Wednesday, November 10, 2010
God Is at Work - The Story of Ruth Part IV - The Providence of God, Part 11 of 23
TEXT: "Boaz said to the elders and to all the people, 'You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses this day.' And all the people who were at the gate, and the elders, said, 'We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel; and may you prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem' " (Ruth 4:9-11).
IDEA: We can apply the story of Ruth to us today primarily through the motivations on which we act.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that while Ruth's world differs radically from our own, God hasn't changed and the motivations God honors haven't changed.
Have you ever performed a marriage? Why does the couple need a minister or a justice of the peace? Why a best man or a maid of honor?
Marriages need witnesses. They are legal transactions.
I. Ancient marriages and modern marriages both need witnesses.
In the story of Ruth there are many witnesses to the marriage of Boaz and Ruth.
The elders and all the people act as witnesses (Ruth 4:9-11, above).
They are to be witnesses to three matters that reflected on Boaz's motives in buying the land and marrying Ruth. He did it for these three reasons:
He did it to establish the name of Elimelech with his property. Why was that important?
He did it to prevent the name of the deceased (Elimelech and Mahlon) from being "cut off from their brothers." Death without sons was the annihilation of one's honor, reputation, and the cutting off from the extended family and their posthumous existence.
He did it to secure Ruth's and Naomi's legal rights in the community by having a son who, when he grew up, would look after them.
How is all of this similar and different from today?
II. Do you think that the story of Ruth is a romantic love story?
It shows a sacrificial love within a family that could not survive in any other way.
Ruth acted for the benefit of Naomi.
Boaz acted for the benefit of Naomi and Ruth.
It shows us the kind of love that characterizes God and should characterize His people.
