Biblical Welfare

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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All right, let's pray. Lord God, help us to grow in the knowledge of your

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Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and to remain firm in the confession of his blessed word. Give us the love to be of one mind and to serve one another in Christ.

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Then we will not be afraid of that which is disagreeable, nor the rage of the arsonist Satan, whose torch is almost extinguished.

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Dear Father, guard us so that his craftiness may not take the place of our pure faith, and grant that our cross and sufferings may lead to a blessed and sure hope of the coming of our

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Savior, Jesus Christ, for whom we wait daily. Amen. All right, any questions percolate up as a result of the sermon?

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Today's sermon was kind of straightforward. Does anyone here think coveting is a good idea? You know, you do, really,

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Tom. Wow, that's quite the confession. All right.

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All right. Let's see here. We have been working our way through Leviticus at a glacial pace.

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And let's see. I think we're up to chapter 19.

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I think that's where we're at. Yep.

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Chapter 19. That's where we last left off. And let me reread chapter 19, verse 9.

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Now, as uncomfortable as this is going to make certain conservatives feel, we must deal with this fact that the theocracy of Israel had welfare.

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This is most certainly true. So if somebody was down and out, they found themselves in dire circumstances, those dire circumstances were to be alleviated by their fellow citizens and neighbors.

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And even if you were a sojourner, I'm going to just be blunt, a sojourner is somebody who is not a citizen of that country, but somebody who is passing through.

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They were permitted by God to have a means to fill their bellies and feed themselves.

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And you're going to note something here, that this welfare system is not like any of our welfare systems today, because here's how it worked.

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All right. We're going to harvest our field. We're not going to harvest up to the edge.

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Anything that we drop, those are called gleanings. You can have them, but you've got to come.

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You've got to do the work. You have to harvest it. You have to do the threshing.

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You have to do everything. We're not just going to write you a check and you can sit on your couch and watch

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Maury Povich all day long. Is that even a... Yeah, I'm dating myself. Serious decades.

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Yeah. It's still a thing. Huh? Maury Povich is still a thing? I haven't watched daytime television in two decades.

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It shows. It shows. Thanks, Dwayne.

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It shows. What were you saying? It's the you are not the father show. It's the you are not the father show.

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Boy, that's not awkward at all. So they're going to... They confront fellows who have impregnated women and they do the

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DNA test and reveal the results on national television. How is that entertainment?

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Got it. Okay. So you're going to note here that if you were to like take today's modern day political arguments for welfare and socialism and against welfare and socialism, that God's solution is neither of those.

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It's something kind of in between. Something kind of in between. Isn't that fascinating?

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Yeah. I kind of like the system from the fact that the needy people can keep their dignity as far as they don't have to go begging for it.

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It's there for them and they don't lose sight of the fact that you have to work for your food.

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So you keep your self -respect. You keep your work ethic. It's a good system,

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I think. No, it's a fantastic system because you're right. You do keep your self -respect and there's a work ethic.

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And I would argue that the American welfare system has decimated minority populations.

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Absolutely decimated them. It has... It incentivizes the breaking up of families and especially in the

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African -American communities. There's a large percentage of women who are raising children from multiple fathers and in the

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African -American community the welfare system makes it almost a guarantee that children are going to be raised without their dad.

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That's devastating to them. And I would say that that's harmed them more than anything in our time.

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So you'll note that we are to be generous and at the same time people who can work should.

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My grandmother had this verse from the New Testament that she would quote to me and because of the constitutional rights

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I have against self -incrimination I may or may not have done a poor job at my chores when

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I was a kid. You know, you fill in the blanks. I may have not been enthusiastic in such a way.

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And so my grandmother when she would visit, she has this thick German accent, and she would always tell me that the

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Bible says if a man should not work he should not eat.

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Did you know that's in the Scriptures? Alright, let's hunt this one down. Alright, we're going to do a little search in the epistles and eat is our word and we're going to go epistles on this one and let's see what we can find here.

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We're going to hunt this one down. If a man will not work he should not eat. Okay. Give me a second to hunt this one down.

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Ah, here it is. 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 10. 2

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Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 10. And I'm going to put the context around it because we want to make sure we grab our context.

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So, I'll start in verse 1. Finally brothers, pray for us that the word of the

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Lord may speed ahead and be honored as happened among you that we may be delivered from the wicked and evil men for not all have faith but the

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Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one and we have confidence in the

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Lord about you that you are doing and will do the things that we command. May the

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Lord direct your hearts to love, to the love of God and steadfastness of Christ.

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Now we commend you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not according and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

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So you're going to note here, there's traditions. So the idea here, the question is, is it a man made tradition or is it one in accord with the word of God?

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For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us because we were not idle when we were with you nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it but with toil and labor we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you.

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It was not because we do not have the right, that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

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For even when we were with you we would give you this command if anyone is not willing to work let him not eat for we hear that some among you walk in idleness not busy at work but busy bodies.

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We may need to edit that part out. No, I'm kidding. Yeah. So you'll note then,

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God wills for us to be busy.

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And boy, I know what that's about. Never seems to stop, does it? But that's what we find.

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Even Solomon was busy working. And this comes back to our text from Ecclesiastes.

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That this is our lot right now, to toil. And so the idea then if somebody comes up with this idea that, well

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I'm in need so it's your job to meet my need. There's a lot of entitlement out there,

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I'm just saying. Alright? Our response should be if you're not willing to work, you shouldn't eat.

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End of discussion. Yeah. You can either have a nothing burger or you can have something.

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And the nothing burger is if you do nothing, you get a nothing burger. But it seems like that would just, that wouldn't include people that are physically unable to work.

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Yeah, that's different altogether. So for the one who physically is incapable of work, then it is our responsibility to care for their needs.

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And this makes perfect sense when you think of children. Alright? There's laws against using them as slave labor, which

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I'm really bummed about. I'm joking about that part.

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But you'll note then the little ones, they are not capable of holding down a job and stuff like that.

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But, you know, I remember when I got to an age when I can hold a job, my parents sat me down and the talk went something like this.

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Son, they call me that because I'm so bright. A lot of editing today.

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Son, we know that up till now you've enjoyed your summer vacations and, you know, you've swam and played ball and all this kind of stuff, but you're old enough now, and so we require you to get a job.

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What? A job? What? And so from the time...

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How old were we? 15? 14. That's right. My first job was probably when

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I was 14. And Barb and I had a job working together, but we can't talk about that without going to private confession.

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let's just say we were very creative and had a lot of fun. Anyway, but so the idea then is that you know, if somebody's not willing to work, they shouldn't eat.

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And so you'll note then that the welfare system of Israel 100 % was based upon generosity, and 100 % was based upon you need to work for this.

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It's not a straight up handout. There is a sense in which there's still toil involved, there's work involved, there's self -respect involved, and I've pointed it out before, and may even spend the rest of the time pointing out the fact that our

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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the line of the Messiah, was saved through this welfare system.

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Did you know that? Boaz. That's right.

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He was ruthless for a while. Alright, we're going to take a look at the book of Ruth.

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Ruth chapter one. Ruth chapter one.

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I've noted this before, and I love telling the story, and I like coming back to this. It's been a couple years since we've read this in Kongsvinger, but worth the read.

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I refer to this story as like the ultimate chick flick in the Bible. It's awesome. And yeah, even though it's a chick flick, it's just a great story.

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But the types and shadows pointing to Christ are amazing.

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Absolutely amazing. And so this is one of these pinnacle stories that shows the love, the mercy, the kindness of God.

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And then this thing that we just read in Leviticus 19 regarding the gleanings, this becomes the means by which the lineage of the

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Messiah is saved. Now, a little bit of a note here, so you can kind of get your characters worked out.

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When the children of Israel go in to conquer the promised land, first city to be conquered is what?

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Jericho. Famous walls of Jericho. It's a type and shadow of Jesus' return in glory to judge the living and the dead.

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Everybody in Jericho dies except for whom? Rahab.

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And if you want to pronounce it properly, it would be Rahab. That is her name. Rahab. And her vocation, she was a prostitute.

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She was a prostitute of Jericho. And she was saved. She did not experience the destruction of Jericho based upon whether or not she put something in her window.

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And what was that thing that was put in the window? The red scarlet thread. Right? And so you'll note then you start to kind of see how this works out.

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You can say that the scarlet thread, it's kind of sacramental. It points to the blood of Christ.

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Her and her whole family were saved. And I would note that the archaeological digs done on Jericho, on the tell there in Jericho, back in the early part of the 20th century, showed an entire section of the wall of Jericho that was not destroyed.

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Whereas everything else was. And I think it's safe to say that that was probably where Rahab lived.

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And there were apartments inside the wall itself, built into the wall itself. And they've survived to this day in the tell

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Jericho. Now all that being said, once Jericho falls, what happens to Rahab?

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She gets married. Who does she marry? Well, let's do a little work here.

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So far you guys cannot pass Bible Jeopardy. So let's do this.

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You'll note Rahab is mentioned in Hebrews 11. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

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She's in the great hall of faith passage, but she's also mentioned in the gospels. And I want you to note that in the gospel

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Matthew chapter 1 I'll read out starting at verse 3. Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar.

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You'll note that Matthew does something quite scandalous. He puts women into the genealogy of Christ which is not a common practice.

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But Tamar is mentioned and Tamar, how did she conceive

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Perez? This is like the daytime soap opera chapter of Genesis.

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In an act of prostitution. The way the story goes, Judah had two sons.

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Actually, Judah had a son who married Tamar and he died.

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He flat out died. And she was given then to another son, if I'm remembering the story right.

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He also died because he did wicked things. And Judah was supposed to have another one of his sons marry her, but he didn't, kind of fearing that if another one of my sons marries her he's going to die too.

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And so she remains a widow contrary to the culture.

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The way the culture works is that if you are a brother and your brother marries a woman and your brother dies, you marry the brother marries the widow and then the children, the first children's son that is conceived from the marriage will carry on the line of the dead fellow.

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So Judah wasn't given his son to Tamar and she continued to be a widow for quite a while and then he went on a journey.

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He happened to be in the same town as Tamar and she dressed up like the town hooker and Judah cast his eye on her and he became her patron for the evening and she conceived

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Perez through that. And when you read the account it's actually kind of silly and sad all at the same time, but you'll note that Tamar conceives

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Perez in an act of prostitution with her father -in -law Judah. And that son

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Perez then is in the line of the Messiah. So Perez is the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Abinadab, Abinadab the father of Nashon, Nashon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of who?

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Boaz by Rahab. So a good way to think about it is that Rahab is a type and shadow of the church of the bride of Christ and after the fall of Jericho, she marries the

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Messiah. You have to put Messiah in air quotes because she marries right into the line of the

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Messiah and so Boaz is Rahab's son. That's who he is.

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That's going to come into play here in this account. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

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So Ruth chapter 1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab he and his wife and his two sons.

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The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife was

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Naomi the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion.

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They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there but Elimelech, the husband of Naomi died and she was left with her two sons.

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These two took Moabite wives. The name of the one was Orpah, the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about 10 years.

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Both Mahlon and Chilion died so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

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So Naomi's in dire straits at this point. And you're going to note here Mosaic covenant

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Jews are not supposed to marry Moabite chicks. That's not supposed to be happening but they did.

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So they've left Israel they've gone to Moab it's like going backwards into the wilderness and total disaster befalls them because inheritances are generally passed on from father to son.

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Now the father's dead both sons are dead and so now here's the thing.

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In order for Naomi to get back the inheritance of Elimelech she's going to need what is called a kinsman redeemer.

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Somebody's going to have to redeem her or Ruth because she had a valid marriage to one of her sons and marry her, bear a son with her so that son can regain the inheritance.

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Does that make sense? And so that fellow is the redeemer. It's a fascinating name if you think about it because Jesus Christ is our redeemer.

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So you kind of get the idea. So she's in dire straits at the moment and everything has just gone kaput in her whole life.

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So she rose with her daughters -in -law to return from the country of Moab for she had heard in the fields of Moab that Yahweh had visited his people and given them food.

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So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters -in -law and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.

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But Naomi said to her two daughters -in -law go return each of you to her mother's house.

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May Yahweh deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead in with me. And Yahweh grant that you may find rest each of you in the house of her husband.

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So then she kissed them and they lifted up their voices and they wept. And they said to her no we will return with you to your people.

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But Naomi said turn back my daughters. Why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?

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Turn back my daughters. Go your way for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say

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I have hope even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons would you therefore wait until they were grown?

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Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No my daughters. For it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me.

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So they lifted up their voices and they wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother -in -law but Ruth clung to her.

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So there's a lot of weeping. There's a lot of kissing. There's a lot of total devastation. Notice in the words of Naomi then. She's saying go ahead just go back to your own country.

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I release you. Because am I supposed to bear a son that you can then marry?

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Because in her mind her thinking is that's how that's going to work out. But that's not going to be how it works out.

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So the unexpected happens and that is Ruth this

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Moabite daughter -in -law clung to her and you can see her faithfulness to her mother -in -law in this instance.

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And she has exceedingly good character. She's not an idolater.

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She's not somebody of low character. And she is expressing love and fidelity in a perfectly wonderful keeping of the fourth commandment.

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Even for her mother -in -law. So she said see your sister -in -law has gone back to her people and her gods return after your sister -in -law.

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But Ruth said do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.

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For where you go I will go. Where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your

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God my God. Where you die I will die and there will I be buried.

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And may Yahweh do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.

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And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her she said no more.

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And so you note here that Ruth even invokes the Lord and occurs upon herself if she should not stay with Naomi.

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Which sounds to me a lot like a statement of faith. So being married then into the family of Elimelech she has heard of the

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Lord and has come to believe in him. So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem.

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Hmm. A lot of important things kind of happen in Bethlehem. Right? I can think of an important thing that happened there.

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We talk about it at Advent. But so you'll note this kind of starts to tease out this idea that Bethlehem is an important place.

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So the two of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem the whole town was stirred because of them.

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And the women said is this not Naomi? She said then do not call me

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Naomi but call me Mara. Mara means bitter. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

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I went away full and Yahweh has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi when

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Yahweh has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me.

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And from her point of view that's, I mean, the Lord has dished out a pretty bitter bitter meal for her to consume if you would.

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So Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabite her daughter -in -law with her who returned from the country of Moab.

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They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. So we now know the time of year.

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It's the beginning of the barley harvest. And this is where the commandment from Leviticus will come into play.

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Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's. A worthy man of the clan of Elimelech whose name was

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Boaz. And so we already know that Boaz is the son of Rahab and Salmon.

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And so you can say now, and this is kind of an important thing because you see this frequently in the

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Old Testament, that the line of the Messiah has come to Boaz and no further.

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And so if you remember the story of David and Goliath right? This is not a story about you finding your five smooths to overcome the giants in your life.

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That's not what this story is about at all. At that time, the line of the Messiah had come to David and no further.

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Solomon had not been born. In fact, Bathsheba and Solomon hadn't even met yet. That being the case,

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I always like to say that when this happens, it's as if the Messiah himself has stepped onto the field.

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So Boaz is a wonderful type and shadow of Christ and the line of the Messiah.

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The scarlet thread of the line of the Messiah has come this far and no further.

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And you can see how Boaz exemplifies the kindness and the mercy and the grace and the love of Christ.

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It is there in spades. And so he is held up then as a man who is worthy. He's not a worthless man.

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So Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight

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I shall find favor. And she said to her, go my daughter. And so you'll note here that by Ruth saying this, she knows that Boaz is potentially one of her kinsmen redeemers.

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And so she needs to feed Naomi. She needs to feed herself. But she would prefer to do it in the field of a man with whom she could find favor.

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Because in this particular case, it's going to be kind of important that she finds favor with a kinsman redeemer because in order for them to get back their property properly, to receive back the inheritance that they have lost, that Naomi can't exercise their legal right to, then

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Ruth is going to have to marry this man. And she knows it. So that's part of what's going on in her mind.

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So she said, go my daughter. So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.

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And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers,

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Yahweh be with you. Now, note here, in English it says, the Lord be with you.

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Have you ever stopped to think, where do we get this idea when we say in the church service, the Lord be with you, and also with you.

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This comes right out of the scripture. This is an Old Covenant, Old Testament greeting.

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The Lord be with you, and also with you. And so they answered, and the Lord bless you. So Boaz said to his young man, who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this?

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And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, she is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

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She said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.

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And so you'll note then that Ruth is working hard. She is not idle at all.

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She is a very diligent, hard worker, and she is quite set on doing a good job here, because the life of Naomi depends on it.

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Her own life depends on it. And you'll note again, this command of the Lord regarding, you do not harvest up to the edges of your field.

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The gleanings go to the poor and to the sojourner. She technically, although she's not a member of the house of Israel, she's kind of in that sojourner, but not quite sojourner status, kind of a little bit in limbo, but she's not forbidden either from doing this.

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So Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter.

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Do not go to glean in another field, or leave this one. Keep close to my young women.

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Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you?

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And so you'll note then that he has given specific orders. You are not to harm this girl.

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You're not to mistreat her. There will be no catcalling or molesting or anything like that.

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And when you are thirsty, you go ahead. You go to the vessels, and you drink what the young men have drawn. And so she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him,

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Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner? But Boaz answered her,

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All that you have done for your mother -in -law, since the death of your husband, has been fully told to me.

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And how you left your father and your mother and your native land, and came to a people that you did not know before.

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So may the Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given to you by Yahweh, the

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God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge. This is just a beautiful story.

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It just is amazing. And so you'll note that he's heard of her, her good works come before her, and he makes it very clear he knows exactly who she is and what kind of woman she is, and he reiterates that she has, in fact, taken refuge under the wings of the

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Lord God Himself. So then she said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me, and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.

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And at mealtime, Boaz said to her, You come here, and you eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the wine.

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So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain, and she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.

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I always like to point this out. In some of the best stories in the Old Testament, in one way or another, bread and wine show up.

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Here, it shows up again. Bread, wine, a type and shadow of Christ.

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Are you paying attention? Yeah? So, when she rose to glean,

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Boaz instructed his young men, saying, You let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her, and also put out some from the bundles for her, and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.

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So she gleaned in the field until the evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.

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And she took it up, and went into the city. Her mother in law saw what she had gleaned.

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She also brought out, and gave her what food she had left over, after being satisfied.

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And so you'll note then, when Boaz allowed her to eat, and gave her something to eat, she saved part of that out, put it in a napkin, put it in her purse, and brought it back to her mother in law.

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She probably didn't have a purse, but you get the idea, right? And so you'll note then, that Ruth's kindness towards her mother in law, is just exemplified.

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And it's just, it's amazing. I mean, this is a woman of amazing character.

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So her mother in law said to her, where did you glean today? And where have you worked? And blessed be the man who took notice of you.

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Typical mother in law, right? So, she told her mother in law, with whom she had worked, and said, the man's name with whom

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I work today is Boaz. And Naomi said to her daughter in law, may he be blessed by Yahweh whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.

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Naomi also said to her, the man is a close relative of ours, and one of our redeemers.

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And Ruth the Moabite said, besides, he said to me, you shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.

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And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter in law, it is good my daughter that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you would be assaulted.

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So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and the wheat harvest, and she lived with her mother in law.

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Now, you'll note then, that kind of the way the theme works in this text, is that Naomi has lost her inheritance.

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And she needs to have it redeemed and given back to her. And this is one of the major themes of the

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Old Testament, especially in relation to the Sabbath, the year of Jubilee, and the

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Sabbath years. So the idea then is that at the year of Jubilee, all inheritance that was lost is restored.

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In the year of Jubilee, all debts are cancelled. This is an important thing.

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And so here, this woman, through these circumstances beyond her control, she has lost her inheritance, and she needs to be redeemed so that her inheritance can be restored.

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And is this not the story of the Bride of Christ? If the

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Bride of Christ being the church, then going back to the Garden of Eden, through the sin of Adam and Eve, after the deception of the devil, they lost their inheritance.

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And a kinsman redeemer had to come and redeem them, and has promised to restore the inheritance that was lost.

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You can kind of see how the themes work out. Chapter 3, so Naomi, her mother -in -law, said to her,

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My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

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Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he's winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

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And I always look at this and go, man, is this woman a gossip? How did you find out that's what he was up to?

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Who'd you had to ask? How'd you come up with this information? Was it on the internet?

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So wash therefore, anoint yourself, put on your cloak, go down to the threshing floor.

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Clean up, honey, put on some perfume. You know. But don't make yourself known to the man until he's finished eating and drinking.

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When he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.

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And she replied, All that you say I will do. So she went down to the threshing floor, and did just as her mother -in -law had commanded her.

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And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.

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Then she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Man, so he was nice and cozy.

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She uncovers his feet, which guarantees he's going to wake up and go, Man, it's cold! What's going on here?

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And this is all on purpose. She's lying in wait for him, I'm telling you. This is a scheme, right?

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So at midnight, the man was startled, and he turned over, and I love how this says, Behold!

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A woman was lying at his feet! What is going on here?

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And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant.

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Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer. You'll note that she's proposing to him.

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And it's well said, too. It's just well said. She's not saying, you know, she's not getting on her knee and saying,

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Will you marry me? But it's just so beautifully said. Spread your wings over your servant, invoking kind of the imagery that he had made regarding Yahweh.

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That she had come to seek relief under the wings of Yahweh, and so she says to him,

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You spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer. And that's a full -blown marriage proposition, right there.

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And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, by Yahweh, my daughter.

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You have made this last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

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And now my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

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And so you'll note then that Boaz is somewhat older than Ruth. Somewhat older.

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And he keeps calling her daughter. But in this particular case, he commends her for not seeking young men who are good -looking or young.

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You know, what would you want to go? What? You want to marry me? Right? So it's kind of an interesting story.

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So again, her character comes out in that she isn't making a decision like this for vain reasons.

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You know, oftentimes you think about that people make some pretty boneheaded decisions as to who they're going to marry and why they're going to marry him.

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And the worst case scenario, you look at the woman who they call the gold digger.

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Such and such a fellow. That guy's got a lot of money. And she doesn't really love him. She wants his money.

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And so the gold digger lands her husband. And that's a terrible marriage.

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Or, you know, you think of everybody who's young. You look at the young people.

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But in this particular situation, Boaz is older than her.

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But that doesn't matter because the fact that he's a redeemer, and that he has good character, and that this marriage would result in Naomi's inheritance being restored to her as well as Ruth, youth and vanity and riches be damned.

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The greater motivation here has to do with serving others.

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Her love and her loyalty to her mother. Even willing to marry an older man.

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Fascinating story. So now, my daughter, do not fear.

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I will do for you all that you ask. For all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

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And now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer that is nearer than I. Remain tonight and in the morning.

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If he will redeem you, good. Let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as Yahweh lives,

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I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. So she laid his feet until the morning, and arose before one could recognize another.

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And he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. And he said,

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Bring the garment that you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, put it on her, and then she went into the city.

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And when she came to her mother -in -law, she said, How did you fare, my daughter? And then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying,

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These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, You must not go back empty -handed to your mother -in -law.

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She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest until he will settle the matter today.

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So you'll note then that Boaz knows that he can redeem her, but technically he's second in line.

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There happens to be a fellow who's first in line. Now, this is so shortly after the conquest of Canaan that there was a practice during this time, because you'll note that this is only one generation has passed since they came into the

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Promised Land. And if you remember the Lord in the wilderness telling the people of Israel, wherever the soles of their feet touch, that that would be their inheritance, that would be their land.

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And so they kind of took it literally. So in order to have a land transaction between two fellows, they didn't have deeds and property, like property certificates drawn up like that.

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In order for that to happen, you had to exchange sandals. The person who was giving away a piece of property would give away a sandal.

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It's very inconvenient, and it's just not the best thing ever. But that habit comes back to their wilderness wanderings based upon the fact that God told them that whatever the soles of their feet touch, that that would be their inheritance.

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So now, Boaz had gone up to the gate, sat down there. And behold, the

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Redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by. Now, a little bit of another note here, archaeologically.

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If you were to travel to Israel, I haven't been there. I always travel there with other people's vacation photos. It's a lot cheaper that way,

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I'm just saying. If you were to travel there, though, and you were to visit an archaeological site like Hatzor.

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Hatzor is north of the Sea of Galilee, and that particular archaeological site still has the gates of the city intact.

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They had to build walls in order to protect themselves and protect their resources should they come under attack.

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But you would enter the city through the gates, and usually you would walk through an archway.

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And the archway was pretty significantly wide as far as how that would work. And what would happen is that they set up benches facing each other.

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So one group of benches would be here, if this is the archway, and then there would be another set of benches there, and they would face each other.

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And the fathers of the city, they would talk about what's happening, they would make decisions that way.

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Since they didn't have Uber and stuff like that, if you were looking for a particular fellow and you knew he was coming into the city, you'd wait at the gate, and then when he came to the gate, you'd say, hey,

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I was looking for you, you know? That's what's going on. So that's how things got done. And so he's waiting in the gate of this particular city in Bethlehem.

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And so behold, the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. Boaz said, hey, turn aside, my friend.

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Sit down here. And he turned aside and he sat down. And by having him sit down there at the gates, there are witnesses now to the negotiation that is taking place.

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This is vital. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, sit down here. So they sat down.

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And then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative,

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Elimelech. So I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people if you will not redeem it, if you will redeem it, redeem it, but if not, if you will not tell me that I may know, for there is one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.

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And he said, I will redeem it. So whoever this unnamed fellow is, an opportunity to buy some more land, you betcha.

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But you're going to note here, Boaz was a little bit shrewd. He didn't give all of the details because in order for this other

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Redeemer to purchase it, he also has to marry Ruth and produce offspring for the dead brother.

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And then that son would eventually receive that inheritance back. So Boaz didn't let on about all the details, so he says,

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I will redeem it. So then Boaz said, alright, well, good. The day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire

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Ruth, the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.

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Then the Redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance.

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Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it. So as soon as he learns the fine print, he feels that that would impair his own inheritance.

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And you sit there and you go, if you know how those transactions work according to the

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Mosaic Covenant, that actually would not have impaired his inheritance at all. Not in the slightest.

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Except for this maybe, and that is that in purchasing it, he knows he's purchasing it, and that eventually that the son that would be born to him and Ruth would inherit that land that he risks losing his initial investment.

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But that's an investment that is, you can say, amortized over, what, 18, 20 years.

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Potentially longer. So I mean, there's nothing, so he's not really impairing it. I always read that and go, yeah,

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I bet your wife would have been ticked if you had done that. So, it's like, maybe he's just finding a nice, polite way out of it.

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So now this was the custom in former times in Israel, concerning redeeming and exchanging.

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To confirm a transaction, one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.

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So when the Redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal.

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Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech, and all that belong to Chilion and Mahlon, also

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Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife.

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That's kind of a fascinating way of talking about it, isn't it? But I would argue, did not

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Jesus Christ purchase His bride and redeem her with His own blood?

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And so you'll note that this is just a beautiful picture of the salvation that we have in Jesus. So I have bought to be my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead and his inheritance that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place.

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And so you are witnesses this day. Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses.

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May Yahweh make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.

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May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom

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Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that Yahweh will give you by this young woman. So Boaz took

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Ruth and she became his wife. And he went into her and Yahweh gave her conception and she bore a son.

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And then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord, Yahweh, who has not left you this day without a redeemer and may his name be renowned in Israel.

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He shall be to you a restorer of life, a nourisher of your old age.

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For your daughter -in -law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.

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So then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name saying,

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A son has been born to Naomi. And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse.

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Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez.

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Perez fathered Hezron. Hezron fathered Ram. Ram fathered Aminadab. Aminadab fathered

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Nashon. Nashon fathered Salmon. Salmon fathered Boaz. Boaz fathered

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Obed. Obed fathered Jesse. Jesse fathered David. Coolest story ever.

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So in the Bible you get these stories of battles and death and destruction and then you get this chick flick right in the middle of it.

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But it's a good chick flick. And it's a picture of our own salvation. And I would even argue just of the kindness and the mercy and the protection of God.

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And we have to because we are the bride of Christ collectively as the church we have to see ourselves in the devastation of Naomi and Ruth.

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And that we had nothing but Christ gave us everything. And so this welfare system established in Israel becomes the means by which the

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Messiah the line of the Messiah is saved. Redeemed. Their inheritance is restored.

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And so you can say that Jesus wouldn't be here today if it were not for a just and kind and merciful welfare system.

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One that required somebody to work but also required love and generosity for neighbor.

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So there was a series How Beer Saved the

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World. Alright. I think this story can be written.

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How Welfare Saved the World. Alright. See you guys next in two weeks.