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Well, as I said, in Matthew's
Gospel, the evangelist sets forth the genealogy of Jesus Christ. And he mentions specifically,
Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz begot Obed by Ruth. Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot
David the king. I've already mentioned two of
these feature in this particular book. Though Rahab isn't mentioned
in the book of Ruth, she is Boaz's mother. She is Ruth's mother-in-law. And so this is the backdrop for
what we call the incarnation or the coming of the Son of God
into this world to save His people from their sins. The point of
the book of Ruth is not a nice and warming and heart-filled
story of love and romance. The point of the book of Ruth
is not female courage in an age of patriarchalism. What it is, rather, it's about
the last few verses where we see that Boaz and Ruth gave birth
to a baby boy and called him Obed. Obed then gave birth to
a baby boy and called him Jesse. And then, of course, Jesse had
David, and it's from David that the Lord Jesus Christ has come.
to save His people from their sins. It is good to ponder what
God has done in the incarnation, not only in the supernatural
power of the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary, but in the providence
leading up to this. We know that our God is sovereign
and He has an eternal decree. And specifically in our confession
concerning that decree, it says it pleased God in His eternal
purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten
Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be
mediator between God and man." So that's the overarching plan. When we get to Matthew chapter
1 and we get to Luke chapters 1 to 3, we see the birth of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that Blessed One. from heaven above who has
come to save his people from their sins. But as we see in
the book of Ruth, there was a lot of things that went into this.
If you look at 2nd Kings chapter 11, there's a lady by the name
of Jehoshabah who kept the Davidic line alive by saving Joash, her
brother, and hiding him away in a pantry for about six years
so that the line of Judah would not be stopped. All of this magnifies
our great God. And as I'll argue later, as we
conclude our message this morning, we often, and we should, see
and praise God for the mighty acts in His miraculous works. We praise God for the grand displays
of His power and His majesty. Well, we need to praise God for
all of the ordinary things that he overrules to ensure that they
come to pass specifically as he had purposed and designed.
Providence is glorious, and the book of Ruth is a wonderful example
of the plan and the purpose and the working of Almighty God to
bring about the best good that man could ever know when the
Son left heaven above to come down to save His people from
their sins. We have a lot of material in
chapters 1 and 2. We will not deal with every clause
and every detail. I want to look at it under two
broad considerations. Chapter 1 is the departure from
and return to Judah. the departure from and return
to Judah. And then in chapter 2, what we
have is the movement from famine to feast. We have the movement
from famine to feast. So let's take up, first of all,
chapter 1, the departure from and return to Judah, and we have
three points here specifically. First, the famine in the land,
verses 1-5. Second, the return to Judah,
verses 6-18. And then thirdly, the theological
interpretation in verses 19-22. But note first, the famine in
the land. Notice in chapter 1, verse 1,
it came to pass in those days when the judges ruled. We considered
in our Wednesday night studies, in many respects, Ruth could
function as an appendix to the book of Judges. It is going on
consistently with this particular time. This was the era probably
around 1398 to 1052 BC when Saul became the first king in Israel,
when they had a monarchy. So the book of Ruth is at the
same time as the book of Judges. And as you read through the book
of Judges, you can't help but see that there's a lot of brutality
in the book of Judges. Some of it for good. When Samson
stands up with the jawbone of an ass and he kills a thousand
Philistines, that is good. That is glory given to God Most
High and protection for the children of Israel. But you see these
recurring themes in the book of Judges. The people sin, God
brought oppression, they cry out to the Lord and then He delivers
them. Well, the book of Ruth provides
sort of an appendix for us that is very positive in nature. All
of these persons are very virtuous, Ruth herself, Naomi, Boaz, to
be sure. All of these persons demonstrate
that all was not lost in the period of the judges. All was
not bleak and brutal and difficult and hard. There were some gleaming
lights in the covenant community, which should underscore for us
there's always a remnant. God has His people, as bleak
and as dark and as bad as it may appear. There are Ruths,
there are Naomi's, there are Boaz's, there are persons that
exemplify the grace of God Most High in the midst of His suffering
people. And we ought to appreciate that
in this particular book. It's not a romance story. It's
not a heroic story concerning Ruth in a male-dominated age. But those lessons are there.
And we ought to appreciate what God is doing in the midst of
real people, in real situations, in real ordinary sorts of events. Notice that in the days when
the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. This ought to indicate
to us that things were not well. This ought to indicate to us
that the judgment of God is upon Israel. In fact, if we compare
the book of Judges in chapter 6, there is just prior to the
time of Gideon becoming the judge, there was famine in the land
at that particular time. Some have said that Ruth probably
falls in in chapter 6 there. judges. But the point is, when
God sends famine, that is consistent with the curses in the covenant.
And when we compare the book of Judges, how does God chasten
his people throughout the book of Judges? He does it through
foreign oppression. He does it through Midianites.
He does it through Philistines. He does it through Ammonites.
He does it through foreign means to bring chastisement upon upon
his covenant people but what we also find is that God also
uses famine consistent with the curses in Deuteronomy chapter
28, Leviticus chapter 26. So you see the scene. The period
of the judges, there's famine in the land. This is bad. This
isn't good. We're not in for a great story
of how there was revival in Israel at this particular time. No,
we're in for just the opposite. The marker that there is famine
in the land indicates to us these are dark days in terms of covenant
life. There are sparkling lights, to
be sure, in the persons of Ruth and Naomi and Boaz, but this
overall is a time of God's judgment. So in the midst of this, a particular
man says, we're going to move to Moab. Elimelech says, Naomi,
let's go to Moab. Again, this ought to give us
great concern at this particular point. Is Moab the friend of
Israel? Is Moab a good place to go? Does
Moab fear God and honor His commandments? Do they honor His covenant? No,
the existence of Moab comes, or the origin of Moab comes from
incest. Genesis 19. They resist Israel
in the wilderness in Numbers 22 to 24. It is with the daughters
of Moab that the children of Israel play the harlot in Numbers
25. And as well, the Moabites, even
as recent as Aglon, remember the fat king that got a message
from the Lord via Ehud? That man was the king of the
Moabites, and they oppressed the children of Israel. Elimelech
is hungry. He knows his wife is hungry.
And his plan is to go to Moab for food. It's not wrong to go
for food, brethren. It's not wrong to try and get
means and assistance. But it's better to trust in the
Lord. It's better to stay among the covenant people. It's better
to stay with those who name the name of Jesus Christ. And I think,
as we trace through the narrative, God certainly does frown upon
this decision. What meets them when they get
to Moab? It's not just food for the day, but it's death, destruction,
and calamity for the family of Elimelech. Notice specifically,
Elimelech dies. And then Naomi's sons marry Moabitesses. I don't know if that's correct,
but two ladies that were Moabites. I guess Moabitesses might be
the correct way to say that. And then what happens? The sons
die. And that brings us to the return
to Judah in verses 6 to 18. Notice God's kindness in verse
6. Notice God's kindness in verse
6. I mean, verses 3 to 5 just tell
us that things are going pretty poorly for Naomi. Her husband
dies. Her sons die. And notice in verse
6, "...she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the
country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab
that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread." Interesting that Bethlehem means
house of bread. This is where Naomi and Elimelech
had left because of the famine. Verse 6 tells us that God has
given the house of bread bread again. There is no indication
in this section that there was any sort of national repentance.
There is no indication in the book of Judges that there was
ever national repentance. Remember, as we pointed out several
times in our studies in the book of Judges, when the people cried
out, it was not in repentance. It was not, please forgive us,
Lord. Please cleanse us, Lord. Please
restore us to your favor, Lord. No, they cried out because of
the distress. They cried out because of the
pain. You perhaps, as parents, may have seen this sometime in
your children. You know that they've done something
wrong, and then you discipline them accordingly, and then they're
all teary-eyed. Is it always the case they're
teary-eyed? I hope it is, because they're
repentant, and they're broken, and they're humbled, and they
have treated you ill, and they want to restore fellowship? Or
is it that the tears are in their eyes because their bottoms are
sore? You see, there's a big difference, isn't there? And
in the book of Judges, the people cry out, but not in repentance.
They cry out because it hurts. What is absolutely amazing in
the book of Judges, and then again here in Ruth 1.6, is that
God feels for His people. Now, I'm not predicating this
properly of God. God is unchangeable and unchanging. But the Scripture reveals things
to us concerning our God, so that we might understand and
we might relate. says in Judges, he grieved, he
sorrowed, he saw, or he had pity for the children of Israel. It's
as if he could not bear with their suffering. And so God restores
bread to Judah. Look at this. Again, you may
not appreciate this right now because your life isn't marked
by death, destruction, calamity, and suffering. But in the midst
of those particular things, doesn't our God do these sorts of things? But there's bread in Judah. The
favor of God is back upon your homeland. The Lord has not stopped
being merciful. The Lord has not stopped being
kind. You see, brethren, as Christians,
we need to be making sure that we're interpreting providence
correctly. We see all the ins and the outs. Naomi is a classic example. By the time we get to end of
chapter one, she understands sovereignty in the bleak. She
understands sovereignty in the difficult. She understands sovereignty
when she says, don't call me Naomi, which is pleasantness,
but rather call me Mara, which is bitterness, for the Lord has
dealt severely with me. That's true. But at the end of
chapter 1, she doesn't praise Yahweh for the bread that's in
Judah. She doesn't praise Yahweh for
the gift that is Ruth. She doesn't praise Yahweh for
the good things in the midst of the hardship. You know, that's
our tendency, brothers and sisters. In the midst of death, destruction,
calamity, and hardship, we forget what Cooper reminds us. Behind
a frowning providence, God hides a smiling face. We need to sing
with Henry J. White, change and decay, all
around I see. O thou who changes not, abide
with me. See, it's easy for us to interpret
calamity and just assume that God's left, God's departed, God
is no longer Lord over Israel. It's not true. God is always
Lord over Israel. God is always Lord over His Church. God is always with His people.
God is covenanted to do us good and to not turn back from that.
Chastening comes, difficulty comes, trials come, hardships
come. Why? Because God is working out
His purpose to conform us more and more unto the image of the
Lord Jesus. And we might say, I don't know how this particular
thing is working to that particular end, Lord God, but I'm going
to trust that You do. I'm going to submit to your rule
and your reign and your headship and rulership because I know
that you are altogether wise. I know that you are good. I know
that you are infinite. And I know that you are most
loving to a most unloving man like myself. God is good in the
midst of calamity and death and destruction and problems and
trials. She heard there was bread in Bethlehem. Notice, she invokes
the blessing of God upon these girls. She doesn't want them
to return with her. Therefore she went out from the
place where she was, verse 7, and her two daughters-in-law
with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of
Judah. Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with
you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant
that you may find rest each in the house of her husband." It's
a good thing. Naomi says, go back home. Naomi
cannot provide husbands for these two young women. A husbandless
young woman in this society did not have the opportunity to go
enroll in the local community college. She did not have the
opportunity to secure some sort of government loan and open a
bakery. A woman in this particular society
needed the protection of men. Again, we hate that, we don't
like that, because at the core we have rejected some of God's
holy word with reference to the way God sees things and the way
God's ordained things. But this is the case in Ruth's
days. Naomi says, I want you to go. I want you to marry. I want you
to engage in these activities. Daniel Bloch said, the death
of a husband meant the loss of one's economic support base and
the severing of connections to the kinship structures. Now before
I find out tonight somebody blogged that I'm a male chauvinist pig,
let me just qualify telling you what is the case in the days
of the judges. That's no commentary on what
I think you ought to do as a young woman in terms of fulfillment
and enrichment and happiness in your life. If you ask my advice,
I'd be happy to give it to you, but just realize I'm making the
point that what we find in the period of the judges, when a
woman's husband died, economic hardship was a reality. That's all there is to it. I
hope you don't blog about me that I'm a male chauvinist pig.
My wife might say that I'm not. Check with her. The death of
a husband meant the loss of one's economic support base and the
severing of connections to the kinship structures. Widowhood
often meant inevitable alienation and destitution. Naomi knows
that if she leaves, no links between her daughters-in-law
and their former husbands will remain. Therefore, they are advised
to return to their homes and find new husbands. She pleads
with them. She provides argument to them. She tells them essentially, I
am unable to have more children. She says she is too old to remarry. But if such were the case, and
I got remarried, and I got pregnant, would you wait for the time that
these young men were husband material? It's a valid argument. Naomi has got the weight of wisdom
on her side. She is trying to send these two
daughters-in-law back to their home country. And as we move
through the narrative, what happens? Orpah bails. Orpah leaves. She goes back to Moab. She goes
back to her god, Chemosh. And not Ruth. Remember in our studies in Matthew
16, Take up your cross and follow me. Remember that Christ is more
valuable than this world. Christ is more valuable than
your own family. Christ is more valuable than
your own life. Who knew this as well as Ruth
did? Sometimes young people today
say, well, you know about the gospel. If I come to Jesus, look
what I'm giving up. It's never giving up to come
to Jesus. It's always getting. It's always
profiting. It's always prospering. And not
with big-haired wives and big houses and big cars, but with
the forgiveness of sins and a righteousness that avails with God. But you
ask Ruth, would she give up family, home, security, everything? We have a whole soul renunciation
of the God Chemosh, the people of the Moabites, and a whole
soul commitment to the God of heaven and earth in Ruth's confession. It truly is amazing. Notice verse
14, they lifted up their voices and wept again, and Orpah kissed
her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Best thing that ever
happened to Naomi, right there. Ruth clung to her. And she said, look, your sister-in-law
has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your
sister-in-law. We'll look at her confession
in just a moment, but when we look at the end, verse 18, it
shouldn't surprise us. When she saw that she was determined
to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. After Ruth makes this
confession, Naomi no longer tries to persuade her otherwise. After
Ruth makes this confession of faith, Naomi no longer tries
to persuade her otherwise, because she couldn't. You see, when someone
gets a view of the gospel, when someone understands true religion,
when someone understands something of the mercy of Yahweh, When
someone understands the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, what
Ruth says becomes what they say. You may not put it in such a
poetic manner, you may not phrase it in such a poetic arrangement,
you may not give it with such a beautiful melody, but if you're
in Christ, this is your confession too. And if you're not in Christ,
you need to understand that Christ is worth this confession. Notice what we find when Ruth
said in verse 16. First she expresses love for
Naomi. This is beautiful. She loves
Naomi. What's the gospel teach men?
It teaches them about love to God and love to men. Because
outside of the gospel we hate God and we hate men. I'm not
saying the gospel is the law, but once by the grace of God
we've come savingly to the Lord Jesus Christ, what does Jesus
do? He justifies us freely by His
grace and then He points us to those two great commandments
on how we ought to then live. Love God and love your fellow
man. Is that it? Is that what Naomi
expresses? Notice what she says, "...and
treat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after
you. For wherever you go, I will go,
and wherever you lodge, I will lodge." Sometimes this particular
section of scripture is used at weddings. I mean, it's not
as if Naomi and Ruth are getting married. That's not the context. That's not the content or the
situation. But you can see why some would
invoke such things in a wedding ceremony. Don't you want a spouse
that you can actually say this to? Don't you want a spouse that
you can actually have say this to you? You young people, you're
getting to that age where the opposite sex looks attractive,
and well it should. You're getting to the age where
you're starting to think about marriage, and about love, and
about happiness, and about having children. A little black there
for a moment. That's good. You should be thinking
that. You should be thinking about
a woman. or a man who's going to say what
Naomi says, or say what Ruth says to Naomi. I'm committed to you because
you're committed to God. I'm committed to you because
you love Jesus. I'm committed to you because
you're in Christ, not having a righteousness of your own which
is from the law, but you have a righteousness which is from
Him through faith in the Son of God. There is a love expressed
from Ruth to Naomi that is truly beautiful, and it finds its tap
roots in saving religion. Notice, secondly, the identification
with the nation of Israel. Do you think it was easy for
Ruth, a Moabitess, to come to Israel? I neglected to mention as well,
Deuteronomy 23, Moabites were excluded from the assembly of
the Lord. There's everything in Ruth to not want to go to
Israel. There's everything in Ruth not
to want to go to an enemy country. There's everything in Ruth to
want to stay at home where she has the security and stability
of Moabites and Kimosh and family and friends and security and
all those sorts of things. There's everything in her to
want to avoid Israel. But what does she say concerning
the nation? Your people shall be my people. I want to identify with the people
of the Lord God Almighty. I want to be in the church. I
want to be among those who confess saving faith in the Lord of glory.
I want to sing hymns of praise on the Lord's Day. I want to
hear gospel preaching on the Lord's Day. I want to eat the
supper on the Lord's Day. I want to witness brethren get
baptized on the Lord's Day. I want to encourage brethren
throughout the week. I want to identify with the church
of the Lord God Most High. I want to be a part of them.
I want them to be a part of me. I want that covenantal bond that
is so blessed and so wonderful and so joyous. So many can say
in the house of God that they value and prize their spiritual
brethren. Unfortunately, more than physical
brethren at times. She identifies. Note the linchpin,
the central theme. It is allegiance to God Almighty.
And your God, my God. This is everything for Ruth at
this point. It's because of this central
statement that the rest of those things are there. It is because
by God's grace there has been a change in Ruth. By God's grace,
Chemosh no longer looks like an option. By God's grace, all
she wants now is Yahweh of Israel. By God's grace, she is confessing
the saving religion. By God's grace, she's identifying
with the saved people. Notice, there is a commitment
to faithful perseverance to the end. Brethren, when you come
to the Lord Jesus, or those outside of Christ, when you come to the
Lord Jesus, you're not trying Jesus. Well, I'm gonna try Jesus
for a time and we'll see how it works out. If I don't get
abundance of blessing, if I don't get an abundance of good things,
if I don't open up my hands and God fill them with all the things
that I think he should, well then I'll go back to Chemosh,
or I'll go try Molech, or I'll go try whatever it is that they
are offering today on the open market in terms of religion.
You see, when you come to Christ, as Bonhoeffer said, it's a come
and die. It's a come and die. It is Matthew
16. If anyone desires to come after
me, let him take up his cross daily and follow me. That's the
terms. That's what it's about. That's
what it is. Notice what she says, where you
die, I will die. and there will I be buried."
There's commitment there. So much today. People try Jesus. People say, I tried to pray and
nothing happened. I tried to be a good Christian
and nothing happened. I tried to better my life, but
it got worse. Do you see what's fundamentally
flawed about that approach? It's as if Jesus has become a
product for personal betterment. Jesus is not a product for personal
betterment. Jesus Christ is the Son of God
who came down for us men and for our salvation. Not betterment, not happier Mondays,
not happier Fridays, not everyday being like it's a Friday, not
everyday being that we are fully us. but he came to bleed and
to die and to rise again, so that through his death and resurrection
we might have everlasting life." You see, that's what's fundamental
in the Christian gospel. It's not about men being happy,
it's about men being saved. That's what Ruth understood. And then notice, she ratifies
this by an oath. She ratifies this by an oath.
We do something similar. We do something similar. Any
person that has stepped behind that glass and gone down into
that water is saying the same as Ruth says at the end. The
Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you
and me. She ratifies her commitment to
God. She ratifies her commitment to
Israel. She ratifies her commitment to
Naomi with an oath. And it's an oath that is malevolent
in nature. If God, or if I, renege, then
may God do so to me." That is essentially what baptism is.
Baptism is a public oath wherein the party baptized confesses
saving faith in the Lord of Glory, and they promise to walk in newness
of life. If you haven't grappled with
that aspect of baptism and you want to be baptized, may I suggest
you turn that over in your head. It's not just some ceremony. It's not just some cool rite.
It's not just so that we can, you know, legitimize having a
tank that we put water in occasionally. It is a public affirmation that
we are identifying publicly with the Lord God Most High, Father,
Son, and Spirit. And we are giving up unto Him. to walk in newness of life. You
see, Ruth, in many ways, is a prototypical confessor. Now notice, toward
the end of the chapter, they return to Bethlehem. I mean, that right there ought
to just be suggestive to us in terms of incarnational themes.
Good things happen in biblical Bethlehem, don't they? Really
good things happen in biblical Bethlehem. It's from a cradle in Bethlehem
that Israel got her two best kings, David and then Jesus. Salvation, at least on the human
front, originates in a cradle in Bethlehem. It's beautiful.
Notice, they go back home. The two of them went until they
came to Bethlehem and it happened when they had come to Bethlehem
that all the city was excited because of them and the women
said, is this Naomi? Now this is an indicator that
probably Elimelech and Naomi were persons of means. Elimelech
and Naomi was probably a prestigious family. They'd been gone ten
years at least. I gotta say, if I left Chilliwack and came
back in 10 years later, there might be a couple of you guys
that, you know, rubbed your eyes and, who are you again? But I
doubt there's going to be a greeting at the city gate. This is what she got, which indicates
something very intriguing. Elimelech and Naomi had plenty. As soon as the famine hit, they
run. The rest of Bethlehem is still there. These people that
knew them previously are still there. Maybe the author is underscoring
what I said earlier. Stay with the covenant people.
Stay with the flock. Stay with the people of God.
Don't go to Moab. It's not the case that if you
go to Moab your husband's always going to die or your two sons
are always going to die. I'm not saying that. But certainly
in chapter 1 we see that God did in fact deal bitterly with
Naomi. And this is how she responds.
Verse 20, she said to them, in fact, some of the commentators
say it this way, is this Naomi? Because you see 10 years of difficult
providence, 10 years living away from the people of God, 10 years
living outside the pale of redemptive religion, probably does not age
one well. Some suggest that because Olimelech
and Naomi were persons of means, when she left the city, she probably
looked a whole lot better than she did now. Now, I know time
is a natural ager, but so is the way of the transgressor.
So is the way of those who ought not to be with the people of
God. There's an agedness that has
come to her such that the people say, is this Naomi? Is this the one who went out
from us in strength and in vigor and in good looks? What's happened
to her? She's right there to tell them
what has happened. Verse 20, she said to them, do
not call me Naomi, do not call me Pleasant, but call me Mara,
for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out
full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. I went out
full, not of food, but with a husband and two sons. And now the Lord
has brought me back and I'm empty. I've come to the house of Bethlehem.
I've come to the house of bread. Physically I'm going to be looked
after. I trust that. But I'm an empty woman. I buried
my husband. I buried my sons. Do you see,
in all of this, nothing to God about this gem that is Ruth. Brethren, count your blessings
and praise God for them. You know, there's some that suffer
the scourge of God and they're good at understanding the sovereignty
of affliction. They're good at seeing the heavy
hand of Yahweh that has come upon them for their sins or their
transgressions or in His providence to conform them unto the image
of Christ. But they're not always good at seeing the silver lining. You've got Ruth on your side. I mean, at least up to this point,
we could say Ruth's a gem, isn't she? Ruth is, to use my brother's
terminology, a champ. She's one you want to cling to
you. She's one you want to be your
friend. Don't call me Naomi, call me
Mara, but there has been a very pleasant gift by God in Ruth. Brethren, look for those blessings. See and appreciate those blessings. Give God glory for those blessings. I mean, all these things could
have still been true with Naomi, with no Ruth. Ruth ultimately will prove to
be the pathway to great blessing for not only Ruth, but Naomi
also. And it's not the path to great
blessing like they're formulaic. The story falls out according
to God's providential plan to put everything into place so
that David would be born and beyond him Jesus would be born.
That's the point of all of this stuff. The end of verse 22 sets
the stage for chapter 2. What happens? They come to Bethlehem
at the beginning of barley harvest. Wow, that's lucky, huh? No, it's
not lucky. God governs all his creatures
and all their actions. God is in sovereign control of
every event. God brings Ruth and Naomi to
this place at the beginning of barley harvest, not because luck
happens, but because God in providence is bringing Ruth to Boaz, so
that Boaz will eventually marry Ruth, and so that Boaz and Ruth
will have Obed, and so that Obed will have Jesse, and so that
Jesse will have David, and that David will have Jesus. Notice
how the text continues as we move from famine to feast. The
initiative of Ruth, verses 1 to 3. There was a relative of Naomi's
husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Alemelech. His
name was Boaz. Again, this isn't luck! He's
of great wealth, he happens to be a close relative, the Hebrew
word is a goel, a kinsman redeemer. God orchestrated every step. God orchestrated every detail. God put it all together. This
is the framework by which or through which the eternal decree
is executed in history. Its ultimate purpose is the fullness
of the time, that God would send forth His Son, born of a woman,
born under the law, to redeem those under the law. I don't
know if you're like me, but to see the big picture, to see the
macro workings of God, to see that it's huge and it's massive
and it's glorious, ought to promote praise and worship and adoration. You mean that even back in the
days when the judges ruled, God had in his mind to save us from
our sins? Yes. You mean even in the days
of famine in Bethlehem, Ephrathah, God had it in His mind to save
me from my wickedness? Yes. You see, that's what the
Bible's about. God getting glory and the salvation
of us through His Son, the Lord Jesus. Notice, she has a plan
to go glean. You'll notice we're going to
move more rapidly through chapter 2. She has a plan to glean. This is the law of God, right?
The law of God specifies gleaning law. In other words, when the
reapers or the harvesters go to the land, they're not greedy,
you know, horrible guys that take everything. No, there's
some that drops to the ground and the gleaners come along and
they get some food for their bellies. But notice what it says
in verse 3. Verse three is an interesting
turn of phrase as we come to our study. Then she left and
went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened
to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of
the family of Elimelech. She happened to come. Sounds
like luck, doesn't it? Sounds like fortune. Sounds like
she had a lucky day. That's not what's going on. The
Israelites did not believe in chance events. I doubt on a Sabbath
day they'd have a pot luck. They'd have a pot providence,
but they wouldn't have a pot luck. The lot is cast into the
lap, but it's every decision is from Yahweh. There's no luck. This could be a view on how Ruth
would have seen things. But probably more likely, it
is the author's way of drawing attention to the sovereign providence
of God. He is writing to people who do
not believe in love. He is writing to people who've
already heard that Naomi was in Moab. She heard there's bread
in Judah. She comes back to Bethlehem.
She is welcomed there by her peers. And now there is this
man called Boaz who happens to be a close relative. And it just
so happens to be the case that Ruth goes out and finds this
field. The author in his choice of language is underscoring not
Locke, but the absolute sovereignty and supremacy of God. Locke says
it this way. This is better interpreted, however,
as a deliberate rhetorical device on the part of the narrator.
By excessively attributing Ruth's good fortune to chance, he forces
the reader to sit up and take notice, to ask questions concerning
the significance of everything that is transpiring. Hopefully
you do that. Wait a minute! What do you mean,
it just happened? Did it just happen that she married
into Naomi's family? Did it just happen that her husband
died? Did it just happen that she confessed to saving faith
in Yahweh? Does it just happen that they make the trek back
from Moab to Bethlehem? Does it just happen that she
has this idea to go out and glean? Does it just happen that when
she does go out to glean, she meets the man who's already been
identified as a very wealthy man that happens to be a go-well
to Naomi? This stuff doesn't just happen,
brethren. This is the eternal purpose and
plan of God being executed through His providence in history. You
see, what's gone into saving your soul a lot? When Jehoshaphat
takes Joash and puts him in that room and teaches him his ABGs,
that is for us men and for our salvation. Hebrew, ABGs. Allah Davis. God's at work. God is orchestrating. God is executing. God is doing. God is glorious. God is wondrous. Block goes on to say the statement
is ironical. Its purpose is to undermine purely
rational explanations for human experiences and to refine the
reader's understanding of providence. In reality, he is screaming,
see the hand of God at work here. The same hand that had sent the
famine and later provided food is the hand that had brought
Naomi and Ruth to Bethlehem precisely at the beginning of the harvest
and has now guided Ruth to that portion of the field belonging
specifically to Boaz. You see? God's in the details. God's in the parts. God's in
the pieces. God is in all of it. I hope this
is a place you want to hang your soul. Hope this is a place that
steals you for the difficulties of this world. I hope this is
a place that you find great solace under the arms of a blessed and
merciful God. It's interesting that Boaz uses
that biblical description of coming under the wing of Yahweh. This is what Ruth will say to
him in chapter 3, cover me with your wing. It's interesting that in chapter
2 we find that the wing of Yahweh does not only provide comfort
to Israelites, but to despised Moabites as well. God's looking
out for Ruth. St. Locke, St. Happenstance,
wow, I can't believe these things have just fallen into place for
you. God is at work. God is maneuvering. God is moving. God is orchestrating, because
in His eternal purpose, it pleased Him to set His affection upon
His people. And the way that He would redeem
His people is through the Son of God, the Lord Jesus. And that
Lord Jesus would come in the fullness of the time. Just to
kind of fly through this a bit quicker here, Boaz and the Reapers.
Boaz asks who this woman is. The Reaper tells, And then notice
the display of kindness from Boaz to Ruth in verses eight
to nine. Exclusive gleaning in his field
alone, attachment to his young woman, it's interesting, an assurance
of no sexual harassment. You think sexual harassment laws
arose in the 20th or 21st century? No, Boaz ran a tight shop. Boaz says, I'm not gonna touch
you. They touch you, they'll have to deal with me. And you
know what's really intriguing? He says, and you can freely drink
the water. Now, again, we are so used to
going into the kitchen and, you know, flipping the tap. Who drew
for who in that situation? Women drew for men. And foreigners
drew for Israelites. So for Boaz to say to her, and
when you are thirsty go to the vessels and drink from what the
young men have drawn. He is showing immense amount
of kindness to this particular young woman. She's blown away. She can't believe it. She's amazed
at this kindness. She's amazed at this goodness.
Again, I think in here we ought to appreciate something. That Boaz is a Goel. Boaz is
a kinsman redeemer. Boaz is functioning typically
for the one that will ultimately come from his line. There is
just grace after grace and mercy after mercy with Boaz. There
is nothing ill of Boaz in this entire book. He is certainly
a typical picture of the grandson far removed that would come from
his line. He just blesses and blesses and
blesses and blesses to the point where she's just blown away.
Is that our experience with Christ? He just blesses and he blesses
and he blesses till we're blown away. So why are you doing this? Why have you taken me under the
shadow of your wing? Why have you redeemed me in your
blood? Why have you washed me and purified me? Why have you
made me to sit at your marriage supper? Why have you done all
this? It's grace. It's grace. Grace. Verse 12, the Lord repay
your work and the full reward be given you by the Lord God
of Israel under whose wings you have come for refuge. And she
said, let me find favor in your sight, my Lord, for you have
comforted me and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though
I am not like one of your maidservants." Not like one of them! She's a
Moabitess! She's a Gentile. She's outside
the covenant community. She knows the distinction. She
knows the difference. She knows the score and she knows
the time. Look at what Boaz does. Again,
think with me of the greater than Boaz. Isn't this what our
Boaz, our kinsman-redeemer, our blessed Goel, our Lord Jesus
does? Boaz said to her at mealtime,
come here, eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the
vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers and he passed parched
rain to her and she ate and was satisfied and kept some back.
This is a woman who has lower status than any of the reapers
present. This is a woman who is a foreigner.
This is a woman who is an outsider. This is a woman who is a covenant-breaking,
despised wretch. And what does Boaz do? He says,
come to my table. Dip your bread in the vinegar.
Let me pass it to you. Again, we ought to see in this
someone greater than Boaz. Isn't this what our Christ does?
He calls us to dip the bread. He calls us to enjoy the salvation. He calls us to rejoice in His
goodness and His kindness. We're feeling a bit awkward and
a bit out of place sitting at the table with a Paul or an Abraham
or an Isaac or a Jacob. We're sitting at the marriage
supper of the Lamb and yonder we see Spurgeon and we see Whitefield
and we see Calvin and we see Luther and we're saying, I'm
not even supposed to be at this table. You're supposed to be
at this table because the kinsman redeemer shed his blood for you
like he did for them. Take your bread and dip it in
the vinegar and enjoy. That's our Christ. That's our
Jesus. That's what the book of Ruth
is about. So I've already said, he is a
Goel. He is a kinsman redeemer. Ruth
goes back, she reports everything that's happened to Naomi. Naomi
says, this is good news. You see, chapter 2 satisfies
the immediate need. Naomi and Ruth needed food. Chapter 3 begins with the initiative,
not of Ruth this time, but with the initiative of Naomi. Because
she says to go to that Goel, cast yourself upon his mercy,
and if he marries you, if he takes you under the shadow of
his wing, therein lies security, therein lies blessing. So the
immediate need, chapter 2, sets the stage for the long-term need,
chapter 3, which sets the stage for the focus of the book, chapter
4, the babies that would be born to this happy couple. Brethren,
it's a glorious statement concerning the providence, the sovereignty,
the power of God Most High. In conclusion, first, if you
have not made Ruth's confession of faith, may I invite you today
to come to the Lord Jesus. Come to Christ. Believe on Him. He is altogether lovely and chief
among 10,000. He is worth taking up your cross
daily and following. He is that one that is worthy. He alone. Confess with Ruth allegiance
to God Almighty through the Lord Jesus. By God's grace, commit
to faithful perseverance to the end. This might be an encouragement
to some who are disciples here. Some who have believed the gospel.
Some who, by grace, have tasted and seen that He is good. Brethren,
you need to make sure that you're walking consistent with that
confession. You need to make sure that commitment
is a reality in your life, not for salvation, but because you've
been saved. We all grow lazy. We all grow
weary. We all get battle wear. We all get weighed down. We get
tried. We have difficulties. We have
perplexities. We have frowning providences.
We have issues. We have people that are against
us. And it's easy to slack off. It's easy to hit the snooze button
or to do whatever it is that keeps you from your God. Brethren,
we're in this for the long haul. One of the things that most impresses
me about this book of Ruth is God working through the ordinary. What's more ordinary than people
who want food so they move to a different city? What's more
ordinary in a sin-cursed world than a woman burying her husband
and two sons? What's more ordinary than people
going back to their home city and hoping that they'll be able
to eat and eke out a life? What's more ordinary than a woman
and a man meeting each other? What's more ordinary than a man
marrying a woman? What's more ordinary than the
conjugal relationship between married persons? What's more
ordinary? Well, even that is extraordinary
in this book of Ruth. How long was she and Moab married?
Ten years. No baby. Soon as she marries
Boaz, Obed's on the way. This is the normal, ordinary
place that most of us find ourselves. If you read church history, you'll
read about a man by the name of Martin Luther, a very colorful
figure. You'll read about a man named
John Calvin. You'll read about a man named
Charles Haddon Spurgeon. What you won't read about is
the thousands and thousands of regular, normal, ordinary men
that got up and did what they were supposed to do every day
of their lives. Or you read about a war. You're
interested. You're intrigued by World War
II. You're intrigued by various wars going on. And you read about
the heroes. You don't read about the ordinary,
normal guys. And I think as Bible readers,
sometimes we focus on the miraculous, on the stupendous, on the magnificent. And we forget the ordinary, like
Ruth and Naomi. Boaz. We forget the ordinary
like reaping and gleaning. We forget the ordinary, how blessed
it is to be able to take a piece of bread and dip it in a bowl
of vinegar, having been handed by a manager, an owner of a corporation,
to a lowly, despised woman. You see, this is what we are,
where we're at. And God is as sovereign in the
big things as He is in the little things. So if you have, by God's
grace, believed on the Lord Jesus, and you are sluggish, or you
are lazy, or you are just uninterested, may I call to you to repent. Christ is worth everything. Christ
is altogether lovely. Christ is chief among 10,000.
And there is mercy to be had in this God. We see mercy visiting
his people by giving them bread. Again, not one wit, not one mention
of repentance. God is merciful in giving Ruth
to Naomi. You ever just stop and think
about the people that are in your lives and say, you know,
this is one choice servant of Christ. This husband of mine
or this woman of mine, yeah, they may not be out there doing
the greatest things that this world would applause. They bear
with me day in and day out. What a mercy from my God. Are
you kids, do you ever thank God that in His mercy, the Christian
parents, your parents who actually care about you, beyond making
sure you eat and drink and have shelter and clothing, though
that is a blessing. You've got parents that want
to bring you to Jesus. You've got parents that want
you in Christ. You've got parents who actually
care enough to open the Bible or to grab you, not hopefully
harmfully, by the arm on a Sunday morning and trot you off to church
with the hope and the prayer that the Spirit of God will fall
upon you and you'll come to the Savior King. Do you thank God
for those mercies? Do you thank God for the mercies
that He puts in your life daily? The psalmist said He loads us
daily with benefits. Get this picture of a donkey
in a cart and they just put all this stuff right on this cart.
The donkey can hardly move because he's so loaded down. It's the
language of the psalmist considering God. We're the donkeys in that
illustration. The carts are loaded with benefits.
Do we thank Him? Do we praise Him? Do we see His
mercy in these things? The mercy of God is seen in providing
Boaz to Ruth. What a mercy! What a blessing! What a glorious testimony to
our God. The mercy of God is seen to both
Jews and Gentiles. I alluded earlier to a statement. I want to give credit to Daniel
Block. He is the one that wrote, the wings of God are not only
comforting to Israelites, they offer protection even for despised
Moabites. And that brings us finally to
conclude with the purpose of the Book of Ruth. I personally,
in my study of this particular book, cannot find anyone who
has said it better than John Gill, so I won't even attempt
to. I'll just simply read what he
says is the principal design of the Book of Ruth. Please listen.
We'll close after this, and then I'll pray. The principle design
of it, the book of Ruth, is to give the genealogy of David,
whom Samuel had anointed to be king of Israel, and from whom
the Messiah was to come, and who therefore may be said to
be the aim and scope of it, as he is all of Scripture. and whereby
it appears that he sprung from both Jews and Gentiles, and is
the savior of both, and there is a good foundation for both
to hope in him. And the call and conversion of
Ruth the Moabitess may be considered as a shadow, emblem, and pledge
of the conversion of the Gentiles. Amen.
