We’re on week three of our Advent series, A Weary World Rejoices. We’re learning how God answers our weariness in the coming of his Son, Jesus. Today, I want to consider God’s Kindness from the book of Ruth, the whole book.

Ruth as a Sign of God’s Kindness

Moments ago, the Advent choir sang these words: “In a world so cold, in times so dark / When the nations rage and men lose heart.” The story of Ruth begins with that kind of world—a dark world where it’s easy to lose heart. 1:1 begins…

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. The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons. These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years, and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.

Ruth’s story occurs “in the days when the judges ruled.” The days of the judges were morally dark days for Israel. God had blessed them with the Land. But faithfulness to God’s Law was short-lived. Israel spiraled into rampant idolatry, tragic vows, sexual sin, injustice, civil war. Everyone did what “was right in their own eyes.”

Verse 1 also tells of a famine in the land, and of all places, a famine in Bethlehem. Beth-lehem means “house of bread.” No bread in the house of bread. But anyone reading Ruth knew that, under the old covenant, a famine in the Land signaled a famine in people’s hearts. That spiritual famine becomes evident in Elimelech’s move to Moab. Moab was an enemy of God and his people. Running to Moab was forsaking God’s people, God’s place, and God’s rule.

To make the situation worse, this family runs to Moab for life but all they encounter is death. Naomi loses her husband and is left a widow in a foreign land. Within ten years, Naomi also loses both her sons. Your husband and your children are the dearest people you have. But also, in ancient Israel, to lose your husband and sons was to lose everything.[i] It meant no inheritance in the Land and no name perpetuated. It was viewed as worse than death to lose your name and inheritance.[ii]

Talk about “times so dark”! Talk about easy to “lose heart”! Naomi’s people were spiritually destitute. Her husband and sons were dead. Naomi had no name, no home, no inheritance, and (seemingly) no hope. Naomi’s story overlaps with our own. We can identify with her loss. Sin and its results leave us weary with curses. This story meets us in our own emptiness, facing death without much hope.

What has the broken world stripped from you? What pain have you felt under the curse? What sorrows have your own sins caused? We feel Naomi’s emptiness.

But the story meets us here to reveal God’s kindness, even when the darkness makes his kindness harder to see. In the rest of chapter 1, Naomi returns from Moab to Bethlehem. In verse 6, “the Lord had visited his people and given them food.” He “visited” them, despite what they deserved. The house of bread now has bread. But as the story goes, we learn that God’s kindness was at work in more ways than just bread in Bethlehem. God’s kindness also leads Naomi to return. His kindness leads Naomi back to the Land of promise; and in the process he’s drawing her back to himself.

His kindness to Naomi was also at work in Ruth. We see that especially when Naomi attempts to send both daughters-in-law back to Moab. Verse 8, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.” The word behind kindness is an important one. Sometimes it’s translated “steadfast love.” God is known as one who “abounds in steadfast love.” It’s a love that remains loyal even when the other person can offer nothing back. It includes help for the helpless; and these three women are in a helpless situation.

So, Naomi looks to the Lord for kindness: “May the Lord deal kindly with you.” So far, so good. But as Naomi keeps talking, you realize she doesn’t see the whole picture. Instead of inviting her daughters-in-law to the land where God provides, she urges them back to Moab. Naomi can’t give anything, “So why bother” is her mindset. Orpah leaves and returns to Moab and its false gods. But not Ruth.

For Ruth, it doesn’t matter that Naomi has nothing to give. Ruth remains loyal in her love to Naomi even when Naomi can give nothing back. She even borrows covenant language to declare her loyalty to Naomi. Verse 16, “Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried.” Ruth knows the risks, even to the point of death, and she still shows kindness when Naomi has nothing to give in return. This becomes a sign not only that Ruth knows the God of kindness; but that Ruth herself is a sign of God’s kindness in Naomi’s darkness.

God’s kindness is reflected through Ruth’s kindness. God’s loyal love plays out through Ruth’s loyal love. What else does that mean? God has saved a foreigner in one of the darkest periods of Israel’s history. Even more, God saved an enemy and brought her into his covenant people. The way things are worded even reveals Ruth to be a true child of Abraham. Abraham was told to go from his country and his kindred and his father’s house; and here we find Ruth doing the same thing.[iii]

Even in dark times and when faith in God’s people is incomplete, God is still working to fulfill his promise to bless all nations. Ruth is a sign that God’s kindness (God’s steadfast love) never ceases. It’s always working to fulfill his promises.

Naomi struggles to see this. When they arrive in Bethlehem, the town is buzzing to see Naomi. But she tells them in verse 20, “Don’t call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty.” Perhaps, you can identify with Naomi’s perspective. Perhaps there have been days when you’ve thought Naomi’s words: “the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.” That’s true to our experience. This story walks us right into the heart of our weariness. But this story also reminds us not to miss the Lord’s kindness. Even in the darkest of times, God’s kindness is still at work. God was working out a plan for Naomi, for Ruth, and (as we’ll soon discover) for us too.

God’s kindness is truly there, even when the darkness makes it harder to see. Naomi interpreted her sojourn in Moab merely by what the Lord had stripped from her. Naomi was so focused on what she lost, she struggled to see God’s kindness at all. She could see it for others but not for herself and how God was providing in Ruth. The Lord had used the situation to make Ruth a child of Abraham. Naomi wanted to define her future as only bitter. But the Lord was in the process of filling her future with hope. God’s promise to bless all nations had not failed. It was still coming to fruition.

Boaz as a Sign of God’s Kindness

Chapters 2 and 3 start clarifying that hope further. The Lord displays his kindness in Ruth once again. Ruth continues caring for Naomi. She does so by gleaning in the fields, which was another way God wanted his kindness reflected in Israel. If you forgot a sheave in the field, you weren’t supposed to go back for it. You left those for the sojourner, the poor, and the widow. Why? Because God is kind and generous to those in need. So, Ruth, being a widow, works hard to gather sheaves for Naomi. She again becomes a sign of the Lord’s kindness at work in Israel, despite their sin.

But the Lord’s kindness also goes way beyond their expectations in a fella named Boaz. Now, the events of chapters 2 and 3 happen two months apart. But both chapters follow a similar pattern. In both chapters, Ruth and Naomi talk. Ruth then leaves with a plan—once to glean in the fields, then later (after they learn about Boaz) she visits him at the threshing floor. While she’s out and about, the Lord displays his kindness through Boaz. Then Ruth returns and reports to Naomi. Ruth becomes the bearer of good news to Naomi as they realize the Lord’s kindness in Boaz.

So, what’s up with this guy? Well, we meet him in 2:1, “Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.” A relative, from Elimelech, who’s worthy—the Holy Spirit puts a big red arrow over Boaz and tells us to pay attention. There’s something special about him.

Naomi tells us what’s so special in 2:20, when she first hears about him. She tells Ruth, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.” In Hebrew, the word is go’el, a kinsmen redeemer. In the Law of Moses, a go’el was a close relative who was responsible for the economic well-being of another relative.[iv] When the relative got themselves into a crisis and couldn’t get out of it, the go’el stepped in to redeem them.

They could buy back their property to ensure it stays within the clan. They could also buy back the relative if they happened to sell themselves into slavery.[v] But another way the go’el could help the relative was by marrying the widow of a deceased brother-in-law (Deut 25:5-10). Boaz fits that last category of redeemer. But the point was that a kinsmen redeemer reflected what God’s kindness is like: at great cost, he steps in to redeem his people from their helpless situation.

But there’s even more to appreciate. Boaz is very gracious. Three times in chapter 2, were told how Ruth finds favor/grace in the eyes of Boaz. Boaz is also a man who fulfills God’s law in love. He opens his fields for the widow to glean (Ruth 2:3-4, 8). He’s not the fella who says, “Well, I did what I had to do.” No, Boaz goes beyond what the letter of the Law required. He permits not just a sojourner, but a foreigner to glean (and a Moabite at that). His kindness isn’t deterred by social class or ethnicity. He’s generous to Ruth. He gives her everything she needs and more. In 2:14, he invites Ruth over to his table. He passes her the roasted grain. He lets her dip the morsel into the wine. Ruth eats so much that she takes home leftovers.

Boaz also becomes Ruth’s protector. Four times in 2:9, 15, 16, and 3:14—he puts measures in place to protect Ruth from harassment and shame. Then in 2:12 Boaz tells Ruth, “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!” But later in 3:9 Ruth tells Boaz, “Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.” Basically, “Marry me!” But the connection is clear: Boaz exemplifies Yahweh’s protecting care by spreading his “wings” over Ruth.

Boaz also willingly obligates himself to redeem Ruth. In 3:12, we learn there’s a redeemer within Naomi’s family that’s closer than Boaz. The other guy is first in line. Meaning, Boaz wasn’t obligated to redeem Ruth. He willingly obligates himself to redeem Ruth. In fact, he’s so committed to redeeming her that he—the ‘lord’ of the harvest—becomes her servant. 3:11, “I will do for you all that you ask.” The rest of the story shows Boaz serving her, willing to endure whatever cost necessary to see her redeemed. When others in Israel won’t fulfill their end of the covenant, he does; and he refuses to rest until Ruth and Naomi are redeemed.

It’s no wonder that Naomi’s disposition starts to change in 2:20. When she learns about Boaz, she says to Ruth, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” God awakens hope in Naomi through his kindness, a kindness displayed through a gracious redeemer. He’s a redeemer who fulfills the law through love, who welcomes outsiders to his table, who provides for his people, who willingly serves to see both Jew (Naomi) and Gentile (Ruth) redeemed. Has God awakened hope in you by his kindness displayed in a gracious Redeemer?

God’s Kindness Stretching to Jesus

Let’s come back to that question in a minute. For now, consider how the story of Ruth ends. In verses 1-12, Boaz keeps his word. Ruth becomes his wife; and in this way, he becomes a redeemer to Naomi as well. 4:10 says that he will “perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance [i.e., Elimelech’s line], that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place.”

Everybody’s excited and they bless Boaz and Ruth saying, “May the LORD make the woman, who’s 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, 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.”

“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. 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! 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.’ Then Naomi took the child, laid him on her lap, and became his nurse.”

The story is a story of reversals. It began with famine, but it ends with a house full of bread. It began with no heir, but it ends with a child in Naomi’s lap. It began with death and despair, but it ends with life and hope—all because of God’s kindness.

But that’s not quite the end of the story. Verses 17-21 take us to another level. The women named the child Obed. It says, “He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” Then it closes, of all things, with a genealogy: “Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.”

Have you ever seen The Lego Movie? The story focuses on a character named Emmet Brickowski, “the Special.” He ends up saving the day with the Piece of Resistance. But very close to the end, the movie pans outward to a basement filled with a father’s expensive Lego sets. The animated story we thought was about Emmet was part of a larger story between a son and his real father. The larger story deepens the meaning of the smaller story. Something similar happens in Ruth.

The events in Ruth focus on everyday happenings in the life of one family from Bethlehem. But just as you reach the end of their story, we’re caught up into a much greater story. We find a genealogy extending from Perez to David, the royal line in Israel, the line of promise. It’s as if the camera pans out and signals that this story of Ruth reveals way more than we initially expected.

It’s not just about Ruth finding a husband, or even Naomi finding an heir, it’s about the Lord’s kindness to fulfill his promise of a coming Redeemer. The story of Ruth gets caught up into God’s larger story moving from Adam to Noah to Abraham to Perez and now onward to David—the same David that God promised a forever heir over a forever kingdom. Even in the dark and desperate days of the judges, God’s kindness was still working out his promise to save Israel and the world.

You see, like Naomi and Ruth, we too are in a crisis that we can’t get out of. Because of our sin and its consequences, we have been cut off from God’s inheritance. We have suffered under the curse, and it has left us empty and without hope in the world. There’s nothing we can do to buy our way out of this jam.

We need a redeemer, a true Redeemer. We need a redeemer who’s like that kinsmen we read about earlier. He needs to be like us in our humanity but without our sin. We need a Redeemer who is gracious and merciful. We need a Redeemer who stoops to serve Jew and Gentile alike. We need a Redeemer who fulfills the Law through love completely, who seeks our ultimate good when we are helpless. We need a Redeemer who is able and willing to pay the full price to have us as his own.

Brothers and sisters, this same genealogy gets reproduced in Matthew 1:3-5. But Matthew traces that genealogy further, from Abraham through David to Joseph, the husband of Mary of whom Jesus was born. Matthew 1:21 tells us that they called his name Jesus: “because he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is the true Lord of the harvest, but he stoops to serve us. He’s not obligated to do so, but Jesus lavishes kindness on those who, because of sin, can truly give nothing in return. At great cost to himself, he pays the ultimate price to deliver us from our helpless condition.

Jesus welcomes outsiders to his Table and serves them true bread and wine, symbols of his body and blood poured out in kindness at the cross. We once had no inheritance or hope; but through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we gain a living hope and an unfading inheritance. The Lord’s kindness in the book of Ruth reaches its climax in the true Son of David, Jesus Christ. Even through the difficult times and the seemingly mundane, God was still working his plan to preserve a promised seed and redeem the world. In Ruth’s day, God had visited his people with bread in Bethlehem. But in a far greater way, God has visited us with the true Bread in Bethlehem.

A Few Takeaways for Advent

All our stories can identify in some way with this family’s emptiness, because we all know what it’s like to be helpless in our sins. But in Christ, we have also come to experience God’s kindness meeting us in the emptiness and giving us his fullness. So, this Advent, what might the story of Ruth have to do with you?

First, the story of Ruth reminds us that God works his plan even in the small and ordinary. There are no miraculous interventions in Ruth. No plagues of judgment. No Red Sea splitting. No wall in Jericho falling. Instead, we follow a family to Moab and back. We watch Naomi sink in grief and rise in hope. We watch Ruth love Naomi and work in a field. We listen to them plan next steps as they learn about Boaz. We read of Boaz walking with the Lord and putting his word into practice.

These are ordinary events in the life of a small family. Yet through them all, God was working out his purpose in Christ. We often talk about God’s sovereignty. God’s sovereignty is his freedom, right, and power to do all that he pleases. But there’s another doctrine we shouldn’t forget, and that is providence. The New Dictionary of Theology defines providence like this: “the beneficent outworking of God’s sovereignty whereby all events are directed and disposed to bring about those purposes of glory and good for which the universe was made.” All events directed and disposed.

The same is true in your life. Much of what you do from day to day will be ordinary. You might have to move to a different city. People around you might make less than wise choices. You’ll experience loss and hardship. Your faith will sometimes express itself in ways that are incomplete. You’ll go to work and return home to report what happened. You’ll make plans with new information that you learn. And through it all, God will be working out his promise to redeem. In his kindness, God is always working to redeem, even in less than ideal circumstances and mundane activities.

Second, the story of Ruth teaches us to remember that God’s kindness is truly there, even when darkness makes it harder to see. Ruth is written for people living in morally dark days like those of the judges. It’s written for people who are spiritually empty and wondering if there’s truly any hope. It’s written for people who feel like their future will be filled with only bitterness. Naomi couldn’t see all that we get to see. But just because she couldn’t see the bigger picture, doesn’t mean God’s kindness wasn’t there. God’s kindness showed up in the unlikeliest of times of darkness, famine, and death. It showed up in the unlikeliest of people, a Moabite.

You may wrestle like Naomi did. It may be that in times of darkness you can’t see God’s kindness very well. Like Naomi, you might even feel like the Lord is against you. But in the darkness, God was still committed to his promise. The evil and brokenness of the world didn’t deter his kindness. The story of Ruth is really a story about God’s kindness, God’s steadfast love coming through despite humanity’s sinfulness. In the end, he’s truly working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose. That was true for Naomi and Ruth; and it’s especially true for us who know God’s kindness in Jesus Christ.

The incarnation is confirmation that God’s kindness will endure, even in the worst of times. Ruth shows us that no matter how dark things get, his kindness is still there. He hasn’t backed out of his promise to redeem us. His kindness is at work in our sufferings and losses. His kindness is at work in times of famine and harvest. His kindness is at work in our vocations and when we’re barely scraping by. The coming of Jesus is the ultimate assurance that God’s kindness will never fail. He will be faithful to his word no matter how dark and desperate things become.

That means, third, every situation becomes an opportunity to ask, “Lord, what are you doing next to advance your plan in Christ? Lord, what part do I play right now, in the darkness? Lord, how might you want me to display your kindness to someone else?” A beautiful part of this book is seeing how those who know God’s kindness display his kindness to others. Ruth and Boaz are shining examples of the Lord’s kindness. Through their obedience in everyday responsibilities, the Lord uses them as signs of his kindness to others. How much more is that true for us.

In the Lord Jesus, we’ve come to experience the Lord’s greatest kindness—the gift of his Son. Ephesians 2:7 calls it “the immeasurable riches of [God’s] grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Because of the great kindness shown to us, we display God’s kindness to others. Paul says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Kindness will share each other’s troubles; and, at great cost to ourselves it will find ways to serve and support. In the end, the story of our lives should point others to the story of God’s kindness Christ.

The story of Ruth reminds us that our stories are not ultimately about us. Our stories don’t center on us. Our stories don’t find their true meaning in us. Our stories are serving God’s greater story, the story of his kindness in sending the Son of David. Everything we walk through is ultimately for his sake. Whether peaceful or painful, whether relaxing or heart-rending, whether joyful or jarring—it’s all happening so that your life becomes a pointer to God’s kindness in the Son of David.

So, how might your story point others to his story? It was news of God’s kindness in a gracious redeemer that first awakened hope in Naomi. Has God awakened hope in you by his kindness displayed in a gracious Redeemer? If you know Jesus Christ, then he has awakened such hope. So, how might the Lord use your life to awaken hope in others this holiday season? Be looking for those opportunities this Christmas as we remember God’s kindness in his gracious Redeemer.

Again, the Advent choir sang earlier: “In a world so cold, in times so dark / When the nations rage and men lose heart.” But they didn’t stop there. “Our hopelessness,” they sang, “has turned to awe; / The King of kings sleeps in the straw. / A virgin sweetly sings a mother’s lullaby / As heaven touches earth, offering all mankind. / Peace now, we bring you peace now, / Oh, on a night so blessed, weary souls find rest.”

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[i] Exod 32:13; Num 27:1-11. Land could be passed on to a daughter in the case that no son was born to a family.

[ii] Cf. Deut 25:6 with 29:20.

[iii] Cf. Ruth 1:15, 22; 2:11.

[iv] Block, Judges, Ruth, 674.

[v] See, e.g., Lev 25:25-30; 27:47-55; 35:19-27; Num 5:8.