The Faithfulness of God -- A Sermon for Pentecost 24B (Ruth 3-4)
The Book of Ruth is rooted within the larger biblical story that recounts God’s faithfulness to the covenant of blessing first made with Abraham and Sarah and then reaffirmed with Moses, David, and Jesus. Even when the people of God break this covenant, God remains faithful to it. That’s because God’s steadfast love endures forever.
The story told in the Book of Ruth takes place during the period of the Judges. While Israel has made a home in the Promised Land, it’s nothing more than a loose confederation of tribes. These tribes face hostile neighbors like the Philistines, a challenging landscape, and a tendency to stray from the ways of God. The larger story of this period is told in the Book of Judges, where you will find a constant refrain: “the people did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Eventually, the people decided they needed a king, and so in the end God provided Israel with the monarchy of David and his descendants. What we read here provides the background story to David’s rise to power. However, it is much more than the story of David’s great-grandmother. No, it’s the story of perseverance, resourcefulness, loyalty, inclusion, and faithfulness. This story also has meaning for us as Christians because Ruth is one of four women mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus. That makes her our spiritual ancestor.
Ruth’s story begins when Naomi, along with her husband Elimelech, and their two sons migrate to Moab because there is famine in the Land of Promise. While they resided in Moab, Naomi’s two sons married Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. Tragically, the three men die, leaving the women as widows. In the ancient world to be a widow, especially a widow living in a foreign land, far from family, was challenging to say the least.
So, Naomi decided to return home where her husband owned land and family was nearby. As for Orpah and Ruth, Naomi suggested that they return to their own families because she couldn’t care for them. Orpah heeded her advice, but Ruth insisted on going with Naomi.
While I’ve titled the sermon “The Faithfulness of God,” I could have titled it “The Faithfulness of Ruth.” That’s because she demonstrates true fidelity to the welfare of another. She was willing to experience whatever fate came Naomi’s way.
Now, it’s important to remember that Ruth was a Moabite woman. If she follows Naomi, she would be leaving behind her family, her country, and her religion in exchange for an uncertain future. Nevertheless, Ruth makes a covenant with Naomi. She tells her that “Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16). Yes, “your God will be my God.” With that, Ruth and Naomi continue their journey to Naomi’s hometown of Bethlehem. Yes, Naomi is from that “Little Town of Bethlehem.”
When they reach Bethlehem, it’s barley season. So, Naomi sent Ruth out to the fields owned by a man named Boaz to glean grain so they would have food to eat. Now Boaz was a relative of Naomi’s husband and in chapter 2 of Ruth, we see that Boaz takes notice of Ruth. He protects her from unwanted attention from other men and makes sure she has enough grain to feed herself and Naomi. This gives the ever-resourceful Naomi an idea. You see, according to ancient Jewish custom, it was expected that when a man dies childless, leaving behind a widow, the nearest kinsman would marry her and provide the family with an heir.
That’s the background to Naomi’s plan. Since Naomi is a resourceful woman, she knows what needs to be done. Ruth will need to take the initiative and pursue a plan that hopefully leads to marriage. Now, this plan is risky because it could put Ruth in danger, or at the very least, it could lead to her humiliation if the plan went awry. Nevertheless, Ruth trusts her mother-in-law’s wisdom and ingenuity. Because she has pledged her loyalty to Naomi, Ruth agrees to the plan, which we see laid out in chapter three.
As we read in our story, Ruth dresses up, goes down to the threshing floor, and when Boaz lies down to sleep she follows Naomi’s instructions by uncovering his feet and lying down next to him. When she does this, she hopes he gets the hint and will respond to her overture by proposing marriage. Now, Boaz is an honorable man, so he doesn’t take advantage of Ruth. He even offers to marry her but he has to first confer with another man who is actually a closer relative and therefore has a prior claim on Ruth and Naomi’s land.
As you can see, this is a rather complicated plan and not one we would embrace today. Well, the good news is that it works out the way Naomi had hoped. Boaz and Ruth get married, they have a son, Naomi is redeemed, and everyone lives happily ever after.
So, where does God come into the story? So far it seems as if Naomi and Ruth play the primary roles in the story. Well, we see God step into the story in chapter four where we read that after Boaz and Ruth get married, “the Lord made her conceive, and she bore a son.” In the biblical story, God often plays an important role in conception and childbirth. We see that in the story of Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, Elizabeth the mother of John the Baptist, and Mary mother of Jesus. So, the women of Bethlehem say to Naomi:
Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without next-of-kin; and may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be to you a restorer of life and nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has borne him. (Ruth 4:14-15).
Yes, God is faithful and has provided an heir to Naomi and her husband Elimelech. Now Naomi and Ruth have the security that Naomi wanted to provide for Ruth. This child will be the grandfather of David and ancestor of Jesus.
Although the women sing a song of praise because of God’s faithfulness, it’s good to remember that Naomi and Ruth aren’t passive participants. They don’t wait for God to act. They push the envelope in pursuit of the security Naomi wants to provide Ruth “so that it may be well with you” (Ruth 3:1).
In the short run, God provided security for Naomi and Ruth, but in the long term, God provided security for Israel in the person of David. From a Christian perspective, God provides a blessing to the nations through the birth of Jesus. Yes, God is faithful to the covenant!
There is a larger context to this story that needs to be acknowledged. Many scholars believe that Ruth was written during the post-exilic period depicted in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. One of the big questions during that period when Israel was reconstructing its identity was whether Jewish men could enter mixed marriages with foreign women? Ezra and Nehemiah said no, you must marry within the community lest you be led astray and pollute the community. The author of Ruth says: wait a minute, have you not heard about Ruth, the great-grandmother of David, the beloved founder of the monarchy we hope God will restore? Is not David the product of a mixed marriage?
In this question, we have a message of inclusion and hospitality. As Marcia Mount Shoop writes, the story of Ruth “enlarges and deepens the story of God’s habit of welcoming the stranger and setting the bar high for the way humanity encounters the other.” [Feasting on the Word, p. 270].
Yes, one of the messages we find here in Ruth is that God’s covenant vision is broad. It not only includes the people of Israel but foreigners like Ruth and Gentiles like us. What we discover here is that God works through a Moabite woman, a foreigner, a migrant, a partner in a mixed marriage, and our spiritual ancestor. If God’s vision of blessing is this broad, should not the same be true of us?
Is this not our calling as the church of Jesus Christ? As heirs of the covenant promise made with Abraham and passed on to us by Jesus? Are we not called by God to be a people of inclusion, hospitality, and welcome? Yes, should we not welcome the stranger, as God welcomes the stranger? Or, as Martin Copenhaver writes: “The family and the church are both places where we have opportunity to live with people we did not choose. Our fidelity to those we are stuck with can be a reflection of the fidelity of a God who is stuck with us all” [Feasting on the Word, pp. 268, 270].
The story of Ruth reveals to us the nature of God’s covenant first brokered with Abraham and all who are included in that covenant relationship so that through Jesus we might be a blessing to the nations. Isn't that a message fit for All Saints Sunday?
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