The Red Thread: Redeeming Love
Redeeming Love
Who doesn’t love a good love story?
Some of you know that every Christmas I am forced by the women in my family to, against my will, watch Hallmark Christmas movies.
Someone even bought me a Hallmark Christmas t-shirt that I’m supposed to wear when have to endure these movies!
I’m joking, of course. But it is interesting to me that the Hallmark channel has figured something out, that telling a good love story over and over again is a multi-million dollar idea.
I always joke with my family that every Hallmark movie is exactly the same. And the reason I hate watching them is because they are so predictable. We even have Hallmark Christmas Movie Bingo cards and you can usually play black out bingo because every movie has the same elements!
Someone from the big city comes home to the small town and bumps into his or her high school sweetheart… BINGO!
Hot Cocoa… BINGO!
Shooting star when the couple kiss… BINGO!
Overcoming
We all love a good love story. But we all know that every good love story has to have this element of overcoming.
In every good love story there is an obstacle, a moment of tension, uncertainty, that the couple has to work through and overcome if their love is going to last. If they’re going to make it to their happily ever after, they’ve got to live into the truth that love conquers all!
In the land of romantic Hallmark movies, you go into every one knowing that everything is going to turn out ok. That whatever the obstacle, whatever the difficulty, love wins and the couple will live happily ever after.
But what happens in real life when the obstacle is too enormous to overcome?
When the reality of the situation is so dire there is no happily ever after in sight?
What happens when it not only seems like mission impossible for the end of this story to have any hope, but the circumstances of the story turn you against God?
An Old Testament Redeeming Love Story
As we turn the page to the story of Ruth, that’s what’s happening.
The obstacle is too big, the situation is so dire, that a woman by the name of Naomi not only loses hope but grows angry with God.
Here’s how the story begins…
1 In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, a severe famine came upon the land. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah left his home and went to live in the country of Moab, taking his wife and two sons with him. 2 The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife was Naomi. Their two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in the land of Judah. And when they reached Moab, they settled there.
3 Then Elimelech died, and Naomi was left with her two sons. 4 The two sons married Moabite women. One married a woman named Orpah, and the other a woman named Ruth. But about ten years later, 5 both Mahlon and Kilion died. This left Naomi alone, without her two sons or her husband. – Ruth 1.1-5
Right off the bat, the tension is introduced. The first scene in this movie is tragedy.
The author of Ruth says that this story takes place when the judges ruled in Israel and… if you back up and read the book of Judges what you’ll quickly discover is that this was not a good time in Israel’s history! Far from it!
The people of God in most of Israel were not following the ways of God and their hearts were far from God.
Add to that a severe famine!
So this man named Elimelech takes his wife and two sons and moves to Moab.
What you may not know is that the Moabites are the sworn enemies of Israel and they are not to have anything to do with them. (Deuteronomy 23).
Yet this is where Elimelech chooses to take his family because these are desperate times and there is no food in Judah.
Famine, Death, and No Way Forward
They get to Moab, then Elimelech dies. His two sons marry Moabite women, which again… was not allowed. One of them married a woman named Orpah. The other, a woman named Ruth.
The people of God were not to marry foreigners, but Mahlon and Kilion do… and then after ten years of living in Moab, after ten years of marriage, Mahlon and Kilion die! What’s worse, after ten years of marriage neither of them have any children!
Now, the plot thickens. Living in a patriarchal world with no husbands, no sons, these three women have no way to survive.
But Naomi has heard that the famine in Judah is over. So she decides the best move is for her to return to her homeland and that Orpah and Ruth should return to their homeland.
Naomi is hoping to find friends and family back home in Bethlehem that will take care of her and she’s hoping that Orpah and Ruth can return to their mother’s homes and be taken care of there.
All three women are in tears. Neither Orpah nor Ruth want to leave Naomi, but finally… Orpah kisses her goodbye and leaves. Ruth, on the other hand, has decided that she will not leave Naomi.
Sacrificial Love
Right here, in a Moabite woman, in a foreigner, an outsider, you see sacrificial love. You see Jesus. She famously says to Naomi:
16 “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. 17 Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” – Ruth 1.16-17
What’s interesting here, besides the beauty of Ruth’s words, is that she calls YHWH by name.
Somewhere along the way something has shifted in Ruth’s heart. Somehow, someway, she has come to learn of the God of Naomi, the God of Israel, and she has come to know His name, YAHWEH.
What’s more, she is determined to go to Judah, to Bethlehem, with Naomi, even though Moabites are not welcome in Israel. (Deuteronomy 23.3)
Blaming God
So Naomi and Ruth travel to Bethlehem. They have no husbands, no sons, and in this patriarchal world they are living in they have no future.
Naomi blames God for her circumstances. When she arrives in Bethlehem, listen to what she says when she sees her friends for the first time in a long time.
19 … When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the LORD has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the LORD has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?” – Ruth 1.19-20
Naomi is the only person in all of scripture who ever changed her own name. She said… Don’t call me Naomi! The name Naomi means “sweet” or “pleasant.” She said, from now on my name is Mara, which means bitter, because… “the Almighty (Shaddai) has made life very bitter for me.”
In the land of romantic movies, you go into it knowing that everything is going to turn out ok.
But what happens in real life when the obstacle that has to be overcome is so enormous, when the reality of the situation is so dire, that not only does it seem like mission impossible for the end of this story to have any hope, but the circumstances of life turn you against God?
I wonder how many of us have wanted to change our name to Mara? How many of us are wearing the name Mara today?
God’s Economy of Grace
But Ruth is resolute in her commitment to take care of Naomi in her old age, in her bitterness, in her grief, disappointment, and loss… so she sets out to find a field where she can pick up left over grain. Which again, it’s interesting that Ruth knows how life works in God’s economy.
The law of Moses taught the people of God to not cut the corners of their grain fields or pick up any grain that was dropped when they were harvesting so that the poor could come and gather a little to have food to eat.
So Ruth sets out and she happens to find a field owned by a man named Boaz. In a time where most of Israel is not following the word of God, here, in Bethlehem, the people of God are living life according to Torah and doing things the way God instructed his people to operate.
While she’s in the field gathering whatever she can find to perhaps have enough grain to make a little bread for her and Naomi, Boaz, the owner of the field, arrives on the scene.
5 Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there? Who does she belong to?”
AKA – Who’s that pretty lady?
6 And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi. 7 She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters. She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”
8 Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields. Stay right behind the young women working in my field. 9 See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them. I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly. And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”
10 Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly. “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked. “I am only a foreigner.”
11 “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied. “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers. 12 May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.” – Ruth 2.5-12
Love and Faith
What’s beautiful about this story is that every character is good and honorable and doing things the right way. Boaz sees Ruth and notices her beauty but he praises her for her character! He knows that she is a Moabite woman but he also knows what she has done for Naomi.
Ruth has risked everything. She has come to a foreign land where she should not be welcomed to take care of a woman to whom she really has no obligation and she has done all this sacrificing everything because of her love for Naomi and her apparent faith in Yahweh.
Boaz sees all of this and it has an impact on him. He invites Ruth to stay for dinner that evening. Then he tells his workers to leave extra grain for Ruth and to even drop some on purpose so she can pick it up! That was unheard of in that time.
When you think about harvesting a field you might imagine a large field somewhere here in the US that spans hundreds of acres with the big combines to harvest the fields.
But Boaz’s field is probably an acre, and acre and a half. And it’s being harvested by workers who depend on everything they gather to feed their families. They would never drop anything on purpose. Yet Boaz tells them, drop a little extra for this Moabite woman so she can have enough for herself and for her mother in law, Naomi.
Even though Naomi feels bitter toward God, God is providing sweet bread for Naomi.
When Ruth came home with more grain than she or Naomi could have ever imagined, Namoi wants to know… Where in the world did you go to gather all this grain!!! You hit the jackpot!
A Family Redeemer
19 …So Ruth told her mother-in-law about the man in whose field she had worked. She said, “The man I worked with today is named Boaz.”
20 “May the Lord bless him!” Naomi told her daughter-in-law. “He is showing his kindness to us as well as to your dead husband. That man is one of our closest relatives, one of our family redeemers.” – Ruth 2.19-20
You may be wondering, what is a Family Redeemer? A Kinsman Redeemer?
At the end of Leviticus there is a whole chapter about how to redeem things and people… which is all about how to get things back into the story of God that for whatever reason have been cut out of the story of God.
A kinsman redeemer has the right, according to Torah, to redeem or to restore the land of a relative that has been lost or sold, to redeem or to restore relatives that have been sold into slavery, and in this case to redeem someone like Ruth who’s husband has died but she has no sons.
A kinsman redeemer is the closest relative who, in this case, could marry Ruth and in so doing restore what has been lost. In marriage to a kinsman redeemer she would have a husband and she would have the hope of having a son.
Naomi knows Boaz, and her wheels start turning.
She had thought remarriage for Ruth would be impossible because she had no more sons who could serve as a kinsman redeemer, but she wasn’t thinking about her relatives in Bethlehem who could fill that role. Boaz could!
What’s more, Boaz has noticed Ruth’s beauty and her character and is already showing her kindness. Now Naomi goes into full match maker mode. Listen to what she says to Ruth in Chapter 3.
Kanaf
3.1 One day Naomi said to Ruth, “My daughter, it’s time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you will be provided for. 2 Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he’s been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. 3 Now do as I tell you—take a bath and put on perfume and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 Be sure to notice where he lies down; then go and uncover his feet and lie down there. He will tell you what to do.” – Ruth 3.1-4
Ruth does everything Naomi says. She gets cleaned up, dressed up, and goes to the threshing floor to look for Boaz.
After dinner and drinks, he’s in a good mood and as the owner of the field and all the grain that has been gathered, he’s going to sleep beside the grain. This is common practice because no one wants anyone to come and steal their grain!
But that night Boaz is startled after falling to sleep.
7 …Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8 Around midnight Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet! 9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she replied. “Spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer.” – Ruth 3.7-9
To “Spread the corner of your covering” is also translated as to “spread your wings.” It’s the Hebrew word “kanaf.” And to spread your kanaf or take someone under your wing is to take someone to be your wife.
Right here, Ruth makes a marriage proposal!
If you’re watching this on Hallmark your surprised because you expected the boy to ask the girl to marry him, but Ruth beats him to it! She asks Boaz to take her as his wife!
You might expect her to ask him to take her on as a servant, to take her on as a hired hand, or to just let her come live at his house. But she skips all that and goes right to the marriage proposal because he is a family redeemer!
Another Family Redeemer?
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter!” Boaz exclaimed. “You are showing even more family loyalty now than you did before, for you have not gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor. 11 Now don’t worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman. 12 But while it’s true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. 13 Stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well. Let him marry you. But if he is not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself! Now lie down here until morning.” – Ruth 3.10-13
Long story short, this unnamed kinsman redeemer was willing to redeem the land that belonged to Elimelech, Ruth’s father in law. But he was unwilling to marry Ruth, to redeem Ruth. So Boaz stepped forward as the family redeemer, the kinsman redeemer, and he redeemed Ruth.
Redeeming Ruth
13 So Boaz took Ruth into his home, and she became his wife. When he slept with her, the LORD enabled her to become pregnant, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women of the town said to Naomi, “Praise the LORD, who has now provided a redeemer for your family! May this child be famous in Israel. 15 May he restore your youth and care for you in your old age. For he is the son of your daughter-in-law who loves you and has been better to you than seven sons!” – Ruth 4.13-15
Naomi, who had named herself Mara, bitter, now finds that God has been faithful, gracious, and kind. Once again, she is known as Naomi. Redeeming love has made life sweet and pleasant once again!
16 Naomi took the baby and cuddled him to her breast. And she cared for him as if he were her own. 17 The neighbor women said, “Now at last Naomi has a son again!” And they named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David. – Ruth 4.16-17
Which is interesting. Because it’s through the line of David, which runs directly through a Moabite woman named Ruth, that one day Jesus enters the world!
A Picture of Redeeming Love
You may be wondering, where is Jesus in this story?
What I love about the story of Ruth is that it doesn’t give us a prediction of Jesus, it gives us a PICTURE of Jesus.
A picture of redeeming love.
You see, Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. He can serve as our Redeemer because he is human, he became one of us. And, in fact, he is the only one who can redeem us. The Son of God became the Son of Man precisely because he wanted to redeem us and welcome us back into the story of God, the family of God.
You may not believe in happily ever afters, that every love story ends with the couple hopelessly in love riding off into the sunset. In fact, you may be broken hearted. You may be like Naomi… just call me MARA, BITTER, because Yahweh has dealt bitterly with me.
There’s Hope at the End of Your Story, too.
Ruth’s story ends with hope because of a kinsman redeemer.
Naomi’s story ends with hope because of the same kinsman redeemer.
They have hope because of a marriage and because of the birth of a son.
They story begins with the death of Elimelech who’s name means, “My God is King.” And then ends with the birth of a son named Obed who would be the grandfather of King David, through whom one day the King of kings, Jesus Messiah would be born.
So if you’re broken hearted today, if feel more like a MARA than a NAOMI, more bitter than sweet, can I remind of how your story ends?
Because at the end of your story there is HOPE.
There is Hope at the end of your story because you, too, have a Kinsman Redeemer.
There is Hope at the end of your story because the church is the bride of Christ.
There is Hope at the end of your story because a Son has been born.
There is Hope at the end of your story because Jesus, our Kinsman Redeemer has Redeemed us.
There is Hope because God’s Redeeming Love wins in the end.
Redeeming love is God’s answer to the bitterness of this life.
However difficult your situation, whatever famine you’re enduring, whatever foreign land you’re living in, however hopeless it all seems… Ruth invites us to remember that God’s Redeeming Love will Win in the End.
Isaiah 41:14 says,
“I am the LORD, your Redeemer.
I am the Holy One of Israel.”
Breath Prayer
So here’s the Breath Prayer I want to encourage you to pray this week:
El Shaddai, God Almighty, may Your Redeeming Love remind me of the Hope I have in You today.
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