WEBVTT

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 Well, good morning again, church.

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 We're looking at Ruth, chapter 2, this morning.

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 Let me invite you to go ahead and turn there with me.

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 As we've been saying, this time of year in the church calendar is traditionally called

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 Advent.

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 Advent, in addition to being a fun time to put plants that belong outside, inside our

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 buildings, we also remember Jesus' first coming and look ahead to his second coming.

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 That's what Advent's all about.

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 The word Advent actually is just from the Latin word that means arrival or coming.

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 And particularly the way that word sort of functions in Latin, so I'm told, is that it

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 doesn't mean just any old thing coming or arriving, but something coming that is worthy and history

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 shaping, even life changing.

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 It's a coming pregnant with anticipation.

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 In other words, kind of like the coming of a king.

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 And the text we're looking at this Advent season is the Old Testament book of Ruth.

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 Now, as we said last week, Ruth isn't traditionally thought of as an Advent sort of text.

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 Some of you probably were wondering, what in the world are we doing preaching through Ruth

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 at Christmastime?

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 But actually, you know, it works quite nicely.

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 You see, in this sort of overarching kind of narrative of the Old Testament, the book of

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 Ruth functions sort of like a prequel to the story of King David, to Israel's greatest

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 king.

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 In other words, Ruth is sort of like the Hobbit is to the Lord of the Rings.

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 It's kind of the shorter, much-loved prequel or prelude to the bigger epic of wars and kings

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 and the triumph of good over evil.

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 So that's why Ruth is a really great Advent book, after all.

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 It's as we've titled this series, The Prelude to the King.

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 Prelude to King David, yes.

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 But you know, even more so, in the arc of the whole Bible, it serves as a prelude to

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 King Jesus.

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 So we're going to pick up this story, Ruth chapter 2.

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 It's page 222 in the Pew Bible, if you want to turn there.

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 Ruth chapter 2.

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 And before I read this for us, let me pray.

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 God, we're so grateful for your word.

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 We're grateful for the ways in which you have given us not just letters and not just poems

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 and not just collections of wisdom, but God, you have given us stories, narratives, historical

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 accounts of the ways in which you've interacted with your people.

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 Lord, and we know that you are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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 So when we read these narratives of your dealings with God's people in the past, we know we can

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 look to you and know that you are faithful.

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 You're the same God.

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 So Lord, as we open up the book of Ruth again this morning, would you teach us more about

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 yourself, about your great work of redemption through your son, and about your life-giving power

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 among us by your spirit?

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 Pray all this in Jesus' name.

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 Amen.

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 All right, Ruth chapter 2.

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

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 name was Boaz.

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 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, let me go to the field and glean among the ears of

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 grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.

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 And she said to her, go, my daughter.

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

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

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 of Elimelech.

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 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and he said to the reapers, the Lord be with you.

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 And they answered, the Lord bless you.

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 And Boaz said to his young men who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is

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 this?

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 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, she's the young Moabite woman who

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 came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

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 She said, please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.

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 So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.

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 Then Boaz said to Ruth, now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave

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 this one, but keep close to my young women.

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 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping and go after them.

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 Have I not charged the young men not to touch you?

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 And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.

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 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, why have I found favor in

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 your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner?

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 But Boaz answered, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your

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 husband has been fully told to me.

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 And how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you

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 did not know before.

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 Therefore, the Lord repay you for what you have done and a full reward be given you by

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 the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.

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 Then she said, I have found favor in your eyes, my Lord, for you have comforted me and spoke

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 kindly to your servant.

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 I'm not one of your servants.

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 And at mealtime, Boaz said to her, come here and eat some of, uh, eat some bread and dip

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 your morsel in the wine.

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 So she sat beside the reapers and he passed her her roasted grain and she ate until she was

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 satisfied and she had some leftover.

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 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men saying, let her glean even among the

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 sheaves and do not reproach her and also pull out some of the bundles for her and leave it for

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 her to glean and do not rebuke her.

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 So she gleaned in the field until evening and she beat out what she had gleaned.

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 And it was about an ephah of barley and she took it up and went into the city.

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 Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned.

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 She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied.

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 And her mother-in-law said to her, where did you glean today?

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 Where have you worked?

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 Blessed be the man who took notice of you.

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 So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, the man's name with whom

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 I work today is Boaz.

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 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, may he be blessed by the Lord whose kindness is not

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 forsaken the living or the dead.

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 Naomi also said to her, the man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.

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 And Ruth the Moabite said, besides, he said to me, you shall keep close to my young men

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 until I have finished all my harvest.

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 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, it's good, my daughter, that you go out with

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 these young women lest in another field you be assaulted.

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 So she cut close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat

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 harvests.

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 And she lived with her mother-in-law.

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 Well, at the end of chapter one of the book of Ruth, Ruth has basically ventured everything

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 on the Lord.

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 You see, by committing to go with her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Israel, by committing to take

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 care of her no matter what, Ruth is pretty much leaving everything and entrusting herself

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 to the God of Israel.

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 Now, where you go, I will go, she swore to Naomi.

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 Where you lodge, I will lodge.

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 Your people shall be my people and your God, my God.

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 Where you die, I will die.

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 And there I will be buried.

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 Ruth is completely and utterly all in.

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 As Paul Miller says in his little book, A Loving Life, she is loving without an exit strategy.

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 She was venturing everything on the Lord, the God of Israel.

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 If you were here last week, you'll remember that Ruth was from a little country called Moab,

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 a neighboring nation to Israel.

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 You probably caught it in our text this morning.

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 A number of times, Ruth is called the Moabite.

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 So in coming to Israel, you see, in coming to trust in Israel's God, Ruth was leaving her home,

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 her nationality, her people, her culture, most likely leaving any good prospects of marriage and a family.

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 She was leaving all that was comfortable and familiar, all that she had constructed and built her life around,

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 and she was entrusting it wholly to this God.

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 And the question, sort of lingering as chapter 2 opens, is,

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 is she going to be okay?

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 What's going to happen to her?

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 And more directly, more particularly, is she simply going to remain empty?

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 She's a young immigrant widow caring for her aged, widowed mother-in-law in a place where she knows no one.

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 That's about as empty as you can be in the ancient Near East.

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 Is she going to remain that way?

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 And I think in a lot of ways, these are the questions that we ask, too.

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 I think it goes something like this.

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 If I follow God,

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 if I leave my old life to go after him,

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 to believe in him,

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 to trust him,

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 to do what his word says,

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 if I make that step and venture my whole life on him,

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 am I actually, at the end of the day, going to be okay?

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 Or, having left everything,

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 will I simply end up empty?

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 Alone?

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 Having given up everything,

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 will I end up with nothing in return?

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 Maybe you're here this morning and you've been wrestling with that for actually quite some time.

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 You've been wrestling with all that you'll potentially need to leave behind

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 if you become a Christian.

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 Maybe you're compelled by the picture of God that Jesus Christ reveals to us.

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 Maybe the fact that he would come and he would live and die for you

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 is drawing your heart out to him.

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 And yet, when you hear his call of discipleship,

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 to leave everything and come follow me.

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 To take up your cross and come follow me.

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 Suddenly, everything that you realize you might potentially need to leave behind

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 becomes for you the great sticking point.

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 Maybe you are a Christian.

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 And all that you potentially stand to lose

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 by actually following what Jesus says as one of his followers

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 is becoming very difficult.

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 But here's where Ruth chapter 2 comes in.

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 As we watch the chapter unfold,

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 we see how God works in Ruth's life.

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 Until by the end of the chapter,

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 Ruth's emptiness has been met with what?

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 With a surprising fullness.

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 Even bereaved and bitter Naomi

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 by the end of chapter 2

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 is beginning to hope again.

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 The empty are made full.

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 The hopeless are suddenly hopeful.

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 The one who's ventured everything on God

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 finds that the Lord doesn't leave her empty.

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 How does God do it?

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 Well, we see in this text that God meets Ruth

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 and he meets us

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 in at least three ways.

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 First, he meets her through his law.

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 Second, he meets her through his providence.

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 And lastly, he meets her through a person.

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 So let's just look at each one of those in turn.

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 First, God meets Ruth in her emptiness

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 through his law.

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 Did you notice when we were reading this

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 how many times the word glean

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 comes up in this chapter?

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 You think, man, these Hebrew narrators

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 need to pull out a thesaurus from time to time.

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 Come on, it's like 12 times

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 in like 20 chapters.

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 Well, you see the backdrop to this whole chapter,

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 this whole scene,

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 is this special provision in the law of Moses

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 about gleaning, about harvesting.

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 In places like Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 24,

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 there are laws that allow for the socially

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 and economically disadvantaged,

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 the fatherless, the widows, the sojourners,

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 to actually come and glean the edges of the fields

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 and to gather what's been dropped

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 or passed over by the reapers

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 so that they can provide for themselves.

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 In other words, landowners were commanded by God

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 to leave parts of their fields

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 for the use of the poor.

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 And they were even commanded

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 not to utterly strip bare everything

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 from what they did harvest

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 so that the needy could have something

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 to gather there as well.

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 And God tells his people to do this for two reasons.

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 First, because all this is meant to be a picture

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 of the kind of God he is.

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 God's people were meant to display

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 his generosity and his compassion

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 and embody it even and especially

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 in their economic practices

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 and how they manage their fields.

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 After all, there were very few sort of hobby farmers

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 in ancient Israel, right?

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 Like this was their livelihood.

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 This was their base economic structure.

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 And secondly, God tells them to do this

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 as a reminder not just of who he is

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 but as a reminder of who they are.

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 Remember, God says in Deuteronomy 24

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 after giving them this command,

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 remember that you were once slaves in Egypt,

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 he says.

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 Remember that you once had nothing

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 and that you were once destitute

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 and I rescued you.

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 In other words, these laws

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 about keeping some of your fields

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 for the poor and the needy

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 and disadvantaged

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 were meant to be an overflow of God's grace,

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 an overflowing sign of his redeeming love

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 that they had received.

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 God had rescued them from their emptiness

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 and now they were to act towards others

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 to make provision for them.

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 So when Ruth in verse 2 says to Naomi,

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 let me go to the field and glean,

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 she's probably thinking about

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 these kinds of provisions

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 in Israel's law, in God's law.

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 And what does that mean?

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 Well, it means that God's word,

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 God's law,

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 had provided this framework,

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 had provided this beautiful structure

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 where Ruth's emptiness could be met.

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 God had inscribed his very generosity

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 and compassion

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 into the very way his people

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 dealt with their finances,

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 with their fields.

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 And in that God-centered structure

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 or framework that's articulated in the law,

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 Ruth, this empty immigrant widow,

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 found a place of provision and protection.

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 You know, sometimes we go back

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 and we read the Old Testament law

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 and we think this stuff

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 is just completely and utterly bizarre.

00:15:22.800 --> 00:15:23.240
 Right?

00:15:25.660 --> 00:15:26.800
 But when you start to see

00:15:26.800 --> 00:15:28.360
 how it's functioning in the context,

00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:29.800
 you realize that it's a picture

00:15:29.800 --> 00:15:31.360
 of God's mercy and compassion.

00:15:33.800 --> 00:15:36.360
 Here is a space created by God's word,

00:15:36.440 --> 00:15:37.019
 by his law,

00:15:37.139 --> 00:15:38.540
 where one who had nothing

00:15:38.540 --> 00:15:40.920
 could still find the means to flourish.

00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:45.920
 Now, of course, for us today,

00:15:46.160 --> 00:15:47.600
 living on this side

00:15:47.600 --> 00:15:49.320
 of Jesus's death and resurrection,

00:15:49.540 --> 00:15:51.779
 these particular Old Testament civil laws,

00:15:52.019 --> 00:15:52.440
 in other words,

00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:53.440
 these laws about Israel

00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:55.820
 sort of ordered its kind of political

00:15:55.820 --> 00:15:57.120
 and financial life together,

00:15:57.360 --> 00:15:59.399
 they're not in effect in the same way,

00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:00.960
 just like the ceremonial laws

00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:02.399
 have been fulfilled

00:16:02.399 --> 00:16:03.860
 through Jesus for us today.

00:16:04.980 --> 00:16:07.360
 But the overarching point

00:16:07.360 --> 00:16:08.500
 is still the same,

00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:11.779
 that God's word to us today,

00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:12.940
 his commands and instructions

00:16:12.940 --> 00:16:14.559
 for how to order our lives together,

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:15.500
 more particularly,

00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:16.840
 all those imperatives

00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:18.220
 that we find in the New Testament

00:16:18.220 --> 00:16:19.480
 gospels and epistles,

00:16:20.179 --> 00:16:20.399
 friends,

00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:22.720
 they're there for our good.

00:16:24.320 --> 00:16:25.379
 They're there indeed

00:16:25.379 --> 00:16:26.419
 for our flourishing.

00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.240
 God still wants to display

00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:31.580
 his character in the world

00:16:31.580 --> 00:16:32.220
 through his people.

00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:35.440
 God still wants the overflow

00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:36.600
 of his redeeming grace

00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:38.620
 to be exhibited in our lives.

00:16:39.560 --> 00:16:40.700
 And how do we do that?

00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:41.940
 How do we take part

00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:43.139
 in that great privilege?

00:16:44.580 --> 00:16:46.620
 We do it through patterning our lives

00:16:46.620 --> 00:16:47.840
 in accordance with his word.

00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:51.200
 After all, friends,

00:16:51.259 --> 00:16:51.960
 God made us

00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:53.580
 and he certainly knows

00:16:53.580 --> 00:16:54.980
 how our lives work best,

00:16:55.080 --> 00:16:55.420
 doesn't he?

00:16:55.419 --> 00:16:58.679
 And moreover,

00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:00.000
 this is actually one of the ways

00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:01.000
 that God meets us

00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:01.819
 to fill us.

00:17:04.119 --> 00:17:05.779
 God's rules aren't there

00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:08.079
 to kill all of our joy

00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:10.139
 or to make our lives

00:17:10.139 --> 00:17:11.740
 excruciatingly difficult.

00:17:11.899 --> 00:17:12.700
 Just the opposite.

00:17:15.240 --> 00:17:16.740
 My wife will often

00:17:16.740 --> 00:17:17.879
 make fun of me

00:17:17.879 --> 00:17:19.460
 for the fact that I took

00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:20.639
 swing dance lessons

00:17:20.639 --> 00:17:21.440
 in high school.

00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:25.200
 I often make fun of myself

00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.120
 for that fact.

00:17:29.000 --> 00:17:30.180
 But I learned one thing

00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:31.920
 taking swing dance lessons.

00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:33.720
 You know,

00:17:33.740 --> 00:17:34.340
 when you're learning

00:17:34.340 --> 00:17:36.019
 a new dance step,

00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:38.400
 at first it feels

00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.039
 a bit awkward.

00:17:40.539 --> 00:17:41.980
 It feels like something

00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:42.819
 you're never going

00:17:42.819 --> 00:17:43.700
 to get the hang of.

00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:47.400
 And sometimes it feels

00:17:47.400 --> 00:17:47.880
 so difficult

00:17:47.880 --> 00:17:48.779
 and so complicated

00:17:48.779 --> 00:17:49.539
 that you just want

00:17:49.539 --> 00:17:49.960
 to give up.

00:17:52.680 --> 00:17:53.319
 And of course,

00:17:53.380 --> 00:17:55.019
 what's true of real dancers

00:17:55.019 --> 00:17:56.019
 and not just amateur

00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:56.639
 high schoolers

00:17:56.639 --> 00:17:57.139
 trying to impress

00:17:57.139 --> 00:17:57.660
 their girlfriend,

00:17:58.259 --> 00:17:59.639
 what's true of real dancers

00:17:59.639 --> 00:18:01.059
 is that learning the dance

00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:02.139
 is not just difficult,

00:18:02.139 --> 00:18:03.559
 but it's actually costly.

00:18:05.400 --> 00:18:06.299
 It's time,

00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:07.119
 it's energy,

00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:08.119
 it's discipline.

00:18:09.339 --> 00:18:09.920
 But friends,

00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:11.259
 look at the end result.

00:18:13.099 --> 00:18:14.599
 Look at a ballet dancer.

00:18:15.879 --> 00:18:17.059
 How she can move

00:18:17.059 --> 00:18:18.019
 with complete control

00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.460
 and grace.

00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:21.840
 look at a whole company

00:18:21.840 --> 00:18:23.460
 of ballet dancers

00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:25.840
 and see the beauty

00:18:25.840 --> 00:18:27.500
 and the synchrony

00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:28.279
 and the symmetry

00:18:28.279 --> 00:18:30.420
 of their motion together.

00:18:32.759 --> 00:18:33.160
 Yes,

00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:34.480
 you have to change your diet,

00:18:34.579 --> 00:18:34.980
 I'm sure,

00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:36.100
 to be a good ballet dancer.

00:18:36.759 --> 00:18:37.940
 You certainly have to change

00:18:37.940 --> 00:18:38.460
 your posture,

00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:39.779
 at least I would,

00:18:40.460 --> 00:18:41.960
 as I hunch more and more.

00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.840
 And you know,

00:18:44.900 --> 00:18:46.220
 you'll probably get some bruises

00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:47.660
 on your feet along the way.

00:18:49.340 --> 00:18:51.000
 But the end result,

00:18:51.600 --> 00:18:52.920
 on the far side

00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:53.700
 of the awkwardness,

00:18:53.779 --> 00:18:54.460
 the frustration,

00:18:54.700 --> 00:18:55.519
 and the cost,

00:18:55.779 --> 00:18:56.819
 the end result

00:18:56.819 --> 00:18:57.819
 is the beauty

00:18:57.819 --> 00:18:59.900
 and the deep satisfaction,

00:19:00.100 --> 00:19:00.840
 the fullness

00:19:00.840 --> 00:19:02.960
 of participating

00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.960
 in that dance

00:19:05.480 --> 00:19:06.960
 that God has choreographed

00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:08.299
 for his glory

00:19:08.299 --> 00:19:09.299
 and for our good.

00:19:12.180 --> 00:19:13.039
 And what's more,

00:19:13.120 --> 00:19:14.100
 when you become a Christian,

00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.059
 or if you already are a Christian,

00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:18.680
 God actually comes

00:19:18.680 --> 00:19:20.279
 to live inside of us

00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:21.319
 through his Holy Spirit.

00:19:22.840 --> 00:19:24.880
 And he begins working in us

00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:25.579
 this transformation,

00:19:26.100 --> 00:19:27.000
 making us,

00:19:27.460 --> 00:19:28.900
 making all of us together

00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:29.960
 through the awkwardness

00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:30.840
 and through the frustration

00:19:30.840 --> 00:19:32.100
 and through the cost,

00:19:32.420 --> 00:19:34.100
 making us into a thing of beauty.

00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:38.420
 Paul says,

00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:39.779
 keep in step

00:19:39.779 --> 00:19:41.100
 with the Spirit.

00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:45.860
 Speaking of this very thing,

00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.100
 God's making us holy

00:19:48.100 --> 00:19:49.480
 through his grace

00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:50.220
 and through his word.

00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:52.960
 So friends,

00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:54.100
 God doesn't leave us empty.

00:19:54.660 --> 00:19:55.799
 Like we see here in Ruth,

00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:57.200
 he gives us his word,

00:19:57.259 --> 00:19:58.319
 he gives us his law

00:19:58.319 --> 00:19:59.279
 as the structure,

00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:00.319
 as the framework

00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:02.019
 of our flourishing.

00:20:04.039 --> 00:20:04.920
 But next we see

00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.340
 that it's not just God's law,

00:20:06.339 --> 00:20:08.579
 but it's God's providence.

00:20:09.779 --> 00:20:11.379
 In verses one through three,

00:20:11.819 --> 00:20:12.599
 the narrator does

00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:14.079
 this incredibly artful thing.

00:20:15.339 --> 00:20:16.259
 Maybe you noticed it.

00:20:16.939 --> 00:20:17.720
 In verse one,

00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:18.179
 what does he do?

00:20:18.240 --> 00:20:19.980
 He introduces a new character,

00:20:20.559 --> 00:20:21.119
 Boaz.

00:20:22.220 --> 00:20:23.279
 Ah, but Boaz

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:24.439
 hasn't entered the story

00:20:24.439 --> 00:20:25.480
 just quite yet.

00:20:26.059 --> 00:20:28.139
 The narrator is just making sure

00:20:28.139 --> 00:20:29.119
 that we, the audience,

00:20:29.220 --> 00:20:30.319
 know who he is ahead of time.

00:20:30.939 --> 00:20:31.379
 In other words,

00:20:31.419 --> 00:20:32.000
 he's building

00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.279
 some dramatic irony,

00:20:33.419 --> 00:20:33.879
 he's building

00:20:33.879 --> 00:20:35.659
 some dramatic expectation.

00:20:35.660 --> 00:20:36.620
 And then,

00:20:36.759 --> 00:20:38.160
 with this figure of Boaz

00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:38.860
 in our minds

00:20:38.860 --> 00:20:40.060
 and all the anticipation

00:20:40.060 --> 00:20:41.500
 of what part he might play

00:20:41.500 --> 00:20:42.120
 in the story,

00:20:42.480 --> 00:20:43.160
 in verse three,

00:20:43.220 --> 00:20:44.560
 Ruth goes out into the fields

00:20:44.560 --> 00:20:45.820
 and lo and behold,

00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:46.620
 what happens?

00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:49.460
 She happened to come

00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:51.279
 to the part of the field

00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:52.759
 belonging to,

00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:54.200
 you guessed it,

00:20:54.920 --> 00:20:55.480
 Boaz.

00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:56.480
 Ruth happens

00:20:56.480 --> 00:20:59.140
 in the field

00:20:59.140 --> 00:20:59.900
 It's wonderfully

00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:00.980
 understated.

00:21:01.720 --> 00:21:02.980
 But at the same time,

00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:04.000
 it's so clear,

00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:04.720
 isn't it?

00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:07.920
 That here we see

00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:08.799
 God is at work.

00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.519
 That through his

00:21:12.519 --> 00:21:14.279
 providential hand,

00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:16.920
 Ruth happens

00:21:16.920 --> 00:21:19.200
 into just the right field

00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:21.160
 at just the right time.

00:21:21.160 --> 00:21:24.500
 And of course,

00:21:24.580 --> 00:21:25.140
 notice here

00:21:25.140 --> 00:21:26.660
 that Ruth is still

00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:27.960
 making real choices.

00:21:29.800 --> 00:21:30.900
 It's her initiative

00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:31.620
 to go out

00:21:31.620 --> 00:21:32.340
 into the fields.

00:21:34.360 --> 00:21:35.040
 But friends,

00:21:35.080 --> 00:21:35.759
 this is the wonder

00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:36.340
 of it all.

00:21:36.840 --> 00:21:37.759
 That in and through

00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:38.860
 Ruth's own initiative,

00:21:39.019 --> 00:21:39.340
 in and through

00:21:39.340 --> 00:21:40.120
 her own agency,

00:21:40.259 --> 00:21:40.480
 in and through

00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:41.400
 her own responsibility,

00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:43.560
 God sovereignly

00:21:43.560 --> 00:21:44.300
 orchestrates

00:21:44.300 --> 00:21:45.100
 his wise

00:21:45.100 --> 00:21:46.180
 and good plan.

00:21:46.180 --> 00:21:50.640
 Now,

00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:50.920
 I don't know

00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:51.279
 about you,

00:21:51.380 --> 00:21:51.519
 friend,

00:21:51.560 --> 00:21:51.940
 but I think

00:21:51.940 --> 00:21:52.420
 we stand

00:21:52.420 --> 00:21:52.840
 on the edge

00:21:52.840 --> 00:21:53.519
 of a deep mystery

00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:53.880
 here.

00:21:55.799 --> 00:21:56.920
 How God's sovereignty

00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:58.799
 and our human agency

00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.660
 and responsibility

00:21:59.660 --> 00:22:00.980
 are both fully

00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:02.259
 and completely true

00:22:02.259 --> 00:22:03.960
 is something

00:22:03.960 --> 00:22:04.680
 that we can speak

00:22:04.680 --> 00:22:05.560
 intelligently about.

00:22:05.660 --> 00:22:05.940
 It's something

00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:06.680
 that we can live

00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:07.740
 faithfully and light of,

00:22:07.799 --> 00:22:08.500
 but it's not something

00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:10.039
 that our finite minds

00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:12.120
 will ever fully grasp.

00:22:12.980 --> 00:22:14.039
 Not in this life.

00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:16.000
 And I'm wondering

00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:16.460
 probably,

00:22:16.619 --> 00:22:17.180
 maybe even not

00:22:17.180 --> 00:22:17.980
 in the life to come.

00:22:20.779 --> 00:22:21.319
 And yet,

00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:22.400
 it's a sweet reality,

00:22:22.519 --> 00:22:22.859
 isn't it?

00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:24.700
 It's a reality

00:22:24.700 --> 00:22:25.740
 that's actually here

00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:26.460
 for our comfort.

00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:28.420
 I've always loved

00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:29.039
 the way the Heidelberg

00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:30.220
 Catechism talks

00:22:30.220 --> 00:22:31.279
 about God's providence.

00:22:31.380 --> 00:22:32.480
 This is how it describes it.

00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:33.619
 It says,

00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.039
 God's providence

00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:36.099
 is his almighty

00:22:36.099 --> 00:22:38.440
 and ever-present power

00:22:38.440 --> 00:22:40.180
 whereby,

00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:41.619
 as with his hand,

00:22:41.720 --> 00:22:43.160
 he still upholds

00:22:43.160 --> 00:22:43.920
 heaven and earth

00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:44.720
 and all creatures

00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:46.720
 and so governs them

00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:48.220
 that leaf and blade,

00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:49.980
 rain and drought,

00:22:50.779 --> 00:22:52.299
 fruitful and barren years,

00:22:52.779 --> 00:22:53.579
 food and drink,

00:22:53.720 --> 00:22:54.700
 health and sickness,

00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:55.720
 riches and poverty,

00:22:55.900 --> 00:22:56.120
 indeed,

00:22:56.360 --> 00:22:57.100
 all things

00:22:57.100 --> 00:22:58.740
 come to us

00:22:58.740 --> 00:23:00.460
 not by chance,

00:23:01.500 --> 00:23:04.180
 but by his fatherly hand.

00:23:07.180 --> 00:23:07.660
 Friends,

00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:08.519
 make no doubt about it.

00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:09.779
 In this fallen world,

00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:11.700
 Christians will experience,

00:23:12.039 --> 00:23:13.339
 as the old catechism says,

00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:15.700
 drought and barren years,

00:23:16.460 --> 00:23:18.980
 sickness and poverty.

00:23:20.279 --> 00:23:21.960
 There are no guarantees

00:23:21.960 --> 00:23:23.639
 for health or wealth

00:23:23.639 --> 00:23:24.480
 in the gospel,

00:23:25.079 --> 00:23:27.399
 but we are assured

00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:30.519
 that even the barren years

00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:32.480
 are not meaningless,

00:23:32.480 --> 00:23:34.620
 that they are not

00:23:34.620 --> 00:23:36.700
 the mere doings

00:23:36.700 --> 00:23:38.000
 of a cold,

00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:39.460
 faceless fate.

00:23:40.200 --> 00:23:41.339
 They're not by chance.

00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:43.799
 But actually,

00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.279
 that they're wrapped up

00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:47.000
 in the great story

00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:47.819
 that God is weaving

00:23:47.819 --> 00:23:48.440
 in our lives.

00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:49.420
 Paul Miller,

00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:51.120
 who wrote an excellent book

00:23:51.120 --> 00:23:51.779
 on prayer,

00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:52.480
 by the way,

00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:53.860
 he puts it this way

00:23:53.860 --> 00:23:54.620
 in his book in prayer.

00:23:55.059 --> 00:23:55.500
 He says,

00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:56.680
 if God is sovereign,

00:23:57.019 --> 00:23:57.839
 then he's in control

00:23:57.839 --> 00:23:58.539
 of all the details

00:23:58.539 --> 00:23:59.160
 of my life.

00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.340
 If he is loving,

00:24:01.620 --> 00:24:02.340
 then he's going to be

00:24:02.340 --> 00:24:03.240
 shaping the details

00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:04.380
 of my life for my good.

00:24:05.200 --> 00:24:06.779
 If he's all wise,

00:24:07.040 --> 00:24:08.340
 then he's not going

00:24:08.340 --> 00:24:09.300
 to do everything I want

00:24:09.300 --> 00:24:10.120
 because I don't know

00:24:10.120 --> 00:24:10.700
 what I need.

00:24:12.120 --> 00:24:13.440
 And if he's patient,

00:24:14.220 --> 00:24:15.640
 then he's going to take time

00:24:15.640 --> 00:24:16.820
 to do all this.

00:24:18.080 --> 00:24:18.700
 And when we put

00:24:18.700 --> 00:24:19.800
 all these things together,

00:24:19.900 --> 00:24:20.360
 he says,

00:24:20.660 --> 00:24:21.360
 God's sovereignty,

00:24:21.540 --> 00:24:22.060
 his love,

00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:22.700
 his wisdom,

00:24:22.820 --> 00:24:23.560
 his patience,

00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.340
 we have a divine story.

00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:30.980
 And if you immerse yourself

00:24:30.980 --> 00:24:31.580
 in that story,

00:24:31.680 --> 00:24:31.840
 friends,

00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:32.540
 you begin to see

00:24:32.540 --> 00:24:33.700
 that it's often a story,

00:24:34.560 --> 00:24:34.920
 in fact,

00:24:34.980 --> 00:24:36.320
 almost always a story,

00:24:36.560 --> 00:24:38.100
 of great reversals.

00:24:39.580 --> 00:24:40.200
 Blessed are those

00:24:40.200 --> 00:24:40.880
 who mourn,

00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:41.800
 Jesus said,

00:24:42.380 --> 00:24:43.660
 for they shall be comforted.

00:24:44.920 --> 00:24:45.960
 Blessed are the meek,

00:24:46.040 --> 00:24:46.900
 for they shall inherit

00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:47.400
 the earth.

00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:49.060
 Blessed are those

00:24:49.060 --> 00:24:50.300
 who hunger and thirst

00:24:50.300 --> 00:24:51.000
 for righteousness,

00:24:51.180 --> 00:24:52.440
 for they shall be satisfied.

00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:56.580
 I remember sitting

00:24:56.580 --> 00:24:57.140
 with a friend

00:24:57.140 --> 00:24:58.100
 not so long ago

00:24:58.099 --> 00:24:59.719
 while he was reflecting

00:24:59.719 --> 00:25:00.639
 on the cost

00:25:00.639 --> 00:25:01.779
 of discipleship.

00:25:03.259 --> 00:25:04.339
 He was in a particularly

00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:05.480
 trying season.

00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:07.980
 And as he looked out

00:25:07.980 --> 00:25:09.740
 at the road before him,

00:25:10.459 --> 00:25:11.879
 at the road of following Jesus

00:25:11.879 --> 00:25:12.879
 and what that would mean,

00:25:13.959 --> 00:25:15.799
 all he could humanly see

00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:16.579
 was loneliness

00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:18.759
 and unfulfilled longing.

00:25:22.939 --> 00:25:23.539
 But friends,

00:25:23.619 --> 00:25:23.719
 you know,

00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.519
 the truth is

00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:26.319
 that that would not

00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:27.419
 be the only reality.

00:25:28.099 --> 00:25:29.159
 Of that leg of the journey,

00:25:29.259 --> 00:25:30.319
 for him or for us.

00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.759
 God's providence,

00:25:34.480 --> 00:25:35.359
 his care,

00:25:35.480 --> 00:25:36.480
 his almighty

00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:38.559
 and ever-present power

00:25:38.559 --> 00:25:40.980
 would also be at work.

00:25:42.459 --> 00:25:43.779
 And even the steps

00:25:43.779 --> 00:25:45.099
 that may have led him

00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:45.759
 through mourning

00:25:45.759 --> 00:25:46.439
 or hunger

00:25:46.439 --> 00:25:47.159
 or thirst

00:25:47.159 --> 00:25:47.899
 or loneliness

00:25:47.899 --> 00:25:49.899
 would be the very same steps

00:25:49.899 --> 00:25:51.159
 that led him ultimately

00:25:51.159 --> 00:25:52.879
 to glory

00:25:52.879 --> 00:25:54.139
 and to joy.

00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:58.340
 friends,

00:25:58.440 --> 00:25:59.600
 Ruth has not just

00:25:59.600 --> 00:26:00.400
 God's law

00:26:00.400 --> 00:26:01.700
 but also

00:26:01.700 --> 00:26:02.820
 God's providence

00:26:02.820 --> 00:26:04.880
 meeting her

00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:06.180
 in her emptiness,

00:26:06.759 --> 00:26:07.300
 leading her

00:26:07.300 --> 00:26:07.800
 to fullness

00:26:07.800 --> 00:26:08.740
 and so do we.

00:26:11.880 --> 00:26:12.780
 But finally,

00:26:12.900 --> 00:26:13.600
 God meets her

00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:14.980
 in a person.

00:26:17.020 --> 00:26:18.140
 Amidst all the danger

00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:19.000
 of being a single

00:26:19.000 --> 00:26:19.820
 vulnerable woman

00:26:19.820 --> 00:26:20.840
 in a time of political

00:26:20.840 --> 00:26:22.020
 and social chaos,

00:26:22.019 --> 00:26:24.019
 verse 22

00:26:24.019 --> 00:26:25.200
 alludes

00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:26.180
 to the threat

00:26:26.180 --> 00:26:26.920
 of living

00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:27.940
 in the time

00:26:27.940 --> 00:26:28.500
 of the judges

00:26:28.500 --> 00:26:29.339
 as the narrator says

00:26:29.339 --> 00:26:29.960
 in chapter 1.

00:26:31.299 --> 00:26:32.240
 Amidst all that,

00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:33.799
 Ruth finds

00:26:33.799 --> 00:26:34.359
 a person

00:26:34.359 --> 00:26:35.400
 who will actually

00:26:35.400 --> 00:26:36.420
 extend her

00:26:36.420 --> 00:26:37.240
 favor.

00:26:39.500 --> 00:26:40.660
 Enter Boaz,

00:26:41.359 --> 00:26:42.339
 the one described

00:26:42.339 --> 00:26:43.139
 in verse 1

00:26:43.139 --> 00:26:44.359
 as a worthy

00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:45.339
 man.

00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:47.879
 Strong,

00:26:48.519 --> 00:26:49.000
 wealthy,

00:26:49.660 --> 00:26:50.139
 honorable,

00:26:50.140 --> 00:26:52.120
 the word

00:26:52.120 --> 00:26:52.560
 can mean

00:26:52.560 --> 00:26:53.560
 all of the above.

00:26:56.580 --> 00:26:57.160
 It's funny,

00:26:57.220 --> 00:26:57.660
 when Beth and I

00:26:57.660 --> 00:26:58.080
 were thinking

00:26:58.080 --> 00:26:58.800
 of names

00:26:58.800 --> 00:27:00.060
 for our sons,

00:27:00.800 --> 00:27:02.720
 it struck us

00:27:02.720 --> 00:27:03.700
 that Boaz

00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:04.940
 is one of the

00:27:04.940 --> 00:27:05.860
 few characters

00:27:05.860 --> 00:27:06.560
 in the Bible

00:27:06.560 --> 00:27:07.540
 about whom

00:27:07.540 --> 00:27:08.360
 nothing bad

00:27:08.360 --> 00:27:09.040
 is ever really

00:27:09.040 --> 00:27:09.520
 said.

00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:10.820
 You know,

00:27:10.900 --> 00:27:11.360
 you sort of

00:27:11.360 --> 00:27:11.860
 rifle through

00:27:11.860 --> 00:27:12.860
 the list of names.

00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:13.580
 Abraham,

00:27:14.080 --> 00:27:14.420
 well,

00:27:14.560 --> 00:27:15.000
 there was that

00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:16.259
 whole thing

00:27:16.259 --> 00:27:16.940
 with passing

00:27:16.940 --> 00:27:17.720
 off Sarah.

00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:19.779
 Jacob,

00:27:20.339 --> 00:27:20.680
 well,

00:27:20.819 --> 00:27:21.100
 okay,

00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:21.640
 he had his

00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:22.059
 issues.

00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:23.079
 And you just

00:27:23.079 --> 00:27:23.500
 keep going

00:27:23.500 --> 00:27:24.079
 down the list.

00:27:24.460 --> 00:27:25.039
 And then you

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.079
 meet Boaz.

00:27:28.519 --> 00:27:29.319
 So there it was,

00:27:29.360 --> 00:27:29.819
 if we were going

00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:30.299
 to go with a

00:27:30.299 --> 00:27:30.960
 biblical name,

00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:32.200
 Boaz Lauer.

00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:36.880
 We went in a

00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:37.420
 different direction.

00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:37.920
 Okay.

00:27:38.819 --> 00:27:39.400
 But it's still

00:27:39.400 --> 00:27:39.960
 a great name,

00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:40.299
 isn't it?

00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:41.160
 Go ahead.

00:27:41.360 --> 00:27:41.940
 It's all yours.

00:27:42.180 --> 00:27:42.600
 Take it.

00:27:42.599 --> 00:27:45.500
 But you see,

00:27:45.579 --> 00:27:45.719
 friends,

00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:46.500
 in many ways,

00:27:47.559 --> 00:27:49.059
 Boaz represents

00:27:49.059 --> 00:27:50.259
 and he embodies

00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:51.899
 here what Israel

00:27:51.899 --> 00:27:53.219
 was all along

00:27:53.219 --> 00:27:54.219
 supposed to be.

00:27:55.699 --> 00:27:56.579
 God honoring,

00:27:57.219 --> 00:27:57.779
 generous,

00:27:58.299 --> 00:27:59.019
 strong,

00:27:59.579 --> 00:28:00.179
 compassionate

00:28:00.179 --> 00:28:00.779
 to the weak

00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:01.319
 and lowly.

00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:03.359
 This is all

00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:04.240
 that God's people

00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:04.939
 were meant to be

00:28:04.939 --> 00:28:05.759
 and he's living

00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:06.219
 it out.

00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:09.219
 And as a result

00:28:09.219 --> 00:28:09.559
 of Boaz

00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:10.159
 showing favor

00:28:10.159 --> 00:28:10.599
 to her

00:28:10.599 --> 00:28:11.139
 and ordering

00:28:11.139 --> 00:28:11.599
 his men

00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:12.339
 to do the same,

00:28:12.339 --> 00:28:12.559
 hey,

00:28:12.659 --> 00:28:13.319
 by the way,

00:28:13.379 --> 00:28:14.019
 when you're gleaning,

00:28:14.119 --> 00:28:14.639
 don't just leave

00:28:14.639 --> 00:28:15.099
 some on the ground

00:28:15.099 --> 00:28:15.980
 but actually pull

00:28:15.980 --> 00:28:16.359
 some out

00:28:16.359 --> 00:28:16.879
 and leave it

00:28:16.879 --> 00:28:17.319
 on the ground

00:28:17.319 --> 00:28:17.740
 for her.

00:28:19.059 --> 00:28:19.599
 That's what he

00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:20.299
 says to his men.

00:28:21.079 --> 00:28:21.799
 As a result

00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:22.179
 of Boaz

00:28:22.179 --> 00:28:22.679
 showing all

00:28:22.679 --> 00:28:23.059
 that favor

00:28:23.059 --> 00:28:23.299
 to her,

00:28:23.399 --> 00:28:23.799
 Ruth ends

00:28:23.799 --> 00:28:24.240
 up going

00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:24.759
 home

00:28:24.759 --> 00:28:26.399
 in one day

00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:27.519
 with almost

00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:28.519
 two weeks

00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:29.240
 worth of grain

00:28:29.240 --> 00:28:30.159
 for her

00:28:30.159 --> 00:28:30.599
 and Naomi.

00:28:31.319 --> 00:28:31.720
 That's what

00:28:31.720 --> 00:28:32.459
 one ephah

00:28:32.459 --> 00:28:33.099
 would have

00:28:33.099 --> 00:28:33.759
 amounted to.

00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:34.879
 That's a pretty

00:28:34.879 --> 00:28:35.419
 good yield.

00:28:36.559 --> 00:28:37.179
 One day,

00:28:38.179 --> 00:28:38.779
 two weeks

00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:39.619
 pay for two

00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:40.000
 people.

00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:42.759
 She goes

00:28:42.759 --> 00:28:43.480
 home incredibly

00:28:43.480 --> 00:28:43.839
 full,

00:28:44.140 --> 00:28:44.720
 overflowing.

00:28:46.380 --> 00:28:46.920
 You can see

00:28:46.920 --> 00:28:47.480
 in verse 19

00:28:47.480 --> 00:28:48.099
 that Naomi

00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:48.559
 is just

00:28:48.559 --> 00:28:49.059
 shocked

00:28:49.059 --> 00:28:49.759
 by the amount.

00:28:50.099 --> 00:28:50.400
 Who put

00:28:50.400 --> 00:28:50.700
 his eyes

00:28:50.700 --> 00:28:51.220
 on you?

00:28:52.319 --> 00:28:52.799
 Golly!

00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:56.700
 And Boaz,

00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:57.079
 in fact,

00:28:57.140 --> 00:28:57.579
 allows Ruth

00:28:57.579 --> 00:28:58.220
 to come back

00:28:58.220 --> 00:28:58.980
 day after day

00:28:58.980 --> 00:28:59.559
 for the rest

00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:00.059
 of the harvest

00:29:00.059 --> 00:29:00.819
 as the chapter

00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:01.180
 ends.

00:29:01.180 --> 00:29:02.660
 come back.

00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:03.740
 Stay with

00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.220
 my women.

00:29:05.140 --> 00:29:05.420
 Drink

00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:06.320
 from my

00:29:06.320 --> 00:29:06.660
 well.

00:29:07.320 --> 00:29:07.600
 Eat

00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:08.160
 with my

00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:08.500
 men.

00:29:09.340 --> 00:29:09.779
 And take

00:29:09.779 --> 00:29:10.100
 all you

00:29:10.100 --> 00:29:10.360
 need.

00:29:13.180 --> 00:29:13.740
 And friends,

00:29:13.759 --> 00:29:14.080
 on the one

00:29:14.080 --> 00:29:14.259
 hand,

00:29:14.320 --> 00:29:14.740
 we see

00:29:14.740 --> 00:29:15.940
 here how

00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:17.000
 God works

00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:18.100
 through his

00:29:18.100 --> 00:29:18.500
 people,

00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:19.200
 don't we?

00:29:21.360 --> 00:29:22.340
 If Boaz

00:29:22.340 --> 00:29:23.120
 is an example

00:29:23.120 --> 00:29:23.460
 of a,

00:29:23.580 --> 00:29:24.740
 is a representation

00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:25.480
 of what the

00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:26.160
 Old Testament

00:29:26.160 --> 00:29:26.720
 church was

00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:27.320
 supposed to be,

00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:28.720
 he still

00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.299
 functions that

00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:29.720
 way for the

00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:30.160
 New Testament

00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:30.860
 church today.

00:29:31.180 --> 00:29:33.700
 that we

00:29:33.700 --> 00:29:34.440
 too ought

00:29:34.440 --> 00:29:35.019
 to meet

00:29:35.019 --> 00:29:36.019
 the sojourner,

00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:36.900
 the widow,

00:29:37.460 --> 00:29:38.220
 the fatherless,

00:29:38.360 --> 00:29:38.799
 the weak,

00:29:39.200 --> 00:29:39.720
 the empty,

00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:41.039
 with compassion,

00:29:41.620 --> 00:29:42.720
 with generosity,

00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.220
 with friendship.

00:29:46.840 --> 00:29:47.120
 Did you

00:29:47.120 --> 00:29:47.460
 notice here

00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:48.220
 that Boaz

00:29:48.220 --> 00:29:48.880
 goes simply

00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:49.759
 over and

00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:50.740
 above what

00:29:50.740 --> 00:29:51.279
 the law

00:29:51.279 --> 00:29:52.220
 prescribes?

00:29:53.259 --> 00:29:53.799
 He doesn't

00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:54.380
 just allow

00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:55.060
 Ruth to glean

00:29:55.060 --> 00:29:55.440
 the edges

00:29:55.440 --> 00:29:56.140
 of his field

00:29:56.140 --> 00:29:56.759
 or follow

00:29:56.759 --> 00:29:57.440
 the reapers.

00:29:58.060 --> 00:29:58.799
 Take even

00:29:58.799 --> 00:29:59.220
 more,

00:29:59.480 --> 00:29:59.779
 Boaz

00:29:59.779 --> 00:30:00.120
 says.

00:30:01.180 --> 00:30:02.799
 He even

00:30:02.799 --> 00:30:03.259
 shares his

00:30:03.259 --> 00:30:03.680
 own meal

00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:04.100
 with her

00:30:04.100 --> 00:30:05.039
 and she

00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:05.340
 can eat

00:30:05.340 --> 00:30:05.720
 and drink

00:30:05.720 --> 00:30:06.299
 until she's

00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:06.880
 satisfied.

00:30:07.900 --> 00:30:08.220
 And friends,

00:30:08.279 --> 00:30:08.740
 just like in

00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:09.080
 Ruth's day,

00:30:09.160 --> 00:30:09.420
 there are

00:30:09.420 --> 00:30:10.240
 those among

00:30:10.240 --> 00:30:11.220
 us who are

00:30:11.220 --> 00:30:12.320
 especially

00:30:12.320 --> 00:30:13.140
 vulnerable

00:30:13.140 --> 00:30:13.680
 today.

00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:16.940
 and the

00:30:16.940 --> 00:30:17.860
 church ought

00:30:17.860 --> 00:30:19.060
 to be like

00:30:19.060 --> 00:30:19.640
 a harbor.

00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:20.500
 It ought

00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:21.100
 to be like

00:30:21.100 --> 00:30:21.700
 a safe

00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:22.940
 field during

00:30:22.940 --> 00:30:23.560
 the harvest

00:30:23.560 --> 00:30:24.420
 where those

00:30:24.420 --> 00:30:24.880
 people can

00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:26.019
 come and

00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:26.400
 be shown

00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:27.620
 favor and

00:30:27.620 --> 00:30:28.039
 be allowed

00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:28.680
 to flourish.

00:30:28.680 --> 00:30:34.840
 and like

00:30:34.840 --> 00:30:35.140
 Boaz,

00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:35.460
 that's going

00:30:35.460 --> 00:30:35.900
 to mean

00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:36.799
 perhaps making

00:30:36.799 --> 00:30:37.360
 a financial

00:30:37.360 --> 00:30:37.840
 investment.

00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.220
 One wonders

00:30:40.220 --> 00:30:40.560
 how many

00:30:40.560 --> 00:30:41.120
 landowners

00:30:41.120 --> 00:30:41.779
 in Bethlehem

00:30:41.779 --> 00:30:42.140
 in the time

00:30:42.140 --> 00:30:42.539
 of the judges

00:30:42.539 --> 00:30:43.400
 actually followed

00:30:43.400 --> 00:30:43.820
 the Mosaic

00:30:43.820 --> 00:30:44.340
 law with

00:30:44.340 --> 00:30:44.880
 respect to

00:30:44.880 --> 00:30:45.360
 these gleaning

00:30:45.360 --> 00:30:45.799
 laws.

00:30:47.220 --> 00:30:47.840
 Did they

00:30:47.840 --> 00:30:48.519
 actually bear

00:30:48.519 --> 00:30:49.259
 the cost of

00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:49.680
 leaving their

00:30:49.680 --> 00:30:50.259
 field a little

00:30:50.259 --> 00:30:50.940
 under harvested

00:30:50.940 --> 00:30:51.720
 just for the

00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:52.180
 sake of the

00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:52.779
 sojourner or

00:30:52.779 --> 00:30:53.060
 the widow?

00:30:54.060 --> 00:30:54.539
 Were they

00:30:54.539 --> 00:30:55.100
 willing to

00:30:55.100 --> 00:30:55.660
 lose some

00:30:55.660 --> 00:30:55.960
 of those

00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:56.759
 profits just

00:30:56.759 --> 00:30:57.380
 to care for

00:30:57.380 --> 00:30:57.759
 the needy

00:30:57.759 --> 00:30:58.420
 around them?

00:31:00.039 --> 00:31:00.319
 Friends,

00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:00.619
 that's the

00:31:00.619 --> 00:31:01.140
 opportunity

00:31:01.140 --> 00:31:02.440
 that's before

00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:03.599
 us as a

00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:03.920
 church.

00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:06.940
 To leave

00:31:06.940 --> 00:31:07.680
 some margin

00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:08.379
 in our

00:31:08.379 --> 00:31:08.940
 budgets.

00:31:10.259 --> 00:31:11.119
 To maybe

00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:12.119
 forgo some

00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:12.400
 of our

00:31:12.400 --> 00:31:14.619
 expenses so

00:31:14.619 --> 00:31:15.140
 that we can

00:31:15.140 --> 00:31:15.680
 be generous

00:31:15.680 --> 00:31:16.180
 to those

00:31:16.180 --> 00:31:16.640
 in need.

00:31:18.480 --> 00:31:19.359
 To make

00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:20.319
 some costly

00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:22.299
 moves so

00:31:22.299 --> 00:31:22.879
 that we

00:31:22.879 --> 00:31:23.839
 can be the

00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:24.980
 place where

00:31:24.980 --> 00:31:25.460
 the empty

00:31:25.460 --> 00:31:25.980
 or filled.

00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:29.039
 But of

00:31:29.039 --> 00:31:29.319
 course our

00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:29.839
 time,

00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:31.039
 right,

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:31.900
 is probably

00:31:31.900 --> 00:31:32.519
 more precious

00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:32.900
 than our

00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:33.220
 money.

00:31:34.940 --> 00:31:35.740
 And the

00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:36.420
 emptiness that

00:31:36.420 --> 00:31:37.000
 so many

00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:37.680
 people around

00:31:37.680 --> 00:31:38.240
 us face

00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:39.240
 isn't necessarily

00:31:39.240 --> 00:31:39.980
 financial,

00:31:40.200 --> 00:31:40.339
 is it,

00:31:40.379 --> 00:31:40.660
 but it's

00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:41.180
 relational.

00:31:43.539 --> 00:31:44.359
 There's a

00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:45.759
 deep need

00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:47.039
 for friendship.

00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:49.660
 Friends,

00:31:49.700 --> 00:31:50.079
 when I look

00:31:50.079 --> 00:31:50.400
 out at the

00:31:50.400 --> 00:31:50.700
 world,

00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:51.299
 I think it's

00:31:51.299 --> 00:31:51.619
 one of the

00:31:51.619 --> 00:31:52.619
 greatest needs

00:31:52.619 --> 00:31:53.220
 that I see.

00:31:53.220 --> 00:31:56.039
 people hungering

00:31:56.039 --> 00:31:57.339
 and longing

00:31:57.339 --> 00:31:59.620
 for friendship.

00:32:01.620 --> 00:32:02.299
 There's a

00:32:02.299 --> 00:32:03.120
 deep need

00:32:03.120 --> 00:32:03.400
 in our

00:32:03.400 --> 00:32:03.799
 world for

00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:04.579
 the costly

00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:05.759
 work of

00:32:05.759 --> 00:32:06.440
 knowing one

00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:07.279
 another and

00:32:07.279 --> 00:32:07.900
 being known.

00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:11.180
 And as we

00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:11.940
 find when

00:32:11.940 --> 00:32:13.460
 Boaz approaches

00:32:13.460 --> 00:32:14.900
 Ruth, what

00:32:14.900 --> 00:32:15.180
 does she

00:32:15.180 --> 00:32:15.519
 find?

00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:17.200
 Ruth finds

00:32:17.200 --> 00:32:18.240
 that he

00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:19.039
 actually knows

00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:20.120
 her, that he

00:32:20.120 --> 00:32:20.559
 knows her

00:32:20.559 --> 00:32:20.980
 story.

00:32:21.799 --> 00:32:22.640
 He knows

00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:22.900
 what she

00:32:22.900 --> 00:32:23.220
 had given

00:32:23.220 --> 00:32:23.860
 up to

00:32:23.860 --> 00:32:24.120
 come to

00:32:24.120 --> 00:32:24.519
 Bethlehem

00:32:24.519 --> 00:32:25.019
 with Naomi.

00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:26.799
 He actually

00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:27.380
 knew her

00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:28.700
 and he

00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:28.980
 viewed her

00:32:28.980 --> 00:32:29.500
 with favor.

00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:31.180
 Again and

00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:31.559
 again in

00:32:31.559 --> 00:32:32.339
 this chapter,

00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:32.740
 there's that

00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:33.380
 motif, that

00:32:33.380 --> 00:32:34.259
 theme of

00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:34.920
 being seen

00:32:34.920 --> 00:32:35.480
 with favor

00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:36.059
 at almost

00:32:36.059 --> 00:32:37.180
 every move

00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:37.420
 in the

00:32:37.420 --> 00:32:37.759
 narrative.

00:32:38.299 --> 00:32:38.400
 It's

00:32:38.400 --> 00:32:38.819
 mentioned.

00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:39.700
 Ruth sets

00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:40.079
 out and

00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:40.380
 says, I

00:32:40.380 --> 00:32:41.380
 hope I

00:32:41.380 --> 00:32:42.019
 find someone

00:32:42.019 --> 00:32:42.259
 in whose

00:32:42.259 --> 00:32:42.839
 eyes I

00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:43.259
 can find

00:32:43.259 --> 00:32:43.700
 favor.

00:32:44.200 --> 00:32:44.700
 And when

00:32:44.700 --> 00:32:45.099
 she meets

00:32:45.099 --> 00:32:46.420
 Boaz, she

00:32:46.420 --> 00:32:47.559
 says, what

00:32:47.559 --> 00:32:48.059
 have I done

00:32:48.059 --> 00:32:48.759
 to find favor

00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:49.380
 in your eyes?

00:32:49.460 --> 00:32:49.680
 And at

00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:50.319
 last, Naomi

00:32:50.319 --> 00:32:50.779
 kind of gets

00:32:50.779 --> 00:32:51.099
 the last

00:32:51.099 --> 00:32:51.420
 word and

00:32:51.420 --> 00:32:53.259
 says, someone

00:32:53.259 --> 00:32:53.700
 must have

00:32:53.700 --> 00:32:54.200
 seen you

00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:55.920
 and shown

00:32:55.920 --> 00:32:56.359
 you favor.

00:32:57.819 --> 00:32:58.240
 Friends, what

00:32:58.240 --> 00:32:58.639
 if someone

00:32:58.639 --> 00:32:59.720
 knew that

00:32:59.720 --> 00:33:00.000
 they could

00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:00.639
 walk into

00:33:00.639 --> 00:33:01.399
 a church

00:33:01.399 --> 00:33:02.180
 and be

00:33:02.180 --> 00:33:02.759
 seen with

00:33:02.759 --> 00:33:03.879
 that kind

00:33:03.879 --> 00:33:04.539
 of gracious

00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:05.480
 favor?

00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:07.680
 That they

00:33:07.680 --> 00:33:07.940
 could be

00:33:07.940 --> 00:33:09.180
 valued as

00:33:09.180 --> 00:33:09.819
 a person

00:33:09.819 --> 00:33:10.480
 made in

00:33:10.480 --> 00:33:10.960
 the image

00:33:10.960 --> 00:33:11.359
 of God

00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:11.779
 regardless

00:33:11.779 --> 00:33:12.119
 of their

00:33:12.119 --> 00:33:12.500
 background.

00:33:12.980 --> 00:33:13.359
 And that

00:33:13.359 --> 00:33:13.579
 they could

00:33:13.579 --> 00:33:14.259
 be accepted

00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:14.819
 as someone

00:33:14.819 --> 00:33:15.460
 for whom

00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:16.899
 Christ died

00:33:16.899 --> 00:33:17.619
 regardless

00:33:17.619 --> 00:33:18.019
 of their

00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:18.599
 personality

00:33:18.599 --> 00:33:19.240
 quirks.

00:33:19.240 --> 00:33:21.359
 that they

00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:21.660
 could be

00:33:21.660 --> 00:33:22.519
 seen as

00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.220
 someone

00:33:23.220 --> 00:33:24.299
 headed

00:33:24.299 --> 00:33:24.960
 towards

00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:26.259
 unimaginable

00:33:26.259 --> 00:33:27.420
 glory when

00:33:27.420 --> 00:33:27.819
 Christ

00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:28.559
 returns.

00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:32.380
 Not a

00:33:32.380 --> 00:33:32.799
 place where

00:33:32.799 --> 00:33:33.259
 sin is

00:33:33.259 --> 00:33:34.059
 excused.

00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:35.240
 No, but a

00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:36.319
 place where

00:33:36.319 --> 00:33:37.279
 we stick

00:33:37.279 --> 00:33:37.859
 with one

00:33:37.859 --> 00:33:39.000
 another through

00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:39.640
 the hard

00:33:39.640 --> 00:33:40.039
 work of

00:33:40.039 --> 00:33:40.519
 change.

00:33:40.519 --> 00:33:40.579
 church.

00:33:43.220 --> 00:33:43.839
 In other

00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:44.119
 words, a

00:33:44.119 --> 00:33:44.519
 place where

00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:44.920
 we love

00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:45.379
 each other.

00:33:47.940 --> 00:33:48.639
 A place

00:33:48.639 --> 00:33:48.900
 where we

00:33:48.900 --> 00:33:49.799
 take friendship

00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:51.480
 building as

00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:52.259
 a serious

00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:53.220
 calling.

00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:55.960
 After all,

00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:56.240
 it would seem

00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:56.599
 that that's

00:33:56.599 --> 00:33:57.099
 something of

00:33:57.099 --> 00:33:57.619
 what's forming

00:33:57.619 --> 00:33:58.519
 here between

00:33:58.519 --> 00:33:59.359
 Ruth and

00:33:59.359 --> 00:34:00.059
 Boaz, isn't

00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:00.279
 it?

00:34:02.720 --> 00:34:03.400
 And how

00:34:03.400 --> 00:34:04.039
 unlikely a

00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:04.559
 friendship it

00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:04.819
 is.

00:34:06.299 --> 00:34:06.740
 She's a

00:34:06.740 --> 00:34:07.220
 Moabite

00:34:07.220 --> 00:34:07.799
 after all.

00:34:07.799 --> 00:34:10.239
 the people

00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:10.619
 of Israel

00:34:10.619 --> 00:34:10.840
 and the

00:34:10.840 --> 00:34:11.119
 people of

00:34:11.119 --> 00:34:11.639
 Moab didn't

00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:12.320
 necessarily like

00:34:12.320 --> 00:34:12.800
 each other a

00:34:12.800 --> 00:34:13.159
 whole lot.

00:34:17.779 --> 00:34:18.340
 But isn't

00:34:18.340 --> 00:34:18.739
 that how it

00:34:18.739 --> 00:34:19.079
 is in the

00:34:19.079 --> 00:34:19.420
 church?

00:34:21.719 --> 00:34:22.380
 Don Carson

00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:22.920
 puts it this

00:34:22.920 --> 00:34:23.059
 way.

00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:23.639
 I like this.

00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:26.079
 He says,

00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:26.440
 the church

00:34:26.440 --> 00:34:27.659
 itself is not

00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:28.039
 made up of

00:34:28.039 --> 00:34:28.820
 natural friends.

00:34:29.519 --> 00:34:30.159
 It's made up

00:34:30.159 --> 00:34:30.539
 of natural

00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:30.960
 enemies.

00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:32.820
 What binds

00:34:32.820 --> 00:34:33.220
 us together

00:34:33.220 --> 00:34:33.559
 is not

00:34:33.559 --> 00:34:33.820
 common

00:34:33.820 --> 00:34:34.300
 education,

00:34:34.579 --> 00:34:34.760
 common

00:34:34.760 --> 00:34:35.119
 race,

00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:35.639
 common

00:34:35.639 --> 00:34:35.920
 income

00:34:35.920 --> 00:34:36.340
 levels,

00:34:36.740 --> 00:34:37.119
 common

00:34:37.119 --> 00:34:37.720
 politics,

00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:38.360
 common

00:34:38.360 --> 00:34:38.940
 nationality,

00:34:39.039 --> 00:34:39.220
 common

00:34:39.220 --> 00:34:39.599
 accents,

00:34:39.740 --> 00:34:39.940
 common

00:34:39.940 --> 00:34:40.280
 jobs,

00:34:40.380 --> 00:34:40.920
 or anything

00:34:40.920 --> 00:34:41.300
 else of

00:34:41.300 --> 00:34:41.679
 that short.

00:34:42.579 --> 00:34:43.159
 I might

00:34:43.159 --> 00:34:43.720
 add common

00:34:43.720 --> 00:34:43.980
 marital

00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:44.500
 status,

00:34:45.599 --> 00:34:45.800
 common

00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:46.139
 family

00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:46.659
 sizes.

00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:48.740
 Christians

00:34:48.740 --> 00:34:49.340
 come together,

00:34:49.400 --> 00:34:49.639
 he says,

00:34:49.699 --> 00:34:50.179
 not because

00:34:50.179 --> 00:34:51.139
 they form a

00:34:51.139 --> 00:34:51.579
 natural

00:34:51.579 --> 00:34:52.420
 collocation,

00:34:52.599 --> 00:34:52.960
 but because

00:34:52.960 --> 00:34:53.220
 they have

00:34:53.220 --> 00:34:53.720
 all been

00:34:53.720 --> 00:34:54.320
 saved by

00:34:54.320 --> 00:34:54.599
 Jesus

00:34:54.599 --> 00:34:55.440
 Christ and

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:55.940
 owe him

00:34:55.940 --> 00:34:56.559
 a common

00:34:56.559 --> 00:34:56.920
 allegiance.

00:34:57.460 --> 00:34:57.720
 In the

00:34:57.720 --> 00:34:58.039
 light of

00:34:58.039 --> 00:34:58.500
 this common

00:34:58.500 --> 00:34:58.860
 allegiance,

00:34:59.000 --> 00:34:59.179
 in the

00:34:59.179 --> 00:34:59.460
 light of

00:34:59.460 --> 00:34:59.800
 the fact

00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:00.039
 that they

00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:00.559
 have all

00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:00.759
 been

00:35:00.759 --> 00:35:01.500
 loved by

00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:01.800
 Jesus

00:35:01.800 --> 00:35:02.380
 himself,

00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:03.340
 they commit

00:35:03.340 --> 00:35:04.059
 themselves to

00:35:04.059 --> 00:35:04.460
 doing what

00:35:04.460 --> 00:35:04.860
 he says,

00:35:04.900 --> 00:35:05.079
 and he

00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:05.800
 commands them

00:35:05.800 --> 00:35:06.800
 to love

00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:07.300
 one another.

00:35:09.019 --> 00:35:09.940
 In this

00:35:09.940 --> 00:35:10.380
 light,

00:35:11.019 --> 00:35:11.759
 they are a

00:35:11.759 --> 00:35:12.579
 band of

00:35:12.579 --> 00:35:13.300
 natural

00:35:13.300 --> 00:35:14.619
 enemies who

00:35:14.619 --> 00:35:15.159
 love one

00:35:15.159 --> 00:35:16.099
 another for

00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:16.980
 Jesus' sake.

00:35:18.400 --> 00:35:18.860
 Why does

00:35:18.860 --> 00:35:19.960
 Boaz love

00:35:19.960 --> 00:35:20.400
 Ruth?

00:35:22.239 --> 00:35:23.099
 Because they

00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:23.460
 both know

00:35:23.460 --> 00:35:23.880
 the same

00:35:23.880 --> 00:35:24.279
 Lord,

00:35:25.739 --> 00:35:26.320
 under whose

00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:27.380
 wings you've

00:35:27.380 --> 00:35:27.820
 come for

00:35:27.820 --> 00:35:28.380
 refuge.

00:35:30.039 --> 00:35:32.460
 So friends,

00:35:32.500 --> 00:35:32.820
 on the one

00:35:32.820 --> 00:35:33.000
 hand,

00:35:33.059 --> 00:35:33.460
 we see in

00:35:33.460 --> 00:35:34.019
 Boaz how

00:35:34.019 --> 00:35:34.759
 God works

00:35:34.759 --> 00:35:35.179
 through his

00:35:35.179 --> 00:35:35.880
 people to

00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:36.480
 meet us

00:35:36.480 --> 00:35:36.940
 in our

00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:37.340
 emptiness.

00:35:38.340 --> 00:35:38.800
 And let me

00:35:38.800 --> 00:35:39.340
 just say,

00:35:39.460 --> 00:35:39.679
 if you're

00:35:39.679 --> 00:35:40.360
 feeling empty

00:35:40.360 --> 00:35:41.059
 this morning,

00:35:41.779 --> 00:35:42.259
 are you a

00:35:42.259 --> 00:35:42.719
 part of his

00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:43.119
 church?

00:35:44.119 --> 00:35:44.380
 Are you

00:35:44.380 --> 00:35:45.300
 pushing into

00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:45.880
 the fellowship?

00:35:46.759 --> 00:35:47.239
 It's part of

00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:47.759
 the means that

00:35:47.759 --> 00:35:48.340
 God's given

00:35:48.340 --> 00:35:49.119
 to meet you.

00:35:51.579 --> 00:35:52.079
 But you

00:35:52.079 --> 00:35:52.159
 know,

00:35:52.179 --> 00:35:52.559
 on a much

00:35:52.559 --> 00:35:53.980
 deeper level,

00:35:55.119 --> 00:35:55.679
 Boaz,

00:35:56.159 --> 00:35:57.059
 as a

00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:57.679
 representative

00:35:57.679 --> 00:35:58.759
 Israelite,

00:35:59.159 --> 00:35:59.679
 as a

00:35:59.679 --> 00:36:00.099
 truly

00:36:00.099 --> 00:36:00.619
 worthy

00:36:00.619 --> 00:36:01.159
 man,

00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:04.119
 does he

00:36:04.119 --> 00:36:04.379
 not

00:36:04.379 --> 00:36:05.000
 prefigure

00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:05.579
 the one

00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:06.440
 who would

00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:07.619
 come and

00:36:07.619 --> 00:36:08.319
 truly be

00:36:08.319 --> 00:36:08.699
 and do

00:36:08.699 --> 00:36:09.139
 all that

00:36:09.139 --> 00:36:09.639
 Israel was

00:36:09.639 --> 00:36:09.960
 meant to

00:36:09.960 --> 00:36:10.299
 be and

00:36:10.299 --> 00:36:10.500
 do?

00:36:12.579 --> 00:36:13.099
 You see,

00:36:13.179 --> 00:36:13.299
 friends,

00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:13.960
 Boaz,

00:36:14.099 --> 00:36:14.639
 in obedience

00:36:14.639 --> 00:36:15.339
 to God's

00:36:15.339 --> 00:36:15.539
 law,

00:36:15.619 --> 00:36:16.119
 was willing

00:36:16.119 --> 00:36:16.919
 to sacrifice

00:36:16.919 --> 00:36:17.839
 a little

00:36:17.839 --> 00:36:18.659
 so that the

00:36:18.659 --> 00:36:19.179
 needy and

00:36:19.179 --> 00:36:19.679
 weak could

00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:20.219
 be fed.

00:36:23.059 --> 00:36:23.699
 But the

00:36:23.699 --> 00:36:24.019
 one who

00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:24.339
 would come

00:36:24.339 --> 00:36:24.919
 after him,

00:36:25.019 --> 00:36:25.859
 Jesus Christ,

00:36:25.860 --> 00:36:27.079
 sacrificed

00:36:27.079 --> 00:36:28.680
 everything in

00:36:28.680 --> 00:36:29.340
 obedience to

00:36:29.340 --> 00:36:29.820
 his father

00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:31.240
 so that you

00:36:31.240 --> 00:36:31.700
 and I could

00:36:31.700 --> 00:36:32.559
 be satisfied

00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:33.500
 eternally.

00:36:35.840 --> 00:36:36.300
 The

00:36:36.300 --> 00:36:36.780
 apostle Paul

00:36:36.780 --> 00:36:37.260
 puts it this

00:36:37.260 --> 00:36:37.400
 way,

00:36:37.440 --> 00:36:37.680
 he says,

00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:37.960
 for you

00:36:37.960 --> 00:36:38.440
 know the

00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:38.940
 grace of

00:36:38.940 --> 00:36:39.360
 our Lord

00:36:39.360 --> 00:36:40.200
 Jesus Christ,

00:36:40.740 --> 00:36:41.140
 that though

00:36:41.140 --> 00:36:42.039
 he was rich,

00:36:42.380 --> 00:36:43.099
 yet for your

00:36:43.099 --> 00:36:43.780
 sake he became

00:36:43.780 --> 00:36:44.220
 poor,

00:36:44.660 --> 00:36:45.380
 so that you

00:36:45.380 --> 00:36:45.860
 by his

00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:46.840
 poverty might

00:36:46.840 --> 00:36:47.740
 become rich.

00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:51.420
 And isn't

00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:51.740
 that what

00:36:51.740 --> 00:36:52.680
 Christmas is

00:36:52.680 --> 00:36:53.260
 all about,

00:36:53.620 --> 00:36:54.320
 after all?

00:36:55.860 --> 00:36:56.220
 That he

00:36:56.220 --> 00:36:56.760
 was willing

00:36:56.760 --> 00:36:57.519
 to leave

00:36:57.519 --> 00:36:58.300
 everything

00:36:58.300 --> 00:36:59.160
 behind,

00:36:59.260 --> 00:36:59.559
 he was

00:36:59.559 --> 00:37:00.039
 willing to

00:37:00.039 --> 00:37:00.400
 lose

00:37:00.400 --> 00:37:01.019
 everything

00:37:01.019 --> 00:37:01.980
 for us,

00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:02.760
 so that now

00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:03.160
 when we

00:37:03.160 --> 00:37:03.539
 come to

00:37:03.539 --> 00:37:03.780
 him,

00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:04.340
 what we

00:37:04.340 --> 00:37:04.840
 lose is

00:37:04.840 --> 00:37:05.620
 nothing

00:37:05.620 --> 00:37:06.599
 compared to

00:37:06.599 --> 00:37:07.019
 what we'll

00:37:07.019 --> 00:37:07.579
 gain.

00:37:10.099 --> 00:37:10.579
 Friends,

00:37:10.620 --> 00:37:11.120
 you see the

00:37:11.120 --> 00:37:11.960
 blessings and

00:37:11.960 --> 00:37:12.740
 the fullness

00:37:12.740 --> 00:37:13.420
 of coming to

00:37:13.420 --> 00:37:14.200
 know Jesus

00:37:14.200 --> 00:37:14.860
 Christ,

00:37:15.400 --> 00:37:16.660
 the forgiveness

00:37:16.660 --> 00:37:17.740
 of sins,

00:37:18.940 --> 00:37:19.740
 to at long

00:37:19.740 --> 00:37:20.660
 last have a

00:37:20.660 --> 00:37:21.400
 conscience

00:37:21.400 --> 00:37:22.920
 utterly at

00:37:22.920 --> 00:37:23.440
 peace,

00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:24.539
 knowing that

00:37:24.539 --> 00:37:25.119
 God is

00:37:25.119 --> 00:37:25.300
 now

00:37:25.300 --> 00:37:26.099
 reconciled

00:37:26.099 --> 00:37:26.519
 to you.

00:37:29.119 --> 00:37:29.739
 To have

00:37:29.739 --> 00:37:30.759
 membership in

00:37:30.759 --> 00:37:31.639
 God's own

00:37:31.639 --> 00:37:32.500
 family,

00:37:32.599 --> 00:37:33.000
 knowing that

00:37:33.000 --> 00:37:33.519
 the almighty

00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:34.199
 God loves

00:37:34.199 --> 00:37:34.460
 us and

00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:34.800
 cares for

00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:35.059
 us as

00:37:35.059 --> 00:37:35.400
 his own

00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:35.719
 daughters

00:37:35.719 --> 00:37:36.400
 and sons.

00:37:37.880 --> 00:37:38.279
 It's

00:37:38.279 --> 00:37:38.860
 increasing

00:37:38.860 --> 00:37:39.619
 holiness by

00:37:39.619 --> 00:37:40.000
 the presence

00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:40.259
 of his

00:37:40.259 --> 00:37:40.480
 spirit,

00:37:40.579 --> 00:37:40.980
 sanctification,

00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:42.139
 finding more

00:37:42.139 --> 00:37:42.639
 and more of

00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:42.900
 the very

00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:43.599
 purpose for

00:37:43.599 --> 00:37:43.880
 which we

00:37:43.880 --> 00:37:44.420
 were created

00:37:44.420 --> 00:37:45.000
 to reflect

00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:45.480
 his beauty

00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:46.059
 in the

00:37:46.059 --> 00:37:46.460
 world.

00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:50.720
 God's

00:37:50.720 --> 00:37:51.220
 God's

00:37:51.220 --> 00:37:51.460
 glory.

00:37:51.460 --> 00:37:53.039
 It is the

00:37:53.039 --> 00:37:53.679
 participation

00:37:53.679 --> 00:37:54.740
 in God's

00:37:54.740 --> 00:37:55.440
 own glory

00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:56.980
 that one

00:37:56.980 --> 00:37:57.400
 day we

00:37:57.400 --> 00:37:57.699
 will be

00:37:57.699 --> 00:37:58.440
 radiant,

00:37:59.420 --> 00:38:00.179
 glorified

00:38:00.179 --> 00:38:00.900
 when he

00:38:00.900 --> 00:38:01.340
 comes to

00:38:01.340 --> 00:38:01.720
 make all

00:38:01.720 --> 00:38:02.320
 things new.

00:38:04.599 --> 00:38:05.320
 All of

00:38:05.320 --> 00:38:05.800
 this we

00:38:05.800 --> 00:38:06.119
 have in

00:38:06.119 --> 00:38:06.500
 Christ.

00:38:08.920 --> 00:38:09.579
 On more

00:38:09.579 --> 00:38:09.800
 than one

00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:10.280
 occasion during

00:38:10.280 --> 00:38:10.639
 his earthly

00:38:10.639 --> 00:38:11.039
 ministry,

00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:12.240
 Jesus fed

00:38:12.240 --> 00:38:12.920
 hungry crowds

00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:13.340
 of people

00:38:13.340 --> 00:38:13.960
 from just a

00:38:13.960 --> 00:38:14.440
 few loaves

00:38:14.440 --> 00:38:14.860
 of bread.

00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:15.780
 In the

00:38:15.780 --> 00:38:16.280
 gospel of

00:38:16.280 --> 00:38:16.440
 Mark,

00:38:16.559 --> 00:38:17.320
 both times

00:38:17.320 --> 00:38:17.860
 he tells

00:38:17.860 --> 00:38:18.360
 about those

00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:18.820
 events,

00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:19.200
 says,

00:38:19.880 --> 00:38:20.079
 and they

00:38:20.079 --> 00:38:20.599
 all ate

00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:22.019
 and were

00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:22.639
 satisfied.

00:38:23.960 --> 00:38:24.579
 And they

00:38:24.579 --> 00:38:25.079
 all ate

00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:26.780
 and were

00:38:26.780 --> 00:38:27.220
 satisfied.

00:38:30.320 --> 00:38:30.820
 Ruth

00:38:30.820 --> 00:38:31.280
 meets

00:38:31.280 --> 00:38:32.019
 Boaz and

00:38:32.019 --> 00:38:32.519
 her emptiness

00:38:32.519 --> 00:38:33.139
 is filled.

00:38:34.220 --> 00:38:34.539
 Friends,

00:38:34.599 --> 00:38:35.039
 it's the same

00:38:35.039 --> 00:38:35.400
 way with

00:38:35.400 --> 00:38:35.960
 everyone who

00:38:35.960 --> 00:38:36.320
 meets the

00:38:36.320 --> 00:38:36.740
 Lord Jesus

00:38:36.740 --> 00:38:37.280
 Christ.

00:38:38.220 --> 00:38:38.860
 He will

00:38:38.860 --> 00:38:39.260
 fill your

00:38:39.260 --> 00:38:39.579
 emptiness.

00:38:41.119 --> 00:38:41.780
 You will

00:38:41.780 --> 00:38:42.860
 eat and

00:38:42.860 --> 00:38:43.039
 you will

00:38:43.039 --> 00:38:43.619
 be satisfied.

00:38:44.440 --> 00:38:47.720
 in just a

00:38:47.720 --> 00:38:48.079
 second we're

00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:48.320
 going to go

00:38:48.320 --> 00:38:48.539
 to the

00:38:48.539 --> 00:38:48.860
 table.

00:38:49.059 --> 00:38:49.139
 We're

00:38:49.139 --> 00:38:49.260
 going to

00:38:49.260 --> 00:38:49.440
 go to

00:38:49.440 --> 00:38:49.500
 the

00:38:49.500 --> 00:38:49.780
 Lord's

00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:50.019
 Supper.

00:38:51.059 --> 00:38:51.159
 And

00:38:51.159 --> 00:38:51.320
 friends,

00:38:51.340 --> 00:38:51.559
 this is

00:38:51.559 --> 00:38:52.039
 the place

00:38:52.039 --> 00:38:52.740
 for believers

00:38:52.740 --> 00:38:53.679
 to take

00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:54.300
 that truth

00:38:54.300 --> 00:38:55.200
 and press

00:38:55.200 --> 00:38:55.700
 it down

00:38:55.700 --> 00:38:56.159
 into your

00:38:56.159 --> 00:38:56.559
 heart.

00:38:57.159 --> 00:38:57.619
 That his

00:38:57.619 --> 00:38:59.340
 broken body

00:38:59.340 --> 00:38:59.740
 and his

00:38:59.740 --> 00:39:00.559
 shed blood

00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:01.099
 were for

00:39:01.099 --> 00:39:01.639
 you.

00:39:03.280 --> 00:39:03.880
 So that

00:39:03.880 --> 00:39:04.240
 you could

00:39:04.240 --> 00:39:04.940
 be filled.

00:39:05.760 --> 00:39:06.139
 So when

00:39:06.139 --> 00:39:06.500
 we come

00:39:06.500 --> 00:39:06.760
 to the

00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:07.000
 table,

00:39:07.099 --> 00:39:07.320
 we get

00:39:07.320 --> 00:39:07.960
 to come

00:39:07.960 --> 00:39:08.480
 and we

00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:08.760
 get to

00:39:08.760 --> 00:39:09.460
 bask in

00:39:09.460 --> 00:39:09.840
 the beauty

00:39:09.840 --> 00:39:10.119
 of what

00:39:10.119 --> 00:39:10.659
 he's done.

00:39:11.480 --> 00:39:12.320
 So bask

00:39:12.320 --> 00:39:12.579
 in the

00:39:12.579 --> 00:39:12.940
 beauty of

00:39:12.940 --> 00:39:13.179
 what he's

00:39:13.179 --> 00:39:13.519
 done for

00:39:13.519 --> 00:39:13.760
 you.

00:39:14.440 --> 00:39:15.400
 And

00:39:15.400 --> 00:39:15.720
 remember

00:39:15.720 --> 00:39:16.579
 the cost

00:39:16.579 --> 00:39:16.880
 of what

00:39:16.880 --> 00:39:17.139
 he's done

00:39:17.139 --> 00:39:17.420
 for you

00:39:17.420 --> 00:39:17.700
 here.

00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:19.139
 And do

00:39:19.139 --> 00:39:19.420
 all that

00:39:19.420 --> 00:39:19.659
 so that

00:39:19.659 --> 00:39:19.860
 you can

00:39:19.860 --> 00:39:20.380
 be renewed

00:39:20.380 --> 00:39:20.659
 and so

00:39:20.659 --> 00:39:20.840
 you can

00:39:20.840 --> 00:39:21.340
 be filled

00:39:21.340 --> 00:39:21.700
 again.

00:39:24.420 --> 00:39:24.820
 And

00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:25.019
 Jesus

00:39:25.019 --> 00:39:25.480
 gave us

00:39:25.480 --> 00:39:25.800
 this

00:39:25.800 --> 00:39:26.720
 great act

00:39:26.720 --> 00:39:26.980
 to do

00:39:26.980 --> 00:39:27.500
 together

00:39:27.500 --> 00:39:28.500
 as his

00:39:28.500 --> 00:39:28.940
 church.

00:39:29.300 --> 00:39:29.659
 And we

00:39:29.659 --> 00:39:30.139
 do it

00:39:30.139 --> 00:39:30.519
 together.

00:39:30.519 --> 00:39:31.860
 God

00:39:31.860 --> 00:39:32.259
 and we

00:39:32.259 --> 00:39:32.800
 go out

00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:33.780
 and we

00:39:33.780 --> 00:39:34.340
 reflect it

00:39:34.340 --> 00:39:34.539
 in the

00:39:34.539 --> 00:39:34.840
 world.

00:39:36.360 --> 00:39:36.780
 Let's

00:39:36.780 --> 00:39:36.960
 pray.

00:39:41.159 --> 00:39:41.739
 Lord Jesus,

00:39:41.860 --> 00:39:42.039
 would you

00:39:42.039 --> 00:39:42.360
 fill the

00:39:42.360 --> 00:39:42.619
 hungry?

00:39:44.280 --> 00:39:44.759
 Would you

00:39:44.759 --> 00:39:45.119
 give hope

00:39:45.119 --> 00:39:45.340
 to the

00:39:45.340 --> 00:39:45.699
 hopeless?

00:39:47.599 --> 00:39:47.940
 And Lord,

00:39:47.980 --> 00:39:48.300
 as we come

00:39:48.300 --> 00:39:48.719
 around your

00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:49.039
 table,

00:39:50.340 --> 00:39:50.639
 pray that

00:39:50.639 --> 00:39:51.079
 those who

00:39:51.079 --> 00:39:53.300
 are anxious

00:39:53.300 --> 00:39:54.440
 to come

00:39:54.440 --> 00:39:55.120
 after you

00:39:55.120 --> 00:39:57.980
 would see

00:39:57.980 --> 00:39:59.340
 that there

00:39:59.340 --> 00:39:59.760
 is great

00:39:59.760 --> 00:40:00.640
 gain in

00:40:00.640 --> 00:40:01.220
 following you,

00:40:01.280 --> 00:40:01.680
 our Savior.

00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:03.480
 Jesus, we

00:40:03.480 --> 00:40:03.960
 remember the

00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:04.400
 words that you

00:40:04.400 --> 00:40:04.840
 said that

00:40:04.840 --> 00:40:05.340
 whoever has

00:40:05.340 --> 00:40:07.120
 left father

00:40:07.120 --> 00:40:07.700
 or mother,

00:40:08.539 --> 00:40:09.160
 relatives,

00:40:09.760 --> 00:40:10.280
 or houses,

00:40:10.580 --> 00:40:11.280
 or lands,

00:40:12.420 --> 00:40:12.960
 whoever has

00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:13.500
 left all that

00:40:13.500 --> 00:40:14.140
 for your sake

00:40:14.140 --> 00:40:14.560
 and for the

00:40:14.560 --> 00:40:14.960
 gospel,

00:40:15.960 --> 00:40:17.000
 will receive a

00:40:17.000 --> 00:40:17.740
 hundredfold in

00:40:17.740 --> 00:40:18.280
 this life,

00:40:18.820 --> 00:40:19.380
 and in the age

00:40:19.380 --> 00:40:19.880
 to come

00:40:19.880 --> 00:40:21.340
 eternal life.

00:40:24.660 --> 00:40:25.280
 Lord, help us

00:40:25.280 --> 00:40:25.880
 to embrace that

00:40:25.880 --> 00:40:26.400
 truth and to

00:40:26.400 --> 00:40:26.940
 follow you, we

00:40:26.940 --> 00:40:27.160
 pray.

00:40:27.599 --> 00:40:27.880
 Amen.

00:40:38.260 --> 00:40:38.740
 Well, friends,

00:40:38.780 --> 00:40:39.160
 we come to the

00:40:39.160 --> 00:40:39.579
 Lord's Supper,

00:40:39.640 --> 00:40:40.220
 as we said.

00:40:40.960 --> 00:40:41.539
 I wonder if

00:40:41.539 --> 00:40:41.920
 those who are

00:40:41.920 --> 00:40:42.619
 helping to serve

00:40:42.619 --> 00:40:43.280
 would come

00:40:43.280 --> 00:40:43.680
 forward.