Think about the next big decision you have to make. How long have you been chewing on that decision? Are we talking about weeks, maybe even months? Some of us have been circling around the same decision for so long that we've stopped noticing the merry-go-round and round and round of indecision. It's a problem. When faced with this struggle, some people tell themselves the timing's just not right.
Others might say that they're waiting on a sign from God. Others still say they just need more clarity or more margin, which could mean more time, money, energy, or fill in the blank. You see, it's easy to convince ourselves that waiting is the responsible choice. But how long do you keep waiting before your indecision becomes an irresponsible choice of inaction? At some point, indecision becomes a decision to do nothing.
Did you catch that? At worst, it can become a habitual behavior of closing doors to amazing opportunities. And we might treat patience and hesitation like they're equal virtues, but they're just not. Because one requires faith and the other is playing it safe. And if we're willing to get honest with ourselves, we do know the difference between the two. And if we really don't, we likely have a close friend or a family member who can clear up that confusion.
Welcome to Mountain View Church. My name is Jeremy. We're in week five of our teaching series through the book of Ruth, titled Finding God in the Ordinary. Today we're taking a second look at the man Boaz, who doesn't hesitate or delay. He knew what had to be done, so as soon as he woke up, he headed out, called a meeting, and committed. He had no assurance of what the future would hold, but it didn't stop him from faithfully doing the next right thing. Hello, Mountain View Church. My name is Tyrell. Our scripture reading today is from Ruth 4.
Verse 1 to 12. You are welcome to follow along with the physical Bible by searching the table of context to locate the corresponding page number. Alternatively, you can download a Bible app or visit Bible.com. Ruth chapter 4. Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there, and behold the Redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken. Come by, so Boaz said. Turn aside, friend. Sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city.
and said, sit down here. So they sat down. Then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Amalekite. I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it. And I come after you. And he said, I will redeem it.
Then Boaz said, The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also require Ruth, the Moabite, the widow of the dead. In order to peculiarate the name of the dead in his inheritance, then the Redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my rights of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging to conform a transaction. The one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other. And this was the manner of attesting in Israel. So when the Redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal.
The Boaz said to the elders and all of the people, You are a witness this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Amalekite and all that belong to Chilin and to Malone. Also, Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Malone, I have brought to you to be my wife, to procurate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his brothers. And from the gates of his native place, you are a witness this day. Then all the people who were the gates and the elders said, we are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together build up the house of Israel. May you act worthily and you forth and be renowned in Bethlehem. And may your house be like the house of the Prez, whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.
We've been walking through this story for five weeks now, and in case you're just jumping in, allow me to do a quick recap. Ruth and Naomi have returned to Bethlehem. Ruth has been faithfully gleaning in the fields, and Boaz, a man of character and standing in the community, has taken notice of her. In chapter three, Naomi put a plan in motion, sending Ruth to the threshing floor at night to approach Boaz and ask him to fulfill the role of kinsman redeemer. Will he step in and redeem what was lost from their family? Well, as suspected, Boaz responds with integrity. At the end of chapter three, he tells Ruth that he'll handle it. And now, as we enter the final chapter of the book, before the sun is finally up, he's already moving to fulfill his commitment. In verse one, we read, now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. He doesn't wait for the right feeling. He doesn't put it off as an item on his to-do list. He doesn't wait for a sign from the Lord on the right day or time to take action. Instead of waiting for a sign or the right time, he committed himself and walked the line.
Boaz knows what faithfulness is asking of him, and he acts on it. He had made a commitment, and he was going to follow it through. And notice how fast the text moves. Very little time passes between his promise to Ruth and the fulfilling of his promise. It's very likely that at the end of chapter three, as Ruth and Naomi are discussing the encounter, the beginning of chapter four is happening simultaneously. Boaz is on his way to the city gate.
The author doesn't linger in this account, in part, to display the immediate faithfulness of Boaz. The decision was already made before he got there. Mourning was the best first chance that he had to act on that commitment. Now, before we go any further, you might be wondering, why the city gate? In ancient Israel, during the time of the judges, the city gate was a civic center, so to speak. It's serving like a communal courtroom.
It would have been a roof building, likely within closed walls. And this was the place where binding legal agreements were made and witnessed. And this is why Boaz goes to the gate first thing in the morning. He's publicly acting in a covenant obedience within the process that was legally binding at that time. He's made the private promise to Ruth, yes, but the meeting at the gate will place it on the public record.
So he waits at the gate for his relative. In chapter three, Boaz told Ruth that there was a closer kinsman redeemer than him and that this man should have the first right of redemption. This is who Boaz is waiting for as he sits at the gate. Now, coming back to the text, we read, and behold, the redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, turn aside, friend, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. What's interesting is the author doesn't tell us this guy's name. In fact, the Hebrew word chosen for friend as translated in our English Bibles is more of a placeholder idiom in the Hebrew.
The English equivalent would be, hey, so-and-so, come sit down for a minute. Or, hey, what's his name? Come over here. But in a more playful tone. Obviously, modern English Bible translators struggled to find an exact equivalent in our language to translate the idiom. And so they decided to just use the word friend. But in further study, it's not exactly right. So that's worth noting. Now, obviously, the man had a name. And we might assume, since he's a close relative of Boaz, that his name would be worth highlighting. But we never, ever find out.
Hebrew scholars claim that the idiom title for this man is deliberate, not to disparage him as the closer redeemer, but to further emphasize Boaz as the true redeemer. And so picking the story back up, 10 elders are also called to observe the redemption deal that Boaz is about to offer. Boaz presents the deal to his friend or Mr. So-and-so and tells him that he is the lawful first right to redeem Elimelech's land through their relative, Naomi. Who wouldn't want an extra plot of land at that time? It was an amazing opportunity for this guy. And so the closer relative, he agrees right away.
But then Boaz adds the caveat. The land comes with Ruth, the Moabite widow under Naomi's care. So if you redeem the land, you have to marry her, which means, and the closer redeemer knows this, that if she has a son, the son will inherit the land that he paid for under the redemption law. And so this causes him to change his mind. It says in the text, then the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.
Next, we see that Boaz proceeds to formalize the transaction in front of the ten elders. The closer redeemer removes his sandal and gives it to Boaz. The sign of redemption passed. Then Boaz removes his sandal and gives it to the closer redeemer, confirming that Boaz will take on the redemption rights of Elimelech's land and take on the Moabite widow, Ruth, as his wife. Now, looking into this situation under modern Western perspective, exchanging sandals seems like a really odd ceremony to seal a deal. But during the time of the judges, this was publicly witnessed, and it was an irreversible transfer of rights. So don't think of this like a handshake deal. Think of it more like a notarized legal document.
that's been witnessed and then held accountable by the ten elders who fully observed the transaction. This is a serious deal. It can't be broken. Coming back to the text, we read, Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech, also Ruth the Moabite, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. You are witnesses this day.
Notice how Boaz mentions Ruth. He publicly acknowledges her identity as a Moabite, but frames her within the restoration of Elimelech's family name. Although this is a redemptive ceremony, Boaz is declaring Ruth as part of the family line. And the witnesses, amazingly, they respond to his declaration here. The elders respond with a blessing that invokes Rachel and Leah, the founding matriarchs of Israel, and then Perez, the son of Tamar and Judah. These are important people in the Israelite history.
The blessing places Boaz and Ruth within God's providence of the unexpected in Israel's story. And so we see that God chooses unique ways to advance his greater purposes and his mission to the world. And now through an extraordinary set of circumstances, he's included a Moabite in the lineage that would eventually lead to the Messiah. And so this is a story of faithfulness and follow through. Ruth first showed massive faithfulness committing to Naomi in her time of need. And now Boaz, he shows equal faithfulness committing to Ruth and in turn Naomi in their time of need.
The blessing of the elders is a declaration to everyone who reads this account in scripture that God is faithful to the faithful. When there are numerous unknowns and no guarantees the outcome, this account reveals that having faith and follow through are representation of godly character. Boaz was under no obligation other than his own word. He could have waited for a better time. He could have took some more time to process maybe the potential outcomes. He could have prayed and asked God to send a sign before he committed, but instead his word was his bond and he trusted God with the outcome.
The decision had already been made. Ruth would be redeemed that day by himself or the closer redeemer. And so in his mind, the ceremony at the gate, it was just a formality. He knew what he was doing going in. He had decided. You see, the role of kinsman redeemer required three things. The redeemer had to be a close relative. He had to be willing to submit to God's will that was laid out in the redemption laws. And that meant that he had to pay the price of redemption. And the closer relative, he was willing until he realized what it would cost him.
Boaz was the next relative in line, and he knew the cost that night before. So the next morning, he was still just as willing to pay the price to redeem a Moabite widow. And once again, we've seen this throughout this series, throughout the book of Ruth. We have these pointers to God's redemption plan for all humanity, pointers forward. Just look at this situation. The Redeemer would need to be a relative of both God and human beings. The Redeemer would have to be willing to submit to God's will for redemption. And our Redeemer would have to pay the high cost to redeem humanity, to redeem us, becoming the sacrifice for our sin.
God would send his son Jesus to be the final kinsman redeemer, our redeemer. He took on flesh to qualify as our relative. He was completely submissive to his father's will. Therefore, he was willing to pay the price for our redemption, which meant giving up his very own life. And we get a picture of this situation when Jesus is praying in the garden the night before he was crucified. In Matthew 26, we read that Jesus fell on his face and prayed, saying, my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.
He went away again a second time and prayed, my father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done. Although the cost of redemption was far greater, notice how just like Boaz did for Ruth, Jesus had resolved to redeem us the night before he would publicly pay the cost for the redemption. Jesus would be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death by crucifixion. Jesus was, of course, innocent. Even the Roman governor at the time could see that and petition the religious leaders in the crowd that Jesus should be set free, but they just cried and yelled out even louder, crucify him.
God determined the right time. Jesus committed to walk the line. But thankfully, that wasn't the end of the story. On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead, bringing our redemption into fulfillment. That by trusting in Jesus, we as foreigners and enemies of a holy, righteous God, we would be brought into God's family. And when we leave this earth, we will be welcomed into God's kingdom to live forever. How amazing is that? Now let's go back to the beginning. We started this message on the topic of indecision and how we're prone to dress up avoidance and hesitation and pitching it as maybe patience and discernment.
Now, don't get me wrong. There is definitely a place for discernment and making wise choices. That needs to happen sometimes. But if we keep telling ourselves that it's not the right time, we're likely just scared to make a commitment. And if we're waiting for God to give us a sign to confirm the outcome, we're likely just afraid that we'll make the wrong decision. We need to remember that God's will and sovereignty are interwoven into our choices. He's not looking down at us, waiting to forsake us based on one decision or another. He's not like that. He's a loving father.
He is far more concerned with our heart condition than the choices we make, just like a good father would be. And so the call is to have faith and to follow through. We pray and we ask for his guidance, but then we have to commit and trust that he is walking with us the whole time. Just consider the greater context and how it impacts your daily life. By choosing one job over another or buying a truck or an SUV or living in one city or a different one, if God's walking with you, how much does the outcome even matter? He's with you through the journey. And so with that in mind, I have a challenge for you today.
Step one, pull out your phone, open up the notes app, or grab a journal and a pen. Step two, name the decision that you've been avoiding. It might be something big like moving to Nebraska or something small like trading up for a newer phone. And if there's more than one decision, list them out, but make sure you leave a little bit of space under each one. Because the final step is to identify one concrete action that you can take in the next 24 hours. Not the whole plan. You can relax. I'm just saying the next right thing. Maybe it's making a phone call or completing an application. Something that requires you to have faith tonight than to follow through tomorrow morning. And so instead of waiting for a sign or the right time, this week, you're going to choose to commit and walk the line toward that big decision on your list.
Both Boaz and Jesus trusted God for the outcome. And so our call today is to be faithful and follow through, reminding ourselves that God is far more concerned with our heart than he is the actual decision. And he'll be with us in the outcome. He controls your future, so you're in good hands. Trust that. And with that in mind, let's close in prayer. Dear God, thank you for not waiting on us. Thank you for sending Jesus to pay a price we couldn't pay so we could be redeemed. Today, I choose to be a person of faith and follow through. I believe Jesus died for my sin and rose again.
I commit my life to you today and trust you to walk with me through whatever comes next. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Thank you for being here today. If you're new to Mountain View or you're just checking us out online, we'd love to connect with you. Visit mountainview.church slash connect or drop us a DM on social media at Mountain View Whitehorse. And if today's message has been helpful, please consider subscribing to our YouTube channel, then turn on notifications so the final Ruth message will automatically appear in your video feed. Now for a few important things that are happening at Mountain View in our community that we do not want you to miss.
Hi Mountain View. My name is Haley. I'm the ministry leader for the Young Adults Ministry. If you don't know, the Young Adults Ministry is open to anyone to attend as long as you're between the ages of 18 and 35. Love to meet you. Come hang out. Spend some time in community. It's always a fun group. This next event we're having next weekend on Sunday, May 24th is going to be an afternoon backyard fire and wiener roast at a house in Porter Creek. So the address is 85B 11th Ave. East. And the event will be from 2 o'clock to 4.30.
One other thing about this event is that Pastor Jeremy will be stopping by to discuss the mentorship and apprenticeship programs that Mountain View has. I myself was a participant in the mentorship program a couple years ago, so he's going to explain a bit about these programs. You might hear some stories from other people who have done these programs before, so if you're interested in hearing more about that, definitely don't want to miss this. Otherwise, we're just going to spend an afternoon hanging out in community, so bring a lawn chair if you have one. Welcome to bring a friend, and we'd love to see you there. Have a great week.
If you're in the Whitehorse area and new to Mountain View Church, we would love to connect with you and have you stay for Connect Lunch. That's next Sunday on May 24th at 12.30 p.m. This is a great way to meet some of our team, ask some questions, and find out more about who we are as a church. And lunch is provided. So if you'd like to join us, please sign up at the welcome desk or send us an email at admin at mountainview.church so we can get your name on the list.
Again, for those living in the Whitehorse area, mark your calendars for May 31st, which is Grad Sunday. We'll be honoring our high school, college, and university graduates. It's also a fifth Sunday family day, so all the kids will be upstairs with us in the main auditorium. Our children's volunteers will get a well-deserved break, and our children's pastor, Herber, will be giving the message. If you're graduating or you have a grad in your family, we want to celebrate with you. To make sure we acknowledge them on that Sunday, please let us know by emailing admin at mountainview.church or by stopping at the welcome desk. We don't want to miss anyone, so make sure you let us know.
Last but not least, take a few minutes to connect with the people around you or with others watching online. Ask each other one or all of these three connecting questions or drop an answer or two in the comment feed. Question number one, what decision have you been avoiding and why haven't you acted on it? What decision have you been avoiding and why haven't you acted on it? Question number two, how have you avoided faith and follow through in past decisions? How have you avoided faith and follow through in past decisions? And finally, question three, what would it look like for you to commit and walk the line today?
What would it look like for you to commit and walk the line starting today? Next week, we wrap up our series through the book of Ruth. We've watched Naomi grieve and return. We've watched Ruth show up faithfully. We've watched Boaz act with integrity. And next week, we're going to see how it all ends. You're not going to want to miss it. It's a part of our bigger story. See you then.
If you prayed to receive Jesus today or would like to connect with our church community, visit mountainview.church and click the connect link. If this podcast and radio ministry has been a blessing to you, please consider partnering with us or making a tax-deductible donation at mountainview.church. Thanks for listening to Mountain View Church Audio. Join us next week for more Christ-centered teaching from the wilderness city of Whitehorse UConn.