Ruth: 3:1; The Lord is near, be anxious for nothing.

Again, we are discovering God’s intimacy with the lives of all people, and especially His own.

Luk 12:1 He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

Luk 12:2 "But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known.

Luk 12:3 "Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

Luk 12:4 "And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.

Luk 12:5 "But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

Luk 12:6 "Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God.

Luk 12:7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.

There many mysteries to the way in which God sovereign will co-exists with man’s free-will. Some prideful men have tried to describe it as if they alone have heard of it from God. Unless it is revealed in the scripture, God’s sole vehicle of revelation, divine revelation cannot be known by the mind of man. And, manipulating scripture in order to get a desired outcome doesn’t count.

Naomi has been faced with the issue of sustaining her land and perpetuating her family. It must also be that she cares for the future of her wonderful daughter-in-law Ruth. While these issues plague her mind, Ruth faithfully returns home every evening with an abundance of grain and left-over food for Naomi.

We all go through periods where things are plaguing our minds. The periods arise, fall away, and always return. The Lord knows them all intimately.

Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!

Php 4:5 Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

Php 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Php 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We must remember that the Lord will deliver us. So, while our minds may be plagued and pressured, we don’t despair as is written in 2Co 4:8, “perplexed but not despairing.”

By trusting in the Lord’s deliverance we don’t allow fear to creep up in our minds.

Psa 94:17 If the Lord had not been my help,

My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

Psa 94:18 If I should say, "My foot has slipped,"

Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.

Psa 94:19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Thy consolations delight my soul.

Psa 94:20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with Thee,

One which devises mischief by decree?

Psa 94:21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous,

And condemn the innocent to death.

Psa 94:22 But the Lord has been my stronghold,

And my God the rock of my refuge.

Psa 94:23 And He has brought back their wickedness upon them,

And will destroy them in their evil;

The Lord our God will destroy them.

The comfort is that God has known and knows everything we get anxious about, what burdens us, what plagues us. God knows these things intimately, and whether He allows them to remain to test and teach us, or He allows them to remain so that we can reveal Him to others, or that He is revealing Himself to others and our situation is a part of that, we know that He is going to deliver us.

Those who know that God is going to deliver are the ones who have perseverance and patience.

We would have to admit that Ruth would have related the day’s events to her, that Boaz did such and such and said so and so, etc. Certainly, Ruth could not but be impressed with a man like Boaz, strong, wise, powerful, and full of faith and love and joy. How could she not admire him? Had she ever seen a man like this?

God brought home the witness of Ruth and Boaz to Naomi every evening for about 30 days. How long did it take for her to get the hint?

One might think that God put the idea in Naomi’s head, and He certainly did, but likely not physically planting it on her neurons. Ruth arrives home with abundant blessing and open admiration of Boaz for months, and then Naomi gets it! Finally, the light of the possibility of God’s deliverance shines upon Naomi’s soul and she thinks to herself, “I have a good idea!” Might it be that whenever we have a really good idea, that God manipulated our circumstances for a long period of time in order to implant that idea upon our brains, after overcoming the barrier of our incredibly thick skulls? – and we likely take the credit for it.

Rut 3:1Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?

Naomi is faced with three issues:

1) Maintain the family name, 2) Protect her land, 3) Provide security for Ruth. Marriage to Boaz solves all three.

It should be understood that by the words that Naomi uses, she seems only interested in the third issue and not in the first two. This speaks of her character.

Now technically, under the law of levirate (from Latin levir = brother-in-law) marriage as found in Deu 25, it should be Naomi who is redeemed by Boaz, if he chooses, because she is the closer relative. Ruth doesn’t really fit into the levirate marriage bond, but Naomi is going to pass this claim on to Ruth. We will look into the details of this in the Mosaic Law coming up.

Rut 3:2 "And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight.

Naomi does not use the Hebrew word indicating kinsman-redeemer. She uses the word that only speaks of a relative. It does not seem to be her intent to have Boaz redeem her land. She only desires a husband for Ruth. However, Ruth will address Boaz with the word for kinsman-redeemer, outside of Naomi’s instruction, and we will see the significance of this.