Ruth Week 5 • Ruth 4

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Thanks for listening.

Well, good morning.

Glad that you guys are here with us today.

If you've got your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Ruth chapter 4 is where we will be.

Ruth 4 · chapter mention

As we wrap up this series, a couple things.

Berger kind of alluded to some of this as he was leading with us this morning.

Have you ever walked into work or into your home, and everything that should be happening

normally is not?

All right?

That was us today, okay?

Everything with every piece of technology, every piece of media, everything going on with the

internet was not working correctly.

And so as you maybe were going through check-in or had some different things this morning,

if you're feeling some things that were off, first, let me just say we apologize, and we've

had people working hard this morning to get everything the way that it needs to be.

But more importantly, because I know you guys extend us grace in that, but it reminded me

this morning of just the wonderful team of volunteers that we have, because it affected children's

ministry across the board all the way up into our worship today.

And so just an extra reminder, as you see those greeters, or you see those volunteers at check-in

stations, or small group leaders, or musicians, or people in the booth, or in everywhere in

between, just thank them for what they do and for how they serve, because they had to ratchet it up a

little bit today as we work through some of those.

But we thank each and every one of you for being here today.

Well, we have a change to an announcement that we've been making.

And so if you're a calendar keeper, if you want to make sure you've got everything lined

up, we have been sharing for the last couple weeks that Rick and Tina Nolan, who are part

of Willow Ridge Church, who have been serving for two years on the foreign mission field in

Athens, Greece, working with Afghani refugees, are coming back to the states to continue the

work that the Lord is doing, but doing it in the United States.

And we had talked about having them together with us on Wednesday, June the 8th.

And due to some circumstances with them, with getting housing and everything lined up for

them, that date is not going to work.

And so instead, they will be with us on Sunday, July the 10th.

And so we've moved it about a month away from when we originally had it.

And so we would love to have you be here and be a part of that night to hear all the Lord

is doing, how God has used them.

And then also what they feel the Lord is leading to them, or they know what the Lord is leading

to them for this next chapter and next season in their life.

And so we look forward to having them back with us and being able to worship and continue

on in ministry with us as a church.

And so we'd like to invite you to be with us that evening.

So we are wrapping up our series in Ruth.

We've hit a chapter a week and started off with an introduction.

And so this week we're wrapping this series up and I'm excited to see.

It's been a good reminder for me of what we just sang about, right?

Through all my life, you have been faithful, right?

We don't say, God, through all of my life, I've been faithful to you, right?

We look at God's faithfulness.

And I think sometimes in our life we can get so caught up in the moment, we can get so caught

up in the detail, we can so get caught in the emotion of the circumstance of what's happening

that there can begin to be this feeling or this sense of where is God, where is God's faithfulness?

And as we've read through Ruth, there's those characters in this story that we can feel that,

these individuals who this continues to be where they are, but what we're reminded of

continually through the lives of others is the continued faithfulness of the Lord.

And we're going to see the culmination or the building of that as we wrap up this morning.

So what we're going to do, we're going to read a little bit, talk a little bit, read a little

bit, and then wrap it up here at the end.

So let's go ahead and jump in, we'll read all of chapter 4, we'll start in verse 1.

Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there.

And behold, the Redeemer of whom Boaz had spoken came by.

And so Boaz said, turn aside, friends, sit down here.

And he turned aside and sat down.

And he took ten men of the elders in the city and said, sit down here.

So they sat down.

And then he said to the Redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab,

is selling the parcel of land that belonged to your relative Elimelech.

So I thought I would tell you of it and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here

and in the presence of the elders of my people.

If you will redeem it, redeem it.

But if you will not tell me that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it.

And I come after you.

And he said, I will redeem it.

So if you were with us last week or reading through this with us, you know there was this pivotal interaction

between Boaz and Ruth on the threshing floor in chapter 3.

Where basically Ruth is saying, I want you to redeem me.

I want you to be the one who marries me, who does this.

But Boaz, being a man of character, Boaz, being a man of integrity, says, but there's someone else.

There's a nearer kinsman that has the rights before I do.

And so the next morning, he gets up and goes to the city gates where the businessmen and where business would be done that day.

And he knows this nearer kinsman would be.

And so he explains the situation to the kinsman.

And he says, if you choose to do this, to purchase Naomi's property, then you will become the redeemer.

And we said at the very beginning of the introduction, this is one of the greatest love stories of all time, right?

And we're hoping in that moment as we read, the guy's like, nah, I'm good.

But he doesn't.

He doesn't.

Instead, he says, okay, then I will redeem him.

And in our hearts, got to kind of be like, oh, no.

This isn't what we thought.

This isn't what we expected.

This isn't what we hoped for.

And so let's look at verse 5.

And then Boaz said,

The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead and his inheritance.

And then the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance.

Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.

Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging.

To confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other.

And this was the manner of attesting in Israel.

So when the redeemer said to Boaz, buy it for yourself, he drew off his sandal.

Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses in this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi, all that belong to Elimelech, and all that belong to Chilean, and to Malan.

And so, also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Malan, I have brought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place.

You are witnesses this day.

And then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses.

May the Lord make the woman who was coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.

May you act worthily in Ephraim and renowned in Bethlehem.

And may your house be like the house of Perez and Tamar who bore Judah, because the offspring of the Lord that will give you by this young woman.

And so Boaz tells him, you know, if you are the kinsman redeemer, then here's what this means.

You take Ruth as your wife.

And I don't know why, something with inheritance, something's going on there, but this guy's like, look, if that's what, I'm not looking to get married, right?

And so he passes.

And now Boaz and Ruth can get married.

What we've longed for, what we've hoped for, as we've seen this story take all of the ups and downs of what it's going through.

But then at the end, we begin to see, as they look forward, of the hope of offspring.

It's been a key theme throughout this entire book that we've studied.

The hope that comes, the hope that will be found, the future that is promised, because an offspring will be born.

And so verse 13.

So Boaz took Ruth, she became his wife, and he went into her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

And God telling the story of redemption.

And God blesses Boaz and blesses Ruth.

And that's where our hearts rejoice.

There's more to the story.

There's more in the story of redemption.

There's this story of Naomi.

And toward the end, in these last few verses,

the story kind of shifts

from Boaz and Ruth

to back to Naomi.

The one who at one point in time

had described herself,

had changed her name to Marah

to reflect the bitterness

that was in her heart.

Look at verse 14.

Then the women

said to Naomi,

Blessed be the Lord

who has not left you

this day without a redeemer.

And may his name

be renowned

in Israel.

He shall be to you

a restorer of life

and a nourisher

of your old age.

For your daughter-in-law

who loves you,

who is more to you

than seven sons,

has given birth to him.

And then Naomi

took the child

and laid him on her lap

and became his nurse.

And the women

of the neighborhood

gave him a name

saying,

a son has been born

to Naomi.

And they named him Obed.

And he was the father

of Jesse,

the father of David.

Naomi,

who's gone on this

rollercoaster

of experiences,

rollercoaster

of emotions,

and what we've even seen

within her life,

this rollercoaster

of faith.

From the very beginning,

in evidence of the things

that she said

that's come out of her mouth,

we know that Naomi

is a follower of God.

Naomi knows God.

Naomi knows about God.

But Naomi,

who just like so many of us,

has had such a difficult time

navigating herself

through the plan

that has been laid out

before her

by the Lord

to trust him

as she walks through that.

And what we see

in this story,

what we see

in this book

is a story

of setbacks,

of hope,

of tragedy

and despair,

of joy

and of strategies

all culminating

to one.

But I want to say

this to you

as we kind of draw

all that we've been studying

these last five weeks

from the book of Ruth.

When we look at Naomi,

when we look at Ruth,

when we look at Boaz,

when we see this story

that's unfolding,

if we think about it,

okay,

and we take away

some of the context

of the names

and the individuals,

if we take away

maybe some of the specifics

of the details

and we just look

big picture

at the story

that's unfolded

before us,

it's not necessarily

a truly unlikely story.

It's not a story

that would be

uncommon for others

to experience

or uncommon

maybe for you

or I

to walk through

with our families

in our lives

and here's what I mean

by that.

This family

from the very beginning

of what we talk to

begins by going

through some hardships.

Go through a famine.

Has your family

been through a hardship?

This family

as they begin

as we navigate

through this story,

they experience death.

Has your family

experienced death?

The death

that they experience

in some parts

is expected

and by expected

I mean

an older generation

died?

Have you walked

through that?

And in some cases

it's unexpected.

A mother

buries

her sons

and while less common

when I look

through the ministry

that God's

allowed me to have

over the last

20 years

when I perform

funerals

it's not always

grandpa or grandma.

It's been sons

and daughters

and grandsons

and granddaughters.

It's been adults.

It's been kids.

A family

that experiences

death

have you experienced

that?

It's a story

of love lost

and story

of love

found.

It's the story

of some

of those

who through

their faith

rise above

their circumstances

and it's some

that allow

their circumstances

to be all

consuming

and bring them

down.

It's the story

of a baby

being born.

Now here's

what makes us

at the very

beginning of this

begin to look

at this different

and this is good

and this is right

and this is what

we do.

You see

when you

and I

open God's

word

we open it

with an

expectation

right?

As a believer

and follower

of Jesus Christ

and knowing

that every

word from

Genesis to

Revelation

is true

is powerful

is living

is transformative

is the word

by which

through the hope

of Christ

that we are

saved

but when we

open God's

word as

believers

and so five

weeks ago

when we said

open up to

Ruth

we're going

to study

this

that you

and I

as followers

of Christ

what we

came to

was an

expectation

of two

things

number one

we expected

as we read

through this

even in the

midst of these

ordinary events

of life

for extraordinary

things to

happen

and we see

that in this

story

we see

extraordinary

events

unfold

before us

as we

read this

and as we

teach this

and as we

dive into

this in our

quiet time

we see

extraordinary

events

and we

expect that

no one ever

opens the

Bible

that's a

follower of

Christ

and says

this is

about to

be boring

we expect

extraordinary

events

because of

the second

reason

when we

open up

God's

word

we expect

to see

the hand

of God

at work

and we

do

it's what

we've talked

about from

day one

from moment

one

in this

study

is that

everything

that happens

we're

continued

and reminded

about the

hand of

God

and how

God is

working

through

things like

famine

and death

and through

things like

gleaning

from a

field

and a

threshing

room

floor

and an

encounter

at a

gate

and

everywhere

in between

but if

we were

to read

this story

out of

the context

of scripture

we might

miss that

we might

miss that

if we

didn't

bring

an

expectation

of the

extraordinary

we might

miss that

if we

didn't

bring

an

expectation

of looking

for the

hand

of

God

and so

what I

want to

say this

morning

what I

want us

to do

as we

read

through

this

is to

remind

ourselves

what I'm

going to

call

the miracle

in the

ordinary

the miracle

and the

ordinary

you see

in the story

of Ruth

there's no

parting of

the sea

in the story

of Ruth

there's no

miraculous

healing

in the story

of Ruth

there's no

slaying of

an

impotentable

force

there's no

manna that

falls from

heaven

but what

we see

is the

working hand

of God

in Ruth

and Naomi

all through

it

all through

from the

very beginning

go back

and think

through

from verse

one

without the

famine

there is

no journey

to Moab

without Moab

there is

no Ruth

without the

death of

Naomi's

husbands

and sons

there's no

desperation

in return

to Bethlehem

with no

desperation

there's no

need for

Ruth to

glean from

the fields

if there's

no fields

and there's

no Boaz

and Ruth

meeting

and if

Ruth and

Boaz

don't meet

then there

is no

marriage

and with

no marriage

there is

no Obed

and that's

the miraculous

working hand

of God

even in

events of

life

that other

people would

tell you

are ordinary

but we can

see the

extraordinary

hand of

the Lord

working

and moving

through that

and God

took

what would

be the

ordinary

events

and he

made

them

extraordinary

and I

want to

ask you

this

in our

own

lives

in our

own

lives

do we

stop and

give praise

and honor

and glory

in the

events of

our life

that seem

ordinary

and do we

look for

the active

working

hand

of the

Lord

in every

moment in

our life

and then

praising for

it

the other

day I was

sitting at a

red light

I was

sitting at

the red

light

if you

take the

two notch

that intersects

with South

Lake

six

and you

come to

that red

light

down at

the very

end

where there's

the CVS

and there's

the roses

and there's

all that

if you've

never

taken that

direction

and gotten

that red

light

let me just

say something

about that

red light

you can

take a nap

at that

red light

right

I've

eaten a

five course

meal

there

right

I wrote

a paper

sitting there

one day

all right

it takes

a while

now

I'm sitting

there at

that red

light

and I feel

my phone

vibrate

well I know

that I've been

sitting there

for a while

but I'm

thinking I've

at least

got another

30 minutes

so let me

check it out

and see what's

going on

and I

realized it

was a

message

I was

like you

know I'll

just sit

here with my

foot on the

brake and

just respond

now probably

not the

best thing

the best

timing to

do but

that's

what I

did

and then

all of a

sudden

I heard

that gracious

noise

that says

will you

please go

right

and I

look up

sorry

and as

I take

off to

go

a big

old truck

comes blazing

through that

intersection

right

was it

chance

we don't

believe in

chance

was it

dumb luck

because I

shouldn't have

been on my

phone and I

should have

activated the

settings right

that cut it

off when I

start moving

I know

that

we don't

believe in

that either

or was it

the providential

hand

of God

in that

moment

to spare

my life

and in that

moment

we praise

him

here's what I

find as I

read through

the details

of this story

particularly

is you and

I we spend

way too

much time

asking God

where he's

at

and asking

God why

he has done

nothing

instead of

focusing on

all that he

has done

looking for

it in our

lives

and then

praising him

for it

when it

happens

and all

of the

ordinary

events

that happen

and take

place

to praise

the Lord

and understand

the miracle

of that

in our

lives

right

the miracle

in the

ordinary

because here's

the thing

it's not

ordinary

at all

it's

extraordinary

that the

creator

of the

heavens

and the

earth

in every

moment

the savior

of our

soul

the redeemer

of our

life

is with

us

knows us

and loves

us

and do we

praise him

for it

I'm reminded

also as we

study through

this

book

the pursuits

that we

have in

life

and I

want to ask

you this

this morning

is your

life marked

with the

pursuit

of pure

joy

or is

your life

marked

with the

pursuit

of fleeting

happiness

I read

an author

this week

who said

the life

of the

godly

is not

a straight

line to

glory

but they

do get

there

I want to

read that

to you

again

the life

of the

godly

is not

a straight

line to

glory

but they

do get

there

let's keep

up with

the theme

of driving

and talk

about that

some more

okay

I've never

driven past

the state

of Mississippi

like Mississippi

Arkansas

that's kind

of as far

as I've been

haven't been

any farther

than out there

I would love

nothing would

warm my heart

than for me

and my wife

to get in

and drive

all the way

across the

country

head all

the way

up the

west coast

drive all

the way

back through

I would

absolutely

love to

do that

nothing

would

pain

my wife

more

than to

get in

a car

with me

and drive

all the

way

across

and it's

not that

it's me

it would

be you

too

right

like she's

not the

car rider

that's not

that's not

joy for

her

she would

be like

cool

you drive

to Dallas

I'll meet

you there

all right

and then you

drive to

Los Angeles

I'll meet

you there

like that's

more her

speed on

a plane

so I

haven't

driven

past that

but my

dad one

time this

early on

in my

marriage

my dad

took a

job

in Nebraska

it was

seasonal work

he'd go out

there and

work for

six to

eight months

and then

he'd come

home to

North Augusta

and on his

first route

to Nebraska

I'd kind of

call him

every day

and ask him

how his

trip's going

and I knew

it was going

to take a

really long

time because

my dad

doesn't like

to go over

55 miles

an hour

so he had

like three

weeks to

get there

so every

day I'm

calling him

and he

finally kind

of hit the

last leg

of his

tour

and it was

gonna be

the Iowa

to Nebraska

to where

he was

going

and so I

called him

when he

got to

Nebraska

and I

said hey

dad how

did your

trip go

and he

said well

son I'm

gonna tell

you

I didn't

see trees

I didn't

see mountains

I didn't

see people

all I

saw from

Iowa to

Nebraska

was corn

just corn

for hours

upon hours

upon hours

all I

saw

was corn

so I

get to

my hotel

after one

of the

most boring

drives

of corn

stalks

that I've

ever experienced

in my life

and I

get to

my hotel

and he

said son

right beside

the hotel

was a

restaurant

and it

said two

beautiful

words

country

buffet

right

and he

thought that's

what I'm

gonna do

and he

said I've

been gonna

have this

craving

after a

day of

driving to

seeing

corn

I wanted

some corn

on the cob

I wanted

sweet corn

I wanted

corn

casserole

I wanted

corn

bread

if they

make

corn

pudding

I want

the

corn

pudding

if there's

a corn

protein

dish

I wanted

corn

like the

drive was

boring

but I'm

thinking

corn

corn

corn

corn

corn

right

so I'm

gonna go

and get

me

some

corn

he said

so I

walked

in

and you

saw it

it was

like

like an

old school

with me

all right

golden

corral

like just

laid out

he said

buddy

they had

steak

at a

country

cooking

they had

nachos

but there

was not

one

single

piece

of corn

on that

buffet

right

he said

I was just

devastated

that's all

I wanted

was corn

but dad

how was

the drive

so it was

easy

but it was

boring

this past

spring break

we share

with you guys

that we went

to the

mountains

and I

asked

everybody

in my

family

what they

wanted to

do

over

spring

break

and

and

Aaron

had

the

things

she

wanted

to

do

Grace

had

he

wanted

to

do

but

Emma

wanted

to

see

a

waterfall

every day

wanted to

go see

a waterfall

so I found

a waterfall

that we were

going to go

see

that we could

go to

that we could

walk

and walk

behind

and everybody

on the internet

said this is

where you'll get

the prettiest

pictures

and all that

kind of stuff

and so I

pulled up

on my

google maps

on my phone

the route

from our

cabin to where

this mountain

is

or this waterfall

is

and it

says

that

it's

only

about

10

miles

away

but

will

take

about

40

minutes

to

get

there

I

should

have

thought

through

that

a little

bit

better

but I

didn't

all right

so we

get up

that morning

we get

some

breakfast

and we

head

out

and we

drive

through

the mountains

now

a couple

people may

or may

not have

gotten

a little

car sick

right

we were

stopped

several

times by

road

construction

crews

and at

least

five

times

I

almost

ran

off

the

road

for a

couple

reasons

number

one

it was

pretty

right

like

I

want

it's

weird

I

want

to be

controlled

and drive

but I

want to

look at

stuff

too

and it's

a bad

combination

so a

couple

times

was

that

but then

a

couple

times

I

realized

like

that

caution

take

this

turn

at

15

miles

an

hour

is

not

a

suggestion

right

like

it's

a

really

good

idea

do

that

and I

want to

tell you

that drive

was terrible

it was

terrible

we're like

are we

ever

going

to get

there

another

road

construction

crew

are we

ever

going to

get

there

dad's

right

two

tires

hit

gravel

right

are we

ever

going

to

get

there

but

when

we

got

there

the

drive

was

worth

it

when

we

got

there

no

one

complained

about

being

car

sick

no

one

complained

about

losing

cell

phone

reception

no

one

said

I

can't

believe

this

took

us

40

minutes

no

one

complained

about

my

driving

until

we

started

headed

back

here's

what I

want to

say

why do

I

tell

these

random

two

stories

your

life

and

my

life

are

a lot

more

like

that

ride

through

the

mountains

than

the

journey

through

the

plains

it's

filled

with

highs

and

lows

difficult

seasons

and

turns

some

sickness

here

and

there

but

in

the

end

the

road

that

the

Lord

leads

us

down

why

not

simple

and

safe

is

worth

it

it's

worth

it

and

the

beauty

about

that

road

is

God

using

it

and

doing

something

in

us

through

it

I

know

some

of

you

right

now

are

dead

in

the

middle

of

the

season

of

the

journey

through

the

mountains

and

you're

like

Bo

an

open

road

with

nothing

but

corn

would

be

a

breeze

right

now

and

I

know

that

I've

been

on

those

hard

mountain

roads

too

right

now

we

feel like

we've

got a

little

bit

of

rest

from

one

personally

so

I

know

another

one

might

not

be

too

far

ahead

but

about

these

journeys

here's

what

we

see

in

James

chapter

one

starting

in

verse

two

count

it

all

joy

my

brothers

when

you

face

trials

of

various

kinds

for

you

know

the

testing

of

your

faith

produce

steadfastness

and

let

steadfastness

have

its

full

effect

that

you

may

be

perfect

and

complete

lacking

in

nothing

you

see

I

told

you

earlier

I

asked

you

what

are

you

pursuing

pure

joy

or

fleeting

happiness

fleeting

happiness

it

comes

and

it

goes

because

it's

tied

to

emotion

it's

tied

to

the

moment

and

we

as

Christians

God

gives

this

to

us

we

get

to

have

this

right

there's

beauty

in

the

moment

when

it's

happening

and

you're

overjoyed

and

happiness

is

there

like

being

happy

is

not

bad

for

a

Christian

it's

it's

a

beauty

of

the

life

that

we

get

to

live

in

but

here's

the

thing

it

comes

and

it

goes

because

it's

connected

to

an

emotion

it's

connected

to

a

circumstance

but

pure

joy

while

still

a

feeling

that

we

can

live

in

and

experience

is

not

rooted

in

a

circumstance

but

it's

rooted

in

the

Lord

and

that's

what

we

see

in

the

life

of

Naomi

and

the

life

of

Ruth

both

facing

the

same

difficult

journeys

both

facing

the

same

difficult

battle

but

one

whose

heart

is

trusting

the

Lord

in

the

pursuit

of

joy

that

will

work

in

her

and

create

in

her

and

produce

a

steadfastness

in

the

Lord

and

lastly

what we

want to

look at

in

this

these

passages

is

the

work

of

grace

in

the

province

of

God

look