A Perilous Plan?

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Hebrews 12:28-29
• Hymn — Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise (#224)
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 5, Paragraph 5
• Hymn — Psalm 103C (#103C)
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Ruth 3
• Sermon
• Hymn — And Can It Be (#431)
• Benediction — Numbers 6:24-26

Sermon Title: A Perilous Plan?

Scripture: Ruth 3

I. A Plan Fraught with Complexities

• A. Naomi's genuine concern for Ruth drives her to action — she desires Ruth to find rest, security, and a husband who will care for her after Naomi is gone, and she sees Boaz as the means to accomplish this (Ruth 3:1-2).

• B. Naomi's plan is morally perilous, whatever her intentions.

  1. Some commentators see Naomi sending Ruth to entice Boaz into sexual sin in the manner of a Moabite.
  2. Others (including David Strain) see Naomi engineering a situation to signal to Boaz that Ruth is available and ready for marriage — that the harvest is over, the widow's garments should come off, and the time to act is now.
  3. Either way, sending Ruth alone in the dark of night to a sleeping, well-fed man at the threshing floor — in the era of the judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes — is morally compromised and dangerous.

• C. The lesson: sin persists in the hearts of God's saints.

  1. As Strain observes, Naomi — not Ruth — is acting more like the Moabite: "You can take the child of God out of Moab, but it's not nearly so easy to get Moab out of the child of God."
  2. While the power of sin is broken in the believer, its presence remains; we must remain vigilant, for sin is ever crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7).
  3. We must meet remaining sin with the good news of God's grace in Christ and overmaster it.

II. A Promise of Place for Wanderers

• A. Ruth obeys, uncovers Boaz's feet, and lies down; Boaz wakes at midnight to find an unrecognized woman at his feet (Ruth 3:6-8).

• B. Ruth's words in verse 9 are unexpected and marvelous: "Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer" (Ruth 3:9).

  1. The word for "wings" can also mean "corners of a garment" — a common Middle Eastern marriage proposal idiom.
  2. Ruth is not seducing Boaz; she is maintaining her godly integrity while asking him to marry her.
  3. She calls Boaz back to his own words in Ruth 2:12, where he blessed her as one who had taken refuge under the Lord's wings — she is now asking him to be God's instrument to fulfill that blessing.
  4. The Lord uses the same "spreading the garment" language of his covenant marriage to Israel in Ezekiel 16:8.

• C. Boaz praises Ruth as a worthy woman and promises to redeem her, but discloses there is one nearer redeemer who must be given first opportunity (Ruth 3:10-13).

• D. Ruth represents every wanderer in need of rest (Hebrew: manoah, echoing the name of Samson's father in Judges — an ironic name expressing Israel's chronic restlessness under the tyranny of enemies).

  1. Sin makes spiritual wanderers of all of us, driving us to seek rest in money, success, reputation, achievement, or pleasure.
  2. Unlike with Boaz, with Christ there is no question of a nearer redeemer — he alone is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6).
  3. Christ says, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

III. A Picture of Fullness for the Empty

• A. Before Ruth departs in the early morning, Boaz fills her cloak with six measures of barley so she will not return to Naomi empty-handed (Ruth 3:14-15).

• B. The gift of grain directly addresses Naomi's own self-assessment: "I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty" (Ruth 1:21).

  1. The same Hebrew word for "empty" appears in both passages.
  2. Boaz discerns Naomi's continued struggle to trust God's goodness and intentionally sends her a tangible picture of what the Lord is doing — a care package with a message from the Redeemer himself.

• C. Naomi finally receives it; her final word is "Wait" — no more meddling, no more manipulation, no more rushing (Ruth 3:18).

  1. This echoes Psalm 27:14: "Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord."
  2. "Wait" is the word of a heart at rest in God.

• D. Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of this picture of fullness.

  1. As Strain puts it: "There is no promise that hardship and sorrow or loss or pain will never again intrude into your life, but there is a promise that emptiness need never again characterize your heart."
  2. He who was rich became poor; he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, becoming obedient unto death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8), so that all who are empty and come to him in faith will be filled with life abundant.
  3. There is more grace in Christ than you can exhaust; he is your satisfaction and fills you to overflowing.