Ruth - Chapter 2

the Book of Ruth you know of all the books in the Bible people I'll say what's your favorite book and I guess there's many that I really favor for lots of reasons but this little treasure little for chapter book is a treasure the more you study it the more you discover about it and so it's kind of refreshing to be able to go through it here with more casual time once you learn this little book you can go through it with a friend around the campfire in an hour you don't have to get into a lot of what we're going to get into to capture its treasures so it's a it's a fun book in that regard on the other hand it's refreshing to be able to go at it very slowly we're going through it's a little for chapter book or we're going slowly we're going in chapter 2 this morning and why do we study this book in the first place first of all it's one of the most dramatic books of prophecy that may surprise many people in the in fact the ancient arrangement of Jewish Scriptures had coupled the Book of Ruth not with the book of Judges historically which is now but it was compiled with the book of the prophets interestingly enough and it's not only it's a charming love story a Rome a romance that is studied in colleges not as a piece of the Bible so much is just an elegant piece of literature it studied just because of its elegance as a story but it also once you understand what it's really all about it's a romance not just between Ruth and Boaz but between the creator of the universe and ourselves and that's what's so remarkable the romance of redemption and it it exemplifies a concept in the Bible that's all through the Bible but here it's encapsulated as the kinsman redeemer what do we mean by that people who have not studied the Book of Ruth are not prepared for a revelation chapter 5 you want to study you won't understand Revelation chapter 5 until you really understand the Book of Ruth it also deals with another issue the distinction between Israel and the church one of the great tragedies of our culture our church culture most churches have no grasp of this distinctiveness of God's dealing with Israel in contrast with his dealing with the church and you say gee the church is not revealed in the Old Testament that's technically correct and yet of all the Old Testament books the Book of Ruth tells us a great deal about the church and in fact what's so strange is the Jews treat this book as part of their liturgy around the Feast of Siobhan's feast of Schiavone is 50 days after feast of firstfruits it's the of the seven feasts of Moses it's the one that anticipates the church it's the only Levitical feast that uses leavened bread strangely so there's a whole study about that but the linkage of this book with the feast of weeks or Feast of Pentecost as we would call it is rather provocative but we're also going to learn some things from this book about hermeneutics your theory of interpretation hermeneutics is simply your theory of understanding your theory of interpretation the Bible most of us being Gentiles follow what's called the Greek model we think of prophecy as a prediction and then its fulfillment the prediction that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem and then yet he was born about you know the prediction in the Old Testament the fulfillment Lanoue that's our classic Gentile model you say well that's Gentile yes but the Hebrew model is a little different by the way in the Hebrew mind prophecy is pattern that's why they study patterns all through the scripture the patterns are prophetic of what's coming in a way that's very different and that's one of the demonstrations that the Bible is the Word of God because you discover that those patterns that are established thousands of years earlier are followed through history that history in other words anticipate what's coming and there's the study of those are called types or models are extremely provocative and they all springboard from Hosea chapter 12 verse 10 where God says I have spoken by the prophets and I have multiplied visions and used similitudes by the ministry of the prophets similitudes allegories analogies there's several hundred differ kinds of figures of speech all through the scripture so the Book of Ruth it occurs in the days that the judges ruled it's that period of time that is so early in in the scheme of things Joshua we have the Torah books of Moses then Joshua you conquered the lamb then the book of Judges which is that bridge before the king they had no King in those days the judges ruled it was a time of moral depravity again and again and again the nation Israel was fell away and got felling the idol worship then they were oppressed and they in their oppression they called for a deliverer God delivers the deliverer they have a reed they get back on track and then they go through the same cycle repeats six times six different servitudes in the book of Judges is a repattern of repetitive failure it's a dark time one of the expressions that is used throughout the book of Judges everyone did what was right in their own eyes that sounds good but in the context of the Bible that's doing things in their eyes what's right in their eyes not what in God's eyes it's contrast so it's a the book of Judges is a dismal period the bright little gleam in that book yes there are these colorful stories of delivers all the way through Gideon Samson whatever they all have their problems but the gleam that's why the Book of Ruth is usually appended to the book of Judges because it happens that this charming little book is in The Times it's an exception to the general times and in that though it's it's the ultimate love story not just because Ruth and Boaz get together but for a much broader purpose it's a love story at the literary level of the studies as such in college if you stake a take a course in literature it often will include the Book of Ruth not by as a pick because it's a biblical revelation no it's just an elegant elegant piece of literature but it's very profound at the prophetic and the personal level and we're going to touch on that as we go through it's one of the most significant books for the church that sounds like a lot because the church wasn't revealed in the Old Testament it was given to Paul in Ephesians chapter 3 he was given the privilege of revealing that which was hidden in the past when Jesus in Matthew 13 gives the seven kingdoms he says they embody things that were hidden from the foundation of the world that means they're not in the Old Testament what are they all about the church actually surprises me well that's why it's sort of arts but yet we'll discover four you'll see why that the Book of Ruth anticipates the church in some surprising ways because it demonstrates the role of a kinsman redeemer God's plan of redemption announced in the in Genesis 3 is that God would redeem mankind through at a kinsmen of Adam he had to be a man and that was God's program what is a kinsman redeemer we're gonna understand that from this book in addition to our understanding the concept of a kinsman redeemer there's also this whole idea of the revelation chapter 5 and you won't understand the strange goings on in Revelation 5 until you really have mastered the Book of Ruth so and last time we have this remarkable event I won't try to recap the whole chapter we studied last time but let's refocus on roots commitment she's a Moabite Asst Naomi's husband dies her sons they both die and they're their wives they're her daughters-in-law Ruth and Oprah she they insist him on staying with her she stalks them out of it Harper does go back to her culture the Moabite culture which is a pagan culture lab Ruth is just in contrast to that what it's in fact it says strange thing here's Ruth she is a Moabite us not a non-jewish she's leaving her whole culture to enter a culture that regards Moabites as pagans as non members in effect and she commits herself to a life of destitution to stay where their mother-in-law who is destitute going back to her culture in Bethlehem after ten days away ten years away but the Ruth says entreat me not to leave thee nor to return from following after thee and then she gives us incredible commitment for whither thou goest I will go and where thou lodgest I will Lodge thy people shall be my people and thy God my god Wow that's quite a thing she was raised in more of an idol worshiping Gentile country and that's and we won't lose sight of that all through the Book of Ruth she's abandoning everything of her background and not just because she was married to a husband but because she's following her mother-in-law and adopting this to which obviously a very strange way of life she continues where thou Dyess I will die and there will I be buried the Lord do so to me and more also if aught but death Part V and me wow what a commitment and Lord she uses your name up hey the the the God of the Jews here and in her oath not the name of her God which was her Marsh seven full steps whether thou goest I will go whether the largest I will Lodge thy people shall be my people by God my God where thou Dyess twill I die and there will I be buried the Lord do so to me and more also if Appa death Part V and me seven elements of this commitment it's it's it's many people regard it as the key verse or verses to him in the book so Naomi returned more by the two and ruth the moabite as a driver in law with her which we turned out of the country of Moab and they came to Bethlehem the beginning of the barley harvest after being away ten years having left because of the famine originally there now returning she Naomi's returning destitute within this daughter-in-law in tow come back from the country of Moab and really understand you need the whole to get back into the whole background of Moab I won't repeat all that here they came to Bethlehem the house of bread after being away ten years and then we have this interesting closing phrase last time in the beginning of the barley harvest okay and the barley you need to understand to really appreciate not just the Book of Ruth but much of the Old Testament or even New Testament you need to have a feeling for the agricultural calendar of the the region barley was the first crop to ripen its the inexpensive it's the low-grade green if you will barley ripened before wheat it began to be reaped sometimes as early as March but generally April so it's about that time of year beginning of the barley harvest okay and it's the first hint of something joyful this is sort of like the beginning of spring this is that that sort of little upbeat coming here okay now the agricultural calendar we went through last time I'll just review it so it's fresh in your mind here on our Gregorian calendar we would consider about March April in our year the Jewish calendars the first year of the month of Nisan in Exodus chapter 12 God says I want you to make this month the beginning of month so he revises their calendar to making this on the first month the earlier name before Babylon was called a Beebe but it's also they used the word in the Sun and the farming calendar is this is the time of the latter rain that may confuse most of us because we think of this is the early part of the year but for them agriculturally it's the latter rains the early rains are in fishery okay but latter rains this is when the barley harvest the flax harvest starts the special days here this is also the time of the spring feasts of the feasts of Moses Passover on the 14th of Nisan the feast of unleavened bread seven days following that and the morning after Shabbat after Passover is the feast of firstfruits and so those are the are collectively called the season of Passover but it's actually three different pieces that are detailed in Leviticus 23 the next month April may on our calendar would be e are sometimes called XIV in the early days of farming calendar this is when the dry season begins we have the early rains the latter rains behind us now and we get to may june that's on our calendar that's Sivan on the Jewish calendar that's when the early figs begun to ripe and that's when vine are beginning to be tended special days here are Siobhan 50 days after the feast of firstfruits is the feast of Schiavone the feast of weeks we called the feast of Pentecost as a penny the fifty days and it's the feast the only feast of the feast of Moses that uses leavened bread it's it is anticipate Ori of course of the church but that is a recent insight so to speak and on the Jewish liturgy this is also the time the Book of Ruth is read so you want to link your thinking to this period of time and honor as we move on in our calendar June July we have the fourth month in the Jewish calendar Thomas that's when the wheat harvest goes and that's going to be a key part as we get into chapter 3 of the Book of Ruth we're in chapter 2 today wheat harvest that's the first ripe grapes okay then you get to July August we're starting to move into the fall here aren't we the feast of up and that's the grape harvest now this is something many people don't realize grapes didn't ripen until the fall okay so the special days here are the ninth above that happens to be the month or the day that everything bad happens to Israel the temple was destroyed on the ninth above the crystal knocked during the Nazi you can go through their whole history and almost every huge adverse thing always seems to come on the ninth of off so that's a time a special time of mourning it's unofficial but that's what they do what but I want you to notice the grape harvest is in July August which means they had no refrigeration if you want grape juice it had to be in the fall because grape juice won't keep without refrigeration a small point I'll leave you to think about what that means about having to do with Passover but I'm going on the Gregorian calendar August September that's a little and that's when the dates and the summer figs are harvested and then you finally get to September October that's the seventh month of the calendar effin Elam is the earlier name for that this was the first month on the Genesis calendar but revised of course to be the seventh month in Exodus 12 but the farming calendar is the early rains the early rains are industry I mentioned that because for most of us that sounds backwards because we think of the fall as being the close of the year okay in the farming since that's the beginning that's when the early rains were in the fall the special days here are the fall feasts of course the Feast of Trumpets on Tishri first Yom Kippur ten days later they have atonement and then five days later the Sukkot that Feast of Tabernacles Tishri the first is also a civil holiday called Rosh Hashanah the new year on the civil calendar don't let that confusion it's a okay so there we are Book of Ruth it's in four chapters love's resolve we could be at the title of chapter one that's when Ruth was cleaving to Naomi decides to cast her life with her after her husband after they're both all their husbands died chapter 2 is love's response and we're gonna see Ruth gleaning what does that mean we'll get into that here this time and love's request this free a widely misunderstood chapter 3 to the uninformed will deal with that on the famous thrashing Florrick scene and then we have the big climax at the end with some full of surprises chapter 4 the redemption of both the land and the bride and so forth so we were in chapter one last time today we're going to explore chapter 2 of this elegant little love story first verse and the only had a kinsman of her husband's a mighty man of wealth of the family of a limo lek that was her husband and his name was Boaz a mighty man of wealth you know the Hebrew commit implies much more than that he's a kinsman he's a relative the term also implies a history of valor and strength not just wealth all three concepts are suggested in the word that's used there so he's apparently had a distinguished warrior background that would be suggested by that term he's strong in strength in fact his name is used as one of the pillars of the temple and we'll discover he's of the family of a limb link that's of the husband that passed away Naomi's husband passed away very important to understand as the story progresses what we mean by a kinsman what it really means and so this means by the way that this man of wealth this man of Valor he he is he potentially could be a kinsman redeemer and that's what's going to eat my urge here as a story he is of the tribe of Judah and that's what links that's what's going to link the tribe of Judah with Bethlehem Jesus was born in Bethlehem because of this story or putting up the other way around the story occurs in a way of protecting the Messianic line we'll discover and so the name of this mighty man of wealth is Boaz which means incidentally in him as strength it fits his background here and his name is not only important just in this book of Ruth his name was chosen by Solomon many years later for one of the two pillars of the temple so you need to begin to realize the hero of the piece this guy is going to turn out to be much more than it seems on the surface so the plots getting thicker here you can almost consider chapter 1 and chapter 2 the setup for the plot that's coming in chapter 3 now just to insert a couple of qualitative assessments here we - you and I have a kinsman who was made like we are he was human Jesus yes was God but he was also human we need to understand that yet he was sinless Hebrews 7 emphases holy harmless undefiled separate from sinners he was man completely man completely tempted as we are but sinless he's the one that is able to save us to the uttermost so there's a parallel I'm gonna suggest between our kinsman redeemer and the role that Boaz plays in this romance now the named Boaz means strength he was a mighty man of wealth it can also translate a mighty man of war a mighty man of the law all three things apply here and how interesting it is that they apply and with the decimal point moved over in the kinsman that we we ascribe to so anyway in any case Boaz is the hero of this piece just as Jesus Christ is the hero of our piece if you will verse 2 the and ruth the moabite us Setanta Naomi let me now go down to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace and she said undergo my daughter now that's a high-risk move here by the way remember this is the time of the judges sending this young girl out on an errand like this was not free of risk we need to understand that as we go in here glean now you and I miss what's going on here unless we understand the welfare system in ancient Israel the welfare system of those days if you were a landowner you are a farmer you are allowed to make only one pass through your field at harvest time you could not go back a second time that was forbidden so to speak the concept was that the what the reapers missed on the first pass or what they spilled was left for the widows and destitute that was the concept behind their economy you raised your grain when it was ready to harvest you made one pass through it what you missed for whatever reason was left for the widows and orphans and what have you okay that's the concept they had the law of gleaning it's called you'll find a detailed Leviticus chapter 19 and Deuteronomy chapter 24 and we'll pause here since we have plenty of time for this chapter to take a look at what this is and when you reap the harvest of your land you shall not wholly reap the corners of thy field neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of the harvest now shall not Bleen thy vineyard neither shalt thou gather every grape of I vineyard thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger I am the Lord your God you know there's an old Latin proverb says that Providence assists not the idle we sort of ignore that in our welfare system but here the concept is if you're on welfare fine if you don't work you don't eat so that was the concept here in Leviticus it picks up the same echo it says when you reap the harvest of your land thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou repost neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of a harvest thou shalt leave them unto the poor and to the stranger I am the Lord your God interesting and the Deuteronomy picks this up when when thou cut us down line harvest in thy field and has forgot a sheaf in the field thou shall not go again to fetch it it shall be for the stranger for the fatherless and for the widow that the LORD thy God may bless thee and all the work of thine hands when thou beatest 9 olive tree thou shalt not go over the boughs again it shall be for the stranger for the fathers and for the widow okay well now gathers the grapes of thy vineyard thou shalt not glean it afterward it shall be for the stranger for the father's and for the widow and thou shalt remember that that was to Bodmin in the field of Egypt in the land of Egypt therefore I command thee to do this thing others remember the roots remember they where they came from so in chapter 3 chapter 2 verse 3 I should say and she went and came and gleaned in the field after the Reapers and her half was to light on the part of the field belonging and belonging unto gobo as who was of the kindred of a limb alike now she didn't know that at the time she's out there the fields are not marked they didn't have fences there are little stones that would indicate the the boundaries were and she didn't know some of these people may or may not be that hospitable despite the laws but she came and gleaned in a field after the Reapers and the way the scripture has dear very interesting little word her hap was to light on the part of the field belonging to Boaz their words migrated in the Hebrew unforseen meeting or event accident happening chance fate we would say it happened or it's happenstance she happened it was just coincident that she happened to pick the field that belonged to a member of the family clan did she know that no but you see this gets into another concept that's important for us to understand coincidence is not a kosher word as some people would say or other people say coincidence is when God is working undercover okay there is a discovery in the field of mathematics that you may need to be aware of let me just shift here a little bit and of course what makes us also irrelevant that she happened to be on the field of Boaz who was of the kindred of a little lake so he's a kinsman that's gonna turn out to be key to the whole story there is an advance field of mathematics one of the most advanced fields most recent fields is chaos theory that's one of the latest areas of study in advanced math it's known as chaos theory it's based on the elusiveness of randomness we think of randomness as readily available it turns out you can't find a random number see what any procedure to get a random number is a procedure non random you see that's that's the dilemma you get into there are two mathematical concepts that we encounter in the field of mathematics that we cannot find in the physical universe one of those is infinity that's where two parallel lines finally meet we know they never do meet so infinity is elusive and one of the great discoveries of 20th century science is that the universe is not infinite it's finite that is staggering implications but the other thing that most people don't realize is another thing we cannot find in the physical universe that's true randomness true randomness is very elusive let me go into the sea chaos theory describes the behavior of certain dynamical systems that are highly sensitive to initial conditions they speak of the butterfly effect how a butterfly flipping on one side of the world can create a hurricane on the other side that's sort of a the concept that's embraced here and as a result of the sensitivity which manifests itself as an exponential growth of perturbations in the initial conditions the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random this is like smoke curling out of a smokestack and so for there's all these kinds of examples that are not really random it turns out and these these systems are regarded as deterministic meaning that their future dynamics are fully defined by their initial conditions with no random elements involved their behavior this is called that's one of the kinds of chaos called deterministic chaos or are simply chaos in the information sciences randomness or entropy mathematics are divided in the two kinds there's deterministic and stochastic students have learned that two plus two equals four that's deterministic most of most engineering courses all the way into advanced engineering are deterministic F equals MA whatever stochastic equations are where the variables are have some random elements two plus two equals four well what do you mean you mean 2.0 2.1 how accurate is you two if you're if you're two is yeah if there's two estimates approximately to approximately two weeks so approximately four what's the range of variability see sudden you're dealing in something other than it's deterministic those are called stochastic so if you're looking for a random number it turns out the way you get it is by getting what appears to be what may be adequately random for your purposes those are properly called a pseudo-random number because you can't find a true random number it turns out as you try to do that the very method you use is not random the RAND Corporation the granddaddy of all the think tanks I was involved with many years ago in 1955 published a book at the time which was a milestone the book was called 1 million random digits with a hundred thousand normal deviance I had one in my library and it actually is a book you you you picked that up you think this is a joke here's a book you open up this book and it's full of random numbers and that was that was a milestone in its day because you don't understand how hard it is to get a random number what did they do they use supercomputers at the time and worked and worked and worked to make sure that each number was not predictable there was no periodicity there was no cyclic periodicity no symmetry and so this is not as trivial as it sounds it was a math it represented a great deal of computation to make sure that the numbers had no predictability they were truly random what's the defining characteristics the total absence of design design and randomness are opposites in the information sciences that's what's so absurd in our culture today where they attribute design to randomness that's a contradiction in terms it's the height of absurdity so when you see design you recognize it instinctively there's designing taking place I usually talk about the beads of Waitangi these 347 bees I spilled on a floor I put them on a string and ooh it spelled out Genesis 1 verse 1 in Morse code and if I try to tell you that happened and Italy you laugh at me because obviously you know that's impossible because you would to get that turns out to be statistically virtually impossible and so what I guess I'm saying is the point is we recognize design as deliberate okay a mousetrap has five key parts a platform of spring arm trigger you and if you have only four of the five parts you don't catch four-fifths many mice you catch zero there's a thing called irreducible complexity without that basic complexity you don't have a mousetrap so there are systems that in which there are hundreds of parts any one of which is missing it doesn't work that tell just designed you see and that make that's just common sense and yet the I so the point is randomness is the opposite of design so for what it's worth we now discover that our planet is not only uniquely positioned for life we call it the anthropic principle we now it's not only discuss design for life it's designed to be discovered its position in the galaxy its position for total eclipses opened up the whole field of spectral spectrography and it's positioned within the we as we studied we not only discover it makes life possible it was designed to be discovered our position in the galaxy was anywhere else we wouldn't be able to discover what goes on and on on it implies teleology that means a purpose not as designed design has a specific purpose and that purpose is not only for life it's for it it's to discover God interestingly enough privileged planet very key milestone anyway that's exactly what the Bible points out by the way the reason I'm going through this extended thing here isn't in proverbs 16 33 says the lot the rent the chance the dice whatever is in the lot is cash to the lab but the whole disposing the rivers of the Lord there is no such thing as randomest that's exactly what unstained said he's warmest misquotes as God does not play dice you know why he doesn't because he did he'd win okay cuz he knows in advance what's going to happen so there are two imputed concepts that are elusive in our physical world randomness is one of them we have stochastic averse to deterministic processes we have pseudo-random numbers because we can't get a true random number and the whole field of chaos theory deals with this whole contradiction and of course infinity we discovered the great discovery 20 science is that the universe on the largest in the sense of largeness is a finite universe maybe big and expanding but it's finite not infinite staggering discovery but definitely made also what's even more amazing is on the microcosm that if we look smaller and smaller smaller we get to a point where things are indivisible we discover that our universe is made up of in whether it's length mass energy time are made up of indivisible quanta as they call them and that means we are in a digital simulation a simulated environment that's a whole study and some of our stuff anyway so here is Ruth and she just happened to stumble on this field that belongs to a kinsman she didn't know that at the time but upon this little slit coincidence hangs the whole tail and hangs the reality of Jesus being born if Bethlehem as well seats anyway behold bow has he happened to he's the owner he happens swing by here then Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the Reapers the Lord be with you if they answered him the Lord bless thee there's management and labor management says the Lord be with you in the organization Bella's backs was meet the Lord bless thee that communicates a great deal you can be cynical say well that was just the style of greeting in that day that may well have been but it certainly seems a contrast to the environment of the time of the judges and it certainly speaks well of the environment that we're dealing with as will be confirmed by other things that happen here and Boas came you know he's the Lord of the harvest he's the big boss he's showing up here then said Boas unto his servant that was set over the Reapers whose damsel is this he notices this young gal his servant one of the questions that we normally leave until after you know the whole story but I'm gonna give you a peek inside by asking this question early what's that who was the one that introduced Ruth two boys and it turns out as you study this issue we'll discover he's unnamed we don't have a mate we haven't named for everybody else remember all these names we went through last time we have the names of the husbands and the wives we had through all that last time what's the name of the servant it turns out he's an unnamed servant and that to those of you that are diligent students of the Bible that should raise a underline what does that mean okay see what was there surfacing he has introduced but she's introduced opposed by an unnamed servant what makes that provocative that's exactly what happened to Abraham when he sent his unnamed servant in in Genesis 24 to go get a bride for Isaac an unnamed servant there we can do a little homework and figure out his name was Eliezer but it's not in the story he's unnamed okay and why is he unnamed because whenever the Holy Spirit is in a model in a type or in a role here he never testifies of himself that's what Jesus said in John 16 verse 13 howbeit when he the Spirit of Truth has come he will guide you into all truth for he shall not speak of himself the Holy Spirit never speaks of himself and it fascinates me is just an architectural aspect of the Bible is that every time the Holy Spirit is in the or somebody's in the role of acting in the role of the Holy Spirit he's always unnamed in Genesis 24 Abraham's servant is unnamed now you could by doing some homework you can find out his name as Eliezer what does Eliezer mean comforter comforter how interesting that and that's profoundly significant when you study Genesis 22 and Genesis 24 in terms of the aqui da and the getting of a bride of Isaac and all that that Abram is the type of the father and Isaac isn't the type of the son and Eliezer is a type of the Holy Spirit we have the Trinity model there in some very interesting ways well here again with all that background that you've had from your Genesis commentary hopefully here we have an unnamed servant that should set up a a an alert in our minds here so and the servant that was set over the Reapers and said it is the mole by Tish damsel there it is that nobody she she's a gentle that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab so he was the guy he's the guy in charge here and now ours the Hebrew word he's the foreman of the group and he was responsible to supervise the workers supply the provisions and pay them at the end of the day that was his job and he's recounting to his boss though as he says and she said I pray you let me glean and gather after the Reapers among the sheaves so she came and have continued even from the morning until now that she tarried a little in the house there was little sheds and stuff a place where they could take a break during the heat of the day and she apparently tarried there like the others would have so she apparently had asked the foreman permission and he granted it but he's getting that confirmed because the big boss is just get the picture okay he not only endorses it he goes even further we'll see you in a minute then said Boaz unto Ruth here's thou not my daughter go not to glean in another field neither go from hence but abide here fast by my maidens this is a privilege not normally extended she he has his employees his maidens working there supporting the Reapers he's telling her not only can you glean but you stay here with our gain that's his form of protection for a form of hospitality that's unusual to the situation and he go not glean another field what do you suppose is going on here well I take it that the Moabite --is-- gals were pretty good-looking gals I get that from what Balaam counted Ballack did you know the Moabite is apparently pretty good-looking jealous but anyway she apparently has quite a good reputation he has heard about Ruth having associated with Bethlehem was abuzz about all that it may be called in the last chapter so he knows about her he's heard about her and she has caught his eye no nothing inappropriate here he's just got a favoritism apparently here he goes on this invitation is to continue gleaning in his fields permanently not just today this is the barley harvest in a couple of months that wheat harvest she is to endure she's got a open invitation to glean as the law provides in Boaz fields and she was free to continue them through the barley harvest which included March and April and all the way through the wheat harvest which would be May and June so she's gained here a franchise if you will and he continues to let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap and go thou after them have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee and when thou are first going to the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn really she's getting some privileges here she's one she's supposed to stay in this field she is free to follow immediately after the servant girls which were pagans would be the most numerous that's the favorite position and his intervention and provision he's put out the fix let's put the word out no monkey business she enjoys his protection she understood this what does she do she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said unto Him why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou should us take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger a foreigner a Moabite is she's not even Jewish there's a Hebrew play on words here by the way it's sort of like this you have noticed the unnoticed so you acknowledge me even though I'm a knowledged one or strangers II you have noticed the unnoticed and what's the basis of all of this grace what's our basis with our kinsman redeemer same thing grace and bow has answered and said unto her it hath fully been showed me all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy Nativity and art come unto a people which thou knowest not heretofore he's impressed he's done his homework her reputation has preceded her here so he contains the Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given the of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust who pretty neat she's got a tremendous you know shelter umbrella over her if you will then she said let me find favor in thy sight my lord for that thou has comforted me and for that thou has spoken friendly unto thine handmaid though I be not like unto one of thy hand mates bow a senator at mealtime come thou hither and eat of the bread and dip die morsel in the vinegar and she sat beside the Reapers and he reached her parched corn and she did eat and was suffice and left he serves her lunch and by the way he served her lunch the word vinegar there is crow myths which is a drink made from sour grapes so it's a like a sour wine in a sense okay it's a it's a form of a refreshment bear mine they had no refrigeration okay and those grapes would be from last August got the picture okay and when it says he reached her parched corn that savate is the word actually means he reached with his own hands so here the landowner is treating her to lunch is what's going on here ochita eat was suffice tanned left in fact no she's suffice she even brought some extra that she had back to Naomi of the lunch we'll see in a minute when she was risen up to glean Boaz commanded his young men saying let her even among the sheaves and reproach or not knowledge if she inadvertently wanders where she shouldn't don't sweat it okay but Hebrew here is very emphatic even between the sheaves she may glean it was unusual for a Gleaner to be allowed to pick up grain this close to the harvesters they're normally permitted to glean only after harvested can you get the idea the concept was the harvest you know the the people earning their rent and groceries go first what's left over was for the welfare here he's saying don't sweat it if she gets where she shouldn't be that as it is that's no problem but he goes further this I love this verse and let fall also some of the handfuls on purpose for her and leave them that she may glean them and rebuke her or not I love this verse because very early in my ministry I found people sending me notes they felt that our Bible studies always leave handfuls on purpose by that expression is a compliment to some of our that's why I always remember this as one of the little twists that some of our subscribers used to allude to here handfuls on purpose 17:17 which means handfuls of ears themselves and it's only used here in the Hebrew Bible so in place that word shows up and they're to pull out handfuls of stalks here this is if you visualize someone growing handful before this the side cuts it off that's what we're talking about here it's the it's what's in the left hand when you're cutting it down with the right hand that's what a handfuls on purpose really represents so what this says in our vernacular would be the fix was in she's being taken care of so if she gleaned in the field until even and beat out that which she had gleaned and it was about an ephah of barley now that's an ephah okay he was about nine gallons give you a rough feeling for this ten f offs make 90 gallons of corn ezekiel 45 and if Josephus is computation of a bath of or Aoife is as is right and that's what we're about right there a dry measure of about one bushel comes close to this it corresponds to a bath and liquid measure in the standard for measuring grain and said it was a volley standard volumetric measure in the agricultural world and Aoife if you look at it as like about your like a bushel or about nine gallons were close and she took it up and she went into the city and her mother-in-law saw what she'd gleaned and she brought forth and gave to her that she she had reserved after she was suffice then when she has some leftover from lunch that she also gives her mother-in-law her mother-in-law her suspicions are out what's going on here this gals brought back a bunch she hath reserved after so she brings back about 30 pounds of barley for the two of them that's that's almost enough for a week for the two of them in one day so she's done well and Naomi obviously is a good Jewish mother understands that then she also had gave her some of her leftover provisions from lunch and remind law said in her where is that gleaned today and where Rada Stough blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee and she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought and said the man's name with whom i wrought today is Boaz Bing Ruth may not understand what's going on about a good Jewish mother picks up on this okay Naomi said under daughter-in-law blessed be he of the Lord who have not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead he only said on her the man is near of kin to unto us one of our next kinsman he's not actually the next that's the plot problem we're going to get into at the end of chapter three but this is suddenly the fog lifts now we're beginning this you know since where this is going he's one of our next kinsman the word is go L and now Boaz is connected with the concept of a kinsman redeemer this is where the plan tree the plot thickens in terms of the romance and also the fog lifts in terms of its relevance to you and me today and ruth the moabite us said he said unto me also thou shall keep fast by my young men until they have ended all my harvest Wow Naomi's not stupid she's figured out what's going on here this guy she has caught his eye we only sent him to Ruth's her daughter-in-law it is good my daughter that thou go out with his maidens that they meet they not in any other field you know you got the picture you got to see a good thing here stick with it so she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest a couple more months after that there's two different harvests we're dealing with here and dwelt with her mother-in-law she stays living there there's no changes in that regard after the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest the last chapter closed announcing the beginning of the barley harvest this chapter closes with the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat so we're gonna get a we got a few months gonna transpire here the barley harvest is the time of Passover the first of the mosaic feasts of their religious year the wheat harvest is about 50 days after the barley harvest it's Shevat or Pentecost and and this is it is that cheveux that this book is required reading in the Jewish community that's their association if you ask them why do they read it then they'll say well because it's all tied to these harvests that's only part of the reason now we've talked about the law of gleaning in this chapter there are two other laws that are going to become very important and so I thought we could since we have a little time here we can just review these this is your homework for next time is to read Leviticus 25 verses 47 to 55 see Israel begone belongs to God when Joshua entered the land it was granted to the twelve tribes that land was to stay with the tribe okay when you sold land you didn't but you didn't sell it in fee simple as we think of it in our culture it was actually what we would consider a lease you could sell the use of that land for whatever period of time transpired from then to the land year of Jubilee every 50 years all land returned to its original owners what you dealt with what in our in our vocabulary would be leases not not sales in the in the fee simple sense and so when you sell your land it as I say it that you sold just the rights to use it for a while and in the year of Jubilee every 50 years the land would return as originals now it happens they never really observed that that's all another problem we don't have to get into here and when you sold your land the title deed would include rules for its Redemption in other words let's assume you were destitute you sold your land the use of your land to somebody else that contract would on the on the outside of the scroll would be the rules by which it could be redeemed by a relative if a few years went by and you had a benefactor in the family that was willing to redeem that land for you they could perform and pay the guy for the unused years and get it back that's the concept of redemption okay and so the rules for redemption to be inscribed on the outside of that scroll that's why when you see a scroll written within and on the backside that implies it's a title deed okay and so the law required that if your next of kin would show up there was some procedure by which you could purchase back that was called redeeming the land and the land is to be redeemed back to its run it was originally signed but give you an example of this a strange example in German Jeremiah 25 Jeremiah the Prophet knew that the Babylonian captivity was about to begin and it would be seventy years he was a property he wrote that down God instructs him to go buy some land before going into captivity well that's pretty stupid he's going to go in the captivity for more than the rest of his lifetime in other words he would use it all already elderly and the track captain would be seventy years but he's instructed to go and buy this land and it makes no sense it's not explained all you need to know is that title deed then would be buried in a jar and his relatives would come back and unpack that jar pull that out and perform whatever it said and regain that land it's the part that it's not written you need to understand to understand why he's doing that it was a testimony to Jeremiah and those around him that they would return he wouldn't but his family would that's what it say it was a promise it was like a a a favorable prophecy if you will so after captivity Jeremiah's descendants will come back and claim the land the title deed would be a scroll on the back of which would detail the procedure the whole concept becomes important need to understand all that when you get to Revelation chapter 5 because our Lord Stan comes forth who was able to open the book and to loose the seals thereof and I went much because no found no man was found had to be a kinsman no man was found worthy to open the book and loose the seals thereof and one of the elder said we'd not behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath prevailed to open the book and loose the seals thereof and I turned and I saw the lamb as it had been slain I thought was the lie of the tribe of Judah no it's the same thing see live a tribe Judah reigning king the lamb had been slayed that's the lamb that was nailed to a cross the thawing ground one will come and open that book and take possession of that which he was paid for he's redeeming the land that will occur in Revelation the whole picture of Revelation 5 will become clear if you understand this process there's another law you need to understand to understand what transpires here it also essential understand much of what goes out on the Old Testament that's the lever right marriage Deuteronomy 25 the would live there by the way is foreign to us in Latin it means a husband's brother there's not Levitical it's levere it's a different word it levere liberate marriage is when is is what takes place when a situation where there's a widow whose husband has died obviously and has no children her husband passed away with no children she could go to the next of kin and put a claim on him to take her to wife to raise up children for the family that was to preserve inherit within the tribe he didn't have to do it it was an opportunity that he would have if he did they would call the lever right marriage that's where the widow is able to marry her dead husband's brother okay and he had to meet three conditions to do that first he had to be a near kinsman couldn't be just anybody he had me the next of kin secondly he had to be able to perform if he's broke or already married or some other problem he didn't have to he had to be able to and finally had to be willing it wasn't required he had a choice to make because it might have impact on his own situation but if she made that request he had the opportunity and that's going to take place here in Chapter four some things happened first if he chose not to avail himself this opportunity he would memorialize that by taking off his shoe and giving her in the if if he doesn't choose to marry her he gives her his shoe that was a sign of shame she would the procedure she would spit in his eye take a shoe and beyond that was that was that was a done he would go barefoot for the rest of the day that was because he didn't step up to that opportunity as years go by they skipped the spinning part but still he would give her a shoe and we're gonna see that take place in chapter 4 because that shoe to the guy passing was an object of shame but to the next-of-kin it was a marriage license so we'll see about that next time all right now you a couple times over so laws of nature the law of gleaning you need to understand for chapter two we've just been through that the lever right marriage for chapter three and the law of redemption for chapter four one of the blessings of this book is that after going through it you'll have a grasp of these peculiar procedures upon which much of the Old Testament depends the claims of Christ hang up on these laws there is a very peculiar thing with the blood curse on jeconiah that we will deal with next time that the claims of Christ hang on and again the lever right marriage so for your next session I want you to review the law of redemption that we just read meant 11 Leviticus 25 47 255 the law of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25 it's Leviticus 25 for the one Deuteronomy 25 for the other and then study very carefully Ruth chapter 3 and as you do be prepared there's an event there's an event in chapter 3 that is widely misunderstood to the uninformed there's an event that looks like she's proposing something illicit not at all it sounds like she's you know making it indecent proposal to Boaz no it's far worse than that you'll see when you get into it but don't be misunderstood there's a widely misunderstood thing I think it's at verse 9 you have to say you'll see when you get there and we'll study about next time let's stand for a closing word of Prayer

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Length: 56min 35sec (3395 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 18 2020