The book of Ruth is widely regarded as a biblical love story, beginning with the deep loyalty of Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi. We heard that loyalty expressed in the Scripture reading just a moment ago. There really is something enduring and timeless about the story.
This remains the case, despite the fact that there are some striking cultural differences between that time and ours. There was the apparent work of Naomi, in seeing the opportunities and setting things up. There was the fact of the woman, and a young woman at that, taking the initiative. She did not take the initiative in showing first interest, for Boaz clearly did that, but she did make the first overt move. And as that move was to lie down at Boaz’s feet in the middle of the night—a passage rarely used in courtship seminars—it is all the more striking. And then there is the fact that Boaz obtained her hand by purchasing a piece of property that belonged to the house of Elimelech . . . almost as though Ruth was a lien on the land.
But there is one difference between that time and ours where we ought to be working to think more as they did. This is the idea that when a man and woman come together, a lot of other people are involved. Remember what Ruth said in the Scripture passage read. “Your people shall be my people.” And this is not just the relatives alive at the time.
The book of Ruth is acutely aware of both ancestors and descendants. This was the blessing that the townspeople gave to her.
“And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.”Ruth 4:12 (KJV)
And then the book concludes with this:
“Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.”Ruth 4:18–22 (KJV)
When Tamar gave birth to twins, one of them had his hand come out first, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread on his wrist. His name was Zarah. But then his hand withdrew, and his brother Pharez came out first, supplanting him. Why did the townspeople wanted Ruth’s house to be like the line of Pharez? Zarah was the messianic heir, and he had a descendant who disgraced himself at Jericho—a prince named Achan. And Pharez had a descendant, whose name was Salmon—he was the man who married Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, marked with a scarlet rope. And Rahab was the mother of Boaz, the man who married this lovely Moabitess. The author of Ruth was looking upstream to Pharez, and downstream to David, and a transfer of the messianic line.
So what is the point of all this? We live in a generation that despises fruitfulness. Throughout Scripture, sin and rebellion is described in terms of fruitlessness. In the biblical framework and worldview, it is not so. God created mankind, male and female, which is the image of God, and He commanded us to be fruitful and multiply.
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”Genesis 1:28 (KJV)
In the household being established here today, one of the more usual forms of fruitfulness, in the ordinary course of events, would be children. But the foundational fruitfulness is the fruitfulness that accompanies fellowship with God, and the fruit of the Spirit as displayed in our relationships with one another. And under God’s Heaven, there is absolutely nothing like the fruitfulness of a man and a woman walking in the obedience of the gospel and adorning that particular tree with fruit. When the branches are laden, almost touching the ground, it becomes a joy to everyone who is privileged to be near it.
Wesley, when Adam was first placed in the garden, his charge was to tend and keep it (Gen. 2:15). This day you are being placed in a garden as well, the garden of this marriage, and your task is the same as Adam’s was. You are to tend the garden, providing for all its needs, and you are to protect the garden against any potential threat or danger. The God who gives you this charge is also the God who equips His people to accomplish all that He requires. Remember that, as one of His children, your assigned duties are always accompanied by the provided grace of resources.
Bethany, your charge is the response to this—God speaks to you both, and it is a call and response. He summons Wesley with a call, calling him to call you. And He calls you as well, summoning you to be fruitful in response. As your husband works before the Lord to be the kind of husbandman that he was called to be, you are called to be—in the words of the Song of Solomon—a “garden locked, his sister, his bride” (Song 4:12).
This marriage is yours alone. The garden is yours alone, and it is a garden locked. But the fruitfulness of the garden is visible to the entire world. The branches hang over the wall, and the fruitfulness of it brings great glory to God.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.