Ep 485 | A Virtuous Woman - Greg Branch 1/29/23

Well, thank you again. I'd like to reiterate what Wade

said to those who were responsible for inviting such a

wonderful lunch and I will try to do my part in keeping that

sugar as energy and not coma. We're going to take our study

this afternoon, the topic that simply called a virtuous woman.

I intentionally didn't put the passage up here.

I've only given this one other time and so it's a new lesson,

you're part of the guinea pigs, that have to help me work out

the Kinks. But when I gave it at home, I

think there were five or six people before.

Service says, oh proverbs 31. Proverbs 31.

And I said, no, that's why I didn't put the verse.

In fact, I have a Sermon on The Virtuous Woman for proverbs 31,

but I'll tell you. One of the most common negative

responses I've had to that is women that say that just

exhausts me. I love it.

I know it's true but it's just overwhelming.

I how can anybody be that? Well, we won't get into that.

You know, proverbs 31 is an acrostic, it's basically Alpha

to Omega which is the Hebrew version or that's the Greek

version I guess. But it's a doozy.

Of of a, basically a description.

So it's takes all the letters of the alphabet and start sheets

statement with that. And so, it's intended to be like

this over in some ways, just overwhelming representation, but

the idea or the concept of being a virtuous woman should not be

overwhelming. Now, in fact, I'll say this

about the sermon. If you're sitting here today and

you're like, I'm not a woman so good.

I get to sit here and think what I need to expect out of the

women in my life. That's not where this Essence

actually going. In fact this word virtuous in

the Hebrew comes from a word that literally means a force.

And in the scripture that I have reference it says I will do for

you all that you request for all the people of my town know that

you are a virtuous woman. They know that you're a force of

a woman. Now, this word Force, as I

understand it, I told you this morning, these Hebrew words are

defined because they don't just take Bible manuscripts, they

take any manuscript. They can get and try to

understand how these words. The definition based on how they

were used in context and an old manuscripts that are found other

than biblical. This word is used to describe

strength. That is used to describe power.

It's used to describe melt might and even wealth.

Now, in biblical usage. We know this is a force of good

character. And this is indeed, I think the

context of this, but I want us to broaden as we go into this

study this afternoon. I don't want us as men to sit

there and think, well, this is what the women should do.

I don't want the young people to say this is what the adults

should do. I want us in turn to look at

this and say, how can we be a force of a Christian?

In Bakersfield in the congregation here in the

community, wherever you live, when I go back to Oakdale, how

can I be a force in Oakdale for good for God?

How can Rachel do that? How can we all take on

characteristics? There was something about this

woman that caused this person to say.

I'm going to do for you what you've asked because everybody,

I know this in the everybody, in town knows what a force of a

woman you are. And I want to do this now.

Who was this? I don't know.

I found before Services people start saying, well, where is it

then? Where is it?

One person said, I see what you're doing.

They knew where this came from mediately, once they Realized,

it wasn't proverbs. Comes from The Book of Ruth.

And Ruth chapter 3, Boaz is now talking and he says and now my

Ruth 3 · chapter mention

daughter do not fear, I will do for you all that you request for

all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.

You're a force of a woman. And I'm going to do what, what

did Beau as know about Ruth would cause him to say, I've

heard about you? Everybody in town knows about

you and knows your virtuous. I'm going to suggest that one of

the first two things that, but one of the first few things that

Boaz knew about Ruth is that she had married into the people of

God and she had been converted. She refused to go back to where

she came from or even blame God when tragedy struck their lives.

Now, if you're not familiar with the story of Ruth, I'm not going

to go and read through the whole book.

You can do that on your own time.

I hope you don't do it during the sermon, but I'll just say,

if you get bored, if you get lost, pull out your Old

Testament, go to the Book of Ruth, it's a short read, you'll

be done. Before I am And in fact I'm only

going to cover. What's found up to Ruth chapter

Ruth 3 · chapter mention

3 and verse 11 because I'm trying to figure out what did

Beau as what did the tell know about her by this time.

If you back up to chapter 12, beginning of the story, you're

going to find out that she had a husband named elimelech or she

had a father-in-law named elimelech.

Her mother-in-law's name was Naomi.

They had two boys mail on and chili on They had left Judah

because there was famine in the land of Judah and they heard

that there was food in Moab. So they went, there just is a

survival choice, they made. It seems they went to that place

and while they're there. Elimelech dies.

I don't know if he dies before, they took wives.

The scripture says, they took wise and I don't know if the

labor, they refused refers to a haemolytic and Naomi or if it

were refers to Milan and chili on.

I can't figure out when they elimelech died but they while

they were there male on and Chilean.

Married to Moab women girls, orpah and Ruth.

And then those boys die. It's at least a decade after

they have moved into Moab. And Naomi says, I hear there's

food again and in Judah and I just need to return.

And from the reading, I'm convinced that orpah and Ruth or

are going along with them because the way I read it, she

ultimately says, look girls, you don't need to go with me.

I'm not going to have any more Sons.

I'm not going to get married again, even if I did get married

again, I even if I had a child tonight, are you really going to

wait? They're men.

No, you girls, go back, you go back to your people, go back to

your gods. Time out.

What Naomi is encouraging? Someone to go back to a false,

god in the Hebrew. It's a little G.

It's l I think is it's a generic word for God, it's not Yahweh.

They have a little bit of a cry Fest.

No, we're not going. Yes.

We're going orpah. Ultimately goes back.

And Ruth says, I'm not going. In fact, the next verses

beginning in verse 16 Ruth, here's what she says to her

entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following

after you, for wherever you go, I will go and wherever you

Lodge, I will Lodge your people shall be my people and your God,

my God. This is not that Hebrew word, l.

She's like I'm not going back to those.

That's not the same. She has, I'm converted.

I'm not going back there and stop begging me to leave you.

I'm not going to I won't turn for following.

I'm going where you go, you know, I'm ashamed to tell you.

I'm not sure how old I was, but I was a lot older.

I was married with kids before it.

Like there's, this aha moment that's not talking about two

people in love. That are committing themselves

in marriage. This is the daughter-in-law to

the mother-in-law. That's awesome.

Now, not that I want Taylor to leave her family, but I want her

to have that kind of relationship with Rachel.

I want our daughter lost to love one another.

I want them to be kind and and had this kind of affection this

kind of commitment to a family. She's not going where you go.

I want to live where you live, your people are now my people,

your God is my God. Where you die, I will die and

there will I be buried? This was not just about Ruth

saying I'm going to take care of you till you die.

That I'll go back to my people culturally That might have been

something. That's not what she's saying.

She says, I'm going to be buried where you're buried.

That's a big deal. You remember, how many of the

Patriarchs, how many of those under the old Covenant?

If they died in a land? That wasn't Thursday.

Wouldn't have their their kids promise to take and put their

bones back in the cave where the other families buried Joseph in

the land of Egypt. He said before he died, I know

this is going to be a long time before.

Everybody is delivered out of Egypt and the great Exodus and

that deliverance from slavery. But promise me when you go,

you'll carry my bones with youth.

Because he knew that was not his place.

Is he really going to know that one of those bones win or not?

No. But while he was living, he

wanted his bones to be amongst his people.

When they, when Bruce says her, she's going to be buried where

she is saying, I am, totally converted, I am committed and I

will tell you, that's the first. Massive lesson, if we get

nothing else out of this this afternoon about what it takes to

be a force of a person in our community and in our church it's

that when we are converted were converted and we're not going to

go back when things turn South and when tragedy strikes our

life, even if the people that are closest to are ready to give

up. We're not, we're never going to

give up what else? Did Boaz know about her?

I think second of all, he knew she didn't lose faith.

Faith, when her family, when her Mentor became bitter.

In fact, now, the two of them went until they came to

Bethlehem and it happen. Now, we got to stop myself for

just a second. In the verses in between, after

Ruth, has told Naomi, don't plead with these stop.

Stop trying to get me to do this.

It says she spoke to her no more.

Now, that's an interesting statement and I'm not sure if it

means they wouldn't talk. If they were mad, if she was

angry, or if it just means, They Mourn are no more talked about

this matter. and it occurred to me, there's also a another

option You know, sometimes when people are overwhelmed with

grief, they just stop talking. At all.

And I learned a lesson from Ruth in this fine, we'll just walk

together. And it may be that the best way

you can help somebody that needs you, when they grieve is just to

walk with them. Don't try to tell them how

everything's going to be. Okay, don't tell them our own

world just be there. They'll talk when they're ready.

I don't know if that's exactly what went on here, but I know

that as a coping strategy and sometimes if we open our mouths

we just stick our foot in it anyway.

If they don't want to talk that's okay.

Be with them. Walk with them.

They walk along until they came to Bethlehem.

It happened when they come to Bethlehem that all the city was

excited because of them and the women says, is this Naomi that's

fascinating to me because people don't change that much.

Do they it's only been 10 years, maybe a little more and they're

trying to figure out. If this is Naomi in my mind, I

picture not only as this grief affected her inside, it's

affected her outside. Maybe she used to care for

herself baber, maybe she's grain wrinkles and she's forlorn knows

what she is, but they have to ask us.

This is her and she said to them, do not call me Naomi.

Call me Mara for the almighty, has dealt with very bitterly

with me, I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again.

Empty imagine how truthful. Why do you call me Naomi?

Since the Lord has testified against me and the almighty has

Afflicted me Naomi literally He means Pleasant in the Hebrew,

Mara you read the book of Exodus, the Waters of marah.

What were they were bitter? They were poison.

And it seems to me that Naomi thinks she's just poison.

Everything's gone bad for her. She went out full of, she went

out with hope. They had, they were trying to

take care of things in the way they felt.

Like they should take care of them and now she comes back and

she feels like she's poisoned people around her a dying.

She's a don't even call me by that anymore.

Ruth is determined to stay and support.

Her mother-in-law despite the fact her mother-in-law will just

since she went back to her other gods.

But by this point Ruth knows she has something far greater

somewhere. She's going to stay.

I want to tell you sometimes, the people that have influenced

us the most that have perhaps brought us right to the steps of

conversion and helped us understand the gospel and we put

so much faith and confidence in them and then they disappoint.

Maybe they fall away. I don't know.

We all have our own story. The key to being a force of a

Christian of a virtuous woman, a force of a woman.

Like Ruth is that's not going to make us.

Stop that will not cause us to leave.

What else did Boaz know about Ruth that would cause her

virtuous. He knew Ruth was an idol.

He knew she just did what she could.

In fact, in chapter 2 verse 2. It says, so Ruth, the moabite is

said to Naomi. Please let me go to the field

and glean heads of grain after him and whose side, I may find

favor and she said to her, go my daughter, then she left and went

and gleaned in the field after the Reapers.

You know what The Gleaners were. They picked up scraps.

In fact, according to the Old Law they were, if you had a

field in a harvest, you weren't supposed to go back and harvest

back through a second time. It was supposed to be left for

the foreigners. It was supposed to be left for

those that were poor. In fact, they weren't even

supposed to harvest the corners of the fields, right?

Fascinating point we could get off onto my idea of the, the

social gospel. God never did tell those people

you set up a Fruit Stand On The Edge and make it easy and bag

everything up. So that the people that didn't

have anything, we'll have something to eat.

It wasn't a soup kitchen, they just handed out.

He says, you provide that they can come in and work to God did

not intend for us to just be takers all the time from what

the other people had worked and Naomi was the kind of person she

wasn't Idol. She says I can't just sit around

here. I know you're grieving.

I know that you need to do what you need to do but I To get out

and do something please. Can I at least just go glean in

the fields. She said, I want to take on the

role of the Foreigner, the homeless.

Like we just prayed for I want to take on the rule role of the

lowest and society and that's okay with me.

I'll do anything time out real quick.

Got some young boys here. Maybe some young girls.

When it's time for you to grow up, don't think you got to get a

job like Frankie God or way got you know, at the top or whatever

you got to immediately start doing this.

You take, whatever you can get. I can't speak for everybody but

I know a lot of people that got to where they are and they're

successful now and they started out laboring sweeping the floors

dewatering the site, taking a wire brush and brush in that mud

off the rebar because the footings all got flooded, nobody

wanted to do it. Lot of guys that I'm not doing

that, I'll go home and sit at home before I'll do that.

I know highly successful people that would do anything.

They would have gleaned the fields.

That's the that's part of what made Ruth, a virtuous force of a

woman. She didn't have to say, look, I

don't go see if I can get somebody, let me harvest in

their field. When we go to the, get the

corners before the hoarders, get them.

She gleaned behind them, she left and she went and gleaned in

the field. What did she do?

She did what she could and in this congregation you may look

and say I'd love to be able to do such and such but I don't

know how to do that. I'd love to be able to do this,

but I don't have the financial combat capability to do that,

but what I saw this afternoon was pretty exciting.

I saw people washing dishes wipe and tables.

Doing what you can. When we will do what we can and

not think everybody else is always going to do it for us.

Then we become a Force in the Church of Bakersfield or

wherever we're from what else did Boaz see?

That would cause him to call Ruth virtuous.

She thought of others and she shared her blessings in verse

14. It says now Boaz said to her at

mealtime. Come here he eat of the bread.

Dip, your piece of bread in the vinegar now.

That used to sound gross to me. Honestly, I did not like vinegar

least. I didn't think I did turns out

pickles that vinegar in them. But dipping your bread and

vinegar. And then I started the, these

Greek Mediterranean restaurant started.

Come around you. Put that will and vinegar and

they take that kind of looks like communion bread.

The pitas dip that. Wow, that's good.

That's what I picture when I read this He's like, come on

here, you eat with us here, have some of the vinegar, dip your

bread. So she set beside the Reapers

and past Parts Grant. And they and he passed Parts

grain to her. And she ate and was satisfied

and kept some back. Now, if you make the mistake, we

sometimes making you stop reading there year, they stop

and dwell on that you ever do that reading and you just stop

and think about let some soaked in.

You think that poor thing? She's so afraid, she's not going

to get any more. She don't put some in her pocket

because she knows you get hungry later and this spreads really

good. Was that what she was doing?

Good thing is, you don't have to read very far.

It says, she took it up and went to the city and her

mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.

So, she brought out and gave to her what she had kept back

after. She had been satisfied, you know

what she did with that food? She kept back, she thought nail

me with like this. It makes me wonder did their

bread tastes different, you know, did you talk about people?

Say, well, I love her bread. It just like, I can't, it's

breads bread, right? No, it's true.

Turns out. It's not.

I wonder, she wanted Naomi because this was special bread,

or she just knew she'd been a hard day and know him Naomi

wasn't eaten. Two things.

I notice in this passage that help make Ruth be a force of a

woman. First of all, she took care of

her own needs. Scripture says she was satisfied

first and some of you don't know how to take care of your own

needs. You're so worried about making

sure Naomi get some She took care of her own needs and that's

okay. She still a force of a woman and

she took, what was she could to set aside?

And then go take care of other people, too.

Don't neglect yourself as you try to be help to other people.

You'll still be a virtuous woman.

And in my mind, that's part of what helps you be?

A force of a woman. Lest we forget guys, timeout.

This is how anybody can be a force.

A virtuous force in the church and she took it back.

What else did Boaz know about her?

That would call him cause him to call her virtuous.

She knew she followed wise advice in issues of faith and

issues of Liberty. If you go to chapter 2 and verse

22, now Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law.

It is good. My daughter that you go out with

his young women and that people do not meet you in any other

field. She found out who she was with,

he says, you need to stick close to him and to his people.

So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz to glean until the

end of The Barley Harvest and wheat Harvest she stays through

both artists and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.

This, I infer from this. She had choice.

She could have gone any field she wanted to nobody.

Her Naomi wasn't following her out there and stopping her Boaz.

Encouraged her to stay with his people and he charged his men.

You don't lay a hand on her. And he may be like well why

would he have to say that? Very first verse of the Book of

Ruth says this happens during the time of the judges.

If you're not familiar with the Book of Judges, go back and read

it, it's a longer read and I'm going to do that in 10 minutes.

But now, look, you think the evening news is depressing, read

the Book of Judges, and some of the things that happen,

especially to young women that were beautiful.

Poor ethic. Back to this story, you stay

with my men, you don't leave their protection and young men

don't lay a hand on her. Her mother-in-law says, is a

good advice stick there. She had a choice.

She took wise advice, it was her Liberty, go where she wanted to

go? Which field she wanted to go?

Whether it was with Boaz or not, she took good advice and she and

she stayed Little with her mother-in-law.

She kept taking care of her. She followed wise advice in

faith. In Liberty.

Think there's one last thing that she learned about Ruth or

he knew about Ruth he knew, she chose virtuous priorities.

Not wealth, not youth, not Beauty.

When she made life's most important decisions.

If you go into chapter 3 and, you know, we're getting a verse

11. So I'm about to run out of

things. He knows about her.

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her.

My daughter, shall I? Not seek security for you?

That it may be well with you. What's that mean?

Here's what I believe it means Naomi is like I'm not going to

be here forever. I'm going to give you some

advice that will help you be taken care of and it can you can

have a good life, it will be well with you.

Now, Boaz whose young women you were with is he not our

relative? In fact he's winnowing barley

tonight at the threshing floor. Why does this matter?

He's a relative one things that seem to be very important about

all of these cultures and probably even the culture.

And Moab is that family names were everything.

Still is you should have seen the text that Wade sent to me

and his brothers when Charlie was a boy.

That Branch name they haven't done that yet.

He's doing his part. Under the Old Law.

If a situation like happened in omi's family, where the men are

all gone, how's the family name? What's going to carry that?

And if you know the Old Law, you know, that's how their property.

That's how they had land. That was, it was territories,

were based on this name. She says, he's part of the

family. In fact, he's wondering barley

therefore, wash yourself and anoint yourself put on your best

garment and go down to the threshing.

Floor Ruth, you need to clean up You need to know yourself.

It's like a perfume. And one to make yourself known

to that. I do not want you to make

yourself known to the man till he's finished eating and

drinking you just go down there and you wait.

Wonder what time. She went down there.

She says, then it shall be when he lies down that you shall

notice the place where he lies, you shall go in uncover, his

feet and lie down and he will tell you what you should do.

Now I got a film that's what the way they courted in Moab.

I know if anybody said that to any of us and this Society, we

think, what are you crazy? And she said to her, all that

you say to me, I will do. She's Takin advice in faith and

in Liberty. So she went down to the

threshing floor did, according to all that her mother-in-law

instructed her. And after Boaz had eaten and

drunk and heart. His heart was cheerful.

He went to lie down at the end of the Heap of grain, stop,

right there. Just second I like this verse,

because Bull. A seems like a good guy.

Seems like a honorable guy who does a lot of things for good.

Guys you ever feel like I don't know if I'm was working too

much. I filmed, I've had some nights

that I got so tired. I just laid down there on the

floor in the office and then I ask myself, are my priorities,

right. I'm sleeping in my office at

night, and I read this about Boaz, I'm like, well, there's

Godly men that did that in the passed some time Harvest

happens. And you just sleep.

When you're tired and you get back up and work.

It's okay, can't be year round. We got to keep everything in the

right priority. She came softly, uncovered his

feet and she laid down. Now, it happened at midnight.

What time did she go lay down, I guess I'm not the only dead

sleeper. It's been a while.

She uncovered his feet, she laid down there.

How long is she? Wait, it's after midnight that

he was startled and he turned himself and there a woman was

lying at his feet. She's not the one that woke him

up. Now, some of you might have

woken up soon as somebody pulled the covers off your feet, He's

tired. He realizes when he goes to roll

over after being startled, that she's there.

He said, who are you? And she said, I am Ruth.

Your maidservant, take your maidservant under your wing for

you or a close relative. This is in here.

If you haven't figured it out yet, she's saying I will be your

wife. If you will be my kinsman

redeemer. So that we keep the family name

going for Naomi. Then he said, blessed are you of

the Lord? My daughter.

For you, have shown more kindness at the end than at the

beginning. In that you did not go after

young men, whether poor or Rich, Now I assume Boaz new girls

didn't like him or something because he's blown away.

He knows all this other stuff about how she's been Takin Care

of Naomi and all the things she's done.

And he had, he said, your you're showing more kindness by

offering to be my wife, then in all the other things you've

done, Because you've where your priority is placed and now my

daughter don't forget, do not fear.

I will do for you all that you request for all the people of my

town know that you are a force of a woman.

You're a virtuous woman. Now, I'm not even going to go

through the rest of this story. You may be somewhat familiar

with it. There's another one and he

thinks he wants the land but he doesn't want the wife and so it

all turns around and Boaz gets that.

But here's what I do want to run fast forward to some of you know

this already and some of you may not she ended up having a son.

To carry the family name. That son became one of the

grandparents of King David. And she is in the lineage of

Jesus Christ, the Messiah. A moabite.

The law says a moabite, couldn't even go into the temple to the

tenth generation because of some of the issues they had with the

moabites. What did Jesus is Greg?

Greg, Greg, Greg, Greg Greg, Greg grandmas Couldn't even

Worship in the temple and we're reminded that his blood of

reconciliation flew. Black flew belt flowed backwards

from the cross as well as forward.

That's fascinating to me. And all it could have been done

a million ways. But God carried this out through

a virtuous woman, a force of a woman who was willing to leave

Moab and turned herself to the people of God.

Why did moas know about Ruth that would call her virtuous

Ruth married into the people of God and she was converted she

refused to go back. Blame God when tragedy struck

today. If you want to be a force of a

Christian in Bakersfield or wherever.

Ever we're from. We have to be converted.

because, as much as I love, Whoever was instrumental in my

conversion and you insert the name for you.

If they fall away, that's not where my faith lying.

If they die and they pass away, I'm not going to blame God that

that tragedy struck. I am converted.

That's a way to be a force of a Christian.

She did not lose faith when her family or a mentor became

bitter. I've had some people in my life

that turned. I don't know if you call it,

bitter, but they just turned their back on what was truth and

right. and they chose things that directly, if contradicted

what the word of God says, And you got a choice when that

happens. Am I going to follow them and

stay with them? Or am I going to say bye and

stay where God is, even if I lost this person or these people

that were so key in my life, if I want to be a force of a

Christian, I'm not going to follow them.

I'm going to stay with truth. No matter what happens and I'm

not going to be idle Ruth was an idol.

She did what she could and I'm going to be the same way, it

doesn't matter if the trash needs to get taken out.

If somebody just needs to help the older ladies put their stuff

in their car, it's vacuuming the Floors, if it's wiping down a

toilet. I'm going to do whatever I can.

Well God find greater things for us to do very likely but he may

not, we'll do what we can. She thought of others and shared

her blessings and mentioned it this morning with Zacchaeus, And

I'll just say it coming up again.

This afternoon, this is Freudian, I didn't intend for it

to happen but one of my greatest concerns is that we as Americans

are so blessed and rather than it, helping with our generosity,

we began to try to. I need, how much am I going to

need to retire? And what?

And, and we accumulate, and I'm not saying that's all wrong.

As Ruth took care of her own needs, she was satisfied, but

she also thought of others, there's got to be that balance

of Our blessings with those who stand in need, she followed the

wise, advice in faith. And in Liberty, I know I've had

to face some decisions in my life that there was no Bible

verse for anybody to give me. And then we get a, we get to an

issue of Liberty. Some things the Bible tells us

plane and it's like, I just needed somebody to show me.

I'm like, okay, that's what we do.

Other things aren't like that, it's an issue of Liberty.

Talk to people that you respect spiritually, the older ones.

Be willing to follow that. Advice in issues of Liberty,

Ruth chose, virtuous, priorities, not wealth.

Not youth, not Beauty. She put her faith, we're things.

And so I ask you today, if this doesn't describe your faith, are

you ready to be current be converted and be this a child

like this. If you're not a Christian, we

talked about it this morning. You have to hear the word of

God. You have to be willing to

believe it. Have to be willing to change

your life. That's repentance from

self-willed and God's will to confess our faith.

Before men, that Jesus is the son of God and be baptized

according to Galatians 3:27. If you're a Christian today and

Galatians 3:27

you desire of, perhaps the prayers of the church that you

say I just need to get things together and I know I can pray

to God and he's just and faithful to forgive me and

cleanse me from all unrighteousness but I want the

prayers of the church. One of them know what I'm

battling here. Then we want to pray with you

and for you if there's one of either class won't you come

home? We stand what we see.

We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you

would like any additional information, or you would like

to receive a free Bible correspondence, course by mail.

Please email us at info at her Church of Christ

Bakersfield.com. Our service times are on Sundays

at 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. and Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.

Please make plans to join us. We would love for you to be our

honored guest.