“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” – William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice
Imagine living in a world where there’s no governmental authority; no law enforcement; no justice system designed to protect the innocent and punish the guilty?
A world of no restraints, no consequences for evil, no help for the oppressed. A world where the strong prey upon the weak; where the destitute and the orphan have no one to hear their cry! Imagine living in a world where almost everyone in it, lives as though God doesn’t exist? If you can imagine it…then you would have some understanding of what it would have been like to have lived during the time of the Judges.
The epitaph of this dark time in history can be summed up in one devastating phrase from the end of the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” Judges 21:25
When you read the book of Judges, you come across horrific tales like the one found in Judges 19. It’s the story of a poor married woman who was literally raped to death by a crowd of drunken men in the city of Gibeah; and whose body was then literally hacked to pieces. How could such a thing happen in a theocratic nation such as Israel where God supposedly ruled over the lives of men? The answer comes as repeatedly as Israel’s continued dabbling in idolatry throughout this time.
When a nation forgets God; when a nation de-thrones God, “man becomes an untamed beast!” This is a true cautionary tale for every modern-day nation of people on the face of the earth…and it comes…oddly enough…from the dusty pages of a book…centuries old.
In Israel at this time; the world was violent, merciless and brutal; not unlike the world, we live in today. And yet, the story doesn’t end there, because if you keep reading, there is set in the context, the exquisite, delicate and beautiful story of Ruth.
Ruth is the first of two books of the Bible named after a woman. A remarkable feat in itself given that women themselves were considered property in that culture. It is also remarkable given that Ruth was a Gentile. A Moabitess whose people descended from Lot who began his own tribe after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by committing the unthinkable act of incest.
Yet, God included the story of Ruth into Holy Scripture not only to teach us about grace; but to remind his people that “even in times of crisis and deepest despair, there are those who follow God and through whom God works. No matter how discouraging or antagonistic the world may seem, there are always people who follow God. He will use anyone who is open to him to achieve his purposes.”[1]
Her story “shows that even in the chaotic period of the judges, there were some Israelites who were God-fearing and compassionate, who protected the weak and needy rather than victimizing them.”[2]
From Ruth we learn that at times it may seem like the world has gone mad; it may seem like life is crumbling in around us but in the midst of all of it …God is at work to bring hope to the world; to beautify the world through his work in individual ordinary lives.
As we examine the extraordinary life of one beautiful woman…a woman named Ruth, we find in her the beauty of God’s creation Adam called…”woman”. For I think what the author wishes us to see is the beauty of godliness in the midst of a sinful, ugly world.
It is an interesting fact that sometimes in the Old Testament, certain godly character qualities are referred to in the female gender. Note the female anthropomorphic personifications to wisdom in Proverbs 4:6-9, and note how they are presented specifically as though wisdom were a beautiful, virtuous woman:
“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you. Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.”
While it is important not to read too much into Solomon’s use of the feminine given that the word “wisdom”, even though it is an abstract quality, is a feminine noun in Hebrew. He may have used feminine pronouns simply to satisfy the demands of diction because in Hebrew nouns and pronouns must agree in number and gender. Or it may be that Solomon in attempting to demonstrate the foolishness of immorality contrasted with the wisdom of virtue uses the contrasting word pictures of the prostitute with that of the virtuous woman.
In either case, however, it seems most appropriate to personify wisdom as a beautiful woman, if your purpose is to show the beauty of godliness in contrast to the ugliness of sin.
Throughout the Book of Ruth, we find this beauty of godliness evident. Not just in Ruth, but we find it in another main character of the story; that of Boaz, Ruth’s Kinsman-Redeemer. The beauty of this man’s character comes to the fore in chapter two, when Ruth by sheer happenstance arrives to harvest in the field of this same man who would forever change her life.
And the beauty of this man’s godliness is found in his “unexpected and lavish kindness” toward a poor, foreign widow-woman to whom he owed nothing.
If you begin reading in chapter two, verse four, you will realize the extent of his kindness toward Ruth.
As a widow, Ruth and Naomi were in a financially untenable position. Given that they were women without a man to take care of them; given that in that culture a woman was barred from owning property, even the property of her late husband, these women were some of the poorest people in the land. Their lives were dependent upon the kindness of strangers; upon the laws, God had set up to care for those who were destitute.
In the Mosaic Law, God fleshed out the command for his people to love their neighbor as themselves, by giving them the Laws of the Harvest; and the provision of the Kinsman-Redeemer.
The poor in Israel had two sources of help:
- They had the right to glean: They had the right at harvest time to follow the reapers and gather any grain that was missed, and landowners were expected to ensure that something was left for them to glean. In fact, the law went so far as to command farmers not to harvest the corners of their field. (Leviticus 23:22) These areas were set aside for the poor on a “first-come, first-serve” basis.
- The poor also had the right to expect help from extended family who were better off. It was one’s sacred obligation to care for one’s extended family; to refuse to do so, to live a life of stinginess was considered not only sinful but oppressive. Perhaps this Old Testament law was where Paul received his authority to say in 1 Timothy 5:8 that those who do not provide for their own family have denied the faith and are worse than unbelievers.
Both of these Old Testament expectations rested on God’s expectation that his people should be kind, tenderhearted people toward those in need. For this is how God is! God is by his very nature a kind person. Therefore, it is incumbent upon those who claim to follow him to also be what he is.
Yet, the amazing thing was that in this darkened time, one could truly see who among Israel who was wicked; and who were righteous; who were truly, Sons of Abraham and who were the Sons of Belial. What you were; who you belonged to was most evidently seen in how kind a person was to a stranger.
In other words, in the “weary world” of the time of the Judges, the “good deed” that truly revealed who you were as a person…was kindness. Kindness was the dividing line that revealed your true nature and standing before God.
I think the same thing could be said of those who claim to follow God today. In fact, the New Testament writers have picked up this theme and have developed it significantly.
The Apostle John asks, “17If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”
James identifies “true faith” from what is designated as “dead faith” by asking the same questions,
14 “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
Again, kindness continues to be the dividing line that reveals your true nature and standing before God. If you can be a heartless, unkind individual who only thinks of himself; who stubbornly refuses to show to your wounded brother the “milk of human kindness”; how can you in anyway lay claim to the fact that you know and love God?
Your life belies the truth of your own lips.
And yet, how often have I seen this same scenario played out in churches? People who claim to be the Lord’s people; yet who think nothing of being bellicose and brutally unkind to one another?
I must say that in all my years as a pastor, I’ve suffered more at the hands of the church than I ever have from the world. In fact, in many cases, I’ve been treated better by unbelievers than I have by Christians. What do you make of that?
What is the church, if the world is more like the church ought to be, then the church is?
I’ve watched people in the church who think nothing of brutalizing others; who seemingly have no compassion in their soul at all; people who can excoriate and discard you like yesterday’s garbage, and yet never see the disconnect between their personal unkindness, and all of their supposed following of Jesus. They can be hateful, mean and down-right dreadful people, and yet faithfully attend every Sunday worship service without ever thinking once, how unacceptable that kind of hypocritical worship really is?
Do you really think God will accept the worship you offer if your life is characterized by unkindness?
But with Boaz, we find something different; something refreshing; something life-changing. We recognize straight away that he is a man of God; a man of honor. And we know this because of how he treats this Gentile woman, a woman completely unable to repay any kindness he could offer.
- He provided her with encouragement (vv.11-14) He spoke kindly and sweetly toward her, praising her for her goodness to Naomi.
- He provided for her security (vv.8-9) As a young woman, alone in the harvest fields without anyone to provide for her safety could have made her a vulnerable target for wicked men who were up to no good.
- He provided for her physical needs (vv.9b; 14) He offered what he had, water for when she was thirsty; an invitation to lunch and rest under the cover of shade when the sun beat down upon her.
- He went beyond kindness to lavish generosity to see that she had more than enough for her need. (v.15-17) By commanding his men to pull out some stalks of grain from the sheaves and leaving them behind for her to gather, Boaz not only showing his overwhelming generosity; he was ensuring that her pride was not wounded by such a largess.
You cannot help but be impressed by the level of unexpected kindness of which Boaz was capable. He puts most of us to shame in this regard. Looking at his example you can see why Boaz is referred to as a type of Christ, being the Kinsmen-Redeemer. There is apparently no end to his goodness.
His life and example teach us some important things we ought to remember if we are to be the kind of people who follow this remarkable example:
- Sometimes the most kindly thing you can do for another is merely to give them a word of encouragement.
Solomon wrote, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”
How many of us have not kept cards, notes, and keepsakes from kind people? And why? Why do we hide them away in our closets, trunks, and attics? Why do we return to them often like long-lost loves? Because kind words have the ability to heal wounded souls. One small act of kindness…goes a long, long way. But as restorative, as a kind word is, this is how distressing an unkind one can be.
Even these…especially these, people squirrel away in the knot-hole of their heart; and sometimes, that one act of unkindness can become something that shapes and directs the entire direction and destiny of their life. Be careful what you say…another person’s life may hang in the balance.
- Unexpected Kindness always goes above and beyond what is required.
From Boaz’ example, we learn that kindness needs no law. The law only required him to allow the poor to harvest in the corners of his field and anything left over after the reapers had cleared a patch of ground. The law never required Boaz to feed or water the poor; to provide them with shelter or security, it only commanded him to allow them to glean. So, here’s a principle of kindness that often escapes our notice, that kindness does not concern itself legalistic technicality or meeting the bare minimum requirements of a man-made code.
Often, however, people hide behind technicalities of a law as a justification for their own stinginess. But kindness doesn’t care about those things…kindness gives without thought for self. It doesn’t give because it’s advantageous to do so. It gives simply because there’s a need; it gives out of empathy and a true concern for the hurt of others. If you want to be a kind person, then you must stop hiding behind the legalistic technicalities of some man-made law or expectation. True kindness is always a lion’s leap beyond where you think it is.
In regard to all of this; and in light of the ancient example of Boaz; can I ask you? Do you still fancy yourself, a kind person?
[1] Life Application Bible, NIV, Introduction to Ruth
[2] Christopher R. Smith – Understanding the Books of the Bible, Joshua, Judges and Ruth