Route 66: Ruth - Redemption in Moab

All right.

Well, thank you, pastors, for that wonderful report.

That was very encouraging.

Good evening, beloved.

It is a joy to share God's word with you this evening.

Let me begin by thanking those of you who have been praying for me and my family.

Your prayers have been a huge encouragement and I have no doubt that, by God's grace, we are where we are today in answer to your prayers, and so thank you.

Let me pray quickly.

Oh Lord, our God, how excellent is your name in all the earth, from the rising of the sun to its going down, your name is worthy to be praised.

And so, father, as we look to your word this evening, we ask that you would help us understand your word better, help us understand you better, so that we could have more reasons to praise you and worship you.

We ask that you would encourage our hearts this evening.

Bring glory to your name, god.

We ask In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, we are continuing our Route 66 series, and today we have arrived at what should be Route 8, since Ruth is the eighth book in our series so far, and so I have the task of giving you a big picture perspective of the book of Ruth, which means that, to my own disappointment, I am not going to be able to do a verse by verse sermon.

I understand that that's not the goal.

I understand that that's not the goal.

However, I will attempt to touch on some of the major themes in this book.

Lord Willing, let me begin by providing a little bit of historical background.

I'll be giving some more as we go along, but just for starters.

First of all, there is no mention of the author in the book of Ruth.

Jewish tradition suggests that it may have been written by the prophet Samuel, which is possible, since it was Samuel who anointed David to be king.

And David is mentioned at the end of this book.

But in the end, we really don't know as to when this book was written.

Again, since David is mentioned, some suggest that it may have been written during his reign, which dates from about 1011 to about 971 BC, according to chapter 1 and verse 1,.

We do know that the story of Ruth took place during the days of the judges, which means that the events in this book happened somewhere between 1380 to about 1050 BC.

Now, one of the ironies of this book is that Ruth presents a glaring contrast with the book of Judges.

Judges records one of the darkest periods in the history of the people of Israel.

It portrays a people who sought to govern themselves so that everyone wanted to do what was right in their own eyes.

A people who fell into gross idolatry and constant rebellion against God and bringing upon themselves God's judgment, which God executed by handing them over to their enemies.

The people would then cry out to God for mercy, and God would rescue them over and over again.

But in the midst of all of that, the book of Ruth focuses its attention not on the whole nation of Israel, but on a remnant few, particularly one family, a family who suffered much loss at the beginning of the story but providentially experienced the faithfulness of God through an unexpected character.

It's a beautiful story of God's faithfulness, but even more than that, it communicates God's redemptive plan through one of the greatest love stories in all of scripture, a love story that points to the greatest love story of all time, the story of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who redeemed his.

And so, in that sense, ruth is God's answer to one of the darkest periods in Jewish history.

It is God's answer to a nation that was enslaved to sin and deserved to be cut off with no hope for the future.

Ruth is a message of hope and redemption for a people who are undeserving, and therefore Ruth doesn't just speak to the people of that day, but it speaks to us as well.

Now there are five major scenes in this book.

We have scene number one, and that's where calamity comes upon the family of Naomi.

Not only did her family have to escape a famine, but her husband and her two sons both die.

We see that in the first five verses of chapter one, and that immediately follows with Ruth's testimony and Naomi's return back to Bethlehem.

We see that in verse six of chapter 1, and that goes on to the end of the chapter.

And then scene 3 is where Ruth meets Boaz and is allowed to glean in his field.

That's all of chapter 2.

And then scene 4 is where we see Ruth at the threshing floor with Boaz and something very interesting happens there.

That's the entirety of chapter three.

And then finally, scene five, and that's where Boaz redeems Ruth and Naomi is blessed with a new family.

And so those five scenes pretty much cover this entire book.

Now, as I seek to give you this big picture perspective of the book of Ruth, I want to draw your attention to four areas of focus, or four key points, if you will, to help us get a sense of what the book is about, and in the process, we will actually get a glimpse of these five scenes that I just mentioned.

Number one we're going to look at how God's faithfulness to Naomi comes through an unexpected individual.

God's faithfulness to Naomi comes through an unexpected individual.

God's faithfulness to Naomi comes through an unexpected individual.

Secondly, we're going to look at the Christ-like character of Boaz.

The Christ-like character of Boaz, and we'll spend a significant amount of time there.

Thirdly, the restoration of Naomi and the providence of God.

The restoration of Naomi and the providence of God.

And then, finally and briefly, we will discuss the gospel message illustrated through Boaz.

The gospel message illustrated through Boaz, and so God's faithfulness to Naomi comes through an unexpected individual.

As I've noted already, the story begins with one of the saddest portions of scripture in the whole Bible.

Similarly to the book of Job, a family is struck with one calamity after another after another.

The scene begins in Bethlehem of Judah.

Naomi and her husband Elimelech are forced to leave Bethlehem along with their two sons, malon and Kilion, because of a famine that had struck the land.

Bethlehem, by the way means house of bread.

And so, ironically, naomi and her family leave Bethlehem, the house of bread, because there was no bread.

A place that should have been a place of blessing and a place that represented God's provision, became a place that was cursed and a place where there was no sustenance.

And where did they go?

Well, we are told that they moved to Moab.

Of all places, moab would have been enemy territory for the Jews.

If you remember, the Moabites were the descendants of Lot, abraham's nephew.

Lot had a son through one of his daughter's immoral acts, who would eventually become the nation of Moab.

And so, first of all, we see that this nation was birthed through sin, particularly the sin of incest.

The Moabites would become an idolatrous nation whose supreme deity was Chemosh, a war god.

They would sacrifice their children on the altar of Chemosh with the hopes that he would give them victory over their enemies.

And so their idolatry and detestable practices inevitably made them enemies of the God of Israel.

Isaiah 15, isaiah, chapter 16, jeremiah 48 and verses 8 through 13,.

Isaiah 16 · chapter mention

Ezekiel 25 and verses 10 through 11, and Amos, chapter 2 and verses 1 through 3, all pronounced curses on Moab.

Amos 2 · chapter mention

This was a nation destined for God's judgment.

Furthermore, in Judges, chapter 3, and verses 12 through 14,.

Judges 3 · chapter mention

The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of God, and God used Moab to punish Israel and allowed Moab to oppress them for 18 years.

Other wars recorded between these two nations are in 2 Kings, chapter 3, and 2 Kings, chapter 24, in verses 1-3.

2 Kings 3 · chapter mention 2 Kings 24 · chapter mention

And so these two nations were bitter rivals, which means that Naomi and her family may have been heading towards unfriendly territory.

Now, the fact that the book of Ruth seems to be silent about any conflict between these two nations suggests that things may have been a little bit more peaceful during this time, which may be the reason why Naomi was willing to take that risk.

But nevertheless, there are still some hints of hostility between these two nations in the book of Ruth, and I will try to point those out for you as we go along.

Now, unfortunately, things go from bad to worse for Naomi.

Like I said, shortly after her arrival at Moab Elimelech, her husband died and if that's not bad enough, 10 years later her two sons, malon and Kilion, both die after they had taken Moabite women to be their wives.

Naomi, of course, is devastated, and understandably so.

Away from home, no husband and no heir to the family line, she is left to be a widow with two daughters-in-law who were also widowed.

She might have thought that coming to Moab was a greater curse than living in Judah in the midst of a famine.

Now, after all this bad news, naomi did get a glimpse of hope when she heard rumors that God had visited his people with food, and so she packed her bags and initially heads towards Judah with her daughters-in-law.

But it wasn't long before she thought twice about them coming with her.

One commentator says this about widows in the ancient Near East.

He says, quote widows in the ancient Near East had lost all social status and generally were also without political or economic status.

They could be equated to the homeless in our society.

Status they could be equated to the homeless in our society.

Typically, they had no male protector and were dependent on society for survival.

Close quote.

And so here you have three widows who had no male protector, and there's no mention of any political status.

And besides the land that belonged to Elimelech, naomi's husband, it's very likely that they did not have any economic status as well.

In fact, according to Numbers 27, a widow could not inherit her husband's property which was often a big part of his inheritance.

If her husband died, his inheritance would be given to his sons, who would in turn take care of his widowed mother.

But if he had no sons, as is the case here with Naomi, with both of them being dead, then her husband's inheritance would be given to his closest kin.

Bottom line is that, without a husband and without any sons, the bottom line is that, without a husband and without any sons, these three women were truly dependent on society for survival.

And so often widows would remarry because they needed someone to care and provide for them, but also because there was no greater curse in Jewish thinking than for your family line to be cut off forever.

And so Naomi, concerned for her daughters-in-law, pleads with them to return to Moab.

Perhaps she thought that it might have been easier for them to find husbands in Moab than in Israel.

She does appeal to the fact that she is too old to have children and therefore unable to provide husbands for them.

She may have also thought that, since they are more by women, they may face discrimination and persecution in Israel, and how are they going to defend themselves without a male protector?

And so all of this may have been in her thinking as she was trying to convince them to go back home.

As we know, naomi was successful in persuading Orpah.

But as for Ruth, we are told in verse 14 that she clung to Naomi.

And so Naomi says in verse 15, behold, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods.

Return after your sister-in-law, in other words, go and do likewise.

Go back to your people and to your gods, just like your sister-in-law.

And despite Naomi's persistence and seeing her sister-in-law heading back home to her people and to her gods, ruth responds with some of the most profound statements in all of scripture.

Listen to what she says in verse 16.

Listen, do not press me to forsake you in turning back 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 I will be buried.

Thus may Yahweh do to me, and more, if anything but death separates you and me.

This was a profound testimony of Ruth's faith in the God of Israel.

You see, unlike Orpah, her sister-in-law, ruth had counted the cost of leaving her own country, despite the troubles and oppositions that she might face.

Why was she willing to go Well, not just to be with Naomi, but even more than that, because Chemosh was no longer her God.

Yahweh was her God now, and for her, getting to know the God of Israel through her mother-in-law and through her people was worth the risk.

She gave up her country for Naomi's country, her people for Naomi's people, her traditions for Naomi's traditions, her gods for Naomi's God.

And she even says I want to die where you die and be buried where you are buried.

That was a huge statement.

If you think about it, you remember that Joseph wanted his bones to be carried away from Egypt and into the promised land.

The writer of Hebrews picks up on that in Hebrews chapter 11, in verse 22, and says that this was an act of faith on the part of Joseph.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

You see, egypt represented a place that was cursed and alienated from the true and living God and his covenant promises to his people.

And Joseph wanted nothing to do with such a nation, to the extent that he didn't even want his bones to be in any way associated with a cursed nation like Egypt.

And here's Ruth, who was born in Moab, making a huge statement that, despite the fact that this was her own country, she didn't even want her bones to be buried in a cursed nation like Moab.

Her heart was now set on Israel.

She had come to believe that the true God was Yahweh and that his blessings and his promises were with the people of Israel and not with Moab.

And if that wasn't enough, she even seals her testimony with an oath.

Look at what she says in verse 17.

She says Look at what she says in verse 17.

She says Thus may Yahweh do to me and more.

If anything but death separates you and me, naomi, may God's severest punishment be given to me if I ever forsake you.

That's essentially what she was saying.

What a daughter-in-law and what a gift she became to Naomi.

And even more than that, what an unlikely individual for God to use to bless Naomi.

A Moabite woman, an enemy of Israel, a widow with no social, political or economic status, was used by God to restore what Naomi had lost.

She truly became greater than seven sons to Naomi, as the women of Bethlehem later on testify, and so Naomi had nothing more to say.

Ruth's testimony was compelling enough.

They both head towards Bethlehem, which was about a 40-mile journey from Moab, and, in God's providence, naomi's arrival could not have come at a better time.

This first chapter begins with a famine.

It begins with bad news, but look at the very last verse of chapter 1.

, verse 22.

So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the fields of Moab.

Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.

Bethlehem, the house of bread now had plenty.

I remember my wife used to make these delicious chicken sandwiches, and what made them so good to me was the Portuguese bread that she would use.

She would always buy them from this place, where they were literally baked there every day, and so you would get them fresh out of the oven.

Usually she would be the one to go buy them, but one time she sent me, and when I arrived at the place I realized that my wife had neglected to tell me that if I don't arrive by a certain time, I'm going to have to stand behind a huge line.

It must have been what looked like about 100 people ahead of me that day.

I decided to stay on the line because I didn't want to disappoint my wife, but the bigger reason was that I was really craving those delicious chicken sandwiches.

Well, unfortunately for me, my efforts were in vain because Providence was not on my side, they had sold out by the time.

I was near the front of the line and we were told that they were not going to make any more for the rest of the day because they had completely ran out of dough.

That's how many they had sold.

And so when I arrived at home empty-handed, my wife did not fail to tell me that if I want some of her delicious chicken sandwiches, I'm going to have to go back tomorrow morning at 7 am when they open.

Well, you better believe that I rose up early the next day.

I was not going to go another day without her delicious chicken sandwiches.

Well, unlike me, providence was definitely on Naomi's side, and she arrived to Bethlehem, the house of bread, just in time to take advantage of the land's fresh produce.

You see, the book of Ruth is not primarily about a widow and her daughter-in-law.

It is primarily about God's providential care over his people and his covenant promise that he will provide a redeemer.

That he will provide a redeemer.

This becomes even more evident as the story unfolds.

Now, speaking of a redeemer, let's now turn our attention to the Christ-like character of Boaz.

In chapter 2, ruth meets a man by the name of Boaz, and we are told that he happened to be Naomi's husband's kinsman.

Ruth had asked her mother-in-law permission to glean in the fields.

Naomi lets her go, and we are told in verse 3 that it just so happened that of all the fields that Naomi could have went to, she ends up going into the fields of Boaz.

Again, keep in mind that she is a foreigner, she is not familiar with the land.

Now Boaz sees her gleaning in his field and questions the man that he had left in charge of the reapers and says to him in verse 5, whose young woman is this?

The man tells him that she is a Moabite woman who came with Naomi from Moab and that she pleaded with him to please allow her to glean after the reapers.

In verses 8 through 9, boaz basically does the unexpected.

He doesn't just tell Ruth to continue gleaning in his field that was surprising enough but he even tells her not to glean anywhere else.

Furthermore, he instructs her to stay with the other women that were gleaning and to follow them.

This was an important detail because Ruth, being a Moabite, could have been accused of wrongdoing if found alone.

And so he tells her to follow the women wherever they go so that no one may be suspicious of her, and this was very likely the same reason why he told her not to glean anywhere else.

He wanted her to glean in his field so that she can be under his protection and care, which is why he also commanded all of the men not to touch her, not to do her any harm.

Again, the fact that Boaz had to take some extreme measures to protect Ruth indicates that there was still some hostility between Israelites and Moabites.

Note that Ruth's response also reflect this.

We see that she was shocked and overwhelmed with his kindness in verse 10 and says why have I found favor in your sight, even though I am a foreigner?

And so she clearly recognized that this was not supposed to be the norm.

Boaz replied that it's because he had heard about everything she had done for Naomi and how she sacrificed so much to come with her to Bethlehem, and so Boaz already had some information concerning Ruth.

We're not told how he was informed, but nevertheless he knew enough to have an idea as to what type of person she was.

Later on, after mealtime, boaz gave some further commands to his young man and told him to let her glean among the sheaves, and normally the reapers would glean first and after the sheaves are done, whatever was left would be for the poor to glean, but Boaz allows her to glean not from the leftovers but from the best of the harvest.

He even goes further than that and commanded all of his men to purposely pull out for her the grains from the bundles and to leave it for her to glean.

In other words, he wanted to make things easier for her.

And so we see that Boaz demonstrated great kindness to Ruth.

He gave her all the provisions she needed and even protected her, despite the fact that she was a Moabite.

Boaz was a kind man, a man who was very generous and looked after those who were poor and needy.

You would have known what God said through Moses in Deuteronomy 24 and verse 19, where it says when you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheave in the field, you shall not go back to get it.

It shall be for the sojourner, for the orphan and for the widow, in order that Yahweh, your God, may bless you in all the works of your hands.

You see, unlike the nation of Israel, the book of Ruth portrays Boaz as a man who sought to be obedient to God's commands, which led him to love people, even those, like in the case of Ruth, who was supposed to be his enemy.

And doesn't this remind us of our Savior, perfectly obedient to his Father's commands, showing great kindness and generosity to the undeserving, loving those who are poor in spirit and destitute of any righteousness?

Like Ruth, we were accursed people and enemies of God, but when the kindness of our great God and Savior appeared to us, he saved us, not because of any righteous thing that we have done, but because of his mercy, and now he is our protector, provider and sustainer.

Everything he does is for our good.

Everything he does is for our good.

No-transcript.

Now, ruth was very excited to get back home to her mother-in-law to bring to her what she had gleaned.

When she arrived at home, naomi was astonished at how much she brought and asked her in verse 19, where did you glean today?

Ruth, of course, tells her that she had gleaned in the fields of Boaz, and immediately Naomi remembered that Boaz was one of her kinsmen redeemers.

In the very next chapter, naomi had a plan, and it wasn't your ordinary plan, definitely not something I would recommend to any single woman out there.

People might think you're a bit weird.

And so let's take a look at Naomi's incredible plan.

So Naomi expressed her desire for Ruth to find a husband and recommends Boaz.

She tells her to wash herself, get dressed and go to the threshing floor tonight, and there she will find Boaz winnowing barley.

She tells her to wait for him to lie down, and then she gives her this instruction in verse 4.

Listen to what she says, but when he lies down, observe the place where he lies.

Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.

That doesn't sound very proper, and he will tell you what to do, all right.

Well, the plan does seem very strange from just a mere glance, and was very risky for Ruth, because if someone found her lying next to a man at night, she could have been accused of some type of sexual sin which was punishable by death, and so her life could have been in serious danger.

But let me note a couple of things before we try to unpack what's going on here.

First of all, based on the character of Ruth, which we've seen glimpses of already, there's no reason to think that there was any impropriety in what Naomi was instructing Ruth to do.

If there was, then Ruth would not have agreed to do such a thing and might have felt offended that Naomi would even suggest it.

Secondly, we also know that there was no sinful intent because of the way Boaz responded after Ruth had done what her mother-in-law commanded.

Look at verses 8 through 11 of chapter 3.

In verse 8, ruth laid at the feet of Boaz and he was startled and questioned who she was.

She identified herself and tells him, to quote spread his wings over her because he was a redeemer.

Now, no need to be concerned here.

To spread your wings or skirt or, as the NIV puts it, to spread your garment over me, was a sign of protection.

The Hebrew word there is kanaf.

It is often used in scripture to refer to God spreading his wings over his people as a symbol of refuge or protection over them, like in Psalm 91, in verse 4, for example, where it says he shall cover you with his feathers and under his wings, kanaf, you shall take refuge.

But in this instance it meant more than just protection.

Boaz was already protecting Ruth and so it doesn't make much sense for her to ask him to do what he was already doing.

So what is Ruth asking him to do?

Let's look at Boaz' response in verse 10.

His response, I think, reveals to us the answer he says May you be blessed by the Lord.

My daughter.

Now he calls her my daughter, not just because it was a more affectionate way of addressing someone, but also because Ruth was a lot younger than her.

Boaz was a lot older than her.

Some rabbinic writings suggest that Ruth may have been in her early 40s, while Boaz was somewhere in his late 70s, possibly even early 80s.

He goes on.

He says you have made this last kindness greater than the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

And so notice two things here.

First of all, note that Boaz calls this an act of kindness, indicating that Boaz did not see anything improper in what Ruth was doing.

Secondly, he says you have made this last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men.

The word there for after is a Hebrew word that can mean to chase or to pursue someone, and so Boaz knew exactly what she was doing.

She was pursuing a husband.

Boaz, being of a much older generation than Ruth, was probably not going to ask her for marriage, and so what Ruth was symbolically saying, by uncovering his feet and asking him to spread his garment over her, was I want you to marry me by becoming my redeemer, and so what we have here is a miracle of all miracles, a woman actually proposing to a man.

Boaz concludes in verse 11 by saying 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.

So that was a very long way of saying I do.

I will marry you.

Now it's clear that what attracted Ruth to Boaz was his kindness, his protection, his generous heart, his care for those who are less privileged, his love for people, even for outsiders.

And she was also attracted to the fact that, through Boaz, she could provide her mother-in-law the greatest blessing she could ever receive, which was to preserve her family line.

But there was something even more honorable about the character of Ruth.

In verse 12, boaz tells her that, yes, it is true that he is a redeemer, but he is not the next in line.

There was someone else who was nearer.

And so Boaz could have said I want this woman and I'm going to do everything possible to have her, even if I have to lie my way to get her.

That's not what he did.

You see, boaz was a man of integrity and a very humble man.

He was not looking after his own interests, he was looking after the interests of Ruth and Naomi.

He was a man that would have said I want God to bless you, and if he wants to bless you through me, then praise the Lord, but if he wants to bless you through another, even if that means I can't have you, then so be it.

I will be content with whatever way the Lord wills to bless you.

That was Boaz.

He was not a selfish man, but selfless.

And isn't this precisely what we are told about our Lord Jesus Christ?

He himself said I did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life a ransom for many.

He did not count equality with God as something to hold on to, paul says but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond slave and coming in the likeness of man.

There has never been anyone more selfless than our Savior Amen.

More selfless than our Savior Amen.

Now, this law of the kinsman-redeemer was instituted by God back in Leviticus, 25 and verse 25.

But in Deuteronomy, 25 and verse 5 through 10 is where this law is used in the context of marriage.

This was called Leverite marriage.

Simply put, this was the process of bringing up children in the name of a deceased relative, so that his family and property line would not be lost.

Normally, the kinsman redeemer who accepted to marry his brother's wife would have to purchase the land that belonged to the deceased, and so often it would come at a great cost to him.

If the kinsman redeemer did not want to marry his brother's wife and the elders are not able to persuade him, then his brother's wife was to go up to him in the presence of all the elders and take off his sandal and spit in his face, indicating that he is a disgrace and should be ashamed of himself for not being willing to preserve his brother's inheritance.

And so here in Ruth we have a real historical example of how this law was performed.

In chapter 4,.

The very next day, boaz sees the kinsman redeemer and tells him that Naomi has returned from Moab and he inquires of him to purchase the field that belonged to Elimelech.

Initially he agreed to redeem it, but as soon as Boaz mentions that he will have to acquire Ruth the Moabite, he immediately retracts from his decision, very likely because he did not want a Moabite woman to put a stain on his family tree.

And so, in accordance with the law, he takes off his sandal in the presence of all the elders, and Boaz redeems Ruth and everything that belonged to Elimelech, naomi's husband.

He marries her and the Lord gives them a son, thus preserving the family line of Naomi.

We can only imagine the emotions that Naomi was experiencing at this time, but, as we've seen, things were not always that rosy for Naomi.

And that leads us to our next point, the restoration of Naomi and the providence of God.

I mentioned earlier that chapter one ends with some good news In God's providence.

Naomi arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest harvest, but what I did not mention was that at that time Naomi was not in a good place spiritually speaking.

She could not see what God was doing, because she had allowed the loss of her husband and her two sons to bring her to a place of hopelessness.

Look at how she expressed herself back in chapter 1.

In verse 13.

You remember that she kept insisting that Ruth and Orpah should return back to Moab.

And in verse 13, she gives them what seems to be her most persuasive argument by saying that quote the hand of Yahweh has gone forth against me, which was enough to persuade Orpah to go back home.

And then, in verse 20 of chapter 1, when she arrived in Bethlehem, she kind of lets it all out.

She said this to the women who recognized her when she arrived, and I want you to notice the play on words here.

So the women said in verse 19, is this Naomi?

Naomi responded Do not call me Naomi, which means pleasant.

Call me Mara, which means bitter, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.

I went out full, but Yahweh has caused me to return empty.

Why do you call me Naomi?

Why do you call me pleasant?

Yahweh has answered against me and the Almighty has brought calamity against me.

Can you hear the hopelessness in these words?

Far from Job's initial response after he had lost everything the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

She almost sounds more like Job's wife, just hopeless.

You see, from her perspective, god had abandoned her.

God was no longer on her side.

In fact, god was against her.

She thought.

No longer on her side.

In fact, god was against her, she thought.

And yet she could not be farther from the truth.

Despite her bitterness and losing her hope in God, god remained faithful to her.

2 Timothy 2 and verse 13 says if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

By God's grace, naomi's faith was restored and she was able to rejoice and even worship God for his faithfulness.

How do I know that?

Well, go back to chapter 4 and verse 16.

Look at what it says there.

Chapter 4 and verse 16.

This is shortly after the baby was born.

It says there the Naomi took the child and put him on her bosom and became his nurse.

The neighbor women gave him a name, saying a son has been born to Naomi.

Now stop right there.

Notice, brothers and sisters, it was not Naomi who gave him a name, it wasn't Ruth who gave him a name, and it wasn't even Boaz who gave him a name.

It was the women who lived next to Naomi, who saw her every day and knew her struggles.

And what did they name him?

It says so.

They named him Obed, which means worshiper, worshiper, you see.

I believe the neighbor women named him worshiper because they saw that God had restored Naomi from a bitter, hopeless woman to a woman who worshiped Yahweh, because he remained faithful when she was faithless, remained faithful when she was faithless.

Like Naomi, we too need soul restoration because we are not always faithful.

We are like sheep, constantly going astray.

But the good shepherd is always willing to leave the 99 and go after that one wayward sheep.

The psalmist says the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.

And so when I am faithless, when you are faithless, the good shepherd remains faithful because he has sworn by himself that he will finish the good work that he has begun in us.

Amen.

Back to verse 16 of chapter 4, it ends with these words so they named him Obed.

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

As we know, the New Testament lists only five women in the genealogy of Jesus, and in verse 5 of Matthew, chapter 1, he mentions two of those women.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Both of them were foreigners.

One of them was a harlot by the name of Rahab.

The other one was Ruth who, as we've seen, was once a cursed idolatrous Moabite woman.

Rahab, by the way, was the mother of Boaz, which gives us more insight into why Boaz was very welcoming to Ruth.

How gracious is our God right that he would include in the genealogy of Jesus not just those within the covenant community of Israel, but even cursed Gentiles like you and me.

I mentioned the word providence a couple of times, and it was Wayne Grudem who defined providence this way.

Listen to what he says.

He says, quote Providence is the doctrine that God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he number one keeps them existing and maintaining their properties with which he created them.

Two cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do.

And so God, like a master conductor, orchestrated all of his creation by directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do, in order to fulfill his good purpose, which was, on the one hand, to bless Naomi and her family and, on the other hand, to bless all of his people from every generation.

You see, while the whole nation of Israel was living one of its darkest periods in their history, god was at work, fulfilling his eternal plan in the midst of their rebellion.

It's as if God were saying to them through the book of Ruth you are going to continue on in your rebellion, you're going to continue in your defiance of me, but despite the fact that you deserve for me to wipe you off the face of the earth.

I will provide a redeemer who will purchase you back to me from your slavery to sin.

And so it was God's purpose all along to bring a famine to Bethlehem so that Naomi could end up in Moab and so that Ruth could become her daughter-in-law.

And it was his purpose to bring her back to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest so that Ruth can meet Boaz.

It was God who brought both of them together, removing all obstacles, including the kinsman redeemer who was next in line, so that, through Boaz, god might give to Naomi a son who would not just save her family line, but whose lineage would lead to the one through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed, including the remnant from among that wicked and perverse generation.

There are no mistakes in God's plan, brothers and sisters.

Everything is working out precisely as he has ordained it for his glory and for our salvation.

In closing, we have seen how Boaz in many ways was an Old Testament type of Jesus.

His character was often a reflection of the character of our Savior, and so it's no marvel that his deeds were also a reflection of the gospel.

Briefly, let me give you three ways that the gospel message was illustrated through Boaz.

First, the gospel message is seen in a great price, a great price.

Boaz saw the need of Ruth and paid a great price to redeem her by purchasing the land that belonged to Elimelech.

And note that he did it willingly.

He was not forced to do anything.

He was motivated by his love for Ruth and Naomi.

Our greater Boaz, the Lord Jesus Christ, looked upon our miserable condition and with eyes of compassion he saw our need, that we were without hope and without God in this world.

That we were without hope and without God in this world.

Motivated by his love for us, he willingly paid the ultimate price.

He redeemed us, peter says, not with corruptible things like gold and silver, but with his precious blood, as a lamb without blemish.

Secondly, the gospel message is seen in a better future, a better future.

And so there was a great price that was paid so that we could have hope and be brought back to God and, as a result, we could have a better future.

When Boaz preserved the family line of Naomi by providing a son, her hopes for a better future was restored.

No longer did she have to worry about her family being cut off forever, she could die in peace, knowing that her family line would continue for many generations.

God has given us his one and only son so that whosoever believes in him will not perish, will not be cut off, but have everlasting life.

Through him, we have hope for a better future, and not a temporal hope, but one that is eternal and never-ending.

And lastly, the gospel message is seen in a great inheritance, a great inheritance.

So there was a great price that was paid so that we could have a better future, and what awaits us in that better future is a great inheritance.

Boaz purchased the land that belonged to Elimelech so that his descendants can possess it as their inheritance.

Jesus has purchased for us an inheritance reserved for us in heaven, which is incorruptible, undefiled and shall never fade away.

One day we will glean in his heavenly fields and reap unspeakable joy, amen.