The book of Ruth begins with a famine and ends with a baby in order to demonstrate how God reorders what was disorderly in the lives of ordinary people. Their trials and tears and trauma turn out for the good of all mankind. The worst things happened, but the best things were happening behind the scenes in the plan of God. This beautiful story illustrates how God preserves His people through dark times, tragic situations, apostasy, and rebellion through a “Kinsman Redeemer”. 

Ruth is thought to be one of the most beautiful pieces of literature ever written and it's easy to praise. It's a remarkable story. It's such a compelling storyline of trouble, defeat, hardship, and God turning it all around. It's the picture of the Gospel, really. So let's pray.

Father, I thank you for giving us this book so that we might learn more about the greatness of your loving kindness. Lord, I praise you for the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, for your love as such a kind father, and for the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord, for giving us visions of this through this book. Amen. The book of Ruth begins with a famine and it ends with a baby.

And that should give you an idea of the beauty of the transition that you find taking place in the lives of these people in this story. It begins with the famine and ends with a baby and the baby is a picture of the greatest hope of the world. This is a story of how God takes what is disorderly in the lives of ordinary people and He brings His own order to it. The trials, the tears, the trauma, the disappointments, the deprivations, the hard edge of reversal and trial are in this book. The worst things happened.

But, at the same time, the best things were happening in the backdrop. And that's the truth that you need to understand about life. While on the surface of life, there's all this turbulence and there's all this trauma and disappointment. There's a stream running underneath that storyline that's troublesome. That is the stream of the story of God.

You know, while the worst things are happening, you know, on the top above ground. God has something else happening in His own plan and you can count on that for your life. You see the things that are going on in the outside, recognize there is something greater, something deeper, something absolutely wonderful that God is working underground and you can't see it. And that's exactly what we find here. So let's talk about the author of this book.

We don't know who the author is particularly. According to the Talmud, Samuel is the author, so we don't know really. My guess it probably was Samuel who wrote this, and it makes sense because that Ruth was originally included in the book of Judges. I think it was the fifth century where Ruth was split out but she shouldn't be split out really because historically the story really happens in the time of the judges. So it makes sense that her story would be included in the judges.

Time frame, 1060 to 1100 BC, during the end of the period of the judges. Remember the period of Judges was a time of apostasy, where every man did what was right in his own eyes. In contrast to this, Ruth is faithful to God. You have these judges that God appoints, that return the people back to God. Here's a story of a woman who is living her life according to the Word of God.

She seems to be submissive to God. She seems to trust God. She seems to have this sense that even in the midst of the struggles and the trials going on on top of the ground. There's something greater that's taking place and she believes she can trust God. Now I'm gonna give you several situations.

First of all, there's a famine in Bethlehem. And as a result of that famine, the limelack departs and goes to Moab. Interestingly enough, you have a famine in the city of bread. Bethlehem means bread. The second thing you have here is the picture of Levirate marriage where a brother must marry the widow of his brother who dies but the son must bear the name of that brother to keep the line alive and so this picture of levered marriage is the central matter in the storyline also gleaning You have an example of the way that God used to take care of people who found themselves in hard times and that is that rather than putting him on welfare, he asked the people to set aside part of their crops for gleaning.

So instead of just giving a handout to a person that you don't know, that person has access to your field. And it's a little bit tougher to glean because the best crops have already been picked off. So you have to be actually motivated to go in and glean, but you still get fed. So the way of taking care of the poor in terms of the way that God thinks about it. It requires them to work.

Today's welfare system doesn't require anybody to work, and that's why it's so corrupt. Moses talked about perverting justice to the poor, and this is one way that you pervert justice to the poor. You don't call the poor to work. God says if a man doesn't work don't let him eat. So you see this whole picture of gleaning taking place here that really it's a living picture of how God is designed to take care of the poor.

You also find the whole idea of the Kinsman Redeemer, which you can read about in Leviticus 25 verses 47 through 49. And Boaz is the Kinsman Redeemer. Boaz is a picture of Christ. Boaz is a picture of the person who comes and he makes a purchase in order to redeem you and to bring you into his family. So Boaz is an illustration of how Jesus Christ saves his people.

He comes and he buys you off the slave block. Now Ruth wasn't bought off a slave block, but she was actually purchased with his money. So you had the idea of the kinsman redeemer. The fifth thing you see here in the story is the plight of widows. In all times in history, widows have particular troubles.

It matters when a widow is born. You know, widows have a particular way that God desires them to be treated, But here you have a picture of the plight of widows. At number six, and I think this is one of the most interesting things about the story, you have a Gentile woman being brought into the church. You know, a Moabite of all people. You know, she's a descendant of this terrible thing that happened in the cave with Lot.

These people departed from God. They were finally destroyed. But here, they haven't been destroyed yet. And a Gentile woman is brought into the church. But even more than that, seventh, the genealogy of Jesus is added to here.

A baby born to a Gentile is now in the line of David. This is the mercy of God. Do you remember when we were talking about in the book of Isaiah where God divorces Israel but he doesn't divorce Judah? Even though Judah's sins are actually worse than Israel's, God doesn't divorce Judah. Even though her sins are more despicable.

He divorces Israel. It's an illustration of how much grace there is in salvation. Salvation is by grace. Salvation isn't because you're good. Salvation isn't because you did a little bit better than the person sitting next to you or the nation sitting next to you.

You know God doesn't save Judah because she's better. He saves Judah by grace, by electing mercy. And that's what you see in this picture here. So the storyline, we're to read the whole book of Ruth, and it won't take very long because there are only four chapters. The book starts in Bethlehem, and then the scene changes to Moab and then back to Bethlehem.

You can see, when you read it, you'll see Bethlehem, Moab, Bethlehem. You know, everything goes back to Bethlehem. There's this famine that causes Elimelech to depart from Israel and go to Moab. And then while in Moab, Elimelech dies and he leaves his wife, Naomi, with two sons. And these two sons marry two Moabite women, Oprah and Ruth.

And in God's Providence, both of these sons die, leaving the two women widows. And Oprah goes back to live with her parents and Ruth stays with Naomi and the two of them go back to Bethlehem. And then while in Bethlehem, this widow Ruth marries Boaz, a well-known, a wealthy man, a godly man, marries her, and then she bears a son whose name is Obed, who is the grandfather of David. So that's the story. It's so, it's amazing.

It really is a picture of God's grace to rescue someone out of a Moabite land and bring them into Bethlehem, into the house of bread. So there's so many issues that are great. Okay, characters. There's Ruth. Her There's Ruth.

Her name means friend or friendship or lovely friend. Naomi, her name means pleasant. She later calls herself Mara, which means bitter. You have Boaz, his name means powerful and strong. You have the sons who die.

Melon, his name means sick. And Chilion means pining, you know, pining away. Orpah means stubbornness or back of the neck she turned her back on Naomi and Elimelech means my god is king. Now why did I bring that out? Every person's name in this book tells the story of their life.

Names matter. And here, every single name is a prophecy of their character, their demeanor, and really their final status before God. So the main message here, if you look in item number seven, the main message is that God preserves his people through dark times, tragic situations, apostasy, and rebellion. It's a story of the sovereign hand of God to rescue those who are in trouble. God is so kind.

Every person he rescues is in desperate trouble. Everyone he rescues does not deserve being rescued at all. Everyone who's been rescued has a background and as a result of that it's so appropriate to hope in God and trust in God because God takes the most unlikely, the most ordinary, the most tragic lives and he brings them into his kingdom. Here's the point, never write anybody off. And don't write yourself off either.

You know, maybe you've been hard, maybe you've messed up your life, But you can't even write yourself off because of God's mercy. Some key verses in here. I'm just going to cite these verses because we're going to go back and read the whole story about Ruth 1, 16, and 17. Those famous words, wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge I will lodge your people will be my people and your God my God it's a statement of faithfulness The second key set of verses is Ruth 2 11 and 12 and then thirdly Ruth 3 9 And I'll just read some of the words here. These are the words of Ruth De Boas.

I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative. Then he said, blessed are you of the Lord my daughter, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, and that you did not go after the young men, whether poor or rich." And then Ruth 4, 13 through 21, where Boaz takes Ruth to be his wife. And there's, this is the end of the story. This is really sort of the climax of everything that's taken place.

Okay, so let's look at the book. We're going to read the book of Ruth now. Chapter 1 is about loyalty through tragedy and anguish. The very worst things imaginable happen to these women in chapter 1 so there's a famine in the land a limelike has died and He's left with two sons. They take wives in Moab the two sons die Orpah and Ruth are now left bereft of husbands And so you see the tragedy in verses 1 through 5.

Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land and a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Malon, Chilean, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. Now they took wives of the women of Moab.

The name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other was Ruth and they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Malon and Chilion also died. So the woman survived her two sons and her husband." So after ten years in Moab, the worst thing happens. You think about that family. They moved to Moab.

You know, you might, some of you have moved from different places. And you never know what's going to happen when you move somewhere. And what happened to them is that after 10 years it was like the thunder clapped and everybody was laid on the ground and You just never know what's going to happen whenever you move somewhere and Sometimes you think you know, can it get worse? Will it ever change? Well, here's the truth.

Sometimes it does get worse. Sometimes it doesn't change. You know, sometimes the widows don't get remarried. But God is sovereign. God is in control.

He orders all things after the counsel of his will. And then you have in verses 6 or 15 Ruth's opportunity to leave Naomi. So there's this moment of decision where where Ruth can go one way or another. She can go back to Moab or stay in Moab or she can go toward Bethlehem. I think this is figurative of the decision to pursue your idols or to pursue the bread of life.

You either go to the city of bread or you go to the city of idolatry. The primary god of the Moabites was Chemosh. He was an absolutely just corrupt, horrible, abusive God. There she stands at a crossroads. Bread or idolatry?

And so she's faced with this opportunity. Verse 6, then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return to the country of Moab For she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread Now this is physical bread Often the allurement of idolatry is bread. Success. You know, being filled, having your best time now. You know?

Verse 7, therefore she went out from the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each other 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." Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, surely we will return with you to your people.

But Naomi said, turn back my daughters, why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? In other words, she's saying, there's really no hope with me. Don't stay with me. I have nothing.

I have nothing to give you. And then in verse 12, turn back my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, Would you wait for them till they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? Know my daughters, for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me." You know, here is, you know, here is a woman who really has lost hope and she doesn't see much hope for the other widows with her.

Verse 14, then they lifted up their voices and wept again and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law but 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. So this was the moment, the moment of decision. The gods of the Moabites or the bread of life. That's always the choice.

There really are only two choices in this life. There's no middle ground. You're either headed toward idolatry or you're headed toward bread, and that's what we find here. And then here in verses 16 to 18 we find the documentation of Ruth's decision to stay with Naomi. But Ruth said, entreat 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. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die And there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also if anything but death parts you and me." When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. Now, here is language that is repeated in many different contexts.

You recognize these words very often in wedding vows. Have you ever heard a wedding where these kinds of vows are taken? Where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your God will be my God.

Have you ever heard this in a wedding like that? Well This language is the language of marriage. It's the language of desiring to be married to God. It's the desire to eat the bread of life. Our relationship with God is like a marriage in that we come like Ruth with nothing and we're purchased.

And that's why in a marriage you read these kinds of words. But if anything but death parts you and me. You know, how many times have you heard, till death do us part. That's the language of marriage, and it's the language of faith. The true Christian says till death do us part.

The true Christian looks out in the future and says, where else would I go? Who else has the bread of life? You know, I had this, I had this thought many times after I became a Christian, you know, where else would I go? I saw the various allurements that were dangled before me over the years. Every single time I looked at those and I thought, where else would I go?

Is there anyone better than Jesus? Is there more love anywhere else? Is there more wisdom anywhere else? No, there isn't. Where else would I go?

And the reason was this is really born witness by these words, if anything but death parts you and me. Till death do us part. I would rather have Jesus than anything. He's been so good to me. I could never turn from Him.

So after this decision, then you find Ruth starting to care for Naomi. Now look at verse 19 in chapter 1. From verse 19 to the end of the chapter there, is Ruth's care. Now 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? So it's been over 10 years. And now she's come back to her hometown. She's come back to the City of Bread. And everyone is excited.

But she said to them, do not Call me Naomi. Call me Mara. In other words, bitterness. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Now, we don't have much insight into Naomi's heart other than just these words.

It seems to me, on the one hand, you'd expect sorrow from someone who'd suffered like this. She seems to me a little bit too bitter, but it's hard to know. The true Christian when he or she faces trials understands the love of God and can see the kindness of God in everything. When you ask people who know the Lord and they're going through a really really hard time, they always tell you about how good God is. They don't tell you about bitterness.

So we don't know much more than what is right, we don't know anything more than what is right here, But for someone to say God has dealt bitterly with me seems to me to be really contrary to what happens in the heart of a Christian before God in times of trial. In verse 21 she says, I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me? Well, she did know one thing for sure, and that is that God is sovereign in all of our sufferings. That if something is taken away from us, then it was the hand of God.

It's right that we should pray a prayer like this. God, I praise you for what you have withheld from me. I praise you for what you have taken from me. Those are the two things that we're concerned about and she understands that it was the Lord who had afflicted her. And then verse 22, So Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, with her, who returned from the country of Moab.

Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest." Did you catch that? At the beginning of barley harvest. You know, when I read those words, it's hard to contain myself because you have this timing that the one who's been deprived of bread. Now she arrives right at the time of barley harvest, at the time when the gleaning would be the very best. At the time when the food would be most abundant.

That's the time of arrival. After this very difficult time, they show up in Bethlehem, they have no means of support, they don't have food, they don't have anything, but they arrive at the time of barley harvest in God's providence. So that's chapter one. Chapter two, I'm going to call this the chapter of love, where Boaz notices Ruth. He takes care of her.

Ruth wins Boaz's favor. Her character is exemplary, and Ruth is joined to a man of great wealth. Again, this is a picture of being joined to God the Father, the richest man in the world. You're joined to God, the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the one who can pour out and withhold whenever he desires, and he promises to take his children to the very end. Ruth goes into the field to glean, into the field of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech, and Boaz noticed her.

So let's read this here, verse 1. In the first seven verses is the account of Ruth meeting Boaz. There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. Now Just think about this for a minute.

Everybody's living in Bethlehem. Life is good in the City of Bread. And you have Boaz and his relative, Elimelech, leaves the City of Bread to leave the famine that was going on in Bethlehem to go to Moab. And just think about the family dynamics. You know, why is he going out there?

Well, I can see why he's going out there. There's no food here. But he left. And now 10 years later, his wife comes back. And verse two, so Ruth, the Moabitess said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I might find favor and she said to her go my daughter 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 Alimelech.

Now I'm struck by verse 2 because you have this woman who's suffered enormous reversals but she's very motivated. She's not just going to sit on her hands. She wants to be productive, and she wants to make a new life for herself. So she's in the field of Boaz, who is of the family of Elimelech, in verse 4. Now, Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, the Lord be with you.

And they answered him, the Lord bless you. Now, you get an idea right off the bat what kind of a man this was. He was a man who loved the Lord. And This little interchange is really beautiful. You know, what a fantastic example of an employer and employee relationship.

And he comes in to see his workers and he says, the Lord be with you. And they say, the Lord bless you. He blesses them, they return with a blessing. You know, it's often the case that there is bitterness between employer and employee. But here, you find a completely different picture.

There's love. There's the centrality of God in the whole matter. There's prayer for one another. You have an employer who's praying for his employees and he's saying to them, the Lord be with you. There's nothing more helpful in your life than the Lord being with you.

Nothing. It doesn't matter what you're doing. If the Lord is with you, it doesn't matter what happens to you. And then they return and they say, the Lord bless you. And then verse 5, then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the Reapers, whose young woman is this?

So the servant who was in charge of the Reapers answered and said, it is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. Now in verses 5 and 6 you find the way that young women were viewed in this society and I think it's a way that we ought to be recovering. There was a young woman and she belonged to someone. She belonged somewhere. There was somebody taking care of her.

There was someone who was protecting her and Boaz just assumed that, that there was a protective agent for this young woman and then he is told who it is it is Naomi who has just come back from the country of Moab and then verse 7 and she said please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from mourning until now, though she rested a little in the house." So that's the report that he receives, that she came and she gleaned, and she worked hard. Then Boaz rises up and he protects her in chapter 2 verses 8 through 16. Then Boaz said to Ruth, You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close to my young women." He's protecting her.

He's indicating that this is a safer field than that field. It matters. It matters where you go. There are places of relative safety, and Boaz understood that, and he was protecting Ruth from harm. Then in verse 9, We read, let your eyes be on the field which they reap and go after them.

Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." Verse 10, so she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? And Boaz answered and said to her, It has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you left your father and your mother in the land of your birth and have come to a people whom you did not know before." Well, in God's providence Ruth's reputation had preceded her And in the time of her greatest trouble, her faith, her devotion, in a time when you could easily understand why a young woman would get bitter and angry and selfish and turn inward, She doesn't do that. That quality in her, the news of it spread. And Boaz had heard the story that this wasn't a woman who falls to the ground every time there's a trial.

But God is her strength. And, you know, when no one is looking, when you're in a foreign land, there are things that happen to you. And how you react matters. You know, you young women who are here, just recognize that. Who you are is who you're becoming.

And Boaz understood that. Boaz understood that when there's a young woman in a time of extreme duress and trial, that how she reacts to that deprivation, that sorrow, that disappointment, It matters. Boaz recognizes that this is a woman who trusts in God when everything else is falling apart. Boaz is a successful businessman. He understands reversals, he understands trials, he understands problems, He understands that you can make it big one day and lose it all the next.

He understands that. And so he recognizes the power of a faithful woman who trusts in God alone and not her circumstances, who can ride through a trial, who can stand waiting, who can continue to have faith in God when everything seems to be against her. She is a substantial woman, and Boaz understands that. I love these words, it has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law. In other words, I've heard about your love, I've heard about your stamina in the face of trials and hardship.

You know, this is one thing I love about my wife, Deborah. There's no reversal that would take her down. None. She trusts in God. She doesn't trust in her circumstances She doesn't trust in me.

She trusts in God and so She's steady in that sense. I think my wife Deborah is a lot like Ruth. She's energetic, she works hard, she cares about other people, she's compassionate, and she's always looking for an opportunity to do something good, you know. This is what you have with Ruth. And then in verse 12, he says, the Lord repay your work and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.

She's come under the wings of the refuge of the Lord God of Israel. I love those words. These, under whose wings you have come for refuge. You know, David says, I sing under the shadow of your wings. There is no better place of refuge than the Lord God.

He is our refuge and strength and ever-present help in trouble. This is Psalm 46. Therefore we shall not fear, though the earth should change and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea. There's a river whose streams make glad the city of God. Well, this is your refuge and strength.

You know, to rest under his wings, to be steady, to be calm, to be confident in God is the best thing, and you see this quality in Ruth. And then verse 13, then 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. Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, Come here and eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers and he passed parched grain to her and she ate and was satisfied and kept some back." In other words, she didn't just gobble it all down, right? She was a woman of self-control, and she was keeping some back for another time.

Verse 15, and when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, let her glean even among the sheaves and do not reproach her. Also let grain from the bundles fall purposely for her. Leave it that she may glean and do not rebuke her." In other words, these Reapers are going to make it so easy on her. They're going to direct her to the best places. They're going to allow her to collect a lot of grain.

This picture of gleaning you'll find in Leviticus 19, 9 through 10. In the law, God commands landowners to allow gleaning for the poor and then in verse 17 we see that Boaz provides for Ruth verse 17 so she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned. And it was about an ephah of barley. Then she took it up and went to the city and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her what she kept back after she had been satisfied verse 19 and her mother-in-law said to her where have you gleaned today and Where did you work in other words?

Where did you get all this, you know? Blessed be the one who took notice of you she says so she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said the man's name with whom I work today is Boaz now speculation When Naomi heard this, it pierced her to the heart. She couldn't believe her ears. Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and the dead." And Naomi said to her, "'This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.' Ruth the Moabitess said, "'He also said to me, "'You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest. And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it is good my daughter that you go out with his young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.

So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, and she dwelt with her mother-in-law." And then in the next chapter, if chapter 2 is characterized by the word love, chapter 3 is characterized by the word marriage, Okay? You have this terrible hardship, then you have love, and you have marriage. And you have some strange things happening in chapter 3. Verses 1 through 5, Naomi seeks redemption for Ruth. Verse 1, then Naomi, her mother-in-law said to her, my daughter, shall I not seek security for you that it may be well with you?

So Naomi is gonna be a benefactor. Naomi is going to work to be a blessing to her daughter-in-law. This is what people should do in the church. This is what the community of faith does. There's help for one another.

We look out for each other and that's what we see here. Now Boaz, whose young women were with you, is he not our relative? In fact, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. Then it shall be when he lies down that you shall notice the place where he lies and you shall go in, uncover his feet and lie down and he will tell you what you should do.

And she said to her, all that you say to me I will do." So she's obedient to her mother-in-law and the protections and the provisions that she's made. Notice her mother-in-law protects her in different ways. First of all, by really encouraging her to stay with the women, to stay with the women of Boaz. And then secondly, to find herself near this godly man. And then verse 6, Ruth obeys Naomi in verses 6 through 9.

So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had instructed her. And after Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was cheerful. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain and she came shortly uncovered his feet and lay down. Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled And turned himself and there was a woman lying at his feet and he said who are you? So she answered I am Ruth your maidservant take your maidservant under your wing for you are a close relative And then Boaz redeems Ruth or desires to redeem Ruth in verses 10 through 18.

Then he said, than at the beginning, in that you did not go after the young men, whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. Now, it is true that I am a close relative, however there is a relative closer than I. Stay this night and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you, good, let him do it.

But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning." So she lay at his feet until morning and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor. Also he said, bring the shawl that is on you and hold it. And when she held it he measured six ephah of barley and laid it on her.

Then she went into the city. So when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Is that you, my daughter? Then she told her what the man had done for her. And she said, these six ephahs of barley he gave me, for he said to me, do not go empty handed to your mother-in-law. Then she said, sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out, for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day." And then finally, at the end, in the final chapter here, Boaz completes the marriage that he desired and you find the heart of the matter of this story at the very end of the chapter.

Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, Come inside, friend, sit down here. So he came aside and sat down. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, sit down here, so they sat down. Then he said to the close relative, quote, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother, Elimelech, and I thought to inform you, saying, buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants of the elders of my people.

If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not redeem it, then tell me that I may know, for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you." And he said, I will redeem it. Then Boaz said, On the day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance. And the close relatives said, I can't redeem it for myself lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it." Once he redeemed her, then he would have no right to that property because it would be passed down to her son. And then in verse 7, Now this was the custom in former times in Israel, concerning redeeming and exchanging, to confirm anything.

One man took off his sandal and gave it to the other and this was a confirmation in Israel. Therefore, the close relative said to Boaz, buy it for yourself. So he took off his sandal and Boaz said to the elders of all the people, you are witness this day that I have bought all that was a limilex and all that was chileans and melons from the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Melon, I have acquired as my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day." Verse 11, and all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses.

The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built the house of Israel and may you prosper in Ephrathah to be famous in Bethlehem. May your house be like the house of Peres whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring which the Lord will give you from this young woman. And then this is the final, you know, the climax. Ruth bears a son. Verse 13, so Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and when he went into her the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son.

Then the women said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel, And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him." And then Naomi receives a new family in verse 16. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him. So Now Naomi has a new life. She has a baby to take care of. And then Ruth becomes the great grandmother of David in verses 17 to 22.

Also, the neighbor women gave him a name saying, there is a son born to Naomi and they called his name Obed He is the father of Jesse the father of David now. We're back to names here and This is so amazing to me. It's the community of faith that names the baby How come Ruth doesn't get to name the baby? How come Boaz doesn't get to name the baby? How come Naomi doesn't get to name the baby?

Well, the whole town names the baby. I think you just have a picture of the community of faith. They're close. There's fellowship. There's listening to one another.

And probably the ladies of the town came to Ruth and Naomi and Boaz and said hey Let's name him. Why don't you name him Obed? You know and they said let it be done You know it's a picture of unity and love and you know collaboration it's it's it's really remarkable and then in verse 18 now this is the genealogy of Perez Perez begot has Ron has Ron begot Ram Ram begot a minute dab a minute dab begot nation and nation begot Salman Salman begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. Amazing. Out of a tragedy on the surface going on in the world, God has something greater going on silently in His own plan.

Okay, doctrine. I'm going to give you several points of doctrine and a few lessons. First of all, God's sovereign providential care. Don't give up in the dark day, the sun will come out again. Number two, the covenant community.

You know, there's so much to learn about the covenant community. You know, when Naomi and Ruth come back after 10 years being gone from Moab, there's excitement in the town. There's love, there's joy in receiving them back after 10 years. And then even this fact of the whole community naming this child. There's a lot of love there.

You see people in the community working on one another's behalf to be a blessing. You see Boaz and others. You see the women taking care of this woman, this pagan, Gentile woman, you know. And you see the men, the harvesters of Boaz, are also looking out for her and trying to take care of her. It's a picture of blessing.

Number three, the kindness of God in preserving his people. God is going to preserve his line. Number four, Foreign Gentile wives grafted in. A foreign Gentile Moabitess. Now the Moabites were bad news.

So this bad news is grafted in. Number five. The Moabites actually become aligned with the people of God through this. You know this is a little bit like what happens with Joseph. Joseph's wife is an Egyptian Gentile.

And she bears him, Ephraim. Who is a significant son. Among the children of Israel. This is how God works. And then there's Christ.

There's the Lord Jesus Christ pictured in Ruth. And of course the most obvious is the birth of the Son, Obed. You can read about this in Matthew chapter 1 verses 1 through 6, which this is pictured. And you find God doing His pleasure to declare the beauty of Christ. So that's some doctrine.

Now let's talk about some practical lessons. Number one, God blesses ordinary people who obey Him in ordinary ways. Just right in the midst of life, as troublesome as it was, an ordinary Moabite woman obeys God. God blesses ordinary people who obey Him in ordinary ways. You know, don't despise the life God's given you.

It's the life God gave you. Obey Him in the midst of the ordinariness of your life. God has a plan that goes far beyond your ordinariness. Number two, devotion and loyalty are blessed of the Lord. Devotion and loyalty are blessed of the Lord.

God blesses you when you honor your father and your mother. This is a picture of honoring your father and mother. The people who think that despising their father and mother will get them anywhere good or crazy. But here, devotion and loyalty are blessed by God. God will not bless you if you do not honor your father and mother.

The Bible is really clear about that. It won't go well with you, but it will go well with you. Get that one thing down in your life. Honoring your Father and your mother and honoring God and trustfully resting in his arms. God will take care of you.

He'll see to it that you don't live in vain. Number three, Something beautiful arises out of an era of ugliness. There's such sorrow in the loss of husbands, but it leads to the richest and kindest man in the land. And it leads to Christ. Number four, don't grow weary in well-doing.

Ruth didn't. She didn't grow weary at all. She was on it. From the time it seems that her her husband and her children die, then all the way to the time she comes back to the city of bread, she's working. And she's not weary.

Number five. I think this points to the significance of women in the Bible. The Bible does not diminish women in any way at all. The Bible presents these godly women. Ruth stands in a long line of godly women who are pivotal for the spread of the Gospel And for the declaration of the glory of God in their times, they exemplify marvelous qualities, redemptive, beautiful qualities, just towering, stately qualities of love and devotion.

And, you know, you can think about the widow in Zarephath in 1 Kings 17, you know, who who had her her child brought back to life. The Shunammite woman in 2 Kings 4 unable to conceive and her son died and was brought back to life. Or Jairus and and his and his wife when they had a sick daughter. The widow of Nain who lost her only son. You know these were These were widows, great widows in the Bible who suffered loss, but God used them.

Don't ever look at your situation and think that God can't use you. Married, unmarried, widowed, whatever it is, God uses those who are His. You know, think about Esther and Deborah and Jael and Hannah and Dorcas and Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary Magdalene. Ruth stands in a long line of godly women.

And then finally, God is faithful to keep his people. God will preserve his people. God will bless his people. And in the story of Ruth, you can see it. You can see how God comes and He blesses those who love Him and He reorders what has fallen down in the lives of ordinary people.

And out of the tears and the trauma, out of the worst things, behind the scenes, God is always working. God is always working a better plan than we have working in our own minds. And that's the Message of Ruth. What a great book, huh?