Discovering Hope in the Midst of Restoration - Ruth 2

1:31You know, if you don't have a Bible, there's chairs in front of you that have Bibles. So find one and make your way to Ruth, because this is going to get exciting here in a moment. In Ruth chapter 2, you're going to see that these two widows have returned from Moab to Bethlehem for restoration. The restoration process has begun, and God is just beginning to bring them through a change in their lives that they never thought could have ever happened.

1:58So this is an overview of chapter 2. We can't possibly go through every nuance of every detail in chapter 2, but I can't think of a better way than to let chapter 2 speak for itself than to just simply read every verse in chapter 2. And then what I want to do is focus on really four areas that we need to be thinking about, and then I'll drill down into each one of those. So you've already turned in your Bibles there. I'm going to start off in Ruth chapter 2, verse 1. Here's what the writer says. Now, Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth, the Moabitis, said to Naomi, Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of the grain after one in whose sight I may find favor. And she said, Go, my daughter. So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

3:01Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, May the Lord be with you. And they said to him, May the Lord bless you. Then Boaz said to his servant, who was in charge of the reapers, Whose young woman is this? The servant in charge of the reapers replied, She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. And she said, Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. Thus she came and has reminded, or has remained, from morning until now. She has been sitting in the house for a little while. Then Boaz said to Ruth, Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go and glean in another field. Furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. Let her eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, have I commanded the servants not to touch you?

4:00When you are thirsty, go to the water jars, and drink from what the servants draw. Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner? Boaz replied to her, All that you have done for your mother-in-law, after the death of your husband, has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people.

4:30That you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge. Then she said, I have found favor in your sight, my Lord, for you have comforted me, and have indeed spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants. At mealtime, Boaz said to her, Come here, that you may eat from the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar. So she ate beside the reapers, and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied, and had some left. When she arose to glean, Boaz commanded her or his servant, saying, Let her glean, even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Also, you shall purposely pull out for her some of the grain from the bundles, and leave it, that she may glean, and do not rebuke her. She gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw that what she had gleaned so she took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. Her mother-in-law then said to her, Where did you glean to-day? Where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed? So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz. Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, May he be blessed of the Lord, who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead. Again, Naomi said to her, The man is our relative. He is one of our closest relatives. Then Ruth, the Moabitis, said furthermore, he said to me, You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest. Naomi said to her mother-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that you go with the maids, so that others do not fall on you in another field. So she stayed close by her maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, and she lived with her mother-in-law.

6:50Remember, the events that we're reading about in the book of Ruth happened during the period of time of the judges when everybody was doing what? Right in their own eyes. Naomi's family had done everything right in their own eyes, and now there was some ruin to be had in their lives, and God is bringing them back for restoration. That's chapter 2. He's bringing them back. Let me just tell you what happened in Ruth chapter 2. We read it, but what we see here is Naomi is turning, returning from ruin to restoration. God demonstrates his hesed. That's the Hebrew word for. Steadfast loving kindness. It's not just one definition. You have to add a lot to it. It's commitment. And he does this by bringing Ruth to Boaz and blessed those women with food, with safety, and with love. That's what chapter 2 is all about. The Bible teaches us that these events happened approximately 3,100 years ago. And it happened for your instruction. You say, well, how does something that happened 3,100 years ago apply to me? Well, the New Testament does tell us these things happened for our instruction. So what can we learn from these events? Today, here's what I want you to see from Ruth chapter 2. Very simple. When you realize your need to return to God, you must recognize his restoration in every detail so that others can see that he is the conductor of your life.

8:23Even when it seems like he's not there, I can guarantee you he is indeed there. You're going to see four components of God's restoration that I want to highlight in this chapter, four of them. The first one is this. We need to take personal responsibility because that's what the ladies do. They take personal responsibility. They need to receive, you must receive, I must receive, wise instruction from the godly people that God brings into our lives. And then we must appreciate people that God brings into our lives. And fourth, recount the significance of every detail. Now, if you missed those, I'll be running through them again.

9:00So, just for now, we're going to focus on the first one. Let's watch how God restores a destitute family from ruin. How does he do it? Just focus your attention back on verse 1. It says this: Now, Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. Where did we hear Elimelech before? That was in chapter 1. That was Naomi's husband, and he died. And he's related to this man Elimelech. Now, I want to point something out here very clearly. This passage, this first verse, is here for our appreciation. Because as Boaz and, excuse me, as Naomi and Ruth enter the scene, they don't know who Boaz is. He just shows up in a moment. So it's there for our purposes to tell us, the writer wants us to know that Boaz is somebody important.

9:53Okay, so let's deal with the first area of focus here to take personal responsibility, and that's verses 2 through 7. The writer paints a picture for us in verse 2, doesn't he? We need to realize that these women had just climbed approximately 4,000 feet from the land of Moab to the land of Bethlehem. It was harsh. It was a rugged environment, about a 30-mile walk around the northern shore of the Dead Sea. Look at verse 2.

10:27The writer is very clear there. He doesn't want you. To forget that Ruth is a foreigner. She's a Moabite. We need to keep that in our minds. She's a foreigner. She's a Moabite. We need to also realize that in taking personal responsibility, Ruth, in verse 2, we see her as a Moabite as she wakes up probably at the crack of dawn before the sun is even up and she's ready to go to work. In verse 2, we know this because she asks her mother-in-law permission to go and glean in the fields.

11:05She knows that she needs to work so that her and her mother-in-law can survive. So she takes steps and has no time to waste to get to her goal. She has no time to waste feeling sorry for herself, feeling sorry for herself that her father-in-law is dead, feeling sorry for herself that her husband is gone, feeling sorry for herself that she's a foreigner in a foreign land. She's going to work. She's going to get busy. And God's going to be faithful through her faithfulness.

11:38She takes two decisive actions that we can see there. Her first decisive action in verse 2, glance down at it, you'll see it quickly. Ruth, wanting to be submissive to Naomi's authority, politely asks her approval to gather food, to gather food behind someone who'd be favorable to her. Turning your Bibles to Luke. Leviticus chapter 19, because this is going to make a whole lot of sense in Leviticus 19. Her right to gather food was guaranteed by the ultimate landowner of all farmers' land found in Israel at the time. Leviticus 19. The ultimate landowner is God himself. In Leviticus 19, verse 9, here's what God says to landowners, to the farmers. He says this: quote: Now, when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest, nor shall you glean from your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard. You shall, here it is, leave them for the needy and for the stranger. That's Ruth. Why?

12:52I am the Lord your God. That's why. That's the reason, because I am the Lord your God. You leave these things for the foreigners and for those who are needy. Ruth is needy, and no doubt, Naomi probably discussed this ordinance with her that she could go out and get food. Yes, God's law required farmers to leave portions of their crops for the poor, no doubt. But wise foreigners mustn't take this law as a reason to demand their rights. She's looking for permission. Ruth comes from a position of humility. She politely asks Naomi to allow her to pick over the leftovers. She's urgent.

13:30Yet she has a kind request and acknowledges the possibility that these lawless farmers might turn her away, might ignore God's ordinances, might forget that God is their God. Thus, she wouldn't be able to gather food. She has a polite air about her. So her request, back in Ruth 2, verse 2, is to gather food. And she tells us after, meaning behind someone who would be kind to her. Someone who loves God, as evidenced by their care for people, including pagan foreigners like her.

14:07Being from Southern California, I remember there were times when people were looking for jobs. And even here in Texas, it's the same thing. In the United States, some illegal foreigners humbly approach U.S. citizens and they ask for a job. Can I help you? They're very polite about it, but many arrogantly demand work. Ruth appealed to people's mercy. She appealed to their mercy. She didn't want some autocratic forcing of the hand of obedience. Remember, she made a commitment to Naomi in chapter 1. She wants these people to be her people. She wants them to love her. She wants to love them. She wants to be polite about it, not by law, but by grace. Ruth's second decisive action was to go to work in verse 3.

14:58Ruth makes a beeline for the field. Where she gleaned after the reapers. Now, y'all, Texans, you probably know what a gleaner and a reaper is. But from a guy from Los Angeles, I don't know what a gleaner and a reaper is. I don't know what that is. So, what is it that these women were doing? I don't know the difference between a gleaner and a reaper and a 10-wheel rate cart. I have to look at my notes because I don't know what these are. And a haytedder, do you?

15:22Come on, Texans, help me out here. So, what is a gleaner and a reaper? Verse 3 tells us that Ruth was a gleaner working behind reapers. Reapers, what they did is they grabbed stocks of the material that they were cutting. With the other hand, they'd cut it, and they'd lay the stalks on the ground so that the gleaners could come by and pick up the bales and then take them to where they're supposed to go. So, that's what Ruth is doing. She is gleaning. She's picking up the leftovers just like Leviticus said she could.

15:55She's gathering it up so that she and her mother-in-law would have something to eat. Even as we're in the field with Ruth, as we imagine that we're there with them, don't lose sight of the fact that Ruth, the book of Ruth, is a book of providence. Everything that happens in this book, we see God's hands all over it. And that the book expressly says there's only two times that God did something, expressly. But throughout the book, God has his hands on the people. It's a book of providence. And we need to remember that as we read through. Look back at verse 3. Which underlines the words. If you're looking at the NASB, look at those words. She happened to come. If you're in the NIV, the words are as it turned out. At this point, Ruth has no knowledge from Boaz that we saw in verse 1. You don't even know the guy exists, but she's on his farm. The writer wants us to experience this providence from Ruth's perspective.

16:56That working on Boaz's farm is the way this is worded, is like a stroke of luck. It's like for her, it's like a tongue-of-cheek kind of comment. This is like a stroke of luck that she's on Boaz's farm, the rich man's farm, because maybe something good can happen now. Well, Ruth isn't lucky, not at all. That's not what we're saying here. The writer is including this phraseology to help us from her perspective. She's like, man, how'd this happen?

17:26God's sovereignty is not coincidental. I don't have faith in luck. But we need to get into Ruth's mind. What was she experiencing? Wow, I stumbled across a rich man's farm. Proverbs 16:33. The lot is cast in the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. The lot is cast in the lap, but every decision is from the Lord. Ruth is not lucky. While Ruth is taking personal responsibility for her family, the writer diverts. Our attention to see God's providential hand at work. Look back at verse 4.

18:07Look who shows up in verse 4. Unbeknownst to lucky Ruth, again, tongue-in-cheek, we see her rich relative extending blessing to his employees. Boaz says to his employees, May the Lord be with you. In other words, may the Lord be with you as you work. And they respond to him, May the Lord bless you. May the Lord bless your business, Boaz. He's the one that hires them. He's the one responsible for their pay. They want his business to be successful so they can feed their families. And so they bless one another. They work together. Business leaders and managers today at Emmanuel Baptist Church, do you pray for your employees?

18:48Do you say, God, would you bless my employees? Would you make them successful? Employees, do you pray for your bosses, for those over you? Do you pray for the companies you get your paycheck from? Do you pray for their success? This is what's going on here. What a great example. Notice verse 5 that godly leaders, they take careful notice of their newcomers. They take careful notice of their newcomers. Look at verse 5. Boaz sees Ruth working in the field, and he says to his foreman, Who is she? He'd never seen her before. Didn't look like one of us.

19:27Notice the foreman's response in verse 6. He says, she's a Moabite. Reading the white spaces in the text there. She is a foreigner. Read, worshipper of the false god Kimosh. That's who this woman is. She's from Moab, and she returned to Bethlehem with Naomi. Well, notice the foreman's reply. He relays Ruth's polite reputation in verse 7. She took great pains to ask nicely to work in the field. She says, We see here that she made a commitment to Naomi in verse 2. And then verse 7, the foreman indicates to Boaz that Ruth carried out her commitment. She asked for permission. Look at verse 7.

20:10And she said, This is him relaying, the foreman relaying to Boaz what happened. She said, please, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. And so she went out and did it. He granted her permission. She did what she said she'd do. So verse 7 indicates she took personal responsibility for her life and she fed her family because she woke up early before the sun was up. She was in the field, the text tells us, before the crack of dawn in the original language. By the time Boaz shows up, Ruth had already put in four to five hours of work. She's not getting paid for it, but she is feeding her family. She's taking care of them.

20:53Now, that's an admirable work ethic. She's not waiting for somebody else to do the work for her. You see that Ruth has zero knowledge about God's providence here in the text? From her perspective, she's a pretty lucky woman. Look who shows up, the wealthy guy. For her, landing in this farm was like us, winning the lottery. This is a great deal. I've got a question. How are you benefiting from God's graciousness in your life for how he provides for you? Are you thankful for what he's given through the efforts you've taken that he's given you and through the efforts of others?

21:35You can see God dimly in the details here. You can see it. Do you remember the commitment that Ruth made to Naomi? She made a commitment. She said, Your God, my God. Ruth takes the first step in the restoration process by taking personal responsibility to provide for her family, and now her God is providing for her. She puts her in the right field. She gives her a family member to take care of her so that others can see that God is the conductor of her life, and she doesn't even know it yet. Here's the second step in God's restoration process. The second step, we see it in verses 8 through 9, and it's receiving wise instruction. She is willing to receive wise instruction from the people. That God places in her life. Boaz knows that Ruth is an at-risk foreigner. Not just an at-risk foreigner, but she is a widow. Who wants a foreign widow? He sees that she's at-risk, exposed to dangerous people. So, Boaz, as he approaches her, think that, imagine that you're Ruth. She's thinking she's in a dangerous place. Here's this man she's never met, doesn't know who he is. He's walking towards her. Is he going to abuse her? Is he going to say unkind things to her? What's going through her mind?

23:08Is it possible that she's bracing herself for harassment? It wasn't uncommon in that day. Boaz's first words in verse 8, you see them, they're anything but threatening. Refers to her as my daughter. Ruth is from Naomi's family. Remember, she made a commitment. Naomi is Ruth's family. Your family, my family. Ruth is Boaz's people. And he puts her at ease by tenderly addressing her as my daughter. Wow. She would have relaxed at that point. She would have been relieved. I love that. A man sold out for the Lord protects his daughter. A man sold out for the Lord protects the sons and daughters of other people.

24:00Sold out for the Lord protects the sons and daughters of men and women who send their kids to AM University, and we have a responsibility to love them for the Lord's sake. In God's restoration process, Boaz gives Ruth five kind, wise instructions in verse 8. Do you see them? The first instruction is a warning. He tells this young woman, don't glean in somebody else's field. Stay right here. Second instruction is a four-part plea: don't leave this land, but stay here with my maids. The word stay is the same word in 114. Do you remember it last week where Ruth clung to Naomi? He's saying, cling to the ladies that work for me. Stick with them. Verse 9. He says, keep your eyes on the field where my maids are working. Stay behind my maids. Stay here. He wants to protect her.

25:03The third instruction is she is to be confident about the protections that God has afforded her. Still in verse 9, Boaz warned his male servants not to harm Ruth. Stay away from her. I love this. One of the commentators I read, Dr. Block, he calls this the first workplace anti-harassment policy in the Bible. You protect this woman. You don't harm her. That's how it's to be in the church. We protect one another. A fourth bit of sound advice for Ruth is to drink from the male servants' water containers. Normally, foreigners drew water for the Israelites. That's what the normal custom was. What do you mean, Boaz? I'm supposed to drink out of the men's water containers that they drew. Women drew water for men in that culture, but yet he tells her to drink out of the male servants' water containers. God, he restores Ruth. He restores her by using sound wisdom through the lips of Boaz. Taking heed to Boaz's advice is a matter of life and death, both for Ruth and Naomi. She could have said, you know what? I got rights. I want to do what I want. There's work laws in our land. She pays attention. She listens to his advice. I want you to turn to Hebrews chapter 13 because God still uses men like Boaz to protect us.

26:40Hebrews chapter 13, verse 17. If we just keep in mind that refusing Boaz's leadership would have been harmful for Ruth, Hebrews 13:17 says this: Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls. Those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not grief, for this would be unprofitable for you. It would have been unprofitable for Ruth not to listen to Boaz. God wants you to yield to the wisdom of the leaders for two reasons in Hebrews 13:17. You should see them very distinctively. Yield to them because they keep watch over your souls. They're God's undershepherds. They are there to watch over your souls. Why? Because they'll give an answer to God for how they lead us.

27:33Wow. I take those words very seriously. I answer to God for those in this church. The text says we should let our leaders lead us with joy. Our attitudes towards them shouldn't be to leave them grief-stricken when things aren't going our way. Ruth could have been grief-stricken. She could have rejected the advice. The last part of Hebrews 13:17 tells us another reason to trust our leaders and not to give them grief. It's in the word because, because giving them grief is harmful to you. That's what he says. Like Ruth. If we make things miserable for God's undershepherds, if we ignore the wisdom that God has given them through the scriptures, we have a problem.

28:27Our lives could be ruined like they were ruined. Ruined for Ruth and Naomi in chapter 1. When you realize God's restoration in your life, you must recognize that he restores you through the wisdom of godly people who know the scriptures and can relay those things to you and help you. Here's the third component to God's restoration process, the third one. It's in verses 10 through 16. And it's this: Appreciate people who love and care for you along the way. That's what Ruth does. That's what Naomi does. They appreciate the people who are caring for them. Notice how Ruth responds to Boaz's kindness in verse 10. Verse 10 reads like this. Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?

29:21Ruth's actions are words of worship. And we kind of recoil at that, don't we? What is she doing, falling at her face, falling at her feet? It's worship words. Keep in mind, the writer is describing what Ruth did. The writer is not prescribing or telling us to worship people who take care of us. That's not the message. The scripture never tells us to worship anything but God. Ruth is blown away by Boaz's simple, pessid, his steadfast, unending, tight grip, love on. Her life, and she's thankful for that. And she drops to her knees, and with her face to the ground, she expresses a sense of gratitude. Think about it. What had Ruth done to help Boaz? Zero.

30:18What had she done to help his farm? Nothing. She took food he could have sold to somebody else. She took it for free. Why such kindness to a foreigner? Verse 11 tells you the reason. You see it? Boaz, he heard the story. He heard the story of her faithfulness to the Israelite, Naomi. Where you dwell, I will dwell, she said to her, Naomi, as Naomi was trying to send her back to her land. He talks about the death of her husband, how she left her family behind to come to a people that she'd never met.

31:05Your people, my people. That was her commitment. She's living it. And she has a reputation for living it. Verse 12 is even more amazing. Boaz already knew that Ruth came to God for protection. Your God, my God. That's her commitment. She's sticking to it. So he prays. That God would do two things for Ruth. It's there in your text. Reward for her work and grant her full wages. Where is all this kindness coming from? That's Hesid. That's a steadfast, hard-grip kind of loving kindness. Do you have people like that in your life? Are you that person to somebody else? A faithful, unyielding love? You won't let them go?

32:01It's Boaz. And verse 13, all Ruth can do in response is to express an appreciation for Boaz's kindness. I want you to see something really important here. Verse 13. God strategically places people in our lives to demonstrate His love for us. It's not just about the people, it's to demonstrate His love. Sometimes it's a kind word. When you leave today, give someone a kind word from the heart. Other times, it's an undeserved, out-of-the-blue kind of favor. Wow, where'd that come from? Thank you.

32:38Sometimes it's a hand, I'm putting emphasis on this, hand-written card with a stamp on it in the mail. You ever get one of those? What's the first thing you open in the mail when you see a handwritten card from somebody you know? You're going to open the bills first? You're going to open the auditor's letter first? You're going to open that handwritten note. Maybe it's financial help that we could never pay back. Are you thankful to the Lord for the people he sends into your life to encourage you? I am.

33:20When God blesses you through the thoughtfulness of others, be sure to bless them in return. If it's just a thank you, that meant a lot. Thank you. We see in verse 14, it's been a long day for Ruth. It's finally lunchtime. She's got to be hungry. Notice the seven more ways that God restores Ruth through Boaz. The kindness isn't done. Verses 14 and 15, he invites her to lunch, right to the lunch table with all the workers. As a foreigner, she sits down with the reapers. That's the employees. She's getting stuff for free, as if she's one of them. He gives her his bread. He gives her his dip. She ate so much that, do you see it in the text? She had leftovers.

34:09What does she do with her leftovers? Hold on to that question. We're going to revisit that in a moment. What does she do with those leftovers? In verse 15, she goes back to work. And then notice what happens. Boaz tells his male servants to pretty much give her as much food as she wants. And in verse 17, she worked until it was dark. She worked. Until it was dark, and then she stayed even longer to prepare and carry an ephah of material, of food, back home. And ephah's, we think, somewhere around 25 pounds of barley back to Bethlehem on her back after working from before the sun came up to after the sun went down. Finally, Boaz tells his workers in verse 15: don't insult her.

34:55She's working. When you realize God's restoration in your life, you must appreciate the people that he sends to you to love you and to care for you along the way. That's the idea that we're seeing here in Ruth. It's a very important lesson here. Never forget to show appreciation for how God has used people in your life to encourage you to press on, to not give up. She took personal responsibility, and God rewarded her through the hand of others.

35:28Lastly, number four, you must recount the significance of every detail. Tell others about the significant details that God used through the hands of other people in His restoration process and His providence. Do you see, excuse me, do you remember verse 14? I asked you to think about what happened to the leftovers. She had leftovers at lunch. Look what happens to the leftovers, her extra food, in the last part of verse 18. The last part of verse 18. Here's what happens to the leftovers. Mother-in-law saw that she had gleaned. She, that's Ruth, also took it and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. Can you see it? I don't know if they had pockets and whatever it is they wore. She pulled the leftover food out and she gives it to her mother-in-law. That's lunch. How long had it been since Naomi had eaten? You see, they just got back from climbing 4,000 feet on their way back to Bethlehem. She went to work. She got there before the sun came up. She got home after the sun went down. She saved her lunch for Naomi. Had Naomi eaten anything that day?

36:41She's thinking of others. It's more important of herself. She's learning Hesed. She's committed to her mother-in-law. Ruth isn't, she's not just a taker, she's a giver. What she had, she didn't deserve. What she didn't deserve, she used it to bless someone else who was going through God's restoration process. That's the idea. Let's help people who are going through the restoration process. That's the idea. She does it. Notice Ruth's the conversation in verse 19. Her mother-in-law then said to her, Where did you glean today?

37:30And where did you work? Jesus are coming back with 25 pounds of stuff and extra food. May he who took notice of you be blessed. So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, The name of the man with whom I work today is Boaz. Verse 1: The writer wanted us to know who Boaz is. Naomi didn't know it was Boaz until Ruth told her. Naomi hears the name Boaz for the first time, and immediately she prays for the man. Do you see her prayer in verse 20?

38:12She asked God to bless that man. God, please bless that man. We need to ask the Lord to bless those who are givers in our lives. That's what she does. And then she recognizes that God, I want you to think about this if you were here last week. She said it twice in the text last week. God afflicted her. God afflicted her in chapter one. And here we see that God has not removed his loving kindness from her at all. This is a total flip from last week. Last week, in chapter one, it was. It was ruin in return. Her husband was dead. Her sons were gone. She's a widow, has nothing. And now she says, His loving kindness, his firm grip of love, does not let go.

39:16She's recognizing that God is in control. Here's how she knows that God has not removed his love. Unbeknownst to Ruth, up until this point, Naomi says, Boaz is our relative in verse 20. And then one of our closest relatives, this isn't just some distant relative. This guy is close in the family. The Hebrew word here for closest relative is the word goel. I wouldn't normally tell you what the Hebrew words are, but this is an important word. It appears 104 times in the Hebrew Bible, and 25% of them appear right here in the four chapters of Ruth. This is an important word. If we don't understand this word closest relative, this word goel, we're going to miss the whole idea of the book of Ruth. It won't make any sense. He's the closest relative to her.

40:08The book of Ruth. In the book of Ruth, Goel means this. People are legally bound to care for the members of their family who are unable to care for themselves. Lucky Ruth, boy, she fell in that land. And here's Boaz to rescue her. I don't have much faith in luck. God. Put her there. God has you where you are for a reason, He's working in our lives, He's legally responsible for her. Goel means Redeemer. Boaz in the Old Testament illustrates Jesus' two greatest commandments: Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.

41:05Jesus said those words a long time after Boaz and Ruth, and yet Boaz was living it long before he said it. This ain't Ruth's lucky strike. This is God's providence, his hand of providence at work. I have a question for you. Are you excitedly telling people about God's hand in your life, working in your life? Boaz is the polar opposite of the book of Judges. He is doing that which is right in the sight of God, not in his own sight.

41:44He does what's right in the sight of his God. Oh, that we would be a people like this. Glance back down at verse 21. Because Ruth has more details to recount about God's providence, doesn't she? Essentially, Ruth recounts about how Boaz wants her to. Keep her gleaning, keep on gleaning with his servants until the end of the harvest season. Don't just stop today. Keep going. That's the idea. Keep going in my field. Verse 22, Naomi recognizes the significance of Ruth's safety while she works with Boaz's servants. In verse 23, we see Ruth heeding Boaz and Naomi's instructions, the wise instructions of these godly people, that she stay with the maids, with his maids. We also notice in the last few words in verse 23 that Ruth is doing what she said she'd do, dwelling where Naomi dwells. She made a commitment: I will dwell where you dwell. I live where you live. Believers of all people need to turn to God. We must return to his loving kindness with that firm grip of his love on our life if we ever want to see this kind of hope in the midst of ruin and restoration. This was written for our instruction, the New Testament tells us.

43:09From a human perspective, God was seen in chapter 1 as dealing bitterly with Naomi's life. But these bitter circumstances, they led Ruth and Naomi back to Bethlehem, where God uses Boaz to restore Ruth and Naomi to him. Let's see if I can just encapsulate what we've learned today. Just a little bit of a reminder. As you return to the Lord for his restoration, maybe it's sometime in the future, maybe it's not now, but in the future, just think about Ruth.

43:46Think about this. You have to take personal responsibility. Don't just wait for something to happen. She got up before the sun rose. She got back after the sun went down. She worked hard. Be willing to receive wise instruction, even when it hurts. I'm talking about wise instruction. I'm not talking about unbiblical, foolish ideas. I'm talking about wise instruction from God's Word. Three, show appreciation for the people that God brings to you along the way. Say thank you. Fourth, be certain to recount the significance of every detail of what God has done through the hands of other people.

44:29In the next couple of weeks, you're going to see how God's providence leads Ruth and Boaz to become the great grandparents of King David, from whom the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has come. Do you know Ruth's descendant? Do you know Jesus, the Messiah? We're going to see that's why this book was written later on. We're going to see that it points to King David and eventually the Messiah that would come from his loins. Have you ever come to Jesus, the Messiah, to him for rest and restoration? The kind of rest and restoration that these dear women have come for? And yet they didn't even know it, but God gave it to them anyway.

45:18Here's a loving and courageous promise for you, and God keeps his promises. I read this last week at the end of the service. I want to read it again because I think it's so appropriate. These are Jesus' words, and he encourages you with his invitation in Matthew 11:28 through 30. Jesus says, This, Come to me, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

45:59That's promise. He says, For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Can you identify with these women? Christian, are you one like this who needs Jesus' promise realized in your life? Are you taking responsibility? Are you thanking people along the way? Are you recognizing God's hand on the ragged edges of your life as he walks you through? It take my yoke upon you. Find your rest in me, Jesus says. Let's pray together, Father. It's by your hand of providence that we're here today. It's by your hand of providence that you saw to it that this book of Ruth would be written. It's by your hand of providence that this family went through, Lord, heart-wrenching destruction and ruin. It's by your hand of providence that you restored them. If we don't like the rabble that was their life, the hard times that we went through, we have no claim to your grace. We have no claim to your restoration.

47:18Lord, continue your restoring hands in our lives. And in the end, we give you thanks because you're strategically using people, your word, your son, to encourage us to remain strong and faithful to win this race of life with praise on our lips for your glory. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.