Last two weeks, we've been looking at the book of Ruth.
Two weeks ago, we looked at Ruth chapter 1.
Last week, we looked at Ruth chapter 2.
And this week, we're going to look combined at chapters 3 and 4.
And so as a result, we're going to move a little bit more quickly through these chapters
and summarize some things.
Our natural tendency is to think only about ourselves.
We tend to twist everything for our own benefit.
And yet, we want there to be good in the world.
Everyone wants that.
Everyone wants people to treat each other well.
And we want to be good ourselves.
We want there to be some basis for our ethics.
But why should we?
We've been exploring the answer to that question in the book of Ruth over the last couple of weeks.
And the answer that we've found so far is that God's people are good because God is good.
That God's people reflect God's character.
And in hard times when it's not easy to do the right thing,
when our true character sort of comes to the surface,
God's people treat each other like God has treated them.
And they reflect His character.
So today, we're going to look at chapters 3 and 4.
And the story is long, and we're not going to read the whole thing.
So we're going to summarize some parts of it
and then talk in detail about some other parts and draw some conclusions at the end.
So would you turn there with me?
Ruth chapter 3 follows Joshua and Judges.
It's a small book.
And let's review where we are while we turn there.
It's the period of the book of Judges.
It's a very dark time in Israel's history.
In those days, everyone did what was right in their own eyes.
There's a woman named Naomi.
She's from Israel, but she's traveled to the nearby enemy country of Moab
with her husband and her two sons in a time of famine.
And the sons married Moabite girls, and then all three of the husbands died.
And that left three widows in a very, very vulnerable and precarious situation
without any means of taking care of themselves.
And not only that, but over the course of ten years, there were no children.
And so the family line is going to end, which is a great tragedy.
When Naomi decides to go back to Bethlehem, because she hears there's food there,
she urges her daughters-in-law not to come with her,
because there's no future for them there.
There is no possible way that these two Moabite girls are going to find a husband in Israel.
I mean, after all, who would ever marry a Moabite girl?
And Orpah, one of her daughters-in-law, realizes that Naomi is right.
And so she heads back to her mother-in-law.
But Ruth clings to Naomi, and she says,
No matter what, I am with you, and we are going to die together,
even if it's in the side of a ditch somewhere.
And not only that, but she says,
Your God is my God.
It's nice for Ruth to come along,
but by the time Naomi comes back to Bethlehem, she is angry.
She's angry at God for all of the pain that she's experienced.
She thinks that God is against her, and he has made her way very bitter.
Back in Bethlehem, it's the time of the barley harvest,
and Ruth goes out to the field to glean.
She's going to go after the harvesters to try and pick up some scraps of food left in the field.
It's a very dangerous thing for her to do.
She's a foreigner.
She doesn't have any protection.
She's alone.
And there's as good a chance as any that the Israelite men will sexually or physically assault her,
or they just might kick her out and not allow her to get any food at all.
But she comes to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, and he is kind to her.
He protects her and welcomes her, and he gives her food and water,
and he even, in an extreme act, tells his servants to just pull out some of the grain out of the bundles
and just leave it in the field for her to pick up.
And so as a result, she goes home with a huge haul, a huge bag of grain on her back,
probably two weeks' worth of work after one day,
and Naomi blesses Boaz for his kindness.
And then we wonder, maybe there's hope for them after all.
And now our story continues in Ruth chapter 3.
This is the word of the Lord.
Ruth chapter 3, verse 1.
Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her,
Here's the story from my daughter.
finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies, then go
and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do. And Ruth replied, all that
you say I will do. Now the barley and the wheat harvests are no longer than seven weeks, so it
hasn't been any longer than two months since chapter two when Boaz had shown incredible kindness to
Ruth when she first met him. And remember, we said last week that Boaz went way above and beyond
even what scripture commanded, even what the law commanded in the ways that he had provided for
Ruth. But gleaning will only get you so far. You can go out in the field and kind of pick up the
scraps, and that will only get you so far. There is not a future in gleaning. And so Naomi decides to
try to secure a long-term solution for Ruth. Back in chapter one, verse nine, if you remember,
as Naomi was saying goodbye to Ruth and Orpah, she blessed them and she said, may the Lord grant you
rest each in the house of her husband. Now in that society, their future depended upon them having a
husband who would provide for them and anchor them in society. Now she uses that word rest again in
chapter three, verse one. She says, should I not seek rest for you that it may be well for you?
She wants a secure home and a husband to provide for Ruth. And she has an idea that this husband could
be Boaz. He's been very kind to her. He's been a relative, which means that he might feel some sense
of obligation to take care of Ruth. And so Naomi hatches a scheme. She says in verse two, look, Boaz is
winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. Now a threshing floor was an area out by the fields.
It was a large area of very flat rock, often on high ground where there was a breeze or some wind
going across. And the farmers would take their sheaves of grain after they had beat on them a
little bit to loosen them up and they would toss them into the air and the wind would carry away the
chaff and the stuff they didn't want and the heavier grain would fall back onto the smooth rock surface
where they could sweep it up. Because the threshing floor was somewhat secluded and because that's
where all the grain was that they had harvested, they would spend the night there and protect the
grain. But because it was a place where there were a lot of men alone at night out there sleeping
in a secluded area, that's also a place that was known where prostitutes would come and visit.
Hosea chapter nine verse one says, you have loved the prostitutes wages on all the threshing floors.
Yikes. So Naomi tells Ruth to wash and anoint herself with perfumed oil and put on her cloak. She
probably wants Ruth to be as attractive as possible, but it also, this change of clothing, might be a
signal that the period of mourning is over. Ruth mourning for her dead husband and it might be a
way of saying, I'm available. She's supposed to go under the threshing floor, but she is not supposed
to let Boaz see her until he is finished eating and drinking. Now, Ruth is a Moabite. Remember what we
know about the Moabites? In Genesis 19, Lot's daughter got him drunk and had intercourse with
him and the Moabites came from that act of incense. In Numbers 25, the Moabite women came and seduced
the Israelite men. They whored with them and introduced them to false gods. So, I mean, at this point,
we're getting a little nervous. Ruth is supposed to wash, put on perfume, go down to the threshing
floor, which already doesn't have a great reputation, at night, but only after Boaz has been eating and
drinking. Then Naomi gives her more instructions. She should uncover his feet. Now, if you're reading
this passage in Hebrew, that makes you even more nervous because the word uncover is often a euphemism
in the Old Testament for uncovering someone's nakedness. And the word feet in Hebrew is often a
euphemism for genitals. And then she is supposed to lie down. And just like in English, in Hebrew,
to lie is often a euphemism for intercourse. And Naomi says at the end of her instructions,
he will tell you what to do. Yeah, I'll bet. I'll bet he will. So, are you feeling nervous yet?
I mean, what is Naomi asking Ruth to do here? Here is Ruth, a typical Moabite. They have their
reputations of their own. And she's, you know, we're just assuming, okay, it had to happen sooner
or later. Her true character had to come out. Sooner or later, here we go, a Moabite woman,
once again, going out to seduce a good, upstanding Israelite man. Here it is, Numbers chapter 25,
all over again. The question is, how is Boaz going to respond to this? It seems like he has two
options. He can either wake up sort of groggy and then treat her like a prostitute, or he can wake up
and maintain his own integrity and sort of kick her out and say, get out of here. We don't want
your kind, right? That would be better, I guess. So, Ruth goes down to the threshing floor and she does
exactly what Naomi had told her. She waits until Boaz is in a good mood and has gone to sleep. She
uncovers the place of his feet, the lower portion of his legs, and she lays down nearby.
And as the night goes on, the air gets cooler and his legs are uncovered and he gets cold.
And so, he wakes up. Oh. Turns out that whole uncovering the feet business was just like an
alarm clock, right? You uncover his feet, he gets cold down there in the night air and he wakes up.
At midnight, it says in chapter 3, verse 8,
the man was startled and turned over and behold, a woman lay at his feet and he said, who are you?
It's dark. And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant,
for you are a redeemer. And Boaz said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this
last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do all that you ask, for my fellow townsmen know
that you are a worthy woman. Boaz wakes up in the middle of the night. He feels around down there
for the covers and instead he finds a girl and he doesn't know who it is. It's pitch dark. And he
says, who are you? And she says, I am, first of all, Ruth. Notice this time she does not say the
Moabite. We keep seeing that through the book, but not this time. She says, I am your servant.
Remember last week in chapter 2, when she said, I am not one of your servants, she used the word
for servant that is the lowest, bottom rung of society, the women that were only used for manual
labor. But now she uses a different word for servant. Now when she says, I am Ruth, your servant,
she uses a word for servant that could become a wife. It's a different status. And she says,
spread your wings over your servant. The word wing could refer to the edge of his cloak. And if so,
then it would have a triple meaning. First, she might be saying, it's cold, please cover me too.
Second, she might be saying, protect me. Because remember in chapter 2, Boaz said,
you have come to take refuge under the wings of the Lord. Now she's asking Boaz to be a means of that
protection. And number three, she's asking him to marry her. Because in the ancient world,
when a man spread his garment over a woman, that was related to marriage. And then she says one more
thing in verse 9. She says, for you are a redeemer. This was an official role that a member of the
family took on behalf of needy and vulnerable relatives. There are several passages in the Old
Testament law that explain what a redeemer is supposed to do. Number one, he might purchase
land to keep hereditary property in the family. Number two, he might buy back relatives who have
been sold into slavery. He might track down and execute someone who had murdered a family member.
In other words, the redeemer was supposed to deliver a needy relative from any kind of harm or
misfortune. And so when Naomi sent Ruth to the threshing floor, she did not say anything about
a redeemer. That's Ruth's word. Now Ruth is asking Boaz to function as a redeemer by marrying her,
which will restore the broken family line of her dead husband and take care of Naomi as well.
So Ruth isn't seducing Boaz at all. She's not acting like a typical Moabite woman.
And Boaz says to her, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. Boaz doesn't treat Ruth like a
prostitute. He blesses her and he calls her my daughter. And I think what is happening here is
that the author is choosing words that are intentionally playing on our stereotypes of
Moabites. He's intentionally making us a little bit nervous. He's making us think, oh, here we go again.
We know how these Moabites are. And then he turns those expectations on their head because
these people are good. Ruth is not trying to seduce Boaz. She's trying to take care of Naomi and the
family line. And Boaz isn't trying to take advantage of Ruth. He's impressed that Ruth is showing kindness
to Naomi by her request. And Boaz says something very interesting in verse 10. He says, you have made
this last kindness greater than the first one. This word kindness is the word chesed. It's the same word that we
saw in chapter 1 and in chapter 2. The first time Ruth showed chesed or kindness, it was when she
sacrificially decided to come back to Israel with Naomi, even at the cost of her own future.
Now, Boaz says that by asking him to marry her, she is showing a kindness toward Naomi that is even
greater than the first one. How can that be? The first kindness was a sacrifice of Ruth's future. So
how can Ruth asking Boaz to marry her be an even greater kindness than that? I mean, he seems like a
great catch. He's rich. He's established. He's kind. He's been good to her. He's got a great reputation.
He follows the Lord. Why wouldn't he be the greatest catch in town that she can think of? I think there's
possibly two reasons why he thinks that this is sacrificial on the part of Ruth. First, he says,
you could have gone after the younger men, but you didn't. You came after me. I think that's because
Boaz is probably quite a bit older than Ruth. Remember, he keeps calling her my daughter.
And second, the reason that she is pursuing Boaz rather than the young men is because he's a relative
and because she wants it to be a marriage of redemption, which will raise up a child for Naomi's
family. When Ruth asks Boaz to marry her, he says, wow, I thought you were kind to Naomi before.
This kindness is even greater than the first one. And Boaz agrees. He says, I will do for you all that
you ask for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman. He calls Ruth a worthy woman.
This is amazing because remember in chapter two, the narrator said that Boaz was a worthy man. He was
significant. There was gravitas to him. He had character. Two months ago, Ruth was a destitute woman
from Moab, scavenging around in the fields, looking for food to keep from starving. And now Boaz says to her,
you are a worthy woman. She doesn't have wealth or any kind of social standing. It's because of her
character and her reputation that has impressed him so much. But unfortunately, there's a complication
here. There is someone who is a nearer kinsman, a relative who is first in line. And Boaz tells Ruth
that he is committed to helping her. And in the morning, he's going to see if that nearer redeemer
will redeem Ruth. But if not, he'll do it. So in the morning, Boaz goes to Naomi, goes home to
Bethlehem. And meanwhile, Boaz goes to the city gate. This was the front of the town, the busiest
part of the town. And this is where the official business was conducted. Boaz sat down and the nearer
redeemer comes wandering by. We're not told his name. And Boaz calls out to him. He comes over and
they get 10 of the town elders and they all sit down and they begin to have this conversation.
Look with me at chapter 4. Let me skip ahead a little bit here. Chapter 4, verse 3.
Boaz says to the nearer redeemer, to so-and-so, that's what they call him,
that Naomi has put land up for sale. She's allowing it to be transferred to a relative who will function
as a redeemer. Widows couldn't own property. See how Boaz says in verse 3, the parcel of land
that belonged to our relative Elimelech. That was Naomi's husband. The nearer redeemer is first in
line. So he says in verse 4, okay, I'll redeem it. I'll redeem the land. And it's just kind of like,
oh, you know, that's not what we were hoping would happen.
But Boaz responds in verse 5 with a statement that we can understand in two different ways. He says,
the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the
dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance. Now, most English versions say,
on the day you acquire the field, you also acquire Ruth in order to perpetuate the name of the dead.
But I don't think this is the right translation.
There's two reasons for that. First, actually, there's three reasons for that. First of all,
this is a type of leveret marriage. A marriage when a man marries a widow of his brother.
A man marries the widow of his brother and they have a child to carry on the family name of the dead
brother. That's in Deuteronomy chapter 25. But that was not required for any relative. It was only
required for the brother of the dead man. So it seems funny here that Boaz would be telling him he
has an obligation to do this. I don't know why that would be true. Second, in verse 6, that seems to be
new information. That's something that the other guy doesn't know about. That seems strange. How could
he not have known about Ruth and her status in such a small town? Third, the nearer Redeemer says that
marrying Ruth would impair his own inheritance. But why would that be? There's another version in the
Hebrew text, another tradition that reads, on the day you acquire the field, I am taking Ruth as my wife.
And I think that is actually the correct translation. These are two separate acts. There's a field and
there's a girl. Two separate acts. The Redeemer can buy the land if he wants. He can redeem Naomi's land,
but Boaz is going to marry Ruth. And that might produce an error for Elimelech's family. In fact,
that's the whole point. And then the Redeemer says, eh, no thanks. I can't redeem the land because that would
damage my own assets. I think he's worried that if he pays all that money to redeem the land,
and then Ruth and Boaz have a son, and that son grows up, then he'll be the heir. And then that land
will revert over to them, and then he'll be left with nothing. So why would he pay good money only to
have the land go to somebody else's heir? He would damage his own estate. So Boaz is going to do both.
He's going to redeem the land, and he's going to marry Ruth. Look at chapter 4, verse 9.
You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech.
He has redeemed the land. And, verse 10, also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Machlon,
I have acquired as my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.
He is marrying Ruth to continue the family line of Elimelech. And now Boaz has taken care of
everything. He has, just like he did in chapter 2, when he went above and beyond,
he has gone above and beyond here and given Ruth and Naomi more than they could have ever hoped for.
Why are the people in this book so good to each other?
Why does Naomi look out for Ruth and try to get rest for her?
Why does Ruth show concern for Naomi first, even when she's trying to secure her own future?
Why is she prioritizing Naomi like that?
Why does Boaz spring into action when he sees a need,
working not only to be a redeemer for Naomi, but also to marry Ruth in order to
raise up an heir for someone else's family line?
It's because they follow the Lord.
It's because the values of God have shaped their values, and this is just what they do.
It's simply in their nature to care for each other and redeem each other,
because that is also God's nature.
The word kindness, chesed, occurs three times in the book of Ruth.
We keep saying this over and over.
It describes how God acts toward his people because of who he is,
and it's his faithfulness, it's his mercy, it's his grace, his loyalty, his benevolence, his goodness.
God acts on behalf of his people, not because they deserve it,
and not because he's going to get anything in return, but because that is his nature.
He wants his people to treat each other that way as well.
And so in chapter 1, verse 8, Naomi blesses her daughter-in-law, and she says,
May the Lord deal kindly, that's that word, kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
Naomi links good character with God's character.
Ruth is sacrificially going to care for Naomi.
And the second time the word appears, in chapter 2, verse 20,
Naomi blesses Boaz this time.
She says, May Boaz be blessed by the Lord whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead.
When Boaz accepted Ruth and protected her and welcomed her and gave her food,
Naomi says that was the kindness of God.
And the third time, in chapter 3, verse 10, that we read today, Boaz blesses Ruth,
and he says, May you be blessed by the Lord.
This last instance of your kindness is even better than the first,
because you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
Here it is Ruth again showing chesed.
She is asking to marry Boaz not only because it will secure her own future,
but because it will help Naomi as well and the entire family line of Elimelech.
And Boaz interprets it as a sacrifice.
In his view, Ruth is acting in some way, even though it sounds crazy to us,
in some way against her own interests here in order to help Naomi again.
So here, I think, is the main point of chapter 3 and 4.
God's people act redemptively because God is a redeemer.
People in this story just go around redeeming each other.
Naomi is destitute, but she doesn't even mention her own need for a redeemer.
She sends Ruth to the threshing floor so that Ruth will find rest.
And Ruth agrees and chooses Boaz instead of a younger man
in the hope that he will rescue Naomi as well.
And Boaz redeems the land for Naomi and he'll marry Ruth and raise up an heir for Elimelech.
Everything these people do is kindness.
They just keep redeeming the broken and the hurting and the helpless
because their values have been shaped by God.
Let's stay on this for just a minute.
Look at the way that these three people have been redeemed.
First of all, Ruth has been redeemed.
Look at chapter 4, verse 13.
We're going to keep going here.
4, verse 13.
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and he went into her
and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son.
If we recall back in chapter 1, verse 11,
Naomi told Ruth and Orpah that they would never possibly find husbands in Israel.
In fact, she said,
What?
Do I have husbands in my womb right now that they're going to grow up and become husbands for you?
No, of course not.
This is the same wording, except they're reversed.
It says,
Ruth became his wife.
And the Lord gave her conception.
Remember in chapter 1, verse 4,
Ruth had been married to Machlon for 10 years
and they had never had any children
and now the Lord graciously intervenes.
Deuteronomy 23.3 says that no Moabite will ever be allowed into the assembly of the Lord
because of how they had treated Israel.
But now Boaz calls Ruth worthy.
She is significant in Israel.
She has a good reputation
and Boaz marries her.
Moabites were the enemy.
Moabite women were associated with idolatry
and all kinds of deviant sexual immorality.
Isn't it interesting that Boaz would marry her
and bring her into his family?
Why would he do that?
I think it's because
he was acquainted with grace.
Do you remember Tamar in the book of Genesis?
After Tamar's husband died,
she was cast aside and isolated with no future.
She waits
and she is not going to be taken care of
and so finally she's desperate.
She dresses up as a prostitute
and tricks her father-in-law Judah
into coming in and having intercourse with her
and she gives birth to a child named Perez.
And that child, Perez,
is Boaz's
great, great, great grandfather.
Which means
that Tamar
is one of Boaz's great grandmothers.
and Perez
is in the promised line of God,
the line of David.
Do you remember Rahab
in the book of Joshua?
She was a Canaanite woman.
She was also
probably a prostitute.
She was devoted to destruction.
The Israelites had been given
explicit instructions to kill her
when they entered Jericho.
No one was allowed to be left alive.
But she converted to the Lord.
She hid the spies.
She joined Israel
and Israel's God.
And so instead of being killed,
the Canaanite woman
joined the promised line
of God's salvation
in the line of David.
And Rahab
is Boaz's
mother.
Rahab
is Boaz's
mother.
So imagine the conversations
that Boaz had around the dinner table
as a boy.
of God's grace
shown to sinners.
Of God's grace
shown to outsiders
and foreigners
who did not belong.
Of God's grace
shown to desperate women.
It's no wonder
he married Ruth
and took care of her
because he knew
in his own family history
that God had done
the same thing
again and again.
Boaz married
a Moabite
because God
had saved his mother
and she was a Canaanite.
It's trickle-down grace.
Captured by God's
incredible mercy
it just spills
into Boaz's life
and he can't help himself
he's just acting
like God.
We might ask ourselves
who are the Ruths
in our society?
Who are the people
who are tainted?
They're associated
with a particular sin
that is just not
going to work around here.
They have a certain reputation.
We don't want that
to rub off on us.
They're from a certain
ethnic group.
They're enemies
of the church.
That's okay.
Because if we've been
captured by God's grace
then we love and accept
and include people.
That doesn't mean
we change our mind
about their sin.
We love them
no matter who they are
and we love them tangibly.
Because we understand
that it isn't the healthy
who need a doctor
but the sick.
It isn't the righteous
who need the gospel
but sinners.
Second,
Naomi has been redeemed.
Do you remember
how bitter and angry
she was back in chapter 1?
She had lived
through famine
in an enemy country.
Her husband had died.
Her sickly sons had died.
She had no grandchildren.
She was a destitute woman
with no future.
She told Ruth and Orpah,
look,
I just have this big target
on my back.
God just keeps
striking me down.
He keeps hurting me.
You better leave
and get outside
of the blast radius.
But in his providence,
the Lord has been working
and just as Ruth
has been faithful
and Boaz has acted
as her redeemer,
God is using those things
to redeem Naomi.
Look at chapter 4,
verse 14.
Then the women said
to Naomi,
blessed be the Lord
who has not left you
this day without a redeemer.
See,
now it's Naomi's redeemer.
May his name
be renowned in Israel.
The Lord has not left Naomi.
He has restored her.
Back in chapter 1,
Naomi said to the women
of Bethlehem,
I went away full
and the Lord
has brought me back empty.
He brought me back
without my sons.
But now the women
have seen a change.
These same women,
the same women
of this little town
of Bethlehem say,
blessed be the Lord
who has not left you
this day,
without a redeemer.
In chapter 1,
verse 5,
when her sons died,
the narrator said,
the woman was left
without her two children
and her husband.
And now the narrator
uses the same word,
child,
here in chapter 4,
verse 16.
Naomi took the child
and laid him on her lap
and became his nurse.
Things have come full circle
in a beautiful character arc.
She had lost her sons,
she had been intensely bitter,
and then she began to hope
and God had worked
and at the end of the story,
she takes her child
and she lays him on her lap
that God had given to her.
Finally,
in chapter,
the third way
that someone has been redeemed
is a limeleck.
Or maybe we should say
the family line of a limeleck.
If we go back a couple of verses,
we're in 416,
if we just go back
a couple of verses
to chapter 4,
verse 12,
the people at the gate say,
the people at the gate of Bethlehem,
may your house
be like the house of Perez,
whom Tamar bore to Judah
because of the offspring
that the Lord will give you
by this woman.
This word,
offspring,
is an important word
in the Old Testament.
It's the word
that we sometimes translate seed.
The word seed
or offspring
is a very important word
in the book of Genesis
because it describes
God's promised plan
of salvation
through a particular line.
It's going to be Abraham.
It's going to be Isaac,
but not Ishmael.
It's going to be Jacob,
but not Esau.
It's going to be Judah.
It's going to be Perez
from Judah and Tamar.
God has been preserving
this special line
of redemption
throughout the book
of Genesis
and Exodus
and Numbers
and Joshua.
And it's through this line
that he's going to bring
about his final promised solution
to the problem of sin.
But the problem is
that when Elimelech
and his two sons died,
that cut the line.
And when Boaz
raised up the dead man's name
over his inheritance,
then there's a new offspring
and that seed,
that offspring continues
the promised line.
So look at 417.
The women of the neighborhood
gave him a name.
They named the child
and they said,
a son has been born to Naomi.
That's an interesting way
of putting it.
They named him Obed.
He was the father of Jesse,
the father of David.
And then,
this very interesting story
with all the fascinating characters
and events
concludes
with the genealogy.
And that means it's important.
Look at 418.
Now these are the generations
of Perez.
Perez fathered Hezron.
Hezron fathered Ram.
Ram fathered Aminadab.
Aminadab fathered Nashon.
Nashon fathered Salmon.
Salmon fathered Boaz.
Boaz fathered Obed.
Obed fathered Jesse.
And Jesse fathered David.
The book of Ruth
ends by pointing forward.
Ruth's son
is King David's grandfather.
And King David,
most of all,
represents God's promised plan
of salvation.
Even in these days
of the book of Judges,
of despair
and all kinds of immorality,
God's promised plan
of salvation
going through King David
into the New Testament
is still intact.
He is working
to bring about
his Messiah
who will ultimately
redeem his people.
Amazingly,
Ruth's chesed
and her decision
to seek refuge
under the wings of God
has played a part
in God's redemptive program.
In time,
God's Messiah
would come
to save people
just like her.
The destitute,
the needy,
the poor,
even foreign people
who come from outside
the land of Israel
and come to take refuge
under the wings of God.
This is the gospel
of the book of Ruth.
God's redemption
in history,
in the lives
of these nobodies,
in the lives
of these people
in a little
backwoods community,
peasant farmers
that nobody knows about,
God's redemption
in history,
in their lives,
is a pattern
and a picture
of a spiritual redemption
that he offers
to all people
everywhere
in the death
and resurrection
of Jesus Christ.
He brings people
from hopelessness
to hope.
He brings people
from a death sentence
like Ruth
and Naomi
to a life
of flourishing.
He restores
the poor
and heals
the brokenhearted.
The people
in this story
act in chesed,
in kindness,
because they are
like a mirror
that is reflecting
who God is.
And we are learning
what God is like
with this picture
that's been presented
to us.
God is sacrificial
and that is why
Naomi and Ruth
were sacrificial
toward each other.
Because God
is sacrificial,
he was willing
to provide
his own son,
Jesus,
as a payment
for our sin
at a great cost
to himself.
God provides
for the needy.
We saw that
in chapter 2.
That's why Ruth,
that's why Boaz
provided for Ruth
in the way
that he did
in chapter 2.
God does for us
what we cannot
do for ourselves.
He forgives
our sin
because Jesus
has died for us
and gives us
the gift of mercy
even though we're
completely helpless.
And God
is a redeemer.
That's why
Boaz
redeemed Ruth
and Naomi
and the family
of Elimelech.
He finds people
like us
who are broken
and needy
without any hope
and he brings us
into his family
forgiven
and free
with nothing
to look forward to
but a glorious
future with him.
This
is a God
worth following.
He has
what we need.
He's the only one
who has
what we need
and he has
the one thing
we really need.
God
if you don't
know him
if you have
not committed
your life
to him
let me tell you
he's worth it.
He is a good
God.
If he has
not redeemed
you
the way that
he redeemed
Ruth
or if you're
not sure
then I encourage
you when the
service is over
to come down
here
and talk to
Pastor Mike
or myself
or Brian
or someone
else
we want to
talk to you
and pray with you
and introduce you
to this God
who is so good.
Come this morning
whether you're just
getting to know him
or have known him
for a long time
come to him
this kind
and redeeming God
who we've been
reading about
in the book of Ruth.
Let's pray.
Father at the end
of a book like this
there's nothing
to do
but to praise you
for who you are
reminded once again
of your great grace
the
the power
that created
the world
mixed with the
kindness
and the care
that you show
toward the people
who are broken
and needy
and Lord
we know
that it isn't
the broken
and needy
that
you pick up
along the way
as leftovers
but they are
of considerable
concern to you
we know
that's us
we're helpless
without your grace
lost in our sins
headed for nothing
but destruction
and death
and pain
but at the right
time you sent
Christ
to die on the cross
for our sins
and rise again
in victory
and we pray
that you would
help us anew
to understand
the implications
of what you have
done for us
help this story
to be an encouragement
to us
that the God
that we follow
is worth following
that we can trust you
that we can commit
our lives to you
and that it's also
worth reflecting
your character
in the lives
of the people
around us
we worship you
this morning
great God
and King
in your name
we pray
Amen
to have you
on the
amazing
I