Fort Lee, which is now Charleston, West Virginia was under
attack in 1791. Colonel George Clendenin assembled his men
to ask for a volunteer to ride to Lewisberg over 100 miles
away to get powder. They were almost out, and their survival
depended upon a renewed supply. No one volunteered, for it
was a suicide mission. Then a high pitched voice cried out, "I
will go!" It was the voice of Anne Bailey. She was no
ordinary lady. The Indians called her mad Anne because she
took so many risks. She fought the British and the Indians,
and would roam the countryside alone to learn the ways of
the Indians. She got so good at being a scout that she was
often able to outwit the Indians. This is she did it again. She
got through and brought back the powder, and Fort Lee was
saved.
If you go to Charleston, you will find a museum and a
main thoroughfare named after this brave woman who took
risks that no man was willing to take. Women have been risk
takers all through history, and there are volumes filled with
their exploits. Quite often their risks are related to their
romance. Isabella of Castille defied her half brother King
Henry IV of Spain. He wanted to marry her off to an old
reprobate for his advantage. She threatened to kill herself
before she would do it. She was only 18, but she out witted
the king. She smuggled 17 year old Ferdinand into Castille
disguised as a mule driver. They were married Dec. 19, 1469.
Henry did all he could to make them miserable. He cut off all
funds so they had to live in poverty. But their romance so
captured the minds of the people that when Henry died the
nobles united in declaring Isabella the Queen.She went from
poverty to riding a white steed to receive her crown. The risk
she took for romance changed the course of history.
Pocahontas took the risk of being the first Indian to marry
a white man. Her husband John Rolfe took her back to
England. Their wedding brought peace to the settlers and
Indians in America, and she became the belle of London, as
people were fascinated with her uniqueness and charm. She
contracted pneumonia, and she died, but her risk for romance
gave her a place in history. Women have been daring, brave,
and courageous in all the battles and conflicts of history. It
was a woman by the name of Emily Bronte who wrote the
famous lines-
No coward soul is mine;
No trembler in the world's storm troubled sphere.
I see heaven's glories shine,
And faith shines equal, arming me from fear.
Females who have had an impact on history usually have
to take some sort of risk, and such is the case with Ruth. She
also took a risk for romance. If you look at the radical
differences between Ruth and Boaz, you will be better able to
see the risks involved.
1. Boaz is a Jew, and Ruth is a Gentile. This is a radical form
of intermarriage.
2. Boaz is an Israelite, and Ruth is a Moabitess. These two
nations were bitter enemies.
3. Boaz is middle aged, and Ruth is quite young.4. Boaz is rich, and Ruth is poor.
5. Boaz has deep roots, and Ruth is a stranger and an
outsider.
The potential for problems is great. Any marriage
counselor today would look at these elements and rate this
relationship as high risk. What we need to see, however, is
that the encourager of this risky romance is a risk taker.
Naomi risked leaving Bethlehem to go to Moab with her
husband, and it was a costly gamble. She took the chance of
letting her two sons marry Moabite girls. That too was a high
risk, but it did pay off as Ruth became a committed believer
in the God of Israel. She took the risk of going back to her
hometown in emptiness and defeat. She faced the risk of
ridicule and rejection. Naomi is one of the most courageous
women of the Bible. Her courage and risk taking is what
motivated Ruth to be a risk taker. The lives of these two
women teach us some valuable truths about risk. First let's
look at-
I. THE REALITY OF RISK.
It is a part of every life, and there is no escape from risk. If
you think you can just do nothing, and, thereby, escape it,
that can be the greatest risk of all. This epitaph illustrates the
point-
Here lies the body of Lester Lee Underground.
He couldn't decide which side of the tree To ski around.
Any decision can be risky, but no decision can be the highest
risk of all.
Naomi could see the risks of indecision. The harvest was
over, and Ruth would no longer be going to the field daily to
glean. She would no longer be taking her break with Boaz.
Boaz could get so involved in his work that the romance
between him and Ruth could fade. There was always the risk
of someone else coming into the picture, and there was the
risk of another relative deciding he would take over, and Ruth
then would miss the chance to be with the one she really cared
about.
There is always the risk of procrastination, which is not
only the thief of time, but of all potential values from the
trivial to the treasured. Richard Armour has put into poetry
what we have all experienced in some way.
One day a button's slightly loose,
The next its somewhat more so.
It loosens just a little bit
Each time I move my torso.
It hangs now by a single thread;
Its perilous, let's face it.
This button is a special kind;
I doubt I could replace it.
I ought to pull it off, I guess.
My wife should sew it on.
I wear it slightly longer, though,
That is, until its gone.
Waiting until it is too late is not wise, and so we are often
forced to take risks to make things happen, and that is where
Naomi is coming from. This was the day of the Judges, and
life was a risk because you never knew when someone could
come and invade the land and enslave you. Even the
everyday life of ordinary people was surrounded by risks.
The reality of risk is especially evident in relationships. Love
is always a high risk, for you invest a lot of yourself in a
relationship of love, and that investment can pay off with
great dividends, but it can also cost you a broken heart. It is
just part of the reality of risk in life.
Naomi and Ruth both risked loving and getting married,
and both lost their mates, and had to go through the agony of
grief. Naomi had children, and saw both of her boys die fairly
young. It is risky to become parents, for it is costly, and
children, like everything else you love, can be lost. Every time
you choose to love, or to develop any relationship, you are
taking a risk. Chuck Swindoll said he has a woman in his
church who was married for 48 years. She was planning their
golden wedding anniversary already. She came home one day
and found a note telling her that her husband had gone off
with another woman. This may be rare at that age, but it is
the risk of the real world we live in.
There is much we can do to minimize the risks of shattered
relationships, but the fact remains that you always stick your
neck out to some degree when you open your heart to anyone.
That is the vulnerability of love. Mental health and stability
can only be achieved by recognizing the risks of reality, and
being able to pay the cost. In Journey Out Of Nowhere,
Nancy Covert Smith describes how she, as a Christian and
good church member, ended up in a mental hospital. While
there she came to realize that the doors are locked, not
primarily to keep the patients in, but to keep the world out.
She says that 50 to 60 percent of the healing process, which
takes place, was due to the fact that the world was locked out.
The mentally ill need protection from the reality of a risky
world. They need to feel safe and free from risks.
Only when they are ready to face up to the reality of risk
again are they ready for the real world. Naomi and Ruth are
amazing examples of strong healthy women, for with all of
their sorrow, grief, and loss, they have not crawled into a cave
to hibernate, and let the world pass them by. They are in
there planning how to go out onto another limb, and risk
getting hurt again. Healthy people recognize that the only
way you can be happy in the kind of world we live in is to
keep on risking, and sticking your neck out for the sake of
love. The most realistic thing we can do in life is to face the
fact that risk is a part of reality, and so we must go on loving
and developing relationships. Ruth is no glutton for
punishment, but she does relish the thought of being loved
again, and so she is willing to face the reality of risk. Next
let's look at-
II. THE RELATIVITY OF RISK.
Not even all reasonable risks are equal. Ruth took a risk
going out to be a gleaner in the fields. She could have been
rebuked, and run off as a stranger, or told to go elsewhere,
and this would be demeaning. But the risk she took in boldly
coming to Boaz requesting the role of the wife in his life was a
radical risk. She could have been rejected, and had her heart
broken. Boaz liked her, and he respected her, but he had not
approached her with an offer of marriage. Her assertive
behavior could have the effect of turning him off, and the
whole thing could backfire, and leave her crushed.
Ruth had a high capacity for risk. She risked her whole
future to stick with Naomi. She risked her all to go into the
unknown rather than take the low risk of going back to
Moab. Now we see her ready to put all of her eggs in one
basket again, and go out on a limb to win the man she loved.
I have seen Christian women lose the man they love because
they were not willing to take the risk of being bold like Ruth,
and letting him know how she felt.
What we need to see is that risk is relative to the value that
is to be gained. The higher the value the greater the risk we
should be willing to take to gain that value. Love and
marriage, and family were the highest values there were to
Naomi and Ruth. This means the risk was one that was
reasonable to them. A risk is an exposure to loss or injury.
Nobody wants to suffer loss or injury, but if there is a
reasonable chance the risk will lead to gain, then it can be
wise to take that risk.
This means that the reasonableness of risk is relative to the
values of the individual taking the risk. Like the man who
was arrested for speeding. He was asked by the judge if he
had an excuse. "Yes your honor," he said. "My wife's
church was having a rummage sale, and I was hurrying home
to save my other pair of pants." That was a reasonable risk
for him, and if we only had one other pair of pants, we might
consider it reasonable for us as well. Ruth considered her risk
very reasonable for her. She had faith in Naomi's mature
wisdom, and her insight into human nature, and her grasp of
the situation.
This was not a haphazard hair-brained scheme of a couple
of emotional women. Emotions were, no doubt, at a high
pitch, but the whole thing was well thought out. The close she
was to wear for this encounter, the perfume, the timing of it,
every detail was rehearsed to minimize the risk of blowing it,
and to maximize the chance for success. When we look at this
account with our Western eyes we see the risk as being
somewhat risqué, and hazardous from the point of view of
being inappropriate. To slip under the covers of a man asleep
in the middle of the night all alone is not the kind of risk any
mother, or mother-in-law, would encourage a girl to do in our
culture.
Preachers and Bible commentators spend a lot of time
trying to justify this whole female scheme. All we need to
recognize is that you cannot justify what is a custom in one
culture by trying to make it acceptable in another culture
where it is not the practice. There is no point in trying to
make this an acceptable way for a young woman to approach
a man in our day. In the first place, it is not a custom in our
culture for farmers to sleep out by their harvest, nor is it a
part of our culture that a relative has any obligation to marry
a widow to produce seed in order to keep the name of his
deceased relative alive.
There is no comparing of apples with oranges, and so all
we need to do is recognize that what was happening was
perfectly consistent with the godly people involved. Naomi
would do nothing that would risk Ruth's reputation, or bring
disgrace on the family name. Boaz was shocked to be
awakened in the night, and to find a woman at his feet. This
was not a routine occurrence, but he was pleased with the
gesture, and the whole method of their approach.
It was risky, for there was affection between them, and this
approach could have led to premature intimacy. That, of
course, is the risk in developing any relationship. Naomi had
confidence, however, that Boaz would treat Ruth with
respect, because he did love her. His very love for her was the
reason he would not lose the chance to be a gentleman, and be
worthy of her love. He was deeply impressed by the need to
get the legal questions settled so as to be free to have Ruth as
his own. He would not violate the laws of the land. He had to
respect the right of his near relative to redeem Ruth if that
was his will. Ruth did not have the freedom to be his until he
worked out an arrangement with the nearest relative. Knowing
Boaz as a gentleman, and a man in love, and a
man who would not break the law and injure his relatives,
make this far less risky than it appears to us. Naomi knew
what she was doing, and Ruth took the risk of faith in her
guidance. It was a reasonable risk. Ruth was not going after
a raise or better working conditions. She was going for a
partnership in the whole estate by marriage.
When she said to Boaz as he woke up, "Spread the corner
of your garment over me," she was using familiar language of
that day. It was, in fact, the same that God used to take Israel
as his wife. In Ezek. 16:8 we read God saying, "I spread the
corner of my garment over you.....and you become mine."
At a Bedouin wedding, even today, the groom will say, "From
now on nobody but me will cover you." To cover one with
your garment is to possess that person intimately. It is the
equivalent of a marriage proposal to ask one to cover you
with their garment. Ruth was asking Boaz, "Will you marry
me?" This was bold action based on confidence that he loved
her.
It was a relatively safe risk, for she had plenty of reason to
believe that Boaz loved her, and would be happy to have her
for a wife. There were the complications with the nearer
relative, however, and because he had the first chance to
claim her, there was some risk involved. Ruth is putting all
her cards on the table so Boaz can see and know where she is
coming from. This gives him the motivation to fight for her
with the assurance it is what she wants. The greater risk
would have been to let him operate in the dark not knowing
her true feelings. You are almost always on the right path
when you risk letting people know that you like them or love
them. Next let's look at-
III. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF RISK.
Since risk is inevitable, and the greatest risk may be in
trying to avoid all risk, we have a responsibility to be risk
takers. That is, we are obligated to have values and goals
worth taking risks for, just as did Ruth and Naomi. Had
they not been risk takers their story would not exist, and
God's plan would not have been what it was. God's plan, and
their place in that plan depended on their being risk takers.
They were risk takers for what was right, wise, and
reasonable, and they were richly rewarded for their risks.
Their very success, however, can lead us to a very wrong
conclusion about risks. We can jump to the false conclusion
that risks that are right will always pay off. If we mean by
this, we will always have a happy ending like Ruth if we take
risks, we can be very disappointed. Risks are just that, they
are risky. If risks never led to loss, they would not be risks.
Many times we can risk doing what is right and lose by it. In
the play Gloria II by the Refreshment Committee we see her
take a risk and refuse to compromise her loyalty to Christ,
and it all turned out to her advantage, and she had a happy
ending.
The fact is, however, that there is a good chance that your
loyalty may cost you a heavy price. It is a risk many have
taken around the world that has led to persecution. The more
you apply the truth of God's Word to everyday life, the more
you risk the offence of the world. Jesus did not avoid
rejection and hostility by His uncompromising stand against
the legalism of the Pharisees. It cost Him his life. Many have
risked their life to obey Jesus.
We are responsible to take risks for God's Will in life, and
not just when it is going to pay off. We are not called to a risk
free life, but to a risk full life. We are called to love, and love
is loaded with risk. If it doesn't work, you are facing the risk
of rejection, and this can hurt. If it does work, you face the
risk of disappointment and loss of that love, and that hurts
too. There is no escape of being hurt in this life. If you don't
care, you suffer the hurt of not being loved. If you do love,
you suffer the hurt of loving, and the hurt of loss of love.
You will hurt one way or the other, but the Christian is called
to take up the cross, and this means to take on the
responsibility of risking the hurts of love.
Ruth and Naomi aided each other in being responsible for
love. They took the risks necessary to see each other have
fulfilled lives. The story has a happy ending because they
took this responsibility of risks on themselves. In every story
with a happy ending somebody has to take risks. God honors
the risk taker. Look at Peter. He was the only disciple that
denied Christ outright. He was the disciple who sank into the
water, and needed to be rescued by Jesus. He was the only
disciple who had to be rebuked by Jesus, and told to put his
sword. Peter made more mistakes, and suffered more rebukes
than any other disciple. Why in the world would Jesus make
him the leader?
The answer is simple. Peter was the only one who would
risk his neck to follow Jesus into the place of His captivity,
and then have to face the risk of denial. Peter was the only
one who would take the risk of leaping out of the boat to come
to Jesus on the water. Peter was the only one who would take
the risk of drawing his sword to fight for the protection of
Jesus. Peter was a risk taker, and though it is true that they
reveal the reality of Murphy's law, his mistakes, because he
was willing to take risks, make him the kind of person Jesus
needed, and so it was with Ruth. She pushed open the door
into the life of Boaz, and by her assertive risk taking pushed
herself into the blood line of the Messiah. Ruth is only
famous, and was only used of God, because she was a risk
taker.
