God Alone Gives Rest

Will please turn or click or press, if you will, whatever script you have before you to Ruth chapter three.

Joshua judges Ruth, Ruth chapter three. Prepare to read this, you'll notice that there are three players in the scene.

The same three main players we've had throughout this study of the book of Ruth. There's Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz.

And you recall both the women were widows. Ruth was Naomi's daughter -in -law. She was a foreigner from Moab, where Naomi had been with her husband,

Olimelech. Olimelech died there. Her two sons married Moabite women.

One stayed in Moab, Ruth came back with Naomi. So those are the three main players,

Naomi, Ruth, Boaz. Boaz was a wealthy and worthy landowner.

He was a relative of Naomi's late husband, Olimelech. And it was he,

Boaz, who made sure that Ruth, when she gleaned in his field, which was very hard work, that she was safe from being harmed or bothered there while she gleaned, and productive as she labored, making sure that there was something left on the ground for her to pick up.

So these three players, we'll see once again, Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. And as I read this, I want you to keep in mind that the harvest season is soon going to be over.

The harvest is soon to be over, and when it does, the widow's resources are gone. They had been living off the land quite literally, supplemented by Boaz's generosity, he being a worthy man.

And soon, when the harvest season is over, the gleaning period is done, they're going to be like everyone else and have to go to the market to purchase their food, with just one problem.

They'll have no money with which to purchase food. So with that in mind, let us read the entire chapter of Ruth, chapter three.

Then Naomi, her mother -in -law, said to her, my daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

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

Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

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.

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.

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.

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.

He said, who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.

And he said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my 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. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

And now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good.

Let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you.

Lie down until the morning. So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another.

And he said, let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. And he said, bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.

So she held it. And he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

And when she came to her mother -in -law, she said, how did you fare, my daughter? Then she told her all that the man had done first, saying, 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.

She replied, wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.

And God bless the reading. And now the hearing and proclamation of this word.

How hard people will work to achieve what we call rest. You know, it seems almost humorous to see how hard people work at rest, for example, in the gym, working themselves into a ladder, hoping to find rest in a muscle that increases over here and a heart rate that decreases over there.

Other people practice, for example, yoga and hope to find rest as what they hope to happen, as body and spirit kind of hope come together and become one as they go through the poses and through the stretches.

Today, there are those who vow not to rest, if you will, until their particular cause is satisfied.

The activist, the politician will tell the crowds, I will not cease to fight for the cause. I will not rest until we see.

And then fill in the blank. Many people today lack the rest the same way

Naomi and Ruth did, lacking rest because they do not know where their next meal is going to come from.

Or even if there will be a meal and the pressure that it causes has to be enormous. If you add to that hungry children, it multiplies even further.

Rest. How hard it is to come by. How hard people work in order to achieve rest by all these various means that are available and that they think will work for them.

What would you do to find rest? What would you do to find true rest? Not just the cessation of activity.

I mean true rest. I mean the kind of rest that God would have his people know as they experience his presence.

The kind of rest the children of Israel began to know when they entered Canaan. And then they vacated that rest when they rebelled against God.

The kind of rest Jesus calls us to in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28, where he says, "'Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, "'and

I will give you rest.'" I'll give you rest. There's a rest that only

God can give. There's a rest that only God does give. And it is not found in the gym.

It is not found by sleeping extra hours. It is not found by practicing exercise techniques or methods or anything like that.

True rest. I speak of a true rest, which all others are at best a cheap imitation, at worst a deadly distraction.

Rest for your soul, now in this life, and then forever in the next. What would you do to find that kind of a rest?

What do you do today to find rest? The rest that God offers.

The rest that you have in Christ Jesus, by faith in him, is pictured here in Ruth chapter three.

It's beautifully pictured. It's incompletely pictured because it's not the rest that we have in Christ Jesus. It's centuries before that, but it's still a beautiful picture of that rest to come.

Ruth three, then, in that sense, it's like a crumb that falls from the master's table, which the

Syrophoenician woman said would be enough to satisfy her need then. The crumbs are powerful because they come from Jesus Christ.

And here in Ruth three, this beautiful picture of the rest to come is like that.

Just a slight picture, that crumb falling from the master's table of what we have to look forward to.

Tiny morsel, powerful to strengthen the soul. Now, rest might seem like an odd subject for some of you for Ruth chapter three, but in verse one, you heard what

I read. Naomi said, should I not find rest for you, my daughter? That's the first verse.

The last verse, verse 18, Naomi, speaking again, says to Ruth, speaking of Boaz, that he will not rest until the matter is settled.

He will work until their rest is achieved. And so as an inclusio, verse one at the beginning, speaking of rest, and verse 18 at the end, speaking of rest,

Ruth chapter three tells us of the rest that is yet to come. Do you know this rest?

Do you know this rest that comes only from God and only by faith in his son, Jesus Christ?

Do you rest in that rest? The Puritans of an earlier time might have asked if you repose in that rest.

Your true rest is found only in God, and only he can provide it, and only he does.

As we think in those terms, let's look at Ruth chapter three and what it has to say about this resting in God.

In verses one through five, we're going to have Naomi wanting to find rest for Ruth, seeking this rest for Ruth, that's verses one through five.

And second, verses six through 15, is Ruth implementing Naomi's plan with Boaz.

And finally, verses 16 through 18, Naomi hears how things went when Ruth did that and proposed the plan to Boaz.

So verses one through five, Naomi wanting to find rest for Ruth, verses six through 15,

Ruth implementing Naomi's plan, and verses 16 through 18, Naomi hearing how things went when

Ruth did that. So here's Ruth's desire for, excuse me, I'm saying

Ruth, I think I mixed the two up. This is Naomi's desire for Ruth. Then Naomi and her mother -in -law said to her, my daughter, should

I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? The rest she speaks of is from the Hebrew word, menochah, and that's where Samson's father,

Menoah, got his name. It's a rest that is an end of activity, as when the dove

Noah sent out of the ark found no rest for the sole of her foot, no menochah, or Psalm 132a, which says, arise,

O Lord, and go to your resting place, which bids God to come and rest and dwell with his people.

And so Naomi wants to find for her daughter rest. You see, gleaning, as we've said before, is very hard work, and once that's done, the really hard work of winnowing has to begin.

Rest for Ruth begins with no longer having to labor in the fields.

But there's more to it than that. The harvest season, as we've said before, is about to end, and then their food becomes a matter of day -to -day uncertainty.

Ruth needs rest from that strain also. Naomi, you see,

Naomi has finally taken her eyes off of herself long enough to notice the needs of someone else, long enough to see that someone else has troubles as well.

You remember when Ruth first said in the previous chapter, let me go glean, what did

Naomi say? She said, go ahead. Naomi says, go, my daughter, it's a better language in the

Bible, but it's really kind of, yeah, go ahead. Sort of a whatever, I don't care, I don't know if this is gonna work out.

Just go, because I have so many troubles. Remember, I'm not Naomi anymore, I'm Moriah, I'm bitter, because the

Lord has dealt bitterly with me. She's finally taken her eyes off of her long enough to notice there's someone else who has some troubles.

In the book of Philippians, we are taught to look out not only for our own needs, but also for the needs of others.

We're told to take our eyes off of ourself for a moment even, how hard that is. Ruth has been an exemplar of that up until this point, and will,

I would argue, continue to be. But now it's Naomi's turn, and I would ask you, have you ever been in such a condition, such a self -centered funk, if you will, that you couldn't even notice other people, much less what they might need?

This is what troubles can do. This is what troubles can do to you. They make you collapse inward like a dying star becoming so dense that they say even light cannot escape from it.

All we see is me. No more than light can escape, can it penetrate the star, and we become like that in seeing other people's needs.

We become Naomi's. Philippians 2, four does come to bear.

God's word defeats the density of our selfishness and allows something to escape from this black hole.

We look out not only for our own needs, but the needs of others, and this is where Naomi is finally arriving at.

She sees it, yes, it's not just me who's got troubles. It's not just me who lost a husband.

My daughter -in -law lost her husband. That was Naomi's son as well, but still Ruth is a widow.

Ruth, when the season ends, is willing enough to labor. We've seen that in her.

There'll be no more labor available. So Naomi has a plan. Naomi finally seeing someone who has needs other than herself, she has the plan.

Verse two, is not Boaz our relative with whose young woman you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

Wash therefore and anoint yourself and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor. But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

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.

You see, Ruth has presented herself basically as a bride. She's presented herself as a bride to Boaz.

You see, as his wife, her food supply would be assured. And it would come to her not by her own labor in the field, but by the labor of others in the field.

And on top of all that, as the matron of Boaz's household, she could bring in Naomi, her beloved mother -in -law, and supply for her needs, as she's been so faithful to do throughout this book.

So this is the answer. The answer is marriage to a worthy and wealthy Israelite who happens to be a relative whose name is

Boaz. That sounds pretty far -fetched.

I had a friend at my previous church, the one who taught me to rock climb. His name was

Charlie. I used to love climbing gear. I came to know that you could not own too much climbing gear.

You could carry too much with you, but you couldn't own too much. And I read these magazines, and I'd learn about a new device, and I'd buy it, and I'd play with it, and I'd bring it to Charlie, who was a pretty experienced climber, and say, hey,

Charlie, look at this thing. And I read about it. All you gotta do is, you know, plug it in. Next thing you know, we're going to be on top of Everest.

Of course, he'd smile. It was a lot harder than that. And it sounds like that. Look, Ruth, all you gotta do is, you, this

Moabite woman, Moabites, we know where they stood in Israel's eyes, a

Moabite woman, just get this worthy, wealthy Israelite man to marry you, and everything will be okay.

That's the answer. Just get him to put his inheritance at risk.

Very simple. You know, history itself, even biblical history, and history outside the

Bible, turns on the smallest, the most innocuous, the most unheralded and unnoticed of events.

It's sort of like chaos theory, that idea that a butterfly on one side of the world flaps its wings, this little wing, and eventually on the other side of the world from that, you have a hurricane, but we don't believe that.

And it's not like that. It's the mighty hand of God working His will through these small, seemingly innocuous events.

So Ruth has a response to this. She hears her mother -in -law. This love that they have for one another is deep, and Ruth trusts her, and she replies in verse five, as we must reply to the

Lord ourselves, she replies, all that you say, I will do. And what beautiful words are these? All that you say,

I will do. Did she realize how audacious Naomi's idea was? She was a

Moabite, she was raised outside the covenant people, and the oracles, and the judgments of God. Did she even know what was being offered to her?

But she has trust. This is real trust. Trust, as when Israel marched around Jericho and shouted at the walls.

Trust, as when gazing in faith at the serpent cured them of the acid spikes. Trust, as when

Abraham told Isaac that God would provide the ram. Trust, as when

Jesus told Saul that he would preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Trust, as when

Jesus Christ invests His gospel in your mouth, and He, as it were, trusts you to tell people the gospel, to tell them of the salvation that we have in Christ.

Do you trust Him? Can you say with Ruth, as she did, all that you say, I will do?

What simple words, what beautiful words, what hard words to keep. You know, Israel, when they kept the law, or heard the law, excuse me, kept the law.

Take that one back. When they heard the law, in Exodus chapter 19, verse eight, all the people answered together, and said, all that the

Lord has spoken, we will do, and we know what that was. Ruth is submitting to Naomi, trusting her intentions, and her love, and her wisdom, and you, believer in Jesus Christ, are called to nothing less than this.

When Christ called out, repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand, you need to trust that the kingdom of God has come in Him.

You need to trust Him that repentance is valuable in God's sight, and believe the gospel that the kingdom includes you by faith.

All that you have said, I will do, is that not the commitment we make when we come to Christ Jesus in faith.

You don't just say, well, I believe, and everything's going to be fine, I believe, and I trust,

I put all my hope in Him. I believe in Him. He's my fortress, as we started out this morning's worship.

All that you say, I will do. Ruth is such a beautiful picture.

That trusting, loving, childlike obedience. So Ruth does do what

Naomi put her up to doing. I don't mean that cynically. The plan is then implemented, and that's verses six through 15.

In verses six through nine, we have Ruth offering herself, really. It's the plan, but it's an offering of herself to Boaz, that's verses six through nine.

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 heap of grain.

Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight, the man was starved when he turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet.

He said, who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.

Now there's a lot here, there's a very odd kind of situation with this laying at the feet and uncovering his feet and laying there and the robe and all this, and I'm gonna talk about that, but I wanna make one quick note for you, that it does not say, and I would argue against anybody who says that they think it's the case, that Boaz was drunk.

Having a heart that is merry is different than being drunk. Having worked through the harvest season and having a pile of harvest on which to lay his head before it goes off to market and being satisfied that God had blessed the work of his hands, this worthy man, his heart was merry.

I don't know how much wine it takes to make one person merry and another person not, he was not drunk.

This man is worthy. Throughout this book, he is a good, virtuous, worthy man, so I just want that out there.

And a drunk man at midnight, it's not gonna be startled by anything. Don't get the idea that your pastor's an expert on this.

I just think that there's a big difference, I believe there's a big difference between a heart that is merry and a man that is drunk.

When I told a brother that I was preaching through Ruth, he kind of smiled at me and he said he couldn't wait to hear what

I was gonna do with that whole foot thing, this laying at the feet and what that's about. And there's little about this custom in the scripture, so if we stay just on the text of Ruth, Ruth chapters one through four, but particularly now

Ruth chapter three, if we stay right here, both his words and his tone and tenor, it's really not too hard.

What it was, we cannot be absolutely sure, it's odd to say the least, but taking

Ruth again on its own terms, here's what I think. First, foot washing or washing herself and anointing herself were for special occasions.

Water was scarce, water was precious. Anointing perfumes were expensive. The clothes that she wore would have been specially bought or made.

And if that's the case, then the money that they used to buy them would have been from selling the barley that she had been gleaning and bringing to Naomi all this time.

Sort of like the widow with the pots of olive oil. Selling that to get by, they were selling the barley.

Remembering that Ruth and Boaz were worthy. And again, she was virtuous.

And all that that means, they were morally and ethically excellent. Not perfect, but excellent.

Therefore, there's no violation of the marriage or anything like that. Matthew Henry says very well that the custom, with all its overtones, sounds strange and suggestive in our ears only because we're so far removed from it.

And he wrote that in the 1600s. Now, five centuries later, those words are even more pliqued because of the passage of time.

So we can be satisfied that she was offering marriage and that without taking advantage of her or fulfilling any part of the relationship between a man and a woman that has to wait for marriage, he accepted and committed himself to doing whatever was necessary to keep his worth.

He would marry Ruth. That's the absolute, for these two worthy and virtuous people.

So whatever laying at his feet actually meant or where the practice actually came from, I do want to take a little excursus here and tell you that about feet, we do know quite a bit.

Not this particular custom, but about feet. If you want to turn,

I'm just gonna use one example. It's in Luke chapter seven. I'll read to you from verse 44.

And just to save time, I'll set up where we're at as we get to verse 44. This is when Jesus was invited to a

Pharisee's house for dinner. And as he's sitting at the table, you remember that sinner woman, that woman who was a sinner comes in and she sees

Jesus and she's crying all over him and she cannot help herself and she weeps all over his tears and she anoints him with oil and she washes his feet, she dries his feet with her hair.

And his host, the Pharisee, says, if this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman this is, what kind of woman this is, which, of course,

Jesus knew quite well. And he tells that parable to the man, it says about being forgiven much, who loves much, and the idea was, who was forgiven much is going to love much, be forgiven little is going to love little.

And Jesus says this, now this is verse 44, that's kind of a quick setup. Then turning toward the woman,

Jesus said to Simon, that's his host, do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but he is forgiven little, loves little.

You see, to be at someone's feet is a mark of humility. It's a confession of dependence. And Jesus accepts this odd -seeming scene, so intimate it almost embarrasses us, doesn't it?

Yet our Lord criticizes his host for not following the sinner woman's example.

He, that Pharisee, should have wept. He, that Pharisee, should have shed tears on Jesus' feet.

He, the Pharisee, should have wiped the woman's feet with his hair. You, sinner, need to fall at Jesus' feet in tears for your sin.

You need to repent. You need to anoint him. You need to see

Jesus Christ, and in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, see your sin and weep for it.

Weep in agony for it. And then seeing the redemption that you have from him by faith and what he did on the cross, cry again over him with joy and gratitude, just like this sinner woman did.

That's why I think we can make a feat in lying at feet and taking care of someone's feet. We don't even have to go to John 13 and foot washing.

We can stay right here. She asked him to spread your wings.

It's the same phrase as to spread a cloak over someone. He's asking for protection. She wants to be formally put under his care.

Now, he had done so earlier when he first saw her gleaning, weeks before. Chapter two, verse nine is when he tells his workers not to touch her.

That was his paternal care for her. What's she seeking here? Husbandly care.

It's of a whole different nature. This is about serving

Christ by serving each other within the bounds of a precious institution, one that is under constant attack from all sides.

We speak, of course, of marriage. This chapter is not a manual on marriage, but it does have some relation to it.

Ruth three is not about betrothal, how to conduct yourself in engagement. It's about resting in Christ. Yet there are lessons to be gained.

So men, your bride has placed herself under your cloak. She's under your care.

You are her protector, and that means that you're to treat her with dignity as Boaz does Ruth. You're to treat her with respect as Boaz does

Ruth. You are to be, as Boaz was, worthy to love her as Christ loved the church.

As Ruth must have spent her last nickel to prepare herself so you wives need to hold nothing back in your labors for your husband.

There's much we can learn here. Another short excursus, and then we'll come back to the text more particularly.

Love is not equal to emotion. Love and emotion are really two different things.

Love is commitment, love is service. There's nothing wrong with love. There are couples in the

Bible who love each other deeply and in that emotional way that we like to think of, but there's only a few. Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, Abraham, the father and grandfather, had that long relationship with Sarah.

What do we hear about them? Well, they had a few problems, didn't they? They went after each other with Hagar in the middle of all that.

And all we know about Sarah is she was a good looking woman. It says this plainly in the scripture. Love, the way we often like to think of it, it doesn't come up that often.

Love is a service. Think of John chapter three verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever should believe in him would not perish but have eternal life.

God felt an emotion towards the world? No, God loved the world and served the world by sending his son

Jesus Christ, who Ephesians 5 .22, what does it say? Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

Not felt an emotional attachment to her. Look at us. Are we worth the son of God attaching himself to?

Of course we're not. Christ loved the church by serving the church and giving himself up for the church.

Now he didn't bring flowers, he didn't remember her birthday. He served by sacrificing himself for her.

And before we move on to verses 10 and 11, I'll make one more observation about love. It only comes up once in the book of Ruth.

At the very end, when the women are calling out a blessing upon Naomi and talking about her daughter -in -law,

Ruth, who loves her. That's the only time that word comes up in this book. Love is a service.

Ruth is not telling Boaz, I love you, and I need you to love me. She wants to serve him in this holy and highly held institution of marriage.

And Boaz accepts this, it's verses 10 and 11. He accepts it because of her kindness.

And he said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first and that you have not gone after young men whether poor or rich.

You see, we can assume here that she had many admirers, maybe even suitors.

She was attractive, she was hardworking, she was loyal, she was virtuous. You couldn't dream up a better wife than Ruth.

But how is it kindness? Now most commentators believe that Boaz was middle -aged to approaching elderly.

He was probably married, but it seems that he had no sons. Kindness is for a young and virtuous woman to choose him over younger men because of his proven worthiness and then give him this greater chance to have a son, which was so important in that day.

Because of her kindness, may you be blessed by the Lord, you have made this last kindness greater than the first.

The kindness to him greater than the kindness she'd been showing to Naomi. He accepts because of her kindness.

He accepts because of her virtue. Verse 11, 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.

Now here, this is something looking forward in the scripture. This is something like the divine joy that Jesus has in you, the church, his bride.

Revelation chapter 19, verse 7 -8 puts it this way. Let us rejoice and exult and give him, give

Christ the glory for the marriage of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.

It was granted for her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

This is the way Christ sees the church, much the way I believe Boaz predicts this for us, if you will, in the way he saw

Ruth. I really do like preaching to tough men, a bunch of them out there, and reminding you that you're a bride and that Christ is cleansing you and is getting ready to present you to himself a pure and unblemished bride, a beautiful bride.

Man, I love that part. That's just the preacher's joy to look men in the eye and say you're his bride, but it's true.

And he does see the church this way. And Ruth 3 reminds us of that in the way

Boaz looks to Ruth, and Ruth offers himself to Boaz. It's a beautiful picture of Christ in the church, and especially the church as the bride of Christ that he is cleansing by his prophetic word, by his kingly rule over us.

He is making us cleansed and unblemished and ready for marriage to him, and he's gonna bring us to himself that way.

She was virtuous. My fellow townsmen, know that you are a worthy woman. We're not worthy.

By faith in Christ, though, he makes us worthy. He makes us what he would have us to be as we grow in his image, both individually and together.

So he accepts her. He accepts her the way Christ accepts the church. And I would argue that Ruth was probably a lot easier to accept by Boaz than we are by Christ.

But it's what we have. So Boaz now, having heard Naomi's plan for Ruth, he has a plan, but there's a glitch in it.

In verse 12, he says, and now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.

It's like it's always something. It's like mortgages. If you've ever purchased or sold a house, you know there's a title company that does a title search that makes sure that the first mortgage is paid before the second mortgage, and that the second lien holder's paid before the first, and on down the list.

And after they're all paid off, you get the proceeds that are left over. Well, there's a man who, according to the title company, stands before Boaz, this closer relative, closer to Abulamalek, Naomi's dead husband.

The whole project hangs on a thread in the wisp of a prayer. No one in that land is duty -bound to do anything for these two widows beyond subsistence welfare.

The duty to Ruth fell to her husband's brother, but Kilian, her husband's brother, died of Moab, making

Orpah a widow. Orpah, you remember from chapter one. Everything's a mess. It's all hilter -skelter.

It's all mixed up. Naomi has no more sons to offer to Ruth. Abulamalek has no brothers to take care of Naomi.

Even if there were one, Naomi is not going to have children to carry on the line, the line of Abulamalek died in that foreign land, in Moab.

This whole thing just ain't gonna work. It's too tenuous that an

Israelite would marry a Moabite, that the first man who's closer relative would get out of the way, but he has a plan.

There's a way around it. He says, remain tonight, verse 13, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, let him do it, but if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the

Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning. And this all relates back to Deuteronomy, chapter 25.

We're not gonna read the whole thing. It's what we call the law of the leverant, where the brother needs to marry his deceased brother's wife to carry on that line.

And then there's a law of the land, which says land must stay within the clans to which it is originally granted, and that's why this other redeemer is closer.

He has a nearer claim to the land to keep it within a clan, because he was nearer to Elimelech.

Now, neither law perfectly fits the situation here, and we're not going to go into the details, because we'll never be able to come out of the details.

They don't fit perfectly, because Boaz is not Elimelech's brother, and if he did, if he were, excuse me, if he were, his duty would be to Naomi and not to Ruth.

The land to be redeemed is Naomi's. That part fits. If Boaz can get his hands on it, then it stays in the clan, but the widow goes with the land, so it's this package deal.

And it's, again, all kind of mixed up. Now that I've stirred the pot for you,

I have to tell you, we're not going to sort it out until next week and get to chapter four. I just want you to see that this whole thing hangs on a thread.

It's just barely going to be credible. It's like, Naomi, really, this is your plan?

Yeah, do you realize how many things are in the way of getting this thing accomplished? Is it like all you gotta do is?

No. All God's got to do is get involved, because only

God's going to sort this out. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can make this crooked path straight.

Only he can take broken sinners, like yourselves and like me, and straighten us out and put us on the path to righteousness and holiness.

So Ruth departs. She leaves and goes back to wherever they were standing.

She leaves anonymously. See, reputations are protected. So she lay, verse 14, at his feet until the morning, but it rose before one could recognize another.

And he said, let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. The protection there's pretty obvious.

We don't have to speak very long about that. The threshing floor would have been a place where other landowners were there leaning against their own stacks of barley.

And she picked the one where Boaz was, obviously. And she's leaving before anybody else wakes up.

Perhaps their hearts were a little more merry than Boaz's and they'll sleep a little deeper and she can get out. But she's going to get out anonymously, not sneakily, anonymously, protecting herself and Boaz.

And she's going to leave bearing gifts. Verse 15, and he said, bring the garment you were wearing and hold it out.

So she held it and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

And she goes, of course, to Naomi. And that's verse 16. This is our third portion of this, where she goes and makes the report to Naomi.

Verse 16, and when she came to her mother -in -law, she said, how did you fare, my daughter?

Then she told her all that the man had done for her. The actual Hebrew does not say, how did you fare?

The actual Hebrew says, who are you, my daughter? It's like asking, are you still

Mrs. Ruth? Or are you about to become Mrs. Boaz? Who are you, my daughter?

I really wish they had translated it that way because it brings more of the flavor of what's happening here.

More of the concern for this thing playing out correctly.

How many things are at play? Who are you? How did he hear you? Are you still Ruth or are you about to be

Mrs. Boaz? Ruth. Who are you?

You know, when you come to Christ, 2 Corinthians chapter five, verse 17, says that you're a new creation.

You, of course, still sin more often than you actually know, as do I. You must lead a life of repentance more often than you actually know you must.

Colossians chapter one, verse 13 and 14, says he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

You see, you're still you. I'm still me, but you're not the same you any more than I'm the same me after coming to Christ, when

God gives you a heart to believe and brings you to his son. Ruth had gone out,

Miss Ruth, and she returns, Mrs. Boaz, soon to be. And you come to Christ as John or Bill or George or whoever, and you leave with that same name, but not the same person.

Who are you? Just a lousy sinner who would do sin. Who are you?

I am a saint, a sinner who is saved by grace. Who are you?

I am a disciple. I'm no longer that person who's been exposed to me for all his sin and iniquity and rebelliousness.

I've been transferred, recreated, given a new heart, given a spirit that corresponds to the spirit of God so you can believe in his son, repent of your sins.

You're still you, not the same you. Ruth is still Ruth, not really the same

Ruth. Boaz gives a down payment in this verse 17. He said, now she's reporting to Naomi, of course.

She's saying, he told me, he was saying, these six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, excuse me, you must not go back empty -handed to your mother -in -law.

You see, a worthy man, a worthy man does not lead people to wonder what he'll do.

He knows his word to be solid. His yes is yes, his no is no. He knows that.

But people who are depending on him need an extra measure of assurance. You might say, well, sure, he's a worthy man who is known for keeping his word, but will he keep it for me?

Can I rest in this word? Can I repose myself in confidence on this word?

Will he keep it for me, this incredible word that this Israelite man, this wealthy, worthy

Israelite will marry a poor, widowed Moabite? He said he will.

Sounds good. Well, Boaz, of course, will keep his word. But a worthy man gives assurances.

He knows the weaknesses, he knows the frailties. I'm speaking here, of course, of God, who knows our frailties.

He doesn't treat us according to our sin. He treats us according to our weaknesses. He treats us according to our need to have confidence, extra measures of assurance.

Will he keep it for me? Is he a general purpose word keeper, or is this promise really just to me, just to me?

He sends her back with this six measures of barter, a valuable commodity.

It's a down payment on his word, and it's a very biblical thing, and it takes us very quickly forward to the gospel.

Does it not? Chapter one of Ephesians, verses 13 to 14, says this.

In him, in Christ Jesus, in him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promise of the

Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

Second Corinthians, chapter one, verses 21, 22, says, and it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, and who has also put his seal on us and given his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

Just as Boaz did to Ruth and for Naomi, and he sent the barley as a down payment on his word so they could be assured of it, so God, when you come to faith in his son, gives you the

Holy Spirit as that down payment to assure you that his word is for you, the son of God who loved me and gave himself to me, is that kind of word just for me?

Would the God of heaven really look down on one sinner and give such a promise as that?

And he says, yes, and I say, how do I know? Because God is good, yes. Because God is trustworthy, yes.

But God treats me according to my frailties. So he gives me the spirit to assure my soul that those promises are for me, to assure you that if you are in Christ Jesus, those promises are for you.

The six measures of barley assured Naomi and Ruth that he would keep his word. It told them that you can now rest.

You can now rest in this word. Here's the down payment, here's the assurance that I will do as I said

I would do. And it's a beautiful picture of the

Lord Jesus Christ treating us, knowing how easily we are thrown off track, knowing how easily we become nervous, we become lacking in confidence.

So he gives us the spirit to dwell in you. We read in John chapters 13 through 17, especially chapter 17, the high priest of Gerak and the coming of the spirit and God and the son and the spirit dwelling within you to assure you that those promises are for you, that he will redeem you, he has redeemed you and he will bring you to himself.

You have that assurance. And she says, finally,

Naomi to Ruth, wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out for the man will not rest but with several matters today.

Naomi and Ruth had to wait until the next day. Boaz had promised to redeem Ruth, he had given the surety of his word.

How did she know he wouldn't rest? It may have been his reputation as a man of his word, verse two and one saying he was a worthy man.

The man will not rest, the word for rest is shekat. It's the first, it's one of the words

I used when I was first in Hebrew school as a third grader to make my own Hebrew sentence. It was shekat, shekat, shekat b 'vakashah atah gadol kuf.

Haven't said it in a lot of years. It means shut your mouth, you big monkey. I learned those words,

I put them together, that was my first Hebrew sentence that I myself composed. But shekat, which is to cease, to repose, to stop, is a different word than the word we had in verse one.

It can mean being idle like the four horsemen of Zechariah chapter one verse 11, that they report the world is at rest, it is shekat.

But here it means to not undertake anything other than the matters at hand. So Naomi's assurance that Boaz will not allow himself any distractions is the barley, not just a pile of rain, this valuable commodity, a down payment on his promise that he will redeem

Ruth, and in redeeming her nothing will get in the way. It's Luke chapter nine verse 51, when

Jesus' time draws near, and that means the cross where he would win our redemption, and he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Nothing will be allowed to interfere or distract him. Unlike the young prophet who got sidetracked by the lions, he would not be sidetracked by anything.

He would not shekat, if you will, until all was accomplished. Even the 12 year old

Jesus could say to his parents, I must be about my father's business. Boaz would not be distracted until all was accomplished.

We need to finish, I've gone long. Jesus sat down, he rested finally after the cross, after his resurrection and ascension, because his work had ceased.

Our people have been redeemed, they've been set free from their labors. Do you see the connection to Ruth chapter three? Set free from trying to please

God. Jesus has pleased God, and so the works you do that are pleasing to him, that's

Ephesians 2 .10, have already been blessed. They are well pleasing to him because they're sanctified by Christ who went ahead of us.

Christ Jesus was not distracted in accomplishing redemption. Boaz wouldn't be, even more so.

Jesus Christ, knowing what lay ahead of him, what lay ahead of Boaz, fatherhood, a wife of the quality of Ruth, what lay ahead for Jesus Christ, who would not ship out, who would not rest until all was accomplished?

The cross, where he won the redemption of Boaz, promised with Barney, knowing marriage lay ahead.

Jesus promised by the Spirit, knowing that ahead lay only the cross. Jesus is that rest that we've been talking about.

He will not rest, may you find rest, chapter, the first verse of the chapter.

When Jesus had finished Hebrews 1 .3 says, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high, sat down, resting.

This is the rest he calls you to. He says, come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

He speaks of knowing the rest now, as little as we can know of it now, that you will have when he brings you to himself.

Naomi and Ruth could rest if Boaz's word, because of the deposit of the body, you can rest if Christ's word, because of the deposit of the

Spirit. Christ rested, after having accomplished our redemption, he rested, he is resting, having once for all secured redemption.

He rests now, and he calls you to rest in him, to trust in him. The apostle Paul says bodily exercise is of some value.

Godliness is of value in every way. Godliness brings true rest. It holds the promise in the present life, and also in the life to come.

It brings rest now, as you rest in Christ, and speaks forward to that final rest, that we will all know, who believe in him.

I just pray that, as we look to chapter three of Ruth, you come to know how this rest is something that has been prophesied for so long, and see how much greater the chapter three of Ruth is the rest that we will finally have in Christ, and know now by the deposit of his

Spirit, amen? Heavenly Father, we do again thank you for bringing us together, for the rest that we have in you, the confidence we can have in Christ, because of the

Spirit that he has given us. I pray, Father, our trust in him would grow, and you would make us more and more confident in the redemption that he has accomplished, and given us all things, because of the love with which he has loved us.

Bless us, Father, continue to be with us, continue to give us that peace of mind and spirit that we need in order to accomplish your will for us.