Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Ruth: In the Fields of Bethlehem

Episode Date: October 13, 2022

In this episode, Jonny Ardavanis covers the second chapter of Ruth. In this chapter Jonny highlights the initiative, resourcefulness and work ethic of Ruth. God’s providence is guiding all things, but for His godly children, providence is not the catalyst of passivity, but rather of energetic initiative. Additionally, Jonny highlights the character of Boaz and relates how Boaz is a type of Christ. The romance in the story is beginning to blossom and behind the scenes is a God who is guiding all events to accomplish His perfect plan. Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. In this episode, we continue our series through the book of Ruth and look at the second chapter of this wonderful Old Testament story. If you haven't already listened to the first couple episodes of the series, I would encourage you to go back and do that now as the introduction to this book sets the stage for all that God is going to do. For everyone else, Let's dial in. Now, remember in chapter one, we witnessed the crossroads conversation with Naomi and her two daughter-in-laws.

They had each experienced much heartache and pain. They were not the matriarchs of three thriving families, but the widows of three dead husbands. Naomi urged them to return to their home country, and after vacillating for some time, Orpah, Ruth's sister-in-law, returned to her native land and to her native gods. But Ruth stood and looked Naomi in the eyes and said these memorable words we studied in our last episode. She said, where you go, I will go. And where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. These words serve not merely as a sign of human commitment, but as a testimony of Ruth's devotion to Jehovah. Ruth was no longer a stranger to the truth.

She was a child of God. Ruth and Naomi traveled back to Bethlehem because they had heard that God had broken the famine and that the city of Bethlehem, which literally means house of bread, had bread once again. A harvest had begun. The story that had been conducted in a minor tune changes keys. Because this is a story, I want you to imagine Ruth and Naomi arriving back in Bethlehem after the long journey on foot from Moab. Where did they sleep that first night?

What would life look like for Naomi after all these years? Maybe she was thinking, how am I going to survive without a husband? One of the things to remember is that the power of storytelling wasn't developed by Twain, Dickens, or Spielberg. It was developed by God himself. Back in chapter 1, verse 9, Naomi issues a prayer that will function as one of the backdrops for this entire story.

She says to her daughter-in-law, may the Lord grant that you may find rest, each in the house of her husband. We see that to Orpah, this is only possible in the land of Moab. So she returns, but with Ruth, she forgoes the possibility of a husband, protector, provider, and children when she returns to the land of Bethlehem. But the reader who knows a good story is wondering, will God provide a husband for a woman such as this? What's going to happen next? Now in chapter two, the scene shifts as the spotlight for a moment focuses on, in many ways, the hero of our story. In chapter two, verse one, it says, Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth of the family of

Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. We will come back to this character in a moment, but the narrator gives us only a glimpse of this man in verse one before turning back to Ruth. In verse one, we read two important things about Boaz, that he was a kinsman, number one. He was a relative of Naomi's husband, Elimelech. We will study the role of the kinsman redeemer in chapter three, but for now we need to understand that the kinsman redeemer was a relative who had the responsibility for caring for his dead brother's wife and the children that his brother had had. This was issued for us in Deuteronomy. However, we know that Boaz is not Elimelech's brother, thus he has no true responsibility here, but he iseronomy. However, we know that Boaz is not Elimelech's brother. Thus, he has no true

responsibility here, but he is a relative. Second, we know that he is a man of great wealth. This means that Boaz was a man of means. He wasn't struggling financially or physically. His name literally means strength. Therefore, Boaz is a man that we can consider to be financially and physically strong. We only see Boaz for a moment, but as readers, we are compelled to wonder, how else will this man fit into the story? That's all the details we are given before the camera turns back to Ruth in verse 2. As we picture Ruth waking up that first morning in Bethlehem, we are compelled to remember that the events that are going to unfold in this chapter and the rest of this book take place in the very same fields

where Ruth's great grandson David would be looking after the sheep that were in his care. The same fields in which the angels would appear to announce the arrival of the greater son of David, our Lord Jesus Christ himself. While Ruth wakes up her first morning in Bethlehem, potentially she hears the cry of the rooster and arises from the makeshift bed that she had been sleeping on. And potentially she goes over to her mother-in-law who is still sleeping. And in verse two, she says, Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor. Here is a woman who is drenched in obscurity. She's from a foreign land. She is a widow who is destitute, impoverished, and helpless.

And the narrator reveals her condition in such a way where the author of all things can write his perfect story. In verse three, we read, so she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who is of the family of Elimelech. Verse four then says, and behold, Boaz came in from Bethlehem. Listen to this story. Verse three says, and it just so happened. The ASV translations translates this, and her hap, meaning happenstance. And the NIV translates these words, and it just turned out. This is the narrator writing from a human perspective. But the divine author is saying this, just you watch how I work.

Just you watch how I direct and orchestrate all things in the life of my children for my glory and their good. What may seem coincidental to you is providential to God. Now, one of the themes in Scripture is the theme of divine hiddenness and human agency, which means that Scripture always presents a balanced view of God's providence and our responsibility to make choices, take responsibility, and to take initiative. We will return to our story in just a moment, but we need to understand this theme before we move on. Ruth did not wake up and say, whatever happens, happens. If God wants to provide for Naomi and I, he will do that. And I will wait here until he brings me a meal, a house and a husband. No, not that Ruth got to work. Ruth doesn't ask her mother-in-law, Hey, you're from around here. What do you have

planned for us? Nor does she merely pray God. If you want to provide, I know you'll do that. No, Ruth risks being ostracized as a foreigner and the potential physical abuse by the men. Remember, this was a godless time. Ruth gets after it. She prays, but then she becomes, in a sense, the answer to her own prayer. How is God going to provide? Well, I know I need to get to work. The life of God's children, and I want you to understand this, is a practical thing. We use our head. We are resourceful. We take initiative. Alistair Begg says, the will of God is not a package let down from heaven on a string. It is a scroll that unrolls from day to day. Many commentators observe that in the book of Ruth, God's presence is hidden.

His actions are in the shadows. He is working behind the scenes. We see this at various points throughout the scripture. And the book of Esther is the narrative par excellence of God's hiddenness and human agency. Agency referring to the capacity of a person like you to act and be the instrument of God's work. The book of Esther has the distinction of being the only book in the Old Testament in which God is not mentioned once. So the question arises, is this an embarrassing omission by the author or is this an intentional component by God? And if so, what purpose does it go to show me? The omission of any mention of God is deliberate, and it must be seen as an intentional strategy employed by the author.

There are numerous opportunities throughout the book where God could have obviously been included in the narrative, but he is intentionally left out. In Esther, God's ordering of events may be assumed, but it is not the only lesson illustrated by the events of the book. Scholars regularly provide a listing of the striking series of coincidences reported in Esther, and if you know the story, you'll remember these. For example, there is the removal of Vashti as queen, which creates a vacancy at the top that Esther can fill. Mordecai chances to overhear the plot to assassinate the king.

Esther is queen at a time of crisis. Ahasuerus has insomnia and reads the report of the royal chronicles that describe Esther's uncle Mordecai, his service to the crown. Haman enters the court at the moment where the king is pondering the question of how to reward Mordecai, and then the king re-enters from the garden just as Haman falls upon the couch of Esther. This constant string of coincidences fall outside the realm of probability, and we are compelled to think that God is at work behind the scenes. This much is obviously true, but the main thrust of the book is something else. Esther is not just a book about God's hidden hand. It is about God's preservation of the Jews through the initiative and risk of certain Jewish people. Esther is bold. She risks her life. She says, if I perish,

I perish. She recognizes the truthfulness of the letter from her uncle Mordecai and acknowledges, I am here for such a time as this. She doesn't just wash her hands of the matter. Biblically speaking, entrusting ourselves to God's sovereign care doesn't eliminate our call to be resourceful and take initiative. Despite the literary absence of God, the fact that the book of Esther has always been included in biblical canon is significant while this book does feature the providence of God the other main thrust of it along with the figures of Ezra and Nehemiah is that these Jewish heroes are models of energetic effort and risk taking for the welfare of God's people the book of Esther encourages people to live out their faith

with intelligence, resourcefulness, and courage. In similar fashion, the story of Ruth presents us with a woman whose consecration to God isn't invisible, but became visible to the task at hand. Interestingly, in the story of Ruth, God is only mentioned directly twice in the entire story. Once at the beginning when it says he visits Bethlehem to bring about the harvest, and then at the end of the story when he opens the womb of Ruth and she conceives with child. The verbiage in chapter 4 is especially strong, not following the normal procedure of typical Old Testament language for childbearing, which would read, and she conceived and bore a son.

Rather, the verbal emphasis notes that what God did in the womb of Ruth was nothing short of a miracle. She had been married for 10 years in Moab to Mahlon and was without child. Potentially she was barren, and yet in chapter 4 she conceives. Therefore, the only direct mentions of God in this whole book are in chapter one, verse 22, and chapter four, verse 13. And those are God responding directly to infertility, one of grain and one of child. Throughout the rest of the story, God is behind the scenes and the story is progressed through the actions and words of the main characters.

God has no messenger throughout this book. He does not speak through any prophets. His character is represented by the character of his children, especially in the lives of Boaz and Ruth. Now back to the story. Ruth tells her mother-in-law that she is going to glean in the fields with the hopes that she may find favor. Ruth, knowing her condition, thrusts herself upon a In Leviticus 19, when God is making his laws about all manners of things for living, God relates to his people that there is a class of people who will be unable to provide for themselves. So he issues this command in Leviticus 9 and 10. He says, when you reap the harvest of the land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.

Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. He gives no reason for this, but verse 10 ends with these words, I am the Lord your God. And this is what God is saying. Do you want to know what kind of a God I am? I care for and am concerned for the least of these. And if you are to represent me as my people, you are going to model my character with the poor and foreigner among you. You'll notice that this involves labor, endeavor, and effort on the part of the poor. It wasn't a provision that God had made where he would have his poor people wait idly by for someone else to put food on their plates. No, God granted this wonderful provision

because it demanded the honest work of the poor and the needy, and the honest endeavors of the poor were rewarded. He who does not work does not eat, but he who works will be rewarded. Ruth's attempt was to glean all that she could, and we pick up the story with Boaz entering the fields to greet his workers. In verse 4, Boaz's greeting is worth observing. He says, the Lord be with you. Now, why should this strike us as interesting? Well, for one, this was at a time where everyone did what was right in their own eyes. This was a godless time, and yet onto the scene walks a godly man, a man whose faith wasn't just once a week, but the expression of his entire life. Maybe you're asking, how do we get that from his simple greeting?

Well, if you remember, to take the Lord's name in vain was to break one of the gravest commandments, meaning that to mention God's name without premeditation, consideration of his character, and contemplation of his worth was to break a command. One commentator relates that a man like Boaz never mentioned the name of God without making a visible pause in his discourse. Therefore, in Boaz's greeting, we are introduced to a man who is defined by a God consciousness. This was a man who didn't separate the secular from the sacred. So we read that he is not only a man of physical and material strength, but spiritual strength as well.

Now Boaz arrives at the scene. He greets his workers and then immediately is struck by the presence of Ruth and asks his workers in verse 5, Who is this woman? He is immediately drawn to her. Although there were assuredly other women gleaning in his field, picking up the scraps, Boaz is struck by Ruth and asks, who is this? Well, they respond by saying she is Ruth, the Moabitess, and she has been working since early this morning. They tell Boaz in verse 7 that Ruth had approached the field and said, please let me glean and gather.

I want to point out that Ruth had a right to do this according to the law of God, but she doesn't speak of her rights. She pleads for the privilege. She is humble. She is meek. In verses 8 and 9, we read of Boaz's and Ruth's first encounter. It says, Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field. Furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars, and drink from what the servants draw. We know from chapter three that Boaz is an older man than Ruth. He potentially is even Naomi's age. And yet in spite of his

eligibility, integrity, and wealth, he takes notice of Ruth and treats her with kindness and with gentleness. He bids her not to glean in another field, but to stay in his field. We will explore this theme more in chapter three, but for now, we can see that Boaz is a picture of Christ, a redeemer who provides for Ruth in her neediness. But not only that, Boaz tells Ruth, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. At the end of this chapter, Naomi tells Ruth that gleaning can be dangerous. But Boaz says, listen, Ruth,

no one is going to mess with you. I have laid down the law with my men. I will not only provide for you, I will protect you. And not only can you drink the water from my well, I will have my men bring it up for you. Women were supposed to draw water for the men, but Boaz is making it clear to Ruth. Ruth, I'm going to take care of you. And watch her humble response in verse 10. She bowed down with her face to the ground and says, why have I found such favor in your eyes? Even though she had worked hard

and sought to find favor in the first place, she saw everything that God had arranged as an extension and evidence of his grace. Ruth said in verse 2 that she went out to find favor, and when Boaz graciously extends her favor, she responds with humility and asks, Why have I even received this? Boaz says, The reason I want to extend you this favor is because of your character.

I know that you have left everything behind, your family, your home, your way of life, to come and support your mother-in-law. But not only that, in verse 12, Boaz says, I know that you have come under the wings of Jehovah to seek refuge. This is a clear reference throughout the scripture to testify to the reality that Ruth was genuinely converted. Now in Boaz's language, this is what happened to Ruth. She had come to take refuge in Jehovah, the God of Israel. You can see how a pastoral people could find that picture so meaningful. They had seen how a bird gathered her babies under her wings for protection, how it cared for and nurtured them. Jesus uses

this very reference in the gospel of Luke when he approaches the city and says, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you are unwilling to come. The Jews in Jesus's day were unwilling to come, but this Moabite woman was more than willing to seek shelter under the wings of Jehovah. And it's not surprising to learn that we are going to discover the lavish provision that God extends to those who take shelter in him. Ruth responds in verse 13 in humility once again and says, I have found favor in your sight for you have spoken kindly to me even though I am just a Moabite sojourner. This is worth observing. She wasn't looking for entitlement. She regarded the intervention of

Boaz as an act of unmerited kindness. And this is true of our own life. Everything God extends to us and every opportunity we receive are undeserved mercies from the giver of every good thing. In verse 14, Boaz invites Ruth to his table and says, come here that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers and he served her roasted grain and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. Boaz is a picture of Christ. He is a redeeming figure. He seeks the outcast. He says, come to my table. I've prepared a place for you. I'll serve you and I'll give you more than you need. The text says Ruth ate and she was satisfied. And in verse 15, when she arose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants saying, let her glean even among the sheaves and do not

insult her. The word for insult in verse 15 is the word kalam, and it means to humiliate. In Ezra 9, the same word is used when Ezra describes his embarrassment. And Boaz says, don't embarrass her. Have you ever thought about Christ this way? That he doesn't want to unnecessarily embarrass you? Ruth probably doesn't know all the rules and procedures of gleaning. After all, she is a foreigner. But Boaz says, show her kindness. Treat her with respect. Ruth is essentially doing the work of someone who recycles aluminum cans. And Boaz says, Verse 16,

Boaz says, leave her some extra and don't tell her that I told you to do that. And don't let her know what you're doing. Verse 17. So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned and it came and it was about an ephah of barley. Have you ever wondered how people become absolutely convinced of the goodness of God? It's when they become convinced of the super abundant, overwhelming kindness of God. And there's a sign of that in verse 17. It says that she gleaned about an ephah of barley. This was a load to carry home. This was 30 pounds. She had more than enough. This was a shock to Ruth, but no surprise to her God. To those that trust him, to those who shelter under his

wings, he cares lavishly for them. In this case, God cares for Ruth, a woman who took initiative, but God was the one who directed her towards the fields of Boaz. And the one superintending this serendipity between the couple in our story begs us to zoom in and observe how he works. We are neither pawns nor puppets. God's sovereignty is not determinism. Rather, scripture leaves us with a juxtaposition of the fact that we have real choices. Care needs to be maintained that we don't overemphasize God's sovereignty to the degree that we justify passivity and idleness. Additionally, we don't want to overemphasize human agency to the degree that we think it all depends on us. We prepare the horse for battle,

but the battle belongs to the Lord. And God works, especially seen in the book of Ruth, through the godly actions of his people. As Ruth burst through the door of her and Naomi's Bethlehem home, Naomi must have been struck by the reminder of God's providential care. Her experience had made her feel like her life was full of all these strange and dark threads with difficult knots and disappointments. But as Ruth enters through the door, Naomi is shocked by the amount of grain and then asks her where she got it. And Ruth replies and says, in the field of Boaz. Naomi knows the name and says that Boaz is a close relative. And now this grieving widow is beginning to see these dark threads and these strange knots

are part of the tapestry that God is weaving. God is not absent. He is always at work, even when he appears to be behind the scenes. Stay dialed in.