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When you only see your difficulties, you cannot see the blessings that are on the way.
Ruth 4:1-22 - 1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you[a] will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth[b] the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.” 6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.” 11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. 17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, 20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
How do you deal with difficulties in life? Is your reaction fight or flight? The current difficulty I am dealing with is the declining health of my dad in Pakistan. He is only 67 years old. I know he is completely secure in Jesus and nothing can claim even one single moment of his life that God predetermined for him. Yet, I have to work hard to not focus on the difficulty but on the One who can turn our difficulties into blessings.
The problem is that people don’t know that a season of difficulties can turn their focus from God to the difficulties. They need to know how to deal with them so they may not hinder God from turning their difficulties into blessings.
Is there a difficulty in your life that you are struggling to deal with? Do you want God to turn your difficulties into blessings? If the answer is yes, this message is for you.
The book of Ruth was full of difficulties. There were three deaths in the family. Ruth had no one to lean on. Her elderly mother-in-law was possibly depressed. She had no income, no food, and she was in a foreign land among foreign people. Yet, since she trusted God unconditionally, in reading Ruth 4, we see that God turned her difficulties into blessings.
The big idea is that no matter the nature of your difficulties, if you are struggling to deal with them and you want God to turn your difficulties into blessings, then you need to trust God unconditionally. The question is, how do we do that? Ruth 4:1-22 shows we can do that by applying three faith principles in this story: trust God’s process patiently, trust God’s plan prudently, and trust God’s providence proactively.
Trust God’s Process Patiently (Ruth 4:1-6)
Ruth 3 ended with Naomi saying in verse18, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” Ruth 4 starts with Ruth patiently waiting and trusting in God’s process.
So, Ruth 4:1 reads, “Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there.” He went to the gate because in ancient Israel, it was at the town gates that men congregated. This is how you found out what was going on locally and regionally. It was sort of today’s place for news and social media.
Next, the verse tells us why Boaz went there, “And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” ” The word “friend” in the verse doesn’t mean how we mean it now, a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection. Rather it is a Hebrew idiom, which means “so-and-so” or “such-and-such.” In other words, the text makes this possible redeemer a nameless nobody.
We find why he is a nameless nobody in the next verses, “1b And he turned aside and sat down. 2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down. 3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
Last time, I shared several Old Testament verses that outlined the kinsman redeemer law in the Mosaic covenant. In Hebrew, redeemer or kinsman, goel, was responsible for performing many actions but the one Ruth was looking for was in Deuteronomy 25:5 which requires a nearer male relative of a childless widow to marry her so that the inheritance and the family name may live on.
To be a redeemer, the redeemer had to have the right, the resources, and the resolve. This no-name potential redeemer had the right and resources and he was happy to buy the land, but he lacked the resolve to carry on the family name. Therefore in verse 6, we read, “Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
His interest was in protecting his inheritance or else his family name would be lost. However, his lack of trust in God’s process led to what he feared the most. He is a nameless man. Had he followed the kinsman-redeemer law by trusting the process laid out in the Bible, his name would have been listed in the book of Ruth. Rather than Boaz, his name would have shown up in the genealogy of King David and King Jesus.
The principle we learn here is that when we fail to trust God’s process patiently in our difficulties, we always pay the consequences, and some of those consequences may make life difficult for our children, grandchildren, and future generations.
Take the example of Abraham when he and Sarah became impatient and failed to trust God’s process and His timing. They interjected God’s process with Hagar and Ishmael who ever since then have been a thorn in the side of Israel. Even today, the Israel and Hamas war is not a war between Palestinians and Israelis— it is a war between the children of Isaac and Ishmael.
The application is to wait patiently for God’s process and His timing if you want to spare yourself and your descendants pain and suffering and to act in obedience to the word of God and not in your self-interest. Then God will turn your difficulties into blessings.
Trust God’s Plan Prudently (Ruth 4:7-12)
Though God transcends all cultures, He chooses to work within the framework of societies and cultures. In Ruth 4:7-12, we see God’s plan progressing in a culture much older and different than ours as Boaz deals with difficulty prudently to ensure protection and provision for Ruth.
First, he seals a deal. Verses 7-10 reads, “7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal. This was as good as any legally binding contract in our culture. After sealing the deal, he gets reputable eyewitnesses to attest to it. 9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. 10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.
As I said earlier, the redeemer had to have the right, the resources, and the resolve. After the no-name redeemer forfeited his right because he did not have the resolve, Boaz stepped in to redeem a gentile Ruth. Here, Boaz is the picture of Jesus, while Ruth is the picture of the church. Only Jesus has the right, the resources, and the resolve to save Gentiles and graft us into Israel to be counted as full citizens. Jesus our redeemer bought us with the price of His precious blood.
Next, in verses 11-12, we see the response of the elders of the town, “11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.” Rachel and Leah, two sisters married to Jacob, are considered the mothers of Israel as a nation. Now notice their prophetic blessing for Boaz regarding Bethlehem where the King of Kings and Lord of Lords Jesus the true redeemer will be born. Verse 11b-12 continues, “May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem, 12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.” Tamar was another woman in the Bible who was the recipient of the blessing of the redeemer law in the Old Testament.
Micah 5:2 repeats the elders’ prophetic words, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Matthew 2 and Luke 2 say that Jesus fulfilled that prophecy.
For application, like Boaz, trust in God’s plan for His people and be prudent as you apply the Word in your decision-making. You may turn difficulties into blessings if you listen to the believing elders in your family and also the spiritual elders in your church. Their council and prayers because of their walk with Jesus might be the prophetic word you need.
Trust God’s Providence Proactively (Ruth 4:13-22)
The story in Ruth 4 continues with verse 13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.” “The Lord gave her conception” means two things: Ruth might have been barren and now in His providence, God opened her womb, and conception is always the work of God.
In the mind of God’s people, Sarah, the wife of Abraham, Rebecca, the wife of his promised son, Isaac, and Rachel, the favorite wife of his grandson, Jacob, later named Israel— all received conception because of the Lord’s will.
Against the cultural push, the Bible makes conception the work of God. Even when, in our rebellion, we interject God’s process and plan for us in His providence, conception is God’s gift to humanity.
Notice how this conception changed Naomi and her outlook on life in verses 14-16, “14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel! 15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” 16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.”
In Ruth 1, when surrounded by difficulties, Naomi returned to Bethlehem and the same people went out to welcome her in verse 19, they asked, “Is this Naomi?” which Hebrew which means pleasant and lovely. In verse 20, “She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” ” Mara in Hebrew means bitter.
As the book ends, no longer is Naomi bitter because God ended her sorrow and worry about provision and protection, the difficulties that impaired her faith vision.
The book of Ruth closes with a list of names that no one could have imagined would be the work of God to bring God the Son on earth to redeem His people Israel but also the earth. Verses 17-22 says, “17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. 18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, 19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Ammi-nadab,20 Ammi-nadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, 21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, 22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.” So, Ruth and Boaz were the great-grandparents of King David and ultimately King Jesus.
I read a story about a woman who basically said she could not believe in a heartless god who sits and watches the misery of people and does not intervene to end their difficulties. One may say the same about the story of Ruth. However, looking back, we can see that all the difficulties were closely observed and guided by God’s providential hand. In the grand scheme of things, her difficulties were necessary for her redemption as well as the redemption of the nations.
The application for us is that if we want God to turn our difficulties into blessings then, like Ruth and Boaz, we need to trust God unconditionally; that is to say, His process, plan, and providence and to trust that all your ordinary affairs and your serious difficulties are part of the great scheme of God for His glory and our growth.
I was talking to my wife the other day— that though stressful, our difficulties do cause us to depend on God more, draw near to Him and grow deeper in faith. Imagine all the difficulties you have gone through in your life. Have they not drawn you closer to Jesus? Have they not caused you to cling to Jesus?
The providence of God does not mean that God causes things to happen that are outside of divine love, care, mercy, and compassion for us. It means that out of free will, when we fail to trust God’s process, plan, and providence, still God can move everything in His sovereignty to His predetermined conclusion for our good. He wants to make us more like Jesus and sometimes that requires dealing with difficulties that we do not want to face.
The action step that I want us to take is to join Team Jesus by proclaiming the message of redemption that Jesus has come to save, redeem, and restore people. If you are not saved, then like Ruth, approach the redeemer of your soul in humility. If you ask Him to redeem you, He will deliver you from the slavery of sin and its consequence of eternal death and He will seal you with the Holy Spirit so that you can deal with difficulties by the power of the Spirit.
My appeal to you is, do not forget what you learned in this book. In God’s providence, those who trusted God’s process, plan, and providence played a central role in the redemptive story of God for Israel and the world. However, those who didn’t trust God’s process, plan, and providence became nameless and were forgotten.
Naomi in her own way, trusted God’s process, plan, and providence and God turned all her difficulties into blessings. Therefore, what started in Ruth 1 with death, ended with life. What started with bitterness ended with joy. What started with feeling like being cursed ended with feeling blessed. What started with shame and dishonor ended with hope of salvation for nations.
Here is the deal, when you only see your difficulties, you cannot see the blessings that are on the way. Like Ruth, throw yourself on the mercy of God and choose to trust and follow Jesus unconditionally. That means you must trust God’s process, plan, and providence in all sorts of difficulties. Do it patiently, prudently, and proactively.
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