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Title: Faith Breeds Patience
Intro:
As we begin this morning, let us make all effort to put verse 18 in its proper context by backing up and looking at the question Naomi asks Ruth in verse 16:
“Is that you, my daughter?”
Literally: “How did it go with you?”
Well, we had a good chuckle at the picture painted by scripture of Ruth carrying 30 gallons of barely and Naomi saying, “So….how’d it go?”
But after thinking about the nature and context of Naomi’s question a bit more deeply I wanted to share a different thought:
- For what task did Naomi send Ruth to Boaz? What was the ultimate goal?
- For Naomi, what’s the best possible result?
Answer: That Ruth returns engaged to Boaz.
And that does not happen.
So why I’m sure Naomi is overjoyed at the amount of barely gifted to Ruth, that gift is a finite gift. Eventually that 30 gallons of barely will be cooked and consumed, and the hunger will remain. As generous as that gift is, it will not last forever. It is not the same as Ruth coming home engaged to Boaz.
But the news isn’t necessarily bad, either. Boaz did not say “no.” He said, “Maybe.” Because Boaz is such a man of honor, he wants to follow the law and give the closest male relative the first right of redeeming Ruth by marrying her.
So when Naomi asks Ruth, “How did it go with you?” The text next says, “Then she told her all that the man had done for her.”
Ruth explains that Boaz definitely wants to marry her, but, as a man of honor, he must first ask the closer relative if he will marry her.
When we ask something of God, the answer most usually will fall into one of three categories: What are they?
- Yes
- No
- Wait
Which of these three options do we generally have the most problems with?
Why?
By nature, we hate waiting…why do you think that is?
What does waiting tell us about our faith?
(Reveals its strength)
We’ve talked quite a bit how Boaz, in the book of Ruth, plays the role of the Christ Figure, the Kinsman Redeemer.
And here, at this pivotal point in the book of Ruth, after Boaz has time and time and time again proven his ability and willingness to provide for Ruth and Naomi and now, they have to demonstrate their faith in Boaz by waiting for him.
How similar is this for many of us in our relationship with Jesus? Time and time and time again HE HAS met and exceeded our needs and yet, despite all this evidence, there are times when His answer to us is not “yes” and it is not “no” it is wait. In the nature of our waiting, the strength of the Lord is revealed.
What is the characteristic or quality we are talking about? What is the thing you need to wait effectively?
Patience. That’s really what we are talking about here, isn’t it?
So, off the top of your heads, are some of the verses you think of when we talk about the topic of patience.
For me, Psalm 46:10 immediately comes to mind:
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
I want to share this morning one of my older own reflections that helps balance out this dynamic between faith and patience, this is from some reflection I did while in my first D-Group 3 years ago with Andy, Brandon, and Nate.
For this journal entry, I read two verses back to back and something really powerful struck me, and it applies to what we are talking about today so I wanted to share it with you.
2 Kings 19:35
And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel[b] of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead
The full context of Psalm 46:10 says:
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!
I then wrote
I’ve always understood Psalm 46:10 in way of having an inner peace…stop running about, and you will see that I am God. But when it’s juxtaposed with the 2 Kings passage, a rare passage in that the Angel of the Lord, NOT the Isrealite Army with the Lord’s blessing, goes out and, in one instant, kills 185,000 enemy soldiers, I see Psalm 46:10 in a different light.
The Lord is saying, “Sit down. Watch this. I WILL be exalted among the nations, I WILL be exalted in the earth.”
It’s a statement of His power to give and take life in a moment.
How do we apply this?:
Let the awe, and fear of the Lord, increase.
And my response prayer:
Lord, let me be afraid of you, very afraid. Stop me from arrogant sin. Let me both fear and trust you.
So as we wrap up this morning, let us consider again what Naomi says to her daughter in law:
“Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.”
Do you see the undeniable connection that Naomi makes between patience and faith? BECAUSE of Naomi’s faith and belief that Boaz “will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day” Naomi instructs Ruth to “Sit Still”
So, Pastorally, let me propose this thought to challenge you.
If you are a person who really struggles to “sit still”, is it reasonable to suggest that this issue is a lack of faith in the God you serve?
Let me put it another way, “If your faith in God’s ability and provision is sufficient it is much easier to wait on him when his answer is WAIT.”
pray/QA