And we'll again welcome.
I'm glad you're here.
It's going to be a good day as we go through the third part
of a four part series.
And this series is called, Seeing the Unseen Hand of God
through the book of Ruth.
It's really a story of providence.
Things together for the good.
Those who love him.
It's a foreshadowing of Romans 828.
And we're going to get into all of that.
But before we do, I just wanted to give you a,
snapshot, an idea of some, some good things that are happening
in the context of this church, given the fact that it is now full.
And I have the privilege
and the honor of coaching with the varsity staff at the high school.
And I got,
I have the opportunity on behalf of the church.
It's not part of of of the school district, so.
So I didn't put them in a position to approve or deny that to the team, though.
It's for the team. But I've started,
Friday afternoon, chapel
service for our varsity football team now, of course.
Yeah.
We've, we've curated we've curated meals
that optimize energy and hydration.
Truly, it's all, it's all it's all programed.
And then we do a chap.
I do a chapel service for the guys who want to come.
It's there's nothing mandatory about it at all.
It's just if you want to come, this is what we're doing.
And so this Friday was our first one
because it was our opening season. And,
Ivins took care of all the meal, and they paid for everything
and made it all and, and and put together this beautiful meal
that we've planned for everybody.
And we didn't have every.
But nearly everyone on the varsity roster came,
and, yeah.
Yeah.
And, and so it was a great time
to just kind of be together, but then to open up the Bible,
and make some,
correlations between football and faith.
And for instance,
football is the ultimate team sport.
And we talked about it truly is.
And we say, you don't believe me?
I'm being serious right now. You think I'm joking?
And we talked about how it's we over me that the name on
the front of the jersey is more important than the name on the back of the jersey.
And in order to be successful, you have to put others ahead of yourself
and you have to submit and serve one
to the detriment of yourself oftentimes.
And that's exactly what Jesus did for us.
Philippians said, leaving heaven,
he took the form of a servant, become obedient to death as a slave.
He put wi over me
and he served us not for his benefit,
but for that's what you understand I'm saying.
And so there were three of those things that we talked about from Scripture.
Open up the Bible.
And it was it was so beautiful because then as the team gathered together
before the meal, after I get the chance to pray over them, after our warm
ups on the field, and then they start reciting to each other,
talking about in chapel service to each other.
And so it's just a it's just a great opportunity where we get to be like light
and be that witness to our huddle, literally.
And so it's a great honor and a privilege that we get to do that.
And I get that opportunity.
And so thank you, church, for being a place where that happens.
And I know that there are other,
families who have decided that they're going to jump in
and help do the meals and stuff, but it really does have an impact.
And I'm excited to watch what God does with some of our
young men, the great young, great young men,
as they embrace faith.
And they're
with other players who don't know Jesus yet,
but who are open to listening.
So anyway, it's a lot of fun, man.
It's a lot of fun.
So just keep that.
Keep that in prayer.
I'm not asking you to pray for, winning season.
The of our championship would be awesome.
But just for the if, you know, for the
this chapel idea, our coach has been very gracious
and give me permission to ask the boys if they want to be a part.
To be a part?
And he's on board with that.
So it's been real fun.
The book of Ruth.
It's right at the beginning of the old, like, Genesis.
Exodus of the next number, your honor, for judges.
Ruth.
So we're eight books into the Old Testament, the book of Ruth.
It's four chapters long. We're in chapter three today.
We'll wrap up the book next week in chapter four.
I want us to understand this.
All of the Bible
is the story of Jesus,
of of the father.
The Bible is a historical record,
but it's not just a historical record.
It is not, as some have heard,
biblically basic instructions before leaving Earth.
That's not what it's about.
It's based
and the love of the father.
It's the story of God and his Messiah,
another word Redeemer, the one who buys back that which is
owned by another, in this case, the Redeemer.
Jesus by death on the cross.
Those of us who were owned
by sin and separation.
And we see that in the book of Ruth, especially in chapter three and chapter
three of Ruth is a love story
between a man and a woman,
and more deeply, a love story between the father.
It's also a beautiful revelation
of how God works in the world.
And we've talked about this for the last two weeks
in the way of providence, God's providential hand.
It's a foreshadowing of Romans 828,
for we know that God
together for the good of those who love him
and who are called according to his purpose.
We talked about this last week that when we know that God works, providence
things together for the good of those who love him,
then what that does is it
creates a great deal of confidence.
Because though things
might not go the way I want them to go right now,
I know what the Bible says and that right now,
somehow God supernaturally
working through the natural course of things, works.
The natural course of things supernaturally together for.
And so what that does bring
is, I believe that it creates a great deal of confidence
and positive momentum.
And the proof that I believe that
the proof that I believe in the providential hand of God
is that I'm content
if I don't believe, and if God, when things in my mind
go wrong, I'm very discontent,
very upset, very frustrated.
Right? Right.
Because if God were for me, how could he let?
But when I believe in the providential
hand of God.
I'm content
right now because somehow I don't see it.
I understand it can't explain somehow
God is going to work this together for good.
But the caveat of that
is for the good of those who love him.
It's not a blanket statement for everybody.
And the proof of our love for
the father, as Jesus said in the Gospel of John,
is our obedience to the commands of God.
That's the proof.
We can't say we love God if we don't obey him.
If you love me, you'll obey me, right?
And so when we quick to repent,
accepting the forgiveness he's already offered
and relying on the grace of God
to give all that his grace would allow,
we live in obedience that way.
And for those of us who have made that our decision
and our life, we have confidence that
all things together for good.
So I can be content right now.
I'm I have incredible confidence
and I have incredible momentum in my life.
You follow that's the book of Ruth and we get to see it play it out
before us in the context of this young lady named Ruth and this man
as for those who love God,
who trust the providential hand of God,
God now has a holy obligation
for you to work things together for good.
Did you realize that God
Himself
to fulfill His Word?
So when I love God and I trust his providential hand,
God accepts a holy obligation
to work right now for my good.
He's obligated to it.
I hope you understand the force of that.
Not that he owes us anything, but he's obligated himself
to fulfill what he said in his word, and he will not deny it.
And so as we approach Ruth three
Ruth in my Bible, Ruth three.
Ruth two, I think it's the same in yours.
And in Ruth two, said Billy.
Check.
I said,
there's all kinds of things I'm learning. No.
And so in Ruth two, what we're what we see
is Ruth just happened to stumble afar upon.
She's a more abiding for Israel with her mother in law, Naomi,
as she happens,
happens to come upon this field owned by this man named Boaz.
Just happened.
For those who love God
and are called according to his purpose, nothing just happens.
Yeah, it's the providence,
the providence of God.
And so let me just tell you, in my life in 1990
came back from college,
and in seminary and,
I just happened to go to the second service of our church,
and I just happened during that service,
the college Sunday school class.
And I was sitting in that class, and it just happened to be in that class,
this young lady who quoted a Bible verse
that we were talking about and I thought, oh, she knows her Bible.
That's awesome. Whatever.
And I just happened to be invited to a all church picnic
at Mooney Grove Park.
Invites. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Didn't want to go,
but it just happened to agree.
And I happened to be coerced into a church softball game at that picnic.
There's nothing more unathletic than church softball.
I happened to get coerced into
and I happened to be in short centerfield.
You know, and there happened to be this same young lady
playing second base and.
No big deal.
Yeah.
I just happened to be coerced by that same guy
to go to an all youth lock in junior high through college.
That night.
Happened to run into that
same girl that was in the same school class and played second base at the lock.
And who was working with the junior high girls at our church. Wow.
And it just so happened
that the next day, this girl and I went to a same college
Bible study at her house.
So happened that we started talking about the Book of Lamentations,
and it just so happened
that she could hold a conversation with me about the Book of Lamentations.
I don't know if any of you can know,
but this one could.
Yeah,
and it just so happened
that 33.
Yeah, we have three sons and three grandsons, right?
It doesn't just happen.
Yeah.
Do you understand?
I'm saying it doesn't just happen.
It's the providential hand of God.
And so that's what we're running into in Luke chapter Ruth chapter three.
Let's go to verse one.
Naomi, Ruth's mother in law, said to her,
my daughter, should I not
seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
There's all there's so much in this chapter.
I'm going to take it real slow.
I almost verse by verse through this
when she says, my daughter, should I not seek rest for you?
This has
this mother in law's desire for her daughter in law
since since the moment roof's husband died,
she tried surgically over it
years ago, in the country of Moab,
where Naomi and her husband Elimelech left
Ratha
because there was a famine as the judgment of God, and went to Moab,
a place that should have never been with their two sons.
And the two sons married these two Moabite women,
which they weren't, should have never done.
Those two sons died.
Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died.
You got these three widows in Moab,
and we talked to her daughters in law.
She says, ladies, please, I beg you, go stay with you.
I'm going to go back to to Bethlehem.
You stay here, that you may find rest
with another husband.
And one of them says, okay, I'll now never hear from her again.
I don't know
where you go.
I will go where you lodge, I will watch.
Your people will be my people.
Where you die, I will die and be buried there.
Your God will be my God. And she go. She comes back.
But from the moment that that her husband died in Moab,
Naomi said, please, I want you to.
She says it again in chapter three.
My daughter, should I not seek rest?
She wants her daughter in law to find rest
in the context of a covenant marriage.
She wants
her to find rest in the context of a godly man.
It's been her desire from the is.
I mean, honestly, parents, don't we?
If we could pick our kids spouses, isn't this every parent's dream?
Yeah.
I mean, sometimes they get it right
and sometimes we just have to trust God.
But she gets the opportunity like I'm done on your behalf.
I'm going to do what I can to orchestrate this under the guidance of God.
But my desire for you is because this is what marriage should be.
Marriage is designed between a man and a woman who are loving God
together to be a place of rest and peace
and safety and comfort and provision
and joy and contentment and fulfillment.
Why? Because it's a picture
of Christ and His church.
Because the picture between Christ and us is to be a relationship
that is full of rest and peace
and joy and protection and understand this is what she's seeking for
her daughter.
And this is what honestly, marriage is supposed to be for us.
As a picture of this relationship, which questions church,
should I not see that it may be well with you?
Look at verse two.
Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you?
He is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
So the first thing we learn about Boaz personally
is that he's a relative of Naomi.
And because Ruth is Naomi's daughter in law,
he's now a relative of Ruth. Okay,
bring to this, this, this relative.
What she's saying is, look, I want you see, Naomi tells Ruth,
I want you to pursue this man, Boaz.
She's kind of setting stuff up, right?
I want you to pursue him.
She knows what a man of integrity he is.
She knows what a good like employee.
Sure, he like he's everything that she wants for her daughter or not.
And she said, I want you to pursue him not because
he's successful, but because he's a relative.
Here's why this is important.
In Deuteronomy 25, verses five, six and seven,
there's this Liveright law in place
that says, if a woman is married to a Hebrew
and he dies, and his that her dead
husband has has brothers, the next in line is responsible
to get this, redeem her, and fulfill the obligations of
his son in the it her dead husband's name.
That was a law on the books in Deuteronomy 25.
Why? Because God is very concerned with the family
family line and with inheritance.
And so God sets up this law
very early in his people's orchestrates.
If a woman's husband dies and he has a brother,
the brother is obligated by law
to be a redeemer.
He's a relative.
So that that family name can continue so that family doesn't die out in Israel.
Because family is important to God, still is.
And so that the and
that man and woman is passed on to their children,
because God is very concerned about his people's land and the inheritance.
And it passes on that generational inheritance and generational security.
And so it's very important to God.
And so Naomi's saying, look, we have one of these,
as he's a relative of ours.
Now, I'm going to come back to that passage in Deuteronomy
25 in just a minute.
But just keep that in mind.
Naomi says, you were with all these women
that were,
in the field working.
And if you after work, this was the this was the,
the welfare system in ancient Israel that the, the, the farmers who owned land
as the harvest is, as the harvest would, would start to be harvest the, the,
the workers were not allowed to to harvest the edges
in the corners of the field
all through the field.
They were allowed one time to go through the field
and pick all the grain they could, any grain that was left
or any grain that fell on the ground, they had to leave there
so that the orphans, the poor, the widows could go through the field
and pick the grain on the edges,
in the corners and everything that was left on the ground.
It was their welfare system, and it was
because it forced those
who had to be generous up to 20%
of what could be harvested was left in the field, 20%.
So it forced those who had to be generous,
and it forced those who didn't have to work for it.
Because it was protecting their dignity.
And did you know this,
that in cultures
where you have to work to eat, their life span is much longer than in cultures
who retire and coast
much longer, so much value and hard work.
And so that was the system.
And she says, this guy, Boaz, you've been working in his field gleaning,
see, he is
he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
So they would gather all these crop, all this barley in this.
And there was the seed and
all this stuff around the seed, the chaff that was good for nothing.
And to winnow it, they would throw it up in the air
and let the breeze blow that nasty stuff away.
And the seed, which was heavier, would fall down.
And that's how they would separate the wheat and the chaff.
And they did it at the threshing floor.
The threshing floor was at the highest peak of whatever area
they're in, because at the highest peak is where the wind goes.
Didn't stand.
So they throw it up in the air, the wind's blowing,
it blows all the nasty away, and the seed falls down.
So they're winnowing this at the threshing floor now.
Oh, your Bibles.
Because, you know, in judges six, it's the story of Gideon.
And the Bible says in judges six that Gideon was threshing
the grain at the winepress.
The winepress is at the lowest elevation. Why?
Because liquid runs downhill.
Squeeze the grapes, it runs downhill to the lowest.
And so Gideon is at the lowest elevation,
threshing wheat where there's no wind, just getting all nasty and cover.
Why was he being so dumb?
If you know
he was hired?
He was scared to death because there was an enemy coming after him.
So when the angel shows up, because he.
Gideon's mighty warrior,
you know, kind of jerking his chain, it's like I'm not a mighty warrior.
I'm a coward is like, right, so you're going to do something great for God.
So, so this whole threshing floor or a winnowing the strength, the threshold.
This is an important deal. This is why they did it.
And so she says, look, he's he's he's doing that.
He's there.
Watch what she says.
This is it for any of you who are single.
This is great dating advice right here.
Not seriously. Now, now, don't go to Tinder.
Go to the Bible. It'll tell you how to date.
All right, so I'm just saying.
All right, so pay attention.
Verse three.
She saw this. Naomi is so practical.
She's telling her daughter in law
to get a man.
I picked the man for you.
I'm gonna tell you how to get him now.
I did, I let a great Jewish mother.
Wash.
Therefore,
you know you've been working in the field.
Go take a shower,
wash, point yourself
and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor.
But do not make yourself known to the man until he is finished eating and drinking.
Let me just unpack this now. Please, ladies, don't get offended.
This is the way.
This is just the way.
Like she's like, look, here's the deal.
You don't have to do any of this, but I'm going to I'm gonna
some wisdom men.
Men are visual animals.
Yeah.
And how you present yourself to them is important.
You're more than welcome to come in from the field
and your hair like a rat's nest and smell like a dockworker.
You're more than welcome.
But you would serve yourself well.
Take a shower, pretty yourself up.
We understand that, don't we?
Like guys?
I'm not being chauvinistic. Don't be offended.
But you understand this, right?
Right.
Good gracious. Come on.
Look, just.
Just like you want to put your best foot forward.
What she's saying,
what she says.
Don't make yourself known
to the man until he's finished eating and drinking.
Now, this isn't just a man female, a male female thing.
This is just how people.
If you
ever, like, come home from work or like, all day something,
and you walk through the door and whoever's there is just a little, little
and sometimes like, look, just don't,
I don't know, just stop.
Let me collect my thoughts for a moment.
Don't hit.
I come through the door.
Anybody you feel that way?
Like just slow down.
Have you ever heard the idea that, the way to a man's heart is through stomach?
And so I was like, look, listen, I know you got all this stuff in your mind.
Don't unload on the man.
He's worked all season long this afternoon.
He is exhausted.
He is hungry.
Just let him have some space.
And it's not necessarily male female thing.
It's just how some people
are. You married men or women
or some of you?
You like when you wake up in the morning like,
oh, I have all these thoughts for the day.
Do you this, this, this, this, this,
you're married to someone is like, can you just not say anything?
Can you just, I'm.
I'll be here later today.
I need to wake up.
I need to not be achy.
I need to have a couple cups of coffee.
I need to look at the new fit to rattle stuff, like just
on my lion.
Okay.
And so this is so practical.
Naomi says, look,
you need to present yourself really, really well,
but don't lead with everything that's on your mind.
Just keep your mouth shut for a minute.
Let him eat and impress
men. Women, all of us.
You might have to just slow down,
let the other decompress a little bit.
Here's what we have to understand. I'm.
I'm going to download a bunch of practical stuff for you right now.
Now, listen.
Wrong
decision at the wrong time is disaster.
Would you agree? Okay.
The wrong decision at the right time is a mistake.
You get it?
Hey, listen.
Now, the right decision at the wrong time
will be unaccepted.
The goal is to make the right decision at the right time.
Boaz was the right decision,
but she had to wait for the right time.
You follow? Yeah.
And you can only wait for the right time
if you trust the providential hand of God.
Because if you don't
push your agenda at your time, you need
to understand.
Yeah.
Trust in the providential hand of God doesn't just make stuff better
for your life.
It makes stuff better for everybody lives around you.
But when we're only.
That's only three verses.
But when it. Verse four. When he lies down.
Observe the place where he lies.
Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.
And he'll tell you what to do.
Now he says, listen,
at some point this is a huge celebration.
All the harvest is in and and when the all the harvest
was at night, they would have this huge celebration
and all this grain.
It's all out in the open.
There's no warehouses back then.
It's all out in the open and all this greenery piled up in a heap.
The men would sleep around the grain,
their heads next to the grain and their feet pointed out.
So like spokes in a wheel, it all sleep around all the men. Why?
To protect it.
You got thieves and marauders and animals.
And so they all slept around it.
And so what is their going to eat?
He's going to drink like he's going to be relaxed,
and then they're going to go to sleep as they normally do.
When that happens, she says, watch where he lies. Why?
Because you don't want to approach the wrong person.
Men, women.
You're single.
You're approaching the right ones because there's some yuks out there
you don't want to approach.
Be very eyes wide open. Then
going uncover uncovers feet and lie down and he will tell you what to do.
So they're sleeping outside
and she says, go lie down at his feet.
He'll be sound asleep.
Why does she say, uncover his feet?
Think they're sleeping outside?
It's going to get cold.
Lie down at his feet and uncovers feet. Why?
What happens in the middle of the night when your feet are cold?
You wake up right?
Covers feet.
And guess who's going to be there?
You see this?
So why wise woman?
She's like a puppet man.
Observer.
Please realize. Go on. Covers. Don't lie down.
He'll tell you what to do.
Remember I said the Bible
is the story about Jesus.
Understand?
Lie at his feet.
He'll tell you what to do.
Lie at the feet of the master.
And the master to. Do
you understand?
Submit yourself to the feet of the master.
He'll tell you what to do.
That's what this is about.
Tells you what to do.
Do all that he says.
She reply at verse five
to Naomi.
I'll do exactly what you said.
This whole
chapter three, please understand this.
The here's the big idea
that your setbacks,
providence meet, your setbacks can be God's set ups.
And that's what's going on here.
Rather than roof looking at everything that's going on saying
I just one setback after another.
Have you ever been there
after another?
I can't catch a break.
Providence means those setbacks.
They could be God's setups
and that's what's happening.
And so stay at his feet.
He'll tell you what to do.
And when he tells you what to do, do all that he says.
Do all that he says. Why?
Because he's trustworthy.
I'm going to submit myself to this, to him
because I know I can trust him.
Listen, you're not going to trust the trustworthiness of God if
firmly set in your mind and heart.
When I trust the providential hand of God.
I can believe that is trustworthy.
And so what he says to do,
I want to.
Verse six.
So she went down to the threshing floor and did
just as her mother in law had commanded her.
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk it doesn't say, and was drunk.
I just want to make that clear.
And his heart was Mary.
He went to lie down at grain, remember, like the spokes of the wheel
we talked about. That's what's going on. That's it.
That's what this looks like.
Then she came softly and then covered his feet.
At midnight.
The man was startled. Why did he wake up?
His toes are cold.
It's like, what the heck happened?
And he turned over and
his feet.
So it's dark.
It's nighttime, it's cold.
She kind of sneaks in and he wakes up and it startles him
because women weren't supposed to be a part of this thing was too dangerous.
They weren't supposed to be a part like any this is going on.
And he said, who are you?
Remember, there's no light.
It's not a factor.
You don't have a flashlight.
Like, who are you?
She answered, I am Ruth, your servant.
Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.
Literally spread your garment over me.
Here's what she's saying.
Just to have a man's
a person's garment over you was there covering
it was placing their authority over you as a protection.
It was placing their identity over you.
This is a marriage proposal,
she said, I want to I want you to cover me with your covering.
If your authority, with your
identity, I want you to accept me as your own.
That's what she's saying.
She's proposing marriage to him.
This is why Naomi said, make sure you get the right one.
For your a redeemer.
That word redeemer is a Hebrew word called go.
Well, and this is a really important.
It's not Greek, it's Hebrew.
The redeemer is called goel.
And what it literally means is a kinsman redeemer.
Now we know what kinfolk are, right?
We're from the Ranchos.
So? So a a relative who was.
But it's someone close to us who chooses to buy
us back from what owns us.
Okay, so what owned Ruth right now was despair.
And being a widow and poverty.
And so she was seeking a go. Well,
buy her at
in essence, pay the dowry, if you will, to become his bride
to cover over her, his being,
his person, his identity, his family.
That's what that's what she means when you are a redeemer.
Now, here's the thing.
This kinsman redeemer.
Deuteronomy 25.
If you read story
25, verses five through nine, you'll see this whole thing play out,
that when a someone needs to be redeemed,
in this case, a widow would go to their kinsman redeemer
and say, you are my kinsman Redeemer by law,
you to redeem me as your own.
The kinsman Redeemer could make one of two decisions.
He can say, yes, I accept you, and I will.
Or he could deny
he didn't have to accept her.
It was his choice.
And which
is? If he decided
not to redeem the one asking to be redeemed,
they would go to the city gate where the elders all sat and did business,
and she would say, I, he's my kinsman redeemer, but he has rejected me.
It's all in the Bible.
They would take off his shoe and give it,
and he would always be known as the man who lost his shoe.
And then she would spit in his face
like crazy.
And then she was free to go see
if a nut next in line would redeem her.
That's what she's referring to here.
But my own a redeemer.
So Boaz must choose to redeem her.
Who is Boaz?
A picture of in the book of Ruth. Jesus,
our Redeemer.
Who's to redeem us?
Not just keep that in mind as we go through this.
But verse was I on oh verse ten here.
And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter,
you have made this last kindness greater than the first, and that you have not gone
after young men, whether poor or look
like there's something about you.
He he was he was probably in his 50s.
She's probably in her late 20s, maybe 30, like, and he's saying
you're such a woman of quality because you're not chasing these young bucks.
You're not just looking at the external
like you want the laws and the ways of God
to drive your life, and you're submitting yourself
to the ways of God rather than just chasing these young,
he said.
There's there's a quality about you that is so profoundly
godly.
So let me just
let me just say this again
to you who are single.
Last year before we had the privilege of hiring Michael as our youth pastor,
I got to do the teaching in our junior high and high school group on a midweek,
midweek services.
And I told my son, I'm I'm going to tell you,
I'm going to tell you how to get the right person to marry.
Three things you look for the moment
I said that all the girls are like.
The boys are like, are you kidding me?
Let me tell you. Here it is.
There's three things that have to be in place.
The first one is they got to be fun.
They have to
be someone you can have fun with,
right? The same stuff.
Or at least act like you like the same stuff,
right?
Like if if you don't like being around someone,
a relationship is going to be terrible.
You can do it. There's going to be terrible.
So you got to be fun and there's got to be a physical thing to it.
There's got to be like.
There does a million.
No. And listen, ladies, you're so much more virtuous than us.
Guys like you can you can see something inside of us.
We initially we
we don't see what's on
as you we're just visual.
And so there's got to be like, oh, like physically there's something between us.
There's got to be those.
Now, you can have a
relationship in a marriage without those, but it's going to be tough.
But most people stop with those two, man.
They're fun and they're real.
I think this is right.
And they missed the third.
They all start with if fun, physical and faith.
Yeah I know what I did.
You missed it.
That's all right.
There's got to be the faith component.
And if there's not the faith component though, they're fun.
And the physical stuff is there.
If the faith component isn't there.
It's going to be work.
It'll be work.
Even with the faith component, it'll be disastrous without it.
Yeah.
Listen, single people
becomes missionary marriage.
And when you settle, boy, they're fun and they're hot.
And that's where you're looking.
You're asking for trouble.
You understand that?
And that's why back in 1990,
when I can have a young lady
about the Book of Lamentations.
I don't know many of you hear that.
I get it at this point in your life.
And I did with this little gal who was 20.
OS she's in.
Ruth is this godly woman of virtue.
She's Proverbs 31.
Before Proverbs 31 was written,
and the way he got a Proverbs 31 woman
because he was a Boaz type of man.
So men, you want a Proverbs 31
woman be a Boaz type, a man.
Women don't settle for someone
who's not a Boaz type of guy.
He says you want
the things of God to rule your life more than
physical.
All this external stuff, he said, you are so beautiful.
And watch what he says.
And now, my daughter, verse 11, do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask.
For all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman,
like you're virtuous,
profoundly evident to everybody around you.
Everybody knows.
And now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a Redeemer nearer
than I remain tonight and in the morning, if he will redeem you.
Good. Let him do it.
But if he's not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, I
lie down until morning.
Here's what he's saying.
He's saying, I don't want you to worry anymore.
You've asked me.
You've asked me to redeem you.
You've asked me to accept you as my own.
I will do all that you ask.
What he's saying is this.
You have any effect on my redeeming you?
I will do all the work.
Do you hear that?
Do you hear Jesus in that?
This is the story of Christ.
And he's saying you can do nothing to work your own redemption.
I will do it all.
Just come to me, lay at my feet and make the request.
I will do all the work.
Religion says, work your way to God.
Jesus says, I am going to come to you.
I will do the work.
That's the story that's going on here.
And he says,
he says there is someone
that's nearer to you than I am.
And so the way this whole thing worked,
the brother, the man who died the next in line in
the family would have the first right of refusal, if you will.
And so Boaz is somewhere down here.
You said there's one who is closer.
And if he will redeem you, so be it.
But if not
fully, and
in my mind, this is where my mind goes as I read that
there's
in our world,
when we're just coming into this realization that there is a God
and we're not right with him and want to get right with him.
The first, the first in that wrong of trying to is our own behavior.
We try to be good.
It's called religion, and it's so close to every person
because we all know at some level that we've messed stuff up.
And we all know at some level we have to be right with we got to be better.
And so we try this.
The self effort to work our self into worthy
is one who is closer, more like like you go to first.
Can it redeem, you know.
And because it can't
Jesus says, I will.
Do you understand what I'm saying?
If it were able to redeem you,
if what the Bible says, if the Lord could save you, it would.
It can't.
The only thing it can do is tell you that it cannot save you.
So there has to be another go.
Well, another kinsman Redeemer who is Christ, who is willing to.
That's Boaz.
Remain tonight and in the morning, if you will redeem it.
Good. Let him do it.
If he's not willing to redeem you as not as Lord, as I will redeem you.
Lie down until the morning.
Now watch this. Verse 14.
So she lie at his feet until the morning, but arose before
one could recognize another.
And she and he said, let it not be known that the
the threshing floor.
And he said, bring the garment, that outer coat,
yet you were wearing, and hold it out.
So she held it out, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her.
Then she went into the city.
Here's what he's doing.
He's protecting her and providing her, because that's what masculinity does.
He says, let me stay here tonight.
Why? Because it's midnight.
It's the darkest time. It's the coldest time.
It's the most perilous time to be out on your own.
Especially as a young lady in the wilderness.
It's unsafe for you to go wander away from her right now.
Just stay here.
I want to protect you. We don't know who's out there.
We know the animals.
Just stay here. I need to protect you.
As the sun's coming up before anybody can clearly see.
Then I want you to go wife. Because I
not only need to protect your person, I need to protect your reputation.
Nothing has gone on.
It's not a sexual thing at all.
But you know what people are like.
They make up what they don't know.
And so if they see you spreading room.
And I need to protect your reputation.
And so he's protecting her.
But he sends her away with all this grain. Why?
Because he's providing for her.
And that's what a that's what biblical masculinity is.
Protect and provide those God has given to us.
And if you're a husband, because I'm a husband, our job is to
our wife and our family and to provide for them.
It's our job.
And the man who will not be the forerunner
of protection and provision has something broken in his soul.
This is our job.
And ladies moms, if you have sons, your sons must learn
and they'll try all kinds of ways to step into this, to grow into the system
God put in them innately.
And they'll get it wrong a lot, and they'll try to blow up a whole bunch.
Let them do that, put them in positions of responsibility and protection
and provision, whatever they're capable because they need to grow into.
This is how God hardwired them.
Hardwired. Yeah.
And that's what he's doing.
He's such a good man.
Then she went into the city, verse 16.
And when she came to her mother in law, she said, how did you fare, my daughter?
Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying,
these six measures of barley he gave to me.
For he said, you must not go back empty handed to your mother.
But you married guys,
if you're married, you got a mother in law.
You better be good to her.
Do you understand?
You get this.
You better be extra good. Listen.
Especially if she's a single mother in law.
We all somebody.
You don't marry, the person you marry the family.
Some of you have married a beautiful bride.
And you got a mother in law that came along.
You better be real good to her,
you understand?
And she's your responsibility now.
She's single.
If she still has a husband, great.
You still in this?
And thoughtfulness.
It's going to be real hard for some of you. For me?
Easy.
I got the best mother in law in the world.
Easy.
I know this has been recorded
since this kid.
Let me wrap up.
Let me wrap up above. This
stuff is going to get me in trouble.
I need to stick to the Bible.
Verse 18 she replied, This is Naomi saying to Ruth, wait,
my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out,
for the man will not rest,
but we'll settle the matter today.
Can you imagine for Ruth? She's young.
She's so excited.
She got in attention to her like it's everything that she.
She's new to faith. It's everything that she's like.
Oh, can you just imagine the conversation that happened with her mother on
what do We do? We think, what do you think's going to say?
When is she going to when is these going to call me and text me yet?
I don't know.
Can I post something. Will you read something into it?
Like like when do you think it's going to be. Do you think that's a read?
Friends.
I told my friends like,
right.
It's like, oh.
And then was like, look, slow down slow.
Now wait.
Trust the providential hand of God.
Your timing.
Don't force your agenda.
God's working in this together for good.
You've loved him.
You've proved it.
You're following him.
Just wait.
Wait.
Her words are
he will not rest.
He will do all.
And he will settle the matter.
Wait.
She says you've asked to be a part of his family,
and he has accepted you as his own.
Here's the beautiful thing about this whole go
well situated kinsman redeemer I shared with you Deuteronomy 25
the go.
The consumer dream has the right of refusal.
Boaz didn't have to accept her,
but as a picture of Christ,
when we at the feet of the master
say, you are my Redeemer, will you accept me?
John 637 I think we have that slide.
Jesus says,
all that the father gives me will come to me,
and the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out.
He is our kinsman redeemer.
And when we come to ask, will you redeem me?
He says, absolutely.
That's why I came to Earth in the first place.
I will by no means cast you aside.
You can do nothing to affect your redemption.
All you do is ask.
Then you let the work that I've done,
you follow me.
Ruth cleaned herself up and made her look good.
We don't have to do that to God.
We don't have to do that for Jesus.
We come with
raggedy hair and stinky bodies fresh off the field.
We say, well, you redeem me.
He says, you bet.
That's the message of the cross.
And so I want to leave you three questions
there.
Real simple questions.
Will you admit
that you need to be redeemed?
What happened in Ruth's life?
Had she not first acknowledge that she needed redemption?
She had to realize the state of her own life.
She had to realize she needed redemption.
Do you follow?
Have you admitted that you need redemption?
And will you ask Jesus
and accept Jesus to be your Redeemer?
To not try to affect yourself by how you live, by how good you are, by
how religious you are to accept the work that he's done on the cross
and whatever he says to do.
Now you believe is trustworthy.
Real simple questions.
Profound ramifications of your answer.
So for those who love God
and trust is providentially
your setbacks will become God's setups.
He's obligated himself to it and to you
to understand.
Ruth, he's a beautiful chapter.
So as we wrap this up,
I'm going to encourage
read chapter three and read chapter four.
We're going to wrap up this series next week.
But in the conclusion of this chapter,
we're going to remember our Redeemer.
And Jesus gave us elements to do that.
This is for the.
This is for the ones who have said,
I admit I need a redeemer.
I admit I need to be brought back from sin.
Jesus, I accept the work you've done
and this is my
confession that I remember you must you.
This is reserved
for the redeemed by the body
and the blood of Jesus.
I'm less concerned
about this and more concerned about
your soul.
And so,
before we take this, I want to give you an opportunity
to ask the Redeemer to redeem you
so that we can celebrate this
as a community of the redeemed.
Pray with me, father.
Thank you that you love us.
Thank you that you loved us so much that you gave your son
to be the sacrifice for our sin
and to be our Redeemer.
Hear the hearts of those now
who are coming into line and fellowship with you
by faith.
This moment.
It's a real simple decision, but it is incredibly costly
because it will cost you submission.
To come before
God and say, God, I admit that I've broken your law
and I need to be redeemed from sin.
Jesus, I accept what you've done.
The work of redemption.
I ask you to adopt me into your family.
Thank you
that you've secured my redemption and bought me back.
I accept it.
And now I sit at your feet.
You are the master.
What you say I will do.
You because you're trustworthy.
In your name I pray.
Amen, Amen, Amen.
So redeemed.
We remember.
Jesus.
That on the night that Jesus was handed over into the hands
of the men who would crucify him, he shared a meal with his disciples.
And he lifted up the bread during that meal.
And he gave thanks, and he broke the bread.
He said, this is my body given for you.
Do this and remember me
and my redemption.
And in a very similar way, the Bible says, he took the cup,
and he lifted up to heaven.
He gave thanks and said, this cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sin,
that you may be redeemed
every time you take this
old community.
Remember him.
God is a good God. So.
And His word is a good word.
This week, chapter three and chapter four,
you understand
trust the providential hand of God.
Though you can't see it, you can trust it,
and you can trust it because he loves you.
Let's sing.