The Book of Ruth 3 - Redemption
Have you ever had one of those days when everything falls apart? Maybe it’s a broken pipe flooding your basement or a broken relationship. We’ve all faced something we can’t fix on our own, leaving us hopeless.
And what do we normally do? We turn to ourselves, our usual lifelines, bank accounts, status, and relationships – all hoping they’ll pull us out of the mess. But everything we run to for redemption has an expiration date. They will run out, fall short, or leave us wanting more.
What if redemption isn’t something we achieve or hold onto but something given to us?
Ruth 3
1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.
2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight, he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.
8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.
12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.
13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he[c] went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her
17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
TRUST & RISK
Have you ever been around someone who’s trying to set someone else up? It’s awkward. Now imagine that’s happening, but the person is your mother-in-law.
Naomi tells Ruth how to communicate with Boaz and that she is willing to become his bride. Why would Noami suggest this? Some of it is culture because what Naomi suggests Ruth do would have been seen as an act of submission, a request for protection.
But there’s a huge risk involved in doing this. There’s always the chance that Boaz says no, dismisses her, or doesn’t allow her to return. This could end the good thing she’s got going on.
So why does she risk it?
Because Naomi knows Boaz. She knows what kind of man he is, so she is comfortable putting Ruth in that vulnerable position.
When you trust someone, it transforms how you conduct yourself.
How do we act around our best friends? How do we act around a stranger or acquaintance? The difference between each is trust. We can be relaxed, unfiltered, and truly ourselves with best friends. We are more careful and measured with someone whose responses we can’t predict.
Trust brings security, removes hesitation, and allows for risk. This is exactly what Naomi is demonstrating in her understanding of Boaz. She doesn’t have all of the details and doesn’t know exactly how things will unfold, but she knows Boaz, and that’s enough for her to take the step.
Trust is the foundation for faith. The deeper our trust, the stronger our faith. Knowing who God is transforms how we pray, the risks we take, and the way we obey.
SCANDAL
You can imagine Boaz’s surprise when he finds a woman lying beside him. It scares him. The whole situation is scandalous, but not for the reason you might think. The people of Israel lived by the law; it was God’s commandments. They were to be a separate people. They were not supposed to look, eat, dress, or live like the surrounding peoples.
The Israelites hated the Moabites from the beginning, but God dropped the mic in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 23
3 No Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
The law is serious about this. And Ruth is a Moabite. This tells us that no matter what the Torah might say, the love of God can be extended even to Moabite widows. The law says one thing, but the love of God says something more.
According to the law, we deserve death because of our sins. According to God’s standards, laws, and commands, we all lose. Not everyone makes the cut, we all deserve death. But the good news is that because of Jesus, we have the gift of eternal life.
So, do we only need the love of God and not the law? No, we need both. Think of what happens when you look in a mirror. You see your reflection. You see your hurts, habits, or hangups, but the mirror can’t be the one to clean you – it can only show you.
The Bible shows what’s true. It reveals the condition of the world, the people around us, and our hearts that we are sinful, dirty, and in need of redemption. However, revealing how dirty we are points us to God, who invites us into relationship and salvation, not in the law but in His love. It’s Jesus and the love of God that sees us in our sins and redeems us because of what Jesus did.
Matthew 5
17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
THE RESPONSE
When Ruth boldly places herself at Boaz’s feet, making her request for redemption clear, his response is kind, urgent, and assuring.
This reflects how God’s redemption is found in Jesus. The trust, scandal, and response are all there. This isn’t just a story about an unlikely midnight proposal, it’s a sneaky, beautifully crafted foreshadowing of God’s redemptive work in Jesus.
Ruth, a foreigner with nothing, lays herself at the feet of her redeemer, completely dependent on his kindness. And what does Boaz do? He responds with immediate grace and then tells Ruth there’s another redeemer ahead of him.
The Book of Ruth gives us the greatest love story ever written. The trust, risk, scandal, and response depict God’s heart for humanity.
So, whose are you? This isn’t just a question for those who don’t follow Jesus, it’s for all of us. If you belong to Christ and are following Jesus, are you living as someone who belongs to Him? Do your priorities, choices, and relationships reflect that you are His?
There’s a risk in following Jesus. It requires trust in God and a knowing that only He can save us. Having someone redeem us requires the humility to know we’re not God. The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus has moved in our direction, but do our lives reflect the redemption we’ve been given?
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And what do we normally do? We turn to ourselves, our usual lifelines, bank accounts, status, and relationships – all hoping they’ll pull us out of the mess. But everything we run to for redemption has an expiration date. They will run out, fall short, or leave us wanting more.
What if redemption isn’t something we achieve or hold onto but something given to us?
Ruth 3
1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for.
2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight, he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.
3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered.
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down.
8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
9 “Who are you?” he asked. “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor.
11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character.
12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I.
13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives, I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he[c] went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her
17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
TRUST & RISK
Have you ever been around someone who’s trying to set someone else up? It’s awkward. Now imagine that’s happening, but the person is your mother-in-law.
Naomi tells Ruth how to communicate with Boaz and that she is willing to become his bride. Why would Noami suggest this? Some of it is culture because what Naomi suggests Ruth do would have been seen as an act of submission, a request for protection.
But there’s a huge risk involved in doing this. There’s always the chance that Boaz says no, dismisses her, or doesn’t allow her to return. This could end the good thing she’s got going on.
So why does she risk it?
Because Naomi knows Boaz. She knows what kind of man he is, so she is comfortable putting Ruth in that vulnerable position.
When you trust someone, it transforms how you conduct yourself.
How do we act around our best friends? How do we act around a stranger or acquaintance? The difference between each is trust. We can be relaxed, unfiltered, and truly ourselves with best friends. We are more careful and measured with someone whose responses we can’t predict.
Trust brings security, removes hesitation, and allows for risk. This is exactly what Naomi is demonstrating in her understanding of Boaz. She doesn’t have all of the details and doesn’t know exactly how things will unfold, but she knows Boaz, and that’s enough for her to take the step.
Trust is the foundation for faith. The deeper our trust, the stronger our faith. Knowing who God is transforms how we pray, the risks we take, and the way we obey.
SCANDAL
You can imagine Boaz’s surprise when he finds a woman lying beside him. It scares him. The whole situation is scandalous, but not for the reason you might think. The people of Israel lived by the law; it was God’s commandments. They were to be a separate people. They were not supposed to look, eat, dress, or live like the surrounding peoples.
The Israelites hated the Moabites from the beginning, but God dropped the mic in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 23
3 No Moabite shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord, even to the tenth generation, none of their descendants shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord.
The law is serious about this. And Ruth is a Moabite. This tells us that no matter what the Torah might say, the love of God can be extended even to Moabite widows. The law says one thing, but the love of God says something more.
According to the law, we deserve death because of our sins. According to God’s standards, laws, and commands, we all lose. Not everyone makes the cut, we all deserve death. But the good news is that because of Jesus, we have the gift of eternal life.
So, do we only need the love of God and not the law? No, we need both. Think of what happens when you look in a mirror. You see your reflection. You see your hurts, habits, or hangups, but the mirror can’t be the one to clean you – it can only show you.
The Bible shows what’s true. It reveals the condition of the world, the people around us, and our hearts that we are sinful, dirty, and in need of redemption. However, revealing how dirty we are points us to God, who invites us into relationship and salvation, not in the law but in His love. It’s Jesus and the love of God that sees us in our sins and redeems us because of what Jesus did.
Matthew 5
17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
THE RESPONSE
When Ruth boldly places herself at Boaz’s feet, making her request for redemption clear, his response is kind, urgent, and assuring.
- Kind – He doesn’t shame her – he affirms and reassures her.
- Urgent – He doesn’t hesitate – he acknowledges that another relative has legal rights to redeem her first but promises immediate action.
- Assuring – He doesn’t send Ruth away empty-handed – he fills her shawl with grain.
This reflects how God’s redemption is found in Jesus. The trust, scandal, and response are all there. This isn’t just a story about an unlikely midnight proposal, it’s a sneaky, beautifully crafted foreshadowing of God’s redemptive work in Jesus.
Ruth, a foreigner with nothing, lays herself at the feet of her redeemer, completely dependent on his kindness. And what does Boaz do? He responds with immediate grace and then tells Ruth there’s another redeemer ahead of him.
The Book of Ruth gives us the greatest love story ever written. The trust, risk, scandal, and response depict God’s heart for humanity.
So, whose are you? This isn’t just a question for those who don’t follow Jesus, it’s for all of us. If you belong to Christ and are following Jesus, are you living as someone who belongs to Him? Do your priorities, choices, and relationships reflect that you are His?
There’s a risk in following Jesus. It requires trust in God and a knowing that only He can save us. Having someone redeem us requires the humility to know we’re not God. The beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus has moved in our direction, but do our lives reflect the redemption we’ve been given?
For more LHC content, subscribe to our newsletter below or follow us on Instagram.
Want to play catch-up, or are you looking for a specific topic? Check out our collection of sermons here.
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