Dr. Douglas A. Blanc, Sr.
Read: Ruth 2:1-3
There is a vast difference between what Ruth wanted, what she perceived as her greatest need, and what Ruth received. Consider for a moment how often we evaluate (take stock) our lives at any given moment and perceive of needs and determine wants consistent with those needs, then cry out to God for His provision in accordance with our assessment and description. If only God would answer after the manner of my requests.
However, this episode in the book of Ruth details the actions of a God who is not subject to our evaluations, perceptions, and requests. God hears our plaintiff cries, but answers in accordance with His infinite grace. It is we who presume so little of grace that often our requests are far below the standard of God’s willingness to provide. How gratified we must be that God is not limited by our will, but answers in accordance with His will.
We seem to live with a prevailing notion and mindset of being unworthy of the best that God has to give. If the cross proves anything, it is demonstrative of the grace of God which gives to us freely what we can never deserve. If this is true of our greatest need, salvation, it is also true of our lessor needs.
I took a graduate course some years ago. The professor was Dr. Elmer Towns. In one lecture Dr. Towns was asked why some denominations prosper even though they uphold the cardinal truths of the Bible, but deviate at some significant point. He replied, “It’s because of the Doctrine of Bless-ability.” I remember experiencing a certain degree of perplexity when he said these words. How can you bless something that is errant? Yet, my perplexity vanishes when I consider that God’s blessing does not rest upon the achieved perfection of the person, but on the grace of the Bestower. We desperately need the blessing of God upon our lives, much in the same way that both Ezra and Nehemiah labored in the confidence of the hand of God upon their lives and labors (see Ezra 7:6, 9, 28; 8:18, 22, 31; Neh. 2:8, 18; see also Ps. 90:17).
The “Doctrine of Bless-ability” is not labeled as such in the Bible, but the principle is clear from the biblical record. In the unilateral covenant that God made with Abram, He noted that blessings upon the nations were contingent upon their treatment of Israel (Gen. 12:3). Later, when the children of Israel settled into the land of Canaan, God determined to renew His covenant with the people (the Mosaic covenant concerning the giving of the law at Sinai). Both blessings and curses were associated with Mt. Ebal (curse) and Mt. Gerizim (bless), Deut. 27:11-26. We may infer that a people are blessed when they live in accordance with the revealed commands and principles of God as found in the Bible. In short, the hand of God is upon those who resolve to live by the Word of God.
In 2:1 we find a parenthetical text. The verse introduces an important character who will be integral to the unfolding of crucial events to Naomi’s and to Ruth’s lives. The lesson we learn from these seemingly incidental and parenthetical facts is that we, like Naomi and Ruth, are often (if not always) blind to the “parenthetical” acts of God’s providence. The great author on the subject of prayer, E. M. Bounds, spoke of what he called, “the antecedent acts of God.” To read one of his tractates on prayer, Power through Prayer, just click on the title. God is working even when His hand is not perceived. God is positioning us and others, He is engineering and orchestrating circumstances and situations that together will conspire to reveal and to accomplish His will in our lives. We are not privy to the working of Divine providence, but we can work knowing that it exists and is functioning. In fact, faith demands of us that we press on, though the actions of God are for the moment imperceptible (e.g. Heb. 11:1).
What facts do we discover in 2:1 that were unknown to Naomi and to Ruth? Fact one, that God had already raised up a man to meet the need of these two desperate women. His name was Boaz. This man was a relative (a “kinsman”) to the women by means of his relation to Elimelech, the husband of Naomi and the father-in-law of Ruth (1:2). The man who is variously described as: “worthy, a man of great wealth, a man of standing.” Why are we privy to these details? What was God orchestrating that Naomi and Ruth were unaware?
Provision was made in the Law of Moses for the poor person who was forced to sell part of his property or himself into slavery. His nearest of kin could step in and “buy back” what his relative was forced to sell (Leviticus 25:48f). The kinsman redeemer was a rich benefactor, or person who frees the debtor by paying the ransom price. “If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold” (Lev. 25:25; Ruth 4:4, 6). Four things were required in order for a kinsman to redeem:[1]
- He must be near of kin. (Leviticus 25:48; 25:25 Ruth 3:12–13)
- He must be able to redeem (Ruth 4:4–6). He must be free of any calamity or need of redemption himself.
- He must be willing to redeem (Ruth 4:6ff)
- Redemption was completed when the price was completely paid (Leviticus 25:27; Ruth 4:7-11).
This legal provision is typical of the relationship that we have with the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our kinsman Redeemer:
- Jesus is my nearest kinsman through the incarnation.
“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh” (Romans 8:3). He was like us in every way except that He never experienced sin. “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17). In order to identify Himself with us He “emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:7). “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). “Jesus you are my kinsman redeemer. You had the right to redeem me.” Thank God, He has the right to redeem all that I have lost.
1. Jesus has the power to redeem me.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). He assumed our debt and paid it with His life. Cf. Heb. 1:2–3).
2. Jesus is willing to redeem me.
Jesus Christ “gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:14; 1 John 1:7; 2:2; Heb. 10:12; 4:16; 2:17). Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus is referring to His voluntary, sacrificial, vicarious, and obedient payment to effect the release of slaves or captives from bondage. “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father” (John 10:17-18).
3. Jesus has paid the price in full and I have received my redemption.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The invitation is still open. Jesus is the sinner’s nearest kinsman. It is our responsibility to lie at the feel of our Goel (kinsman Redeemer), and say, “Cover me with your blood and grace” (Ruth 3:9). “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). “I have believed,” is in the perfect tense in the Greek text. Paul is saying, “I have believed and my faith is a firmly settled conviction.” God is keeping guard over him. “Persuaded” is also in perfect tense, therefore Paul had come to a settled persuasion regarding the matter and was fixed in and permanent position. You could not move him. Paul is saying, “There are some things of which I am absolutely sure. “[2]
In 2:2, note that Ruth is referred to according to her alien status to the Israelites (“Moabitess”). Are we to infer from the text’s description of Ruth thus far that she is living a life in such a way to be blessed of God? Several characteristics are evident from this brief description:
- Ruth possessed a willingness to be exposed to insecurity and unfamiliarity, even danger, for the sake of their well-being.
- Ruth possessed an urgency (she pleads with Naomi) about their circumstances, an urgency that required action.
- Ruth exhibited trust in that she expected to “find favor” among those who considered her a “stranger.”
- Ruth possessed knowledge concerning the gracious provision of God made possible through the law (“glean”).
Lev. 19:9-10: Provision is made for the poor, whether Israelite or stranger (Ruth) by leaving behind from the field or the vineyard a portion of what was rightfully yours to harvest, in order that the poor could obtain what they were willing to work to possess.
- Ruth possessed a humility that regarded herself worthy of only the scraps and left-overs.
Note: How much more would she receive than the minimal she expected? So too with us who fear the worst has best upon us and the best we have to hope for is the minimal from the hand of God? Naomi thought that she was “empty” when in fact God had never diminished her perceived reserves. Grace is always operative. Thus, we may expect a God who is always giving (see Jas. 1:17, the gifts of God are raining down on us and cannot be eclipsed from view).
In 2:3, we see the unseen hand of God’s providence imperceptibly guiding the feet of Ruth with exacting precision to the right place, the right person, with the right provision. There is a bit of irony in the verse as the text says that she “happened to come” (NASB) to the section of the field that belonged to the man named in 2:1 (Boaz). Here is the provision for this “stranger.” There is a lesson regarding grace here; that grace reaches to those outside. Such is the case of every sinner who is caught in the grip of grace. I think of Paul’s words, “that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:12, NASB).
