Ruth 1:1-14 "Portraits of Faithfulness: Ruth"

1:11When Ruth begins, there is a famine in Israel, and the text does not explicitly say that the famine was a disciplinary measure for sin, but God often brought famine as a response to Israel's sin in the Old Testament. And we meet this man, his name is Elimelech, and he's from Bethlehem. And this really doesn't come out in our English translations, but this whole thing is dripping with irony. Bethlehem means house of bread. But there is a famine in the land. There is no bread in this house. And Elimelech, his name means, my God is king.

1:52But this man doesn't seem to regard God as the king of his life. If the famine was, in fact, judgment for sin, he doesn't lead his family to repent. And even if it wasn't judgment for sin, he doesn't lead his family to pray and trust God and his promises during these tough times they're experiencing. Instead, he takes his family out of the promised land, out of the land of blessing, out of the land that his ancestors waited 40 long years to get into and fought to settle, the place where God promised to provide abundantly for his people as long as they worshipped and served him alone.

2:36And Elimelech leads his family out of the promised land to Moab of all places. The Moabites hated Israel and Israel's God. They worshipped a host of false gods like Chemosh and Molech, who required child sacrifice. Intermarriage often resulted in idolatry, as we know from Israel's history, and so marrying Moabites was strongly disposed. Discouraged. Nevertheless, Elimelech's sons marry Orpah and Ruth, two Moabite women. And then Elimelech dies, and both of the sons die before they have any children. It certainly does not seem that God has blessed this excursion to Moab.

3:18Well, at this point, Elimelech's widow, Naomi, decides to return to Bethlehem, not really as an act of repentance, but just because there's now food back there. The famine is over. Her two daughters-in-law, who clearly love her very much, offer to return with her to her people, and that is a very big deal. They are going to be strangers and outsiders in Israel, just as Naomi and her family were in Moab. But as we heard, Naomi tells them to go back to their people and to find husbands to marry. It's a perfectly reasonable, rational argument. And while it pains Orpah to do so, she sees the wisdom in it, so she sheds some tears, she kisses Naomi, and then she goes back to Moab.

4:03But not Ruth. The text says that Ruth clung to Naomi. And Ruth becomes one of the most faithful people in the Bible. She's undoubtedly one of my favorite historical figures. And so this morning, whether you are already following God or not, Ruth's story is going to challenge you. She's going to be a person who gets. Introduced to God as a young adult, puts her faith in him, and then she lives in such a way that puts many of us who have grown up knowing about God, knowing his word, to shame by the way that she lives by faith. So, whether you're just introduced to God for the first time today, or if you've been following him for a long time, Ruth's story is going to confront us. It confronts our wishy-washiness, our justifications, our excuses, our compromises, our weak faith. And so, I'm hopeful that Ruth's story is going to bless and minister to you this morning. And what we're going to learn through the book of Ruth today is that, like Ruth, we must worship God alone. We must work diligently, and we must walk in holiness.

5:27So, look with me now at chapter 1, verse 15, and let's pick up there in the text. Verse 15 of chapter 1. And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.

6:14Every time I read this story, it really amazes me how hard Naomi tries to get Ruth to go back to Moab. I mean, on the one hand, I get it. If Ruth comes with her, she's going to be a stranger in a strange land, probably an unwelcome one at that, because she's a Moabite. It's unlikely anyone's going to want to marry her or start a family with her, and so she and Naomi are probably just going to be destitute together back in the land of Israel. But if Ruth stays, she's in her home country among her people. She's got a support network. She can probably get remarried and start over. Naomi loves Ruth and she wants the best for her. So I get all of that. But on the other hand, Naomi is theoretically a believer in the one true God, the creator and sustainer of all the earth, the one who is in control of all things and promises to provide for his people. But frankly, you wouldn't know any of that from the way that she and her family have been living their lives to this point.

7:19Naomi should have told Orpa and Ruth, Look, I know that our family hasn't been living this way, but we need to make God the king of our Lives. He wasn't king when my husband was alive. He wasn't king when my sons were alive, but he needs to be our king now. Come back to Israel with me. It's going to be scary. The three of us are traveling through the desert alone, back to an unknown future. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that God has got us. Will you put your faith in God and come back with me?

7:59But she doesn't say anything like that. Instead, she says, go back to your people and your gods. She says, even if I were to get married tonight and have children, are you going to wait for them to grow up and become your husbands? There's no future for us. It's not a very God-centered way of looking at the world. But it's very familiar, isn't it? Aren't we constantly tempted to walk by sight instead of faith? Aren't we constantly tempted to view God and his promises through the lens of our circumstances instead of our circumstances through the lens of God and his promises? That's our constant temptation. We've all been there, so we don't hypocritically judge Naomi, but we've got to call a spade a spade. And she is walking by fear and not by faith. And maybe you yourself have been living this way.

8:57But Ruth's response is to tell Naomi. That under no circumstances is she going back to Moab. Naomi's people, the Israelites, are going to become her people, and Yahweh, the God of Israel, is going to become her God. She even takes an oath. She calls down an oath and says, May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you. Ruth's response is so otherworldly that you know God is doing a supernatural work inside of her heart. That is the only explanation for this response. That God granted her the faith to turn from her false gods when she had no evidence whatsoever at this point that God would do anything for her.

9:44All she had at this point was a life of tragedy and heartache. All she had at this point were the examples of people who called themselves believers who did not walk by faith. But nothing could persuade Ruth to go back to her false gods. In spite of everything, she was convinced that the God of Israel was the only true God, and she was prepared to leave everything behind to follow him. Because, friends, there is no other way.

10:17That's what it takes. It takes the willingness to leave everything behind for God. And you are only going to do that if you believe in your heart that it's worth it. In Matthew 19, a rich young man comes up to Jesus and he wants to know what he needs to do to inherit eternal life. So Jesus tells him, you know the commandments. You've got to keep the commandments. And the young man ignorantly says that he's kept all of those from his youth. His parents would certainly testify that he has always honored his father and mother, no doubt.

10:52Thank you. I'm like, are there any parents in the room here? So Jesus tells him, Look, you've got to sell all that you've got, give it to the poor, and then come and follow me. But the young man goes away sad. Why? Because he doesn't really want to worship God. He loves his stuff. He's not willing to leave that behind. And so a few moments later in the conversation, Peter says to Jesus, See, we've left everything to follow you. What then will we have? Look at how Jesus responds.

11:22Truly I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for my name's sake will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. See, Jesus is very clear. We've got to be prepared to leave everything in order to follow him. Definitely our false gods, definitely the desire to be kings and queens of our own land. Life, we've got to be prepared, like Ruth, to even leave our families behind if they won't follow Jesus with us.

12:09But it is worth it. Jesus says that if we follow Him, we're going to receive a hundred-fold what we left behind, plus eternal life. That's what we were talking about last week with Moses. How could Moses turn his back on the treasures of Egypt, on having everything that you could ever want? He was only able to do that because he was looking to the reward, looking to what was coming in the future. And that is what Ruth is doing. She was looking to the reward, and because of that, she was willing to walk away from everything and everyone that she knew. Friends, God will not let you down.

12:53We have testimony after testimony in the pages of Scripture. God will never let you down. He promises it and He demonstrates it over and over, but you have to turn away from every other God. You've got to turn away from hope in yourself. You've got to turn away from the desire to rule your own life and you've got to worship Him alone because He will not share His glory with another. So ask yourself: Am I walking by faith in the one true God?

13:27Or am I walking by faith in myself? In others, in the world and its wisdom? How you answer that question will reveal to you whether you believe Jesus when he says that everyone who leaves everything to follow him will receive a hundredfold plus eternal life. Like Ruth, we must worship God alone. Let's turn over now to chapter two, where we'll see that like Ruth, we must work diligently. Ruth chapter two, verse one. Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him, in whose sight I shall find favor. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. So she set out 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 clan of Elimelech.

14:36Friends, what an example Ruth sets for us in terms of what it looks like to actually walk by faith when she arrives in Bethlehem. So many people have this attitude of let go and let God. And what that means is that we sit around and we wait for God to Do something in our life, or at best, we pray and then we sit around and wait for God to do something in our life. But Ruth, who is a brand new believer, will not have any of that nonsense. She seems to understand implicitly what the Bible teaches explicitly, and that is that God ordinarily works through means.

15:24So here's what I mean by that. The Bible is clear that it is God who provides everything we need, including our food to eat. Jesus says, don't be anxious about what you're going to eat or what you're going to drink. Your Father knows what you need, and he will provide it. The question is: how? How does God provide the food that we need to eat? Well, take a look at a couple of scriptures. Proverbs 20, verse 4. The sluggard does not plow in the autumn. He will seek at harvest and have nothing.

15:56Look at Ecclesiastes 11. In the morning, sow your seed, and at evening, withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. So, friends, what we learn from these two verses and many other places in Scripture is that God is the one who provides us with food to eat. But how does God provide us with food to eat? Through hard work. If the farmer does not get up and plow the ground and sow the seed and water it, And fertilize it, if the shipping and supply companies don't get those products to the market, if the grocers don't do their job, if we don't work hard to have money to trade to buy food to eat, we ain't going to eat.

16:44That's what the Bible teaches. How does God provide for us? He provides for us through hard work. And Ruth gets that. So listen, when she arrives in Bethlehem, she doesn't sit around and wait for God to provide as though that is what faith looks like. She doesn't tell Naomi, Let's go sit on the corner and beg. She doesn't say to Naomi, Who can we ask for a handout? No, Ruth says, Let me go out and work.

17:15I understand that in Israel, the farmers are supposed to leave the corners of the fields available for the poor. They're supposed to let some of the sheaves fall to the ground so the poor can come and pick those up. Ruth says, Let me go out and work so that we can eat. And boy, does Ruth work hard. Go down to verse 7 in your Bible. This is what Boaz's foreman said to Boaz. Verse 7, chapter 2. Ruth said, Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. So she came and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest. Go down to verse 17.

17:59So she She gleaned in the field until evening, then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Go down to verse 23. So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, and she lived with her mother-in-law. Friends, right there is some real work ethic. This is the Middle East. It's harvest season. It's a billion degrees outside. Ruth is an eligible young woman. She probably could have batted her eyelashes at those young men and got food every day.

18:41But she doesn't do that. She goes out there from morning until evening, every single day, gathering sheaves, beating out the grain herself so that she and Naomi can eat every day until the end of the barley and the wheat harvests. Ruth trusted God to provide, but she concluded that the way God was going to provide for her and Naomi was through hard work. She didn't let go and let God. She did not embrace victimhood. She did not make her poverty somebody else's problem. She got up and got to work.

19:18And so, brothers and sisters, this is one aspect of living by faith. It is adopting the biblical mentality that says, God is the provider, He promises to take care of every one of my needs. And the needs of my family, but he does that through means. And the ordinary way that God is going to provide is through hard work. But that is a concept that many Christians have a tough time embracing, and that's not new. Look at what Paul had to write to the Thessalonians in the first century. 1 Thessalonians 5:14. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idol. I want you to look at those words: admonish the idol. The word admonish means bring a strong correction to warn someone of the dangerous consequences of their action, or in this case, their inaction.

20:11So you think, okay, Paul wrote that to the Thessalonians, surely things got cleaned up, but they didn't. And a few years later, he has to write this very long section of 2 Thessalonians. Take a look at this. He says, Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it. But with toil and labor, we worked night and day that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when We were with you, we would give you this command. If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busy bodies. Now, such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and earn their own living.

21:24Brothers and sisters, idleness is simply not an option for a follower of Jesus Christ. God commands Christians to work quietly and earn our own living, to follow Paul's example of laboring to provide for ourselves and our families. If we are not willing to work, then we can't eat. Now, I want you to notice that word willing. Some people are willing to work, but they're unable to work because they're sick or they're injured or they're incapable for one reason or another. In those cases, we should all work to provide for those people.

22:02They're willing, but they're not able. But that's not the case with most of us in the body of Christ. We are able to work, and so we must work to provide for ourselves and our families. That way, we're not putting a burden on the church when we could be working so that we, the church, can take care of those who really do need our financial help at various times. And so, we all understand here what is happening in America right now. The economy. Things are getting more and more and more expensive. We all feel that. And so, men, what this may mean is that you might need to seek other employment or even a second job in order to provide for your family.

22:46Ladies, this may mean that at least for a season, you may need to give up being a homemaker or a homeschooler in order to get a job to help provide for your family. The Proverbs 31 woman was a devoted wife and mother, but she also had a business. Kids, you may need to give up the dream of being a YouTube influencer and go out and get a real job or make a real job. I'm very grateful. My parents did well financially. They made me work hard. And I had to learn that in my home. We could have bought stuff. They could have bought stuff for me, but they made me work. And we've done the same thing with our kids.

23:31Early on, we told our kids, listen, we want you to do well in school, but we're not under the illusion that anyone's going to the NFL, that anyone's going to the MLB or the NBA, that anyone's going to get a full ride to Harvard. And so what we want you to do is learn to work. And so as soon as our kids were able to work, they started getting jobs, and we started encouraging that. I am a firm believer in the idea. College students, high school students, I'm talking to you guys, parents, I'm talking to you about this. Our kids do not have too much to do. They have way too little to do. And I'm telling you, I've lived in this town for a quarter of a century. Will you believe me? When I say this, every student at Texas A ⁇ M that works does better in school. I have never seen an exception to that rule. I'm sure they are out there, but I've never seen it. And what your high school student needs is probably not 17 more hours of practice a week, is not 17 more hours of studying a week. They need to get a job. And so that's what we've done in our house. My son went to work at 6 o'clock this morning, and he's sitting right over there right now.

24:45So I want to encourage you guys not to adopt the American mentality that we just can't do this, that this is not best for our kids, that it's best if we just let them be, they can work later when they're adults. I think you set them best up for success and biblical living by teaching them the value of a dollar and getting them to work now. Ruth is a prime example of what faith in action looks like.

25:11Ruth was destitute, but she didn't embrace victimhood. She didn't sit on the corner and beg. She didn't make her poverty somebody else's problem. She was willing and able to work, so she went to work, and God provided for her and Naomi. Like Ruth, faith means that we work diligently. Let's turn over now to chapter 3, where we're going to see that like Ruth, we must walk in holiness. Ruth 3, verse 1. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do. And she replied, All that you say, I will do.

26:17So here is the situation. Naomi's family owns some land, and according to the Mosaic law, a widow's land could be sold, but the man who purchased the land also had to marry the widow. So Naomi tells Ruth essentially, go and propose to Boaz. Go communicate to him that you want him to redeem you by purchasing the land. Now, there are two ways that Ruth could have gone about this: the way of fear or the way of faith. The way of fear would have been to use the methods of the world, to come to Boaz when his heart was merry with wine and seduce him, and then Try to persuade him that because that happened or because she may be pregnant, that they had to get married. That is one way she could have handled it. That's one way Ruth could have secured her future and ensured that she and Naomi wouldn't be destitute and living paycheck to paycheck for the rest of their lives. But that would be the way of fear.

27:21The way of faith would have been to walk in holiness and to trust the Lord, to make clear her intentions to Boaz without sinning and to trust God with whatever happened. Boaz might reject her, but either way, Ruth would keep her integrity and trust God. Well, as you know, if you read the rest of the chapter, Ruth chose the way of faith. She chose to do exactly what Naomi said. She put on her best clothes, perfume, jewelry, whatever they could find, and she comes silently in the middle of the night, uncovers Boaz's feet, and lays down at his feet. That is what servants did in those days. They slept at the feet of their master. So now look at verse 8, chapter 3.

28:08Verse 8, At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. He said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer. 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 rich. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

28:45Boy, isn't that the truth? Ruth was as worthy of a woman as you could ever find, a woman of the highest character, and the whole town knew it. Her reputation was well known and universally praised. And she and Boaz were a great match because he was a man of the highest character as well. I mean, think about the situation. He has never taken advantage of Ruth a single time. He has protected her all harvest season, although there is a massive power imbalance between the two of them. Even if he's going to take advantage of Ruth, this is his chance, and he doesn't do it because he is a man who is above reproach, a man who is of the highest character. And so he goes at lengths even to protect her reputation after this situation happens, just so nobody gets the wrong idea. And then he does exactly what he promises to do. He buys the field, he marries Ruth, just as he promised. God rewarded Ruth for walking in holiness.

29:50Brothers and sisters, this whole situation reminds us that faith requires us to walk in holiness. We always have two options before us, the way of holy Fear and the way of faith. And what fear tells us is that we have to compromise our holiness to get ahead in the world. If you want to get married one day, you've got to compromise your sexual standards. If you want to get a job one day, you've got to compromise your academic standards. If you want to get a promotion, you've got to compromise your ethical standards. Fear acts as though God isn't good, God isn't powerful, or God doesn't exist at all.

30:35But faith tells us that we cannot compromise our holiness, that we must not compromise our holiness. God may not bless you in the ways that you want in this life, but one thing is certain. God does not bless compromise and justification and excuses and sin. He blesses faith. That is certain. When we walk by faith, the world will tell us that we are crazy. Sadly enough, even some professing Christians will tell us that we are crazy for not compromising our standards. But I want you to look at Psalm 33. Look at this reassurance, especially in light of what we're reading in Ruth this morning. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

31:30Friends, I'm not sure where you might have walked by fear rather than faith in your life or where you are currently being tempted to walk by fear rather than faith. But I know that God does not bless disobedience and sin. In the short run, it always seems like that's going to be the better path. That if we compromise, that's going to be the path to getting what we want and having things turn out the way that we want. But in the long run, sin always leads to death, not life. It always leads to bondage, not to freedom. It always leads to cursing and not to blessing. Like Ruth, we must walk in holiness because that is what faith does.

32:24The book of Ruth concludes by noting that Boaz and Ruth had a son named Obed. And Obed had a son named Jesse. And Jesse was the father of David, the shepherd boy who became the greatest king of Israel, and the one through whom our true king, Jesus Christ, would be born. So Ruth, the Moabite woman who put her faith in the God of Israel, was used by God to bring King David into the world, who was used by God to bring... the Messiah, Jesus Christ, into the world. Friends, we truly never know how God is going to bless our faithfulness.

33:10But Ruth is not the only character in this story who points us to Christ in one way or another. Boaz, her faithful husband, also points us to Christ. Because in this story, he is referred to as the kinsman redeemer. The kinsman redeemer. He had a family connection to Elimelech and Naomi and had the opportunity to pay to redeem Ruth and Naomi's family land, and that is what he did at great cost to himself. It wasn't just the financial cost, it was that his firstborn son was going to be named after Ruth's deceased husband. That's a real cost, and he chose to bear it. In the same way, Jesus, at great cost to himself, chose to become our kinsman redeemer. He had always existed as the Son of God, but he took on flesh and became our kinsman, our older brother, by incarnating, by taking on flesh and coming into this world through the Virgin Mary. And then Jesus lived a sinless life. He always worshipped God the Father alone. He always worked diligently as a carpenter and then as a rabbi, and he always walked in holiness. Although he was tempted in every way, he never sinned.

34:35Then he offered himself up on the cross in our place. He died, was buried, and rose again so that our kinsman, our brother Jesus, could become our Redeemer to redeem us from the curse of sin. Look at Galatians 3. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

35:14Friends, if you have not done so, put your faith in Jesus Christ this morning. He is the one who can redeem you from your sin and its consequences, and he alone is the one who can do that. Like Ruth, decide today that you will worship God alone, work diligently, and walk in holiness as a matter of faith. Let's pray. Father, we give you thanks for the incredible story of Ruth. That this woman sets such an example for us in each of the ways that we've talked about this morning.

36:18God, I pray for each person who is tempted to go back to those gods that they have worshipped at other times in their lives: money, sex, power, success, leisure, pleasure, whatever those gods were. I pray that you would give them faith to turn from those gods, to turn to you and you alone. God, forgive us for the times that we have walked in idleness, that we haven't worked hard as unto you. Help us to be men and women who set an example for our coworkers, for our children, for our friends, for each other in the church as a matter of faith.

37:12And God, help us to be people who walk in holiness, who refuse to compromise under the illusion, the wrong illusion, that that's going to get us ahead. Help us to trust in you like Ruth did. God, at this Christmas season, we are so thankful that you used Ruth to bring Jesus Christ into the world, to redeem us and to save us from our sin and its consequences. We thank you for her faithfulness, and we pray that you would help us to be faithful as she was faithful. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

38:01Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.