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Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Monday Jun 06, 2022
Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 19, 2013
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
This Sunday is the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost means “fiftieth” - the fiftieth day after the Jewish Passover. It was also known as the “Feast of Weeks” and the end of the grain harvest that followed Passover. Jewish pilgrims from all over the world returned to Jerusalem for this time of thanksgiving to God for His goodness in His creation. For Christians, it was about 50 days after Easter - a perfect time for the Holy Spirit to come with power to work through the early Christians to share the Good News of Jesus, the Risen Savior, with the many Jews gathered there.
It was a reversal of what had happened in the Old Testament Lesson, Genesis 11:1-9. Sin was clearly still in the generations of people after the Great Flood. God told them to scatter and fill the earth (Genesis 9:1), but they wanted to stick together and make a name for themselves and build a great tower to reach up to God, as if they were gods themselves, doing what they wanted to do. Instead, God confused them and their one language into many and caused them to scatter all over the earth, divided from one another.
Psalm 143 is the psalm for this Sunday and is one of the penitential psalms. David knows that he, too, is a sinner, like everyone else, and confesses to God, “No one living is righteous before You.” He prays that God will not judge him, as he deserves, but give him steadfast love. He thirsts for God’s mercy and for God’s good Spirit to lead and guide him. He feels that his own spirit is failing, yet he still says to God, “In You I trust” and knows that God can forgive him and bring him out of his troubles.
In the Gospel lesson, John 14:23-31, we hear Jesus speaking of the importance of hearing and trusting the Word of God. He will be leaving and returning to His Father (at His ascension into heaven), but He and the Father will send the Helper, the Holy Spirit,
who will “bring to remembrance all that He had taught them” and teach them even more. It is through the Holy Spirit that they were able to preach and teach so powerfully at Pentecost and afterwards and could write exactly what God wanted in the Holy Scriptures, so that even today we can believe the truth of God’s Word and have peace in Christ, even with all the troubles of this world.
The Epistle Lesson, from Acts 2:1-21, describes the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, with wind and fire, and enabling the believers suddenly to “speak in tongues,” in languages that they had never known before, in order to communicate the message of the Risen Lord and Savior Jesus to many people that day. This was in fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel, in the Old Testament, so that many “could call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.” The joy was not in the diversity of the people from many nations, but in the unity they found in faith in Jesus and in baptism through the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God (see verses 36-41, after our text).
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Last week we heard the good news of the marriage of Boaz and Ruth and the restoration of their land in Israel to the family of Naomi and Elimelech. From this marriage, in a few generations, came David, King of Israel. We want to look at other people mentioned at the end of this story and the genealogy given here and how this all relates to the coming of our Lord Jesus, many centuries later.
We began with Ruth 4:11, where the elders and people at the gate of Bethlehem asked God’s blessings upon Boaz and Ruth, and that Ruth would be “like Rachel and Leah” of old, in “building up the house of Israel,” with children as heirs. Last week we heard that Jacob, who cheated his brother, was also cheated and tricked into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, the wife he wanted. Jacob then ended up marrying Rachel, as well, having two wives.
This was very much against the will of God, who had set up marriage as between one man and one woman in a lifelong commitment (Genesis 2:18-24). We see, however, that after the fall into sin in Genesis 3, already in Genesis 4:19,23-24, a man had taken two wives for himself. This happened with too many people, including Jacob. Whenever such things happened, the Scriptures also described much trouble. Read Genesis 29:30-30:13. Leah and Rachel could not get along and created problems for Jacob with much jealousy and hatred. They compounded the problems by offering their servant girls to Jacob to have more children by them. There were 12 sons of Jacob, but a very troubled family, as well. This was a very messy, sinful situation. God did not approve, but He still worked through all this, through very weak, sinful people, to continue His line of promise for the future.
There are other stories like this in the Old Testament, which are not even appropriate to teach children, in all the details we hear. Remember though, that these are “descriptions” of sinful people, as we are, too, at times, but are not “prescriptions” of how we ought to live or what is OK for us to do. (Here is where people like Joseph Smith and some Mormons went very wrong and approved of and practiced polygamy and wrote this approval and many other wrong things into their new “scriptures.”)
Go back to Ruth 4:12, where the people of Bethlehem wished also that Boaz and Ruth’s “house would be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.” This is another earlier messy, sinful story, which you can read about in Genesis 38. This probably is mentioned because Tamar was a widowed non-Jewish woman in a situation similar to that of Ruth, and yet Tamar was in the line of promise for the coming King David and our Savior Jesus, too. (See Genesis 49:8-10, where there is a prophecy that a kingly ruler would come from the line of Judah - a reference to King David and later on to Jesus, the King of Kings and “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).)
Go now to Genesis 38. We don’t have time to go through this story in detail, but note that Judah had two wives also, again in violation of God’s will. And again, there was only trouble. Tamar was chosen as the wife of one of Judah’s sons, Er. Er was very wicked and was put to death, and Tamar was left as a widow. This was another sort of “kinsman-redeemer” situation, where family could help provide an heir for Tamar, but everyone refused to do so. Tamar was so desperate that she pretended to be a prostitute and had a child by her father-in-law, Judah himself. It is another terrible story with so many wrong things going on, and Judah finally had to admit, “Tamar is more righteous than I” (Genesis 38:26).
The child born to Tamar is identified in v.29 as Perez, and Perez is listed first in the genealogy of David in Ruth 4:18 -22. Once again, this story is a description of sinful people doing much wrong in their lives, and not a prescription of what anyone should be doing. Some died in their wickedness, as we heard of Er. But God in His mercy also kept His promises and worked through this sinful mess to bring eventually King David and the “Son of David,” our Lord Jesus.
Some of the Lutheran commentators also note that the listing of the genealogy in Ruth 4:18-22 includes two groups of 5 descendants. Perez to Nahshon belong to the 430 years of the time the descendants of Jacob were in Egypt. Salmon to David belong to the 476 years between the exodus from Egypt to Israel and on to the death of David. In other words, this is likely not a complete genealogy and not everyone is listed, as happens at times in other Biblical genealogies. The number 10, though, was a number of completeness, and shows that God knew exactly what He was doing, working out His perfect saving plan through very imperfect people, over long periods of time.
This is also an indication that we do not need to rely on genealogies to figure out just when the earth was created, as Bishop Ussher and others have tried to do. We do believe what Genesis says about God as Creator of the universe and this earth and the first people in just six days. We do not believe in evolution from nothing to man over billions of years. This is clearly a very young earth, but we do not need to figure out exactly how old it is.
We turn now to the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-17. We don’t have time to go through this in detail, either, but notice again the symmetrical form of the genealogy, three sets of 14 generations, showing God’s perfect and merciful carrying out of His plan of salvation, from Abraham to Jesus, even through messy and confusing and sinful stories of God’s Old Testament people.
Matthew followed the listing in Ruth of the generations there (with not everyone seemingly included). Matthew does mention several women, too, though women were usually left out of Jewish genealogies. The women listed were not the famous women like Sarah and Rachel. Three of the four were not even Jewish, and all had bad reputations, other than Ruth, the faithful Moabite wife of Boaz and daughter-in-law of Naomi.
“The ancestry of Christ tells the story of Israel’s failures and of God’s mercy for both Jews and Gentiles,” Dr. Franzmann says, and the coming of Jesus to do His saving work for all. This gives hope for all people in Christ Jesus. He came to bring forgiveness and salvation to sinners - which we all are. Read, for example, what Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12-16. He considered himself the “chief” - the “worst of sinners" - and if God could have mercy on him, God could have mercy on anyone. How comforting that is for us all, in our own struggles.
One last thought. Dr. Franzmann points out that if you count the list of names in the third list of generations, coming right up to Jesus, there are only 13 generations listed, not the usual 14. Franzmann says, “Perhaps Matthew is hinting that there is still one generation to come - the generation of the church,” all those who have come to believe in and trust in Jesus as Savior, including you and me, who are simply waiting for Jesus to return one day and take us also to eternal life, along with others we can tell about Jesus our Lord. It is His perfect life and death for our sins and resurrection from the dead which gives us this hope and confidence and mission in life.
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Tuesday May 31, 2022
Sermon for the 7th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 12, 2013
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
The Scriptures this Sunday speak of the unity that is ours as we are connected to the Lord and His Word. The Psalm is Psalm 133, a psalm of David that people sang together as they went up to Jerusalem for festivals and worship of their Lord together in unity. The blessings of the Lord are pictured by the anointing oil poured on Aaron, so that he could bring these blessings to people, and by the dew that came down from Mt. Hermon and watered the land of Israel (an image that predicts in Zechariah 8:11-13, God’s saving work in Christ, so that His people can then be a blessing to others).
In the Gospel lesson, John 17:20-26, Jesus prays that His disciples would remain unified in Him and His Word and share that Word with others, so that others too might believe. This is a prayer also for us, who have become united in Christ and with one another through faith in His Word and the anointing power of baptism. (See also 1 Corinthians 12:13 and Galatians 3:26-27.) Jesus also prays that we stay in faith and become “perfectly one” as we worship Him one day in the glory and perfection of heaven.
We have another picture of that heavenly home given by revelation to John in the Second Lesson, Revelation 22:1-6, (7-11), 12-20. All believers will have the tree of life and the water of life, in the presence of the Lord God and Jesus, the Lamb, Who rescued us all. We will have the Light and Truth of the Lord with us forever. In the meantime, while still on earth, we are called to “Come” and be strengthened by God’s grace and receive the free gifts of God, given to us without price, through the “trustworthy and true” Words of Scripture.
The First Lesson, from Acts 1:12-26, shows the early believers, gathered together and asking the Lord to guide them in choosing a disciple to replace Judas. He must be a man who had seen the ministry of Jesus and was a witness to His resurrection and would help them share the Good News of the Savior, from Pentecost (celebrated next Sunday) and beyond. Matthias was the person the Lord led them to choose.
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Last week we heard that Naomi told Ruth how to let Boaz, the man who had helped Ruth so much, know in a very unusual way that she would be willing to marry him, as her “kinsman-redeemer.” Boaz understood what Ruth was telling him and was interested also in marrying Ruth. Boaz was a man, though, who was very moral and wanted to follow God’s Old Testament laws and customs. He knew that there was another relative who should have first choice before him in being the redeemer and marrying Ruth.
Just as Naomi had expected, the very next day, Boaz went to the gate of the town of Bethlehem. This was the place where people went to talk and carry out business and transactions and make important decisions in a public way. (See Deuteronomy25:7.) Boaz first found his relative who should have first choice in being the kinsman-redeemer for the family of Naomi and Ruth. Boaz also asked 10 elders of the town to be witnesses to what would be discussed. For matters to be legally binding, there needed to be a large number of witnesses like this. (In fact, a synagogue, a worship center for Jews, could not be organized and hold worship without at least 10 such men present.) (Ruth 4:1-2)
Right away, Boaz explained to his relative that he had first right to be a “redeemer” and buy the parcel of land that Naomi was selling (or maybe had already sold - the scholars don’t seem to agree on this). Naomi could have needed to sell the land earlier to have some money on which she and Ruth could survive. Either way, the relative had the right to buy this land and bring it back into the family, if he chose and settled any debts, etc. See Leviticus 25:25-28, again. Only a male relative could do this, though.
Boaz also explained that he himself did not have the right to be the redeemer unless his relative chose not to do his part, as he should (Ruth 4:3-4). The relative said “I will do it,” presumably because he had the money and could gain more property for the clan of Judah and himself.
Boaz then also reminded the relative that there was another responsibility if he redeemed the land. He would also have to marry Ruth the Moabite. (The Hebrew is a bit confusing, simply saying that the relative would also “have also to buy it from Ruth,” and thus take responsibility for her, as well.) The relative decided that he could not marry Ruth, because that might in some way “impair” his own inheritance and put more burdens on him and his family. That meant he could not redeem the land for Naomi and Ruth. The relative thus passed on the choice and responsibility to Boaz (Ruth 4:5-6).
Ruth 4:7-8 also tells of a “custom in former times” by which such a decision was demonstrated in a symbolic way, too. The person refusing the opportunity to “redeem” property would take off his sandal. (This was something done in Israel and other places at the time. Some think it expressed the idea that you could walk freely with your sandals on land that you owned. On other land you could not walk so freely and might be trespassing and get in trouble if you walked there.)
For an example of this, with some variation, see Deuteronomy 25:5-10. The Deuteronomy passages refers to the rejection of buying the property and rejection of the marriage, which went together. and were supposed to be done. Maybe that is why the rejected widow “spit in the face” of one refusing to do this duty. (Remember also that this story of Naomi and Ruth and Boaz actually happened during the later period of the Judges, though it was likely not written down until later, during the time of King David, when some of these customs had been forgotten or ignored.)
Then, Ruth 4:9-10 tells us that Boaz said right away that he would be the needed “kinsman-redeemer” and buy the property back for Naomi and Ruth and marry Ruth and keep the family name of Elimelech going for them. He asked the elders who were present to be witnesses to his promise and to the fact that all was done rightly and properly. The elders agreed and asked the Lord to bless this decision and marriage. (We will talk more about Ruth 4:11-12 and the verses that follow next week. Clearly the Lord blessed all this. Boaz and Ruth were married and had a child, Obed. Obed was their child, but it was such a joy for Naomi, after all her emptiness, that it was almost as if the child were hers, an heir at last!) (Ruth 4:16-17).
One more comment. Boaz said in Ruth 4:9-10 that he had bought the family property and he had “bought” Ruth for his wife. In ancient times, there often was a “bride price.” Money or goods or something was given to the bride’s parents, in exchange for the privilege of marrying the woman. (See, for example, the story of Jacob going to Laban in Genesis 28-29. Jacob wanted to marry Laban’s daughter, Rachel, and agreed to work 7 years for Laban as the “bride price” for marrying Rachel. As Jacob had tricked and cheated his brother, Esau, Laban also cheated Jacob and married off his daughter Leah to Jacob instead. Jacob had to work 7 more years to get the bride he really wanted. We will talk more about this story and other, next week, as they relate to the end of the Book of Ruth.)
In the case of Boaz, there was no “bride price” other than buying and reclaiming the property for Naomi and Ruth, but Boaz was very willing to do this because he really wanted to marry Ruth and genuinely loved and cared for her. (If you read through the Book of Judges, you will see many low, dark times, when people resisted God’s will and did “what was in their own eyes” instead of following God and His will (Judges 2:16, 6:1, 13:1, 21:25).
The story of Boaz and Ruth was a bright spot of genuine love and honoring of the Lord in those dark days. May we, as believers, seek to be “bright, shining lights” for our Lord and His ways and will, especially in Christ, in the dark days we sometimes live in today, too. See Philippians 2:14-16.
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Tuesday May 24, 2022
Sermon for the 6th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered May 5, 2013
Thursday May 19, 2022
Thursday May 19, 2022
The Scriptures for this Sunday again point to events that were to happen after the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Psalm is Psalm 67, which begins with a shortened version of the blessing the Lord gave to Aaron through Moses, which he was to speak to God’s people. See Numbers 6:22-27. This psalm goes on to say that this blessing is to be for all people, as God’s Way is known and shared among all nations and all people, especially in the coming of Jesus, who called Himself the “Way” by which to reach the Heavenly Father. Christians still use the Aaronic benediction today at the end of worship: “The Lord bless you and keep you….”
We see this Good News of God, in Christ Jesus, being shared in the First Lesson, from Acts 16:9-15, as Paul and others were sent to the West, to Macedonia and to Philippi, a Roman colony in Greece. The Lord opened the heart of Lydia to believe in Jesus, and she and her household were baptized, and her home became a base for sharing the Gospel with others in Greece and beyond.
There are two choices for the Gospel lesson. One of them is John 5:1-9, where Jesus met a man who had been an invalid for 38 years and was lying near the Pool of Bethesda. He seemed to be in a hopeless situation, but Jesus gave him hope by asking if he wanted to be healed and then by actually healing him, so that he could get right up and carry his mat. Jesus cared for all kinds of people, including those with disabilities. The Gospel of hope is for all.
The alternate Gospel reading is John 16:23-33, where Jesus talked about “leaving this world and going to the Father.” This is a prediction of His ascension into heaven, which we celebrate in the church on Thursday, May 26, this year. In our heavenly home, Jesus said, we won’t have to ask for anything, for our joy in the Lord will be full, for the Father will be with us in His great love. In the meantime, “in this world, we will have tribulation," but in Christ, we will have peace and hope, because He has overcome this sinful world, with its sorrow and death.
In the second lesson, from Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27, we hear even more of John’s vision of heaven, that we heard of last week. All believers will be the “bride” of the Lamb, our ascended Lord Jesus. Old Testament believers will be there, from the 12 tribes of Israel; and New Testament believers will be there, too, who trust the Scriptures, the Word of God from the 12 Apostles - all whose names are written by faith in the Lamb’s Book of Life. There will be no need for the temple or sun or locked doors and no night, and nothing false or evil, but only light and joy in the presence of the Lord God Almighty, our Triune God, forever. We have so much to look forward to, even if we struggle now in this life!
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
We heard last week that Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem in Judah because the Lord had blessed that area with better crops and more food. Naomi was still bitter about what had happened to her and Ruth, but was hoping that some relative of her husband, Elimelech, would have sympathy and help them. Ruth was simply eager to start “gleaning” for leftover crops in the Bethlehem area, as the barley season had begun, and she could help Naomi and herself in this way with at least some food. She worked hard in the fields, following the reapers, and then was noticed by Boaz, a “worthy man” and a relative of Elimelech, as she came to one of his fields.
Boaz had heard of Ruth and how kind she had been to Naomi, her mother-in-law and his distant relative. Boaz then talked with Ruth and invited her to stay and work in his fields. He would make sure that the young men and young women working for him would keep her safe and could even provide water for her when she was thirsty (Ruth 2:8-9). It was very hard work and could be dangerous. See the concern that Naomi mentioned in Ruth 2:21.
Ruth was amazed at the kindness and “favor” of Boaz and bowed down to the ground in respect for him and asked why he was being so kind to a foreigner like her (Ruth 2:10). Boaz explained that he had heard of how much she had helped Naomi and had even left her own father and mother and her own country in order to continue to serve her. Boaz also saw that Ruth had come to trust in the Lord, the One True God, and prayed that Lord would bless her, as she had “taken refuge” in Him (Ruth 2:11-12). Ruth then expressed again her gratefulness to Boaz for his kindness and the “comfort” and hope he had given her, though she was even less than one of his own servants (Ruth 2:13).
Then Boaz even invited Ruth to eat some special food with him and the reapers - a very unusual action for most Jews, at least as practiced in later times. He even provided enough food for Ruth to have extra to share with Naomi, and he told the reapers to leave a little extra for Ruth as she gleaned so that her gleaning would be more successful (Ruth 2:14-16).
Boaz clearly cared about his workers, even eating along with them, and he cared about women in a public way and even a non-Jewish woman. This is almost like a prediction of what God’s own Son, Jesus, would do much later when He came into the world as the compassionate Redeemer for all. Jesus provided “barley” food in abundance in some of His miracles. (See John 6:1-15.) He associated with all sorts of people, even those labeled as “sinners” by the Jewish authorities (Luke 15:1-2). He talked with and shared the Good News with a non-Jewish Samaritan woman in public, and people of her village, even though His own disciples were shocked by it all. (John 4. See especially, v.7-9, 25-30, 39-42.) And as we will see, Jesus actually came from the family line of Boaz and Ruth, who became Boaz’s wife.
Ruth continued gleaning that day and then “beat out” what she had gleaned and had an amazing “ephah” of barley (about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters). Naomi was amazed when Ruth returned home and thanked God for the man who “took notice of her” and helped her. When Naomi found out that it was Boaz, “a close relative,” she was finally realizing that the Lord had not abandoned her or Ruth and His “kindness had not forsaken the living or the dead.” God was still caring for them, even though they had had tragic circumstances (Ruth 2:17-20).
When Ruth also told Naomi that Boaz had advised her to stick with his reapers and women for the whole harvest, Naomi joyfully agreed. Boaz was going to continue to be of help to Ruth and Naomi, his relatives. That is what Ruth did through the barley and the wheat harvest which followed, and she was a great help to Naomi, through the blessing of Boaz, as she continued living with her (Ruth 2:21-23).
By this time, Naomi realized that it was time for her to help Ruth, and herself, by advising Ruth to let Boaz know that she would be willing to marry him. To understand what follows, one needs to know about some Jewish cultural laws and traditions which are briefly described in the Old Testament. Frankly, I do not fully understand them myself because not a lot is said about them and they do not always seem to be followed.
The first idea had to do with property rights. When God allowed the 12 tribes of Israel to enter and posses the promised land, the idea was that the land would stay with each tribe and the various families or “clans” within that tribe. Property rights were passed on only through males of the family, though. In the case of Naomi and Ruth, it seems as if Naomi could possess the property till she died or sold it, but then the property would pass on to some other family and be lost to the family line of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, since there were no male heirs.
There was also, every fifty years, a year of Jubilee, when property rights were reconciled in a complicated way and servants were set free, etc. Again, I do not fully understand all this, but it seems that families with no male heirs would still lose out. (See Scriptures such as Leviticus 25:8-55. In a sense, the property still remained God’s, with His people as His servants.)
To help tribes and family clans, though, God also had a plan called “levirate marriage.” (See Deuteronomy 25:5-10.) If a woman’s husband died and there were no male heirs, then a brother of the dead husband or another male relative should marry her, to keep the family line going and to keep the property within the family. There are not many examples of this actually being done in the Old Testament, and it seems as if brothers could and did refuse to carry out this responsibility, and sometimes were in trouble for failing to do so. There were a few but troublesome situations, too, which I don’t want to get into in this study.
In the case of Naomi, though, she knew that she was too old to be married and have heirs herself. However, her daughter-in-law, Ruth, could be married to an eligible relative of Elimelech and carry on the family line. All this apparently was to follow Old Testament moral standards and marriages that were not of people too closely related.
As Chapter 3 of Ruth began, then, Naomi wanted Ruth to have “rest” and “well being” by being married according to this “levirate marriage” procedure, hopefully with Boaz (Ruth 3:1). Naomi had what sounds to us as a very strange way for Ruth to indicate her willingness to marry Boaz. Landowners would often stay at the threshing floor at night, where barley was “winnowed,” probably to guard against theft or damage to the grain. Ruth was to wash and dress very nicely and go and lie down at the feet of Boaz when he had fallen asleep and uncover his feet.
Ruth was very willing to do this. Over time, she had likely come to have great respect for the kindness and trustworthiness of Boaz and knew he would make a good husband (Ruth 3:2-6). Some modern commentators try to make this event into some kind of sexual immorality, probably based on today’s very low sexual standards. There is no indication of that in the actual passage. The moral standards of both Ruth and Boaz were very high.
Ruth did what Naomi suggested, and Boaz discovered her and heard her appeal for him to be her “redeemer” and cover her with his “wings,” the protection of marriage (Ruth 3:6-9). See how the same word, “redeemer,” had been used by Naomi in connection with her relatives in Ruth 2:20. Sometimes this word is translated as a “kinsman-redeemer” with reference to “levirate marriage.”
Boaz knew exactly what Ruth was asking. He had likely been thinking about this possibility already and was attracted to Ruth and had desired to marry her, as “a worthy woman.” Two things may have held him back. He was a somewhat older man, in whom she might not be interested; and also, he was not first in line as a kinsman-redeemer for her. There was a closer eligible male relatives than he.
When Boaz heard Ruth’s request, though, he immediately responded positively. He was honored by her “kind” request, since she was not going after a younger man for a more exciting life and did not have a great concern about his wealth. He showed his own character, too, by asking the Lord’s blessings for her, no matter how this all worked out.
He also told her “not to fear.” He would not take advantage of her in any way and would only look out for her welfare as he already had been doing. He asked her not to leave right away since it could be dangerous for a women to be out by herself in the middle of the night, but to wait until just before daylight so that there would be safety and no evil suspicions about her visit. He also gave her a gift of more food for her and Naomi, as a another sign of his kindness and good intentions (Ruth 3:10-15).
Boaz also honestly explained that though he was willing to be her kinsman-redeemer, there was another kinsman-redeemer who was a closer relative and that he should rightly have the first opportunity to consider whether to settle the property rights for Naomi and marry Ruth. Boaz promised to talk with the other relative that very day and “redeem” Ruth and the family rights, himself, if he possibly could (Ruth 3:13).
When Ruth returned home early in the morning and told Naomi what had happened, and gave her the gift of more grain, Naomi was sure that Boaz “would not rest” but would get this matter settled that very day (Ruth 3:16-18). That is exactly what Boaz did, as we will hear next week - with implications for all of us still today, too!
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Tuesday May 17, 2022
Sermon for the 5th Sunday of Easter, based on:
Sermon originally delivered April 28, 2013