So we're in Ruth chapter 3.
As you're finding that in your Bible,
most likely we have this book from the pen of Samuel,
who was a transitional figure.
He was one of the last judges
that was also the one who anointed the kings.
And the timeline is not super clear,
but it's possible that Samuel talked firsthand with Ruth.
So picture Ruth, who's this young woman in the story as a grandma later,
the grandma of the great King David,
and Samuel now recording for us the story of how it came to be.
I picture Ruth as bashful,
looking back on those sweet memories and her innocence
and the romance between her and Boaz, who was much older.
So it's possible that around that time when she was a grandma
or a great-grandma, Boaz was already long gone,
but she still had these sweet memories of how their romance began.
So let's read now Ruth chapter 3.
And as you hear God's word read and follow along with your eyes,
remember this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible,
clear, and sufficient word given to you, his people.
Ruth chapter 3.
Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her,
My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were?
See, he is winnowing barley tonight in the threshing floor.
Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak,
and go down to the threshing floor.
But do not make yourself known to the man until he has 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 she replied, All that you say I will do.
So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law commanded her.
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry,
he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lied down.
At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet.
He said, Who are you?
And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant.
Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.
And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.
You have made this last kindness greater than the first,
and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
And now, my daughter, do not fear.
I will do for you all that you ask.
For all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
And now it is true that I am a redeemer, yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.
Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you good, let him do it.
But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you.
Lie down until the morning.
So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize her, another.
And he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.
And he said, Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.
So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her.
Then she went into the city.
And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, How did you fare, my daughter?
Then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying, These six measures of barley he gave to me.
For he said to me, You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.
She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out.
For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.
This is the word of the Lord.
You may be seated.
Let's pray.
O God, you are most patient and kind.
And you promise never to break your covenant.
You have gathered us here before your face again today.
You renew your covenant of grace with us.
And we ask that you will speak, O Lord.
Your servants are listening to you.
Reform us.
Amen.
Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, I want to show you today in Ruth chapter 3,
how the Redeemer provides rest for his people.
And I have six observations from this little chapter.
Number one, rest is needed.
Look at verse 1.
Ruth acknowledges that she needs to seek rest for Ruth.
And it won't be well with Ruth until she has rest.
We saw in chapter 2, verse 7, how Ruth had gleaned from early morning until now,
except for a short rest.
So Ruth is tired.
They've come to the end of the harvest.
They've been working very, very hard.
And the however amount of grain they've been able to save up is all they have to live off of now for the winter.
They are subsistence living.
The theme of rest, I think, is just marbled and threaded throughout this entire chapter.
The phrase, lie down or to lay, it's used 11 different times just in this chapter.
And maybe you're here this morning feeling like you need rest as well.
That's the first point.
Isn't it amazing?
Every time you lay down, God built you needing rest.
You know, we could be like robots that we recharge a little bit, you know, five minutes,
and then we go three hours, and we just keep doing that.
But he made us to actually fall asleep, to black out in the middle of the night,
and get the rest that our bodies need.
And when you don't get that rest, you feel it.
Your entire body, your whole soul, your emotions, your attitude, everything feels it.
With the theme of rest, I believe that God wants to humble us, show us how weak and dependent we are on him.
And also, it's a foretaste of the true rest we do have.
I mean, isn't it amazing?
When we are so depleted, he replenishes you.
And you can come to the end of the day and feel like, I can't live one more day.
But yet, you get a great night's rest, and you wake up feeling, I can do one more day.
Or at least I can make it until noon.
I just looked it up.
Like the National Institute of Mental Health, it reports that in America, right now,
about 31% of adults have a diagnosed anxiety disorder.
So next time you're checking out at the grocery store, and you're standing in line,
every one, two, three adults has a diagnosed anxiety disorder.
Now, we're all under the curse of Adam, and there's chemical imbalances.
There are medical reasons.
But also, our souls are going to be restless without Christ,
without resting in the one who made us to rest in him.
So I believe that the two themes throughout the whole book of Ruth are both elevated to maybe the highest point,
you know, the highest point of the drama in this chapter.
The first theme is rest.
The second theme is God's providence.
And I want to show you these two.
So let me define providence.
And children, an easy way to think, what is God's providence?
Just think of God provides.
God provides.
God provides in so many ways.
And then there are times when it feels like you don't have what you need.
Is God really providing when things feel so broken?
Can I trust that God is going to provide?
Can I trust God's providence?
I'm going to read this longer definition up front from the Second London Confession of Faith.
I encourage you, if you can, to memorize at least parts of this.
It's been medicine for my own soul this week.
Listen to this on providence.
The most wise, righteous, and gracious God does oftentimes leave for a season His own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of their own hearts,
to chastise them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts,
that they may be humbled, and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon Himself,
and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends,
so that whatsoever befalls any of His elect is by His appointment for His glory and for their good.
That's your most wise and gracious God.
You can trust His providence, and you will be restless until you rest in God.
Rest is needed.
That's the first observation.
This truth has been known to Christians in every century.
In the 5th century, Augustine of Hippo, from Northern Africa, who then was a leader in the church in Europe,
he included this phrase in his confessions.
He said,
Oh Lord, as a prayer, my heart is restless until it finds its rest in you.
And even when psychiatrists give a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder,
I mean, even in that word, your life is out of order.
When your life is out of order, the weight of God's glory needs to be pressed upon you again,
and everything else will take its place in the proper order,
in response to the glory of God pushed into your life.
That's what you need to find rest, is you need the weight of God's glory,
shuffling your life back around.
Then everything in its proper place, not disordered, will be at rest.
Matthew Henry said,
Be it always remembered that the best for us is that which is best for our soul.
And here's what the Bible says is best for your soul.
Psalm 37.
It's best for your soul.
It's best for you that you be still before the Lord.
Wait patiently for him.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
So Naomi, to me, in this chapter is a picture of a disordered life.
She's restless.
I believe that the grace of God comes through in a life that's being reformed in Boaz,
who's the picture of a man who is delighting first and foremost in the Lord,
and enjoying rest in him.
And from that rest, others receive the blessing of rest in God as well.
Rest is needed.
Do you agree?
Well, then let's move on to our second observation.
Number two.
This is a very important caution.
And if you're hearing this, it's perhaps even God's way of preserving you from sin this week.
Here's the second observation.
When rest is most needed,
and I just heard from many of you this morning,
you're tired.
It's been a hard week.
When rest is most needed,
it is tempting to become restless.
It's tempting to become restless when rest is most needed.
Naomi knows that the land her husband had to leave when they went bankrupt in Israel and travel,
she knows that that land is redeemable through marriage if it's a kinsman redeemer,
because God's law has provided.
He has his providence even in his law.
And here's what God's law says in Leviticus 25.
The land shall not be sold perpetually or permanently,
for the land is mine, God says.
You are strangers and sojourners with me.
If Boaz, to the extent that Boaz knew God's law, he knew that.
Yes, I'm a wealthy, my grandpa was a prince of Israel.
I'm very wealthy.
I own all of this.
Everyone works and gleans on my field.
But he knew I'm really a sojourner here.
This land is God's land.
And if there's any transactions, it's only for seven years until the year of Jubilee.
That's it.
So Boaz knew his place.
Leviticus 25 verse 24 says,
In all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.
If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property,
this is probably what happened to Naomi's husband, Abimelech,
then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
Do you understand what happens?
A farmer falls into hard times and he has no other option.
So he goes bankrupt and he loses the land.
It should be temporary and it's redeemable.
But it has to be through a kinsman redeemer, a close relative buying it on his behalf.
Naomi knows this.
And as she comes back empty and in poverty, she knows this law as well.
And everyone does.
It's part of their culture.
Well, look and we saw actually in chapter 1 verse 9 how Naomi said the correct thing in chapter 1.
Naomi said,
The Lord grant that you may find rest, each one of you in the house of her husband.
Remember when she said that to the two ladies?
But now look at how Naomi has grown restless.
In verse 2 of chapter 3, Naomi doesn't say the Lord give you rest.
Look what she says.
Verse 2,
Should not I seek rest for you?
Is not Boaz our relative?
I'm going to take matters into my own hands.
We can make this happen with Boaz.
So when you are most needing rest, be careful of becoming restless.
Be careful of trying to manipulate what you should be trusting in God's providence to give.
Satan will want to tempt you and distract you and hit you when you are weakest, when you are most low.
It's probably very wise counsel to never make any big decisions when you're tired,
when your emotions are up and down, when there's extra strife and stress.
Instead, we need to remember Psalm 33 and be still before the Lord.
Wait patiently for Him.
Because what needs to settle down first is the delight of your heart.
A temptation is saying something else will delight me.
And Psalm 37 says,
Delight yourself in the Lord.
And He will give you that desire.
The desire of your heart.
That's the second observation.
When rest is most needed, it is tempting to become restless.
And the reason this is so dangerous is because the restless soul acts destructively.
When your soul is restless, you will say things and do things that are destructive.
This is what I believe Naomi does here.
She becomes restless and the words that come out of her mouth next are extremely dangerous.
She says, see, Boaz is winnowing barley.
Winnowing means that he's preparing it to be preserved and then eaten when it's ready.
So he's having the grains cleaned up, prepared.
I picture everyone gathering around like we're about to have a potluck.
And maybe they've got a bonfire going.
The chefs are over there, brought all the extra spices and olive oil ingredients.
And they're ready for a big celebration at the end of the harvest season.
God's law does not command a young lady to go lay at the feet of a man in the middle of the night.
Some have tried to gloss this over.
Maybe they just haven't had as much access as we have.
But what Naomi says is not a tradition.
I believe it's her being restless.
Look at verse 3.
She says, wash, therefore, and anoint yourself.
Put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor.
But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
Do you see how it's a bit manipulative?
You know, she's trying to say, don't let him notice you right away.
Let him be really happy and full.
And you just stay in the shadows.
This is dangerous.
Very dangerous words, Naomi.
You can almost hear in this her scheming of feverish restlessness.
Naomi is now sending out this naive, loyal, young widow, all alone, at dark,
to be hiding around in the shadows, around this big party with a bunch of unknown workers
that's involving a lot of food and drinking.
As a new believer, a foreigner in the land, she's lost.
She doesn't know any better.
Look at Ruth's response.
She says, all that you say, I will do.
That's what she's been doing all along.
She's going to keep doing that.
The reason I think this was reckless on Naomi's part is because it's not even safe by Naomi's own standards.
We saw in chapter 2, verse 22, Naomi said to Ruth,
It is good, daughter, that you go out with Boaz's young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.
That's what these fields were like.
A young woman all alone would be, she would be prey to, you know, to people that would want to abuse her.
Verse 4,
That same Hebrew word for feet in Daniel chapter 10 is translated legs.
So do you get the scene?
If you're in a rural setting, there's no light pollution.
It's very dark.
You can't even see.
Like I said, in the next morning, they couldn't even see or recognize one another.
That's when she was sneaking away.
So picture that pitch black, middle of the wilderness, Israel, ancient times.
She's going to go and uncover his legs and lie there.
Now, I believe that Naomi is also trying to do two things.
She, in one hand, is trying to manipulate what she should leave for God.
On the other hand, she's trying to put all their hope on one man.
All their hope on Boaz, instead of putting their hope on God.
See, she says, Boaz will tell you what to do.
Forgetting that God has already told all of them what they ought to do.
When he lies down, he will tell you what to do.
In verse 4.
But God has already said, you shall not commit adultery.
And when Tamar, a few generations later, was assaulted by her brother,
she said, such a thing does not happen in Israel.
She said, I can't even live with the shame.
I can't be around here now that this has happened to me.
She put ashes on her head.
So that's the context they're living in.
They know what God has already commanded.
And one thing we do is, with our catechisms, we want to train ourselves.
We want to be shaped by the liturgy, as Ken explained.
And the catechisms do exactly that.
So in those moments of temptation, what is my greatest desire?
What is it that God would want me to do?
You can even talk to yourself.
You can spin it a certain way, knowing that it's wrong.
So our catechism says things like this.
Where do we find God's will?
The answer, we know it.
It's so simple, but you need to hear it again.
We find God's will in Scripture.
Well, where specifically in Scripture?
In the commandments that God has given us.
God does not hide His will from us.
He makes it very clear.
He lays out before us the green pastures that He promises to bless.
God will tell you what to do.
Don't turn Boaz into an idol.
Don't put all your hopes on Him and just leave your future in the hands of one man in the dark of midnight.
See how reckless Naomi's instructions were?
They were also very dangerous for Boaz.
Think about it from his perspective.
It's not helpful to him.
He's a red-blooded man, pitch black at midnight.
He's going to smell the perfume.
He's going to feel the cool breeze as the covers of his legs got lifted up.
And he's expected now to tell her what to do next.
That's not helpful to him.
Would Boaz's fear of God overpower the fear of the temptation in that moment?
Think about Boaz has been introduced to us as a man who blesses.
Remember, he shows up on his field.
The Lord bless you to the workers.
The workers, the Lord bless you.
When he had his first conversation with Ruth, he said,
May the Lord bless you under whose wings you have come to take refuge.
Boaz is a man through whom God is pouring out blessing.
Everywhere he goes, he's blessing others.
And James 5.16 says,
It's the prayer of a righteous man that has great power as it is working.
So you see what's at stake?
Putting Boaz in this position of temptation, it's dangerous for him.
His blessings now that everyone is being blessed by,
they will perhaps be dried up.
Now that relationship, that sweet attraction between Ruth and Boaz
would now turn into shame and guilt and remorse.
And even Naomi's own future.
It all depends on a kinsman redeemer.
And this is the one.
It has to be Boaz.
But with this scheming, she's jeopardizing their entire future
by not trusting in God's providence.
Do you see how when we are most restless,
our soul can act very destructively?
You see how important it is that we find rest in God?
God, you and I are just as weak.
Our souls will be restless until we are resting in God.
And what is best for us is what's best for our soul.
And it's best for your soul.
Psalm 37, that you be still before the Lord.
Wait patiently for him.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
And that's the encouragement we have with what actually happens.
We just saw the danger of what could have happened.
But the fourth observation is this.
The reason you can obey this command from Psalm 37 to wait for God
is because God provides strength to withstand temptation.
God provides the strength we need to withstand temptation.
He is good for his promise.
Verse 6, it sets that stage a bit more.
The powerful temptation.
What's going on physically?
Look at verse 6.
So Ruth went down to the threshing floor,
did just as her mother-in-law had commanded.
When Boaz had eaten and drunk,
his heart was merry.
He went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
Well, remember how Ruth is depicted as someone who needs a bath.
She needs some new clothes, and she needs perfume.
She's poor.
She's stinky.
She has no hope of survival on her own going on like this any longer.
Boaz is the exact opposite.
He's got a pile of food, an abundance.
His heart is merry, full of food, and he is drunk.
I don't think he is drunk, and I'll explain that in just a moment.
But he's hard as merry, and he's lying there at the edge of this heap of grain.
She was tired and characterized by scarcity.
He's at rest, characterized by abundance.
And Ruth came softly, uncovered his feet, legs, lay down.
At midnight, the man was startled.
Verse 8.
Another translation for startled is the man shuddered,
perhaps because of the cold of being uncovered.
And he turned over, and behold, a woman lay there at his feet.
Would Boaz's temptation now pull him into sin?
Verse 9.
He said, who are you?
Now, I want you to see in the exchange between these two and this dialogue,
what's going on spiritually.
So the physical setting describes the temptation,
but it's their conversation, the words,
that describe what's going on spiritually.
She answered, I am Ruth, your servant.
Now, what comes next is so beautiful.
She said, spread your wings over your servant,
for you are a redeemer.
That's exactly the words Boaz spoke to her in chapter 2.
You come to Israel, and you have come to take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel.
See, that's, he taught her that.
That image of God hovering over his people,
protecting them, sheltering them.
And now she prays that back.
You know, she says, would you be the one that shows me that type of refuge?
I have come now so that your wings, Boaz,
can be the instrument God uses to protect me and to bless me.
Isn't that beautiful?
One commentator shared how at a restaurant one time,
his daughter opened up the fortune cookie,
and it read something surprisingly wise.
It said, never mistake temptation for opportunity.
And in that moment, what's going on here?
Who are you?
Who is this?
It's dark at midnight.
And she says, spread your wings over your servant.
You are a redeemer.
Never mistake temptation for opportunity.
Look at Boaz's reply.
Verse 10.
He said, may you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.
God would be the center of their relationship.
She wants the blessing of God through Boaz.
He wants the Lord to bless her, whether or not he's part of it.
Micah 6.8 says, has he told you, O man?
Has he not told you what is good?
That the Lord requires that you do justice, love kindness,
and walk humbly with your God.
We don't know exactly what was going on in Boaz's mind.
It may be that God was doing what our confession said,
drawing back to Boaz's mind a previous sin of his.
Boaz appears to be a man that was so humbled
that he is now raised to a more close and constant dependence on God for support,
especially when in that moment of physical and emotional temptation,
midnight perfume in the air,
God would be his strength,
and he responds with words that are equally humble as Ruth's.
He says to her, you have made this last kindness greater than the first
in that you have gone after young,
you could have gone after young men, whether rich or poor,
but instead you've come for me.
So he receives her message, and he's humble,
he says, I didn't say I could have anyone I want.
He says, no, I see your kindness now too.
Now that word kindness, it's hesed.
We've seen this.
This is loving kindness, steadfast covenant loyalty.
It's used in chapter 3 to describe Ruth,
but before that, in chapter 2,
it's used to describe Boaz as showing that loving kindness.
And before that, in chapter 1,
that's how Naomi described God as they came back to God's land.
God was the one who would show hesed.
So do you see now the progression?
It's the land of God.
God shows you covenant faithfulness,
his steadfast loving kindness.
God shows it to Boaz.
Boaz becomes characterized by that.
And now it spills over,
and now Ruth is characterized by that steadfast loving kindness of God.
His hesed works its way into his people.
We don't know why Boaz came to depend on God so much,
or even why God gave Boaz the strength in this moment that David lacked.
Boaz here is more like the husband of Bathsheba.
He's the one who, even when there's, you know,
David's trying to get him drunk and he won't drink it.
Uriah won't go sleep and, you know, violate his code,
even though David fell into great temptation.
So in this moment, God gives Boaz that same strength to withstand.
He doesn't fall like Noah did after the great flood.
He saw God judge the world for sin,
grows the grapes, gets drunk.
In this moment, God's strength preserved Boaz,
and God will preserve his people in the moment of greatest temptation.
His promises are true.
Ecclesiastes 4 says,
Better is a handful of quietness than two handfuls of toil
and striving after the wind.
Boaz and Ruth could both have rest in their soul.
They could have a clear conscience.
They could have a hope of a beautiful relationship
and all that God would do for the nation through them afterward
because God preserved them in that moment of great temptation.
So we too need to be still before the Lord.
We need to wait patiently for him.
Delight yourself in the Lord
and trust that he will give you the desires of your heart.
Fifth observation,
your heart can find rest.
Your heart is restless and it can find rest
in the Redeemer's loving kindness.
Look at verse 12.
It's true that I am a Redeemer.
Verse 13,
Remain tonight,
lie down until the morning.
And verse 14,
So she lay at his feet until morning.
In a very literal sense,
Ruth is already finding some of the rest
that will come through Boaz for her,
even in that night scene.
Why didn't Boaz just send her right back right then?
Well, remember, this is dangerous.
This is a dangerous mission she's been sent on.
Maybe the party's still going.
I don't know if he's in a tent.
We don't have all those details.
But in the purity of that relationship,
she rests and lays down at his feet
and God provides for her.
Ferguson said,
It is because of his trust
that Boaz is content
to apply biblical principles
to the situation,
to his duty,
and to leave the consequences
to the wise and good providence of God.
And Ruth could trust that then.
She knew Boaz is a man ruled by the Lord.
She could trust Boaz's kindness
because Boaz is a man who fears God.
He was obedient to God's law.
And Boaz was willing to both work for her
and wait for her.
He's not sitting around passively,
but he is trusting God.
He's waiting on the Lord's timing.
He would love for Ruth to be his bride,
but only if it's what the Lord wills.
We read that,
So even though they remained pure,
she laid at his feet that night,
there's still an appearance of scandal
and there's still discretion.
They don't want anyone to have a bad image
or a bad impression
of what might have taken place.
And isn't that fascinating
how Jesus comes from the line of women
who are shrouded in scandal?
It's true of every single one of them.
Tamar,
you know, wicked sins committed against her
by her brother.
Rahab, who was not only a foreigner,
but also most likely the prostitute.
Ruth, as we've just seen,
shrouded in scandal.
And even Mary, his own mother.
Mary was a person who was not married
and yet she was large with child.
And they're traveling around
until he's born.
See, there's the glory of Christ,
once again,
that the scandal of the salvation
for sinners on earth.
It's not that God goes around
picking those who have been able to show
they've got it all together.
God's going to just draw to him
those who figured it out.
He comes to be one with sinners.
He takes the scandal of the cross itself.
And there's nothing more scandalous
than to say,
Jesus now,
the picture of sin,
being made the likeness of sin
so that he could pay the price
to redeem his bride.
And just as the hesed,
the steadfast covenant love of God,
it was given through Boaz,
from Boaz to Ruth,
and now from Ruth unto others.
Jesus Christ is the one
who represents that steadfast love
to the new covenant.
The covenant faithfulness of God
through Jesus Christ,
the great Redeemer,
to his people.
Which is the last observation.
The Redeemer,
Boaz and our Lord Jesus,
will not rest
until his bride is at rest in him.
See, we don't quite have
the resolution that we want.
We want to see this couple being married.
We want to see them enjoying life
and living happily ever after.
But there's a complication in verse 12.
Boaz says,
he's already done his research.
He's got his eye on this one.
There is a Redeemer for you, Ruth,
that is nearer than I.
If he will redeem you,
good, let him do it.
So Boaz continues to trust God's providence
and he is content.
If this man will redeem you,
good.
My soul is content in the Lord.
But if he is not willing to redeem you,
then as the Lord lives,
I will redeem you.
This is the desire of his heart
and he will trust God
because his desire
will be satisfied by God alone.
Then Ruth went back into the city
and verse 16,
her mother-in-law says,
how did you fare, my daughter?
I don't know what she meant by that.
Did you score?
Did you get the man?
Did you snag him?
And we don't have the exact exchange
that Ruth gives back.
We don't know what she says.
I'm thinking that Ruth is confused.
You know, she comes back and she says,
well, how did I fare?
I got all this food.
He wants to redeem me one way or the other,
but it might not be him.
And really all he did is let me stay there safely and rest.
And he asked that the Lord would bless me.
So how did I fare?
I'm not sure.
I hope it can be him.
I really, man,
I respect him more now than I ever did before.
Because look at how Naomi replies in verse 8.
It's like the old wise, you know,
mentor giving her counsel.
Wait, my daughter,
until you learn how this matter turns out,
for the man will not rest,
but will settle the matter today.
So Naomi's still very excited.
And maybe what she intended to be manipulative,
what she intended perhaps even to be scheming against God's will,
God intends for good.
And God restores what we break
because he's so faithful to be providing for us in every way.
A few observations looking back at this whole chapter.
Notice how at the beginning of the chapter,
it's Boaz who is at rest.
And Ruth is the one needing rest.
By the end of the story,
it's the opposite.
Ruth has found some rest in her Redeemer,
and Boaz will not rest.
The true bride of Christ knows no rest apart from him,
your Redeemer.
And the Redeemer will not rest
until you,
his bride,
are at rest in him.
Each one of us,
the Lord draws,
and each one has their own story
and their own time in different ways.
Remember that
your heart will be restless
until you find your full rest
in God alone.
He will give you those desires of your heart
when you desire first
his kingdom.
Seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness
and all these things
will be added to you.
The Puritan pastor Thomas Manton,
he put it this way,
under pressure,
when your soul is restless,
it's your faith.
It's your faith that speaks to your soul.
And your faith says to your soul,
sit still,
for God will not be at rest
until he has accomplished
all that he has spoken to you.
You can trust in the promises of God.
Be still before the Lord.
Wait patiently for him.
Delight your soul
in the Redeemer
who provides rest
for his bride.
Let's pray.
from Exodus chapter 6.
Oh Lord,
you have redeemed us
with an outstretched arm
and with a great act
of judgment.
Jesus Christ,
he took our nature
to be our near kinsman.
He became bone of our bone
and flesh of our flesh.
And you have taken us
to be your people.
You have promised
to be our God.
We trust what you promise
in Ecclesiastes 3,
that you make everything beautiful
in its time.
Lord, once again now,
we lay ourselves
at your feet
by faith.
Amen.