Description
TWILIGHT
R & B
August 29, 2010
Ed Young
Are you guys ready to hear about some romance? We’re in a series called the Twilight series; it’s about romance. We love romance. We have this love affair with falling in love. I think we’re romanticized about romance. There are romantic movies and novels. There’s romantic cologne, romantic places. We’re into romance.
Speaking of romantic movies—I told you this last time—if you go to a chic flick, guys, and the guys act like women. And then you go to a guys movie, ladies, and the women act like guys! It’s interesting. But there’s a lot of truth to that, because if we are going to be romantic, we’ve got to think like the opposite sex in many different ways. It’s not about us; it’s about others.
You know, I love all types of music. I like romantic music. And I think one of the most romantic styles of music is R&B, some rhythm and blues. Don’t you agree? Well today, we are going to get into the rhythm and the blues. I want to give you guys some R&B. Now, it’s about rhythm and blues. Also, though, it’s about a couple of people in the Scriptures. And these people were so romantic; the love story was so powerful that I’ve called today R&B. R meaning Ruth, the woman. B meaning Boaz, the man.
The Bible is the greatest romance novel out there. Romance begins with God. God is romancing and wooing you and me. That’s the story in this romance novel. We either respond to his love or not. Our obsession with romance, I believe, is simply an illustration, a mirror of this divine romance between God and man. And that’s what the Bible is all about—a bunch of love letters discussing God’s love, God’s romance with man. Isn’t that great that our God loves us that much and that we have an opportunity to respond to his love and to give love to one another?
But today I’m talking about the romance, yes between God and man. But I’m talking about a practical romance between a man and a woman. Ruth and Boaz—the two central characters. Let me give you some quick background on this love story, because it’s going to get hot in here! The romance will be so heavy you’ll be able to cut it with a knife.
A girl named Naomi had a husband and they had a couple of boys. They lived in Bethlehem—you know, Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Bethlehem by the way is called the House of Bread. That’s what it means. Bethlehem, the house of bread. There was a famine in the land, they bolted from Bethlehem and went against God’s plan, moved to a place called Moab. Moab was a very ungodly place. Moab was a place full of temptation.
God had said over and over again to his people, “Don’t mess around with the Moabites.”
Ruth and her family planned to stay there for a little while, but they stayed there for a long, long time. Sin will take you farther than you want to go, it’ll keep you there longer than you want to stay, and it’ll cost you more than you want to pay. And that’s the story we have with Naomi and her family. Well guess what happened? Naomi’s husband drops dead. Her two sons marry Moabite women. And then, amazingly, they die. So she’s all alone. Naomi is left all alone. One of her daughters-in-law was named Orpah. The other was named Ruth.
So again, Naomi is by herself. Her daughters-in-law are there with her; their husbands have died. She’s lost her sons and her husband. She’s really feeling it. She’s singing the blues there in Moab. Think about it. That’s some pain; that’s some very very tough circumstances to navigate. And she became very very bitter and she told, are you ready for this, her two daughters-in-law to remain in Moab. She said, “I’m going back to Bethlehem. I’m going back to the house of bread. But you girls go back to Moab.”
I find that fascinating. I find that sad.
Naomi and her husband made a bonehead move to move from Bethlehem to Moab, just like Abraham did back in the day. Abraham shouldn’t have gone to Egypt. I would rather, and you should rather, live in the will of God and be hungry than live in Moab and be well fed.
She loses her husband, she loses her sons, she’s by herself except for her two daughters-in-law, and she says, “Girls, you just stay in Moab.” I can’t believe she’s saying this! “You just chase after your other gods, your other customs.”
Here Naomi was going back to Bethlehem, back to the house of bread, and she’s a negative influence on her daughters-in-law, these two widows.
Are you living in Moab? Whenever you mess around in Moab, you’re always going to have the Naomi’s encouraging you, “Hey, girl, just stay in Moab. Hey, dude, just stay in Moab. Everything will be ok!” God said, “Don’t hang around in Moab.” Because in Moab, people are dropping the flirt and chasing the skirt. They’re doing things their way instead of God’s way. They’re doing romance and love their way instead of God’s way.
Turn to Ruth in the Old Testament. Ruth 1:16-18. Check out what Ruth says to her mother-in-law, Naomi as Naomi is so bitter and is obviously in mourning.
“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.”
You might want to jot this down in your margins. It’s really cool when people’s walk and talk coalesce. Ruth made a declaration, “I’m going to follow you! I’m going to do what you want me to do. I’m going to help you, because you’re older, you don’t have any cash money. And you can take my word. I give you my word on it.”
And that’s something so important in relationships. That’s something so important, students and singles, when you’re dating someone. It’s something so important when you’re married.
Your word matches your work. Your talk and walk coalesce. You don’t just talk a good game; you live it out. And that’s what we discover about Ruth.
So it says (Ruth 1:18-19), “When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.”
Well here’s what happened. Ruth was helping her. I’m sure, praying with her. And Ruth left this whole Moab mentality and said, “Your God will be my God.”
Here’s the first beat of this relational rhythm I want you to run to. See, I want to encourage you to move from Moab and run to the relational rhythm. Where’s the relational rhythm? It’s in the house of bread. It’s from the house of blues to the house of bread. Have you made the move from Moab. Seriously, have you made the move? “How do you make the move from Moab, Ed?”
Well, if you’re in Moab, you’ve done your own thing your own way. Maybe you’re mesmerized by Moab. Naomi and her family planned on staying there just a little while, but they ended up staying there a long while. All of a sudden though, Naomi made the turn, right? And Ruth stuck to her like Velcro. Have you made the move from Moab? How do you do that?
You simply say, “God, I give my life to you. God, I believe that you have romanced me and sought me and bought me, and sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross to my sins. I receive that.”
Some of you are thinking, “Ed, you don’t understand how deep I am in Moab. I’m like into it. I’m mesmerized by it. I’m doing this; I’m doing that.”
God loves you. You matter to him so much that he will come into your life, boom, right now. Don’t say, “Well, I’ve got to clean stuff up and then…” No, no. Right now.
Illus: I was talking to a friend of mine just a couple weeks ago. This guy was far away from God—messing around with dope and women, living with a young lady who’s a stripper who is strung out on drugs. It’s a long, long story. We were fishing together on a small boat. And I looked at him and said, “Why don’t you make this decision to follow the Lord. You’ve tried everything else.” And I’ve earned the right to talk to him like that; we know each other pretty well. I said, “You’re a risk taker. Why don’t you just make the decision?”
He said, “You mean out here in the middle of the ocean in this little boat?”
I said, “Yeah. Just do it!” And I watched him make the decision.
Now, he was worried about, “Ed, now, what do I do about my girlfriend, dope addict and stripper?”
I said, “Don’t worry about that.”
“Well, what do I do about the dope?
I said, “Don’t worry about that. You invite Jesus into your life right where you are, and he will take care of the rest. I’ll help you. I’ll teach you how to read Scripture, how to pray.”
And what’s so cool is the guy’s been texting me. I’ve sent him some books and things. And it’s just so thrilling to see him walk with God!
So that could be you today. Have you made the move from Moab? Students, let me talk to you. How about your best friends? Have they made the move from Moab? Have they? How about the person that you’re dating? Have they made the move from Moab?
“Well, Ed, he says that he’s a Christian. He goes to church.”
Well, when I walk into Starbucks, does that make me a cappuccino? That talk is cheap! Does the walk and talk connect? Make sure your best friends; make sure, those who are unmarried, that the people you date have made the move from Moab. And that, quite frankly, is the first beat of God’s relational rhythm. Make the move from Moab. But there’s another one.
Watch the work. That’s the second beat of the relational rhythm. We run to the relational rhythm. We make the move from Moab and then we watch the work. Let’s go back to the love story.
Naomi hits town. Think about it. Ruth hits town, a new environment. This girl was a Moabitess. She was thinking, “What am I doing? I’m in Bethlehem. Different customs, different culture!”
But she had stuck to Naomi like Velcro; she was following God; doing things God’s way. And they didn’t have jack q. squat! Back in the day, if you were a widow and didn’t have a man, you were dirt poor.
Naomi was old. She was thinking, “I can’t get a man anymore.” And Ruth said, “Naomi, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’m going to work and get some stuff for us to eat.”
It was during the barley festival, the month of April. And all these tracks of land were packed with workers collecting barley. So Ruth said, “You know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go out there behind the workers and I’m going to collect barley.” So she did that. She just picked a field arbitrarily and began to follow the workers and pick up the excess barley.
Well, this real estate tycoon, this developer showed up. His name was Boaz. Billionaire Boaz. Boaz was older than Ruth. A little bit grey, a little bit mature. A humble servant of God. A man who was a man’s man, but a man who had a sensitive spirit. And the Bible says, if you want romance, he was looking around his fields and he said, “Whoa!” He brings one of his vice presidents over. “Who is that?!”
And girls, think about it. Boaz saw Ruth at her worst. I’m sure she had all the allergies and sinus drainage. All the barley stuck to her face, sweat dripping off her face, ball cap on. I like that.
There’s got to be chemistry. God has given us the desire for the opposite sex. There’s got to be chemistry. You see her, you see him; whew, yeah! There’s got to be that, you know? There has to be chemistry when you date. There has to be chemistry in your marriage.
You know what God says about chemistry? He says, “It can’t be just chemistry.” Boaz looked past the chemistry if you read here, and he began to watch her work. He began to talk to his people and his people said, “This girl is a worker! She’s been out here in the hot sun. She’s been working and working and working. Just a menial task, just basic work.”
He watched her work. Then he had lunch with her and got to know her. And I’m telling you, you could just feel the love. Watch the work.
If you’re dating somebody, do they have a work ethic? If you’re seeing somebody, do they have a work ethic?
Illus: I’d be lying to you if I said Lisa’s work ethic is the first thing that attracted me to her. It was not. But it was a big thing. The first time I saw Lisa I saw her in church. I said, “Wow! Whew!” And then as I watched her and got to know her; the girl was 15 working in a little jewelry shop in a dilapidated shopping center in Columbia, South Carolina. I watched her work there from the time she was 15 until the time she was 18. During the summer in college. I watched her work there. Lisa has a huge work ethic. I’ve watched her work with our kids and work at Fellowship.
When someone has a work ethic, it usually means they’ll work at the relationship.
I want to talk to spouses. Are you working on your marriage? It’s so ironic. We work on everything else. Golf games. Tennis. Shopping. Decorating. Bow hunting. Fishing. Everything else, so often, but marriage. You’ve got to work. So if you’re seated next to your spouse, turn to them and say, “Work it, baby, work it!” You got to work!
When you see somebody who is lazy, who is slothful, bolt! Head for the hills! That’s what I’m saying to you.
Here’s what Ruth said about the work. Ruth 2:7, “‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ She went into the field and has worked steadily from morning till now, except for a short rest in the shelter.”
This girl could work it! Obviously she was attractive. But Boaz watched her work and was like, “This girl’s got something!”
First beat, make the move. Second beat, watch the work. Make sure you are working, working and working. Marriage, so often is the hardest thing; it’s not the easiest thing. But it can become the greatest thing when we are willing to work. Work on your marriage now. Don’t work on an illicit relationship. Whenever I hear about people having illicit relationships or sleeping in the wrong bed, it’s amazing how they work at that! Work on your marriage. It’s worth the work.
The third beat: look for loyalty. Ruth, and even Naomi, are running to the relational rhythm. Boaz is looking at Ruth, and he’s heard already; the talk in the town already has been about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi. Are you a loyal person? Are you committed?
Check out Ruth 2:11-12, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
Now here’s what’s happening. You know what’s happening? These people are walking by and living by God’s plan. Did you realize that God has a plan for man? God has a family plan.
What’s God’s family plan? Number one: purity. God says, when it comes to sex, “Do it when you’re married.” I’ll say it again. Do it, when you’re married.
“I don’t understand it…”
“Do it,” God says, “when you’re married. He wrote the book, the owner’s manual, the romance novel. Do it, when you’re married. That’s the first thing. And if you are doing it before marriage, you’ve just increased your chances to divorce over 50%. That’s a whole other subject.
Another part of God’s family plan: only date those people who have the common bond of Jesus Christ. Can you imagine being hooked up with someone who you could not share that which is most valuable and precious to you? Can you imagine that? See the genius of God. God wants us to understand the rhythm of romance.
How about marriage? I was going to the gym the other day where I work out. And I walk in and these guys are talking about marriage. And these guys are not believers. And they say, “Hey Ed, you’re a pastor, come here, come here, come here. Isn’t marriage,” they said, “just a piece of paper? I mean, this guy right here is living with his girlfriend.” They were throwing the guy in the fire in front of me. “He’s living, I think, in sin! What do you say about that?”
I said, “Hey, you know, marriage is from God. Yes, there’s a piece of paper. But it’s much bigger than a piece of paper. It’s more profound than a piece of paper. It’s a covenant before the Lord God.”
So marriage is not just, ok, let’s get together, a couple of a people, a man and a woman. Or our culture tries to say any people, even same sex marriages. What? That’s not biblical!
“Yeah, but it’s so cultural, it’s so politically correct.”
It’s not biblical. God’s not going to bless it. When God says family, one man one woman. Boom. They have sexual intercourse. Boom. They might have kids. Boom, boom, boom. It’s God’s plan. Again, that’s your deal to follow it or not. It’s my deal. But hey, God’s plan works.
Also, another part of God’s plan, parents are to lead. I know that’s a shocker!
“What a minute. I thought I’m supposed to be my kids’ best friend. I thought I’m supposed to be like her girlfriend!”
No. There’s time for that when they’re in their 20s; it’s more of a peer thing. You’re the parent; you’re the leader. They are under your authority. You have an opportunity to parent them.
But here’s what happens. There are so many single parent situations here and in our culture. And there’s guilt because of divorce. So when you have the kids if you have custody or have them every other week or whatever, you want to give them everything and do everything and revolve your life around them because of the guilt. I know it’s difficult; you’re still the parent. You’re still in charge. You’re not their buddy. You’re not their homey. Don’t try to be mister cool dad or miss cool mom. You’re the leader! You’re the parent. God has placed you there to mold them and shape them into the kind of people God wants them to be.
And make sure you have them at his house, the house of bread, where we serve the bread of life. Make sure you don’t turn your back on the house of God. That’s God’s plan.
“Well, Ed, Ruth was following God’s plan? Boaz was?”
Yeah. Because guess what happened? There was something called the Leverite law back in the day. The Leverite law said, stay with me now, if a husband died and left a childless widow, the next in kin, the closest in kin had to marry her and buy all of the property. And most of the time, brothers did this.
Can you imagine if that happened today? Brothers would be looking at each other saying, “Man, don’t go out with her! No. Yeah, I like her. Yeah, ok, that’s the one.”
Well here’s what Naomi does. You can see how Ruth has influenced her. Naomi says, “Ruth, we need to follow God’s plan. God’s way works.”
So, Naomi tells Ruth to do three things. Ladies, here are three things in the Bible about how to get a man. She said, “Ruth, take a bath. Wash the barley off your face. Blow your nose, girl! Number two: put on some perfume—Channel No. 5. And then number three: put on your best clothes.”
And Ruth did that she snuck in to where Boaz was sleeping, slept at his feet, which meant that she was available. Because, guess what? I left something out. They just found out, Naomi and Ruth did, that Boaz—you see God, you see the sovereignty of God—Boaz, they think, is the closest of kin. So he could be her kinsman redeemer. Wow, has she hit the jackpot or what? She just chooses a field arbitrarily to work in and it’s from billionaire Boaz’s holdings! And he’s a man of God. He’s a little bit older, but everything is cool. And now Naomi orchestrates it—matchmaker, matchmaker—to send Ruth to Boaz. Boaz wakes up and is thinking, “Wow!” And Ruth is telling him, “I’m available.”
Now, think about it. He could have had sex with her right there. The guy had homes all over the place. He didn’t. You’ve got to have chemistry, right? But here’s where we mess up. There are two toxic chemicals. There’s testosterone and estrogen. And they’re explosive! Because if we let the testosterone and estrogen get out of control, we have sex before marriage, it blinds us, and we usually make the wrong decision, often times.
So, you see the genius of God. God says, “Wait, wait, wait until marriage.” And Boaz is like, “I’m going to marry this girl! This is it! She’s here, Ruth. This is amazing!”
So everything is going to rhythm. They made the move, watched the work, she’s loyal….yeah! Now it’s wedding bells!
Uh-oh. Boaz is thinking, “Oh no. I can’t believe this. I’m not the closest of kin.” He’s starting to sing the blues. So is Ruth. Naomi is really singing the blues. What are they going to do?
Have you ever been in that situation where you’re thinking, “What do I do? It’s out of my control!” We all have.
You know what they did? They trusted God. And that’s part of romance.
Now, here’s your homework. Don’t read Ruth 4. Let me talk about it next week, please. Do not read Ruth 4. That’s the final chapter. I know it’s tempting, ladies. No! Let me explain it. Because it’s going to get so deep in here. You might think you understand the other romance, but I’m telling you, you don’t. I’m telling you, it’s going to be awesome. I know its Labor Day weekend, but I’ll be here. I’ll see you here, too.
[Ed leads in closing prayer.]