October 14, 2018
"Generosity and Redemption"					
Ruth 2: 8 - 23
Pastor Jonathan

I don’t think generosity can be intellectually understood.  Sure, you know if someone has gift giving as their primary
love language, and therefore are constantly giving gifts, even to those who may not appreciate them.  You’ve encountered
such individuals, haven’t you?  But knowing generosity, is experience a sense of adequate, even abundant provision and
the certainty that you will have enough.  You may have everything you want.  You know you will have enough, deep down,
without wavering.  Is that your experience?  That’s truly knowing generosity and experiencing provision.  If you don’t 
have this experience as a part of your background, it is possible you will constantly desire to make sure you have 
enough, by stockpiling, with hoarding being the extreme example.  Or even if you can’t or won’t do that, you are
constantly wondering when something will run out, or you will have to do without.  Fear of spending money, even when
you have it, can plague you during you whole life.

I know in alcoholic families, there can be a low level of fear or anxiety about the alcoholic not only not being
available for regular household responsibilities, but they might use the household finances for their addiction, thus
bringing uncertainty for the basics of food, clothing and shelter.  This is true of people with other kinds of addictions
and their families as well.  But it is also true in many other families that do not have debilitating addictions in them.

In my family, my mother used to cut the coupons out of the newspaper.  Remember when everyone got a newspaper?  We would
go to the grocery store together and I remember all the things she said I couldn’t have.  Some I could.  This was in
stark contrast to my dad, who would occasionally take me to the grocery store, on the weekend.  And when we went to the
grocery store, he would say to me, "You can put anything you want in the cart."  Seriously.  And I knew he meant it.
It was like a God moment for me.  And usually I would be wise, and not put the most expensive toy or food or snack in
the cart.  But I believe I could have.  Now my father had many faults.  But one thing he showed me more than anyone
else on this planet, was his generosity.  He gave me money.  He put me through school, some might say, "too many years
of school," including the PhD at Ottawa U.  He gave many gifts, probably in light of the poverty in which he grew up,
during the Great Depression in the 1930s.  At his funeral, Mom and the family found out he had put an accountant
through school, had helped fund apartments for the unemployed and for individuals when they were in a difficult time
in their lives.  And when Lynn came first to California, she was given several hundred dollars for however she wanted
to use it, and that amount of money meant a lot more thirty-eight years ago than today.

Generosity has to be experienced to be understood.  During my recent unemployment, and the year that both my daughters
decided to get married, I was wondering how we were going to help, with very little savings and a house that would not
sell.  During this time, a kind person from one of the congregations of our church said to me, "I know you are going to
need money.  Just ask and I’ll write you a check."  So as finances were going down and down, I reached out to this 
fellow.  And he sent us a check that was five figures.  I was amazed at his generosity, because I really didn’t know him
and his family.  I attended the church for a year when I was in town, but I didn’t really know the congregation either.
And the same person helped again later in the year similarly.  We were amazed. And others gave us smaller amounts but
with the same heart.  We are continuing to give thanks to God.

May I boldly tell you that God knows what you are going through in all the parts of your life.  His provision and
generosity is enough to see you through.  Trust him and reach out if you need help.

Ruth was on a journey in a strange land.  She only knew that she needed to find food to eat.  As we mentioned two
weeks ago, she chose a random field to glean in, but God’s grace and provision went ahead of her.  She met a property
manager and landlord that was kind, and respected by the community.  Boaz encouraged her to stay in his fields during
the harvest (2: 8-9), and to eat with his workers.  He instructed his workers to look after her safety and give her 
more grain than needed to be dropped for the poor.  

Ruth could have been molested by other workers, been given barely enough to eat, for her and her mother in law Naomi.
But the Lord honours her commitment to Naomi and Naomi’s God.  She is protected and looked after.

Boaz may be interested in her at this point, or he simply is showing kindness to her because he has heard her story
(v. 11) of looking after his relative Naomi.  Ruth doesn’t know that they are related at this point.  She simply
experiences the generosity of Boaz, and therefore Boaz’s workers.

Food and safety are big items in this story.  Remember Ruth had given up on these items when she decided to follow
Naomi and her God.  What are the big items that you need from the Lord?  How can God show Himself to be more real and
generous in your life?  Would you recognize it, if he were to be more generous?  How would you know (beyond a big cheque
in the mail)?

The generosity of our heavenly Father has a lot to do with the plan of salvation, with the redemption of our lives
through Jesus.  How have you known God to be generous to you in the past?  How is He being generous today?  If you’re
not sure, ask someone close to you to point out what you might be missing.  I know I needed several items of His
generosity to be pointed out to me during my unemployment and beyond.  We need the body of Christ to help see the
hand of God in our lives.

When Ruth gets home, she shows the amazing amount of grain that she has gleaned in Boaz’s fields.  She shares some of
the lunch that he had invited her to partake of early that day.  Naomi is amazed and blesses the man who has shared
from his abundance in this way. (v. 19) Naomi wants to know who it was, as she probably knew most of the landowners in
that area, as she was from there in Bethlehem.

This is when Naomi is told that the landowner is Boaz.  Then she immediately thanks the Lord again, saying, "Blessed
be the man who is showing kindness to both the living and the dead."(v. 20) The living are Naomi and Ruth, the dead
are Naomi’s husband and two sons.  

Naomi tells Ruth that God is looking after her and them.  She encourages her to return to the fields for more gleaning.
She notes that she could be harmed elsewhere, so encourages her to go back to Boaz’s fields.  There’s more on the
horizon for this relationship.  But for now, let’s look at what Naomi tells us about Boaz.

He is a kinsman-redeemer, a family guardian, a guardian redeemer.  If you look at the note in your Bible, it may say 
something like: “The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a
relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55).  What you will read in Leviticus 25, is an explanation of how
family members can help those who have become poor, or even sold themselves because of their debts.  The kinsman-redeemer
can buy them back, or help them out.  In this case, all the men of the family have died, so it would mean buying back
the real estate and property that belonged to the deceased, as well as the conjugal right or responsibilities to carry
on the family name of the deceased.  It sounds quite foreign to us, and given this was the time of the judges, it was
unlikely many actually cared about following the Law, but Boaz did, as we will see.

At this point in the story, we don’t know exactly what is in Naomi’s mind.  Perhaps she sees the possibilities but has
not broached them with Ruth.  She simply is pleased that her daughter in law has found food and safety in her community,
with her extended family’s help.  That was something she could have never promised her, when they were in Moab.  Now
she gleaned with Boaz until the end of the harvest, probably a couple of weeks.

At this point in the story, I need to mention and repeat the following: Generosity precedes redemption.  This is true
in Ruth’s experience of Boaz.  This is true in our experience of the Lord Jesus Christ.  2 Corinthians 8:9— For you
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through
his poverty might become rich.

Just when we could not find a way to find God, He himself made a way, a costly way for him.  He would give up his
divinity, make himself vulnerable to all the vulnerabilities of a human birth, childhood and human life.  He would 
live like us.  The Creator became the created.  The Author of life became a character in the story.  He lived our life,
without sin, and gave himself for us, even to the point of being tortured to death.  He paid for our sins.  He gave his
own blood for our redemption, paying the price for our sins that we could not pay, thus making a way to have 
relationship with us.  He now invites us to invite Jesus Christ into every part of our lives.  His generosity cost him
his life.  Yet he gave it willingly.

Now we are recipients of such generosity.  And as we travel the rest of this life, we are encouraged to use every
resource toward his kingdom.  Thank for your generosity here, not only with the roof but all ministries here.
Thank you for continuing the season of Thanksgiving.  Thank you for making this place a sanctuary, a holy place for
God’s works, not only for our congregation but also for the Philippino and the Arabic speaking groups who worship here,
the 12 step groups, the homeschoolers, the women and men who pray and study the Scriptures and who want to follow Jesus.
Thank you for giving toward the roof over our heads and the ministry that goes on here.  Let us continue to ask how we 
might exercise the gift of generosity even as we learn more of God’s gift of redemption in Jesus Christ.

Let us pray.