Ruth 2

And turn back to Ruth chapter 2. Ruth chapter 2. It's on page 222. Ruth chapter 2. Emma and I have just signed up for another free trial month on Amazon Prime.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention Ruth 2 · chapter mention Ruth 2 · chapter mention

! So it was Netflix. We did the month on that, had to cancel it, and now we're on Amazon Prime. But it means that there's now the inevitable argument

about which film to actually watch if we've got time. Now can I say, Emma is much more accommodating than me.

The decision is usually between Bruce Willis action films or Pride and Prejudice romance. I'm sure you can guess which of us want either of those.

So if Ruth, the book of Ruth, was a film on Netflix or Amazon Prime, it probably would be one of the films that I, as a typical bloke,

would ordinarily miss out on. And if Ruth chapter 2 was a film, it would probably be more like Romeo and Juliet, wouldn't it, than Rambo.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention

Because it is a story of an unlikely romance. An unlikely romance between a man and a woman who should never have been allowed to be together in the first place.

It's a kind of far-from-the-madding-crowd sort of story. It's an unlikely romance.

And the writer that Ruth paints for us is a picture of a rural scene in the harvest fields of Boaz,

where the seeds of an unlikely courtship begin to blossom, don't they? They are planted.

Ruth meets the man who will redeem her situation.

Now the setting in Ruth 2 is full of activity, isn't it?

It's full of reaping and production and agriculture and farming.

Don't we get the contrast there with what we saw Naomi and Ruth's life was like in chapter 1, if you were here last week?

Where leaving the Lord to go to Moab brought bitterness, death and emptiness.

But at the end of chapter 1 they return to Bethlehem in Judah, they return to the Lord's land,

and now we're meant to see the contrast.

They arrive at the beginning of the barley harvest, the end of chapter 1.

And the fields are white, ready to be harvested, full of crops.

We go from the emptiness of chapter 1 to fullness, from famine to fields of plenty, from sadness to satisfaction.

And the key reason that the writer gives us for that, I think is in verse 11 and 12 if you look there.

Boaz answered Ruth,

So it's important to see the truth.

See, isn't it, that the change of scene, from chapter 1 to chapter 2, this change of life for Ruth has come through a changed perspective on God.

To leave one life behind and come to God's people and his place.

That's what repentance looks like, isn't it?

Instead of running from God, Ruth has turned around and starts to come towards God, to take refuge under his wings in his land.

It's a lovely image that, isn't it?

The image of little chicks, little birds, sheltering from the hot deadly sun in the cooling shadow of a mother's wings.

Ruth has found an oasis in the famine desert as she comes back to God, as she shelters under his wings.

And under the wings of God, God has purposed a man to bring his blessings and care into her life.

Under the wings of God, Ruth meets the Redeemer of God.

Now Ruth, too, is shot through, isn't it, with the impressive figure of this man, Boaz.

Who is Christ-like in his provision for her and grace and love for Ruth.

Boaz is the one who brings blessings to bear in her life.

He says,

It is Boaz, isn't it, who pronounces and provides God's blessings on her.

He is Christ-like.

But as we dive into this, I want us to see how unlikely and impossible the meeting of Ruth and Boaz really is.

Every good love story has impossible odds, doesn't it?

Romeo and Juliet.

Juliet, they come from different warring families.

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet both hate each other's guts at the beginning.

Beauty and the Beast.

Well, one of them's a beauty and one of them's a beast, isn't it?

Every great love story has impossible odds.

They always have a hurdle to climb over.

Something that would normally keep them apart.

So, for Ruth, this isn't a simple story of boy meets girl and the rest of history.

Because, first of all, there is the locked door that keeps Ruth out.

The locked door that keeps Ruth out.

So, amidst the excitement of watching Ruth and Boaz meet in this book,

is the underlying fact of the girl's past, isn't it?

Ruth's skeletons hidden in the closet.

There is something about her identity, about her very nature,

that means that this union is an illicit relationship.

It could be something that would pass us by on, on first reading, actually.

But the writer leaves us in no doubt that something is amiss with Ruth.

So, how is she described?

Look at verse 2.

Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi,

let me go to the field and glean.

Verse 6.

The servant who is in charge of the Reepers answered,

she is the young Moabite woman.

Verse 21.

Ruth, the Moabite, said.

As a Moabite woman,

Ruth has got baggage in this relationship.

Her identity as a Moabite

closes the door on her

to receive any blessings from God.

She should be kept out

from the assembly.

Now, if you'd like to,

you don't have to,

but if you'd like to,

turn back with me to

Deuteronomy chapter 23.

Deuteronomy 23 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy chapter 23.

Deuteronomy 23 · chapter mention

It's on page...

when I get there.

165.

Now, in this part of the Bible,

Moses preaches to God's people

the laws of the Lord.

And God's land is to be lived in properly.

It is to be a holy land

where those who reject God

cannot receive his blessings.

Now, historically,

the people of Moab

have been at war with Israel.

So the Lord gives a law about them

specifically.

Deuteronomy chapter 23,

Deuteronomy 23:3–4

verse 3 to 4.

No Ammonite or Moabite

may enter the assembly of the Lord,

even to the tenth generation.

None of them may enter

the assembly of the Lord

forever.

Because they did not meet you

with bread

and with water on the way

when you came out of Egypt.

And because they hired against you

Balaam, the son of Beor

from Pethor of Mesopotamia,

to curse you.

The Moabites are a marked people.

Marked for exclusion,

not inclusion,

into God's people.

If you're born a Moabite,

you're born into a marked people.

So you can take the girl

out of Moab, can't you?

You can take her there,

but you cannot take Moab

out of the girl.

It was down to her very nature

that she wasn't permitted

to be in the covenant.

She was naturally an outsider.

Moab was in her blood.

It was what made her tick.

She was a Moabite

at the core of who she was.

She was part of a people

who had warred against the Lord.

So God's law kept her

from coming to him

and meeting him.

And so we see, don't we,

the barrier for Ruth

ever receiving blessing

from the Lord.

God's covenant promises

were not for her.

She was an outsider.

The Moabite woman

could not just stroll in

to God's presence

and ask for blessing.

It would be an impossible thing.

None of them

may enter my assembly

forever.

What a sentence that is.

I don't know if I could

stomach those words.

You are never allowed in,

God says.

You are never allowed in

to my blessings.

God's perfect,

holy, pure law

was the locked door

that kept Ruth

the Moabite out.

Now if this is sounding

a bit harsh,

we know, don't we,

that God is a God of love.

God is a God of love.

We all know that.

But God doesn't love

everything in his land.

He is a God of love,

but he doesn't love everything.

He doesn't love rape.

He doesn't love murder.

He doesn't love sex abuse.

He is a God of love,

but he doesn't love

those things,

and we're glad of that,

aren't we?

He doesn't love liars.

He doesn't love cheaters.

He doesn't love impure thoughts.

He doesn't love evil speech.

Now as we go through that list,

it gets quite close to home,

doesn't it?

As we realise that actually

we've all got

a bit of Moab in us.

Let me read to you

some verses from Paul's letter

to the Ephesians.

Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

We all once lived

in the passions of our flesh,

carrying out the desires

of the body and the mind,

and were by nature

children of wrath,

like the rest of mankind.

Paul says it was in our nature.

We had Moab

in the passions of our flesh,

Moab in the selfish desires

of the body,

and Moab in the mind.

Like Ruth,

we come to God

as total outsiders,

naturally excluded

from his presence

and his blessings.

Now perhaps you're here tonight

and you wouldn't call yourself

a Christian.

You're very, very welcome.

But I wonder if you feel

the reality of that

tonight.

It just feels like

there is a total canyon

between you and God.

something huge

is in the way,

separating you.

It feels like a locked door.

Even to the tenth generation,

God says in Deuteronomy,

the Moabites

are excluded.

Now I think that helps us,

doesn't it,

with the distinction

between feeling guilty

and being guilty.

Feeling guilty

and being guilty.

You didn't have to feel guilty

to be guilty.

You don't have to be

conscious of sin,

but it's in our blood.

By nature,

we are all Moabites.

Paul says,

we were children of wrath,

excluded from God's

covenant blessings,

children of Moab.

And God's law

is uncompromising

and exclusive.

He is a God of love,

but he doesn't love everything.

Psalm 24,

who shall ascend

the hill of the Lord?

Who shall stand

in his place?

His holy place.

Leviticus 18,

it's one of my favourite passages,

speaks about the land

vomiting out the people

if they make it

unclean with sin.

By nature,

I am a Moabite.

And by nature,

God cannot stomach that.

His land

would vomit me out.

He wants sin out.

He wants rid of it

to vomit it out.

You can take me out of Moab.

You can put me

in a Christian culture.

But actually,

it's much, much harder,

isn't it,

to take the Moab

out of me.

And so the door

is firmly locked

for Ruth

to reach God's

assembly.

God's perfect law

marks her

as a Moabite.

And perhaps we

need to feel that

a bit more,

don't we,

these days?

To walk into

God's assembly

and simply ask

for his blessings,

it should be,

should be,

impossible.

Prayer meetings,

a prayer meeting

on Wednesday evening,

it should be impossible,

shouldn't it?

Knowing God,

receiving his blessings,

being in his assembly,

should be impossible.

By nature,

we were all children

of wrath,

outsiders.

He should vomit us out.

So there was the door

that kept her out.

There was the door

that kept her out.

But then,

there is the man

who gets her in.

The man who gets

her in.

Just have a look

with me at

verse 4 to 6.

Verse 4 to 6.

Behold,

Boaz came

from Bethlehem

and he said

to the reapers,

The Lord be with you.

And they answered,

The Lord bless you.

Then Boaz said

to his young man

who was in charge

of the reapers,

Whose young woman

is this?

And the servant

who was in charge

of the reapers

answered,

She is the young

Moabite woman

who came back

with Naomi

from the country

of Moab.

Behold,

it's Boaz.

It's Boaz.

And Boaz

is a definitively

beautiful character,

isn't he?

We're told in verse 2

that he is a worthy man.

And the fields

belong to him,

don't they?

And as he appears

in the field,

he comes pronouncing

the Lord's blessing

on his workers,

on those in his land.

The Lord bless you.

And they reply,

The Lord bless you.

Boaz is surrounded

by blessing

and bounty

and activity,

by production,

by life.

He is the head

and the workers

all surround him

in the fields.

It's the harvest

and Boaz

is at the kernel,

isn't he?

He is at the centre

in the midst

of his workforce,

talking to them,

near to them,

proclaiming God's blessings

upon them

as they work.

He is the mediator

and focus

of the blessings

that God has given

the people here,

Boaz.

And Ruth

just so happens

not only to be

in the right field

at the right time,

but in the right part

of the field

just at the time

when Boaz appears.

It's a providential

moment in her life

because actually

seeking refuge

under the wings

of the Lord

brings her

directly to the fields

of Boaz.

Even though

we're reminded

she's an outsider,

the Lord brings her

providentially

into contact

with him.

With him.

The core of all life

for the people.

The Lord brings her

to this Christ-like

figure.

So there's a great

paradox there,

isn't there,

in the work of God.

Now think about

your front door

for a second.

Your front door

is not just there

for one reason,

is it?

It's there for two reasons.

One reason

is to keep

unwanted people out,

isn't it?

Stay out.

It is to keep

outsiders away

from your family,

keeps your house

safe from harm.

But actually

that same door

is also used

to let people in.

Isn't it?

It's a paradox.

The same door

keeps people out

but it lets people in

at the same time.

Now just going back

to Deuteronomy again.

Do you remember

chapter 23?

The uncompromising

force of God's law.

Keeping Moabites

out.

But then only

in the next chapter,

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 24 · chapter mention

chapter 24,

listen to these words

in verse 19.

When you reap

your harvest

in your field

and forget

a sheaf

in the field,

you shall not

go back

to get it.

It shall be

for the sojourner,

the fatherless

and the widow,

that the Lord

your God

may bless you

in all the work

of your hands.

When you reap

your olive trees,

you shall not

go over them again.

It shall be

for the sojourner,

the fatherless

and the widow.

When you gather

the grapes

of your vineyard,

you shall not

strip it afterwards.

It shall be

for the sojourner,

the fatherless

and the widow.

You shall remember

that you

were a slave

in the land

of Egypt.

Therefore,

I command you

to do this.

Moabites

stay out.

Chapter 23

gives reasons,

doesn't it,

why Ruth

should be excluded.

But then only

on the next page,

chapter 24,

gives reasons

why she should

be included.

It's a funny thing.

Ruth qualifies

on all three counts,

doesn't she?

She is a sojourner,

foreigner from Moab.

She is fatherless

and she is a widow

at harvest time

as well.

It shows us,

doesn't it,

that contained

within the very law

which prevented

her access

is a provision

for access.

We see that

the paradox

of God's law,

the open,

closed door.

God says

to sinners,

stop.

There is no question

about that.

And yet,

somehow in his grace,

the same law of God

opens a way

for sinners

to join in.

Stop,

come in.

A door keeps people out,

stop,

but it also lets people in.

And without that same door,

nobody can enter.

And this opened door

is opened

by God's

Christ-like

figure,

Boaz.

The door was closed,

but the man

gets her in.

The man

is the means

whereby Ruth

can come into

the full blessings

of God's covenant

assembly.

He is the one

through whom

God gives grace

to her,

through whom

he welcomes

outsiders.

He notices her,

doesn't he?

Whose young woman

is this?

He seeks her out.

He pursues her

and shows her

where to glean

her barley.

Have a look at

verse 8 and 9 again.

Back in Ruth.

Boaz said to Ruth,

now listen,

my daughter,

don't go to glean

in another field

or leave this one.

Keep close to my

young women.

Let your eyes

be on the field

that they are reaping

and go after them.

Have I not charged

the young men

not to touch you?

When you are thirsty,

go to the vessels

and drink

what the young men

have drawn.

He leads her

to green pastures

and to still waters.

He provides safety.

He fends off

rebuke from her,

doesn't he?

In verse 15,

when she rose to glean,

Boaz instructed

his young men,

saying,

let her glean,

even among the sheaves.

Don't rebuke her.

Verse 16 as well.

Also,

pull out some

from the bundles

for her

and leave it

for her to glean.

Don't rebuke her.

Boaz seeks her out,

provides,

and includes,

and welcomes,

and protects.

There's a lovely scene,

isn't there?

A mealtime scene

in verse 14.

At mealtime,

Boaz said to her,

come here

and eat some bread

and dip your morsel

in the wine.

So she sat beside

the reapers

and he passed to her

roasted grain.

She ate until

she was satisfied

and she had

some left over.

From emptiness

to fullness.

From sadness

to satisfaction.

From exclusion

to inclusion

through the man

Boaz.

The Lord Jesus

says,

doesn't he,

in the Gospels,

in John's Gospels,

I am the door.

I am the door.

If anyone

enters by me,

he will be saved

and will go in

and out

and find pasture.

I am the bread

of life.

Whoever comes

to me

will not hunger.

Whoever believes

in me

shall never thirst.

This Christ-like

man

says to

outsiders,

no, no,

don't rebuke him.

Don't rebuke her.

Let him

glean.

Let her

glean

in God's

field.

Don't reproach

her.

Let her

glean here.

God's

holy law

says,

stop.

But God's

holy Christ

says,

come here.

Dip your

morsel in

the wine.

He passes

the grain

to outsiders

out of his

abundance,

satisfaction

to sinners.

This man

is the

means

where

Moabites,

outsiders,

can come in.

He is

God's

redeemer.

I was in

Waitrose

the other

day,

and there

was a

magazine on

the shelf

there,

and it

had Dawn

French on

the front,

and it

had her

tips on

minimalistic

living.

The headline

said at the

top,

less is

more,

declutter,

get

organised,

live

lighter.

Less is

more,

declutter,

get organised,

live lighter.

And that

in a sense

is exactly

what Naomi

and Ruth

have done

since chapter

one.

So they

started off

in the

land of

Moab,

which is

representative

of the

world outside

of Judah,

outside of

Israel.

And they

moved to

a little

piece of

land,

the Lord's

land.

They

downsized,

don't they?

And then

they come

to a

little town,

little town

of Bethlehem.

And now

Ruth is

restricted to

just one

little field.

Out of

all the

places she

could be,

she's in

one little

field.

Boaz

says to

her,

don't

glean in

any other

field.

So she's

downsized in

life.

She's

become very

focused.

She's

decluttered

and become

very

minimalistic.

Just this

one field.

Boaz's

field.

But where

Boaz is

concerned,

less is

more.

Less is

more.

It is

specifically

where

Boaz's

field is.

Where the

fruit is,

isn't it?

They're in

one tiny

field,

but in

their travels

the quality

of their

lives has

been inversely

proportional to

what they

appear.

She becomes

focused on

Boaz.

Life has

become more

focused in

this one

place.

But the

more tight

her focus

is on

him,

the more

fruitful

and vibrant

and satisfying

and full

of life

she has

become.

She's

now sitting

with him

eating grain

with it

brimming over

into leftovers.

And so

the way

Ruth knows

the blessings

of God

to know

him is

to glean

specifically

in the

field of

Boaz.

she

gleans

and she

gleans

and she

gleans

and she

gleans

only there.

Look at

verse 7

again.

She said

please let

me glean

and gather

among the

sheaves

after the

reapers.

So she

came,

she continued

from early

morning until

now except

for a short

rest.

Sometimes

I chat to

folk in

Ealing who

call themselves

spiritual,

spiritual people.

But often

these folk

can be quite

cluttered

in their

thinking.

Well we're all

cluttered in

our thinking

aren't we

really?

I met a

lovely guy

the other

day.

He called

himself

spiritual.

But in

many ways

he was

quite confused

about God

and what he

really believed.

He was one

of the kinds

of people who

didn't want

to commit

to anything.

To have a

little bit

of every

religion.

He liked

Jesus.

But he

said all

these gods

are all

the same

aren't they?

I'm just

a spiritual

person.

I don't

want to

restrict

myself to

one way

of thinking.

That's just

bigoted and

narrow.

But Ruth has

had to learn

hasn't she

that with

God's

Christ

what seems

less

is more.

To focus

on one

God

and one

person in

Jesus

Christ

to glean

from him

alone

is true

spirituality.

It is

true blessing

and satisfaction.

The more

pointed and

focused we

are in the

field of

Jesus

on him

alone

the wider

and greater

and more

abundant

the fruit

becomes.

Less is

more

with him.

Sometimes we

need to listen

to Dawn

French don't

we?

Less is

more.

Declutter.

Get organized.

Live lighter.

Get specific

with Jesus.

Get specific

with Jesus.

Glean from

him and

him alone.

Get rid of

the spiritual

clutter.

Don't do

pick and mix

religion.

There's a

great artist

called

Millet.

He painted

a picture

it's called

the Gleaners.

It shows

two women

in the

foreground

bending over

to pick

tiny pieces

of grain

off the

soil.

In the

background

are the

farmers

with sacks

of grain

and these

two women

pick up

the straps.

It looks

like hard

work and

you're aware

of the

abundance

of the

farmers

have.

But there's

something

honorable

about these

women in

this painting.

They're in

the foreground.

They're

gleaning in

the right

place.

They pick

with their

right hands

and in

their left

hands are

bunches of

corn.

There's a

humility about

them.

Ruth sits

with Boaz

and his

people.

She eats

until she's

satisfied.

She sits

and receives

from him.

And note

how the

provision

just snowballs

from there

doesn't it?

So after this

evening meal

Boaz changes

the policy

on gleaning.

Have a look

at verse

15.

When she

rose to

gleam

Boaz

instructed

his young

men saying

let her

glean even

among the

sheaves.

Don't

reproach

her.

And also

pull out

some from

the bundles

for her.

Leave it

to her

for her to

glean and

don't rebuke

her.

Boaz

slightly

cheats

the system

there

doesn't

he?

Boaz

gives

her a

hand.

He gives

her a

head start

in the

gleaning.

As she

comes to

him she

gets specific

about receiving

from him

alone.

She declutters

the more

she focuses

on him

actually the

more and

more and

more she

gets back.

Similar to

what Jesus

says isn't

it in Mark

Mark 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

Jesus said

to them

pay attention

to what

you hear

and with

the measure

you use it

it will be

measured to

you.

Still more

will be added

to you for

to the one

who has

more will

be given.

The more

attention you

pay with

him

with the

Lord Jesus

Christ

the more

you glean

from him

the more

that that

will be

measured

back to

you.

And the

more and

more and

more he

gives.

And he

gives us

a head

start.

He gives

us more

and more

from his

abundance.

So get

specific with

Jesus

and him

alone.

This

man

the Lord

of the

harvest

his

workers

are

happy.

They

receive

the

Lord's

blessing.

It's

the harvest

and Boaz

is in

the middle

in the

midst of

his

workforce

talking to

them

near to

them

proclaiming

God's

blessing

upon them

as they

work.

And

outsiders

who

glean in

his

field

are

satisfied.

He is

the man

who gets

her in.

As we

close,

there is

a reminder

isn't

there

that at

the end

of chapter

two that

you can

take the

girl out

of Moab

but less

easily

Moab

out of

the girl.

We leave

the chapter

with a

conversation

between

Naomi and

Ruth who

comes back

to her

mother-in-law

with the

abundance of

the gleanings

from Boaz's

field plus

the left

Davis from

the meal

that evening.

Now you

can imagine

them in

this conversation

giggling like

little girls

can't you?

The questions

come out

in verse

19.

Imagine

Ruth with

all of

this barley

verse 19

Where did

you glean

today?

Naomi says

Where have

you worked?

Blessed be

the man who

took notice

of you.

Ruth replies

the man's

name was

Boaz.

Well,

she says,

he may be

blessed by

the Lord

whose kindness

has not

forsaken

the living

or the

dead.

There's more

she says.

The man,

the man is

a close

relative of

ours.

One of

our

redeemers.

It is a

moment,

isn't it,

of seeing

God's grace

to them

through this

man.

Naomi is

seeing Ruth

beginning those

early stages

of coming

into the

covenant

community.

And she's

met the

man who

will be

able to

redeem her

as her

relative,

to marry

her into

the people.

She's

finally be

able to

have rest

and security.

Now you

can imagine

them picturing

the wedding

already,

can't you?

She's almost

going to buy

the hat,

getting ahead

of themselves.

The hysterics

continue,

verse 21.

Besides,

he said to

me,

you shall

keep close

to my

young men

until they

finish the

harvest.

you shall

keep close

to my

young men,

he said.

No,

he didn't,

did he?

What did

Boaz actually

say to her?

Look back

at verse

8.

Boaz said

to Ruth,

now listen,

my daughter,

do not go

to gleam

in another

field or

leave this

one,

but keep

close to

my young

women.

keep

close to

my young

women.

Naomi

hears the

problem

there,

doesn't

she?

She

corrects

Ruth in

verse 22.

Naomi

said to

Ruth,

her daughter-in-law,

it is good

my daughter

that you

go out

with his

young

women,

lest in

another

field you

be

assaulted.

See,

whilst it's

exciting

to see

Ruth coming

close to

this redeeming

man,

there are

signs of

Moab

reappearing,

aren't there?

Signs of

not quite

getting that

she needs

Boaz and

Boaz alone.

Stay only

in my field,

he says,

stay near

the women.

From quite

early on,

we get

sense,

don't we,

I think,

that Boaz

wants to

provide for

her,

wants her

for himself,

he wants

to be the

sole provider,

the sole

redeemer.

And

Naomi has

to put

her back

on the

straight and

narrow,

doesn't she?

Verse 23,

Ruth listens

to Naomi

and keeps

close to

the young

women of

Boaz,

disaster

averted.

She remains

available for

Boaz to

redeem her in

marriage.

marriage.

So isn't

it a reminder

of how we

were part

of a people

who'd warred

against the

Lord and

sometimes that

cluttered,

living in the

passions of

our flesh

kind of life

we'd come

from can

sometimes pull

us back.

We need

more Naomi's,

don't we?

More Naomi's

who pull us

up and say,

no, no,

what are you

doing?

It's good

that you

stay near

Jesus and

make yourself

available for

him and

him alone.

We've all

got that bit

of Moab

in us that

craves

independence

from him.

But the

door that

has kept us

out of God's

blessings is

the door,

it's the only

door that

lets us in

through him

and only

him.

So get

specific about

Jesus.

It is a

story, isn't

it, of an

unlikely romance

between a

man and a

woman because

Ruth and

Boaz should

never have

been allowed

to be

together.

And we

should never

have been

allowed to

be with

Jesus.

But God

has sent

him to

us that

we might

be like

Ruth here

like

little

chicks

sheltering

from the

hot daily

sun

in the

cool shadow

of a

mother's

wings.

Ruth has

found the

oasis in

the desert

of coming

back to

God.

Under the

wings of

God,

Ruth meets

the

Redeemer

of God.

Let's

play in a

short

prayer.