do face a powerful adversary. but we face a defeated adversary. Christ must win the battle. Amen? It's a wonderful reminder that Christ and the Word abideth forever and ever. Amen. This morning we will be considering Ruth chapter 3. The title of the sermon is... I've added a question mark at the end. asking you, in times of difficulty or even in times where you see God mightily at work, do you tend to sometimes fall behind or get ahead of God? We see that in Naomi and Ruth's life, even in the midst of a great story, and how Boaz this morning begins to reel things in, if you will, as he waits and asks Ruth to wait on God's timing along the way. Before I get to Ruth chapter 3, though, I want to remind you of a couple of Hebrew words. Goel, which we were introduced to last week, which is what we get the New Testament counterpart of redeemer from, or deliverer, or rescuer. It's a very important term in the Hebrew, and that's one of the roles that Boaz plays in the life of Ruth. The other is a Hebrew word, lever. L-E-V-I-R in the Hebrew, which we would interpret brother or brother-in-law as well. It's a kinsman, part of the family. And these are both very important ideas. I've got a really long quote from Sinclair Ferguson in my notes that I'm not going to read from the manuscript. If you're interested, you can get it from me afterwards. But he draws attention to both the land and the family that God ordained as part of His covenant with the people of Israel. And how both of those were important to be maintained throughout all of the covenant relations that He would have with them as a people. And so, He made an account in His law, both in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus, for both a kinsman, liver, and a levirate law, has nothing to do with the tribe of Levi, even though it's in Levi, kinsmen, and Goel, Redeemer, that really this whole book is based upon. And so he closes that quote with this. The principle underlying Levirate law was the importance of the continuity of the family line. Not only was life sacred and the land sacred, but the continuity of God's covenant promises and their fulfillment from generation to generation was important. The Levirate Law stated if a husband died childless, his brother would then father a son for the dead man. By this means, the deceased man's name would not be forgotten and lost in Israel. And perhaps more importantly, the promise of God that he would bless a faithful man to generations yet unborn would have visible physical testimony among his people. This is what we've seen begun even in the difficult and frowning providences along the way in chapters one and two. In chapters three and four, we see this love story blooming between Boaz and Ruth, fulfilling this very promise of a line being kept from generation to generation. So I invite you this morning to look at Ruth chapter three as I read the entire chapter. 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? Now let me just interject here very quickly. Remember all the way back in chapter one where she's encouraging Orpah and Ruth to go back to their homeland where they might find what? Rest. Just right there, marriage. That's the idea here. That you might find a suitable suitor to carry on in life. So here in verse 1, she's taken on this role now, overseeing Ruth, because Ruth has agreed to follow her, and more than that, follow her God and be with her people. My daughter, should I not seek rest for you? that it may be well with you. Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 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. 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. And she replied, all that you say, I will do. So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her. 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. At midnight, the man was startled and turned over and behold, a woman laid at his feet. He said, who are you? And she answered, I'm Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer. He said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You've made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 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. And now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I. Remain tonight and in the morning. If he will redeem you, good, let him do it. But if he's not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. lie down until the morning. 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. And he said, bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it out, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her, and she went into the city. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, how did you fare, my daughter? And then she told her all that the man had done for her, 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. She, that being Naomi, replied, wait, my daughter. Until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today. This is the inspired, inerrant, infallible word of God. May we know it and live it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you again for the wonderful picture this paints of your son, Jesus Christ, who is our Redeemer, the only one worthy to be called such. In his name we pray. Amen. There are three things that I would have us to see here again in these scenes as they present themselves in this chapter. First, we see Naomi's instructions to Ruth and the dialogue that they have with one another in verses 1-5. We'll spend a great deal of time there this morning. Then we'll consider Ruth's obedience to her instruction in verses 6-9. almost total obedience to what Ruth had said. And then Boaz's generosity as he realizes that he is a redeemer, but not the first in line, if you will. So first, let's look at Naomi's instructions. These instructions ought to lead us to maybe ask some questions concerning was this really wise instruction that she gives, even though she knows a lot, but she doesn't know all. For us to unravel this narrative a bit, we've got to go back to the end of Chapter 2 and remember the context. There at the end of chapter 2 is where Naomi learns that Ruth had gleaned in the fields of Boaz. In all the providences that we consider along the way, she ends up in his field on that day with him there. Naomi's rightly overjoyed when she hears this because she sees that God's at work. how God was continuing to provide in leading Ruth to the field of one of their closest relatives, she says in verse 20 of chapter two. We have to ask the question, how well did Naomi really know Boaz? I think we're right to assume that she came to a knowledge of Boaz rather recently, that she may not have even know that he was one of Elimelech's kinfolk. And even so, Ruth had just met him the day before, or just a few hours before. Much of the narrative in the book of Ruth we know is conversations between Naomi and Ruth, and Ruth and Boaz, or Boaz and his workers. We have no dialogue at all between Naomi and Boaz. And so we would be right to ask the question, is it really wise, the instruction that she gives to Ruth on this occasion? She tells him that it was wise to look for protection, and Naomi seems to be looking out for her safety as well. At the end of chapter two, she says, stay with the young woman, lest you be assaulted in one of the other men's fields. It was a common thing that could happen. But even though she reiterates her concern in verse one for Ruth's safety, she tells her to go in the middle of the night, dark, by herself into Boaz's home, to travel at night to a single man in the middle of the night. But the suspicion not only lies when she was to go, but how she was to go. You can't miss this. In verse 3, this was a prepping party. She wasn't just powdering her nose. She was to wash herself and anoint herself, means to put perfume on, to make yourself as presentable and glorious as you could be to Boaz on that occasion. She was to dress up for the part. and make herself as appealing as possible to Boaz. Now I'm not to suggest that she should have told her put on burlap sack and don't do your hair, but you get the picture. She's now making the plans. You go in the night to Boaz and you do this. You wash yourself and you anoint yourself and then you go into his house after the party is done and after he's laid down at his feet. Now, if you're a mother or a father here today, you look at this. If you've got a daughter and you're thinking, would I ever do such a thing? Would I ever advise my single daughter to go to a single man in the middle of the night into his room? No, we probably wouldn't. And so she tells him to lie at his feet. could be translated legs, as it is in Daniel chapter 10 verse 6. So I think you get the picture here. This is not really sound instruction, even though Naomi's acting in emotion, she's acting in excitement, she may know in her mind, this is the man, you go and do these things. And it was customary, some of these things, even. And I think Sinclair Ferguson hits upon a tremendous truth in this regard, particularly as it relates to our sinful nature that we need to be reminded of. He asserts the following. He calls it a risky strategy, and I think I would agree with Ferguson. At best, Naomi's strategy's risky. Behind her risky strategy lies Naomi's old spiritual rashness. It is the residue of the spirit that earlier led to emigration from the promised land. You remember, following Elimelech, her husband, they go into the world for provisions. They go into Moab. They don't wait on God under his divine discipline in the house of bread in Bethlehem, but they strike out on their own, and it's disastrous for the family. Ferguson says there's this spirit of rashness that still exists in the life of Naomi. And then he says, if God does not do things speedily enough for us in our way, then we will take matters into our own hands. That's our remaining flesh. When we get uncomfortable, when we don't think that God is acting quickly enough, when we don't think that God is in our favor, When we don't think He's listening, which none of these things are true, we know that, but in the heat of the moment, sometimes we strike out on our own. We devise our own plans and we try to somehow coerce God into going along with us and to promise what He's given us in our desire. And He says we refuse to wait for Him to bring His own purposes to fruition. According to Ferguson, what we have here is Naomi's attempt to help God out. In her mind, she knows the end. She's just trying to help God get there. She had seen how He had providentially intervened all along the way, and that was beyond dispute. And in her mind, He would do so again. And that is beyond dispute. But how would He do so again? Naomi's actions are the exception, not the rule. Even though she knew God's purposes, we have to wait. Even though she was spontaneous and spurious, even rash, and God blessed it, that is not always what happens. We have scriptures full of people that presumed upon God or tried to outrun God. Remember Moses? Moses did not get to enter the promised land. Why? Because he faced a circumstance a second time with the people of Israel, God's chosen people, the gripers and the grumblers, the one who Moses had exercised great patience along the way, and he went to God on every occasion where they said they were thirsty and hungry, and we've been better off over there. Did you bring us out here to die? And we could go on and on and on. But the second time they get thirsty, Moses got angry and he struck the rock, just like he was instructed to do the first time. But the second time he did not go to God, He didn't ask God, what would be the desire of your heart? What would you have me to do? What would you have them to do? In anger, he strikes the rock a second time. Now there's deep doctrinal theological stuff here. I don't have time this morning. Let me just say, Jesus can't die twice. The rock can't be struck twice. This is how grave a problem this was. that Moses, acting as a type of mediator between man and God, blew it. And he was not able to enter the promised land. He could see it, but not enter the promised land. He presumed that God would act the same way. But we also have other stories along the way, like when they once got into the land, Joshua chapter 7, where Joshua instructs the armies of Israel to choose a certain number of people and go and attack Ai and take it. Problem, he forgot to go to God. And who can blame Joshua? In the battle that preceded that, Jericho, remember? They were instructed in every way that they were to do as Joshua went to God and God said, do this and do this and do this. And they didn't have to lift a finger. All they had to do is blow a trumpet and the walls came down. So Joshua presumes when they get to a smaller city with Ai, he chooses the number that are to go. Look, we don't need a bunch, just 300 will do or however many it was. And it was disastrous. Why? because he presumed upon God. We also see times where God intervenes to protect people when they presume upon the goodness of God. David in 2 Samuel chapter 7, you'll remember, he desires to build a temple for God. And there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it happens that a temple is built, a house of God. And Nathan, the prophet, who was a good one, he's the one that tapped David on the shoulder and said, you're the man. He agreed with David. I mean, what better person could God raise up than King David and all that you've done in the midst for the people and for God. There's one problem. David had what on his hands? Blood. And God said, you're right. There's going to be a house built, but not you. He intervened. in order to keep disaster from coming. So all of these and many others that we could point to, to learn a lesson that we are to take great care in waiting on God and discerning His will. Not to be paralyzed. Listen, we are free to act as long as it's not clear in God's Word what to do or not to do. But once that is clear, that is the path that we take. And so, We take time and sometimes we wait. And you've heard it said before, sometimes God's answer to prayer, for us, yes or no, is better than not yet or wait along the way. Our goal in being faithful is to trust that God will provide just what we need, where we need it, when we need it, for His glory and for our good. Again, Naomi's actions here, though everything turned out for the good, again, was an exception, not the rule. Because as we'll see in a moment, they had the wrong guy to begin with. Hold on to that. Then we notice, at least initially, secondly, then notice Ruth's obedience. Verse six, she goes down to the threshing floor and did exactly what her mother-in-law commanded her to do. Good daughter-in-law. She remains loyal to Naomi as she had from the beginning, to a point. Notice what happens. At the end of that long day, the day of threshing, there would have been a celebration. Ruth knew that. I mean, Naomi knew that, hence her instructions. And it was a good day. It was a good harvest. It was a good time for Boaz. It was a big party. When you read merriment, they're allowed to say that he got drunk and he went and passed out. That's to read too much into it because what does the verse say? They drank and they what? Ate. Thanksgiving's coming up. Have you ever eaten a little too much on Thanksgiving and what do you immediately do? You get a good nap. Could be either or. You don't need to read too much into that. He was satisfied. That's all you need to read. He became married just simply means he was satisfied at the end of the day and he rested really well. Comfortably. in his own bed, and Ruth enters the picture. Verse 8, we're told she enters secretly, uncovers his feet or his legs, and lies down at his feet. Sometime during the night, Boaz wakes up, and imagine his astonishment. He doesn't ask, what are you doing? He's more concerned about, who are you? I think the question might have followed, what are you doing here? But he, who are you? He's startled, the text tells us. Natural response. She responds to Boaz. She departs here from Naomi's instruction. Remember, Naomi said go and wait and he will tell you what to do. We do get there. He does tell her what to do, but there's a lot of not waiting here and just her response. I am Ruth, your servant. That should have been it. I'm Ruth, your servant. That would have been a noble right response. But she goes on, spread your wings over your servant, for you are my redeemer. That's implied in what Naomi may have been sending her to do, but she didn't tell her to say that. Her instructions were to wait, and He will tell you what to do. He would have known already that this was the case. And spread your wings, you remember, goes back again to chapter 2, where Boaz says, I've heard about you, how you've spread your wings under God. Now she comes to him, you spread your wings over your servant. Now again, we touched on it last week and the idea of liver, L-E-V-I-R, the Hebrew word of family or kinsmen, has this idea of a servant was part of the family. And he demonstrated that when he invited her in to eat with the servants at the table, that she was in fact part of the family on that occasion. So this idea of the servant and your Redeemer, all of this has already been pictured. We have in Ezekiel 16.8 the idea of God himself in his covenant with his people says in 16.8, when I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you're at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness. This is the picture that's going on here in Boaz's room that night. I made my vow to you and entered into covenant with you, declares the Lord, and you became mine. But there's something more in Ruth's request for Boaz to spread his covering or to spread his wings. She's identifying him as the man that God had chosen to be His source of refuge, to be the Redeemer for Ruth and Naomi. And again, this harkens back to chapter 2 where Boaz said, May the Lord repay you for what you've done and a full reward be given you. You've come under the wings of God and taken refuge. What's interesting here is one writer put it, God will use Boaz to answer his own prayer for full reward. He's the wings that will be spread for God. Now again, we need to see Boaz's status as a kinsman redeemer on this occasion. He was kin, but he wasn't, as we'll see in a moment, the exact next of kin. He was qualified to fulfill his role Though not legally required to do so yet because he wasn't the next of kin in line. So it would have been unnecessary. If he'd have been the one to come up with this whole elaborate scheme, Naomi could have gone to Boaz and said, hey, you're the kinsman redeemer, here's Ruth. But that's not what we see happening here. She doesn't walk up and say, you are my kinsman redeemer, but Ruth does on this occasion. So what Ruth does here is actually totally against what would have been right and proper. Not only was it considered taboo for a woman to propose marriage to a man, because that's what she's doing with this spreading of the wings. It's a betrothal. It's an engagement. wrong for a woman to do. Ruth's situation is even more precarious. She was a younger woman proposing to her elder. And more, she was a Gentile proposing to a Jew. And this is where she departed from Naomi's explicit instruction. All that Naomi told her to do was uncover Boaz's feet and lie down and he will tell you what to do. But Ruth blurts out her intentions in answering Boaz's question of our identity. You're the kinsman redeemer. What does Boaz do? In verse 10, we see his generosity. Everything hinges on what Boaz does here. There's no rest of the story if he says, okay, let's go. But that's not what happens. Imagine what must have been going through his mind. He's awakened from a very comfortable sleep. And he finds a woman lying at his feet in the dark. Not only that, she announces her intentions of marriage because he's legally qualified to act as her go-el and her livir. I call that a rude awakening. The Boaz doesn't send her away. He doesn't kick her out. He doesn't tell her to come back later once the cobwebs are cleared and he's fully awake. He doesn't even rebuke her for her actions on this occasion as if they were suggested or immoral. We don't need to read anything into the intentions of those. It wasn't to sweep with him. Everything's on the table here. He certainly might have done so. He might have been suspicious of her. But look at his response. May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You've made this last kindness greater than the first. Yesterday was a great kindness. This is even greater. Not coming in and uncovering his feet and laying on his legs, but that he chose Him. Much older than all of the other workers of the field. That was the kindness that he's talking about, and whether it be poor or rich. He doesn't condone her actions, but his response shows how humbled he is that she would consider him. Some suggest that Ruth's around 25 years old, and Boaz is somewhere between 45 and 50 years old. Quite a gap in age. Moaz then indicates that he accepts Ruth's proposal. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you what you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know already that you're a worthy woman. He got told that on the front end, remember? You're worthy. That's not the question. He accepts her proposal. He assures her that he could not have chosen anyone more noble and excellent than she to be his wife. Now, let me just intervene here. Did she need to dress herself up and make herself smell good? In fact, when he met her on the first occasion, she was sweating, probably maybe had bloody knuckles and scars on her hands from gleaning the fields. She was already acceptable. There's a lesson here, young ladies. God has chosen a man for you. You are acceptable in their sight. But I digress. He accepts her proposal. No one could have been more noble or excellent than her to be his wife. And he assures her that he would, in fact, find it an honor to be chosen by God to be her kinsman, redeemer. Her livere and her go well. But there's a potential problem. He drops a bomb at the end of verse 12. There is a Redeemer nearer than I. Boy, just let that sink in. All that we've built up to this point, all of it that's been happening in Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 and into Chapter 3, all of this beautiful story that's been going on to provide a worthy Redeemer for Ruth, and suddenly, I mean, it's like, I'm not the guy. Not yet. You ought to be laying at somebody else's feet. I'm not the one yet. Imagine what must have been going through Ruth's mind. Again, primped up, prepared herself, gone in in the middle of night, thrown herself at his feet, and now he says, I'm not the guy. Embarrassing? At a minimum. Awkward? Yes, there was another man who was first in line. There was another man who had first dibs. There was another man that had to be approached with a yes or no before things could go on. This might be why Boaz had not initiated things on his own, because he knew. Naomi and Ruth presumed. He wasn't the man. At least not yet, as we'll see next week. According to Old Testament law, this other man had the right to act before Boaz. It's interesting, we never learn the man's name. We don't know who he is. We'll see that next week. This adds even more to the story of Ruth and Boaz. Boaz, at this point, is not under any obligation whatsoever to be the brother or the redeemer. There was another one before him. He's not obligated to anything, and yet he tells her. I will do this for you. I will fulfill the promise if the other man does not, and he does so with an oath, as the Lord lives. Remember Ruth had made a similar oath with Naomi. If I don't die where you die, if I don't serve your God and your people, the Lord strike me down where I am. Now we have Boaz pledging himself to her as long as this other man rejects. There's no stronger way to assure this promise than this pledge that he gives as the Lord lives. And then we see Boaz's advice to return as she came in secret. We don't want anybody to draw any wrong conclusions that they obviously would have. I'm waking up at dawn with a woman in my room, a beautiful young woman at that. There would have been things that men would say. So he tells her to go out before everyone's up, as you came, and he fills her with much more than he did the first time. Much more barley to take back in order to provide, not just for Ruth, but for Naomi as well. Leon Mar suggests this is Boaz's message to Naomi that her empty days are over. Her empty days are over. Not just Ruth, but for Naomi as well. So Ruth returns to the city. Naomi tells her all that had transpired, I mean, and tells Naomi all that had transpired with Boaz. And now Naomi says what? Wait. Hmm. Learned a lesson, you think? Maybe we ought to wait. Maybe I got a little ahead of things. Yes, Boaz is in the family line, but perhaps she didn't even know this other guy existed. Probably didn't, but nonetheless he did. And had they taken it upon themselves and nobody intervened, it would have been in sin. If the other man would have reared up and said, wait a minute, she's not yours, she's mine. Naomi says, wait. You need to listen to what I told you when you went. He'll tell you what to do. Wait on Him. And dear friends, the same is true of our good Father. When we wait, He will tell us what to do. He will tell us when to go and when not to go. He'll tell us where to go and where not to go. He'll tell us how to go and how not to go. He'll even tell us why to go and why not to go. May we be faithful in waiting on Him. Again, they would have gotten the wrong man. And it's interesting to me that a true Jew today is still waiting on the wrong man. They've gone to the wrong man. They would have gone to Adam, or they would have gone to Abraham, or they would have gone to Moses, or they would have gone to David. And who could blame them? At least for the last three, they were all important covenant heads of the relations that God had with His people. But they weren't the Messiah. They weren't the Redeemer. They weren't the right man. They weren't the man of God's own choosing. They were pictures of His prophet, priest, and king role as our mediator. They're still going to Abraham. They're still pleading Moses. They're still pleading David, and they're lost without a Redeemer. Jesus Christ is the second Adam, not the first. With the first, there's death. With the last, there's life. And so, who do you follow today? You see, there's only one right Redeemer. There's only one worthy Redeemer. There's only one man of God's own choosing, and that is Jesus Christ, our Lord. There is no other. And so this day I ask, have you come and, as Hayden prayed earlier, laid yourself at the true Redeemer's feet? Have you humbled yourself as if He is the only kinsman that can redeem you in the eyes of God. That's faith. It's believing. Even though it was misguided with Ruth, we see the picture of our needing to come. And we understand that there is no other man. When Jesus Christ said, it is finished, it was established that He and He alone is our kinsman redeemer. If you come to Him, this morning. Let's pray. Father, we thank you today for Jesus Christ. Adam, the first Adam, would have been enough had he only obeyed. And when he fell, we all fell with him. His sin was our sin. His guilt was our guilt. And yet, in your grace and in your mercy, in your way, You said that you're so proud of this earth.