Ruth Week 3 • Ruth 2

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Thanks for listening.

Did anybody else during that video have the realization that you're glad we didn't ask

your kids to come and get behind the camera for us to ask questions, right?

Because I feel okay with my kids now, but I know there was definitely a point in time

where like, yeah, that ain't happening, right?

But I love that.

I do want to say to you guys, good morning and happy Mother's Day.

Today is a day as a culture that we set aside to celebrate our moms and to value them and

to love them and show our support for them.

And so we just want to say as behalf of the church, to all the moms who are out there today,

happy Mother's Day, that we love you and what you do is so valuable and important to us.

I know today we have some moms who aren't with us who have gone to be with their moms at other

churches.

That's where my wife and kids are today.

They're going to celebrate and go to church with Aaron's mom and go to lunch with them,

and I'll meet up with them later on today.

But we also have some moms and maybe even some daughters and some grandkids who were here

with us this morning to be with their mom and to celebrate them.

And so we're so glad that you were here and that you were here with us.

Well, one of our themes in Ruth is talking about the providence of God and talking about

the fact that there are things in this world that don't happen by chance, but even though

they may hurt, even though they may be painful, there's these moments and times that God gives

us to walk through so that he can grow us and develop us and use us for his name and for

his glory.

And I say all of that before we even get into our passage of scripture this morning, because

growing up in the Bradbury house, Mother's Day was always a bittersweet day for us.

And I know if you're here this morning, Mother's Day may be a bittersweet day for you as well.

I want to share my story and maybe it can resonate with some of you in your story of what God's

doing, but I grew up and I've got a mom and a dad still married together, faithfully loving each

other well, who raised us and loved us.

But my mom went through something in her childhood that most but some do walk through.

My mom, my mom's mother, my grandmother passed away when my mom was 15 years old.

My mom came home from a school day at, sorry, at Butler High School to find her mom dead on

the floor from suffering from a massive heart attack.

And so that was our reality growing up.

We grew up in a more traditional church and I don't know, maybe some of you, this kind of

speaks your love language if you're, to the memory back of a traditional church.

But on Mother's Day, all the moms were corsages and they had the flowers and different color

flowers stood for different colored things.

And my mom always wore the color to acknowledge that her mom passed on and was with the Lord.

And so Mother's Day was always a bittersweet day for us.

And then Aaron and I walked through our journey of infertility and miscarriage.

And I knew every Mother's Day as we would be there at church and that my wife would struggle because of her desire for a child and her inability to get pregnant and then her desire for a child and recognizing the miscarriage and the pain that she had gone through with that.

And so today, as we walk through that in God's providence and God's sovereignty, I want to stand here today as we wish all these moms a happy Mother's Day while also acknowledging that it's a tough day for some people.

It's a tough day for some ladies who are in here who are struggling with infertility, who are struggling with miscarriages.

And it's a struggle for some of you today because your mom's not here beside you.

The way she passed away this year or years ago, today can be the reminder of that.

And so today as we celebrate moms, right, today we also want to acknowledge all of those who today, today's a little bit harder day than normal.

And we can do both because our God is good.

And let's go to Him in prayer.

Lord, we come to you this morning and we thank you for the wonderful blessing of our moms.

We thank you for our moms that loved us, showed us your grace and love, taught us the truth of your scripture.

Took us to ball games and dance recitals and showed us what it meant to work hard and to support and to love and to care.

Moms who became leaders in the home and out of the home.

Moms who helped us with our homework.

Lord, we thank you for such the blessing that they are.

Lord, we also lift up all of those today who woke up this morning and today's a difficult day.

For the lady sitting in the room who's wrestling with the concerns that she has and the struggle that she has over infertility.

Mourning the loss of a child and miscarriage.

Lord, we pray for your peace and your grace to fall over them, Lord.

And may it feel fresh to them this morning.

Lord, we pray for all of those of us in here who have lost our mother.

Maybe even some of those in here, Lord, who have lost a child.

And today is the reminder of that.

Lord, could we be reminded of your sovereignty and your providence in our life.

To know that, Lord, even in the midst of our suffering, in the midst of our pain, that you haven't left us.

That you haven't forsaken us.

Lord, and that we can trust what your word says.

That you're working all things for your good, for your glory, for your name, and for the betterment in our lives.

And to grow us closer to you.

And Jesus, we love you.

We praise you.

And it's your name we pray.

Amen.

If you've got your Bibles with you today, if you'd open up to Ruth chapter 2.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention

And as you turn there, I want to share a piece of information with you about something that's going to be coming up.

And this is scary.

Like, we're not even in the summer yet, and we're talking about the fall.

But this fall, we're planning on doing the 1st of September.

So I guess maybe that's technically the end of summer.

The first weekend of September.

September 2nd through the 5th.

That's a holiday weekend.

We're going to be doing a family mission trip to Black Mountain Children's Home in North Carolina.

And what we're going to do to maybe answer some questions and to walk through this.

And to see which of our families are going to be interested in going and being a part of that.

We're going to hold an informational meeting on Sunday, June the 5th.

Immediately following our worship service over in Building 2 in Room 200.

And so the Lord kind of gave us this vision, this picture for this opportunity for families to come together.

To go and serve in an area, especially in our youth ministry, that's become special to a lot of our students.

And so we've been sitting down and racking our brains about what we could do.

And God has put this together for us.

Now, one of the things that if you're a family and you're thinking about this, that you'd like to be a part of this,

we are going to limit it to the kids who, as of next school year, will be in 5K and older.

All right?

And we will head off and go up there and have a wonderful time of serving together, of worshiping together, of fellowshipping together.

And if you've been anywhere with us, you know at some point in time we're going to have a whole lot of fun together.

And so if you're interested in that, being a part of that with your family, please come to that meeting on June the 5th, immediately following the worship service.

Now, family, that can be grandparents with their kids.

We're looking all different ways.

So don't think that your family doesn't meet the qualifications.

Instead, we'd love for you to come and join us and to be a part of that.

I know Black Mountain is a place that my family has been, I believe, the last three years.

And it's been a wonderful time of what God has done in that.

And so we look forward to seeing what the Lord is going to do with all of our families.

And so we would love to have you join us on that trip.

Showing up to the meeting doesn't guarantee that you're saying and that you're committing to be a part of that.

It's just an opportunity for you and I to sit down and have a discussion, for me to share the vision of the trip, and for you to ask questions if you have them.

And so we would love for you to join us and to be a part of that meeting on Sunday, June the 5th.

So we're going to continue on in our study in Ruth.

And we're going to work all the way through Ruth chapter 2 this morning.

Ruth 2 · chapter mention

And we're going to talk about some areas that I know have hit home with a lot of people in our congregation and have also hit home in my life as well.

And so let's jump in.

We're just going to read the first verse here this morning.

And it says,

Now Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

And so we've been on a long journey already in chapter 1 to get here.

And we're going to recap a little bit of chapter 1 to remind us, but this theme that is spilled over from chapter 1 into chapter 2 is this concept of depression.

We meet Naomi, and Naomi is suffering from depression.

And when we look and see in just a moment some of the details of her life, it's understandable why she is going through what she is going through.

And what we have seen from chapter 1 and coming into chapter 2 is what I would like to talk about, the darkness of depression.

And I don't know about you, but I know in my life, I know a lot of men and women and children and families that we minister to.

Depression is a real condition.

It's a real battle.

It's something that a lot of men, women, and children are facing and they're going through.

I know for me in my life, and I've shared this on stage, I've shared this in small groups, I've shared this in one-on-one conversation.

Depression is something that I personally have gone through, that I've sought counseling through, that I've faced at multiple different points and times in my life.

And by the grace of God, God's given me the strength through His power to walk through those seasons.

And God's provided me with wonderful people like my wife and some of you to help walk through that.

And so as I'm reading through a lot of these things that we see in the life of Naomi, there's a lot of, I get that, I get that, I get that, I get that.

And what we see very beginning of this chapter is the darkness of depression in the life of Naomi.

All right, Naomi's got it pretty bad.

All right?

Just a quick little recap, if you weren't with us last week.

She and her family 10 years ago had to leave their home due to famine.

Well, if you've ever been through a famine, I've never been through a famine.

But as I shared last week, I went through a hostage shortage about three weeks ago, right?

And it was tough, right?

But a famine.

Her husband would die, and both of her sons would die as well.

And there's lots of cultural ramifications to the fact that Naomi and her daughter-in-laws at the time are facing because the men of the house are dead.

But even in our culture of what we see, even if you feel that as a lady that you're strong, that you're independent, we can acknowledge that this 10-year battle of what they've gone through is a very difficult battle.

And it's affected Naomi all throughout who she is.

In fact, at the end of chapter 1, we read that as Naomi and her one daughter-in-law, Ruth, that has stuck with her as they return back to Naomi's hometown, when Naomi sees people, she tells,

Don't call me Naomi anymore, because Naomi meant pleasantness.

Instead, call me Mara, which means bitterness.

So then every part of who she is, she's acknowledging what I feel in my being right now is not joy, is not peace, is not the grace of God, all of these things that we'll see throughout the course of this story that Naomi knows.

But what she feels, what she feels is surrounding her, what she feels is there, is bitterness.

Now, if you've ever walked through a season or a time of depression in your life, and I can speak to this in my own life, you understand what it feels like to be consumed by bitterness.

That it's all that you know, that it's all that you feel, that it's all that you see, and it continually surrounds you.

And you acknowledge that I am no longer the person of who I am before, and this is now the individual who I am now.

I described it to someone the other day as we were talking about it.

And I said, you know, in my own personal journey as I've walked through this, depression causes you to see things through a lens.

A lens of darkness.

A lens that other people can kind of talk you into that it's not there, but for you, it's an ever-real reality that's constantly before you.

And depression, through this lens, affects everything.

Everything.

Even the parts of your life that don't have anything to do with your root cause of depression, it affects it all.

When you're battling through depression, it affects every relationship.

Every relationship you have.

The relationships that are toxic, it affects.

The relationships that are beneficial, it affects.

The relationships for people that want to pour into you and love you, it affects.

It affects it all.

It affects both work, home, and social life.

While in our minds, in different ways, we can separate many of them into the different compartments of how we face in everyday life.

When you're going through a season, when you're going through a battle with depression,

what you will notice is that it affects your work life, it affects your home life, it affects your social life.

There's not a hat that you can put on that causes you to step out of one area,

oh, and now I'm in this area, and so I'm good.

It affects it all.

And depression affects you physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.

It will break you down physically.

It will make you physically feel sick, even if there's nothing to physically feel sick over.

It is mentally, and it affects you mentally.

It causes you not to see things clearly, respond to things clearly.

It plays mind games with you and literally adjusts and alters the way that you think and the way that you experience things.

It affects you spiritually.

Years ago, I heard somebody say, you just need to cry out to the Lord.

And I was walking through a matter of depression, and I remember thinking, I know that, but I just don't want to.

I don't want to.

I know who God is.

I know that he saved me.

I know that I'm called by him, and I know that I love him.

But I just don't want to.

It begins to affect you.

It affects you emotionally.

The things that bring you joy don't bring you joy.

The things that bring you happiness don't bring you happiness.

The things that bring you peace don't bring you peace.

And there's a constant war that rages within you because you know all the things that you know.

You know the reality of all that is there, but yet the lens of depression just causes you to see things differently.

And this is what we're going to do.

And this is why it's important that we read the first verse and pause.

Because this is what depression has done to her.

Number one, it's caused Naomi, in the midst of all she's going through, to miss the true reality of the situation.

If you remember back last week in chapter one, when Naomi hears that the famine has been lifted in her land and that she will now leave the land of Moab and return to her land and to Bethlehem, right?

Because the famine has been lifted there.

She pleads for her daughter-in-laws not to come with her.

And that's not out of poor, pitiful me.

It's actually one that's filled with grace in her heart because she doesn't want them to walk through what she's going to have to walk through and return with her.

Because in her mind, there's no hope.

If you go with me, there's no hope.

But if you stay here, there's hope.

And for Naomi, if she returns with them, then there's nothing that is waiting for them that is going to bring them out because they are just in as bad of situation as she is.

Because for them, there's no one to marry.

And so Naomi says, stay behind.

Don't come with me.

But what we see is verse one.

Naomi says that there's no redeemer for you.

She talks to them about, like, I don't have any other boys for you to marry, right?

My sons have died.

Your husbands have died.

If there was to be a baby in my womb, right, do you want to wait for him to grow up to be a man?

Because in their culture, what they needed was a man to step in to marry them.

And she said, that is not for you.

Because her depression has caused her to miss the reality of the situation.

Back at verse one.

Now, Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a man worthy of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

You see, there was.

There was Boaz, a real person in the family who couldn't marry them.

And so the reality was, yes, but Naomi can't see it because of the darkness that's there.

And also, what it creates, what depression, what the darkness of depression can create, is to miss the faith that you have.

Naomi is a woman of God.

She's a woman of faith.

And we might not see an overwhelming strength from this in her life right now.

But she's a woman of faith, nevertheless.

She would have known of God's faithfulness.

She would experience them herself.

But this is what depression creates.

This is what depression pulls down.

Now, what depression does to us is it lowers in a person who's going through this, right?

It lowers our sense of self-worth.

For a person who's walking through a battle of depression, they view themselves as less than.

And then what that begins to create in there is it also lowers the way that you believe of how God thinks about you.

And so it takes all that we know, all that we believe, all of these things that we can cling to truth,

and it twists a lie into them that alters every single part of your life.

And it's why verse 1 is so significant for us to understand about the battle that Naomi's going through.

Now, Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

Let's keep reading verse 2.

And Ruth, the Moabite, said to Naomi,

Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain,

after him in whose eyes I shall find favor.

And she said to her, Go, my daughter.

So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers.

And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz,

who was the clan of Elimelech.

And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers,

The Lord be with you.

And they answered, The Lord bless you.

And then Boaz said to this 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.

And she said, Please let me glean and gather among the sheaths after the reapers.

So she came, and as she has continued from early morning until now,

except for a short rest.

So let me explain this, gleaning in the field.

And this is going to be very important in chapter 2.

When a field is harvested, right, there's always crops that are left behind.

Whether it's because they're missed or whether it's because they're dropped,

there's always crops that are left behind.

Now, years ago before I was here, I served on staff at a church, Cedar Creek Church,

and I was one of their campus pastors.

And the campus that I first served at was right on Highway 1 in between Minetta, right?

And if you're good Aiken County people, you know where Minetta is, right?

And so in between Minetta and Batesburg, and that's where our church was, right?

We were in the suburbs of both of those booming metropolis towns, right?

We were there.

And if you know that stretch of road, you know that it is filled on both sides with peaches.

And I love peaches.

And my grandmother said to me one day, she said,

Bo, as I looked out of my office window, right across there was a field of peaches.

And she asked me, of peach trees, and she asked me, she said,

do you ever just walk over there and grab a peach and eat it?

And I said, no.

And she said, why not?

And I said, that's illegal.

I can't do that.

And my grandmother, who grew up at a different point in time, looked at me and said,

well, I don't understand that.

And I said, well, I don't like it, but that's still the truth.

I can't do that.

But it never failed.

We would watch and see out there how many peaches would fall on the ground.

And we couldn't go over there and take them because they had fallen.

We'd also see after the workers would come over and take the peaches off the tree,

you'd still see there's some peaches on the tree.

And we couldn't do it.

We couldn't go over there and get the peaches, right?

But during this time, it was common that when there was crops that were missed,

crops that were dropped, crops that were left behind,

God commanded in his people to take care of the widows and the orphans and the poor.

And so a common practice that they had was after the reapers had left the field,

the widows, the orphans, and the poor would come and they would collect those,

the crops that had fallen, the crops that were left.

In fact, in Leviticus 19, God instructs his people to only harvest the vineyards once,

to not harvest them a second time,

and instead to allow the widows, the orphans, and the poor to come and follow them the second time

to pick the grapes.

And so that's what Ruth sets out to do.

Now think about this.

Ruth and Naomi are basically in the same situation.

In Ruth's covenant commitment to Naomi,

she says that she's going to go where she's going to go,

that she's not going to leave her or forsake her,

that she's going to stay with her,

that she's going to cling to her is what the Bible says.

But then also Ruth takes it a step farther and says,

where you die, I will die.

And so we see this commitment that's there.

We see this bond that's there.

And so here you've got Naomi who's struggling in darkness,

but we're going to see Ruth walking in light.

And so also this morning I want to talk about the light of faithfulness

and what we see in Ruth's life.

And what this can mean.

You know, we see the fruit of the light of faithfulness in the life of Ruth

in several ways.

The first way is that Ruth thought of others.

Ruth thought of others.

Naomi is depressed and defeated.

And if you've ever been there,

you know how hard it is to put one foot in front of the other.

You know how hard it can be to get out of bed.

You know how hard it can be to do the things that you need to do

on a day in and day out basis.

And that's where Naomi is.

And what I love about Ruth

is who Ruth is

is not a person that wants to kick her or force her.

She's not the person that wants to yell at her

because of where she's at.

Ruth says, well then I'll go.

I'll provide.

And she goes.

So she thought of others.

A characteristic of Ruth that we're reminded about in the light of faithfulness

is that Ruth chose humility over entitlement.

Ruth, in the verse that we see here,

it says that she prayed that she would be able to glean.

So she sought the Lord in that.

She doesn't presume the right

even though this was custom.

And instead she asked for permission

of what she could do.

She doesn't even show up with an attitude of

what can you do for me?

But instead her attitude is

what can I do for myself

and what can I do for others?

And this is what we see in the difference

as she's walking in the light of faithfulness.

It's keeping the mindset off of her.

Praying to the Lord

that the Lord would guide her.

Not presuming the right

but asking for favor

and to care for others.

And in this we see that Ruth showed perseverance.

When the report comes back to Boaz

of who she is

basically what the workers say

is she's been doing this all day.

All day.

She's been out here

gleaning in the fields.

Right?

And then when we'll see

just in a little bit in verse 17

it says that

at the end of the day

when she was done doing all of the gleaning

all of the picking

all of the harvesting

that was left for her to be able to do

that she went through the process

of cleaning and processing the grain.

That we see this huge perseverance in her life.

But I think most importantly

what we see

is Ruth's faith

in God's providence.

Look back at verses 2 and 3.

And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi

let me go to the field

and glean among the ears of grain

after him

in whose sight

I shall find favor.

And she said to her

go my daughter.

So she set out

and went

and gleaned in the field

after the reapers

and she happened

to come to the part

of the field

belonging to Boaz

who was of the clan

of Elimelech.

Ruth didn't know

who Boaz was

and she ended up

in his field.

Proverbs 16.9

tells us

that a man

plans

a man's mind

plans his ways

but the Lord

directs his steps.

And thinking through

in our journeys

of life

of where we find ourself

and where we go.

The truth of scripture

the truth of what we

see here

in the life of Ruth

is that

as we are going about

that we can trust

and know

of what we are doing

that as our mind

plans our ways

the Lord

directs our steps

in this.

This isn't chance

this isn't luck

it's the providence

of God

in the life of Ruth

that what she's

going through

what she's facing

what she's faced

is there for a purpose

and for a reason

and all throughout this

we're going to see

the nuggets

of this wonderful truth

until it comes together

beautifully

for us

and for all of humanity

in Ruth chapter 4

Ruth 4 · chapter mention

of what is happening

and what is taking place

in this

but that we can know

and that we can trust

that what

the mess you're going through

the battle that you're facing

the darkness

that seems to be there

the rut

that you find yourself in

you're not there

by chance

you're there

by the providence of God

for God to use it

to grow you

to grow others

look at verse 8

then Boaz said to Ruth

now listen my daughter

do not

do not go to glean

in another field

or leave this one

but keep close

to my young women

let your eyes

be on the field

that they are reaping

and go after them

I have not charged

I have not charged

the young men

not to touch you

and when you are thirsty

when you are thirsty

go to the vessels

and drink

what the young men

have drawn

and then she fell

on her face

bowing to the ground

and said to him

why have I found

favor in your eyes

that you should

take notice of me

since I am a foreigner

but Boaz answered her

all that you have done

for your mother-in-law

since the death

of your husband

has been fully told to me

and how you left

your father

and mother

and your native land

and came to a people

that you did not know before

in verse 12

the Lord repay you

for what you have done

and a full reward

be given to you

by the Lord

for the God of Israel

under whose wings

you have come

to take refuge

and then she said

I found favor

in your eyes

my Lord has

comforted me

and spoken kindly

to your servant

though I am not

one of your servants

and 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

and she ate

until she was satisfied

and she had

some left over

and when she rose

to glean

Boaz instructed

his young men

saying let her glean

even among the sheaths

and do not reproach her

and also pull out

some from the bundles

for her

and leave it

for her to glean

and do not rebuke her

and so she gleaned

in the field

until that evening

then she beat out

what she had gleaned

it was about

an ephah

of barley

and so we meet

Boaz here

Boaz the relative

of Elimelech

that qualifies

as this kinsman

redeemer

who can come

and marry

Ruth

to continue on

and support her

we see here

that he's wealthy

but most importantly

we see

that he is godly

and Boaz

approaches Ruth

he shows her

kindness

he shows her

protection

he shows her

favor

and in verse 10

Ruth asks him

a question

she says to him

what have I done

to deserve

this kindness

this is a very

important question

Ruth says to him

what have I done

of who am I

a foreigner

who is now

in your homeland

what have I done

to experience

this overwhelming

kindness

that you have

given to me

and Boaz

answers

and he says

all that you have done

for your mother-in-law

all that you've sacrificed

he tells her

I've heard

and I know

about this

but then he says

this

he says

it's the Lord

who's repaying you

it's the Lord

who's blessing you

look at verse 12

he says

the Lord repay you

for what you have done

and a full reward

be given to you

by the Lord

the God of Israel

and then I

underline this

if you're an underliner

in your Bible

under whose wings

you have come

to take refuge

he says

there's something more

than what you've done

for your mother-in-law

there's something more

than you getting up

and to go work

into the fields

there's something more

than all of these actions

can show

in their isolated incident

there's something more

and the something more

is the God of Israel

who you have proclaimed

as your God

under whose wings

you have come

to take refuge

you see for Ruth

she needed refuge

in this life

if she was going

to survive

she needed to find

protection

she needed to find

comfort

she needed to find

peace

and she didn't seek

that in Naomi

she didn't seek

that in her family

she didn't seek

that in her husband

and in no

earthly pursue

does she seek

that

nor could it be found

but what Boaz

says here

is she sought

her refuge

in God

through her faith

our refuge

in the Lord

our refuge

in Him

our refuge

in God

it's the command

of Christ

for our lives

of where we

find our security

of where we

find our peace

where we

find our hope

Ruth finds

her joy

in God

not in her

circumstances

youth finds

her protection

in God

not in her

circumstances

Ruth finds

her favor

in God

and not

in her

circumstances

or not

from another

Ruth

not at one

point in time

in this story

as we've

gone through

does she do

what is logical

not one time

she should have

stayed

she should have

got up

that morning

and thought

for herself

she should have

gone out

based off of

culture and

tradition

and tried to

go out there

where she

can set

herself

to find

a husband

but she

does none

of those

things

and instead

what she

does

is what

is godly

instead

she does

what is

right

and she

seeks

her refuge

in him

and in him

alone

that god

will provide

that god

will care

that god

will lead

and it's

what god

does

and it's

not found

in her

works

you see

it's found

in her

faith

and this

is going

to affect

Naomi

we'll close

and look

at verse

18

and she

took it

up and

went into

the city

and her

mother-in-law

saw what

she had

gleaned

and she

also brought

out and

gave her

what food

she had

left over

after being

satisfied

so let's

kind of

pause here

for just

a second

then we'll

finish reading

so Ruth

who they're

hoping to

get just

enough to

get them

through the

day

may be

blessed

enough to

get enough

to go

through the

week

Ruth

comes back

with more

than enough

Ruth

comes back

with an

abundance

Ruth

comes back

of what

she has

taken

but also

what's been

given to

her

and she

comes back

with a

meal that's

been prepared

enough of what

scripture tells us

that it filled

Ruth

and enough

for Naomi

so you can

imagine

right

Naomi sees

this coming

down the

street

and this

picture of

blessing

that's

approaching

her

verse 19

and her

mother-in-law

said to

her

where did

you glean

today

and where

have you

worked

blessed

be the

man

who took

notice

of you

so she

told her

mother-in-law

with whom

she had

worked

and said

the man's

name

with whom

I work

today

is

Boaz

and Naomi

said to

her

daughter-in-law

may he

be blessed

by the

Lord

whose

kindness

has not

forsaken

the living

or the

dead

and Naomi

said to

her

the man

is a

close

relative

of ours

one of

our

redeemers

now if

I'm Ruth

in this

moment

I'm like

oh time

out

right

let's

get

something

straight

verse

21

and Ruth

the Moabite

said

besides

he said

to me

you shall

keep

close

by my

young

men

until

they

have

finished

all

my

harvest

and 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'll be

assaulted

so she

kept

close to

the young

women

of Boaz

gleaning

until the

end of

barley

and wheat

harvest

and she

lived

with her

mother-in-law

and so

what we

see in

this

is this

hope

that

begins

to

creep

in

into

the

world

and

into

the

life

of

Naomi

and the

instrument

that God

is using

is Ruth

is Ruth

those whose

lives should be

at the bottom

as well

and I love

Ruth's

response

Ruth

doesn't

walk into

the house

and say

get over

yourself

Ruth

doesn't

walk into

the house

and say

what's wrong

with you

even when

Naomi

confesses

oh yeah

that's

Boaz

right

I know

I told

you

there's

no one

but yep

today

guess what

there is

someone

he's

Boaz

he's

godly

he's

wealthy

go hang

out

there

right

never

at one

point

in time

is the

heart

of Ruth

filled

with the

bitterness

to come

back

and instead

there was

the hope

and the

joy

and look

at the

contagiousness

of the

faith

look back

at verse

20

Naomi's

response

may he

be blessed

by the

Lord

and then

this is

big

whose

kindness

has not

forsaken

the

living

or the

dead

pause

here for

just a

second

just in

that

moment

Naomi's

saying

through

the

famine

and

through

the

death

of her

husband

and

the

death

of her

sons

not

only

has

the

Lord

been

good

to

Ruth

not

only

has

the

Lord

been

good

to

Naomi

but

the

Lord's

been

good

to

them

all

because

it's

who

he

is

this

man

is a

close

relative

of

ours

one

of

our

redeemers

the

180

done

here

by

Naomi

the

reminder

of

hope

is

what

Ruth

gives

her

you know

they're

on the

same

journey

they're

on the

same

process

of

life

and

Ruth

doesn't

come to

her

with a

quick

fix

with a

lesson

to be

learned

or a

five step

process

of how

to get

better

she

loves

her

she

cares

for

her

she

doesn't

abandon

her

and

she

reminds

her

of

the

faithfulness

of

God

I don't

know

maybe

you feel

like

you're

Naomi

right

now

maybe

right

now

you're

married

to

someone

who

feels

like

Naomi

you say

I've

done

it

all

what

more

is

there

to

do

be

Ruth

be

Ruth

go

through

it

with

them

and

remind

them

of

the

hope

and

the

faithfulness

of

the

Lord

would

you

pray

with

me

Lord

I

come

to

you

this

morning

and

I

thank

you

for

the

beauty

of

this

story

story

that

was

not

created

by

man

for

literature

sake

but a

story

of real

people

who

walked

on this

earth

and

who

went

through

the

battles

that

so

many

of

us

if

not

all

of

us

will

face

Lord

I

lift

up

the

people

in

this

room

who

are

in

a

season

of

life

that

can

identify

with

Naomi

they

know

all

the

truth

of

your

word

they

know

your

power

they

know

your

faithfulness

they

know

your

promises

but

yet

Lord

they

find

themselves

living

in

a

darkness

of

depression

but

they

feel

like

they

can't

escape

Lord

we

know

that

you

haven't

left

them

Lord

remind

them

even

in the

midst

of the

difficulty

of

yesterday

today

and

what

tomorrow

may

hold

you

are

in

control

and

that

you

have

a

plan

what

I

pray

for

the

rest

of

us

in

here

people

who

by our

word

say

that

we

are

men

and

women

of

faith

Lord

could

we

look

at

the

faith

of

Ruth

and

be

that

bit

of

encouragement

that

reminder

that

example

of

your

goodness

and

your

kindness

and

mercy

Lord

I

thank you

for

the

peace

of

what

we

see

in

this

in

the

reminder

of

the

gospel

Lord

that

Ruth

found

her

favor

in

you

not

because

of

a

commitment

that

she

made

not

because

of

a

sacrifice

that

she

made

but

because

Lord

she

found

her

refuge

under

your

wings

Lord

I

pray

this

morning

for

whatever

battles

we

may

face

we

cling

to

you

and

you

alone

Jesus

Christ

as

our

Savior

thanks

again for

listening to

the

Willow Ridge

Church

weekly

podcast

we hope

that you

enjoyed

listening to

this week's

message

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