Sermon Nuggets week of Aug 29 Romance
Verses Ruth 2: 1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband's side, from the clan of Elimelech, a man of standing, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go ahead, my daughter."
3 So she went out and began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters. As it turned out, she found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back.
5 Boaz asked the foreman of his harvesters, "Whose young woman is that?"
6 The foreman replied, "She is the Moabitess who came back from Moab with Naomi.
A Love Story- Romance
Last week we began a series on love as revealed in the characters of the book of Ruth. We talked about loyalty and how it was demonstrated in commitment, choice, and caring. Ruth and Naomi had those qualities when it came to their husbands and when it came to their love for God. We saw in chapter 1 how a man named Elimelech and his family left their home in Bethlehem to go to Moab because of a famine. Elimelech and his two sons die while in Moab, and the widow Naomi is left all alone with her two daughters-in-law.
Naomi decided to return to her home when she had heard they had food again. Her life in Moab had become hard, and so she sought more comfort and left for her homeland. So far everyone is looking for greener pastures. What about Orpah? She too eventually returned to Moab because she realized her life in Judah with Naomi would not be easy and she preferred her chances of security with a husband even though it meant going back to her pagan gods instead of the faith in the Lord God. Ruth on the other had gave up everything to stay with her mother-in-law. She intentionally went into a harder situation. She left comfort. She gave up family and friends, with no promise of a future. Why? I suspect it was out of love for Naomi and commitment to her God. Unfortunately Naomi’s grief was blocking her ability to see God’s work, His sovereignty, and His gracious providence. But I suspect that happens in our lives as well when things go badly for us. We look sight of the larger picture because we don’t see the future very well. Faith is trusting in God’s providence and believing he will bring good out of it one way or another. God lifts the famine and opens a way home for Naomi. He gives her an amazingly devoted and loving daughter-in-law to accompany her. And preserves a kinsman of Naomi's husband who will some day marry Ruth and preserve Naomi's line. But Naomi sees none of this.
Well I want to continue and look a bit a another aspect of love, it is romance. Our culture loves love stories, however I think it is so taken by lusts it confuses love for sex.
Here is a true letter to Dear Abby. “Dear Abby. I am a 23 years old liberated woman who has been on the pill for two years. It’s getting expensive and I think my boy friend should share half the cost, but I don’t know him well enough to discuss money with him. Do you have any advice?”
Unfortunately many couples fail to see is that those who do live together before marriage have a vastly greater chance for divorce for a number of reasons. One is that when you are strong to your convictions you stick it out longer in your commitment to marriage than leaving. Shallow convictions regarding marriage gives shallow commitment to another for life.
Another is a person more apt to live together before marriage is more apt to have an affair because there is less importance on morals and values of marriage. Another is that some find to have intimate relationship with someone who is not their spouse to be sexually stimulating and after marriage with society sanctioning it, there is a reduction in arousal unless they start cheating. God’s word is truth and His ways are best.
What I would like to address this week are some unromantic romantic ideas. Character has a lot to do with what really makes up a special relationship whether in marriage or in family life, church, and so forth.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Tues Aug 30 Character
Verses: Ruth 2: 7 She said, 'Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.' She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-- a foreigner?"
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant-- though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."
17 So Ruth gleaned in the field until evening. Then she threshed the barley she had gathered, and it amounted to about an ephah.
18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gathered. Ruth also brought out and gave her what she had left over after she had eaten enough.
The Character of the WOMAN-
There are some traits about Ruth that captures the attention of Boaz, the bachelor. You have heard it said that there is one kind of girl guys like to date and a different kind of girl guys like to marry. Certainly I will not say that physical attraction has no place, but it is different from sexual attraction. Nowhere do I read there was love at first sight. But she caught his attention when Ruth was gleaning barley in the fields.
We talked about her loyalty, so I won’t say a lot more about that. But in addition to loyalty to her Mother-in-law she also showed respect which is an equally important ingredient to making a relationship work. One of the commands is “Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long.”
If you are young man and you are considering a girl as a possible mate, observe her attitude toward her mother? Is she kind, gracious, respectful toward her mother? Or is she discourteous, unkind, and rude? What about the fellow? How does he treat his father? Watch the way one acts toward his parents for it is often a reflection in other relationships in life at home. People act one way in public and with friend than they do with family. For can be disrespectful to his parent but act gracious toward others. But if you have someone who respects and treats his or her family well, then that is often how he or she will deal with his own family in the future.
The Ruth impressed Boaz foreman by being industrious. V. 7 She went into t he field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest.” Also notice v. 17 she gleaned in the field until evening, but then her job wasn’t done. She threshed the barley she had gathered and carried it back to town. She was a good, hard, worker. I thank the Lord for families that teach their kids to work and not to be afraid of it. It is important to learn responsibility from a young age. Ruth worked hard in the fields. It is hot, and back breaking. But to get food for herself and Naomi she was willing to work and do her best.
One thing I don’t understand is people who do not have work and little money refuse jobs that are available because they feel it is beneath them, or the work didn’t suit them, or the pay wasn’t what they thought they deserved.
We need to support our loved ones. Some jobs don’t pay enough, but having something is better than nothing until something else opens up. There is great value if someone is able bodied to be independent by their work and put some pride into it. Many women work very hard and may not get paid for it. Lots of housewives cook meals, wash clothes, take care of shopping for the family, make lunches, make beds, can, freeze food, and clean house, raise children, help with the chores. Love is expressed by hands that are working to provide the needs. The Bible says, “Do what your hand finds to do.”
Prov 32 talks bout a virtuous woman as a good wife. Reread that and you’ll find one willing to work with hands, get bargains, buy and sell land, provide for her family getting up early. It says she does not eat the bread of idleness.
Ruth is humble she bowed down with her face to the ground v 10 She wasn’t haughty. She wasn’t proud. She was humble in her attitude. She says of herself in v 13 that she doesn’t even have the standing of the servant girls so why is she being treated so nicely?
Related to humility is thankfulness. She appreciated what was done. She saw the need in others and was thankful in little things. How important is that word is in marriage? Thank you. Do you ever thank your mate for all they do? For task around the house? One man was upset and said, “Why should I say thanks? She never thanks me for going to work. It is part of the responsibility that doesn’t deserve thanks. “
When we take the various tasks for granted, then we start living in selfishness and pride. God honors a grateful heart.
1 Peter 3:4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. Which is of great wroth in Gods’ sight.”
What impressed Boaz was the character of Ruth. Not her background, not her status, not her clothing, not her name but I’d call it the unromantic, romantic facts that are the basis for love.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Weds Aug 31
Verses Ruth 2: 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back.
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, "My daughter, listen to me. Don't go and glean in another field and don't go away from here. Stay here with my servant girls.
9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the girls. I have told the men not to touch you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled."
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, "Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-- a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied, "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband-- how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before.
12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
The Character of A MAN- Compassion
As we look at the man Boaz would make it on a magazine lists of the most eligible bachelors. He is highly respected in the community. He is wealthy, He would make a good catch and many young ladies and their parents would keep their eye on him. But there is more to him than just being a wealthy landowner with servants.
Boaz is a man of God. Why else would the story-teller pause to record the way Boaz greeted his servants? "And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem; and he said to the reapers, 'The Lord be with you,' and they answered, 'The Lord bless you."' If you want to know a man's relation to God you need to find out how far God has saturated to the details of his everyday life. Evidently Boaz was such a God-saturated man that his farming business and his relationship to his employees was shot through with God. He greeted them with God. And we will see in a minute than these were more than pious platitudes.
He was generous and cared for the poor. Boaz followed the Scriptures from Deut 24. He didn’t have to, but God promises if you helped the poor you would be blessed. That was the heart of Boaz. He was kind to those who were without and willing to share with them. There were a number of other women that would come following the harvester and taking the grain that was overlooked.
My wife used to work on a lettuce farm. Now it isn’t hard to get all the lettuce that is suppose to be harvested, but I could tell she had experience in the fields when we would go blueberry or strawberry picking. She would assign me an area and I’d lumber along getting the fruit and filling my bucket trying to keep up with her but my bucket would only be half full while hers would be full. Then she’d go over my area again and get all the stuff that I didn’t see. I’d try to explain to her that I was following the old testament practice of helping the poor by leaving some for those who followed me. She didn’t buy it.
Boaz generosity as well as giving Ruth some special attention came when he instructed his foreman to let the men leave a little extra so Ruth can get more.
I don’t like to waste things. It came from my Mother who also, like many of you, went through the depression. It bothered me, for instance, when the government would set up rules almost requiring waste. There is so much food required for each nursing home resident and if they didn’t eat it even if it wasn’t touched it had to be thrown away. You couldn’t give it away, you couldn’t have other staff eat perfectly good food. You couldn’t take it home to animals, because it might be suspect that you were cheating this resident so untouched perfectly good food and a lot of it was pitched in the garbage.
I’d much rather have this arrangement where the poor could come and get it and there not be any problems with insurance companies or people who would sue the owner if they fell down or sprained their backs picking up food left behind. Sometimes in our society common sense just goes flying out the window.
I heard now of a movement where some countries are trying to stop shipments of clothing to the poor because the clothing industries in those countries see it as unfair competition to their jobs, so you’d rather go naked they get free clothing. I don’t get it.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Sept 1
Verses Ruth 2: 14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come over here. Have some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar." When she sat down with the harvesters, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all she wanted and had some left over.
15 As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, "Even if she gathers among the sheaves, don't embarrass her.
16 Rather, pull out some stalks for her from the bundles and leave them for her to pick up, and don't rebuke her."
Ruth 2:19-21
19 Her mother-in-law asked her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the man who took notice of you!" Then Ruth told her mother-in-law about the one at whose place she had been working. "The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz," she said.
20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.'"
(NIV)
The Character of Kindness
But notice Boaz kindness. Even though he was wealthy and a landowner, he was also good to his workers. He was not stuck up employer who would have little to do with his hired hands. Some won’t mix with the help, but that was not the character of Boaz.
I remember a mop lady at Pleasant Hill Nursing home telling me a story over and over again of one of the administrators who called her to clean up a mess that someone had left. She was so angry because she just cleaned up the hallway that that walked away to get her composure. Then she returned to the spot and saw the administrator on his hands and knees cleaning what she at first refused to do. She said you could have slapped her in the face. Then she worried about losing her job. Now, however, that administrator could ask her to do anything and she’d go it out of the great respect she had for him willing to do what needed to be done regardless of his status.
Boaz was not prejudiced. He helped the foreigner in need. He was thoughtful. If she was thirsty, then go ahead and drink out of the cistern my men bring. He invited Ruth to share in the lunch that they provided for the workers. It is plain old fashioned courtesy And thoughtfulness to others instead of being out only to make money and get what he can from them.
Boaz also gave Ruth protection. That is a problem for a widow who is young to support herself and not be under the protection of another man, because they were open for being sexually abuse and attacked. Some forced to make their living by prostitution for it was not legal at that time for women to own property only men would own property. Unless they found some man that took pity on them and cared for them and give them housing and property they were sunk, and this is what Boaz did. He recognized that Ruth had sacrificed herself for the family of Elimelech and felt the responsibility for her as well because he was a shirt-tail relative. This was part of his religious obligation. He ordered the men not to touch her and that made her feel important.
She was a woman who was a stranger, a foreigner, no family no friends, but only commitment and loyalty caused her to come to these fields. But with all this Boaz did what many women wish their husbands would do- he made her feel special. There are many gracious women who have found happiness in marriage with a mate, who didn’t have much money, or much looks, or much education, but they take notice of their wives and in turn treat them with respect and consideration. O what many wives would give for a little bit of consideration.
These are the unromantic romantic characteristics that make the man as God would have us be.
Pastor Dale
Sermon Nuggets Fri Sept 2
Verses: Ruth 2: 4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, "The LORD be with you!" "The LORD bless you!" they called back.
12 May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13 "May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord," she said. "You have given me comfort and have spoken kindly to your servant-- though I do not have the standing of one of your servant girls."
20 "The LORD bless him!" Naomi said to her daughter-in-law. "He has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead." She added, "That man is our close relative; he is one of our kinsman-redeemers."
The Character of GOD
The most important aspect to a budding romance is the character and will of God. When God is at the center of a relationship it makes all the difference in the world. Both Ruth and Boaz were committed to the Lord. Ruth as a fairly recent convert and Boaz was one who lived his faith.
We know the Lord’s command for Israelites not to marry foreign women. The reason given in the Bible is because it will cause people to turn to other gods and people will be led into false belief. The Bible also warns against Christians marrying non Christians for the same reason. Families tend not to worship, put God first, or keep their faith active. When you have gotten so romantically involved that your emotions carry you away it is hard to focus on God’s priorities. Some think they can change their mate once they get married, but that seldom happens. If you have become a Christian after marriage and your spouse is not saved yet, that is a different story. You pray and live your life God wants you to live it and be the best spouse you can and so that the Holy Spirit may work on your spouses heart, but you have choice before you say I do.
My friend John Hoeldtke put it this way, “The reason that the directive were given were religiously these people would lead their offspring astray. I have searched the Scriptures until I do not know how to search t hem any further. I cannot find where God ever condemned interracial marriage. The reason why the Jewish people were not to marry people from the other nations was religious-not racial. A Moabitess was a pagan of a despised nation. Why could Boaz marry her? The answer is that she had already become a believer and made her commitment to the Lord. She did so before Boaz came on the scene as well.”
Also notice how this match is God directed. As it turned out Ruth found herself working in a field belonging to Boaz. Who was from the clan of Elimelech. There are no coincidences with God. "Do you know how many times the word coincidence (or any other word like it) is used is the Bible? Zero. Not one event in all of Scripture is ever spoken of as having been coincidental." Look at Naomi’s response in vs 20 “The Lord has not stopped showing his kindness to the living and the dead.” This man is our close relative. He is one of our kinsman-redeemers.” Ruth and Boaz were also in God’s will because it was His plan for them to marry.
I believe when a young person surrenders his or her will to the Lord and says, “I want to do your will more than anything else whether it means I marry or do not marry you know better what I need that I do.” The Lord has a way of getting that person into contact with another believer so that in a sacred sense the two seem to have been just right for each other.
In order for God to lead, one’s heart must be right. Ruth was always under God’s care and protection. Ruth could have gone to another’s field where she would have been neglected abused, mocked, or stolen, but God provided. Now she is instructed to stay close to the servant girls for Boaz protection. She would have all she wanted then.
It is the Lord, Yahweh who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living—Naomi and Ruth, or to the dead—her deceased husband Elimelech. God has provided a plan to honor and save them. It was all coming so fast to Naomi. She is so excited she repeats herself. And then the reality of the situation finally comes to her. She finally remembers the significance of who Boaz is. He is their kinsman-redeemer. Boaz is the redeemer. A kin who can marry a widow and preserve the family.
Now we see the part the Lord plays. It was the Lord who stopped the famine. It was the Lord who bound Ruth to Naomi in love. It was the Lord who preserved Boaz for Ruth. Ruth did not just happen to come to Boaz's field. The light of God's love has finally broken through bright enough for Naomi to see. The Lord is kind. He is good to all who take refuge under his wings
In Gods’ part of the relationship we see that he is able and willing to bless. Little did they know then they were to be the ancestor of the king of Israel and the Messianic line and ultimately the Savior of the World. God is interested in the poor, the helpless, the stranger, the forgotten. Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”” They story of a pagan girl you choose correctly and see the blessing of God is all part of the backdrop to a love story. Romantic? Ah much more than that. It is founded on the spiritual for that is the basis of love.
This is the message of the gospel in the Old Testament and the New Testament. God will have mercy on anyone who humbles himself like Ruth and takes refuge under the wings of God.
Pastor Dale
