We’re a Part of Something Bigger

Study Notes

Things Don’t Just Happen:  You’re a Part of Something Bigger

Ruth 4

     People in almost every culture throughout history seem to love stories with happy endings.  All week, I’ve been asking people here at Lake about whether they have any favorite movies with happy endings.  Here are the ones that have been mentioned most often:

• Kids: Inside Out, Home Alone. Winner: Beauty and the Beast
• Women: All Hallmark movies. Winner:  You’ve Got Mail
• Men: Rudy, Remember the Titans. Winner:  Lord of the Rings
• Christmas: It’s a Wonderful Life. Winner:  Christmas Carol

     Today at church, I’ll tell you that the Bible has the greatest happy ending story.  Revelation 21-22: All things will be made new – no tears, no pain, no dying.  And, within the Bible there are stories like the story of Ruth.  It has a great ending. And that’s what we come to today.

     Because we have more of our kids and students with us today, I want to pause to tell you of a word that has been important to us as we have been studying the Book of Ruth, i.e., the Hebrew word “hesed”. Say it with me: “hesed.”  Hesed is the word in the Bible that captures the many attributes of God, especially those that speak about how he treats people -- like his kindness, faithfulness, grace, mercy, love, and loyalty.  It’s the way that God treats you.  It’s the way I want to treat people.  And, I want you to be that way too.

     In the Book of Ruth, we see two people who live their lives showing hesed to other people and, when they do, their lives have a beautiful impact on everyone around them.  So, let me review the story before we come to the happy ending.

Reviewing the Story

• Episode 1 - No food and empty -- A Jewish family moves from Bethlehem, God’s promised land, to Moab because there is no food in Israel.  But the father and sons die leaving an old widow named Naomi and her two daughters-in-law without any men in a man-dominated world. One daughter-in-law, Orpah, goes back to her people and God while the other, Ruth, makes Naomi’s people and God her own and, in support of Naomi, heads back to Bethlehem (https://st-takla.org/Gallery/var/albums/Bible/Illustrations/Bible-Slides/OT/08-Ruth/www-St-Takla-org--Bible-Slides-ruth-692.jpg) just as the barley harvest was beginning.  There would be food in Bethlehem again.
• Episode 2 – Food but no future -- The young, immigrant named Ruth cares enough for Naomi that she goes out into personal danger and works the harvest fields. God leads her to the fields of a man named Boaz who sees her need, provides for her, protects her from harm and helps her to belong. (http://c8.alamy.com/comp/C8N4P9/bible-stories-illustration-of-ruth-working-in-boaz-barley-fields-C8N4P9.jpg)  But, the harvest only lasts 7 weeks.  At the end, Ruth and Naomi have food but no future.
• Episode 3 – Hope but uncertainty – Naomi and Ruth plot together to find a place of lasting belonging. In that culture, the only way for these widows to find a place of belonging would have been for Ruth to marry. In a challenging and dangerous moment, Ruth and Boaz demonstrate what Pastor Jeff called “unwavering integrity. (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Book_of_Ruth_Chapter_3-3_%28Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media%29.jpg)  Going against all cultural norms, Ruth proposes marriage to Boaz – and he says, “Yes, but…”  Like a modern-day romance movie, there is another man who may get in the way of Boaz and Ruth marrying.  And, deep inside, we all know that guy is not the right man for Ruth, don’t we?  But that’s the way it is -- there is someone else who has the legal right to marry Ruth and to keep Boaz from doing so.  But, Boaz has a plan. 

Episode 4:  Hesed Triumphs

1. The Decision (4:1-10) So-and-So, the closer guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy the property yourself.” And he removed his sandal (4:8).

     When I read Ruth 4:1-10, I feel as if I’m there, watching Boaz go about his work.  This first act in the final episode takes place at Bethlehem’s city gate.  The city gate was the place where big town decisions were made.  Or, as one scholar told me, “It’s the place where men sat, talked and made big decisions while the women did all the work!”  That may be a bit extreme – but the society that Ruth lived in was so fully male-dominated that she had little choice about her husband.  To think that a group of men sitting at the city gate would discuss and determine her future husband is a bit offensive to our Southern CA sensitivities. But, the law of the time was that, when a property-owning man died, his widow or, in this case, his son’s widow was to be brought into the family of the nearest kinsman.  The property would continue to remain in the name of the man who died – in this case, Elimelek.  Ruth, as we saw in episode 3, wanted to marry Boaz and he wanted to marry her.  However, there was a nearer kinsman.

     So, Boaz comes up with a way to navigate this.  He approaches the closest kinsman, a man who is left unnamed in the story.  Boaz calls him something like “Mr. So-and-So” in v.1 – and then calls 10 of the city elders to listen in to their conversation (http://www.goodsalt.com/view/boaz-at-the-city-gate-GoodSalt-lfwas1809.jpg.)  Boaz says that Elimelek’s widow Naomi is home and needs money -- so Elimelek’s property is available to the nearest kinsman who wants to buy it.  Mr. So-and-So probably knows that Naomi is too old to have children so he thinks that, for very little money, he can acquire the valuable piece of property and put it in his own name. So, Mr. So-and-So says, “Of course, I want the property.”

     Then, in v.5, Boaz delivers his masterstroke: “On the day you buy the land from Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man’s widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property.” 

     As soon as those words are out of Boaz’s mouth, Mr. So-and-so says, “Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate.” By that, he meant that he would have to pay money to get the property, he would have to take care of Naomi and Ruth.  He would have the problem of an additional wife.  And, if Ruth gave birth to a son, he wouldn’t even be able to keep the property.  So, he says, “You redeem it yourself, Boaz!” Before all the elders of the city, Boaz agreed.

     Then, Mr. So-and-So took off his sandal (their way of signing a real estate document) and gave it to Boaz to seal the deal – and then the celebration erupted!

2. The Celebration (4:11-17a) Then all the elders and the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lordmake the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah... May you… be famous in Bethlehem (4:11).”

     The happy ending is as good as any you’ll find in any book or movie.  It starts right there is the city gate when the elder shout out blessings for Boaz (4:11-12).  Tradition says that Boaz was a widower who had no children before he married Ruth.  The elders pray a blessing that Boaz and his new wife will have a family that will become as important to Israel as were the children of the greatest patriarchs of Israel.  They speak the blessing to Boaz that all he does will prosper and that his name will never be forgotten. 

     Ruth was certainly a part of the blessing in vv. 11-12 too.  They said, “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah (who also had an immigrant heritage), who together built up the family of Israel.” In doing so, they were pronouncing that she, a Moabite immigrant, fully belongs to the greatest of the women of their people.

     But, when the scene moves at least nine months forward – to when Ruth gives birth to a son -- I especially love the fact that the Jewish women in the town break out in effusive blessing upon the Moabite Ruth in v. 12.  They call her, “Better than seven sons!”  I think they were saying something like, “Take that, you men who sit around the city gate and talk endlessly!  This one woman has done more than the perfect number of men could do.”  It was something that the men of the town needed to hear -- and we do too.

     And, to complete the story, Naomi is blessed by receiving a male heir through her line and that of her husband.  It’s so touching to read, “Then Naomi took the child, laid him on her lap and cared for him.”  The bitter and empty old woman we saw at the end of episode 1 is empty and bitter no more.

     Indeed, the entire town is blessed with great joy.  It’s a celebration.  God loves a celebration.  Happy endings always have celebrations.  But, it doesn’t stop there just with the little town of Bethlehem.  God had a bigger plan in mind than anyone could have seen.

3. The Shocking Ending (4:17b-23) They named the child Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David (4:17).

     This ending seems to come out of the blue.  Who could have expected this?  I think the author puts it here to take people’s breath away.  All these small decisions that, in the eyes of the world seem so coincidental and insignificant have led to something much bigger!  This immigrant woman from the worst of countries, but who had become committed to God, gives birth to the one in the line of their greatest king, King David.  The message of the Book of Ruth is that God rescues his people from the deep dark days of the time of the judges (1:1) not so much through superheroes like Samson or Gideon but through normal people like Ruth and Boaz being faithful to show hesed in daily relationships and choices.

     And, of course, you and I know something that even the writer of the Book of Ruth could not have known.  All these decisions led not only to David – but to Jesus.  Yes, this child born to Boaz and Ruth was in the lineage that led to the Savior of the World.  Read the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 and you’ll see it, i.e., Ruth, Boaz and their son Obed are all there.  These ordinary people were a part of something bigger – much bigger.  God used them to be a part of his blessing all people.  And the same can be true of each of us.

Things to Change Our Lives and Our Church

1. Things don’t just happen

     God is always present and at work.  When things aren’t going the ways you want them to go, God is still at work.  Learn to trust him when you do not understand – even as Ruth did.  Things don’t just happen.  There is no God-forsaken place in God’s universe.  God is always present and wanting us to learn to trust him.  When things are horribly bad, as they were for Ruth at the beginning of ch. 2, it’s hard to believe this.  But, the whole of the Bible declares that this is true.  God will ultimately make all things new and will establish a kingdom in which all is just and right.

2. Live a Life of Hesed -- God calls us all to make the kinds of decisions that reflect his ways to our world. Again, the word that I do not want you to forget from this series is the Hebrew word “hesed”.  Remember how this looked in the story of Ruth:

• Orpah v. Ruth in ch. 1: Orpah made the choice that made sense in the eyes of the world while Ruth did not. Ruth’s was simply based on wanting to support and be faithful to Naomi and to honor God.    And, she kept living that way.
• Boaz v. Mr. So-and-So in ch. 4 – Mr. So-and-so made the decision that would have made financial sense. If he had redeemed Naomi and Ruth, he would have lost money and then would have lost the land too!  Of course, the same was true of Boaz.  But, Boaz made the decision that meant treating others as God treats him, the way of personal sacrifice to bring hope, help and blessing to others. 

  I want to remind you of how Boaz showed hesed to this Moabite woman that no one else even seems to notice.  Ruth was an immigrant out in the field living the life of a beggar.  What did Boaz do?  (Put the graphic here): 1) He saw her as God sees people. 2) He provided for her. 3) He protected her. 4) He helped her to belong.

     Ruth and Boaz did not act according to the wisdom of the world.  They didn’t do what people would usually do.  They didn’t ask, “What’s in it for me?  Will it fulfill me?”  Both Orpah in ch. 1 and Mr. So-and-So in ch. 4 did what most “how to” books would tell them to do.  But, the decisions Ruth and Boaz made involved personal sacrifice to bring help and bring blessing to others.  It’s the way God acts toward us.  The act of hesed always calls us to be related to those in need and the heart’s desire to help.  It’s not a duty but an act of love.

3. Let’s Be a Church of Hesed

     Next week, we begin our campaign to end our calendar year financially in the black.  That’s always a challenge for us – just as it is for every church and non-profit each December.  Human wisdom would tell us simply to focus on that and on nothing else.  But, at the same time, God has put the crisis in Puerto Rico after the hurricane on our hearts and we want to send a recovery team there.  And, with the massive migration of people in the Middle East and the effectiveness of our mission team in Lebanon that we reported today, we want to send another team there and continue that ministry.  So, after much prayer, we have chosen to step out by faith both to challenge us to meet our budget as well as to find funds for those two outreach ministries.

     I’d like Pastor Jeff Mattesich to come up to share with you how we will take steps in that direction.

Chinese Study Notes

萬事皆非偶然：你是神計劃的一部分

路得記第四章

            歷史上每一種文化的人們似乎都喜愛有美好結局的故事。這個星期以來，我一直問我們教會的人，他們是否有自己特別喜愛的結局幸福的故事。下面這幾個故事是大家提得最多的：

• 孩子：腦筋急轉彎， 小鬼當家；最喜愛影片：美女與野獸
• 女士：所有的賀曼電影；最喜愛影片：電子情書
• 男士：追夢赤子心，光輝歲月；最喜愛影片：指環王
• 聖誕電影：生活多美好；最喜愛影片：聖誕頌歌

今天，我可以告訴大家，聖經是一部有著最美好的結局的故事。啟示錄21章到22

章：萬事都成為新的 --- 沒有眼淚，沒有痛苦，沒有死亡。在聖經中有許多與路得記相似的故事，它們都有著美好的結局。這就是我們今天要談的。

            今天在座的有很多孩子和學生們，我想告訴大家，在我們學習路得記的時候，有一個很重要的詞語，在希伯來文裏是“hesed”。在聖經中，這個字蘊含了神的很多屬性，尤其是那些描述祂如何待人的屬性，比如祂的良善、信實、恩典、憐憫、慈愛與忠心。那就是神待你的方式。我希望你也是這樣。

            在路得記中，我們看到，有兩個人，在他們的生命中向他人顯明了神的屬性，當他們這樣做的時候，他們的生命就對周圍的人們有著美好的影響。所以，在看這個故事美好的結局之前，我們先來回顧一下這個故事。

故事的回顧

• 第一幕：沒有食物 ---- 一個猶太家庭從神所應許之地伯利恒搬到摩押，因為以色列食不果腹。但是，父親和兒子都去世了，在當時的那個男權社會中留下了年邁的寡婦拿俄米和兩個兒媳。其中的一名兒媳俄珥巴回到了她本族和她的神那裏。另一位名叫路得，為了支持拿俄米，她將拿俄米的民和她的神當作自己的民和自己的神，在收割的時候與她一同回到伯利恒(https://st-takla.org/Gallery/var/albums/Bible/Illustrations/Bible- Slides/OT/08-Ruth/www- St-Takla- org--Bible-Slides- ruth-692.jpg) ----伯利恒又有食物了。
• 第二幕：有食物，但沒有未來 ---- 那位名叫路得的年輕外族人，如此關心拿俄米，以至冒著危險在收割場上作工。神帶領她到了波阿斯的田裏。波阿斯看到她的需要，為她提供所需，保護她免受傷害，幫她找到歸屬。(http://c8.alamy.com/comp/C8N4P9/bible-stories- illustration-of- ruth-working- in-boaz- barley-fields- C8N4P9.jpg) 。然而收割只有七天的時間。收割結束之後，拿俄米和路得有了食物，卻還是沒有未來。
• 第三幕：有希望，卻也充滿了不確定性。拿俄米和路得一起謀劃，要找到一個永久歸屬之所。在當時的文化中，寡婦唯一找到歸屬之途，就是結婚。在那個充滿了挑戰與危險的時刻，路得和波阿斯展現了傑夫牧師所說的“堅定不移的誠信。” (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Book_of_Ruth_Chapter_3-3_%28Bible_Illustrations_by_Sweet_Media%29.jpg)。路得逆所有的文化規範而行，向波阿斯求婚。波阿斯說：“可以，但是……”像現代的浪漫電影一樣，還有另一個人可能會妨礙到波阿斯和路得的婚姻。我們都知道，那個人不適合路得，但是依照程序，如果有人有合法權利與路得結婚，波阿斯就無法與她結婚。但是，波阿斯有一個計劃。

第四幕：神的得勝

第一：決定（4：1-10）某先生對波阿斯說，你自己買吧。於是將鞋脫下來了（4：8）。

            在讀路得記4：1-10的時候，我有身臨其境的感覺，好像我看到了波阿斯所做的一切。這最後一集的第一幕發生在伯利恒的城門口。城門口是做重大決策之處。曾有一位學者告訴我，那裏是男人們坐下來談論重要決定而女人們作工的地方。這可能有點極端，但是路得所生活的社會是完全由男性所主導的，她沒有選擇丈夫的權利。一群男人坐在城門之處商議、決定她未來的丈夫，這似乎有些觸犯到我們南加州的敏感話題。但是，當時的法律規定，當那擁有地產之人死亡之後，他的遺孀、或是他兒子的遺孀，要被家族中最近的親屬所接納。那財產要繼續歸入死者的名下。當時那人的名字叫以利米勒。我們在第三章看到，路得想要嫁給波阿斯，而波阿斯也想娶路得，但是路得還有一位比波阿斯更近的親屬。

            因此，波阿斯想出一個解決辦法。他去與那位最近的親屬接近，那人在故事中並未留下姓名。在第一節，波阿斯稱其為某人，然後叫來那城裏的十名長老去見證他們之間的對話，(http://www.goodsalt.com/view/boaz-at- the-city- gate-GoodSalt- lfwas1809.jpg.)波阿斯說，以利米勒的遺孀拿俄米回來了，她需要錢，所以他們最近的親屬可以贖買以利米勒的財產。這位先生大概知道拿俄米年紀已經老邁，無法再有子嗣，因此他可以用很少的錢買下價值不菲的一塊地，並歸於自己名下，所以他說：“當然，我想要贖買這塊地。”

            接著，在第五節，波阿斯使出了他的聰明計策：“你從拿俄米手中買這地的時候，也當娶死人的妻摩押女子路得，使死人在產業上存留他的名。”

            波阿斯的話一出口，那人就說：“這樣我就不能贖了，恐怕於我的產業有礙。你可以贖我所當贖的，我不能贖了。”在城中眾長老的面前，波阿斯同意了。

            然後，那人脫下鞋子（從前以色列人買賣交易的方式），把它交給波阿斯作為證據，然後就大功告成了！

第二：慶祝（4：11-17a）---- 在城門坐著的民眾和長老都說，我們作見證。願耶和華使你家的這女子，像建立以色列家的拉結，利亞二人一樣。又願你在以法他得亨通，在伯利恒得名聲（4：11）。

            這個幸福的結局，就像任何一本書、或一部電影中所寫的一樣。這個幸福的結局，開始於城門口眾長老齊聲祝福波阿斯之時（4：11-12）。古書記載，波阿斯在與路得結婚之前是一個鰥夫，沒有子嗣。眾長老祈禱，波阿斯和他的新妻子的家庭，能對以色列人至關重要，就像以色列先祖的長子一樣。他們祝福波阿斯，讓他一切所做的都昌盛，他的名字永遠存留。

            路得當然是11-12節中祝福的一部分。他們說：“願耶和華使進你家的這女子，像建立以色列家的拉結，利亞二人一樣（這二人也是從外族而來）。”他們這樣做，就相當於宣布了這個外來的摩押女子完全屬於他們本族人中的偉大女子之一。

            當時間流逝至少九個月之後，路得生下一個兒子，我尤其喜歡第12節，那時猶太婦女對這位摩押女子獻上滿滿的祝福，她們對拿俄米說，“她有這兒婦比有七個兒子還好。”我想，她們實際的意思是：“聽好，你們這些坐在城門口、無休止地說話的男人們

！這個婦人所做的，比很多男人所做的要多得多。”這是那城裏的男人們應當聽的，我們也當如此。

            在故事的結尾，拿俄米從她丈夫的族譜中得到了一位男性繼承人，並藉此蒙受祝福。這一段很感人：“拿俄米就把孩子抱在懷中，做他的養母。”我們在第一集結尾所看到的那位心懷苦澀與虛空的老婦人，此時已然不再虛空與苦澀。

            事實上，整個城市都由此而蒙受祝福、充滿了喜樂。他們舉城同慶，神也喜愛他們的慶賀。幸福的結局總是會有慶賀。但是，伯利恒的故事並沒有就此結束。神還有一個更大計劃，是任何人都想不到的。

第三：令人震撼的結局（4：17-23）他們給孩子起名叫俄備得。這俄備得是耶西的父，耶西是大衛的父（4：17）

這個結局似乎令人走出了憂傷。 誰能預料到這一點？作者將這樣的結局放在這裏，使讀者震驚。這些在世人眼中看起來如此巧合與微不足道的一個小小的決定，竟然導致如此重大的後果！這個來自最糟的國家的女子，卻將自己交付給神，生下了那一族王室之中最偉大的一個王——大衛王。“路得記”的信息是：神將自己的百姓從深切黑暗的士師秉政時期拯救出來（1:1），祂並未通過像參孫或基甸那樣的超級英雄拯救百姓，而是通過像路得和波阿斯這樣的普通人，在日常生活之中忠誠信實地在關系與選擇之中顯明神的良善。

當然，你和我有幸知道的一些事情，甚至連“路得記”的作者都無法知道，那就是所有的這些決定不僅導致大衛王的出現，而且包括耶穌的降生。是的，波阿斯和路得所生的孩子，在救主的血脈之中。你若閱讀馬太福音第一章中耶穌的家譜，就會看到，路得、波阿斯和他們的兒子俄備得都在其中出現。這些普通人都是神的計劃中的一部分。神使他們成為祝福世人的一部分。我們每個人也可以如此。

改變我們的生命與教會的事物

第一：萬事皆非偶然

神無時無刻不在世上作工。當事情沒有按照你所希望的結局成就的時候，神仍然在作工。當你不明白的時候，要學會信靠祂，就像路得那樣。凡事都不是偶然發生的。在神所造的宇宙中，沒有一個地方是神所放棄的，神永遠與我們同在，並期待我們學習信靠祂。當事情非常糟糕的時候，就像第二章開始路得所遭遇的那樣，我們似乎很難相信。然而，整本聖經都宣稱這是真實的。最終會更新萬事萬物，並且將建立充滿公平與正義的國度。

第二，要過屬神的生活

神呼召我們，使我們所做的決定，都能彰顯出祂對待世界的方式。 再一次強調，我希望大家不要忘記這個系列中的希伯來文“hesed”（良善、公義）這個詞。 請記住，在路得記這個故事中，它有怎樣的內涵：

• 在第一章中，將俄珥巴與路得相比較：俄珥巴所做的決定，在世人的眼中是一個合理的選擇，而路得的抉擇卻並非如此。路得所做的單是基於對拿俄米的忠心與支持，並榮耀神，而且她後來也一直是這樣生活的。
• 在第四章中，將波阿斯與“那至近的親屬”相比較：那位“先生”所作出的決定是具有經濟意義的。如果他贖回了拿俄米和路得，那麽他將會損失金錢，也將會失去那塊土地！當然，波阿斯面對的也是如此。然而在波阿斯所做的決定中，顯明了他待人如同神待人那樣，以犧牲個人的方式將希望、幫助和祝福帶給他人。

我想提醒大家，波阿斯以神的良善來對待這個摩押婦人，幾乎沒有任何人註意到這一點。路得曾是一個在外邦過著困苦生活的移民。 波阿斯做了什麽？ （統計歸結為如下幾點）：1）他看待她，正如神看待人一樣； 2）他供應她； 3）他保護她；4）他幫助她找到了歸屬感。

路得和波阿斯沒有按照世俗的智慧行事，他們沒有做人們通常會做的事情，他們沒有問：“這樣做我有什麽利益？我是否會得到滿足？”在第一章中的俄珥巴在和在第四章中的“那至近的親屬”，都是按照一些技巧書上所指示的去做的。但是，路得和波阿斯做出的這些決定卻都是為了給別人帶來幫助和祝福，這也就是神向我們行事的方式。 屬神的良善與公義，呼召我們與生活中有需求的人、以及心中正渴望幫助的人產生連結，這不是一種責任，而是一種愛的行為。

第三，讓我們成為一個屬神的良善的教會

下周，我們將開始努力使我們財政年度以盈利為結束。對我們來說，這一直是一個挑戰，正如每年十二月每個教會和非營利組織都會面對的一樣。人類的智慧會告訴我們，要把註意力單單集中在這一點上。然而同時，神卻把颶風危機之後的波多黎各放在我們的心中，以致我們有負擔派遣一個災後救援隊前往那裏；而且，針對中東難民大規模遷徙的情況，我們曾派遣了一支卓有成效的短宣隊到黎巴嫩（今天曾有報道），我們希望派遣另一個團隊繼續這一事工。 因此，經過多次的祈禱，我們選擇了憑著信心向前邁進：既要挑戰自己去平衡預算，也要為這兩個外展事工找到資金。傑夫牧師（Jeff Mattesich）會和大家分享我們未來的計劃。

榮耀歸給神，

Greg Waybright 博士

主任牧師