HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO?
Ruth 4:1-12
INTRO: Film clip showing something going the great lengths to get someone’s blessing: Meet the Parents.
I’m always surprised at the lengths people sometimes go to in order to get my blessing on something. I guess they think that, since I’m the pastor, if they get my approval, that will satisfy God…
My first counseling appointment with an adult was a man who wanted me to bless his affair subsequent abandoning of his wife.
One former church member constantly sought my blessing on his shady business pursuits.
How far would you go to get God’s approval on your pursuits?
What lengths would you go to in order to secure God’s blessing on what you do?
Do you want God to bless your desires?
How can we be sure of God’s blessing in what we pursue?
In Ruth chapter 4 we approach the stunning conclusion to our story, and find out who gets to marry who.
How far are you willing to go for God’s blessing on your pursuits?
As we pick up our story in the book of Ruth, we remember that Ruth has, in one of the funniest and most surprising scenes in the Bible, proposed marriage to the much older Boaz. Thrilled, Boaz accepts, but must first deal with a closer kinsman who has right of first refusal. So their excitement is tempered by the tension of this little wrinkle – another man who has the ‘right’ to marry Ruth.
Let’s see what happens today, as Boaz, the groom-to-be, heads into town early on the morning following Ruth’s proposal.
Let’s read Ruth 4:1-4a.
1Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. When the kinsman-redeemer he had mentioned came along, Boaz said, “Come over here, my friend, and sit down.” So he went over and sat down.
2Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so. 3Then he said to the kinsman-redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line.”
A. Boaz pursues his desires with integrity
First, Boaz approaches the kinsman-redeemer.
He’s unnamed – this translate, roughly to “Mr. so-and-so”
Like Jack Webb in “Dragnet”, the names are changed to protect the innocent…
This Mr. So-and-So. has right/obligation to redeem land sold or about to be sold out of the family, and other family debts.
Boaz was forthright and didn’t avoid the proper channels.
He went to the city gate – the large, open space at the gate; a significant place of meeting and business.
He convened an official, legal proceeding. Elders had lots of authority, and served a judicial function. This was on the record!
Imagine Ruth’s (& Naomi’s) anxiety at this point.
He presents the situation to the kinsman-redeemer. Its very important - keeping land in the family was a big deal, because God had given the land to them.
Illus: In my father’s family of Nebraska farmers, keeping the land in the family was a significant issue. When my father married my mother (I was 5), his family was concerned that the family farm would pass to non-blood relatives. My father put a stop to that thinking, but it was a big deal.
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Boaz, in fact, charges Mr. So-and-So with his responsibility! Boaz would have let him redeem if he wanted to!
Ruth. 3:12-13.
There’s a word for what Boaz is doing. No, it’s not ‘stupid,’ it’s integrity. The two are often confused in our culture…
Integrity is doing the right thing, in the right way, even when no one is looking.
Boaz wanted to marry Ruth. Remember what he said the night she proposed? Ruth 3:10 But he was willing to risk their relationship in order to do the right thing. That’s integrity!
Boaz shows his integrity by not cutting corners. He shows his integrity by doing the right thing in the right way.
Most us us, as we read this, are wanting to yell, “What are you doing? Don’t do it! You’ll lose her!” He just risked their whole relationship to follow some silly-sounding rule.
B. God wants us to puruse our desires with integrity
God wants us to show integrity as well.
In our culture, we tend to let the end justify the means. If something seems right, it doesn’t matter much if you have to cut corners to get there – that’s how we think.
Here we are tempted to say, they love each other. They are obviously right for one another. It would be a shame for it not to work out. So who cares about sidestepping a rule or two?
But that’s not integrity. And that’s now how God wants us to pursue our desires and goals. He wants us to show integrity because:
Integrity shows that we trust God. Boaz was willing to put this whole matter in God’s hands. More specifically, he was willing to trust that God’s laws, his way of doing things, was best, even if it seemed risky at the time. When we cut corners, or take matters into our own hands, it shows that we do not trust God.
Integrity keeps us from hypocrisy. One of the definitions in the dictionary for integrity is “wholeness, undivided.” A building with structural integrity has no cracks, no flaws. Having integrity means living and acting the way you believe. When you act with integrity, you demonstrate that your convicitions, your values, are more than just words. When you act in a manner opposite of your stated values, you are a hypocrite.
Illus.: Kid’s coaches who say school comes first but schedule games on graduation. Coaches who say say they value learning and everyone playing, but pressure shows them to care only about winning.
Doing the right thing in the wrong way doesn’t cut it!
Integrity is the path to God’s blessing.
1. INTEGRITY IN OUR PURSUITS BRINGS GOD’S BLESSING
If you really want God to bless your pursuits, to be pleased with what you are doing, make sure you pursue your desires with integrity.
Where are you being tempted to cut corners, to justify the means by the end? Which of your pursuits needs an infusion of integrity?
Transition: So, Boaz is on his way to God’s blessing because he is pursuing his relationship with Ruth with integrity. Let’s see how it turns out as I read Ruth 4b.
“I will redeem it,” he said.
You might be thinking, “Whoa, wait a minute. What’s going on here? I thought integrity was the path to God’s blessing. This doesn’t sound like a blessing to me.”
And so here it is: the test of integrity. It’s easy to have integrity when things go your way.
Even if the story ended right here, I would say it is a success. But it doesn’t end here. Let’s see how Boaz responds to Mr. So-and-So as I read Ruth 4:5.
A. The kinsman shows a lack of commitment
If Boaz lived today, he’d be an excellent fisherman. He knew how to get his prey to take the bait! Boaz has already put out the bait - Naomi’s land was for sale. Illus: Like a hungry trout, he bites hard - emphatic “I” will redeem it! It looks like a sweet deal - good land at a bargain price, with good P.R. to boot.
This is a dramatic moment in the story!
Once the fish takes the bait, you have to set the hook.
Boaz’s “hook” is that with the land comes Ruth.
The levirate law (Cf. Dt. 25:5-6) obligated him to marry his relative’s childless widow, to have sons to keep the family name alive.
Let’s see how Mr. So-and-So responds as I read Ruth 4:6-8
Not all fish get reeled in. This “fish” jumps the line (which was Boaz’s intention). He changes his mind - “I cannot redeem it” - he feared for his own estate. The cost of land, plus the “cost” of Ruth was more than he was willing to pay, especially since the land would belong to Ruth’s son - their first son would be considered her dead husbands son, and heir. He was more concerned with his financial state than with being kind. Note that the one so concerned with preserving his name is nameless to us...
The writer explains the shoe-passing custom, signifying the transfer not of the land itself, but of the right to redeem it. When he hands over his shoe, he’s “off the hook.”
Illus: When I played football in high school, I had two things going for me. I may have been small, but I was weak. [show high school photo] But other than that, I was fine. I knew my career was headed for a dead end on the day we practiced the trap play. Despite my size, I played offensive line, primarily because on the first day of practice the coach said, “Who wants to play offensive line?,” and nobody raised their hand. Sensing an opportunity, I raised mine. Anyway, the trap play is so named because it is an attempt to trap a defensive lineman. An offensive lineman lets a defensive lineman fly past him untouched. Just when the surprised defensive man thinks he is going to tackle the running back in the backfield for a huge loss, BAM! He gets blindsided by another offensive lineman pulling from the other side. This sounded good in theory. So the ball is snapped, and it works to perfection. The defensive man is across the line and I’m in perfect position to blindside him. Unfortunately, the defensive lineman in this instance was Elliot Novak. Now, Elliot Novak was approximately the size of a house. And when I smacked into him at full speed, one of us got splattered – me! I’m not sure he even noticed… I was the one who got trapped!
The kinsman-redeemer, Mr. So-and-So, almost got himself trapped into an obligation he was unwilling to fulfill...His unwillingness and selfishness is an example of how not to face our responsibilities.
His initial “I’ll do it” is replaced by “no, you do it.”
He showed a definite lack of commitment.
B. Boaz shows a lot of commitment
Notice Boaz’s response as we read Ruth 4:9-10.
In contrast to the kinsman, Boaz’ generosity and kindness stand out.
He takes up this obligation willingly. Cf. 3:12-13; 4:4
“Today you are witnesses” in vv. 9a & 10b bracket his obligation:
Buying the land
Marrying the girl
The occasion has a solemn tone to it.
The witnesses make it public - no going back now!
The witnesses make it legal – there were no written records in those times.
In contrast to the kinsman, Boaz knew exactly what he was getting himself into, and was more than willing to do it! This is a model of how to face our responsibilities.
2. COMMITMENT IN OUR PURSUITS BRINGS GOD’S BLESSING
The heart of this passage is Mr. So-and-So’s unwillingness to make a commitment contrasted with Boaz’a willingness to make a commitment, even though it had great cost. And, incidentally, his integrity is rewarded!
If you want God to bless your pursuits, be prepared to make and keep commitments. Be prepared to commit to your pursuit.
Transition: Let’s see how God’s blessing is poured out on Boaz for his integrity and commitment as I read Ruth 4:11-12.
This scene opened with the gathering of witnesses by Boaz. Now these witnesses affirm the transaction. Further, they pronounce a blessing on Boaz, Ruth, and their family:
That Ruth would be as fruitful and blessed as Rachel & Leah - mother’s of 12 tribal heads of Israel.
That Boaz would be well-known, highly regarded, and successful.
That their descendants would be as significant as Perez’. Perez was Boaz’ ancestor (Cf. 4:18-21), also a descendant from a levirate marriage, and the most significant clan of Judah’s family.
When we face our responsibilities with integrity and commitment, we can expect God’s blessings!
