Homerton Baptist Church
Evening Service (260315)

      • Ruth 3:1–18ESV

  • Hymn 342 - You servants of God

      • Ruth 3:1–18ESV

  • Hymn 335 - There's no greater name than Jesus

      • 1 Corinthians 14:26–40ESV

      • Amos 2:4–16ESV

      • Ruth 3:1–18ESV

  • Ruth 3:1–18 ESV
    1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” 5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.” 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet! 9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” 10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.” 14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ” 18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
    Introduction
    we have seen the blessing that Ruth and Naomi received from the kindness of Boaz this now enters a deeper phase.

    1. Naomi’s Counsel v1-5

    a. Wisdom v1

    Ruth 3:1 ESV
    1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
    While the women are in distress, it is Ruth who takes the initiative; now, when hope grows large, it is Naomi. When hardship was to be endured, the mother submitted her will to the daughter,—for Ruth was not sent to glean, she went of her own accord; now, when the endeavour is to secure the joy and happiness held out in prospect, the daughter yields in all things to the direction of the mother.

    b. A Relative v2

    Ruth 3:2 ESV
    2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
    When Ruth went to the field to glean, she only asked a right guaranteed to the widowed and the poor. To deny her the privilege of gleaning would have been to deprive her of her right; Lange, J. P
    Leviticus 19:9–10 ESV
    9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.
    True, the liberal treatment she received from Boaz was no longer a right to be claimed, but the expression of good-will and kindness. Naomi recognized in this the providential arrangement of God. And it is precisely this also that gives courage to Ruth to claim for herself and for Naomi the second right to which she is entitled. Lange, J. P.,
    Deuteronomy 25:5 ESV
    5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
    Every family—such is manifestly the idea of the usage—must take care that no member in it dies out. What the brother is to the brother, that, when he has no brother, his more distant blood-relatives must be.

    c. Proper Preparation v3

    Ruth 3:3 ESV
    3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
    Ruth was directed to pay special attention to the adornment of her person, to which, to this extent at least, she had since the death of her husband been a stranger. She is to lay aside the weeds of mourning and the garments of toil, and after bathing and anointing, don the festive garb; for the expedition on which she goes is of a joyous, bridal nature. Lange, J

    d. Precise Instructions v4

    Ruth 3:4 ESV
    4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”

    e. Willing Obedience v5

    Ruth 3:5 ESV
    5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

    2. Positive Action v6-13

    a. Active Obedience v6-7

    Ruth 3:6–7 ESV
    6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.

    b. Who are You? v8

    Ruth 3:8 ESV
    8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
    Ezekiel 16:8 ESV
    8 “When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord God, and you became mine.

    c. A Redeemer v9

    Ruth 3:9 ESV
    9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
    It was the symbol of the right which she had come to claim. “Spread out thy wings over thy handmaid; for thou art a redeemer (goel). It is because he is a blood-relative that she can make this demand. Hence, she does not say, I am Ruth, the Moabitess; but, I am Ruth, thy handmaid. Here, where she lays claim to an Israelitish right, she drops all remembrance of Moab. And has he not himself received and treated her as an Israelitish maiden? Lange, J. P., Schaff, P., Cassel, P., & Steenstra, P. H. (2008). A commentary on the Holy Scrip

    d. Blessed Kindness v10

    Ruth 3:10 ESV
    10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

    e. Full Commitment v11-13

    Ruth 3:11–13 ESV
    11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. 12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. 13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

    3. Wisdom and Blessing v14-15

    a. Be Circumspect v14

    Ruth 3:14 ESV
    14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

    b. Blessing v15

    Ruth 3:15 ESV
    15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

    4. Trust v16-18

    a. Report v16

    Ruth 3:16 ESV
    16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,

    b. Blessing v17

    Ruth 3:17 ESV
    17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”

    c. Confidence v18

    Ruth 3:18 ESV
    18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
    Conclusion
    “Christian, behold the kindness and gentleness of Boaz! Will it then be possible that God, when you are in need, will send you empty away? Never! his generous hand is never closed. He will open your heart, and divine gifts flow in upon you, without any action on your part.” Lange, J. P.,

      • Ruth 3:1ESV

      • Ruth 3:2ESV

      • Leviticus 19:9–10ESV

      • Deuteronomy 25:5ESV

      • Ruth 3:3ESV

      • Ruth 3:4ESV

      • Ruth 3:5ESV

      • Ruth 3:6–7ESV

      • Ruth 3:8ESV

      • Ezekiel 16:8ESV

      • Ruth 3:9ESV

      • Ruth 3:10ESV

      • Ruth 3:11–13ESV

      • Ruth 3:14ESV

      • Ruth 3:15ESV

      • Ruth 3:16ESV

      • Ruth 3:17ESV

      • Ruth 3:18ESV

  • Hymn 334 - There is a redeemer
  • Hymn 222 - THE DAY YOU GAVE US, LORD, IS ENDED
  • Doxology 1145 Chorus

      • Romans 1:7ESV

Homerton Baptist Church
pastor@homerton.church
0756 612 9969
http://www.homerton.church
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