The Hook

I’ve often talked about my love of baseball, and that has rubbed off on my boys. Teddy is just starting competitive baseball – where runs and outs are actually recorded – next spring. But Jonas started this past spring with Spring Ball, then immediately followed it up with Summer Ball.

<<< SUMMER BALL >>>

Two competitive leagues back-to-back. And all those years of hollering “HUSSTLE!” until my throat was hoarse were paying off. He has an aggressive play style – just like his baseball hero, Twins’ Third Baseman, Josh Donaldson (the Bringer of Rain).

But his skills are still developing, and I began to notice errors cropping up in his game. He wasn’t hustling, playing smart, hard ball… he was rushing, playing thoughtless, frantic ball. So that’s when we came up with this saying; “Hustle, but don’t rush”.

Too slow and you won’t make the play, so you gotta hustle, but too fast and don’t make the play, so can’t rush.

“Hustle but don’t rush”. Let’s take that thought and stick it in our pocket for later.

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Recap

Today we are continuing our ongoing series in Ruth, and since context matters, I want to do a quick recap of where we are so far in the story. 

Naomi and her husband leave the Promised Land and go to Moab. Noami’s sons get married. Somehow Naomi’s husband and both her boys die. Of her two daughters-in-law only Ruth returns with Naomi to Bethelehem. Naomi is stuck in a pit of despair, so Ruth goes to glean in the fields. She happens (providence of God) to end up in Boaz’ field, who is a family redeemer. When she is ready, Ruth makes her move and asks Boaz to marry her. Boaz says, “I intend to do for you everything you propose”.

So that’s it, right? Boaz will marry Ruth?

<<< THERE IS ANOTHER >>>

So, let’s take a look at our passage for this morning. I’ll be reading from the New English Translation today.

The Passage

Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, fine, let him do so. But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. Sleep here until morning.” So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” Then he said, “Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town, and she returned to her mother-in-law.

When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did things turn out for you, my daughter?” Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” Then Naomi said, “Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”

The Prayer

The Study

Verse 12

Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am.

So we see right off the hop that Boaz wants to do marry Ruth. I mean, he refers to her a “Worthy Woman”, literally a proverbs 31 woman! BUT! And this is a rather large but, he wants to do it the right way. This also clears up a big question that I had – maybe you also had – as we went through the story. Namely; why did Boaz not volunteer to do his duty as a family redeemer? A man of wealth and means, of noble character, well-respected throughout Bethlehem, why was Boaz shirking his responsibility?

Because there was another!

And it’s not just as simple as Boaz wanting to abide by the right of first refusal. If they simply “followed their hearts” they would put their earned reputations in very serious joepardy! The people of Bethelhem would wonder: Why have they skipped the next in line? Have they had an affair? Are there some shenanigans going on here? While there would be no evidence of sexual infidelity, there certianly would be rumors. It was a capital offense, after all. So all of this together explains why Boaz never made the first move. He know about the other redeemer, even if Ruth did not.

But… this also raises a question, doesn’t it? If there is another redeemer, he would be a CLOSER relative to Elimilech than Boaz. Naomi knew Boaz was a redeemer, did she not know about this other man?

<<< INCONCEIVABLE! >>>

Of course she knew about the other man… but if she knew about him, then why was she playing matchmaker with Boaz? It’s almost as if… Naomi knows something about this other would-be redeemer that we do not. Interesting. Come back on October 3 to find out more!

Verse 13

Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, fine, let him do so. But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. Sleep here until morning.”

You’ll remember last time I talked about how the author of Ruth used salacious undertones to pique the interest in readers earlier in the chapter now all that is put to bed – pun intended – with the use of the word “remain” which means “lodge” or sorta ‘hunker down’, hardly the language of a taudry sexual escapade.

But as I read this I was more interested in why Ruth stayed the night at this point. The business she set out to accomplish is done, what is the purpose in Boaz instructing her to remain for the duration of the night?

<<< GREAT QUESTION >>>

Thank you, me! But it’s one we’ll answer when we get to verse 14. For now the part I want to draw attention to is Boaz’ promise to Ruth: I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. See here how Boaz invokes the name of Yahweh as a part of his promise. By invoking the name of the Lord Boaz is swearing an oath to Ruth. An oath of loyalty.

Where have I seen this before? Oh yeah, this is exactly what Ruth did with Naomi at the beginning of Chapter 1. She swore an oath of loyalty to Naomi. And Ruth faithfulness has now multiplied itself. What she has sown, so has she reaped. 

<<< IT’S LIKE POETRY >>>

Verse 14

So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.”

Again, as before, the word “beside” means at his feet. They weren’t snuggling. They were both committed to doing things the right way. But they were also concerned about how things would look. Remember that they both had outstanding reputations, and it was important that they not destroy those reputations. But, that being the case, we need to understand WHY Ruth stayed the night at the threshing floor. What would justify that risk, given that the business Ruth had come to accomplish had been accomplished hours earlier?

Boaz’ instructions were motivated out of practical love and care for Ruth. It was a safety issue.

But Conrad, you competant publich speaker, I hear you say, how is Ruth’s safety protected if she goes out in the pitch black of early morning rather than the pitch black of mid-night?

Let’s briefly examine that, shall we?

It’s the final night of the harvest season. Everyone is out partying. Drunk DudeBros are stumbling through the streets, possibly looking for trouble, very likely to make poor decisions. There are likely theives roaming about looking for an opportunity to steal unguarded grain. These unscrupulous men certainly could not be trusted to leave a vulnerable woman alone.

The night would certainly have been dangerous. 

But by the pre-dawn morning – the phrase “while it was still dark” literally means “so dark that you could not distinguish one person from another” – by this time, all those drunks would be sleeping it off somewhere. All those thieves would have returned home, whether successful or not. And all the men who would normally be getting up for work, would still be sleeping. Because the harvest was done. A respite from the early morning grind. 

By this time of the morning, the streets would be safe and empty, and Ruth would still be able to travel unseen in the darkness. This was the optimal time for a return from her surreptitious meeting.

Verse 15

Then he said, “Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town, and she returned to her mother-in-law.

This would seem to be folowing up on the thought from verse 14 where Boaz says that no one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor. So part of her cover story is to take 60 pounds of barley home with her? I didn’t really get it, to be perfectly honest with you. How would this help Ruth if she happened to be stopped in the street?

Old Testament scholars to the rescue! Men like Robert Hubbard, Paul Humbert, Hermann Gunkel, Hans Hertzberg – I think if you’re an Old Testament scholar with a leading “H” anywhere in your name, you are required to study Ruth – anyway the concensus among these scholars is that this would have been seen as too much payment for prostitution, and been too late in the evening for a thief. This would, therefore, have been seen as wages paid for working overtime during the final harvest.

<<< BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE >>>

This gift had a two-fold purpose, which we will see when we get to verse 17.

Verse 16

When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did things turn out for you, my daughter?” Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. 

This phrase, rendered here as “How did things turn out for you” in the New English Translation (and similarly in other english Bible translations) is actually translated this way for clarity. This is NOT the question Naomi asks Ruth.

<<< WATCHU TALKIN’ BOUT >>>

If we just translate the question into English without worrying about clarity for the reader the question would be “Who are you?”

WHO ARE YOU!

This is not the first, not the second, but the THIRD time we have had this question asked of or about Ruth.

FIRST in chapter 2:5–6. Boaz asks who this woman standing in his field is, and the answer given is– “Ruth the Moabitess”.

SECOND in chapter 3:9. Boaz finds a woman at his feet in the night and asks who she is, the answer given is– “Ruth, your marriage-able maidservant”.

And THIRD, in chapter 3:16, Naomi asks Ruth, who has just come back from her meeting with Boaz, “who are you”? The real question being asked here is “what did Boaz say?” Or “Is he going to marry you?”

We see this progression of Ruth from outsider, to love interest, to… wife? The author is using this same question over and over to highlight Ruth’s movement within the story. 

Verse 17

She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”

Remember the two-fold purpose of the gift? The first purpose was to give Ruth something to say if she happened to be stopped on her way home, well… here is the second purpose. A signal of intent, intended for Naomi. That’s right. NAOMI. Boaz wants Ruth’s mother in law to know his intentions are for marriage, and to take care of the both of them. This is not merely an act of kindness, as the first large bundle of grain that came home with Ruth was. This was almost a pre-dowry to Naomi.

Basically, dude was serious. How serious?

<<< SERIOUS JEFF S02E12 >>>

So how does Naomi reply?

Verse 18

Then Naomi said, “Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.”

There are two things I would like to draw out of this final verse for today. And both dovetail very nicely into our takeaway for this morning.

The first? When does Boaz deal with the issue? As soon as is feasible. The following morning. There is a situation presented to him in the dead of night, and the following morning he seeks to address it. In other words? Hustle.

The second? What does Ruth do while the matter is pending? Waits. Has patience. Or, as Pastor Graham has been teaching us over the last couple of months… tarry. This reflective stillness is important. In other words? Don’t rush.

Hustle, but don’t rush.

The Application

And if I could send you home with the same thing that I took away from this passage of Ruth, it would be the same advice I give my son on the baseball diamond. Hustle, but don’t rush.

Let’s pull that back out of our pockets and examine it for a moment, if you don’t mind. 

First of all, what do I mean by hustle?

I mean pray. I mean read your Bible. I mean seek out fellowship with other Christians who will challenge, admonish, and edify you. This is the foundation of every Christian’s life. But more than that, if you feel led – even slightly – to do something, or be something, or go somewhere… then put in the time and the work to make that thing happen. God may be laying something on your heart. God may be calling you to make a dent in the universe.

Oh, but it’s scary. Oh, but I’m not good enough. Oh, but I don’t have the time. Oh, but I don’t have the money. Oh, when my kids are older. Oh, this. Oh, that. Oh, the other thing.

This is what I call New Year’s Resolution syndrome. Ever since I was a kid, it seemed to me like every New Years adults would talk about how they were going to eat better and start working out next year. So from my perspective all adult shared the same plight: they felt they were fat and lazy. And they knew they needed to do something about this… but they never really seemed to know what exactly to do about it…

And I have evidence for this. Starting in the new year they were going to eat better and work out, but on New Years Eve everything they drank came from an aluminum can and everything they ate came from a cellophane bag. I mean, it seemed to me like they were starting off on the worst possible foot, doesn’t it? Maybe the thinking was ‘if I lower the bar enough…’

And it also seemed to me that adults didn’t realize that the new year started at midnight. And by that time everyone seemed to be full of all sorts of things… some people feeling worse than others, but it was certainly safe to say that no one was quite at their peak performance. 

So the 1st is already a wash. And everyone slept in so late on the first that when bedtime rolled around that evening they weren’t really tired, so they didn’t sleep well and now the 2nd is gone. They come home on the day of the third and there’s still junk food in the house, and they are compelled to eat it because otherwise it’s a waste… and the 3rd is lost too.

Then before they know what happened it’s St. Patrick’s day, they’ve gained 10 pounds, forgot what their feet look like, and are already vowing to change… next year.

My question, of course, is… what are you waiting for? So what is hustle? Hustle means the time is now.

BUT! 

Just because we feel that we want something. Maybe we even want it REAL bad, doesn’t mean that this is definitely, positively, 100% for sure something that God has given to us. 

Richard Foster, in his excellent book “Celebration of Discipline” puts it this way:

To use good things to our own ends is always a false religion.

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[Casey; Band Pastor]

So while we want to hustle like Boaz, with discipline, hard work, and focus. We still want to do it the right way. This means holding your plans loosely. Just like Boaz fully intended to marry Ruth, but knew that there was another, so he never jumped the gun, and even when she presented herself to him, he held that plan loosely and intended to go sort things out with the other redeemer first. Then Boaz could know if Yahweh, the God of Isreal was really behind the plan. And then, like Ruth, have patience. 

Conrad… I don’t get it, it sounds like you’re saying “hurry up and wait”.

No, no quite. What I am saying is, if there is a dream in your heart, prepare yourself to actually do it. But hold it loosely and with every step you take, submit it to God and wait for the peace in your heart that affirms this is His will.

The Call To Action

So, this week, choose one day to set aside some time. As much as you can spare. And be still before God. Ask Him what he would have you do, and dream a dream. Ask Him to inspire you. And if you’re scared, nervous, feeling inadequate, or have some other thing holding you back… tell Him! He actually already knows anyway. Let him put something amazing on your heart. Then hustle, but don’t rush to make it happen.

Let’s pray.