Wilderness Wanderings

Our text is from Luke 2:46-47 Lost

After three days they [Jesus' parents] found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers (Luke 2:46-47).

Of all the stories about Jesus' childhood, why would Luke choose to tell this story? Certainly, there were more interesting ones; stories that would give us a flavour of what his youth was like. Luke chooses to tell us this story to fill in the portrait of Jesus he has been painting. In Philippians 3, Paul details how in his early life he was the perfect Jew. Jesus is pictured with similar colours. He was born to and raised by pious Jewish parents. Only men were required to attend the religious festivals in Jerusalem, so Mary's going shows deep family piety.

With this family setting, Luke invites us to consider the kinds of things our children learn from us. Do our words and actions match the faith teaching that we offer our children and grandchildren? Is our piety mostly showy, as Jesus decries in Matthew 6, or does it show a deep faith in God's activity in this world? Can those around us notice our growing faith?

Further, Jesus and his parents were well integrated into their community. The trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem took three days and folks traveled in caravans for protection. That Jesus' parents did not worry about him for the first day, indicates that they fully expected others to be looking out for him. They were likely looking out for other children and youth. This tidbit suggests that Jesus' family was very ordinary.

In that day, it was not unusual for students to gather at the feet of the rabbis to discuss the Jewish faith, their understanding of God, and how to live faithfully with him. This was usually in a group question-and-answer discussion format, as Luke indicates. Thus, Jesus' interaction with the rabbis was not unusual. That he didn't leave Jerusalem with his parents was unusual, but Luke does not put the focus there.

His intention is that we recognize that even at this young age, Jesus has amazing knowledge of the things of God. Those listening to him are astonished at his understanding, a reaction that will occur later to Jesus' miraculous work (8:56). Already early in life Jesus values the pursuit of comprehending God.

I think Luke wants us to understand that Jesus' pursuit of God was not a product of his unique sonship with God. Rather, it was the outcome of a life lived among those who walked with God. It pictures how all of us should prioritize our lives before God. The way he lived his life and pursued God faithfully reflects how we should seek God's face. When David was dying, he counselled his son with these words, "If you seek [the Lord], he will be found by you" (1 Chronicles 28:9). Luke is illustrating this truth.

Finally, this story illustrates something that one of Jesus' brothers would later write, "whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do" (James 1:25). Later, Jesus and the religious leaders would come to logger heads, but that was because they were threatened by him. They refused to believe that he was the Son of God. They pursued their own power rather than submitting to the Lord. Jesus began by submitting to them.

As you ponder the year that was, consider these things.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

Our text is from Psalm 114:

"Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, you mountains, that you skipped like rams, you hills like lambs? (Psalm 114:5-6).

Psalm 113 asks: "Who is like the Lord our God?" Answer: No one. Nothing. Our God is utterly unique. And in his Son Jesus Christ, we get an even better look at him. He did not consider equality with God as something to be used to his own advantage but instead became nothing. The highest of the high, the utterly transcendent, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God was born into this world as the lowest of the low: the baby out-of-wedlock of a poor peasant couple from the unremarkable town of Nazareth.

Why did our God take such a lowly path? To raise us up to the highest heights with him, that's why. "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6). It was Israel who was first brought up from their poverty and need in Egypt: they were set free and made into a people.

Among Jews, Psalms 113 & 114 are recited at the beginning of the Passover meal. Why did God's people choose these Psalms to remember the victory of their God? Because it puts the eaters smack dab in the middle of the great saving acts of God. With vivid simplicity Psalm 114 proclaims what happens when God shows up.

Showing up in power, his first act is to choose Israel both for His sanctuary and His kingdom. Thus, if anyone else in all the earth wants to meet God or observe life in his realm, all they need do is show up in Israel.

All contrary powers are driven from the field by His appearance. The chaotic powers that put salvation in question must flee before Him. In His presence the mountains--the symbols of all that is solid, durable--quake.

God's mighty salvific work is proclaimed by all the facts that are brought together in this weighty hymn. When Israel is thirsty, God offers her water from the rocks and desert sands. When she is hungry, she can pluck birds out of the air and bread from the ground.

God provides for those who are near Him. The elements of creation react to the powerful appearance of God. Because they move before God's coming, Israel's passage into the Promised Land stretches out before her. All this and more are remembered as the Jews sit down to eat the Passover meal.

The early Christians choose to worship on the first day of the week rather than the Jewish seventh because they saw Easter as our Exodus. As much as the Exodus from Egypt shaped the imagination, the memory, and the living faith of Old Testament Israel, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, shapes the imagination, the memory, and the living faith of the church.

As much as the Exodus was the birth of Israel, so Easter is the birth of the church. And as much as Israel was God's dominion and sanctuary in the Old Testament, we believe the church is God's kingdom and sanctuary today.

Thus, if anyone else in all the earth wants to meet God or observe life in His Kingdom, all they need do is find the church of Jesus.

These Psalms are recited as the opening of the Passover meal. They helped the eaters enter the story of God, their story. We worship Jesus today and gather at his table to enter the story of Easter, to make it our story.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

An extended Sunday Sermon edition of Wilderness Wanderings! The text comes from Matthew 2:1-12 from the New International Version of the Bible. Dive In discussion questions are below for further reflection! To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

DIVE IN QUESTIONS

1. What stands out to you from hearing these verses? Is God offering an invitation or a challenge to you through those words? Take time to pray about it.

2. Where all does this theme of "darkness" play out in the Bible? See if you can come up with more examples than the ones Pastor Anthony used and take some time later to page through the Bible (or www.biblegateway.com on a search for related words) to read them.

3. What do the Biblical writers mean by "darkness"? Who does it impact? And why are the characters in this story used as representations of this darkness?

4. What makes the difference between the Magi and the folks in Jerusalem such that the Magi see the star and go on a search and the others don't?

5. What does all this tell us about how to find the light of Christ in the midst of the darkness of our own lives and world?

6. How do we live in light of the light of Christ amid a still-dark world and life? Are there particular ways you might seek to do that this week?

Our text is from Luke 6:35-36 Loving our Enemies

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:35-36).

When is the last time you loved an enemy? Or shall we go even deeper: Have you ever loved an enemy?

When you decided to follow Jesus, did anyone explain to you that this would mean loving people who hurt you? I wonder if, when people are preparing to join a church, they are encouraged to count the cost. Is there an expectation that being part of the body of Christ includes doing good to those opposed to Christians?

Let's keep asking questions. That person at work who really annoys you, gets under your skin several times a week, what have you done to love that person? Have you even prayed for them? That social media friend of yours who has taken the opposite political view, how have you been treating this person?

Am I putting this too strongly? I don't think so. Jesus has just said, "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them" (6:32). He calls his followers to a higher ethic. Love can be very easy. We fall into love and out of love in the blink of an eye. It is easy to love people who have loved us.

But Jesus did not define love like that. For him, love is not primarily a feeling, it is a deliberate choice we make. Love is an action that brings good into the world, especially into situations in which good is not deserved. Jesus is calling us to deliberately love people who have not earned it. God's love calls us to respond to evil actions not with judgement but with mercy and goodness.

Jesus expects us to act with glorious and absurd generosity. What is the best thing you can do for the worst person? Do it. What people are you tempted to be nasty towards? Lavish generosity on them! God's kingdom has a fresh, springlike quality. New life bursts out energetically, like flowers growing through concrete, drawing attention with their colour and vigour.

Imagine living in a society where people believed in this God. Would there be violence? Revenge would be replaced with forgiveness. Divisions of class or caste would disappear. We would be more concerned with our neighbour's wellbeing than hanging onto our property and possessions. Imagine if we took Jesus seriously and lived like that. Life would be exuberant, different, astonishing. People would stare.

But you say, "I cannot love that way." Of course, you can't. It's humanly impossible. But we are Christians. Jesus has given us his Holy Spirit to overcome our human deficiencies. By the power of Christ in us, through the Spirit, we become able to love like Jesus.

We can be sure of this because God has loved us like that. While we were still his enemies, Jesus died for us. God's love towards us is extravagant, extraordinary, totally underserved. Love does not originate from us. We receive it first, then give it away. When we have trouble giving it, we need to go back to the beginning of our Christian life. We need to receive from God. We start by asking him to help us.

Jesus wants us to imitate him. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. The world may misunderstand us and shun us and laugh at us, but that does not allow us to be insensitive or to harbor misunderstanding towards them.

Let's follow their Lord.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

The Christmas 2024 edition of Wilderness Wanderings!

To see this sermon in the context of the worship service it comes from, find it here on YouTube. Or, head to our website to connect with the worshiping community of Immanuel CRC: immanuelministries.ca

This, then, is the family line of Perez:

Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, Salmon the father of Boaz, Boaz the father of Obed, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David. (Ruth 4:18-22)

This little tagged on genealogy that ends the book of Ruth is interesting. It's interesting because the final two lines of it are repeated from yesterday's text—one wonders why it needed to be said twice. It's also interesting because Matthew copies it nearly word-for-word in the genealogy that opens his gospel, save for his additions of the names of women, like Ruth. Matthew also tantalizingly tells us that Boaz's own mother was Rahab, the prostitute who saved the spies in Jericoh! Somehow Matthew knows something the book of Ruth didn't care to tell us. This genealogy is also interesting though, because it is factually incorrect. A quick read of 1 Chronicles 2 will tell you that a few generations have been omitted.

So: why is this list here in this particular form? A few reasons. We already heard of the story of Judah and Tamar when we talked about the blessing given by the people to Ruth & Boaz. "Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah," they said. Here then is our first name in the genealogy: "Perez." One gets the sense that the author means to say: the blessing given by the people has been fulfilled. Here is the family of Perez: Ruth and Boaz have found their way into it as those who have bequeathed a great family themselves.

The genealogy is shortened to highlight important people. In this genealogy's construction, we find there are 10 generations in all. 5 come before the time of Moses, and 5 after. Boaz occupies the important 7th spot in the genealogy, which singles him out as a worthy and noble man—exactly as we've found him to be across this story. In the Gospel of Matthew, Ruth will join him there.

The 10th and final place in the list, signaling wholeness or completion, is David's own spot in the genealogy. King David would be the first King of this family line: a fulfillment both of the blessings and prayers spoken throughout the book of Ruth, but also of Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49:10 that "the scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his." Despite the threats of barrenness and famine that dominated this story—the Lord again acted to bring this word of promise and prophecy to pass. Through Ruth and Boaz—a ruler would indeed emerge from Judah—a king after God's own heart, just like his forebearers.

David of course would not be the last to follow God's own heart, nor would he be the last fulfillment of these promises. As Matthew reminds us by picking this exact same genealogy up in the opening verses of his gospel: the one to whom the scepter finally belongs is not David, but Jesus, the Christ. In the fullness of time, God will use the overflowing generosity and redemptive work of ancestors like Boaz and Ruth to accomplish his own work of overflowing generosity and redemption in Jesus.

Tomorrow we celebrate this work of God in generous redemption and fulfillment of all his promises and blessings again. Merry Christmas, everyone.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

Our text is from Ruth 4:13-17

So, Boaz married Ruth. Then he slept with her. The Lord blessed her so that she became pregnant. And she had a son. The women said to Naomi, "We praise the Lord. Today he has provided a family protector for you. May this child become famous all over Israel! He will make your life new again. He'll take care of you when you are old. He's the son of your very own daughter-in-law. She loves you. She is better to you than seven sons." Then Naomi took the child in her arms and took care of him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son!" They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David.

The Lord's name is mentioned regularly in this little book, but mostly in prayers and blessings. Here, God finally emerges from behind the curtain. He acts by enabling Ruth to conceive a son, fulfilling the prayer Boaz prayed for her on the grain fields of Bethlehem.

Yet, it is Naomi's lap that is full--so full the story nearly tumbles over itself with joy! "The Lord enabled Ruth to conceive" is the grand finale of this waltz of self-giving devotion! Naming just one generation isn't enough--this family went on and on, generation after generation! "The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." They named him Obed (provider). "He was the father of Jesse, the father of David." And without skipping a beat the joy and amazement are spoken again, from a bigger perspective, but that's for tomorrow.

What a phenomenal act of God! Wrinkled, old Naomi sitting with a newborn on her lap. The Israelites hadn't seen anything quite this exciting since Abraham, "as good as dead," and Sarah, having the dead womb, laughed together with Isaac on their knees. And now Naomi laughs with the women of Bethlehem. Death and emptiness have given way to life and fullness.

Here sits Naomi with a womb perhaps as dead as Sarah's, and her husband isn't "as good as dead," he is dead! No earthly possibility of an heir. What amazing things should we expect when God places a child on this old widow's lap? Look what the Lord is doing! The Lord is establishing something as important as the house of Israel. The Lord is establishing the throne of David.

This is not just any throne. The "throne of David" will not be a mundane kingdom. It exists because the covenant Lord has acted. It exists because people as diverse as Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz emptied themselves for the welfare of others. It is this covenant faithfulness, not tribal affiliation or economic standing, that identifies the subjects of this kingdom, now named the Kingdom of God. Self-sacrificing devotion to the Lord and to one another are the ways of this kingdom.

Naomi's lap is filled because of this covenant devotion. Ruth, the Moabitess, forsaking claims of nation and religion, devoted herself to Naomi, come what may; Naomi's devotion to Ruth prompted a risky scheme on the threshing floor; Boaz' devotion caused him to ignore self-interest and exceed the requirements of the guardian-redeemer; and God's devotion to his people graciously provided fruitfulness for field and womb. God himself wove these four devotions together to provide a home and husband for Ruth, the restoration of life and fullness for Noami, and immeasurable benefit for all Israel.

This story illustrates the behaviour of the true Israelite and the faithfulness of God, inviting us to join this waltz of self-giving devotion!

May you too receive the blessing of this God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah." (Ruth 4:11-12)

Ruth's commitment and Naomi's wish for her have become true. Though a foreigner, Ruth is now fully a part of Israel. Though a widow, Ruth has now found rest in the home of a new husband. These are beautiful things, but one issue remains outstanding. Ruth's first marriage was barren and Naomi still had no heir. While Boaz's costly act of redemption could offer the foreign widow a place of home and belonging within Israel—only God himself could intervene to redeem the barrenness of Naomi & Ruth and bring new life.

This is what the people's desire is for Ruth, and through her, for Naomi. They offer a blessing: that the Lord himself will accomplish this, making Ruth and Boaz fertile, famous, and prosperous. Then they go on to invoke some pretty profound foundational stories among the patriarchs of Israel.

Rachel & Leah were the wives of Jacob—the one who was called Israel. Like the whole of the book of Ruth—the focus is not on the men's role in these stories, but the women's. Jacob is not credited with building the house of Israel—his wives are. It was Rachel and Leah—their prayers, their fights, their tears—that built up the house of Israel. For a time, Rachel herself was barren—as Ruth had been. But God enabled her to conceive. From these two women came the 12 tribes of Israel—the foundations of the nation.

Bethlehem, of course, was a city of the tribe of Judah. Judah's story includes the bold actions of a woman in a situation not so very different from Ruth. Tamar was also a foreigner, like Ruth: a Canaanite. Tamar was also a widow, like Ruth. Tamar also sought redemption, like Ruth. Judah's first son was Tamar's husband, who died. Judah gave her his second son to raise up an heir for his first son. But he also died. Judah then refused to give her his third son. He abandoned Tamar to her widowhood, leaving her outside the people of God. She, however, chose to outwit her father-in-law Judah through some harshly pragmatic means that brought forth her conception, by Judah, of two twin boys—the elder of whom was Perez. Perez's family became the leading clan of Judah. Ruth's bold actions to seek redemption among the people of God for Naomi paralleled those of Tamar—the matriarch of the tribe of Judah.

One gets the sense from all these blessings that it is those like these matriarchs of Israel and Judah who best extol the character of Israel. They are those who have wrestled most profoundly with God and sought his favour and redemption despite all the barrenness, widowhood, and exclusion stacked against them. They are the ones who would not let go of Israel's God until he blessed them. Ruth and Boaz now stand among them, even as the people wish that this same hard-wrestled blessing of the Lord will be theirs.

The invitation here, is to continue to wrestle with God for the blessings of redemption, inclusion, and life that he has promised—and to not let him go until he gives that blessing. Just like Rachel, Leah, and Jacob, like Tamar and Judah, like Ruth and Boaz. This is the story of "Israel," the people who wrestle with God.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.

Our text is from Ruth 4:7-10

(Now in earlier times in Israel, for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel.) So, the guardian-redeemer said to Boaz, "Buy it yourself." And he removed his sandal. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, "Today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelek, Kilion and Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Mahlon's widow, as my wife, to maintain the name of the dead with his property, so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses!"

In ancient Israel, land was God's gift to his people, as promised to Abraham.

"The Lord said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, 'Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever" (Genesis 13:14-15).

Also,

"The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God" (Genesis 17:8).

However, the Israelites were not to consider themselves owners of the land, for it belonged to God. Thus, Psalm 24, "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it" (1). So, when Israel entered the land, Joshua divided it among the tribes, clans and families. Each received its own parcel. It was to remain the gift to each family forever.

Of course, there might be occasions when land might need to be sold, financial disaster or leaving town as in our story. But that buy out would only be temporary. Regarding this, God instructed, "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers. Throughout the land that you hold as a possession, you must provide for the redemption of the land…It will be returned in the Jubilee, and they can then go back to their property" (Leviticus 25:23-24, 28).

The price of land was based on how many years were left before the next Jubilee. These laws stand behind the transaction in the Bethlehem town square. There also seems to be this part,

If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel (Deuteronomy 25:5-6).

God gave Israel these laws so that the people would take care of each other. He owned the land and didn't want it exploited by rich people taking advantage of poor people and widows. As we have already mentioned, neither the kinsman-redeemer, nor Boaz is obligated to carry out this last part. They are too far removed.

Yet, Boaz happily announced that he would redeem the property and marry Ruth himself. He would go beyond the letter of the law and gladly carry out its intent. The key word in this chapter is redemption. The words "redeem," "buy," and "purchase" are used at least fifteen times. As God redeemed Israel from Egypt, Boaz redeemed Ruth and Naomi, and Jesus redeems us. In Boaz, we get a glimmer of the delight God takes in redeeming us. Like Boaz, the price tag doesn't matter.

Go now with God's blessing:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you: wherever he may send you. May he guide you through the wilderness: protect you through the storm. May he bring you home rejoicing; at the wonders he has shown you. May he bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

Meanwhile Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there just as the guardian-redeemer he had mentioned came along. Boaz said, "Come over here, my friend, and sit down." So he went over and sat down. Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, "Sit here," and they did so. Then he said to the guardian-redeemer, "Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative Elimelek. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line." "I will redeem it," he said. Then Boaz said, "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." At this, the guardian-redeemer said, "Then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it." (Ruth 4:1-6)

Boaz acts precisely as Naomi assumes. He does not rest until the matter is settled. But as it turns out—the matter entails a bit of drama.

As Pastor Michael noted yesterday, Boaz will wait in trust on the Lord to work this matter through. For his part, Boaz will trust the proper procedure and the rights of others. He'll not break the law in pursuit of his aims. We readers get concerned though, because Boaz appears to be giving up on Naomi and Ruth—indeed, his stubborn submission to the rules almost loses him the right to play a part in their lives at all!

Boaz starts off in a different way than we might expect. He doesn't say a thing about Ruth, but rather presents the matter as Naomi's sale of land. The man Boaz speaks to jumps on the idea of a new field. Without hesitation, he declares: "I will redeem it."

The assumption would have been that Naomi would come with the property being sold. This was at least part of the work of the guardian-redeemer—to ensure land stayed in the tribe, but also to ensure family members were cared for. The care of Naomi in her old age would fall to the new owner of the field. This wouldn't be too difficult though: Naomi was old. She would not live long. After she died, the field would remain in the man's own family, bringing profit and an inheritance for his children.

But after declaring his intention to redeem, something suddenly changes in the calculus when Boaz adds the rest of the story: "on the day you buy… you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the dead man's widow, in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property."

At this, the man must refuse. If he is forced to marry Ruth for the purpose of raising up an heir for Elimelek—this means that the field will not remain in his own family after all! It will transfer back to Ruth's son. Noami, Ruth, and any children Ruth has will need to be supported by the land, and then the land will be gone, meaning their support has to come from the man's current estate. Should Ruth have any additional children after the firstborn dedicated to taking on the inheritance of Elimelek, it's also possible that those future children would have a claim on the man's current inheritance—thinning it out further.

So the man refuses to redeem the land. Not because he is stingy or heartless, but because he knows the math and is responsible with what the Lord has given him. This is the key in the text. As with Orpah turning from Naomi to go back to her own home, so it is with this unnamed man of chapter 4. Both of them are utterly sensible. They show a perfectly ordinary and responsible amount of hesed kindness, stewardship, and care. The text does not fault either of them.

But by setting Boaz and Ruth next to this pair of sensible people—it says "just look at the extraordinary hesed kindness and generosity of these two!" Boaz and Ruth go above the expectation, they risk everything, and are willing to give anything. In just this way, they tell us something of God's own extraordinarily generous and risky ways of redemption that will bring rest to his people.

As you journey on, go with the blessing of God:

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you : wherever he may send you.

May he guide you through the wilderness : protect you through the storm.

May he bring you home rejoicing : at the wonders he has shown you.

May he bring you home rejoicing : once again into our doors.