For the sermon preached at RCC on Mother's Day 2012 (http://www.rooseveltchurch.org/feeds/sermons). Here are the notes:
INTRODUCTION
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 film about a banker - played Tim Robbins - who was falsely accused of a double homicide. This man - Andy Dufresne - is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in Shawshank State Prison. While in prison, Andy becomes fast friends with Red, played by Morgan Freeman. If you’ve seen the film, you know that Andy is treated harshly in prison but never loses hope. In fact, he slowly chisels - with a small hammer - a secret tunnel in the wall. After almost two decades of chipping away, Andy escapes through the tunnel and even leaves a stash of money for his friend Red in a prearranged location. When Red gets out of prison, he retrieves the money and meets up with his old friend Red on a beautiful beach town in Mexico. The two live happily ever after – they have been redeemed from Shawshank! As inspiring as this story is, the True and Living God has a much grander – a more glorious – plan of redemption. It is one which begins at a bloody cross in Calvary 2,000 years ago and ends when God himself dwells with his people for all eternity. It is a plan where not only individuals experience redemption – but indeed even the entire cosmos itself is redeemed. And the awe-inspiring thing about all that is that the Book of Ruth is miracously and intrinsincally liunked to both this individual and uiniversal redemotion. The seemingly ordinary events in the Book of Ruth (e.g., travels, marriages, deaths, harvesting, eating, sleeping, purchasing land) revealed the guiding activity of the sovereign God. But how? How could the widows of peasant farmers living in Israel 3,000 years ago be tied into the story of our redemption? How did God bring it about that Ruth and Naomi play a part in the redemption of everything? This is what we will take a look at this morning…
INTRODUCTION
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 film about a banker - played Tim Robbins - who was falsely accused of a double homicide. This man - Andy Dufresne - is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in Shawshank State Prison. While in prison, Andy becomes fast friends with Red, played by Morgan Freeman. If you’ve seen the film, you know that Andy is treated harshly in prison but never loses hope. In fact, he slowly chisels - with a small hammer - a secret tunnel in the wall. After almost two decades of chipping away, Andy escapes through the tunnel and even leaves a stash of money for his friend Red in a prearranged location. When Red gets out of prison, he retrieves the money and meets up with his old friend Red on a beautiful beach town in Mexico. The two live happily ever after – they have been redeemed from Shawshank! As inspiring as this story is, the True and Living God has a much grander – a more glorious – plan of redemption. It is one which begins at a bloody cross in Calvary 2,000 years ago and ends when God himself dwells with his people for all eternity. It is a plan where not only individuals experience redemption – but indeed even the entire cosmos itself is redeemed. And the awe-inspiring thing about all that is that the Book of Ruth is miracously and intrinsincally liunked to both this individual and uiniversal redemotion. The seemingly ordinary events in the Book of Ruth (e.g., travels, marriages, deaths, harvesting, eating, sleeping, purchasing land) revealed the guiding activity of the sovereign God. But how? How could the widows of peasant farmers living in Israel 3,000 years ago be tied into the story of our redemption? How did God bring it about that Ruth and Naomi play a part in the redemption of everything? This is what we will take a look at this morning…
PERSONAL and NATIONAL REDEMPTION
A happy ending - Marriage, God-given conception, and the longed-for heir were all mentioned in a few words! This conclusion of the narrative contrasts beautifully with its introduction (1:1-5). Deep sorrow turned to radiant joy; emptiness gave way to fullness.
EXPLORING PERSONAL REDEMPTION
NAOMI’S REDEMPTION
Ruth 1:19–21 – EMPTY and BITTER
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
Ruth 1:19–21 – EMPTY and BITTER
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
Ruth 4:13–17 – FULLFILLED and PLEASANT
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
RUTH’S REDEMPTION
Ruth 2:11–12 (ALONE and VULNERABLE)
11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
Ruth 4:13 (IN COMMUNITY and PROTECTED)
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Ruth 2:11–12 (ALONE and VULNERABLE)
11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
Ruth 4:13 (IN COMMUNITY and PROTECTED)
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
BOAZ’S REDEMPTION
Ruth 4:11–12 (NOT IN DEEP RELATIONSHIPS and GETTING OLDER)
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Ruth 4:11–12 (NOT IN DEEP RELATIONSHIPS and GETTING OLDER)
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
Ruth 4:13, 21 (IN DEEP RELATIONSHIPS and LEAVING A LEGACY)
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Ruth 4:21
Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
Ruth 4:21
Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
*A REDEEMER AS WELL!
Boaz is an illustration of the greater One who came from his family, the Lord Jesus Christ. Boaz acted in grace to redeem Ruth; Christ acted in grace by giving Himself as the Redeemer to provide redemption for all mankind.
Though the nearest kinsman refused to redeem, faithful Boaz acted responsibly in providing redemption (3:12; 4:1-10). Various forms of the Hebrew words “redeem,” “redeemer,” “redemption,” and “kinsman-redeemer” are used 20 times in the book, thus making redemption one of the book’s key words.
The concluding genealogy demonstrates that the prayers of blessing made earlier were fulfilled. Boaz’s line did become like the line of Perez, and both Boaz and Obed became famous. God’s blessing upon Ruth and Boaz extended beyond their lifetime and immediate family, for their great descendant, David, became the greatest of Israel’s kings, and his descendant in turn, Jesus the Messiah, became greater still.
ISRAEL’S REDEMPTION
Ruth 1:1 (MEDIOCRE JUDGES…)
1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
Judges 17:6 (and NO KING)
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
6 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Ruth 4:17–22 (A KING ON THE WAY and the KING of KINGS on THE WAY DOWN THE ROAD)
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
TRANSITION:
We need redemption because of sin. Sin as well as the effects, impact, and influence of sin often produces suffering. Amazingly enough, God often uses suffering as a tool in his hands to bring about redemption. But first let us see what we mean by the effects of sin. What do we mean by suffering? Let’s just look at examples we can pull out just from this one book – the book of Ruth.
We need redemption because of sin. Sin as well as the effects, impact, and influence of sin often produces suffering. Amazingly enough, God often uses suffering as a tool in his hands to bring about redemption. But first let us see what we mean by the effects of sin. What do we mean by suffering? Let’s just look at examples we can pull out just from this one book – the book of Ruth.
-A SIN STRICKEN AND SUFFERING WORLD
read Revelation 21:3-4 … -One day God will fix all this: But the fact it needs to be fixed shows us that it really is there and it really is a problem. But how do we get from the book of ruth to to the book of revelation? To put it another way, what has God done to bring about the redemption the world so badly needs?
-GLOBAL REDEMPTION
Matthew 1:21 – Jesus will save his people from their sins – and he has! But what exactly does this mean? A great place to get a handle on what Christ-wrought redemption looks like is actually in the genealogy of Jesus himself found partially in Matthew 1.
Jesus Genealogy in Matt 1:1-17 – who are these people?
-Tamar – Canaanite woman who dressed herself up as a prostitute in gen 38 to deceive her father in law Judah in order to have a child w/him
-Rahab – whereas tamar just played a prostitute on tv, rahab really was one
-Bathsheeba
-Judah
-David
-Manasseh
-Ruth and BOAZ!
Matthew 1:21 – Jesus will save his people from their sins – and he has! But what exactly does this mean? A great place to get a handle on what Christ-wrought redemption looks like is actually in the genealogy of Jesus himself found partially in Matthew 1.
Jesus Genealogy in Matt 1:1-17 – who are these people?
-Tamar – Canaanite woman who dressed herself up as a prostitute in gen 38 to deceive her father in law Judah in order to have a child w/him
-Rahab – whereas tamar just played a prostitute on tv, rahab really was one
-Bathsheeba
-Judah
-David
-Manasseh
-Ruth and BOAZ!
Four non-Israelite women are mentioned in Christ’s genealogy in Matthew 1—Tamar (Matt. 1:3), Rahab (Matt. 1:5), Ruth (Matt. 1:5), and Uriah’s wife, who was Bathsheba (Matt. 1:6). Tamar was a Canaanite, who became the mother of Judah’s children, Perez and Zerah. Rahab was a Canaanite harlot in Jericho who became an ancestress of Boaz (cf. comments on Ruth 4:21). Ruth was a Moabitess who became the mother of Obed. Since Bathsheba, the mother of Solomon by David, had been the wife of Uriah, the Hittite, it was probable that she too was a Hittite.
these are real people w/real problems, real sin, real suffering: prostitutes, sexually immoral adulterers, murderers, wicked leaders, bad parents, idolaters, deceivers … sounds a lot like the early Christians! 1 cor 6:9-10
REFLECTION quotes:
“Great David’s greater Son reigns, more gloriously than great David himself ever did, as Prophet and Priest and King; but He bears this triple dignity as the Servant of Yahweh who crowned His service by ‘pouring out his soul to death’”. – FF Bruce, NT Development of OT Themes
“Great David’s greater Son reigns, more gloriously than great David himself ever did, as Prophet and Priest and King; but He bears this triple dignity as the Servant of Yahweh who crowned His service by ‘pouring out his soul to death’”. – FF Bruce, NT Development of OT Themes
“A genealogy is a striking way of bringing before us the continuity of God’s purposes through the ages. The process of history is not haphazard. There is a purpose in it all. And the purpose is the purpose of God.” Leon Morris, Tyndale OT Commentary
Jesus Christ’s lineage, through Mary, is traced to David (Matt. 1:1-16; cf. Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 2:8; Rev. 22:16). Christ is therefore called “the Son of David” (Matt. 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15; 22:42). Christ will someday return to earth and will sit on the throne of David as the millennial King (2 Sam. 7:12-16; Rev. 20:4-6).
End with Revelation 5:1–10
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,
4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
1 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.
2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it,
4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.
5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne.
8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
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