Ruth 3: Faithfulness Opens Unexpected Doors

Theme: We overestimate what we can do in the short term. We wildly underestimate what God can do through a lifetime of faithfulness.

The sovereignty of our great God is clearly seen in the story of Ruth. He guided her every step of the way to become His child and fulfill His plan for her to become an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5). In the same way, we have assurance that God has a plan for each of us. Just as Naomi and Ruth trusted Him to provide for them, so should we.

Let’s read it together.

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The More We Dig. The More We Find.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT).
Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome & Daily Bible Focus
• 1:29 Theme: Faithfulness Opens Doors
• 2:58 Community Updates & CTA
• 4:26 Ruth Backstory Recap
• 7:18 Enter Boaz: Kinsman-Redeemer
• 9:35 Reading Ruth 3: Naomi’s Plan
• 12:05 Night at the Threshing Floor
• 14:46 Virtue, Covering, and Protection
• 17:05 Controversy Explained Clearly
• 20:10 The Power of Reputation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hey everyone, and welcome to the Bible Breakdown Podcast. In this podcast, we will be breaking down the Bible one chapter a day. Whether you are a new believer or have been following Christ for a while, we believe that you will learn something new and fresh every single day. So thank you for joining us. Let's get into breaking down the Bible together.

SPEAKER_01: 0:23

Well, hello everybody. Welcome back to the Bible Breakdown Podcast with your host, Pastor Brandon. Today, Ruth chapter three. And if I could give this one a title, it would be Faithfulness Opens Unexpected Doors. Faithfulness Opens Unexpected Doors. You know, in life, it it kind of seems like what we tend to be normal is, you know, I heard someone say one time, if it's going to be, it's up to me. And the idea they were going for is you got to work hard. Anything worth having is worth working for. And all that is wonderful. But yet it seems like a lot of times people think that the only way to get ahead in life is by pushing other people down, by by doing things unconventional and all this kind of stuff. And there's something to be said for hard work, but at the same time, people don't always realize that faithfulness, having staying power, and really kind of developing a reputation, it also opens doors in very unexpected ways. And we're going to see a very unexpected doorway and a little bit of controversy in this chapter. We're going to jump into it in just a moment. But as always, if you like what we're doing here, make sure you like, share, and subscribe to this YouTube channel right below this video on the right hand side. Hit the subscribe button. Also give us as many of those likes as you possibly can. Comment on this video, share this video, and also for the podcast listeners, thank you so much. I continue to see more and more of you adding those five-star reviews, and it really does help us get the word out. And then for everybody, of course, our rallying point at the Bible Breakdown Discussion on Facebook groups. I love the work we're doing there. And I'm going to tell you something, the more we dig, the more we find. So I would love for you to go to those daily devotions that our team is putting out and comment on those. Give us your ideas. Let us know how you're interacting with God's Word. And here's something I would love. Ask us questions. If you have questions about this chapter, maybe I don't cover something at all, or you don't agree with what I say or anything like that, we would love to process this together. Sometimes you really don't know what's going on here. And I don't want you to have to just ask or just wonder, but I want you to ask because, man, the more we dig, the more we find. And this is one of those. I'm really interested to see what they do with this because there's a little bit of controversy in this chapter. But before we get there, I want to think about this idea of faithfulness opens unexpected doors. So if you have your Bibles, you want to go ahead and open with me to Ruth chapter three. Let me catch you up on what's going on. There was this wonderful lady by the name of Naomi. Her and her husband, Elimelech, and her two boys moved to an area to a country called Moab. While they were there, her kids grew up and they married these two women called Ruth and Orpah. Well, after these set of circumstances happened, Naomi's husband, Elimelech, and her two sons died. And she was left there just by herself and these two daughters-in-law. Well, one of the daughters-in-law stayed in Moab, but as Naomi went back to Bethlehem, or as uh Jewish people say, they have that that ha there's a Bethlehem, as they go back there, Ruth goes as well. Well, this is a big deal for Ruth because she's young enough that she could have went and got remarried and had a family of her own and all of this, but instead she wants to stay with Naomi. And Naomi's so upset, she even changes her name and says, Don't call me Naomi anymore. Call me Mara, which means bitterness, because she's just like everything is just gone now. And at the social hierarchy, she's at the bottom of that totem pole. And especially now with Ruth going, she's at the very bottom. Because not only does she not have a family, but she's also a foreigner in the land. And there is no social safety net other than the gifts of others. And so she's really just for in a lot of people's eyes, ruining her life by going with Naomi. But she does. And if she goes back to Bethlehem, she wants to go and be able to gather up some food for them to be able to eat. And it was said in the time that if you were a farmer, you were to leave the edges, you would leave what is dropped there for the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner. Well, Ruth gets two of those three boxes, and so she's able to go and to collect and to try to get just a scavenge for something for them to eat. And the thing is, though, is she goes to you know kind of walk behind the harvesters in a harvest field of a guy named Boaz. And in the last chapter, you know, Naomi says, that's amazing because Boaz is actually our kinsman redeemer. And we're gonna find out what that means. But basically the idea is that if you lost everything you had, instead of it being sold to another tribe, it was there was an opportunity for a close family member to be able to buy the property so that it could stay within the family, someone who could redeem the property, redeem everything. And so it was someone who could really come and save the day. And that's exactly who Boaz was. And so now there's this idea of he's gonna take care of us and let me be able to work the fields so that I can somehow scratch a living just at the just very base level for herself, Ruth, and Naomi. But now look what happens in chapter three, and we're gonna get into the part that's a little bit controversial as we get further. So if you're ready, Ruth chapter three, verse one, on this idea of faithfulness opens unexpected doors. You ready? Here we go. Verse one. One day Naomi said to Ruth, My daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you so that you will be provided for. Boaz is a close relative of ours, and he's been very kind by letting you gather grain with his young women. Tonight, he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor. Now, do as I tell you. Take a bath and put on perfume and address and dress in your nicest clothes. Then go to the threshing floor, but don't let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking. Be sure to notice where he lies down, and then go uncover his feet and lie down there, and he will tell you what to do. Now, what in the world is that? Uncover his feet? Well, I'm gonna tell you something. I'm sleeping, you uncover my feet. We got a problem, man. I don't want to get cold. So obviously something's going on. Let's see what happens. Verse 5. She says, I will do everything you say. So she went down to the threshing floor that night and followed the instructions of her mother-in-law. After Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he was in good spirits, and he lay down at the far end of the pile of grain and went to sleep. Then Ruth came quietly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Around midnight, Boaz suddenly woke up and turned over. He was surprised to find a woman laying at his feet. Who are you? he asked. I am your servant, Ruth, she replied. Spread the corner of your robe, or excuse me, spread the corner of your covering over me, for you are my family redeemer. The Lord bless you, my daughter, Boaz exclaimed. You are showing even more family loyalty now that you did before, for you have not gone after any younger man, whether rich or poor. Now, don't worry about a thing, my daughter. I will do what is necessary, for everyone in the town knows that you are a virtuous woman. But while it's true that I am one of your family redeemers, there is another man who is more closely related to you than I am. Now, stay here tonight, and in the morning I will talk to him. If he is willing to redeem you, very well, let him marry you. But if he will not he's not willing, then as surely as the Lord lives, I will redeem you myself. Now lie down here until morning. So Ruth lay at Boaz's feet until morning, but he got she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other, and for Boaz had said, No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor. Then Boaz said to her, Bring your cloak and spread it out. So he measured six scoops of barley into the cloak and placed it on her back, and then he returned to town. When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, What happened, my daughter? Ruth told Naomi everything Boaz had done for her, and she added, And he gave me six scoops of barley and said, Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed. Naomi said to her, Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens, the man won't rest until he has settled things today. Now, I know you're probably sitting there going, What in the world just happened? So there is some controversy because this imagine with me for a moment, it's at night, he's about to lay down, and she goes and she uncovers his feet. And she uncovers his feet and lays down at his feet. He wakes up and she says, Hey, you're my kinsman redeemer. So lay your cloak over me and let that be a sign. Well, that sounds really weird. And so there has been some controversy over time that says, Hey, is there some kind of uh kind of cultural thing that we don't understand here? And maybe a lot of other stuff's happening. And some people have even gone to say that her uncovering his feet may have meant that he she was uncovering the lower half of his body, and that she was saying, by covering me over, that means I want you just you get the point. Okay, you get the point of what it was trying to say. Now, here's the thing: there could be some of that here, except for the fact that he praises her for being a virtuous woman, which means a woman above reproach, someone that we would look at as what we would now say a Proverbs 31 woman. He wouldn't be saying that if she tried to seduce him in the middle of the night. So, what I contend for is this was a customary thing to say that I am I am in need of this, and by covering her with his cloak, that was his way of saying, I'm bringing you underneath my protection and my care. Because he was the kinsman redeemer, someone who could then help that family by legal right get out of the financial situation that they are in. So you may read some things that say that there was actually some some other things happening. I tend to disagree because of him saying that everyone in town knows you are a virtuous woman, saying that you are not someone who is trying to seduce me. You're someone who's trying to do the right thing. So let's review what happened. It is because he said that her reputation had preceded her that he was willing to consider this opportunity. It's amazing to realize that it wasn't because she was the most attractive person, it wasn't because she came from a different family, because remember, she's actually a gentile, she's outside of the nation of Israel as far as in her lineage and heritage. It was because of her willingness to be faithful to Naomi. Not just by moving there, but then her continual willingness. And she hadn't asked for anything. The Bible says that she actually just became one of or worked alongside of his other servants and just made a living for herself and for Naomi. And that that reputation of faithfulness continued to grow until this moment when she really kind of put it all on the line, he was willing to listen because of the faithfulness that she had shown. And remember, the theme of the entire book of Ruth to me is that we wildly overestimate what we can do through a short-term moment, and we wildly underestimate what God can do through a lifetime of faithfulness. I know that a lot of times it doesn't seem fun, it doesn't seem exciting, it doesn't seem interesting to be faithful. However, if you look at it, it really is a lot of the you know, the old story of the tortoise and the hare that happens. You know, if you ever heard that story, the the hare, the rabbit, they they have a race one day between the the turtle and the rabbit, and the rabbit takes off super fast. And for a while, it looks like the turtle doesn't even have a chance because the the rabbit is so fast. But what the turtle doesn't have in speed, it has in consistent faithfulness. And as the race continues to go, as you find out, it's the consistent faithfulness that actually wins the day. And I would like to say that one of the greatest lessons we can take away from the book of Ruth, among many, many others that we can take, is that God doesn't always bless the fastest, the smartest, the the the best, this, that he blesses the faithful. Because at the end of the day, success is in the hands of the Lord. We can't control outcomes. All we can control is our effort. And our effort is to be faithful. And I guarantee you that if you are faithful to do what God has put in your hands to do, within time, God always opens unexpected doors of opportunity that you wouldn't get any other way. And so I want to encourage you today. Maybe you have been doing something for a long time. Maybe you're just bored with what's going on in your life. Maybe you're not experiencing a midlife crisis or anything. You're just bored. Just like I just need some excitement in my life. Well, excitement can be something you need without changing your faithfulness. Because faithfulness is what wins the day at the end of the day. Let me encourage you. You have no idea what you are building right now just by your consistent faithfulness. Because just like with Ruth's life, she was building a reputation among the area and probably had no idea. There's probably people watching your life right now, and you have no idea what is that consistent or faithfulness that always wins the day. Let's pray together. God, thank you so much for today. Thank you for your goodness, your kindness, your mercy. Thank you, Lord, that you are with us and you are for us in so many ways. I pray today you will encourage us to never stop being faithful. Because at the end of the day, God, you are for us more than we can imagine. And you, God, determine the roads we take. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Remember, the theme verse we have for this book is Ruth chapter 4, verse 17, that said, The women said, Naomi has a son, and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David. The reason why it's so important to be faithful is you never know. Your simple act of faithfulness may put you in a line and a lineage you have no idea, because David ultimately became the second king of Israel, and he was the great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather of Jesus. So your faithfulness may do more in your life than you can imagine. It took a simple lady from Moab and made her the great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother of the Son of God. I love you. I'll see you tomorrow for Ruth chapter four.