affairs.

What I thought the story was over.

No. There is a Redeemer nearer than I Remained tonight and in the morning if he will redeem you.

Good oh.

Come on.

Let him do it.

But if he is not willing to redeem you. And as the Lord lives, I Will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. Now, we're gonna. We're gonna pick it up there, but let me just close with with a comment about Boaz here.

This is strategic righteousness. Big time, is it not?

It's midnight.

Stars are out. He's been drinking and Feeling merry. The woman that he wonders if in his wildest dreams might be willing to take an older man Has come washed and smelling beautiful and Lay down at his feet and put his blanket over her and.

Said.

Cover me with your wing. Some of you guys have been in that situation. You gals have been in that situation. He hears her offer. I'm here and I would like you to be my husband and you. Got two choices here you can say.

Because of righteousness.

We will wait or.

We won't we won't wait.

We're just gonna have sex now and we'll get married tomorrow. And I just would like to close by by pleading with you to be like Boaz and Ruth. They were good lovers. Oh, there was Supercharged power going on under that blanket.

Under those stars these two people were ready to have sex. Can you believe they didn't? You love here until the morning then I'm gonna go do what has to be done to make this righteous. I'll tell you young people so many of you have already blown it.

You're not virgins anymore. God can have mercy upon you and he he will if you turn to him. He can cleanse you make a beautiful relationship in the future. I know that he can. If you still have not had sex I just plead with you.

Stand with Boaz stand with Ruth. Embrace a strategic righteousness and let me put it in a in a larger context for you. What's going on here is the making of the ancestor of Jesus. Ruth is about to be from Moab folded purely and Righteously into a line that will result in Jesus Christ the purity of the moment and the purposes of eternity.

Link right here.

That's true for you.

If you will in the safety of your apartment where she seems so willing.

Say.

We will wait. God will honor that he will honor that more vastly than you can imagine. Because here he honored it with the last chapter and the coming of Jesus Christ as the result of this holy Union, and so I just plead with you to let the the beautiful.

Strategic.

Righteousness of Naomi's risky plan and Ruth's sensitive discerning of this older man's heart and this older man's.

Massive willpower.

To say.

I do just lie there and we will wait.