Boaz and The Art of Personal Management (Ruth 2)

        Chapter One of the Book of Ruth saw the testimony of Naomi and her bitterness at the circumstances of her life.  God’s providence had been of no comfort to her.  When Boaz enters the picture at the time of the Barley harvest, the mood shifts.  Naomi is able to see more of the goodness of God.  She is able to find hope again in her circumstances.  What was it about the words and actions of Boaz that made the difference?

        If we wrote a book based on his actions, we might call it  “The Art of Personal Management.”  What would Boaz teach us?

1.       1.  Develop a culture of blessing with words.  The opening words of Boaz to his workers “The Lord bless you” and their equivalent response was more than formality.  It expresses their mutual respect and care for each other. 

2.       2.   Show interest and concern for those under your care.  When Boaz inquires after the stranger in his field, the foreman offers more detail because he knows Boaz will have listening ears.  Nabal, at the time of sheep-shearing, was never this approachable or this interested in the welfare of others.  Ruth and her plight have caught the interest of the foreman and he shares that information with Boaz because he knows that Boaz will do something.

3.       3.  Be generous in ways that honor the image of God in man.  Gleaning provides work and profit for the poor.  Boaz respects the need for work.  But, he tells his men to drop stalks of grain along the way on purpose.  Ruth’s work will now be exceptionally profitable.  Her hard work from morning until dusk will be rewarded with his generosity.

4.       4.  Assign roles and tasks to those in your employ that are meaningful and will help to get the work done in a timely manner.  Boaz must organize the harvest to get done in time for the wheat harvest.  He has young men for harvesting and bringing water for the workers.  He also has young women in the fields gathering grain.  He also has a foreman, managing the affairs of the harvest in the field.  Everyone works with skill toward one end.

5.       5.  Allow those under your care to be generous and honoring as well.  The young men can now be as generous as they choose to be toward Ruth.  We can imagine that some drop more and some drop less.  The workers are actively involved in the generosity of Boaz.

6.       6.  Touch the lives of others in such a way that when they leave your presence, they bless your name (and praise God).  The abundant fruit from gleaning and the countenance of Ruth are enough to change the bitterness of Naomi.  The actions of Boaz lift the chin of Naomi so that she can see the blessing of God as well.

7.       7.  For Boaz, His vocation and his faith were wed.  We are not meant to compartmentalize our faith.  All of our lives are lived before God’s face.  We give account for our worship.  We give account for our work lives.  God is to be glorified in every area of our lives.  In doing so, in both subtle and obvious ways, we mirror God’s glory.

 

Talking to Ruth: Finding Covenant Faithfulness in a Foreigner (Ruth 1)

          As much as the dialogue of Ruth One expresses the bitter circumstances of two widows, Ruth’s words represent commitment to Naomi in the face of uncertainty and continuing poverty.  Listen to her faithfulness:

·       *Do not urge me to leave you or return from following you.

·       *Where you go, I will go.

·       *Where you lodge, I will lodge

·       *Your people will be my people

·       *Your God will be my God

·       *Where you die, I will die and there will I be buried.

·       *Ruth even adds an oath to the end of her commitments:  “May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”

Naomi sees herself as a victim under the stern sovereignty of God.  Ruth’s words are commitments and choices she is making underneath the providence of God.  She is not a victim.  What could we say to encourage Ruth?

1.        1.  Thank you for your “hesed”- your loyal love and faithfulness for Naomi.  Bitterness can isolate and you would not let her push you away.

2.       2.  Thank you for looking hardship in the face and accepting it.  The plight of two widows in the ancient world is severe and you accepted your own situation and then took on the care of Naomi as well.

3.       3.  Thank you for your wholesale commitment to Israel and to Israel’s God.  Yours is the freedom and joy of Peter:  “Lord, we have left everything to follow you.”

4.       4.  Welcome home.

Talking to Naomi: How to Deal with Bitterness (Ruth1)

         So much of the vitality and intimacy we feel as we read the Book of Ruth is communicated through the dialogue.  When Naomi tries to convince her daughters-in-law to return to their families, you hear her agony- “It is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”  The words of Naomi show that she has been backed into a spiritual corner.  The circumstances of her life, difficult as they are, have made her bitter.  Listen to her words:

·           “Call me Mara” (her name means “pleasant” but she prefers “bitter” because of her resent experience.

·             “The Lord has dealt very bitterly with me”

·               “I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty.”  All of her phrases show her being acted upon from the outside- the object and victim of God’s providence.  Only here do we have Naomi as the subject of her sentence- she describes her husband and children as fullness before the calamity.

·           “The Lord has testified against me.”  To her it seems a friend has betrayed her in court.

·           “The Almighty has brought calamity on me.”

Notice that the text never blames Naomi or makes her circumstances the consequences of sin.  She is left without explanation for her distress.  What could we say to encourage her?

1.        1.  Thank you for your faithfulness.  In your bitterness, you have never denied your Lord.  Chemosh has never been an option.

2.       2.  You have been a witness.  Ruth is watching, learning, trusting.  It is amazing after all you have been through that Ruth says “Your God will be my God.”

3.       3.  Your return will be your salvation.  In returning and rest will you be saved, in quietness and confidence will be your strength.  (See Isaiah 30:15)

The Non-Prayer of Simon the Pharisee for the Tearful Woman at Jesus' Feet

 Mourning can teach us how to pray for a wayward relative or a wayward culture.  Because we don't want to wallow in misery and regret, consider the following as you mourn in prayer for another.

1.  Mourning:  By understanding the ways of God and the rebellion of man, you can pray with greater focus and intensity.  Learn to walk with that person through the consequences of sin, feel their pain, ask for their repentance.

2.  Yearning:  As I pray for my friend or my nation in the predicament of judgment and sin, let me yearn for something more.  They were made to reflect the character and glory of God.  They were made in His image.  The relationship with God that could bring them contentment and satisfaction has eluded them.  What a blessing it would be for them to find Christ, to turn from their ways, and to reflect His glory!

3.  Worship:  Now my prayer turns from my friend to the God who made them, their Creator, Redeemer, and Judge.  God's justice is impartial and perfect.  His offer of forgiveness through Christ, His grace and mercy are beautiful.  O That all people might wonder after such a God as this!

4.  Intercession:  Having seen my friend as he is, and God as He is, I long that they find each other.  I intercede on behalf of my friend.  I know that "the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord and God turns it however he pleases."

I can imagine in my mind, if Simon had been a different sort of religious man, that he might have prayed for the sinful woman, the tearful woman at Jesus' feet.  He could have left us a pattern, how to pray for our wayward child, our wayward nation.  He might have prayed:

(Mourning)  "Ah, Lord, do you see the condition of my friend?  She is trapped in her sins and she can't get out.  The consequences of her actions have brought her open shame.  Her iniquities have isolated her from you and from others.  She is alone in her grief.  Her tears are just the outward evidence of the pain in her heart.  

(Yearning)  "Lord, you made her for more than this!  The image of God within her can shout your glory.  She is made for a relationship with you.  She needs to know your love and compassion, your forgiveness and healing.  What a difference you could make in her life!

(Worship)  "O God, You are a great and compassionate God.  I have known your love and forgiveness.  Your healing has brought me joy.  Your justice has been vindicated at the cross and I have been healed.  If only my friend could see your Fullness, which are my joy and delight.

(Intercession)  O Lord, heal my friend.  Dry her tears.  Heal her wounds- the ones we can see and the ones we cannot see.  Grant her repentance.  Call her to Yourself.  Make her whole.  We long to see in her what only You can do.  What you did for me, please do for her...

Sermon on the Mount: Mourning, Wisdom, and the Religion of Simon

 Solomon echoes the sentiment of Jesus in this second beatitude.  "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting" (Ecc. 7:2).  Why is mourning better?  Here are my thoughts.

1.  To mourn properly, the wise man must understand the ways of God.  What is God like?  What is the effect of His righteousness in the world?  How has God constructed His world in a moral sense?  Good Theology will help us here.  Bad Theology will leave us mourning in the wrong places and for the wrong reasons.

2.  To mourn properly, the wise man must understand the rebellion of man.  Every sin, however slight, is cosmic treason to a perfect, holy God.  Rebellion gathers sins as it rolls down the hill toward destruction.  The wise man learns to see the traps and pitfalls of temptation.  More than once has he heard the snap of a trap around neck of the unwary.  More than once has he shouted warnings to the fool, but to no avail.  In this, he mourns.

3.   To mourn properly, the wise man must empathize with the sinner because he himself has taken that path.  He watches helplessly, but for prayer, as the sinner or the sinning nation blindly enters into the consequences of sin and God's righteous judgment.

At the dinner in Simon's house, the tearful woman is condemned by Simon.  She might have been helped if he had truly known the character and ways of God.  If he had remembered his own rebellion and its sinful consequences, he might have been in a position to understand the plight of the woman and point her to God.  As it was, all of his religious training did her no good (him either).

The Rabbi at the meal, however, was wise.  He understood the character and ways of God because He was God.  He also knew the weakness of man, his temptations and the path of rebellion.  He was tempted in all ways, like as we are, yet without sin."  He was also loving, moved to forgive the woman who met Him with tears.  And just like the many surprising reversals in Jesus' teaching, the one we expect to be forgiven is condemned and the one condemned by the crowd, walks away clean.

Sermon on the Mount: Mourning and the Pharisee

 "This man receives sinners and eats with them" was the common complaint of Jesus' religious critics.  Yet, he ate with Pharisees as well (Luke 7:36ff).  Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus for dinner and he accepted.  At the meal, the house filled with interested observers, looking for a glimpse of the up and coming rabbi.

One person was drawn to the meal who was not wanted.  She immediately felt the judgment of the crowd.  "Put her out of the camp, stone her, see that she is removed from polite society."  The crowd, and Simon, condemned her.

The sinful woman, unnamed in Luke's account, came in tears.  Her shoulders bore the weight of her sin and its consequences.  She had no illusions regarding her standing with God or with society.   Her tears were the pain of desperation.  Her spiritual poverty drew her to Jesus.

Simon became critical of Jesus because she wept at his feet, anointed them with oil, and wiped her tears with her hair.  She was in mourning for her sin and the consequences that had led her to this hour.  This was not a parable of Jesus.  The tearful woman, the mourner, walked away comforted.  Simon, who sat in condemnation, found himself judged.

Sermon on the Mount: What Does It Mean to Mourn?

 The first two Beatitudes are an interesting pair.  To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually bankrupt, having nothing of merit to commend ourselves before God.  If we do not receive the grace of God, we are loss.  To recognize that bankruptcy is to be poor in spirit.

The second Beatitude is like it.  To mourn is to grieve the nature and impact of sin in ourselves.  We see the consequences of sin in our own lives and we mourn the destruction.  It leads us to repentance.  Paul writes, "For godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death" (II Cor.7:10).  There is deep regret for our own waywardness- our sinful, self-destructive tendency to do our own thing, to act as if God did not exist.

When we mourn our own sin, it leads us to repentance.  It is not the morbid preoccupation with our own inadequacies.  I am not to wallow in discouragement for the rest of my life.  Mourning for sin leads me to my Savior.  Jesus takes my sin upon Himself and gives me His righteousness.  The task of mourning is finished with regards to my sin and its consequences.  Now, faith grabs hold of God's promise of forgiveness and cleansing.  To continue to wallow as a kind of penance is to deny the promise of God.

Another king of false mourning is the kind of mourning seen in the lives of Saul and Cain.  Saul is confronted by Samuel for his sin and he responds by admitting his transgression.  Yet, he wants to still be honored before the people.  There is no regard for the sin against God.  Cain, after God confronts him for killing his brother says "my sin is more than I can bear."  He decries his punishment, but does not repent of his sin.  That's not mourning.

We mourn our own sin, and we mourn the sins of others.  David mourns, "My eyes shed streams of tears because people do not keep your law" (Psalm 119:136).  God regards those who mourn for public, corporate sins:  "Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it" (Ezekiel 9:4).

Finally, the ministry of mourning is temporary, a part of this life.  Comfort is for eternity.  Note the order:  Mourning is first; comfort comes after.  Beware of reversing the order:  Luke warns "Woe to you that laugh now..."  Only in the final state of glory will our comfort be complete.