Do your part

 Read Ruth 4

Ruth is a short book.  There are no thou shalts or shalt nots.  There are no parables.

The law has been given but this is before the time of kings.

This was a male-dominated society but the girls knew how to work the rules.

Boaz was a godly man who was going to do his best to play by the rules. He obviously had an interest in Ruth as well as doing what God had required of those in his position.  We are not quite to the words to whom much is given, but we are moving that way.

Boaz headed into town to meet with the one other person who was qualified to be the kinsman-redeemer This person was the number one seed and had the first option of taking on this role.

We never got his name, but he had the first option, and he took it.

Yes! More land for me. This day is the best day that I had in a long time.

Boaz threw in an OBTW.  The girls come with the property. You will need to keep Elimelech’s line going.

Oh, so now you show me the fine print. Well, then, I think I will pass.

What changed? Land is land and land is status and land is wealth. What changed?

The addition of the girls, not just as household servants, but with some child-making responsibilities might not go over to well with those at home.

The man with the first option passed. Boaz knew exactly what he would do. A sandal was passed from the man holding the first claim on the property to Boaz.  The sandal sealed the deal.

And I don’t know if was only ceremonial and you got your sandal back or if you were involved in a land deal you might go home with only one sandal or perhaps three.

The tradition seems very distant from our perspectives. Ladies, imagine if one day your husband came home with only one shoe on.  Better check the trunk. He might have gone to the gun store. A sandal might have been passed.

This was God’s plan and how it was supposed to be, but Boaz played the hand he had been given well. He left the part of the deal that might not be the best for the other man to the end.

Had he led with the part about the girls, the other party might have thought that Boaz was really interested and some bargaining might have ensued before a sandal left anyone’s foot.

The deal was done. It was witnessed by the elders of the tribe and others who were gathered. It was followed by an interesting blessing.

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.”

Rachel and Leah,  now that was a story. It does not show up in traditional premarital counseling, but it did increase the family of Abraham who God had chosen to be his people.

It was part of God’s plan.

Judah and Tamar, now that’s a story as well. You do know that Judah and Tamar should have been stoned. She was his daughter-in-law. They should have been disqualified from the line of Christ.

That would have meant no Perez in the line of Christ. That would have meant, no Perez at all.

But they were not stoned and they produced a son whose name was Perez who is in the line of David the King and Jesus the Christ.

What a strange selection of examples for this blessing. Though the elders could not know this at the time, the connection to Rachel, Leah, Judah, and Tamar was that three out of the four were in the line of Christ.

Let me put it this way. There are no cookie-cutter characters in the Bible. They all come with very human characteristics and traits and flaws. They are all human.

Not too long ago, though it’s longer than I sometimes realize, I was a candidate for the ministry. I did my paperwork and interviews and whatever other hoops I had to jump through to get this party started, but before I got too far into the process, Ellie Scrudder—something of a stalwart in our Presbytery and maybe in the denomination—wanted to make sure I knew something.

What was it that I needed to know?

She said, I hope that you know that Cumberlands are made up of an odd collection of people.

What could I say?  How about, that’s why I feel so at home here.

We should feel at home in our part of God’s plan. We should be good with our part in this story. We should enjoy living out our story knowing that because we know the Author, whatever twists and turns it may take, it’s just what we need to get where we need to go.

In the first service, I talked about surviving 100% of our worst days ever. We made it. We are still here.

I shared a bit about attending my 50^th. That’s the big one. There were older classes in smaller numbers and they all had a theme song. Actually, the all had the same theme song. It was by the Bee Gees.

Stayin’ Alive. Stayin’ Alive.

We are alive. We are a part of God’s plan. We have our parts. The whole journey is seldom clear to us.

Our choice is to be anxious about the next twist or turn or to trust the Author of this story.

Have we not been building upon this foundation of faith long enough that we will trust that God does have good—not necessarily easy—plans for us.

Ruth had to be loyal to her mother-in-law.

Ruth had to be obedient to her mother-in-law and follow her instructions.

Boaz had to be a godly man.

Boaz had to be eligible to redeem Naomi and Ruth.

Boaz had to have the means to redeem the property.

The other eligible redeemer had to decline.

Everyone had a part. Some saw a bigger part of the picture than others but each had a part to play.

You know how the story ends.

Boaz redeemed the property and took care of the girls.

Boaz and Ruth were blessed with a son who was named Obed, who would be the father of Jessee. He would be the father of David and ultimately this line would bring us to the Christ.

I have talked about comfort zones before. I think the Christian can only have one comfort zone. It is labeled GROWING.

But we must also grow comfortable with doing our part not knowing the whole story or plan or even the next few steps. Within our comfort zone of Growing is a foundation of trust. We must trust the Author and Finisher of our faith and of our story.

We are comfortable with the Author of the plan, knowing that he has good plans for you.

Don’t be distracted by what other people are doing. Know your part. What has God called you to do next?

Trust him.

Do your part.

Take courage and comfort in doing your part, whatever it is.

Amen.