After a couple of weeks off, we come back to the series of Broken Vessels. This series is a study of the lives of men and women in the Old Testament. The purpose of this story is to see how God works, how God uses us, in spite of our weaknesses, our brokenness.
Today, we are going to discuss a well known man and a well known woman: Samson and Ruth. These stories are full of examples that help us understand God and the meaning of His Word in the New Testament. I worked really hard to shorten this message, and I think I’m going to keep it to less than 90 minutes.
The story of Samson starts with the familiar opening from Judges:
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. Judges 13:1
Today, we are going to discuss a well known man and a well known woman: Samson and Ruth. These stories are full of examples that help us understand God and the meaning of His Word in the New Testament. I worked really hard to shorten this message, and I think I’m going to keep it to less than 90 minutes.
The story of Samson starts with the familiar opening from Judges:
Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD delivered them into the hands of the Philistines for forty years. Judges 13:1
This is at least the sixth cycle where the Israelites do evil and are disciplined by the Lord. When will the Israelites learn and follow the Lord continually with their whole hearts? Well, they really never learn and neither can we follow God whole heartedly in our own strength.
There is something different this time than the preceding times that Israel was delivered over to their enemies. Something is missing. Do you know what it is?
They were in the hands of the Philistines for forty years (now the previous high was 20 years subject to Jabin, king of Canaan, during the time of Deborah), but this time they were not “plundered,” they were not “made subject to other kings,” they were not “taken possession of,” not “cruelly oppressed”, not “impoverished”, not “shattered and crushed.”
So even though it has been twice as long as previous deliverance to their enemies, the Israelites did not cry out to God as they had every other time. When will we cry out to God? When we are broken? Brokenness then is not a bad thing.
I’ve been evaluating our family prayers lately, as well as my own prayers. We pray together out loud before bed, and everyone takes a turn to pray. I keep hearing things like: keep us safe, make us well, help us do this or that, God do this or that for us, God give us this or that, God give someone else this or that. These are not bad things, but I begin to worry about our attitudes toward prayer. Where is “the Lord’s will be done?” God’s will is that no one should perish, but everyone should come to repentance. Godly sorrow brings about repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. (II Cor. 7:10) Worldly sorrow brings death. Brokenness has a purpose in God’s economy. If we are not broken, we cannot cry out to God. If we cannot cry out to God, we cannot repent. If we cannot repent, we cannot be saved. If we cannot be saved, we cannot get to heaven. We cannot know God.
I’m sorry to camp out there so long, but I think this is a crucial point to invest in.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Judges 13:2-5
Here is a miraculous prophecy about Samson before he is even conceived. Note the qualifier that is given in the prophecy. Samson will begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. God knows what Samson will do and what he will not do before he is even conceived.
Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. Judges 13:6
And she continued to repeat what she was told by the angel of the Lord.
Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born." Judges 13:8
Both Manoah and his wife believed the angel of the Lord. And, what a great prayer by Manoah. God, give us wisdom.
God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said. So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." Judges 13:9-12
Special note to parents: What is God’s instruction for us on how to raise our children? We need to do what God has told us. The angel of the Lord could have given a long list to Mr. and Mrs. Manoah, but instead, he focused on what they needed to do. If we live our lives for the Lord and do what he has told us to do, we can’t help but raise our children right. If we as parents do not follow the Lord and instead pursue the desires of the flesh and the things of this world, it won’t matter how many books we read or how many Sundays we go to church or how many vacation Bible school programs we take the kids to. If we do not follow the Lord and we expect our children to, we set ourselves up as hypocrites. If as a result, we cause our children to sin, Jesus says it would be better for us to have a millstone hung around our neck and drowned in the depths of the sea.
You’ve heard the phrase about fathers, “Fathers, the most important thing you can do for your children is what?” “Love their mother.” Let’s put first things first. “Fathers, the most important thing you can do is love the Lord.” And you will gain all the rest: the love of your wife, the love of your children and the joy of seeing them live for eternal gain and not just the things of this world.
Now for the exploits of Samson. Let’s skip ahead to Judges 14.
Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. Judges 14:1
Samson went down. That kind of says it all right from the beginning. Yes, Samson, you’re going down.
These three cities, Zorah, Eshtaol, and Timnah, are all listed among the territory of Dan’s inheritance in the book of Joshua. But, Joshua 19:47 says, “But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory.” Eventually in Judges 18, the Danites sent out their own spies and settled far up in the North, in Laish. The Philistines have moved in to the territory given to the tribe of Dan.
When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife." His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." Judges 14:2-3
Samson saw this Philistine woman. Did he even know her name? He hadn’t even talked to her. “Oh, but she’s the right one for me.” Another good parenting tip, Mr. and Mrs. Manoah confront Samson at the very least. But Samson is stubborn, and it is so easy to be stubborn.
Young men and women, when it comes time to make decisions in your life, it is never a bad idea to get counsel from your parents whether or not they are believers. Sometimes it is hard to humble yourself, but God works through the process of honoring our parents. The fifth commandment is the first one with a promise, “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Let me give you a testimony about honoring your father and your mother.
When I was a senior in high school, I lived in Wilmington, NC. In fact, my parents still live there to this day. Do you know where I wanted to go to college? Here was my list of choices from top to bottom: N.C. State, Duke, Virginia, and Georgia Tech, in that order. What’s missing from the list? Clemson!
Now, how did I end up at Clemson? My Dad is a Clemson alumnus, class of 1964. When I applied to colleges, I knew my Dad expected me to at least apply to Clemson. I thought it was a silly waste of money. Those of you who have applied to college know how much effort it takes to fill out an application. It is not a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, filling out a college application falls somewhere between cleaning the gutters and having a cavity filled on my list of favorite things to do.
Even though I had no intention to go to Clemson, I finally decided that I could not reject my Dad’s alma mater like that. So, to let him down easy, I would apply and then just go to school where I got the best offer.
Well, you can at least guess the rest of the story. My point is that I would never have met my wife. I wouldn’t have the family that I have. I wouldn’t be a part of this church. And, I might not even have gotten saved, if I had not humbled myself and honored my Dad in that extremely small way. Listen to your parents. Honor your father and mother. Okay.
Let’s go back for a minute to the prophecy regarding Samson. What did the angel of the Lord say about Samson? He would be a Nazirite. Literally, Nazirite means consecrated or devoted one. In Numbers 6, there are several conditions for a Nazirite: it was a temporary vow for men or women to be separated to the Lord, you couldn’t drink wine or even eat grapes, raisins, skins or seeds; during the vow, you could not use a razor or cut your hair; and you could not go near a dead body, not even be in the presence of a dead body during the vow.
This is not a vow of self-discipline. We are not talking about separation from the world. It is an act of devotion: separation to the Lord. Those are the exact words from Numbers 6:2, “a vow of separation to the Lord.”
Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Judges 14:5-6
Wow! Samson tears the lion apart without getting a scratch on him. He returns to his father and mother, and they don’t even suspect anything. We have a little cat at home. She’s older than a kitten, but kind of a teenager cat. She can easily jump onto my bureau, almost 4 feet off the floor. Probably about 5 times her height. People get excited when a basketball player has a 30 inch vertical leap? Could you imagine a man with a 30 foot vertical leap. Have you ever seen a big cat like a lion or a tiger? I’ve seen the lion at the zoo, like a Methuselah lion, jump on a platform above 3 or 4 feet off the ground like I would act going up the stairs. This lion was in the prime of his life, and yet Samson tears him to pieces. Where did Samson’s strength come from? The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.
Judges 14:7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.
Samson finally gets around to talking to the girl who is “the one for him.”
Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass. Judges 14:8-9
What about being a Nazirite? Set apart. Devoted to the Lord. Consecrated to God. Yet, here is Samson sticking his hand down in the lion carcass to get the honey. Samson has violated the Nazirite vow and also caused his parents to do an unclean act.
Now, I wish I had time to go through the whole story of Samson, but you can read it there yourselves. Samson tells the 30 groomsmen a riddle that they cannot solve. If they can’t solve the riddle, they must give Samson 30 sets of clothes. If they do, then Samson owes them the 30 sets of clothes. Samson’s bride begs him to tell her the answer. He finally does tell her after she cries for the seven days of the wedding feast. Samson ends up betrayed by his bride. Since he lost the bet, he kills 30 Philistines as a result to give his groomsmen each a set of clothes. He abandons his bride but later on at the time of the wheat harvest, he comes back to see her. His would-be father-in-law has given her to Samson’s best man. Because his bride has been given away, Samson catches 300 foxes and ties torches to their tails and burns down all the standing grain of the Philistines. The Philistines take out their revenge on Samson’s bride and father-in-law by burning them to death. Interesting that Samson’s bride betrayed him to protect her family, but in the end she too is betrayed by the Philistines. The Philistines then go to Judah and wait to take Samson prisoner. Three thousand men of Judah form an army and go to apprehend Samson. Samson agrees to go with the men of Judah, but when he approaches the Philistines, he breaks free, grabs the jawbone of a donkey, and strikes down a thousand men. The donkey jawbone is a little ironic because the Philistines were able to smelt iron at this time, while the Israelites were not. Therefore, part of the Philistines power was in their superior weaponry. However, the Spirit of the Lord is powerful enough to use the jawbone of a donkey to strike down a thousand men. After the victory, Samson renames the place Jawbone Hill, or Jawbone Heights, saying “I have made donkeys of them. I have killed a thousand men.” At that moment, Samson is stricken with thirst. Suddenly, we are met with a humble Samson. “You have given your servant this great victory.” Is this true humility? No, Samson is humble because he has been humbled. God causes water to spring up from the ground and Samson lives. Samson later goes to Gaza and visits a prostitute. The Philistines plan to attack him at dawn. Instead, Samson rises in the night and pulls off the doors of the city gate, lifts them to his shoulders and walks off to the hill facing Hebron. I heard one estimate for the doors weighing two and a half tons. Depending on how you interpret it, the hill facing Hebron is either 4 miles away closer to Gaza, or 38 miles away, closer to Hebron. Either way, Samson has picked up doors weighing about the same as a minivan and carried them for miles. These are the exploits of Samson against the Philistines.
Then, Samson falls in love with Delilah. You all know the story. The Philistines come and want to know the secret to Samson’s great strength. That indirectly says something about how Samson’s strength was manifested. If Samson was nine feet tall, then maybe the source of his strength wouldn’t be so secret. If he had huge muscles, maybe it would be no secret. "Man look at Samson, he’s huge." Instead, he was more likely to be like Jesus in appearance. He had no stately form, he had no majesty. The rulers of the Philistines offer Delilah a princely sum to betray Samson. She goes immediately to work. First, Samson says being tied with fresh throngs will do it. Then, new ropes will do it. Then, weaving his hair in a loom will do it. Careful Samson, you’re getting close to the truth. After Samson deceives her three times, Delilah prods him with such nagging “day after day until he was tired to death.” Finally, he tells her the truth. He is a Nazirite. No razor has ever been used on his head.
He had to know that she would betray him. Jon Courson has an interesting premise on this passage. It’s not explicitly stated, but if Samson knew Delilah would betray him which seems almost certain, why would he tell her the truth. Courson proposes that Samson thought that it didn’t matter. Was his strength actually in his hair? No, Samson knew his strength was from the Lord. His strength had never left him before. What about the lion’s carcass? He not only was in the presence of a dead body, he had plunged his hand into the carcass. What about walking through the vineyard and all the parties and revelry he had been a part of. Through all that disobedience, Samson’s strength remained. What about his hair? Maybe that didn’t matter either. This is a classic example of the slippery slope. Once you start making excuses and nothing bad happens right away, we interpret that as license. If nothing bad happens right away, it must be okay. Right? I think sexual purity is one of those key areas for Christians today. Our culture bombards us with the message that there are no boundaries. Men and women should be able to do whatever they want whenever they want, without consequences. Regardless of what the culture says, it’s not true. Sexual sin is dangerous and opens up all sorts of trouble. Look at the unfortunate situation of our governor. He failed to guard his heart, and he slid down that slope into sin and he will be dealing with that fall for years. On the contrary, when we stand firm and remain pure, what a testimony that makes. Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the University of Florida was interviewed recently. He was asked the question, “Are you a virgin?” To which he responded, “Yes, I am.” When no follow up question was given, Tebow said, “I was ready for that question, but I don't think y'all were.” When reporters still continued to fumble through follow up questions, he said with a smile on his face, “I think you’re stunned.” When we do the right things, make right choices, when we are in the world and not of the world, it gets peoples’ attention. It opens up opportunities to share truth with others. Not to mention, young men and women if you guard your hearts until you are married, if you remain pure until you are married, what a beautiful, peaceful, intimate relationship you will have with your spouse. Stay pure. Don’t try to see how close you can get to the edge without falling over. Stay pure.
Back to Samson. Delilah has him asleep on her lap. His whole head has been shaved.
Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Judges 16:20
Probably one of the saddest verses in Scripture. Samson did not know that the Lord had left him. He was so used to turning a cold shoulder to God. Tuning out the warnings against doing wrong. Total pride, no humility. There was no relationship between Samson and the Lord.
What about you and me? How’s your relationship with the Lord? Is it vibrant and strong? Is it open and honest? Are we holding back so we can do our own thing?
Even though Samson has ended his days in disgrace, eyes gouged out and a prisoner of the Philistines. He ends up in the hall of faith.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Hebrews 11:32-34
Samson is a kind of Christ, at least in the kind of death he died. The Philistines bring him out of captivity into their temple in order to laugh at him. Thousands are there in the Philistine temple. Three thousand alone are in the balcony. At that point, Samson prays, “O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more.” God hears and answers, and Samson “killed many more when he died than while he lived.”
I don’t know where you are or where you’ve been, but if you have been far away from the Lord. He is waiting to hear from you. Call out to him, and he will hear your prayer.
I’ve devoted so much to Samson, I’m afraid I’ll have to take time from Ruth. The book of Ruth is such a beautiful story of redemption and God’s grace-filled provision.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Ruth 1:1
Do you know what Bethlehem means? Literally, house of bread. Do you know what image is used to describe Moab? The Lord’s washpot. The washpot for your feet when you enter someone’s home. This family went from the “house of bread” to the “washpot where God washes his feet.”
Ruth 1:2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Names are so rich in meaning throughout the book of Ruth. Elimelech means “My God is King.” Naomi means “Pleasantness.” When “My God is King” marries “Pleasantness,” they have two sons Mahlon “Sickly or Weakling” and Kilion “Pining or Wasting Away.” There is an image that Elimelech and Naomi have turned away from God, and the results have been disastrous.
Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth 1:3-5
The fact that Mahlon and Kilion married Moabite women furthers the idea that the family was not following the Lord because intermarriage with the Moabites was forbidden. “No Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.” Deut 23:3
Some time after Mahlon and Kilion had died, Naomi hears that the Lord has provided food for Israel. She prepares to return home. Ruth and Orpah both say they will go with her. Naomi then says she has no provision for them and that she is too old to have sons that they might marry in the future.
Orpah kisses Naomi and returns home to Moab, but Ruth clings to Naomi. That is an interesting contrast. What about us? How do we relate to God? Are you more like Orpah or more like Ruth? Do we blow kisses to God? Do we only worship him on Sunday, or do we cling to him every day?
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. Ruth 1:15-18
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." Ruth 1:19-21
Naomi changes her name from pleasantness to bitterness. Now wait a minute. Who does she hold responsible for her misfortune? The Lord! Why did Elimelech and Naomi go to Moab? Because they thought they were empty. Looking back on that time, what is Naomi’s perspective now? I went away full. I thought I was empty, but actually, I was full all along. Has that ever happened to you? You look at your circumstances and say, “I can’t take another minute of this. I’ve had enough of this job or this relationship or this responsibility. I’ve got to get out of here. God, I’m empty.” If we bolt, if we run from our circumstances, is it the Lord’s fault that our situation goes from bad to worse?
At the very beginning of the message, I shared a verse from II Cor 7:10. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” When Elimelech and Naomi fled Bethlehem, what kind of sorrow did they have? We have no food, let’s go live in the land of a people who are an abomination to the Lord, so we will have bread. Worldly sorrow. And now, what does Naomi have? Regrets. She has so many regrets that she changes her name to “Bitterness.” If you are frustrated, downcast, overwhelmed, desperate in your circumstances, go to God. Don’t look for the solutions that the world has, and definitely don’t try drown your pain in sin or overindulgence. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.
My time is gone. Let me quickly explain the rest of the story.
Ruth and Naomi have nothing, but there is a provision for the poor that farmers do not harvest their fields at the edges and the corners. In addition, any grain dropped should not be picked up but left for the poor. Ruth goes out in the fields to gather some of this grain and she just “happens” to end up in a field belonging to Boaz (meaning “In him is strength”) Boaz arrives and inquires of his foreman, “Who is the young woman in his field?” The foreman replies it is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi and that she’s worked all day except for a short rest. Boaz goes to Ruth and tells her to stay in his field and not to glean elsewhere and to stay with his servant girls. In addition, the men have been told not to touch her and she can drink from the water jars whenever she is thirsty. Ruth expresses her surprise, and Boaz replies that he has heard of all the kindness Ruth has shown to Naomi by returning with her to seek refuge in the Lord. Ruth responds humbly that she does not even have the standing of a servant in his sight. Boaz invites her over to eat at mealtime. Boaz even instructs the workers to pull stalks from the bundles and drop them for her. As Ruth walks among the fields, she must be thinking, “Boaz needs some better workers. There is grain all over the place. Even here among the sheaves.” In that single day, Ruth gathers more than a half a bushel of barley. I did a rough volume conversion, and I think that it works out to enough barley to last both Ruth and Naomi six weeks together. Naomi’s questions to Ruth are very pointed. She immediately knows that Ruth has found favor from someone, saying “Blessed be the man who took notice of you!.” There is no way Ruth could have gotten that much grain gathering on the fringes of the fields. Ruth tells Naomi she gathered in Boaz’ field. Naomi reveals that Boaz is one of their kinsman-redeemers. Does anyone know what is a kinsman-redeemer? Yes, a kinsman-redeemer is allowed to buy back the property of a family member when it has been sold to someone else outside the family to pay a debt or for whatever reason, they also can buy back a family member sold into slavery, and to marry a widow to provide offspring for a deceased brother. The firstborn son in that case is legally the offspring of the deceased brother.
There is a very tender exchange between Ruth and Naomi in 2:21-22.
Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "
The word Ruth uses for workers is the masculine noun. Literally, young men.
Ruth 2:22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."
Naomi gently gives some maternal correction. It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with who? His girls.
Ruth obeys Naomi and stays with the servant girls of Boaz until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. The time to complete both harvests is roughly two months, from April through May. Now, the time has come to winnow the barley on the threshing floor. In celebration of the harvest, there is a feast at the threshing floor. Naomi says to Ruth that she should try to find a home for her, and is it not with Boaz. She instructs Ruth what to do. Wash, perfume, put on your best clothes. Go down and wait at the threshing floor until Boaz has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, go to the place where he is lying and uncover his feet and lie down at them. Then, Boaz will tell her what to do. So, Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions.
In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up suddenly and finds a woman lying at his feet. He asks who it is. Ruth answers, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” What is the symbolism of spreading the corner of a garment over someone? Okay, in ancient times the hem of a garment was regarded as a symbol of status. I tried to find a picture, but I only came up with references. But the hem of a garment was ornamented with unique cords and designs, even to the point that the hem was used a signature when pressed into a clay tablet. So the hem is a symbol of a person’s authority or position. In I Samuel 24 verse 4, David cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Then, David is conscience stricken and says, “The Lord forbid I should do such a thing against my master.” What’s the big deal about cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe? Well, it is more like stripping the stars off of a general’s uniform rather than cutting off some insignificant piece of a robe. Also, during Jesus’ time on earth, the sick wanted to touch the edge of his robe, a symbol of his authority, and they were healed. And then in Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, and he says that the train of His robe filled the temple. That robe is made to cover us all. We are all redeemed and God covers us.
Boaz agrees to do all that Ruth asks, that is to redeem her and to marry her, but there is something in the way first. There is a nearer kinsman-redeemer. In the morning before it is light, Boaz sends Ruth off with six measures of grain. When Ruth arrives home, Naomi asks how it went and Ruth tells her everything including the six measures of barley. Naomi responds to this news saying Boaz will not rest until the matter is settled today. At which point even patient, obedient Ruth has got to be wondering, how in the world do you know that? Well, six is the number of the last working day in the week. Boaz is telling Naomi, six measures, not seven. Seven is the number of completeness. On the seventh day God rested. On the sixth, the work of creation was finished. Boaz is working and the work will be finished soon.
Boaz goes to the city gate and carefully presents the opportunity for the nearer kinsman-redeemer. This nearer kinsman-redeemer is willing to redeem the property, but not Ruth saying, “I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.” It’s too complicated, it will mess up things in my own family, Boaz, you do it. So Boaz took Ruth to be his wife, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. And they name him Obed which means “Worshipping.” Naomi then took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him. And the women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.”
There is so much more that can be said, but I’m already out of time twice over, but quickly to sum up.
1) We have a kinsman-redeemer. Jesus Christ. He has paid the debt of our sins and given us eternal life. If we come to him humbly, repent of our sins, and ask him into our lives, we will be saved. Romans 10:9-11
There is something different this time than the preceding times that Israel was delivered over to their enemies. Something is missing. Do you know what it is?
They were in the hands of the Philistines for forty years (now the previous high was 20 years subject to Jabin, king of Canaan, during the time of Deborah), but this time they were not “plundered,” they were not “made subject to other kings,” they were not “taken possession of,” not “cruelly oppressed”, not “impoverished”, not “shattered and crushed.”
So even though it has been twice as long as previous deliverance to their enemies, the Israelites did not cry out to God as they had every other time. When will we cry out to God? When we are broken? Brokenness then is not a bad thing.
I’ve been evaluating our family prayers lately, as well as my own prayers. We pray together out loud before bed, and everyone takes a turn to pray. I keep hearing things like: keep us safe, make us well, help us do this or that, God do this or that for us, God give us this or that, God give someone else this or that. These are not bad things, but I begin to worry about our attitudes toward prayer. Where is “the Lord’s will be done?” God’s will is that no one should perish, but everyone should come to repentance. Godly sorrow brings about repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regrets. (II Cor. 7:10) Worldly sorrow brings death. Brokenness has a purpose in God’s economy. If we are not broken, we cannot cry out to God. If we cannot cry out to God, we cannot repent. If we cannot repent, we cannot be saved. If we cannot be saved, we cannot get to heaven. We cannot know God.
I’m sorry to camp out there so long, but I think this is a crucial point to invest in.
A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was sterile and remained childless. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are sterile and childless, but you are going to conceive and have a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." Judges 13:2-5
Here is a miraculous prophecy about Samson before he is even conceived. Note the qualifier that is given in the prophecy. Samson will begin the deliverance of Israel from the Philistines. God knows what Samson will do and what he will not do before he is even conceived.
Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God came to me. He looked like an angel of God, very awesome. I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. Judges 13:6
And she continued to repeat what she was told by the angel of the Lord.
Then Manoah prayed to the LORD: "O Lord, I beg you, let the man of God you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born." Judges 13:8
Both Manoah and his wife believed the angel of the Lord. And, what a great prayer by Manoah. God, give us wisdom.
God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me the other day!" Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the one who talked to my wife?" "I am," he said. So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule for the boy's life and work?" The angel of the LORD answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink nor eat anything unclean. She must do everything I have commanded her." Judges 13:9-12
Special note to parents: What is God’s instruction for us on how to raise our children? We need to do what God has told us. The angel of the Lord could have given a long list to Mr. and Mrs. Manoah, but instead, he focused on what they needed to do. If we live our lives for the Lord and do what he has told us to do, we can’t help but raise our children right. If we as parents do not follow the Lord and instead pursue the desires of the flesh and the things of this world, it won’t matter how many books we read or how many Sundays we go to church or how many vacation Bible school programs we take the kids to. If we do not follow the Lord and we expect our children to, we set ourselves up as hypocrites. If as a result, we cause our children to sin, Jesus says it would be better for us to have a millstone hung around our neck and drowned in the depths of the sea.
You’ve heard the phrase about fathers, “Fathers, the most important thing you can do for your children is what?” “Love their mother.” Let’s put first things first. “Fathers, the most important thing you can do is love the Lord.” And you will gain all the rest: the love of your wife, the love of your children and the joy of seeing them live for eternal gain and not just the things of this world.
Now for the exploits of Samson. Let’s skip ahead to Judges 14.
Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. Judges 14:1
Samson went down. That kind of says it all right from the beginning. Yes, Samson, you’re going down.
These three cities, Zorah, Eshtaol, and Timnah, are all listed among the territory of Dan’s inheritance in the book of Joshua. But, Joshua 19:47 says, “But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory.” Eventually in Judges 18, the Danites sent out their own spies and settled far up in the North, in Laish. The Philistines have moved in to the territory given to the tribe of Dan.
When he returned, he said to his father and mother, "I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife." His father and mother replied, "Isn't there an acceptable woman among your relatives or among all our people? Must you go to the uncircumcised Philistines to get a wife?" But Samson said to his father, "Get her for me. She's the right one for me." Judges 14:2-3
Samson saw this Philistine woman. Did he even know her name? He hadn’t even talked to her. “Oh, but she’s the right one for me.” Another good parenting tip, Mr. and Mrs. Manoah confront Samson at the very least. But Samson is stubborn, and it is so easy to be stubborn.
Young men and women, when it comes time to make decisions in your life, it is never a bad idea to get counsel from your parents whether or not they are believers. Sometimes it is hard to humble yourself, but God works through the process of honoring our parents. The fifth commandment is the first one with a promise, “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Let me give you a testimony about honoring your father and your mother.
When I was a senior in high school, I lived in Wilmington, NC. In fact, my parents still live there to this day. Do you know where I wanted to go to college? Here was my list of choices from top to bottom: N.C. State, Duke, Virginia, and Georgia Tech, in that order. What’s missing from the list? Clemson!
Now, how did I end up at Clemson? My Dad is a Clemson alumnus, class of 1964. When I applied to colleges, I knew my Dad expected me to at least apply to Clemson. I thought it was a silly waste of money. Those of you who have applied to college know how much effort it takes to fill out an application. It is not a lot of fun. As a matter of fact, filling out a college application falls somewhere between cleaning the gutters and having a cavity filled on my list of favorite things to do.
Even though I had no intention to go to Clemson, I finally decided that I could not reject my Dad’s alma mater like that. So, to let him down easy, I would apply and then just go to school where I got the best offer.
Well, you can at least guess the rest of the story. My point is that I would never have met my wife. I wouldn’t have the family that I have. I wouldn’t be a part of this church. And, I might not even have gotten saved, if I had not humbled myself and honored my Dad in that extremely small way. Listen to your parents. Honor your father and mother. Okay.
Let’s go back for a minute to the prophecy regarding Samson. What did the angel of the Lord say about Samson? He would be a Nazirite. Literally, Nazirite means consecrated or devoted one. In Numbers 6, there are several conditions for a Nazirite: it was a temporary vow for men or women to be separated to the Lord, you couldn’t drink wine or even eat grapes, raisins, skins or seeds; during the vow, you could not use a razor or cut your hair; and you could not go near a dead body, not even be in the presence of a dead body during the vow.
This is not a vow of self-discipline. We are not talking about separation from the world. It is an act of devotion: separation to the Lord. Those are the exact words from Numbers 6:2, “a vow of separation to the Lord.”
Samson went down to Timnah together with his father and mother. As they approached the vineyards of Timnah, suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done. Judges 14:5-6
Wow! Samson tears the lion apart without getting a scratch on him. He returns to his father and mother, and they don’t even suspect anything. We have a little cat at home. She’s older than a kitten, but kind of a teenager cat. She can easily jump onto my bureau, almost 4 feet off the floor. Probably about 5 times her height. People get excited when a basketball player has a 30 inch vertical leap? Could you imagine a man with a 30 foot vertical leap. Have you ever seen a big cat like a lion or a tiger? I’ve seen the lion at the zoo, like a Methuselah lion, jump on a platform above 3 or 4 feet off the ground like I would act going up the stairs. This lion was in the prime of his life, and yet Samson tears him to pieces. Where did Samson’s strength come from? The Spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.
Judges 14:7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and he liked her.
Samson finally gets around to talking to the girl who is “the one for him.”
Some time later, when he went back to marry her, he turned aside to look at the lion's carcass. In it was a swarm of bees and some honey, which he scooped out with his hands and ate as he went along. When he rejoined his parents, he gave them some, and they too ate it. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey from the lion's carcass. Judges 14:8-9
What about being a Nazirite? Set apart. Devoted to the Lord. Consecrated to God. Yet, here is Samson sticking his hand down in the lion carcass to get the honey. Samson has violated the Nazirite vow and also caused his parents to do an unclean act.
Now, I wish I had time to go through the whole story of Samson, but you can read it there yourselves. Samson tells the 30 groomsmen a riddle that they cannot solve. If they can’t solve the riddle, they must give Samson 30 sets of clothes. If they do, then Samson owes them the 30 sets of clothes. Samson’s bride begs him to tell her the answer. He finally does tell her after she cries for the seven days of the wedding feast. Samson ends up betrayed by his bride. Since he lost the bet, he kills 30 Philistines as a result to give his groomsmen each a set of clothes. He abandons his bride but later on at the time of the wheat harvest, he comes back to see her. His would-be father-in-law has given her to Samson’s best man. Because his bride has been given away, Samson catches 300 foxes and ties torches to their tails and burns down all the standing grain of the Philistines. The Philistines take out their revenge on Samson’s bride and father-in-law by burning them to death. Interesting that Samson’s bride betrayed him to protect her family, but in the end she too is betrayed by the Philistines. The Philistines then go to Judah and wait to take Samson prisoner. Three thousand men of Judah form an army and go to apprehend Samson. Samson agrees to go with the men of Judah, but when he approaches the Philistines, he breaks free, grabs the jawbone of a donkey, and strikes down a thousand men. The donkey jawbone is a little ironic because the Philistines were able to smelt iron at this time, while the Israelites were not. Therefore, part of the Philistines power was in their superior weaponry. However, the Spirit of the Lord is powerful enough to use the jawbone of a donkey to strike down a thousand men. After the victory, Samson renames the place Jawbone Hill, or Jawbone Heights, saying “I have made donkeys of them. I have killed a thousand men.” At that moment, Samson is stricken with thirst. Suddenly, we are met with a humble Samson. “You have given your servant this great victory.” Is this true humility? No, Samson is humble because he has been humbled. God causes water to spring up from the ground and Samson lives. Samson later goes to Gaza and visits a prostitute. The Philistines plan to attack him at dawn. Instead, Samson rises in the night and pulls off the doors of the city gate, lifts them to his shoulders and walks off to the hill facing Hebron. I heard one estimate for the doors weighing two and a half tons. Depending on how you interpret it, the hill facing Hebron is either 4 miles away closer to Gaza, or 38 miles away, closer to Hebron. Either way, Samson has picked up doors weighing about the same as a minivan and carried them for miles. These are the exploits of Samson against the Philistines.
Then, Samson falls in love with Delilah. You all know the story. The Philistines come and want to know the secret to Samson’s great strength. That indirectly says something about how Samson’s strength was manifested. If Samson was nine feet tall, then maybe the source of his strength wouldn’t be so secret. If he had huge muscles, maybe it would be no secret. "Man look at Samson, he’s huge." Instead, he was more likely to be like Jesus in appearance. He had no stately form, he had no majesty. The rulers of the Philistines offer Delilah a princely sum to betray Samson. She goes immediately to work. First, Samson says being tied with fresh throngs will do it. Then, new ropes will do it. Then, weaving his hair in a loom will do it. Careful Samson, you’re getting close to the truth. After Samson deceives her three times, Delilah prods him with such nagging “day after day until he was tired to death.” Finally, he tells her the truth. He is a Nazirite. No razor has ever been used on his head.
He had to know that she would betray him. Jon Courson has an interesting premise on this passage. It’s not explicitly stated, but if Samson knew Delilah would betray him which seems almost certain, why would he tell her the truth. Courson proposes that Samson thought that it didn’t matter. Was his strength actually in his hair? No, Samson knew his strength was from the Lord. His strength had never left him before. What about the lion’s carcass? He not only was in the presence of a dead body, he had plunged his hand into the carcass. What about walking through the vineyard and all the parties and revelry he had been a part of. Through all that disobedience, Samson’s strength remained. What about his hair? Maybe that didn’t matter either. This is a classic example of the slippery slope. Once you start making excuses and nothing bad happens right away, we interpret that as license. If nothing bad happens right away, it must be okay. Right? I think sexual purity is one of those key areas for Christians today. Our culture bombards us with the message that there are no boundaries. Men and women should be able to do whatever they want whenever they want, without consequences. Regardless of what the culture says, it’s not true. Sexual sin is dangerous and opens up all sorts of trouble. Look at the unfortunate situation of our governor. He failed to guard his heart, and he slid down that slope into sin and he will be dealing with that fall for years. On the contrary, when we stand firm and remain pure, what a testimony that makes. Tim Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winning quarterback for the University of Florida was interviewed recently. He was asked the question, “Are you a virgin?” To which he responded, “Yes, I am.” When no follow up question was given, Tebow said, “I was ready for that question, but I don't think y'all were.” When reporters still continued to fumble through follow up questions, he said with a smile on his face, “I think you’re stunned.” When we do the right things, make right choices, when we are in the world and not of the world, it gets peoples’ attention. It opens up opportunities to share truth with others. Not to mention, young men and women if you guard your hearts until you are married, if you remain pure until you are married, what a beautiful, peaceful, intimate relationship you will have with your spouse. Stay pure. Don’t try to see how close you can get to the edge without falling over. Stay pure.
Back to Samson. Delilah has him asleep on her lap. His whole head has been shaved.
Then she called, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" He awoke from his sleep and thought, "I'll go out as before and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him. Judges 16:20
Probably one of the saddest verses in Scripture. Samson did not know that the Lord had left him. He was so used to turning a cold shoulder to God. Tuning out the warnings against doing wrong. Total pride, no humility. There was no relationship between Samson and the Lord.
What about you and me? How’s your relationship with the Lord? Is it vibrant and strong? Is it open and honest? Are we holding back so we can do our own thing?
Even though Samson has ended his days in disgrace, eyes gouged out and a prisoner of the Philistines. He ends up in the hall of faith.
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Hebrews 11:32-34
Samson is a kind of Christ, at least in the kind of death he died. The Philistines bring him out of captivity into their temple in order to laugh at him. Thousands are there in the Philistine temple. Three thousand alone are in the balcony. At that point, Samson prays, “O Sovereign Lord, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more.” God hears and answers, and Samson “killed many more when he died than while he lived.”
I don’t know where you are or where you’ve been, but if you have been far away from the Lord. He is waiting to hear from you. Call out to him, and he will hear your prayer.
I’ve devoted so much to Samson, I’m afraid I’ll have to take time from Ruth. The book of Ruth is such a beautiful story of redemption and God’s grace-filled provision.
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. Ruth 1:1
Do you know what Bethlehem means? Literally, house of bread. Do you know what image is used to describe Moab? The Lord’s washpot. The washpot for your feet when you enter someone’s home. This family went from the “house of bread” to the “washpot where God washes his feet.”
Ruth 1:2 The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
Names are so rich in meaning throughout the book of Ruth. Elimelech means “My God is King.” Naomi means “Pleasantness.” When “My God is King” marries “Pleasantness,” they have two sons Mahlon “Sickly or Weakling” and Kilion “Pining or Wasting Away.” There is an image that Elimelech and Naomi have turned away from God, and the results have been disastrous.
Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. They married Moabite women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years, both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. Ruth 1:3-5
The fact that Mahlon and Kilion married Moabite women furthers the idea that the family was not following the Lord because intermarriage with the Moabites was forbidden. “No Moabite or any of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the tenth generation.” Deut 23:3
Some time after Mahlon and Kilion had died, Naomi hears that the Lord has provided food for Israel. She prepares to return home. Ruth and Orpah both say they will go with her. Naomi then says she has no provision for them and that she is too old to have sons that they might marry in the future.
Orpah kisses Naomi and returns home to Moab, but Ruth clings to Naomi. That is an interesting contrast. What about us? How do we relate to God? Are you more like Orpah or more like Ruth? Do we blow kisses to God? Do we only worship him on Sunday, or do we cling to him every day?
"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. Ruth 1:15-18
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, "Can this be Naomi?" "Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." Ruth 1:19-21
Naomi changes her name from pleasantness to bitterness. Now wait a minute. Who does she hold responsible for her misfortune? The Lord! Why did Elimelech and Naomi go to Moab? Because they thought they were empty. Looking back on that time, what is Naomi’s perspective now? I went away full. I thought I was empty, but actually, I was full all along. Has that ever happened to you? You look at your circumstances and say, “I can’t take another minute of this. I’ve had enough of this job or this relationship or this responsibility. I’ve got to get out of here. God, I’m empty.” If we bolt, if we run from our circumstances, is it the Lord’s fault that our situation goes from bad to worse?
At the very beginning of the message, I shared a verse from II Cor 7:10. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” When Elimelech and Naomi fled Bethlehem, what kind of sorrow did they have? We have no food, let’s go live in the land of a people who are an abomination to the Lord, so we will have bread. Worldly sorrow. And now, what does Naomi have? Regrets. She has so many regrets that she changes her name to “Bitterness.” If you are frustrated, downcast, overwhelmed, desperate in your circumstances, go to God. Don’t look for the solutions that the world has, and definitely don’t try drown your pain in sin or overindulgence. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret.
My time is gone. Let me quickly explain the rest of the story.
Ruth and Naomi have nothing, but there is a provision for the poor that farmers do not harvest their fields at the edges and the corners. In addition, any grain dropped should not be picked up but left for the poor. Ruth goes out in the fields to gather some of this grain and she just “happens” to end up in a field belonging to Boaz (meaning “In him is strength”) Boaz arrives and inquires of his foreman, “Who is the young woman in his field?” The foreman replies it is the Moabitess who returned with Naomi and that she’s worked all day except for a short rest. Boaz goes to Ruth and tells her to stay in his field and not to glean elsewhere and to stay with his servant girls. In addition, the men have been told not to touch her and she can drink from the water jars whenever she is thirsty. Ruth expresses her surprise, and Boaz replies that he has heard of all the kindness Ruth has shown to Naomi by returning with her to seek refuge in the Lord. Ruth responds humbly that she does not even have the standing of a servant in his sight. Boaz invites her over to eat at mealtime. Boaz even instructs the workers to pull stalks from the bundles and drop them for her. As Ruth walks among the fields, she must be thinking, “Boaz needs some better workers. There is grain all over the place. Even here among the sheaves.” In that single day, Ruth gathers more than a half a bushel of barley. I did a rough volume conversion, and I think that it works out to enough barley to last both Ruth and Naomi six weeks together. Naomi’s questions to Ruth are very pointed. She immediately knows that Ruth has found favor from someone, saying “Blessed be the man who took notice of you!.” There is no way Ruth could have gotten that much grain gathering on the fringes of the fields. Ruth tells Naomi she gathered in Boaz’ field. Naomi reveals that Boaz is one of their kinsman-redeemers. Does anyone know what is a kinsman-redeemer? Yes, a kinsman-redeemer is allowed to buy back the property of a family member when it has been sold to someone else outside the family to pay a debt or for whatever reason, they also can buy back a family member sold into slavery, and to marry a widow to provide offspring for a deceased brother. The firstborn son in that case is legally the offspring of the deceased brother.
There is a very tender exchange between Ruth and Naomi in 2:21-22.
Ruth 2:21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "He even said to me, 'Stay with my workers until they finish harvesting all my grain.' "
The word Ruth uses for workers is the masculine noun. Literally, young men.
Ruth 2:22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with his girls, because in someone else's field you might be harmed."
Naomi gently gives some maternal correction. It will be good for you, my daughter, to go with who? His girls.
Ruth obeys Naomi and stays with the servant girls of Boaz until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. The time to complete both harvests is roughly two months, from April through May. Now, the time has come to winnow the barley on the threshing floor. In celebration of the harvest, there is a feast at the threshing floor. Naomi says to Ruth that she should try to find a home for her, and is it not with Boaz. She instructs Ruth what to do. Wash, perfume, put on your best clothes. Go down and wait at the threshing floor until Boaz has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, go to the place where he is lying and uncover his feet and lie down at them. Then, Boaz will tell her what to do. So, Ruth follows Naomi’s instructions.
In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up suddenly and finds a woman lying at his feet. He asks who it is. Ruth answers, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.” What is the symbolism of spreading the corner of a garment over someone? Okay, in ancient times the hem of a garment was regarded as a symbol of status. I tried to find a picture, but I only came up with references. But the hem of a garment was ornamented with unique cords and designs, even to the point that the hem was used a signature when pressed into a clay tablet. So the hem is a symbol of a person’s authority or position. In I Samuel 24 verse 4, David cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Then, David is conscience stricken and says, “The Lord forbid I should do such a thing against my master.” What’s the big deal about cutting off the corner of Saul’s robe? Well, it is more like stripping the stars off of a general’s uniform rather than cutting off some insignificant piece of a robe. Also, during Jesus’ time on earth, the sick wanted to touch the edge of his robe, a symbol of his authority, and they were healed. And then in Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah has a vision of the Lord, and he says that the train of His robe filled the temple. That robe is made to cover us all. We are all redeemed and God covers us.
Boaz agrees to do all that Ruth asks, that is to redeem her and to marry her, but there is something in the way first. There is a nearer kinsman-redeemer. In the morning before it is light, Boaz sends Ruth off with six measures of grain. When Ruth arrives home, Naomi asks how it went and Ruth tells her everything including the six measures of barley. Naomi responds to this news saying Boaz will not rest until the matter is settled today. At which point even patient, obedient Ruth has got to be wondering, how in the world do you know that? Well, six is the number of the last working day in the week. Boaz is telling Naomi, six measures, not seven. Seven is the number of completeness. On the seventh day God rested. On the sixth, the work of creation was finished. Boaz is working and the work will be finished soon.
Boaz goes to the city gate and carefully presents the opportunity for the nearer kinsman-redeemer. This nearer kinsman-redeemer is willing to redeem the property, but not Ruth saying, “I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it.” It’s too complicated, it will mess up things in my own family, Boaz, you do it. So Boaz took Ruth to be his wife, and the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. And they name him Obed which means “Worshipping.” Naomi then took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him. And the women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.”
There is so much more that can be said, but I’m already out of time twice over, but quickly to sum up.
1) We have a kinsman-redeemer. Jesus Christ. He has paid the debt of our sins and given us eternal life. If we come to him humbly, repent of our sins, and ask him into our lives, we will be saved. Romans 10:9-11
2) If we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, not temporarily, but permanently. John 14:16-18
3) What did the strength or power of Samson result in? Death and destruction. What about the strength of the Lord? What does it result in? Paul writes in Ephesians 1:18-21, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know … his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” The Holy Spirit in us has the capacity to do more than the Spirit of the Lord did through Samson.
Do I live like that? Can you look at me and see His incomparably great power? Honestly, I have to say no. But then, I have to ask the question, whose fault is that? The truth of God has not changed. It’s my own lack of faith. Lord, help my unbelief.
We have the opportunities of Ruth and Samson, even more so. It is up to us to decide how we will respond to the Lord’s calling.
Do I live like that? Can you look at me and see His incomparably great power? Honestly, I have to say no. But then, I have to ask the question, whose fault is that? The truth of God has not changed. It’s my own lack of faith. Lord, help my unbelief.
We have the opportunities of Ruth and Samson, even more so. It is up to us to decide how we will respond to the Lord’s calling.
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