Talking with Naomi: Part 2

[Read Ruth 3:16-18]

There’s a reason so many farmers are Christians. Being a farmer requires a lot of faith. Think about it. As you drive around right now, you’ll see farmers in every field tilling and planting. They are spending a TON of time and a TON of money putting seeds in the ground with FAITH that they will grow and produce a harvest. Yet, they really have no idea what will happen. It’s possible we’ll get too much rain and the crop will be ruined. It’s possible we’ll not get enough rain and the crop will be ruined. It’s possible we’ll get the perfect amount of rain and sunshine, the crop will grow perfectly, but then we’ll get a hail storm or wind storm that destroys the field. They have no idea what’s going to happen with their investment of time and money and resources. Yet, they keep on planting, they keep on working, and they keep on investing because they have faith. 

And here’s what’s interesting about the picture I just painted about farmers and faith. How does their faith affect the way they farm? Does their faith cause them to wait patiently? Does their faith cause them to work diligently? The answer to both questions is: Yes. It’s not an either or. The farmer works diligently because they have faith. The farmer ALSO waits patiently to see the fruit of their diligent labor—the seed to grow and the harvest to come. Faith causes BOTH. Faith can cause us to work diligently and Faith can cause us to wait patiently. We’ve seen that throughout the story so far, and we’re going to see that again in this passage. 

I can imagine the scene fairly well. Naomi had developed this risky plan and sent Ruth to the threshing floor dressed for success, but then Naomi had to wait. She doesn’t know what’s happening or how things are going. She sent Ruth to the threshing floor a little before dark. In the fall, the sun sets in Jerusalem around 6pm, now it’s midnight—six hours have passed—and Ruth still isn’t home. Naomi begins to wonder what is happening. She begins to question whether her plan was a good idea or not. Another six hours pass and still no Ruth. It’s six in the morning, the sun won’t be up for another forty-five minutes, but it’s light enough to see figures and shapes—shadows.  Her worry increases. It’s been TWELVE HOURS since she last saw Ruth and sent her into a risky situation. All of a sudden, she sees a shadowy figure drawing near to her home. Naomi knows it's Ruth. 

She can’t hold it back anymore, so she immediately asks, “How did you fare, my daughter?” (Ruth 3:16, ESV). This has been the question running through Naomi’s mind all night. How were things going? Is Ruth alright? Did things go as planned? 

Ruth’s answer is very interesting. Pay careful attention to how this is written, “Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”” (Ruth 3:16–17, ESV). So, Naomi asks how things went—how did the plan work? Then we read that Ruth told her EVERYTHING Boaz did and she did it by saying something about the barley. The author is placing emphasis on the barley in a special way. That barley is the center piece in this scene of the story. It’s a summary of EVERYTHING Boaz did for her on the threshing floor. So, let’s take some time to look at the importance of the barley AND the way it’s discussed. 

Notice how Boaz sets up the gift of the barley. I hinted at this last week. The gift of barley is NOT for Ruth. It’s for Naomi. He tells Ruth, “You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.” (Ruth 3:17, ESV). That’s why he’s giving her the barley. Why? Let me take out one word out of Boaz’s comment to see if it causes a flashback. What if Boaz simply said, “You must not go back empty to Naomi.” Does that ring any bells? Doesn’t that cause you to flashback to the end of chapter one, where Naomi says, “I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty.” (Ruth 1:21, ESV). I wonder if Boaz heard Naomi say this as she came back into town OR if he heard it through the rumor-mill of the small town. Either way, he is making an intentional statement to Naomi through Ruth. He tells her, “Don’t go back empty to the one who thinks she is empty. Go back with a load of grain so heavy you can hardly carry it.” 

But there’s even more to the barley. The Israelites loved to play with language—it’s one of the things I love about the Hebrew language. There’s a TON of wordplay and imagery. That’s baked into this story as well. So, we should look for it. As we look for it, think about Naomi’s emptiness in chapter one. She said she went away full, but came back empty. What was she missing when she came back empty? She was missing food because of the famine AND she was missing her husband and children and the possibility of a future heir. Her emptiness consisted of food and children. So, what does Boaz do? He sends Ruth to Naomi FULL of grain—which also has the connotation of “seed," or an heir—a child to come. The barley is a symbol to Naomi that her emptiness WILL be filled—BOTH her emptiness of food AND her emptiness of children. God was providing. 

Like I mentioned last week, I agree with Sinclair Ferguson that this grain was a subtle rebuke of Naomi’s rash plan. It was a symbol from Boaz that he was going to make sure Ruth was redeemed—that they would be provided with food and children—but it was also a rebuke. Stop taking matters into your own hands, Naomi, and trust God to provide. Rest, Wait. 

I think this is why Naomi responds to the barley by telling Ruth, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out…” (Ruth 3:18, ESV). It’s a definite change. Previously, Naomi was coming up with a risky plan, taking action, taking initiative, and now the tone changes to WAIT. The word “wait” is actually the same word that would describe “living in a home.” The idea is for Ruth to “settle in” and wait. Don’t DO anything else.

I think this change came because Naomi was reminded of God’s provision. With this massive symbol of God’s provision and God’s faithfulness in front of her, Naomi received Boaz’s rebuke and took it to heart. She would stop taking matters into her own hands and would trust God to provide for her.

This is the patience and waiting that result from faith. This is the faith of a farmer. All the worrying in the world won’t make the crop grow faster or the sun shine brighter or the rain come sooner or the storms to go a different direction. You have to trust God and wait—truly wait. 

By truly waiting, I mean restfully, faithfully waiting. Waiting with hands clasped, and sweat on your brown, and mind racing is not truly waiting. True waiting flows from a trust in God—trusting that He’s got things under control, trusting that He’s working things out, trusting that He will provide. 

Yet, faith doesn’t SOLELY produce waiting. It also produces diligent work. I know that sounds like a paradox, but it’s not. Naomi recognizes BOTH in her comment to Ruth. She says, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.” (Ruth 3:18, ESV). You could rephrase this to say, “WAIT, Ruth, because Boaz will not WAIT.” So, answer these questions: Why is Ruth told to wait? Because she is trusting in God to provide. Why is Boaz NOT going to wait? Because he is trusting in God to provide.

This is the same question I asked at the beginning. Why does the farmer work diligently in the field? Because he trusts God to provide. Why does the farmer patiently wait for the crops to grow? Because he trusts God to provide. 

Boaz is a farmer. He knows this. He trusts God will provide for Ruth, for Naomi, and for himself. So, he doesn’t wait around. He’s got work to do and he will get right to the work and won’t quit until the job is done. Naomi knows this about him because this is the type of man he is. And this type of work ethic FLOWS from a faith and trust in God to provide. Faith produces BOTH waiting AND working. 

However, I think it’s important to clarify something. Just because you’re working hard DOESN’T mean your work is fueled by your faith AND just because you’re waiting DOESN’T mean your waiting is fueled by your faith. There is faithless waiting and faithless working. There are people who work really hard BECAUSE they don’t trust God—they only trust themselves. That’s why they’re working so hard. There are people who are always waiting—never doing anything—BECAUSE they don’t trust God—they are always afraid of failing or just being lazy. So faithlessness can ALSO produce waiting and working. 

This is why it’s so important to look deeper than externals. We need to look beyond actions to motivations—especially in our own heart. We need to continually ask ourselves, “Am I working hard BECAUSE I trust God to provide or BECAUSE I don’t trust God to provide? Am I waiting BECAUSE I trust God to provide or BECAUSE I don’t trust God to provide?” Quite often—if we’re honest with ourselves—we know the difference. We recognize when we’re working hard because we’re trusting ourselves and not trusting God. We know when we’re waiting because we don’t trust God. They feel different. We can tell we’re living in a way we haven’t been designed to live. There’s frustration, exhaustion, worry, fear, etc. On the other hand, there’s a freedom that comes when we work hard because we trust God—sure there’s tiredness, but it’s a different kind of tiredness—and when we wait because we trust God. 

The working and the waiting aren’t the important part—it’s the FAITH that matters. We’re taught this in Romans: “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23, ESV). Everything we do must be fueled by our faith and trust in God. 

This forces us to ask the question: Are you living the life of faith? Are you trusting God to provide? If so, there will be seasons where you work diligently because you trust God and there will be seasons where you wait patiently because you trust God. Working and Waiting aren’t enemies. They are seasons/rhythms of life that must flow from our faith in God. 

We see this in the life of Jesus. We’re told this about Jesus: “He committed no sin…” (1 Peter 2:22, ESV). That means everything he did—every aspect of his life—flowed from faith. And as Jesus lived this life of faith, what do we see? We see Jesus waiting and working. Throughout his time on earth, Jesus repeatedly told his disciples “My time has not yet come…” (John 7:6, ESV). He waited because he trusted his Father. Yet, he also worked. There were nights when he didn’t sleep because he had so many people coming to him with needs. He was constantly traveling, constantly speaking to large crowds. 

Yet, most importantly, Jesus had one main job to do on this earth. He said, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:10, ESV). That was the work he had to accomplish. And because he trusted his Father in heaven, he didn’t quit until he had accomplished that task. He endured the struggles of this life, bearing the weight of sin, the torture before and during the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins and saved. And he didn’t quit working until he could say, “It is finished.” (John 19:30, ESV).