Title Acceptance of Proposal
Ruth 3:10-11
He said, "My daughter, the Lord bless you, for you did not pursue the poor, neither the rich nor the young. Your kindness is greater than the first. Do not be afraid, my daughter, I will do all your words to you. All the people of the city know
Ruth boldly asked Boaz to marry her. But there must have been fear in his heart. I would have been trembling. Considering how Boaz would react, there must have been no way to suppress his fear and trembling.
Let's look at what Boaz says to Ruth, starting with verse 10.
"He said, My daughter, the Lord bless you."
Boaz speaks to Ruth as a father treats his daughter. There is nothing wrong with you, so don't be afraid. Rather, he prayed that God would bless Ruth. And they are praising Ruth. Why is Boaz praising Ruth? What are you praising?
3:10, "You did not pursue the young, neither the rich nor the poor, so your kindness is greater than the first."
These verses reveal three paths that Ruth could choose. First, it is "empty". Ruth could have chosen poverty for her love. It is the same as the love of the Crown Prince or the love of Princess Pyeonggang who chose Ondal. Second, "wealth". Some women today choose wealth to live comfortably over love. Likewise, Ruth could have chosen "wealth." Third, he could have chosen the "young man" for his future happiness. You could have chosen a young man.
But Ruth did not choose all three paths before her. What is Ruth's interest now? She has nothing but the heart to pass on the broken inheritance for her poor mother-in-law Naomi and her deceased husband. Isn't Ruth's heart beautiful?
You can look at your relationship with me in four ways. First, it is said, "You must die in order for me to live." Whether it's eating weak meat or fighting for survival, I kill others in order to survive.
The second, a little more serious than the first, is "You die and I die". Who is it? It is the people of our country. When you go abroad, the problem is even worse. Business is good in some areas. For example, if a clothing store is successful, new immigrants go there and open a clothing store. And then they compete to cut the flesh. If the buffet restaurant goes well, buffet restaurants are lined up on both sides. So, it kills that person as well, and in the end, it has the result that you also die. All of this is wrong.
Third, "I live and you live". From a foreign country, Jews are like that. For example, in some places a Jew runs a clothing store. Another Jew has moved to the area and there is nothing they should do. Jews help each other. So, the first person to settle down and run a clothing store visits a new person and says that they need someone to sell clothes in their own clothing store, or they need someone who imports clothes wholesale from other provinces. I'll hire you by asking if I can. By helping each other in this way, we save ourselves and our neighbors as well. Never do the same thing. The Jews are prosperous because they help each other. Shouldn't we at least be like that?
Fourth, we Christians must be better than Jews. What does the Bible teach us? "You live and I die". I will sacrifice to save you. Isn't this the heart of Jesus? Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross to save us. Ruth's heart is Jesus' heart. He said that he would die to save the poor mother-in-law Naomi. It means giving up all your happiness.
Who is a Christian? Whose heart are you living with? Aren't Christians who live with the heart of Jesus Christ? If we live our life with this kind of heart that you will live and I will die, our hearts will be at ease and we will receive blessings when we do.
In verse 10, verse 10, Boaz said to Ruth, “Your love is more last than the first.” When is the first and when? Later, he decides to give up all his happiness and marry Boaz. Later, she plans to marry Boaz by throwing herself away for her mother-in-law and her deceased husband. When is the first time? It is the first time that she has left her beloved hometown, her parents, and relatives, and followed her mother-in-law to an unfamiliar place, Bethlehem.
But there is something we must remember. Kindness, kindness, love, these things must be rewarded. So what did you say? Boaz said, "May the LORD bless you." Jesus said.
Matthew 10:42, "And whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I say to you, that person will by no means lose his reward."
When you show kindness, God's blessings and God's rewards always follow. We too want to show much kindness and love.
What is God's blessing on Ruth? What does Ruth want now? is to get married. Why? To give birth to a son. Perhaps one child for her mother-in-law Naomi and the rest for her deceased husband? If you look at the Bible, God remembered Ruth's kindness and gave her a great blessing. Who is born through Ruth? This is David, the holy soldier of Israel. And from that genealogy, Jesus Christ was born. In addition, Ruth's beautiful filial deeds were recorded in the Bible, and we are still receiving grace.
What kind of love was Ruth? He said the latter was worse than the first. There are people who are not getting better. That's wrong. When today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is better than today, when you become like Ruth, God will see you with joy and bring you blessings.
3:11 Verse 1, "Do not be afraid, my daughter, I will do everything you say to me."
“Do not be afraid, my daughter” is a comforting word for Ruth. Boaz understood what Ruth was saying. I knew what Ruth's request was. "I will do everything you say," Boaz promised Ruth. Ruth's request was to marry her, and she said she would do it. I am comforting you not to be afraid that you will do that.
Just as Boaz told Ruth not to be afraid, God tells us not to be afraid.
Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, yea, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
It is a promise that God will sustain us and help us. As we walk the path of this world, we must rely on these words to move forward.
3:11 Second half, "All the people of my city know that you are a virtuous woman."
Here, Ruth is said to be a virtuous woman. It was said that everyone in the city of Bethlehem knew about it. If Boaz offered to marry Ruth, no one would object.
Chapter 31, the last chapter of Proverbs, has a virtuous woman as the theme, and what kind of woman is a virtuous woman. Because Ruth can be said to be the representative of many women in the Bible, it is said that the book of Ruth appears after Proverbs in the original Hebrew Bible.
In the light of the virtuous woman in Proverbs 31:10-31, we examine whether Ruth is truly a virtuous woman.
Proverbs 31:10, "Who can find a virtuous woman, and her price is greater than pearls.
It was said that a virtuous woman is worth more than pearls. Look at the characteristics of a virtuous woman.
Proverbs 31:11, "The heart of the husband of such a man believes in him."
She is a woman you can trust. How faithful and trustworthy is Ruth?
Proverbs 31:12, "Such a man does good to her husband and no evil while he lives."
Naomi admitted that Ruth was like this. She did good to her husband while she was alive, and was loyal to her after death.
Proverbs 31:13-15, “He seeks wool and linen, and works diligently with his hands, like a ship of merchants, bringing food from afar; he rises before dawn to distribute food to his household, and assigns work to his maidservant.”
Ruth was really diligent. How diligent was Ruth? I got up early in the morning and went to glean.
Proverbs 31:16-17, "They rent a field and buy it, and plant vineyards with what their hands have earned, and bind their loins with strength, and strengthen their arms." One of the characteristics of a virtuous woman is that she is wise. We think about how we can benefit our family.
Proverbs 31:18-19, "When he realized that his trade was profitable, he did not put out the lamp at night, but took a ball of cotton in his hand and grasped the tone with his fingers."
She is a woman with wisdom who benefits the family. "Mother, the harvest has begun now, and I must not stand still. I must go and glean now." And I went out to the field. Moreover, he could not wait for the harvest to be over to glean. So what are you asking for? He follows the cuter and asks, "Let me pick it up." How wise were you?
Proverbs 31:20, "He stretches out his hand to the needy, and stretches out his hand to the needy."
He is a person who does not forget the poor and the poor and helps the poor. She is like Ruth, who always took care of her poor mother-in-law Naomi. Let's jump over it and look at verse 30.
Proverbs 31:30, "Fairness is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised."
A virtuous woman is one who serves Jehovah God well. When Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi told her to return, she said, "If I go away from my mother except to die, the Lord will punish me and bring more." Ruth was a woman who feared God well. All of these qualities of a virtuous woman are in Ruth.
We Christians should radiate the fragrance of Christ. Like Ruth, we must show dignity to unbelievers. We need to make sure that anyone can see that that person is a believer in Jesus. Throughout the Bible, we can find out what kind of person we should be.
Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law."
Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are reverent, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are praiseworthy, if there be any virtue, if there is any praise, consider these things. "
2 Peter 1:5-7, “Therefore, be all the more diligent, supplying your faith with virtue, knowledge, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, perseverance, godliness, godliness, brotherly kindness, and brotherly kindness, love.”
We need to make sure we have what the Bible says above. Of course, this image of us must be based on our faith in Jesus Christ.
Ruth 2:1 says, "There was a powerful man among the relatives of Elimelech, Naomi's husband, whose name was Boaz." Here, the word influential is the same word as being virtuous. For a man, Boaz is an ideal man, and for a woman, Ruth is an ideal woman. An ideal man and an ideal woman have met.
I hope that the female believers will also become virtuous women like Ruth. Also, I pray in the name of Jesus that all the male members will become powerful, powerful, and ideal saints just like Boas.