[0:00] Followed that up and it just wasn't happening. I just felt finally this is not of the Lord. I need to back off and got praying and thinking on what's coming up. And really my mind just kept going to, we're about to start a meeting with Brother Pilkington.
[0:14] And you're going to get your cup filled and overflow if you come every night and you are hungry for the Word of God. And so I thought, I don't need to try to go at you tonight with anything heavy.
[0:28] And so my mind was directed back to something from Sunday. And in Ephesians chapter 5 in Sunday school, we studied that the Bible said that husbands love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it.
[0:43] And made some comments there in that Sunday school hour how he just gave you one type that an Adam and Eve of a husband loving his wife and giving himself.
[0:53] And the thought there, of course, in that relationship of the husband and wife, it's, well, maybe it's the other way around is to say it that the relationship of Christ and church is, I might be getting this backwards in my head and coming out wrong.
[1:09] But the one picture is the other, whichever one is right. And the thought is that to get a little better study or grasp on that, one interesting thing to do is to study husband and wife relationships in the Bible.
[1:24] And to study them out and see how they yield some truths that match Christ and the church. And like that thought from Ephesians 5 with the type with Adam and Eve kind of spilled into the next hour last Sunday where it was the sufferings of Christ and the scripture, not just prophecy, but we also saw typology.
[1:42] And we really didn't study it, but I pointed out a few thoughts of where some types in the Bible like Joseph and Isaac and Jonah, they typify the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ.
[1:54] And so I wanted to thought, let's do something like that tonight. And so I want to take you through a Bible study that my hope is that as we read and as we study these passages, that it'll just give you a greater and deeper appreciation for your Bible.
[2:09] And also make you realize, to whatever we can realize, the wisdom of God in putting together this book in such a way that a story from hundreds or thousands of years ago has relevance to us today.
[2:27] And pictures us in types and in foreshadowing and the events, the very words that are recorded in this perfect book shed light on things and it's a blessing.
[2:37] So come back to the book of Ruth. And if you're there, we don't have really the time tonight to read through each verse and draw out things, but I'll kind of hop around. I'm going to borrow on the hope and the thought that you know the story of Ruth.
[2:54] And only one of two books named after women in the 66 books in our Bible. What's the other one? Okay, very good. Amen. Amen. And this woman, Ruth, lived during the times of the judges, as it says early in verse number one.
[3:12] It came to pass in the days when the judges ruled. So this is before the kingdoms established under King Saul and David and Solomon. And in the times of the judges, to the book to your left is that times, and it's several hundred years there.
[3:25] I know you're familiar with your Bible. You know the cycles that they went through where they were raised, God raised up a deliverer, and then they fell into sin, and then God sent judgment upon them. And then they cried, and the cycle just went on and went on and went on.
[3:38] And this book, I don't have the true, perfect understanding of the timing, but I know it's early in the judges. It's before Samson. It's before Gideon. It's before Deborah and Barak.
[3:49] It's going back a little ways there toward the earlier part of the book of Judges, is this story of Ruth. Now, she's mentioned right away in chapter one.
[4:00] And to give you a little bit of the background in case we need it here, there's a man named Elimelech in verse two. And Elimelech takes his wife, Naomi, and they leave the town or the city of Bethlehem of Judah.
[4:14] And they go to Moab to sojourn in the country of Moab, and there's a famine in the land as the cause. I don't know how many Jews made this exodus and moved out looking for food, looking to sustain their families, but we know that this man did.
[4:30] And it's kind of, I mean, we can make, there's tons of lessons we can pull out of this book. I try not to go that direction, but rather to keep this on topic of the types of Jesus Christ and his church.
[4:44] And so they go to this, they go to Moab, and that's moving to the east, crossing Jordan to that area. And they're living there where his sons, mentioned in the passage, Malon and Chilion, where they, there's somewhere in here.
[5:01] Well, they're mentioned in verse two. They take wives, and then they die. And so now there's two daughters-in-law to Naomi. Her husband Elimelech dies as well, and Naomi decides, I'm out of here, going back to my hometown.
[5:14] And we know the story that Ruth goes with her. So I want to point out now, as we study through, that there's some things here. Be ready to move with your hands back to Ruth as we're going to cover some scripture.
[5:27] There's things here in this picture that show us a clearer vision of something in the future. And this is not something that anybody understands in reading through their Bible.
[5:38] If all you have is the Old Testament, you don't get any of this. You just see a story about a woman, Naomi, and her faithful daughter-in-law, and Boaz, this man that redeems them and does some things.
[5:50] And you see where David comes from. You get a little background into that. But other than that, it's a pretty dead story. But when you know Jesus Christ, you begin to have your eyes open to some things.
[6:00] And the Bible says, Jesus said this to the Jews that were not believing on him in John 5. He said, search the scriptures. For in them you think ye have eternal life. And they did.
[6:11] They thought that their scriptures, that that was it for them. That was the oracles of God to them. And he said, search the, they are they which testify of me. And right here in this story is Jesus Christ.
[6:23] And for hundreds and hundreds of years, many miss it. Don't see it until Jesus Christ shows up. And now we can study and look back and type and see it. Now let's come in through Ruth chapter 1.
[6:34] Come to the end of the passage of the chapter where Naomi and Ruth come back to the land of Judah. And Naomi is, she's bitter and she's sorry and says the Almighty afflicted her.
[6:46] In verse 22, so Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabitess. Notice that, she's called the Moabitess. Her daughter-in-law with her.
[6:57] Which returned out of the country of Moab and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. She's identified here as Ruth the Moabitess. She's not a Jew, not a Jewess.
[7:08] She doesn't have any claim to this land that she's a stranger in now. She is absolutely that, a stranger. Notice chapter 2 and verse 10. Look at the end of the verse. This is her words saying, That thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger.
[7:25] And she's talking to Boaz there. Ruth is a stranger. She's a Gentile. She doesn't belong in this land. And herein we start to see a greater picture unfolding of Jesus Christ and his church.
[7:41] Take your Bible and go to Ephesians chapter 2. And keep your place because we'll come right back and hop around. Ephesians chapter 2. And we study these verses, verse by verse, phrase by phrase here in Sunday school.
[8:06] Just a few weeks ago. Let's come through it again in verse number 11. As Paul's writing to this church at Ephesus, he's writing to Gentiles that are saved in Christ.
[8:18] And in verse 11 he says, Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called on circumcision, by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
[8:40] So as a Gentile, without God, without Christ, without Israel, they have nothing to cling to. They have no covenants of promise. God is not offering them anything. But, in verse 13, But now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[8:58] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.
[9:14] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you, Gentiles, which were afar off, and to them, Jews, that were nigh.
[9:25] For through him we both have access by one spirit unto the Father. Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, and so forth and so on.
[9:40] Now, come back in Ruth, and we see that this woman coming into the land is a stranger. And that's what the Bible says, And such were some of you. That's all you were, is a Gentile after the flesh, a stranger to God, having no hope, and no Christ, no God in this world, and not a chance.
[10:01] And notice in chapter 1, verse 22, she's Ruth the Moabitess, and with Naomi, they says that, which returned out of the country of Moab, they came to, notice the town, Bethlehem, in the beginning of barley harvest.
[10:14] This is where she first meets Boaz, and he's mentioned in the very next verse, chapter 2, verse 1. She meets him in none other than Bethlehem. Now, you know the town of Bethlehem.
[10:26] There's some towns in Israel, and in reading through your Bible, you read about that mean nothing to you. But that one stands out to every single one of you, especially with just the last few weeks of what's transpired.
[10:39] You know about Bethlehem. And what do you know about Bethlehem? You know that that's the town that the Messiah was born in his first coming, his first advent to this world.
[10:49] He came to Bethlehem. Bethlehem, Judah. And where does Ruth the Moabitess, the stranger, meet her Redeemer?
[11:00] She meets him in Bethlehem. And this story shows us why Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem, because they were of the house and lineage of David. And at the end of this book, it ties this right back to Boaz.
[11:16] So isn't that interesting that there they travel to Bethlehem, and there's already a picture being formed in the last verse of chapter one that are connecting this Gentile woman to a Savior, to a Redeemer.
[11:29] And they meet at Bethlehem, symbolic of the first coming where the church meets Jesus Christ. When he comes back the second time, he's not coming to Bethlehem. He's coming to Jerusalem after a certain other path that he takes and some war that he makes.
[11:42] He's coming to Jerusalem to take over and to be the dominant king. But Bethlehem is the first stop of his first coming. And isn't that interesting? That's where we meet with Jesus Christ in his first coming.
[11:57] Now, looking into chapter two, notice this. It says, Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.
[12:10] Now, Boaz is a near kinsman to Naomi and to Elimelech. But it says later in chapter three, there is a, he says, how be it there's a kinsman nearer than I.
[12:22] And I tried to chase this down in the Bible and try to go through numbers, going through 1 Chronicles, trying to pull some genealogies, even in Matthew. I couldn't make any sense of it. I don't know.
[12:33] It's beyond me if it's in there. Of who was that nearer one or from what line or what connection. I don't know what that would be about. But nevertheless, he's close in relation, Boaz is, to Naomi's husband Elimelech.
[12:49] He's called a mighty man of wealth. A mighty man of wealth. Now, in doing a little bit of Bible study, I found out that Boaz was the grandson of, what was his name now?
[13:02] I lost it. Nate, not Nahash. You'd have to look that up. But he was the prince of Judah. And in numbers, before they came into the land, this is just a few generations past, so it's only two generations.
[13:18] His grandfather was the top man, the leader, the head of the tribe of Judah. And that Boaz is just two generations removed from that man. And so, it doesn't surprise me that there's, that he's a mighty man of wealth, that he's still got some position and popularity.
[13:36] Boaz is a mighty man of wealth, isn't he? Take your Bible and come to Ephesians chapter 1. And while you're turning, remember that in Philippians chapter 4, Paul says, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus.
[13:56] In 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9, it speaks of Christ saying, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. And speaking of Boaz, a type of Jesus Christ, he's a mighty man of wealth.
[14:10] Look at a few verses. We ran these when we were in the book of Ephesians, but we're coming back again. Ephesians 1 verse 7, it says in, no, yeah, verse 7, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.
[14:26] That may not mean much to you, but look at verse 18. The eyes of your understanding, being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
[14:37] Look at chapter 2 verse 7 of Ephesians. That in the ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
[14:48] Chapter 3 verse 8. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.
[14:59] And once more, in verse 16, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might. That word riches is associated with Jesus Christ all through the New Testament.
[15:10] It's certainly not physical riches the way we think of them, but why not? What is it that he doesn't own or have, or have possession of? If please the Lord, oh no, that's a different verse.
[15:24] In him are all fullness dwell. What's that verse? So, Boaz, a mighty man of wealth, just a type and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ in his riches and wealth.
[15:37] Come back to chapter 2 of Ruth, and we'll fast forward through some of this story. When she goes out to reap, Boaz tells her to glean after his reapers.
[15:51] He tells her, you stay right there, don't go anywhere else, don't go to any other fields. And look at verse number 9. Boaz is speaking to Ruth in his first time he meets her.
[16:02] He says, let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art athirst, read this in verse 9, go unto the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
[16:18] Maybe that doesn't mean much to somebody until you meet Jesus Christ, until you read in John chapter 4 about him offering living water that'll never thirst again to a woman who's, guess what, a Samaritan.
[16:31] A woman that's not a Jew. She's even taken back. I don't want to take the time to go to John 4 here, but in that chapter, this woman's like, how is it that thou being a Jew, what are you talking to me for?
[16:42] I'm a Samaritan. You don't have any dealings with us. And Jesus Christ offers her living water. And here's the picture, stronger, it's growing, that Boaz tells this stranger, this woman, drink.
[16:56] When you're thirsty, you go into the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn. You realize the young men are his servants? They're his servants. The picture there is the nation of Israel. This belongs to them, salvations of the Jews.
[17:10] And yet, he's telling this stranger, you can come and get a drink anytime you want it. It's free. You can get a free drink. And the picture is a type there of living water that Christ offers as he offers eternal life to whosoever will.
[17:25] Look at this beautiful, I mean, if there's a verse that ought to grab you, is verse 10, the response of the woman. And she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said unto him, remember this is the type, Jesus Christ, why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?
[17:52] Amen is right. What a question, what a type, what a picture, this Gentile, undeserving, no right to anything woman, bowing at the feet of Boaz, saying, why have I found grace in thine eyes?
[18:07] The Bible says in Titus chapter 2 that the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. In Ephesians chapter 2, for by grace are ye saved through faith, and that, not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.
[18:21] Turn with me to a place here, Romans chapter 11. She asked the question, and I'm not sure that I could answer that directly, why have I found grace in thine eyes?
[18:36] That thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? Why? I'm not sure that I can answer why, but we'll try to look at something. Here, Romans chapter 11, and Paul in this passage is, he's warning the Gentiles not to boast, and not to be ignorant of what God is doing with the Jew.
[19:02] And he connects some prophecy to that toward the end of the chapter, and then he comes, and I want to pick it up in verses 30 and 31, and show that God's, God's just blanketing everybody, he's recognizing the unbelief of everybody, of course of the Gentiles, but then also of the Jews.
[19:21] Verse 30 says, for as ye, that'd be Gentiles, as ye in times past have not believed God, that's, yeah, common knowledge, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief, that's Israel's unbelief.
[19:35] Verse 31, even so have these, that is the Jews, also now not believed, that's present tense, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.
[19:46] Verse 32, for God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all, Jews and Gentiles. Now the Jew may get a hold of their scripture and their God and just see the Gentiles as dogs and just cast them all off and there's nothing to do with them and they'll never have a chance because God's not interested in them, but that's not the true mind or heart of God.
[20:11] The Bible says that he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And even though the Gentiles in the past, in verse 30, didn't believe God, they have not believed God, the Jews though are in this day in the church age, they're in unbelief as well and God is saying he's concluded them all in unbelief, why?
[20:31] That he might have mercy upon all. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out.
[20:44] In plainer words, nobody understood and saw this and could see throughout time of what God's intentions and heart was without the scriptures that he gave throughout laced in.
[20:57] You could pick some things out now in hindsight, but throughout all of this nobody saw this and understood what he was doing and how he was going to in one day have his son pay for the sins of the world.
[21:10] And so the Gentile or the Moabitess falls on her face and bows and says, why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger?
[21:21] That verse is strong, that just tugs at my heart a little bit there. I see myself right there knowing I'm undeserving and not knowing or just why God.
[21:31] Praise the Lord. Thank you. All right, now moving forward through this chapter, I'll skip ahead and look at verse number 12 because there's so much more and we're just scratching the surface here.
[21:42] Verse number 12, the Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust.
[21:56] Isn't that something? Did you see, did that ignite a thought in your mind just reading that verse now that you're seeing the type of the bride or of the church and Jesus Christ?
[22:09] The Lord recompense thy work. I'm just going to read and we're already running out of time fast tonight so I'm going to go to 1 Corinthians 3 and read this passage quickly to you.
[22:20] Verses 11 through 14 and this is a passage speaking of the judgment seat of Christ that the body of Christ will be present at. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ.
[22:34] Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble every man's work there's the word shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is if any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon he shall receive a reward.
[22:55] And the statement was the Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. In John in 2 John chapter or 2 John verse 8 he says look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought but that we receive a full reward.
[23:20] A full reward be given thee and Ruth picturing the body of Christ the church the Lord's going to recompense her work and a full reward be given her is what she's being called to do that's what Jesus Christ is calling for his church to do is to work and to get that full reward.
[23:40] Now moving down we've got to keep moving in verse 13 then she said let me find favor in thy sight my Lord for thou hast for that thou has comforted me if you want to write down 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3 and 4 you can also write down John 14 16 where the comforter which is the Holy Ghost comes thou hast comforted me for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid though I be not like unto one of thine handmaids she's like I know I don't belong here but you've comforted me you've done some real things for me now the story goes on and the picture grows stronger verse 14 and Boaz said unto her at meal time come up hither and eat of the bread dip thy morsel in the vinegar at meal time come thou hither does that ring a bell to anybody in your Bible again for time's sake I'm just going to read in Revelation chapter 4 there's a door that's opened in heaven and a voice which I heard was as it were a trumpet talking with me which said come up hither and I will show thee things which must be hereafter and somebody gets to go up and be up there and after accounts of the tribulation are given throughout this book later some things resume with the lamb in chapter 19 and in verse 9 he saith unto me write blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb and he saith unto me these things are true sayings of God there's a meal that's prophesied of and somebody that's going to be there and it says in that passage in Ruth 2 14 at mealtime come up hither what a picture later in that verse she sat beside the reapers and he reached her parched corn and she did eat and was sufficed and left so before the mealtime and before coming hither he gives her a little something to sustain her along the way he gives her something that she can go back to the field and work and I don't have time
[25:53] I'm sorry but I got to keep moving verse 17 so she gleaned in the field until even and that's the job of the church the field is the world in Matthew 13 she's gleaning in the field I know we'd like to say she's out there harvesting those fields but the truth is she's not she's just gleaning and she's doing it until she's called to come hither to have the meal with Christ to be united again in verse number 18 look at this it keeps going it says in verse 18 and she took it up and went into the city she took it up and went into the city if you read in Revelation 21 about a city it's all in there as these things just keep going I got to fast forward through this I'm going to skip some things in chapter 2 verse 21 the end of the verse says thou shalt keep fast by the young men until they have ended all my harvest
[26:54] Boaz says it's my harvest and Jesus Christ is called the Lord of the harvest just pointing out how Boaz is a type of Christ they're stronger in chapter 3 in verse number 18 just skip all the way to the end there to the last part of that chapter she comes to him and meets him and he says hey I've got to take care of some business before this so she goes back to Naomi and this is her speaking with Naomi then said she sit still my daughter until thou know how the matter will fall for the man Boaz the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day you got to see this one look at Hebrews chapter 10 let me start here in verse 11 and verse 12 it says it says that every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often times the same sacrifices which can never take away sins but this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever sat down they're standing daily but not him he said it's finished so he sat down and there's a picture of Boaz back there her saying he's not going to rest until he finishes the thing and that's Jesus Christ come to chapter 4 now and let's try to wrap this up with just a few more points here in this type in Ruth in chapter 4 a purchase has to be made here and it's not for the woman but rather for the the inheritance and the one that's closer can't make it because he would mar his he says in verse 6
[28:53] I cannot redeem it lest I mar my own inheritance and so Boaz ends up redeeming with witnesses the all that was Elimelech and all that was Chileans and Malons of the hand of Naomi moreover verse 10 Ruth the Moabitess the wife of Malon have I purchased to be my wife what a line that Boaz purchased her her Ruth have I purchased to be my wife and there's Jesus Christ who loved that church and gave himself for it you are bought with a price now later on in verse number 13 Boaz took Ruth and she was his wife and there's going to be a rapture where the Lord Jesus Christ comes and takes us away and coming all the way down to the end of it you see David you see verse 22 Obed begat Jesse Jesse begat David and that line comes down from David to Jesus Christ the Messiah the literal son of David and so in this four chapters really just a fast look at it all and not even giving you all the points but maybe just some of the highlights this is a beautiful type tucked back in the Old Testament who reads Ruth and who studies Ruth and who cares about her and the story a lot of it's really about Naomi if you really look at it closely but who cares about that stuff until you know that there's a redeemer that died for your sins and that paid for your sins and that sought to redeem you and these pictures start to just open up this book opens up into a whole new study when you consider
[30:37] Christ and his church and it's an Old Testament story you might wonder why it's in there well for one reason God wrote a book that's going to tell a whole lot more of a tale than we probably even understand tonight being Bible believers being Bible readers Bible studiers and gleaning off the works of many men before us what else is in this book this holy holy book now it's 730 already I'm going to stop with that I feel a little awkward in this as a study tonight but like I said at the beginning you're going to get your cup full come Sunday so I hope that this little thought here this little type that's kind of just bouncing off growing off of Sunday's study in Sunday school and in the second hour I hope that it's something that gives you a little more love for this book even as you read through it and as you study it and realize there's more pictures and types of Christ in that book why do we read the Old Testament because they are they which testify of me it's a story about who calls it it's his story isn't that what they say history is his story alright let's close in prayer father we thank you for your words lord thank you for giving them to us pure thank you for preserving them and allowing us to consider them tonight
[31:55] I pray that what was said would be received be understood and lord that we'd care and fall in love with your book and fall in love with you and consider the price that you paid for our sins thank you for this glimpse into this short book of Ruth and the beautiful story that is there and the more beautiful type that we can receive and be blessed to know and consider thank you for having grace on us and for making that payment and for taking our sins and for receiving us as your own we love you and we thank you for this in Jesus name amen alright you're dismissed