RUTH 4
A HAPPY ENDING

Big idea
•	God works through the faithfulness of his people to bring about his eternal plan for the world.
•	RUTH 4: Christ’s redemption of his people ensures they will have a happy ending – life with the loving God in the new creation!

------------------------------------

This morning, we’re coming to the end of our series on the book of Ruth –
	And as I hope we’ve seen from what’s just been read out to us, the story of Ruth has a happy ending.

Many of us love stories with a happy ending –
	They make us feel good inside – they’re reassuring – they remind us of bedtime stories when we were young: ‘And they all lived happily ever after.’

But you may have noticed that happy endings just aren’t very fashionable any more.

We live in a cynical age, where we can’t quite bring ourselves to believe in happy endings any more.

The films and television series and books that are critically acclaimed often don’t have happy endings –
	Because that makes them more realistic – more gritty – more true-to-life!

I read somewhere a few years ago that feeling sad was the new happy!
	Deep, profound people, it suggested, were often unhappy people – and some of them were proud of that fact!

In the film When Harry met Sally, the student Harry tries to impress the girl he’s just met, Sally, with his intellectual credentials.
	‘I bet you never think about death, do you?’ he says to her.  ‘A fleeting thought maybe…?  I spend hours!  I spend days!’

‘Every time I buy a book I read the last page of it, so just in case I die, I know how it ends.
	That, my friend, is a dark side!’

Harry boasts about his ‘dark side’ to Sally – because he knows it sounds very brave and deep!

The sign of sophistication and maturity in our culture is not expecting a happy ending –
	Of growing up beyond that!

And one reason why a lot of people today don’t like happy endings is that they don’t trust them!

Deep down, many of us long for happy endings –
	We want to believe in them!
	And above all, we want to believe that the story of our lives will have a happy ending!

But we’re frightened that it might not.
	We know that life can often appear cruel and harsh, and so we try to prepare ourselves for the worst, rather than hoping for the best!

We’re scared that our lives might not have a happy ending -	
	And we’re angry when people try to sell us a happy ending in a film or a book or any story.

Why?
	Because we think that any happy ending is based on a lie!

So – what are we to make of the book of Ruth?

It has a happy ending.
	Does that mean it’s just a simplistic story for optimists?

Is it simply a piece of wish-fulfilment on the part of some sentimental Israelites – the equivalent of a Mills and Boon romance today?

The problem is that the book of Ruth isn’t the only story in the Bible with a happy ending.
	Most of the narrative in the Bible has some sort of positive resolution in the end, with God taking centre-stage.

And I’ve got friends who hate that.

I was talking to one non-Christian friend of mine once about the suffering and real questions he was going through in his life.
	And I pointed him towards the book of Job in the Old Testament as something he might want to read.

Job is perhaps the most honest and direct confrontation with the whole question of suffering in the Bible.
	I thought it might help him to see that a believer like Job wrestled with the same questions and struggles that he did.

The thing was, my friend had already looked at the book of Job – and he knew how it ended.
	‘That book’s got a happy ending,’ he said to me.  ‘Job gets everything back that he lost.

‘But what about me?  Where’s my happy ending?’

Happy endings just don’t seem to measure up to a lot of our experiences here on earth –
	So can we trust them?

Can we trust the happy ending in the book of Ruth?

I want us to see this morning that we can!

The book of Ruth doesn’t have a happy ending as an act of wish-fulfilment or an attempt to give its audience the lift that it needs.

No – the happy ending of the book of Ruth tells us important things about the God of the Bible – the living God –
	And about his purposes for the people who trust in him!

You see, not only does the book of Ruth have a happy ending for the people involved –
	The big story of the Bible has a happy ending for God’s people, too!

According to the Bible, God’s purposes for his people are good – and he will give them a happy ending - 
	
Life with the loving and glorious God in a new creation prepared for us by Jesus Christ himself!

And that is not just wish fulfilment on behalf of Christians.
	No – the Bible insists that this glorious future is real – it is waiting for every one of Jesus’ followers –
	And it is dependent on the work of Christ – the faithfulness of God – and the love of God!

We don’t deserve this happy ending –
	We haven’t earned it by living good lives!

It is all dependent on God’s willingness and ability to deliver it!

And I hope we’ll see this morning that just as the living God was able to deliver a happy ending for Ruth, Naomi, Boaz and the people of Israel –
	So he is able to keep his promise to us today, and bring us into a glorious new creation at the end of our lives or when Christ returns – whichever comes sooner!

Let’s see what we can learn about God and his purposes for his people as we look at Ruth 4 here.

First of all, we need to see the end of Ruth’s story!

Back in Ruth chapter 1, Ruth – a woman from Moab – chooses to leave her homeland and devote herself to her mother-in-law Naomi after the deaths of both their husbands.
	More than that, Ruth chooses to devote herself to Naomi’s God as well – the God of Israel!

Naomi is bitter and empty after the death of her husband and two sons – and she returns to Bethlehem in the belief that God’s hand is against her.

In chapter 2, things begin to improve for these two widows.
	Ruth goes to work in the field of a farmer called Boaz, who turns out to be a relative of Naomi’s and a kind and generous man.

Boaz provides for Ruth and Naomi, until Naomi urges Ruth to go to him and ask him to take Ruth as his wife.
	Ruth does so – in chapter 3, she risks her reputation and safety, and goes to Boaz in the middle of the night at the threshing floor and asks him to marry her and to rescue Naomi from poverty.

Out of a transparent love for Ruth, Boaz agrees to this.

A problem arises in chapter 3, however –
	Boaz is not the closest relative of Naomi in Bethlehem – another man in the town has a stronger claim to buy back Naomi’s land and to marry Ruth into the bargain.

Boaz resolves to go to this man and settle the matter once and for all.

And that’s what we find Boaz up to in chapter 4, verse 1.

Read v.1.

Now, we saw last week that a kinsman-redeemer was someone who could rescue a family from dying out.

If a family was without any children,
	Or if it was so poor that it might be forced to sell its land to survive –

then the law allowed for a relative to step in and act as a kinsman redeemer.

The kinsman redeemer could buy back the land on behalf of the family – 
	and if need be, marry the widow involved and try to keep the family line going by producing children.   

Boaz was a possible kinsman redeemer for Naomi and Ruth in Bethlehem – but the unnamed other man in v.1 was a closer relative, and so he had first refusal of Naomi’s land – and of Ruth!

We saw in chapter 3 that Boaz clearly wants to marry Ruth – that he loves her!
	And this other kinsman-redeemer stands in the way of him marrying Ruth!

Boaz could have tried to marry Ruth in secret and take his chances with this other relative –
	After all, this other man hadn’t shown any interest whatsoever in helping Naomi and Ruth up to now, even though he is a closer relative!

But Boaz is an honourable man and he insists on obeying the law and giving the closer relative the first opportunity to act as kinsman redeemer.

This is a real problem, here!

We know from chapter 3 verse 11 that the whole town of Bethlehem knows of Ruth’s ‘noble character’ –
	Surely this other relative will have heard of her – will like what he sees – and marry her!

And as for Naomi’s property that needed to be redeemed, any man in a rural community like Bethlehem would jump at the chance of getting another piece of valuable farmland!

Boaz’s insistence on ‘doing the right thing’ looks like it will lose him both the land and his chance of marrying the woman he loves!
	Isn’t Boaz being just a little too noble for his own good?

But any fears that Boaz is giving up too easily on Ruth here are quickly swept aside as we look at vv.1-10.

•	Boaz redeems Ruth and Naomi (vv.1-10)

In some detail, the writer of Ruth describes the procedure Boaz had to go through to confront the other kinsman redeemer’s claims, if he was going to be able to redeem Ruth and Naomi himself.

v.7 shows us that even for the original readership of Ruth, a lot of what goes on was pretty alien to them – 
	the writer has to break in for a moment and explain what’s going on with the sandals...

But as we look over what happens, we can see that Boaz is actually very clever and deliberate in what he is doing –
	He is determined to overcome the obstacle of the other kinsman redeemer, and to be able to redeem Ruth and Naomi himself!

In vv.3-4, he first offers the property that belonged to Naomi’s husband to the other man, with no mention of Ruth.

The other man understandably jumps at the chance!
	All he thought he would have to do is buy the land – because Naomi was past the age of child-bearing, he probably reasoned that he wouldn’t be asked to marry her, as he couldn’t carry on her family line even if he wanted to!

But then, in v.5, Boaz mentions the existence of Ruth.
	The kinsman redeemer would have to marry Ruth and try to have children with her, to ensure that Naomi’s family might survive.

Suddenly, redeeming this piece of land was a lot less appealing to the other man!

•	This relative knew that after he bought this piece of land, if he were to have any children with Ruth, then he would have to give the land back to them. 
•	On top of that, his own estate would be divided up among more children: Ruth’s children would have a share in his estate, but his children would have no share in Naomi’s.
•	On top of that, he would also have to take Naomi into his home: another mouth to feed for as long as she lived.

The man saw the cost involved in redeeming the land –
	And he chooses not to!

Read v.6.

The way is now clear for Boaz to step forward to redeem the land and marry Ruth – which he immediately announces he will do!

The cost of redeeming Ruth and Naomi from poverty was the same for Boaz as it was for the other kinsman-redeemer –
	But Boaz was willing to pay those costs!

Because of that, the writer of Ruth records Boaz’s name – but he leaves the name of the other relative to be forgotten!

Boaz has once more shown himself to be a faithful and godly man of integrity – 
	and by the end of this chapter, we will see that God rewarded him with a pivotal role in his eternal purposes!

So Boaz redeems Ruth and Naomi from poverty.

More importantly to those who have watched the two of them relate to one another over the past few chapters, Boaz also marries Ruth!

•	Boaz marries Ruth (vv.11-13)

Perhaps surprisingly, the people of Bethlehem rejoice at this marriage in vv.11-12.

We must remember that Ruth is not an Israelite – she comes from Moab, Israel’s hated enemy –
	And it was generally frowned upon for an Israelite to marry a foreign woman like this!

But the blessing of the people of Bethlehem here demonstrates that Ruth is now welcomed into their community –
	More importantly, Ruth is now welcomed into the people of God!

She is no longer an outsider – no longer Ruth ‘the Moabitess’, as she is usually referred to earlier in the book:
	 No – now she is just ‘the woman’ and ‘this young woman’, and she is compared to some of the great women of Israel’s past: 
	
Rachel and Leah, the wives of Jacob –
	And Tamar – another foreign woman who joined the people of God and fathered one of Boaz’s ancestors (see Genesis 38).

Ruth is now accepted by the people of Bethlehem – and she is now invited by Boaz to be his wife!
	‘So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife.’

Back in chapter 1 verse 9, Naomi tried to send Ruth back to Moab with the blessing: ‘May the LORD grant that … you… find rest in the home of another husband.’

Ruth refused to go back to Moab –
	By staying with Naomi, it seemed as if she had turned her back on any chance she had to be married and have children –

And now – finally! – Ruth has found rest in the home of another husband!

Her decision to stay with Naomi – and to place her future in the hands of Naomi’s God – has been rewarded!

And more than finding another husband – Ruth and Boaz are quickly blessed with a child!
	Read v.13b – Then [Boaz] went to her…

This son is explicitly described as a gift from the LORD!
	And the story draws to an end with this gift from the LORD becoming a gift for Naomi!

•	Naomi receives a son (vv.14-17)

Back in chapter 1, Naomi asked bitterly: ‘Am I going to have any more sons?’ (1:11)

Here, the impossible happens!
	Ruth presents her son to Naomi her mother-in-law – and the women of Bethlehem who witnessed Naomi’s bitterness, emptiness and anger at God in chapter 1, now celebrate God’s goodness to her!

Read vv.14-15.

God has transformed Naomi’s bitterness and emptiness – 
	Now, the future of Naomi’s family is secure, and she loves Ruth and Boaz’s son as if he was her own!

Read vv.16-17a.

We’ve said throughout the book of Ruth that this is a love story.

So it’s perhaps surprising to see that the only time the word ‘love’ is mentioned is in v.15 –
	And it’s not to describe Boaz’s love for Ruth or vice versa –
	It’s to describe Ruth’s love for Naomi!

Ruth has been the demonstration of God’s love and compassion for Naomi ever since chapter 1 – 
	and the women of Bethlehem don’t want Naomi to forget it!

We’ve seen in the last two chapters that Boaz is frequently described in such a way as to be a picture of God’s love for his people.

Here, the person embodying God’s love is Ruth – and the person who is receiving God’s love is Naomi!
	Old, bitter, angry Naomi has been transformed by God’s love into a woman who has received remarkable grace and kindness!

Naomi’s life is transformed by the love she receives from Ruth – 
	because the love she receives from Ruth is indirectly the love she receives from the faithful and compassionate God of Israel!  

So we come to the end of this story:
	Boaz and Ruth are married – Naomi is cared for and has a grandson she loves as if he were her son.

All’s well that ends well!

But the story doesn’t actually end there.
	No – right at the end, there is an unexpected twist.

Read v.17 again.

Obed – the father of Jesse – Jesse – the father of David.

King David!
	The greatest king Israel would ever have!
	A man after God’s own heart!

And this family in Bethlehem produced him!

•	Israel receives a king (vv.17-22)

Suddenly, right at the end of this book, we see that the book of Ruth is not just a nice love story –
	It’s not even just a picture of God’s love for his people!

No – the book of Ruth describes how a seemingly insignificant and unpromising pair of women were used by God to play a vital role in his eternal purposes!

Ruth and Naomi’s story is not as small as it first appears:
	Instead, it is part of God’s salvation history – 
	the story of how God has worked throughout history in the lives of individuals and nations to bring his Son Jesus into the world, so that people could have life and a relationship with God again in his name!

In one sense, you could give the book of Ruth the title: The coming of the king!

God has used Ruth and Boaz and Naomi to bring Israel’s greatest king into the world!

And this king’s family background turns out to be a bit surprising!

It turns out his great-grandmother was a Moabitess –
	King David - the greatest king Israel had ever had – had a Gentile for his great grandmother!

And we’re going to see in a moment why that is such an important part of this story – and of God’s purposes for Israel and for the world!

As we come to the end of our time in the book of Ruth then –
	What is the significance of this story for us today?

Why is this small, seemingly insignificant love story in the Bible at all?

I want us to see that there are at least three central truths that the book of Ruth teaches us, with a directness that we need to listen to!

Firstly, the book of Ruth shows us that:
•	God works through the ordinary faithfulness of his ordinary people

Throughout this series, we’ve looked at the characters in Ruth largely as pictures of God’s love for his people.

We’ve seen that Boaz’s love for Ruth – and Ruth’s love for Naomi – are pictures of God’s love for Israel – and of Christ’s love for the church!

And there is much that they can teach us about God’s character and love!

But we need to remember:
	Ruth and Boaz and Naomi wouldn’t have thought of themselves like that!

To them, their lives would not have looked that special – their lives seemed very ordinary, even mundane.

We need to remember that these were ordinary people – they weren’t prophets or priests or kings –
	They lived ordinary lives in a small town in Israel –
	But see how God used these ordinary people and their ordinary lives!

Through Ruth’s ordinary life, God demonstrated his character to the grieving Naomi –
	Through Boaz’s ordinary life, God demonstrated his character to the foreigner Ruth –
	And through the ordinary lives of all three of them, God achieved his purposes for both Israel and the world, by bringing David into the world as part of this family!

Now – Ruth and Boaz and Naomi are unique in salvation history –
	None of us has the same role to play in God’s purposes – and we can’t expect that God will treat us in exactly the same way as he treated them.

We cannot expect the same transformation or exactly the same happy ending as Ruth had.

Having said that, the character in the book of Ruth are reminders to us that God can and does use the ordinary lives of his ordinary people to achieve great things in his purposes for the world!

If you’re a Christian here this morning, God calls you to be an ambassador for Christ!
	And through our lives – even in the parts of them that seem so insignificant and unspiritual – we can demonstrate God’s character to those around us!

We can be a picture of God’s character to the people we come into contact with!

Just think for a moment how God demonstrated his character through Ruth, Boaz and Naomi.

He did so when they were at work. 

In chapter 2, Boaz demonstrated care for justice and mercy for both his employees in his field – and for a helpless widow like Ruth!
	At work, Boaz the farmer demonstrated the character of the God of Israel!

What do people see of us when we are at work?
	Would those who work alongside us see something of the integrity and mercy and grace of the God in whom we trust?

Ruth worked hard to provide for Naomi and to care for her.
	In that, she demonstrated to Naomi the love and care of God!

What about us?
	Do we see our jobs – or our care for our children – or the hundred and one little things we do in any given day as just mindless and insignificant in God’s plans?

Or do we see that in every moment of our day – and in every interaction we have with our family members and our friends, we are demonstrating something of the character of the God we believe in?

If we are abrupt or impatient or unfeeling, then that is how people will see the God we claim to trust in!

If we seek to be patient and caring and take time for the people in our lives – then that is how those people will see the God in whom we trust!

Just like the characters in this book of Ruth, our day-to-day working lives are far from insignificant –
	Instead, they can speak volumes about our God – they can powerfully demonstrate his character!

Following on from that, God can also demonstrate his character through our relationships.

Ruth devoted herself to her mother-in-law, even when that seemed like madness and seemed to gain her nothing.

Boaz cared for Ruth and Naomi, even when that was costly to him.

Boaz and Ruth chose to remain pure in their relationship, even when they had ample opportunity to sleep together before they were married, with no-one else knowing. 

The love and integrity that these characters showed for one another, took time – and it cost them all something.
	Ruth said goodbye to her land and family to stay with Naomi – 
	Boaz’s care for both these women would have large financial implications for him – 
	Boaz and Ruth chose to remain pure even when it was far from certain that they would ever get married!

What costs are we willing to bear to demonstrate Christ’s love in our relationships?

Ruth and Boaz stand as huge rebukes to me, in my unwillingness to make sacrifices to demonstrate Christ’s love to others.

When I’m in the mood – when I have the time – when I like the people involved, then I feel as if my relationships with others can show something of Christ’s character –
	But when that looks like too much hard work, then I am very quick not to bother.

I need to learn from Ruth and Boaz here –
	God can use every one of my relationships with other people to demonstrate his character – 
	I need to recognise those opportunities – and to pray for the strength and the grace to make the most of those opportunities!

To listen to someone, even when I don’t have the time!

To help someone out, even when that’s inconvenient or when that person annoys or frustrates me!

In fact, it is in those times when it is most costly – that we demonstrate Christ’s love and grace most clearly.

Following on from that, we need to see that our lives can reflect God’s love and care in the midst of suffering.

Ruth’s devotion to Naomi came at a time when Naomi was bitter and empty and angry at God – 
	and her love and care for Naomi was used by God to lead Naomi back into a trusting relationship with him.

God used Ruth to demonstrate his love for a suffering Naomi –
	And God may be calling you to a similar role!

As a church, we need to be willing to support those among us who are suffering –
	And I know that many of us here already do that!

Quietly and without any fanfare, I hear of people in this church family who devote themselves to a struggling brother or sister –
	Of people who are willing to listen to angry or hurting questions about God and about life… and who don’t run away.

Of people willing to grieve and to cry alongside those who are grieving the loss of someone or something –
	And of people in this church family who are committed to praying for someone they know, when pain or questions seem to prevent them from praying for themselves.

It is one of the unique joys of working for a church that you get to hear so much of the quiet, unspectacular love God’s people show for one another!

Quiet love – unspectacular love – 
	But love that can transform lives when the living God is behind it!

Prayers that can transform lives as the living God begins to answer them – in his way and for his glory! 

We need to pray that God might use us to display his character, even to someone who is suffering – even to someone to whom God may seem distant –
	Because God may be calling you to be the physical evidence of his love towards someone, when no other evidence will be enough!

So, the book of Ruth tells us that God chooses to work through the ordinary lives of his people.

It also encourages us that:
•	God will bring about his eternal purposes for the world!

In the book of Ruth, the part of God’s purposes he was working out was how to rescue Israel from the chaos and destructiveness of the ‘days of the judges’ (see 1:1).

Israel had no king – more than that, it did not have rulers who trusted in the LORD!
	So the LORD used Ruth’s family to bring King David into the world!

David, Ruth’s great-grandson, brought an end to the chaos and destruction of the era of the judges –
	And under his rule, Israel came to enjoy the greatest peace and prosperity of its history!

More importantly, God promised David that another would come from his and Ruth’s family line –
	A king greater even than David!

And this descendant of David and Ruth?
	Jesus Christ!  God’s own Son, God’s special king!

And like David, Jesus entered a world of chaos and destruction and godlessness – to transform it and to rescue a people from it!

Jesus entered our world to usher in a new world, a new kingdom –
	And that kingdom is the kingdom of God!

Today, we can see that kingdom at work in the lives of God’s people – in the lives of Christians!

When believers are transformed from hopeless, selfish, loveless men and women – into Christ-like men and women!
	And that only happens through the power of God’s Holy Spirit!

We can also see that kingdom at work all around our world!

Just as the Moabitess Ruth was welcomed by God into his family – so God invites people from all nations to come to him and put their trust in Christ!

Ruth the Moabitess was a sign of things to come!

God works out his purposes for all nations – using people from all nations!
	Even a widow from Moab – a Gentile like Ruth – can come to know the living God!
	Even sinful people in Oxford in the 21st century can come to know this same living and gracious God!

God’s eternal plan for the world is to call people from every nation and tribe and people and language into his people –
	And we have the privilege to be part of that!
	And to call others to become a part of that through Jesus Christ!

That is a purpose worth living for!

And finally this morning, as we leave this book of Ruth, I want us to see that it shows us that:
•	God is a God of love!

We’ve seen throughout this series that the book of Ruth is, at its heart, a love story.

The love Boaz has for Ruth – the love Ruth has for Naomi – are pictures for us of the love God has for his people.

But as we leave it, I want us to see that the love God has for his people is both similar to – but far greater than the love Boaz had for Ruth or Ruth had for Naomi –
	In fact, it is far, far greater than the love any person can have for another.

God’s love is greater than any human love – 
	And as much as we can learn of it from a human love story like Ruth, we need to recognise just how vast and praise-worthy God’s love is!

Boaz loved Ruth – because there was actually something lovely about Ruth to him.

Ruth loved Naomi – because sometime in the past, Naomi had shown great kindness and warmth to Ruth.

God loves us –
	Even though there is absolutely nothing lovely about us –
	Even though we have never shown kindness or warmth towards him.

We can learn about God’s love for his people through the finest examples of human love –
	But in the end we need to acknowledge that God’s love for sinners is different – and that his love is dependent solely on his grace!

God did not love us because of our personality – or because we are useful to him.

God was not bowled over by our smile or our beauty or our kindness.

God did not love us because he couldn’t imagine living without us –
	If we think like that, we are falling into the trap of sentimentalising God and exalting ourselves!

God loves us, even though we are ugly, rebellious sinners who hated him and ignored him and rejected him. 

God loves us, even though he knew that we are selfish and cruel and proud people.

God loves us – not because of anything in ourselves that would attract his love:
	God loves us – because it is God’s nature to love!

Ultimately, God’s love for us is utterly unlike any love we can have for one another –
	Because he is God – and we are sinners.
	Because he is God – and he is a God of grace!

He demonstrates his grace towards his people every day in listening to our prayers –
	In forgiving us the same sins and attitudes we fell into yesterday that we will fall into today –
	He bears with us and sustains us and goes on forgiving us – because he is a God of love!

And the ultimate demonstration of his grace and love towards us came when he sent his Son Jesus Christ to a cross for us –
	To suffer and to die, that we might live and be forgiven people.