WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.679 And turn back to Ruth chapter 4. It's on page 224. 00:00:19.019 --> 00:00:19.580 ! 00:00:19.579 --> 00:00:29.879 Well, the book of Ruth, it appears, doesn't it, in one of the darkest, most disheartening parts of the whole Bible. 00:00:31.119 --> 00:00:36.959 We saw, didn't we, three weeks ago as we started this book, it begins in chapter 1, verse 1. 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:41.219 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land. 00:00:42.200 --> 00:00:49.119 And if you know the Bible story well, you'll know that it's a particularly dark period in the life of God's people. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:55.379 Where there is famine, there is disobedience, and there is dissatisfaction and unhappiness. 00:00:56.419 --> 00:01:11.500 Before the book of Ruth, the book of Judges, it is shot through, isn't it, with the repetitive downward spiral of the problems caused by human sin, of moral weakness, and stupidity. 00:01:12.620 --> 00:01:17.479 And it's a realistic picture, isn't it, of the world in which we live, actually. 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:24.700 And yet God graciously gives us this piercing ray of light. 00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:35.300 This little shaft of light, this book, it's only four chapters long, isn't it, but it's like a small but bright star 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:40.200 in the middle of an otherwise ordinary dark black sky. 00:01:41.259 --> 00:01:43.299 And it twinkles, doesn't it. 00:01:44.019 --> 00:01:52.179 It shines with the hope of God's kindness to his people in their mistakes and in their sins. 00:01:52.519 --> 00:01:55.259 And it gives hope to outsiders like Ruth. 00:01:55.260 --> 00:02:01.200 We've seen the book deal with lots of themes, haven't we, with God's justice and his holiness. 00:02:01.780 --> 00:02:07.040 But unashamedly, we want to say tonight that it's a book that is largely about love. 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:09.099 It's a book about love. 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:18.000 God, in his wisdom, has seen it as the right thing to do, to teach us about his character through this book, 00:02:18.079 --> 00:02:20.719 through a true story of romantic love. 00:02:21.939 --> 00:02:26.219 Of a relationship between this man, Boaz, and this woman, Ruth. 00:02:26.299 --> 00:02:27.419 It's a love story. 00:02:28.359 --> 00:02:32.900 So it says to us, doesn't it, that God is a God of justice and of holiness. 00:02:32.900 --> 00:02:37.360 Ruth wasn't allowed in, was she, as a Moabite. 00:02:37.500 --> 00:02:40.460 But he is a God of great love. 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:48.040 He is stupendously, overwhelmingly loving to human beings who come to him, 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:53.879 even from the darkest places, places furthest from him. 00:02:55.140 --> 00:03:02.099 And in this last chapter, chapter 4, we see that God's love reaches its fruition in her life 00:03:02.099 --> 00:03:05.460 through the love of this Christ-like figure, Boaz. 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:11.219 We see the love of God in Christ, in Christ Jesus. 00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:17.560 And the first thing that we notice tonight is that God's love is a complete love. 00:03:18.379 --> 00:03:21.919 It's a complete love through Christ Jesus. 00:03:23.379 --> 00:03:26.539 Now on Sunday evenings, you're probably sick to the back teeth now, aren't you, 00:03:26.579 --> 00:03:29.719 of period drama, love story illustrations. 00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:31.620 Some of you more than others. 00:03:31.620 --> 00:03:34.140 But you might know Mr. Collins. 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:38.240 Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice. 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:39.000 Yes, David. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:45.379 He is the rich, stuck-up parson, isn't he, who lives down the road in the village. 00:03:45.819 --> 00:03:50.900 And he wants to buy the love of Elizabeth Bennet, who is the main female character. 00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:56.580 Now as you watch the story, you see Mr. Collins kind of squirming. 00:03:56.580 --> 00:04:00.360 And you feel that they just don't belong together. 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:07.200 We know that she doesn't love him, but the parents know that he's rich and they want her to marry him. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.480 It's a marriage of convenience. 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:11.900 And so there's a tension there. 00:04:11.980 --> 00:04:12.960 There's an unease. 00:04:13.520 --> 00:04:15.480 You want to shout at her, don't marry him. 00:04:15.580 --> 00:04:16.319 Don't marry him. 00:04:16.379 --> 00:04:17.020 Don't do it. 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:20.019 And isn't that the stuff of all great love stories? 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:24.719 Where you watch the girl and the guy, they grow together, don't they, in love. 00:04:25.019 --> 00:04:32.259 And then another suitor appears at the last moment to steal her from the aisle, just before they get married. 00:04:32.339 --> 00:04:33.199 There's a tension. 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:43.800 And one of the great things that the author brings out at the beginning of chapter 4 and the end of chapter 3 is a tension in the romance of Ruth and Boaz. 00:04:44.620 --> 00:04:58.120 So do you remember last Sunday evening we were left, weren't we, on the edge of our seats, after Boaz gives Ruth a pledge of his willingness to marry her, to redeem her in marriage, to give definitive security and rest to her. 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:08.379 But there is news of another relative of the same clan, who could be the first in line to marry Ruth instead. 00:05:09.620 --> 00:05:15.899 Now we've watched, haven't we, this pair grow in love together, in their courtship. 00:05:16.360 --> 00:05:24.720 And by now, even the most unfeeling, even the most unromantic amongst us, is desperate to see them together, aren't we? 00:05:25.139 --> 00:05:27.079 Not this other relative guy. 00:05:28.120 --> 00:05:31.560 But Boaz, he is a man of God's law. 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:38.439 And he knows that he has to do things by the Levitical law, God's law, to fulfil righteousness. 00:05:39.280 --> 00:05:45.000 Which does entitle this other guy to have first dibs, if you like. 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:51.040 So Boaz, in verses 1-4, he arranges a public meeting with this other man. 00:05:51.840 --> 00:05:54.660 He gets the elders of the city together at the gate. 00:05:54.660 --> 00:06:01.400 At the gate is where public contracts would have been signed, where goods would have been exchanged. 00:06:01.520 --> 00:06:06.520 It was a public place, so that people could recognise this discussion. 00:06:07.520 --> 00:06:12.020 And he gives this other redeemer the first part of the deal, doesn't he? 00:06:12.019 --> 00:06:14.019 To which he is entitled to. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:19.219 Which is to buy the land from her mother-in-law, Naomi. 00:06:20.959 --> 00:06:25.359 And as the conversation goes, our hearts slowly sink, don't they? 00:06:26.120 --> 00:06:29.579 As we hear that this other redeemer is actually up for this. 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:33.939 We hear the words in verse 4, don't we, at the end of verse 4. 00:06:33.939 --> 00:06:35.860 I will redeem it. 00:06:37.019 --> 00:06:40.660 This other redeemer, he says, yeah, no, that sounds like a good deal. 00:06:41.620 --> 00:06:44.759 Buying the property would have been a pretty lucrative move. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.480 This other redeemer could buy the land and then earn from its produce. 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:51.519 He could afford to do that. 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:57.459 And so the Ruth Boaz dream could be about to be shattered. 00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:03.099 But the whole law, the whole law must be fulfilled. 00:07:04.659 --> 00:07:06.939 And Boaz is clever here, isn't he? 00:07:07.299 --> 00:07:10.719 Fair enough, he says, but just one other thing. 00:07:11.659 --> 00:07:12.620 Verse 5. 00:07:13.899 --> 00:07:20.839 Buying the land will also mean taking on the responsibility of marrying Ruth. 00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:23.060 And fathering her children. 00:07:23.060 --> 00:07:28.040 To perpetuate, isn't it, the line of her dead husband. 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:35.759 So the lucrative part of the deal, the land, it also comes with the lass, with Ruth. 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:39.139 They're not sold separately, are they? 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:49.040 The complete package to be redeemed and paid for holds within it the responsibility towards Ruth and her family. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:50.720 As well as owning the land. 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:56.300 So that makes it a significantly less attractive deal, doesn't it? 00:07:56.860 --> 00:07:57.640 For this other guy. 00:07:57.700 --> 00:07:58.660 Look at verse 6. 00:07:59.140 --> 00:08:00.840 The redeemer at this point said, 00:08:01.460 --> 00:08:03.360 I cannot redeem it for myself. 00:08:04.600 --> 00:08:06.640 Lest I impair my own inheritance. 00:08:07.620 --> 00:08:09.960 Take my right of redemption for yourself. 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:12.280 For I cannot redeem it. 00:08:13.640 --> 00:08:16.540 This other guy, he's got his own family, hasn't he? 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:24.879 And it would cost him to buy the land, which his own children may never receive as an inheritance. 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:29.879 It would have to go to the children that he would father with Ruth. 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:35.120 It's Ruth's side of the family who would be entitled to the property in the long term. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:37.899 That's how the law says it must be done. 00:08:37.899 --> 00:08:41.480 But it's too much of a sacrifice. 00:08:42.500 --> 00:08:44.340 Too much for this redeemer to bear. 00:08:44.579 --> 00:08:46.100 I cannot redeem it, he says. 00:08:46.199 --> 00:08:46.539 Twice. 00:08:46.659 --> 00:08:47.740 I cannot redeem it. 00:08:48.079 --> 00:08:51.740 He could afford the deal earlier on, but only to a point. 00:08:52.779 --> 00:08:55.600 He could redeem the land, but he can't redeem her. 00:08:56.740 --> 00:09:00.000 It's going to actually cost him to do that, isn't it? 00:09:00.539 --> 00:09:01.720 He will lose out. 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:08.860 He can't afford the loss of having Ruth involved in this deal. 00:09:09.540 --> 00:09:10.720 The cost was too heavy. 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:12.860 The responsibility too high. 00:09:12.920 --> 00:09:17.960 The price too great of fulfilling the whole law of the matter. 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:23.360 In the words of the great philosopher Meatloaf in that song, 00:09:23.879 --> 00:09:27.420 I would do anything for love, but I won't do that. 00:09:28.420 --> 00:09:30.200 I can't do that. 00:09:30.200 --> 00:09:34.080 There was a limit to his redemption. 00:09:35.120 --> 00:09:37.879 He's got to look after his own family, hasn't he? 00:09:38.540 --> 00:09:42.660 There was a limit to his redemption, and that limit was his limited love. 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.240 There was no love for Ruth herself, was there? 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:49.379 No affection for Ruth. 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:54.960 So don't we see at this point here, don't we, in the book of Ruth, 00:09:55.600 --> 00:09:59.420 Boaz's love for Ruth more than we ever did. 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:08.120 That where another has realised the full cost, and has not been willing, he is willing. 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:15.340 Where another has a limited interest, Boaz has a complete love for her. 00:10:15.340 --> 00:10:23.440 Where he takes on the burden, and the responsibility of her, of redemption, not just of the good bits, the lucrative bits. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.460 He is willing to fulfil the whole law for her. 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:31.519 Which will mean giving up his rights. 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:36.860 He's willing to pay the full price, with a full sacrifice, really, of his life, isn't it? 00:10:37.620 --> 00:10:40.540 The rest of his life for her and her family. 00:10:40.660 --> 00:10:42.160 It was a complete love. 00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:49.539 And we get a very public declaration from Boaz, of his complete love. 00:10:49.539 --> 00:10:57.279 He confirms this transaction to redeem Ruth and the land, to continue the line of Malon, the dead husband. 00:10:57.579 --> 00:11:00.019 And he takes his sandal off, doesn't he? 00:11:00.339 --> 00:11:01.519 In verse 7 to 8. 00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:05.039 Now I'm not 100% sure on why that is. 00:11:05.039 --> 00:11:09.199 But the passage says, doesn't it, that that was the custom of the time. 00:11:10.740 --> 00:11:17.039 The interesting thing, though, is the obsession in this transaction with witnesses. 00:11:17.659 --> 00:11:18.599 Did you notice that? 00:11:19.179 --> 00:11:21.059 There are witnesses everywhere, aren't there? 00:11:21.339 --> 00:11:22.879 Witnesses in verse 2. 00:11:23.339 --> 00:11:24.699 Ten men from the elders. 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:26.360 Verse 9. 00:11:26.439 --> 00:11:27.740 The elders and all the people. 00:11:27.939 --> 00:11:29.279 He says to them, you are witness. 00:11:30.139 --> 00:11:30.779 Verse 10. 00:11:30.819 --> 00:11:32.959 He asserts to them again, you are witnesses. 00:11:32.960 --> 00:11:33.360 Witnesses. 00:11:33.780 --> 00:11:34.460 Verse 11. 00:11:34.560 --> 00:11:36.360 All the people said we are witnesses. 00:11:36.580 --> 00:11:38.460 Witnesses, witnesses, witnesses everywhere. 00:11:38.460 --> 00:11:44.379 And it shows to us, doesn't it, that Boaz wants this exchange to be totally watertight. 00:11:45.220 --> 00:11:46.440 To be legitimate. 00:11:47.300 --> 00:11:48.460 Completely binding. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:49.440 To be public. 00:11:50.060 --> 00:11:50.759 And recognised. 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:57.960 He wants there to be no doubt in anybody's mind, let alone Ruth's mind, that this is real. 00:11:58.879 --> 00:12:01.060 That he means absolute business. 00:12:01.059 --> 00:12:05.459 That this is not a fly-by-night kind of love. 00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:07.039 This is a complete love. 00:12:08.099 --> 00:12:12.399 He wants the whole world to know about his love for her. 00:12:12.399 --> 00:12:18.860 You know, it's a hard thing, isn't it, often for us to get our heads around. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.139 But God has always loved his people. 00:12:25.340 --> 00:12:26.819 God has loved his people. 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:34.899 The Bible teaches clearly, doesn't it, that in eternity past, say, before creation came into being, 00:12:34.899 --> 00:12:41.879 God was, God the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, made a covenant together. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:48.199 They made a contract to work a great and loving redemption in his people's lives. 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:50.699 Paul, in Ephesians chapter 1, he says, 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:57.360 He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him. 00:12:57.360 --> 00:13:06.340 In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. 00:13:06.340 --> 00:13:10.879 And it would have to be a complete love, wouldn't it? 00:13:11.920 --> 00:13:15.700 It would mean fulfilling his holy law. 00:13:16.540 --> 00:13:21.740 His justice would have to be fully, completely dealt with to adopt us. 00:13:22.480 --> 00:13:23.639 Justice had to be done. 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.280 God's own righteousness has to be fulfilled. 00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:34.839 Responsibility for the sin of his loved people would, nevertheless, have to be taken on. 00:13:35.720 --> 00:13:37.559 And the burden fully paid for. 00:13:38.360 --> 00:13:46.220 And as they decided on that in love, in love they knew that it would mean the way of the cross. 00:13:47.659 --> 00:13:49.799 In love they did that. 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:55.439 God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son. 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:00.439 The Son, in love, he faced the prospect of the cross, didn't he? 00:14:00.679 --> 00:14:05.059 And he never said to his Father, you know, I will do anything to love these people, but I won't do that. 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:07.559 Looking at the cross, I won't do that. 00:14:09.039 --> 00:14:11.159 Not my will, but yours be done. 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:15.779 And God the Holy Spirit, he leads him, he empowers him to go to the cross. 00:14:15.819 --> 00:14:18.079 Because God's love is a complete love. 00:14:19.199 --> 00:14:21.299 He's willing to pay the full price. 00:14:21.299 --> 00:14:27.419 You know, that passage that we looked at with the children earlier, it's a great one, isn't it? 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:33.359 You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things, 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:38.019 such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, 00:14:39.319 --> 00:14:41.740 like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:49.639 The complete price of bearing the responsibility of you and of me. 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:52.000 A price paid in blood. 00:14:52.200 --> 00:14:56.560 He doesn't pay with money, with credit, with perishable things, 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:58.860 but with himself. 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.100 His own blood. 00:15:01.779 --> 00:15:03.919 A complete kind of love. 00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:07.419 Where he loses his rights, he becomes a man, he dies. 00:15:07.419 --> 00:15:10.179 He looks at the prospect of the cross and he says, 00:15:10.519 --> 00:15:12.939 Yes, I'd even do that. 00:15:13.959 --> 00:15:14.979 I'd even do that. 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:19.620 You know, we're so grateful, aren't we, for people who love us, 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:23.039 around us, maybe our family and friends. 00:15:23.479 --> 00:15:25.259 People who love us in different ways. 00:15:25.500 --> 00:15:28.019 People who take responsibility for us. 00:15:29.459 --> 00:15:33.019 But you know, those people, they will always fall short, won't they, 00:15:33.019 --> 00:15:38.960 of paying the full price needed to bring us rest and redemption and eternal life. 00:15:39.439 --> 00:15:44.600 Nothing that they can do, or that I can do, can buy us out, 00:15:44.699 --> 00:15:47.779 can buy you out of your death. 00:15:49.579 --> 00:15:54.879 If you're in prison, isn't it, they offer a price of bail to be paid. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:00.879 But they cannot pay the bail money on the prison of death. 00:16:02.379 --> 00:16:08.600 But God shows his complete love in the Lord Jesus to satisfy our need completely, 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:10.320 bring complete security. 00:16:11.039 --> 00:16:13.159 Only he can take us on. 00:16:14.059 --> 00:16:17.100 Only he can pay the full price to afford that. 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:22.600 He pays the bail money with his precious blood. 00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:25.440 God's love is a complete love. 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:31.019 So what a turnaround in Ruth's life. 00:16:32.399 --> 00:16:38.560 The book, it begins, doesn't it, with misery, with widowhood and death. 00:16:39.180 --> 00:16:41.860 The graves of Elimelech and Malon and Chilean, 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:44.040 they're left behind, aren't they, in Moab. 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:50.920 But it ends, in chapter 4, with happiness and marriage and new life. 00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:53.159 Just look at verse 13 for a second. 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.799 Boaz took Ruth, she became his wife. 00:16:56.279 --> 00:16:58.919 He went into her and the Lord gave her conception. 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:00.799 And she bore a son. 00:17:00.939 --> 00:17:04.399 Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. 00:17:04.980 --> 00:17:06.399 The Lord gave her conception. 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:09.619 There's a black and white sort of contrast, isn't there? 00:17:09.879 --> 00:17:13.659 It couldn't be more different at the end than it was at the beginning. 00:17:13.660 --> 00:17:19.140 And so secondly tonight, God's love is a transforming love. 00:17:20.019 --> 00:17:21.580 It's a transforming love. 00:17:22.120 --> 00:17:24.840 Ruth's love, it becomes totally turned around, doesn't it? 00:17:24.940 --> 00:17:26.820 Because of this redeeming man. 00:17:27.200 --> 00:17:30.779 She's brought into the blessings of his house. 00:17:31.360 --> 00:17:32.300 Of Boaz's house. 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:34.460 Have a look at verse 11 to 12. 00:17:34.460 --> 00:17:37.759 All the people were there at the gate and the elders said, 00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:38.740 We are witnesses. 00:17:39.500 --> 00:17:43.299 May the Lord make the woman who is coming to your house, Boaz, 00:17:43.600 --> 00:17:47.000 like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:50.960 May you act worthily in Ephraha and be renowned in Bethlehem. 00:17:51.019 --> 00:17:53.299 And may your house be like the house of Peres, 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:57.600 who Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring that the Lord will give you 00:17:57.600 --> 00:17:58.980 by this young woman. 00:17:58.980 --> 00:18:04.200 You see, in his house, she had a transformed life. 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:09.039 Her life is blessed with prayer, isn't it here? 00:18:09.940 --> 00:18:11.200 It's blessed with prayer. 00:18:11.799 --> 00:18:15.299 She is held by prayer, by the petitions of others, 00:18:15.980 --> 00:18:20.079 for blessing upon her and Boaz's life. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.220 Saints around asking for blessing. 00:18:22.220 --> 00:18:30.000 Now, hasn't prayer been a driving force behind the circumstances of this book? 00:18:31.339 --> 00:18:34.180 Prayer has driven the storyline. 00:18:34.440 --> 00:18:36.900 It's perhaps not something that we see immediately, is it? 00:18:37.079 --> 00:18:38.779 But chapter 1, verse 8, 00:18:39.980 --> 00:18:43.339 Naomi prays, I think, there for Ruth. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.640 It is a request, isn't it, to the Lord, 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:48.600 that the Lord will deal kindly. 00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:50.679 May the Lord deal kindly with you, 00:18:50.959 --> 00:18:52.679 as you've dealt with the dead and with me. 00:18:52.919 --> 00:18:55.899 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you, 00:18:56.279 --> 00:18:57.579 in the house of her husband. 00:18:58.959 --> 00:19:03.099 Then there's the mutual prayer and encouragement of Boaz and his workers. 00:19:03.219 --> 00:19:04.319 In chapter 2, isn't it? 00:19:04.599 --> 00:19:06.119 The Lord be with you. 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:07.980 And they answered, 00:19:08.099 --> 00:19:09.259 The Lord bless you. 00:19:10.439 --> 00:19:12.179 Boaz's prayer for Ruth. 00:19:12.699 --> 00:19:14.000 In chapter 2, verse 12, 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.900 The Lord repay you for what you have done. 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:20.099 And a full reward be given you by the Lord. 00:19:20.380 --> 00:19:22.579 Then Naomi's prayer for Boaz. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:24.359 Chapter 2, verse 20, 00:19:24.680 --> 00:19:26.599 May he be blessed by the Lord. 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:29.579 Boaz's prayer for Ruth. 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:31.180 Again in chapter 3, 00:19:31.299 --> 00:19:33.859 May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. 00:19:34.440 --> 00:19:35.960 This is a community, isn't it, 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:38.380 of people petitioning blessing 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:41.079 from the Lord upon each other. 00:19:41.079 --> 00:19:45.419 It is a community that saturates events 00:19:45.419 --> 00:19:47.879 and people's lives with prayer. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:52.240 Where God works through this story 00:19:52.240 --> 00:19:53.599 as people pray. 00:19:54.759 --> 00:19:56.779 Where blessing and redemption 00:19:56.779 --> 00:19:58.699 for Ruth and Boaz, 00:19:58.799 --> 00:19:59.579 these individuals, 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:02.259 has come through the prayers of the saints, 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:04.119 even in such dark times. 00:20:05.199 --> 00:20:07.899 So Ruth is about providence, isn't it? 00:20:07.899 --> 00:20:09.639 We love that about Ruth. 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:11.460 But you know, it's also about prayer. 00:20:12.620 --> 00:20:14.380 They're not just sitting back, are they? 00:20:14.560 --> 00:20:16.820 And letting God show them their fate. 00:20:17.740 --> 00:20:19.280 But these are saints 00:20:19.280 --> 00:20:21.740 relying on the Lord in prayer, 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.520 recognising his sovereignty 00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:25.660 over their circumstances, 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:27.180 calling out for his blessings 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:28.840 on each of their difficulties. 00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:33.220 It's a transformed life for Ruth. 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:36.259 Because we get to the end of the book 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:38.400 on the road laid with prayer. 00:20:39.380 --> 00:20:41.079 And now Ruth and Boaz 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:43.400 are showered in prayer, aren't they? 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.539 What a transforming thing it is 00:20:46.539 --> 00:20:48.319 to be in a community of prayer. 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:50.440 Prayer is how things have happened. 00:20:51.680 --> 00:20:53.100 God has worked and blessed 00:20:53.100 --> 00:20:54.779 and brought things about 00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:56.000 as his people pray. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:59.000 God's love has brought her 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:01.019 into a community of prayer. 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.140 And it's a transformed life, isn't it? 00:21:05.180 --> 00:21:06.279 Of purpose. 00:21:07.180 --> 00:21:08.380 Prayer and purpose. 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:10.559 Ruth has been given a purpose 00:21:10.559 --> 00:21:12.779 as part of the kingdom of God. 00:21:12.859 --> 00:21:14.700 The prayer that she would be, 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:15.380 verse 11, 00:21:15.500 --> 00:21:17.359 like Leah and Rachel, 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:19.200 the wives of the patriarch Jacob, 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:21.819 who together built up the house of Israel. 00:21:21.819 --> 00:21:23.779 Ruth has a new purpose. 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:26.460 A glorious part to play 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:28.279 in a glorious kingdom. 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:30.279 And the gift of conception 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:31.500 is given to her. 00:21:32.639 --> 00:21:34.319 God now gives her 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:36.200 a part to play 00:21:36.200 --> 00:21:37.980 in building up 00:21:37.980 --> 00:21:39.700 God's kingdom. 00:21:40.980 --> 00:21:42.159 And he does that 00:21:42.159 --> 00:21:43.659 through her, 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:44.839 through human things 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:45.899 like childbirth 00:21:45.899 --> 00:21:47.159 and relationships 00:21:47.159 --> 00:21:48.799 and family and children. 00:21:49.799 --> 00:21:50.819 He gives his people 00:21:50.819 --> 00:21:51.980 a part to play 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:53.599 in his body, 00:21:53.720 --> 00:21:55.159 to build up his church. 00:21:56.359 --> 00:21:58.059 And through those children, 00:21:58.939 --> 00:21:59.659 Ruth's name 00:21:59.659 --> 00:22:00.859 will be remembered 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:01.779 forever. 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:05.099 Her transformed life 00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:07.039 has permanence. 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.939 That desire 00:22:08.939 --> 00:22:11.119 that we have to make a mark 00:22:11.119 --> 00:22:12.379 to do something significant, 00:22:12.519 --> 00:22:13.279 to be remembered, 00:22:13.679 --> 00:22:15.299 to be remembered forever, 00:22:15.639 --> 00:22:16.139 even, 00:22:16.879 --> 00:22:18.139 comes as we're brought 00:22:18.139 --> 00:22:19.740 into the permanence 00:22:19.740 --> 00:22:21.299 kingdom of God. 00:22:22.579 --> 00:22:24.539 It's a transformed life, 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:24.819 isn't it, 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:26.660 with eternal significance 00:22:26.660 --> 00:22:28.120 and purpose 00:22:28.120 --> 00:22:28.980 and substance. 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:31.539 Isn't that why 00:22:31.539 --> 00:22:33.339 thousands and thousands 00:22:33.339 --> 00:22:34.140 and thousands 00:22:34.140 --> 00:22:35.160 of years later, 00:22:35.319 --> 00:22:35.779 Ruth, 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:37.740 the outsider, 00:22:38.640 --> 00:22:39.480 the nobody, 00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:41.420 the Moabite, 00:22:41.599 --> 00:22:42.079 the widow, 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:43.599 is remembered. 00:22:45.059 --> 00:22:45.920 Her name, 00:22:46.660 --> 00:22:47.859 written in the annals 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:48.799 of God's word, 00:22:48.959 --> 00:22:50.199 people she never 00:22:50.199 --> 00:22:51.139 has even met 00:22:51.139 --> 00:22:51.979 here tonight, 00:22:53.019 --> 00:22:54.019 remember her 00:22:54.019 --> 00:22:55.899 because of God's 00:22:55.899 --> 00:22:57.240 transforming love 00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:57.699 for her, 00:22:57.819 --> 00:22:59.099 a transformed life 00:22:59.099 --> 00:23:00.699 of her prayer, 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:02.240 of purpose 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:04.199 and of permanence. 00:23:05.519 --> 00:23:06.339 And isn't it lovely, 00:23:06.539 --> 00:23:06.719 too, 00:23:06.799 --> 00:23:07.439 that Naomi, 00:23:08.179 --> 00:23:09.240 Ruth's mother-in-law, 00:23:09.339 --> 00:23:10.279 receives the blessings 00:23:10.279 --> 00:23:11.459 of leading her daughter 00:23:11.459 --> 00:23:12.759 to the Redeemer. 00:23:12.979 --> 00:23:13.740 There's an incredible 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:14.359 transformation 00:23:14.359 --> 00:23:15.339 in her life, 00:23:15.439 --> 00:23:15.599 too, 00:23:15.659 --> 00:23:16.059 isn't there, 00:23:16.179 --> 00:23:17.279 in verse 15 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:18.459 to 16. 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:20.399 He shall be to you 00:23:20.399 --> 00:23:21.919 a restorer of life, 00:23:22.479 --> 00:23:23.079 a nourisher 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:24.119 of your old age, 00:23:24.179 --> 00:23:25.339 for your daughter-in-law 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:26.199 who loves you, 00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:27.399 who is more to you 00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:28.319 than seven sons, 00:23:28.379 --> 00:23:29.339 has given birth 00:23:29.339 --> 00:23:29.859 to him. 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:31.179 Then Naomi 00:23:31.179 --> 00:23:32.039 took the child 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:32.799 and lay him 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:33.679 on her lap 00:23:33.679 --> 00:23:35.299 and became his nurse. 00:23:35.399 --> 00:23:36.079 What a turnaround 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:36.799 for her, 00:23:36.979 --> 00:23:37.199 too. 00:23:38.199 --> 00:23:39.199 A son has been 00:23:39.199 --> 00:23:40.839 given to you, 00:23:40.919 --> 00:23:41.219 Naomi, 00:23:41.220 --> 00:23:42.420 the women say. 00:23:43.660 --> 00:23:44.440 Just think back 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:44.819 to the end 00:23:44.819 --> 00:23:45.460 of chapter 1, 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:46.460 the people 00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:47.720 who saw Naomi 00:23:47.720 --> 00:23:49.180 return from Moab, 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:50.980 the scarred, 00:23:51.600 --> 00:23:52.480 tired-looking 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:52.900 Naomi, 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:55.380 now pronounce 00:23:55.380 --> 00:23:56.539 these blessings 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:57.000 on her, 00:23:57.039 --> 00:23:57.420 don't they? 00:23:57.620 --> 00:23:58.940 She is young again, 00:23:59.620 --> 00:24:00.120 isn't she? 00:24:00.240 --> 00:24:01.620 She is youthful, 00:24:01.720 --> 00:24:03.019 even in her old age. 00:24:03.319 --> 00:24:04.660 The years of waste 00:24:04.660 --> 00:24:06.200 and of famine 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:07.740 and of separation 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:08.420 from the Lord 00:24:08.420 --> 00:24:08.880 in Moab 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:09.759 are returned 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.519 to her. 00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:12.360 In Moab 00:24:12.360 --> 00:24:13.200 she buried 00:24:13.200 --> 00:24:14.019 her child, 00:24:14.140 --> 00:24:14.720 didn't she? 00:24:15.160 --> 00:24:16.160 But in Bethlehem 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:16.860 she nurses 00:24:16.860 --> 00:24:17.500 a child. 00:24:18.940 --> 00:24:19.860 Through this 00:24:19.860 --> 00:24:20.500 Redeemer, 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:22.660 the years of the past 00:24:22.660 --> 00:24:23.940 have wasted years, 00:24:24.059 --> 00:24:24.380 perhaps, 00:24:24.519 --> 00:24:25.220 the years that 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:26.680 maybe we look back 00:24:26.680 --> 00:24:27.519 on with regret, 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:28.440 the years that 00:24:28.440 --> 00:24:29.900 we've hurt others 00:24:29.900 --> 00:24:30.900 or we've been 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:31.900 hurt by others, 00:24:32.600 --> 00:24:33.620 the years in which 00:24:33.620 --> 00:24:34.759 we've been scarred, 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:36.460 that have robbed us 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:37.660 of our zeal, 00:24:38.500 --> 00:24:39.660 our youthfulness 00:24:39.660 --> 00:24:41.120 for life. 00:24:41.220 --> 00:24:42.160 they can be 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:42.680 restored, 00:24:42.819 --> 00:24:43.200 can't they? 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:44.500 Even in old age. 00:24:45.620 --> 00:24:46.579 Because God's love 00:24:46.579 --> 00:24:48.480 is a transforming love. 00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:51.559 There's a great 00:24:51.559 --> 00:24:53.480 analogy by 00:24:53.480 --> 00:24:54.360 Martin Luther 00:24:54.360 --> 00:24:55.279 who illustrates 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:56.200 the gospel 00:24:56.200 --> 00:24:58.460 as if a great king 00:24:58.460 --> 00:24:59.220 were to go 00:24:59.220 --> 00:25:00.200 to a slum 00:25:00.200 --> 00:25:02.039 and find a woman 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:03.440 and she's in 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:04.039 the worst state 00:25:04.039 --> 00:25:04.440 possible 00:25:04.440 --> 00:25:05.120 and take her 00:25:05.120 --> 00:25:05.860 from the squalor 00:25:05.860 --> 00:25:06.519 of the pavement 00:25:06.519 --> 00:25:08.059 to live in the 00:25:08.059 --> 00:25:08.559 palace. 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:11.039 And one of the 00:25:11.039 --> 00:25:11.420 things that 00:25:11.420 --> 00:25:12.579 hopefully has 00:25:12.579 --> 00:25:13.079 struck us 00:25:13.079 --> 00:25:13.460 as we've 00:25:13.460 --> 00:25:14.079 looked at this 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:15.039 book 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:16.359 is how it 00:25:16.359 --> 00:25:17.039 deals with 00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:17.700 the very 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:18.660 unexpected 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:19.700 kind of love 00:25:19.700 --> 00:25:20.839 that God 00:25:20.839 --> 00:25:21.460 shows through 00:25:21.460 --> 00:25:22.220 this Redeemer. 00:25:22.980 --> 00:25:23.599 It is a 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:24.119 relationship, 00:25:24.359 --> 00:25:24.619 isn't it, 00:25:24.619 --> 00:25:25.539 that should never 00:25:25.539 --> 00:25:26.079 really have 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:26.680 happened in the 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:27.420 first place 00:25:27.420 --> 00:25:28.940 where the 00:25:28.940 --> 00:25:29.740 excluded 00:25:29.740 --> 00:25:30.599 Moabite 00:25:30.599 --> 00:25:32.059 is included 00:25:32.059 --> 00:25:33.379 through the 00:25:33.379 --> 00:25:34.099 mercy and 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:34.740 kindness of 00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:35.279 this Jew. 00:25:36.199 --> 00:25:37.099 It is a 00:25:37.099 --> 00:25:37.759 redemption of 00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:38.579 an outsider. 00:25:39.699 --> 00:25:40.339 And so it is 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:40.819 lastly, 00:25:40.980 --> 00:25:41.240 isn't it, 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:42.000 and probably 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:43.699 most starkly, 00:25:44.619 --> 00:25:45.240 it is a 00:25:45.240 --> 00:25:46.179 love which 00:25:46.179 --> 00:25:46.759 is an 00:25:46.759 --> 00:25:47.439 unexpected 00:25:47.439 --> 00:25:47.980 love. 00:25:48.899 --> 00:25:49.599 An unexpected 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:50.199 love. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:25:53.000 As the book 00:25:53.000 --> 00:25:53.539 closes, 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:55.359 there are 00:25:55.359 --> 00:25:56.159 reminders, 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:56.679 aren't there, 00:25:56.740 --> 00:25:57.899 that we should 00:25:57.899 --> 00:25:58.959 really always 00:25:58.959 --> 00:25:59.819 expect 00:25:59.819 --> 00:26:01.480 the unexpected 00:26:01.480 --> 00:26:03.159 from God's 00:26:03.159 --> 00:26:03.519 love. 00:26:04.679 --> 00:26:05.220 So in the 00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.579 last four 00:26:06.579 --> 00:26:07.460 verses or so, 00:26:07.559 --> 00:26:08.039 we get the 00:26:08.039 --> 00:26:09.000 family tree of 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:09.460 Boaz, 00:26:09.559 --> 00:26:10.039 don't we? 00:26:10.939 --> 00:26:11.500 And it's 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:12.039 headed up 00:26:12.039 --> 00:26:12.539 there by 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:13.079 Perez, 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:14.559 and it ends 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:15.200 with David, 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:15.740 the great 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:16.119 king. 00:26:17.099 --> 00:26:17.599 Now Perez 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:18.079 is also 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:18.599 mentioned 00:26:18.599 --> 00:26:19.159 earlier, 00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:19.720 isn't he, 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:20.119 by the 00:26:20.119 --> 00:26:20.899 praying women 00:26:20.899 --> 00:26:21.980 in verse 00:26:21.980 --> 00:26:22.559 12, 00:26:22.980 --> 00:26:23.439 as the 00:26:23.439 --> 00:26:23.839 great 00:26:23.839 --> 00:26:24.639 descendant 00:26:24.639 --> 00:26:25.399 of Judah. 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:26.639 Do you 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:26.939 remember 00:26:26.939 --> 00:26:27.519 Judah, 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:28.399 the great 00:26:28.399 --> 00:26:28.859 man? 00:26:29.819 --> 00:26:30.339 What a 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:30.960 titan of 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:31.419 godliness 00:26:31.419 --> 00:26:32.059 he was, 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:32.519 wasn't he? 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:32.980 Well, 00:26:33.159 --> 00:26:33.599 no. 00:26:34.599 --> 00:26:35.240 Perez, 00:26:36.439 --> 00:26:37.119 he was the 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:37.740 child of 00:26:37.740 --> 00:26:39.279 Judah when 00:26:39.279 --> 00:26:39.960 he got his 00:26:39.960 --> 00:26:41.099 own daughter-in-law 00:26:41.099 --> 00:26:42.740 pregnant in 00:26:42.740 --> 00:26:43.659 Genesis chapter 00:26:43.659 --> 00:26:44.419 38, 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:46.220 because she 00:26:46.220 --> 00:26:46.939 posed as a 00:26:46.939 --> 00:26:47.720 prostitute. 00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:50.359 Perez is not 00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:50.799 the kind of 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:51.379 person you'd 00:26:51.379 --> 00:26:52.240 expect to be 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:52.980 on a royal 00:26:52.980 --> 00:26:53.980 family tree, 00:26:54.639 --> 00:26:55.480 and celebrated 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:56.500 as being so. 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:58.640 But isn't 00:26:58.640 --> 00:26:59.380 he one of 00:26:59.380 --> 00:27:00.180 so many 00:27:00.180 --> 00:27:01.220 unexpected 00:27:01.220 --> 00:27:02.160 people that 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:02.559 God has 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:03.059 chosen, 00:27:03.880 --> 00:27:04.480 and loved, 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:05.160 and used? 00:27:05.900 --> 00:27:06.599 Think of the 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:07.079 children of 00:27:07.079 --> 00:27:07.440 Adam, 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:08.940 Cain and 00:27:08.940 --> 00:27:09.299 Abel. 00:27:09.519 --> 00:27:10.920 Cain should 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:11.319 inherit, 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:12.700 he is strong, 00:27:13.359 --> 00:27:13.740 he's the 00:27:13.740 --> 00:27:14.319 firstborn, 00:27:14.420 --> 00:27:14.779 but God 00:27:14.779 --> 00:27:15.619 chooses Abel. 00:27:17.119 --> 00:27:17.680 Abraham's 00:27:17.680 --> 00:27:17.940 sons, 00:27:18.059 --> 00:27:18.619 Ishmael and 00:27:18.619 --> 00:27:18.960 Isaac. 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:19.660 Ishmael is 00:27:19.660 --> 00:27:20.359 the firstborn, 00:27:20.480 --> 00:27:20.900 he should be 00:27:20.900 --> 00:27:21.420 next in the 00:27:21.420 --> 00:27:22.079 family line, 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:22.980 God chooses 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:23.380 Isaac. 00:27:23.380 --> 00:27:25.440 Isaac's 00:27:25.440 --> 00:27:26.300 sons Esau 00:27:26.300 --> 00:27:26.920 and Jacob, 00:27:27.060 --> 00:27:27.700 Esau is the 00:27:27.700 --> 00:27:28.080 one who 00:27:28.080 --> 00:27:28.580 stands to 00:27:28.580 --> 00:27:28.880 inherit, 00:27:29.660 --> 00:27:30.340 God chooses 00:27:30.340 --> 00:27:31.060 Jacob. 00:27:32.460 --> 00:27:32.980 Jacob's 00:27:32.980 --> 00:27:33.620 sons again, 00:27:33.800 --> 00:27:34.540 Reuben is 00:27:34.540 --> 00:27:35.500 the firstborn, 00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:36.320 but the 00:27:36.320 --> 00:27:36.620 covenant 00:27:36.620 --> 00:27:37.780 promises fall 00:27:37.780 --> 00:27:38.380 on Judah 00:27:38.380 --> 00:27:38.940 and then to 00:27:38.940 --> 00:27:39.440 Perez. 00:27:40.140 --> 00:27:40.680 We should 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:41.460 by now in 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:41.940 the Bible, 00:27:42.080 --> 00:27:42.420 shouldn't we 00:27:42.420 --> 00:27:43.000 be seeing 00:27:43.000 --> 00:27:43.700 the pattern 00:27:43.700 --> 00:27:44.820 that God's 00:27:44.820 --> 00:27:45.540 love and 00:27:45.540 --> 00:27:46.240 choice of 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:46.760 his people 00:27:46.760 --> 00:27:47.100 is an 00:27:47.100 --> 00:27:47.720 unexpected 00:27:47.720 --> 00:27:48.320 love. 00:27:50.500 --> 00:27:50.920 And you 00:27:50.920 --> 00:27:51.280 wonder, 00:27:51.420 --> 00:27:51.740 don't you, 00:27:51.800 --> 00:27:52.640 that Boaz 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:52.740 knows, 00:27:53.640 --> 00:27:54.480 whose own 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:54.900 mother, 00:27:55.100 --> 00:27:55.620 we're told 00:27:55.620 --> 00:27:56.180 in Matthew 00:27:56.180 --> 00:27:57.140 chapter 1, 00:27:57.520 --> 00:27:58.420 was Rahab, 00:27:59.140 --> 00:27:59.960 Rahab the 00:27:59.960 --> 00:28:00.720 prostitute, 00:28:01.259 --> 00:28:02.920 who herself 00:28:02.920 --> 00:28:03.520 had been 00:28:03.520 --> 00:28:04.700 brought in 00:28:04.700 --> 00:28:05.800 to God's 00:28:05.800 --> 00:28:06.300 people as 00:28:06.300 --> 00:28:06.860 a foreigner. 00:28:08.320 --> 00:28:09.060 You think 00:28:09.060 --> 00:28:10.020 maybe Boaz 00:28:10.020 --> 00:28:10.540 has learnt 00:28:10.540 --> 00:28:11.220 that lesson 00:28:11.220 --> 00:28:12.480 from seeing 00:28:12.480 --> 00:28:12.920 his own 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:13.240 mother. 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:15.220 Boaz 00:28:15.220 --> 00:28:16.880 understands 00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:17.400 that this 00:28:17.400 --> 00:28:17.740 is the 00:28:17.740 --> 00:28:18.300 way that 00:28:18.300 --> 00:28:19.400 God works, 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:21.240 by choosing 00:28:21.240 --> 00:28:22.200 and bringing 00:28:22.200 --> 00:28:23.420 in nobodies, 00:28:24.319 --> 00:28:25.360 by loving 00:28:25.360 --> 00:28:26.340 outsiders, 00:28:27.100 --> 00:28:28.279 by redeeming 00:28:28.279 --> 00:28:28.720 them, 00:28:29.080 --> 00:28:30.039 by paying 00:28:30.039 --> 00:28:30.700 for them 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:31.759 to be 00:28:31.759 --> 00:28:32.180 amongst 00:28:32.180 --> 00:28:33.220 his people. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:36.840 We expect 00:28:36.840 --> 00:28:37.840 the unexpected 00:28:37.840 --> 00:28:39.360 with God's 00:28:39.360 --> 00:28:39.779 love, 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:41.759 that he 00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:42.980 would choose 00:28:42.980 --> 00:28:44.059 even us 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:45.140 tonight 00:28:45.140 --> 00:28:46.840 to be united 00:28:46.840 --> 00:28:47.460 with his 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:47.860 son, 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.160 his 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:48.660 redeemer. 00:28:48.660 --> 00:28:50.940 God's 00:28:50.940 --> 00:28:51.220 book, 00:28:51.220 --> 00:28:52.279 it twinkles, 00:28:52.440 --> 00:28:52.820 doesn't it, 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:53.600 in such a 00:28:53.600 --> 00:28:54.259 dark place 00:28:54.259 --> 00:28:54.500 in the 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:54.720 Bible, 00:28:54.800 --> 00:28:55.040 and it 00:28:55.040 --> 00:28:55.640 shines, 00:28:56.500 --> 00:28:56.960 and it 00:28:56.960 --> 00:28:57.400 says to 00:28:57.400 --> 00:28:57.560 us, 00:28:57.680 --> 00:28:58.080 you are 00:28:58.080 --> 00:28:58.900 never too 00:28:58.900 --> 00:28:59.920 far away, 00:29:00.700 --> 00:29:01.320 you are 00:29:01.320 --> 00:29:02.060 never in 00:29:02.060 --> 00:29:03.180 too dark 00:29:03.180 --> 00:29:03.880 a place 00:29:03.880 --> 00:29:05.320 to come 00:29:05.320 --> 00:29:05.860 back to 00:29:05.860 --> 00:29:06.180 him 00:29:06.180 --> 00:29:06.820 tonight. 00:29:08.600 --> 00:29:09.500 It isn't 00:29:09.500 --> 00:29:10.300 a usual 00:29:10.300 --> 00:29:11.240 royal family 00:29:11.240 --> 00:29:11.560 tree, 00:29:11.680 --> 00:29:11.960 is it, 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:12.460 but it's 00:29:12.460 --> 00:29:13.000 God's 00:29:13.000 --> 00:29:13.720 royal family 00:29:13.720 --> 00:29:14.019 tree. 00:29:14.019 --> 00:29:16.000 It leads 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:16.639 to David 00:29:16.639 --> 00:29:17.180 at the 00:29:17.180 --> 00:29:17.720 end there, 00:29:17.839 --> 00:29:18.039 and it 00:29:18.039 --> 00:29:18.379 leads 00:29:18.379 --> 00:29:18.900 eventually 00:29:18.900 --> 00:29:19.680 to the 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:19.940 great 00:29:19.940 --> 00:29:20.359 king, 00:29:20.660 --> 00:29:21.299 king of 00:29:21.299 --> 00:29:21.720 kings, 00:29:21.940 --> 00:29:22.139 king 00:29:22.139 --> 00:29:22.559 Jesus, 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:24.119 the most 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:24.819 unexpected 00:29:24.819 --> 00:29:25.400 king of 00:29:25.400 --> 00:29:25.920 them all, 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:27.559 the king 00:29:27.559 --> 00:29:28.119 of God's 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:28.460 kingdom, 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:29.660 who loves 00:29:29.660 --> 00:29:30.980 us in 00:29:30.980 --> 00:29:31.559 such an 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:32.059 unexpected 00:29:32.059 --> 00:29:32.720 way, 00:29:34.279 --> 00:29:34.500 the 00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.279 overwhelming 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:36.480 and complete 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:37.200 love that 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:37.799 he shows 00:29:37.799 --> 00:29:39.000 us upon 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:39.680 the cross. 00:29:41.460 --> 00:29:42.099 So, 00:29:42.180 --> 00:29:42.339 you know, 00:29:42.400 --> 00:29:42.720 as we 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:43.559 finish this, 00:29:43.559 --> 00:29:44.559 but for 00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:45.179 now anyway, 00:29:45.399 --> 00:29:45.759 we ought 00:29:45.759 --> 00:29:46.319 to read 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:46.759 it really, 00:29:46.879 --> 00:29:47.119 we ought 00:29:47.119 --> 00:29:47.679 to read 00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:48.179 Ruth, 00:29:49.039 --> 00:29:49.859 and trust 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:50.559 in Christ 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:52.139 and feel 00:29:52.139 --> 00:29:52.819 loved. 00:29:54.139 --> 00:29:54.779 We ought 00:29:54.779 --> 00:29:55.379 to see a 00:29:55.379 --> 00:29:55.859 picture of 00:29:55.859 --> 00:29:56.339 the love 00:29:56.339 --> 00:29:56.700 that we 00:29:56.700 --> 00:29:58.000 have in 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:58.539 and through 00:29:58.539 --> 00:29:59.000 our 00:29:59.000 --> 00:29:59.480 redeemer, 00:29:59.579 --> 00:29:59.859 the Lord 00:29:59.859 --> 00:30:00.220 Jesus. 00:30:02.339 --> 00:30:02.960 If we're 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.839 trusting in 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.119 him, 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:05.379 I wonder 00:30:05.379 --> 00:30:06.079 how we 00:30:06.079 --> 00:30:07.099 usually think 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:08.579 God feels 00:30:08.579 --> 00:30:09.579 towards us. 00:30:11.139 --> 00:30:11.859 The Lord 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:13.519 judges me, 00:30:13.559 --> 00:30:14.559 it's 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:14.879 true, 00:30:16.019 --> 00:30:16.799 perhaps the 00:30:16.799 --> 00:30:17.319 Lord is 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.339 disappointed 00:30:18.339 --> 00:30:19.000 with me, 00:30:20.059 --> 00:30:20.740 the Lord 00:30:20.740 --> 00:30:21.779 tests me, 00:30:23.159 --> 00:30:23.960 or perhaps 00:30:23.960 --> 00:30:24.720 more now, 00:30:24.899 --> 00:30:25.419 the Lord 00:30:25.419 --> 00:30:26.740 loves me, 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:28.259 the Lord 00:30:28.259 --> 00:30:28.960 loves me, 00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:31.079 because we 00:30:31.079 --> 00:30:31.299 know, 00:30:31.399 --> 00:30:31.720 don't we, 00:30:31.740 --> 00:30:32.039 that he 00:30:32.039 --> 00:30:33.000 means business, 00:30:34.099 --> 00:30:34.659 that it's 00:30:34.659 --> 00:30:35.639 not a fly 00:30:35.639 --> 00:30:36.299 by night 00:30:36.299 --> 00:30:36.779 kind of 00:30:36.779 --> 00:30:37.099 love, 00:30:38.099 --> 00:30:39.019 this is a 00:30:39.019 --> 00:30:40.000 complete love, 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:40.059 love, 00:30:41.180 --> 00:30:41.619 and he's 00:30:41.619 --> 00:30:42.220 taken you 00:30:42.220 --> 00:30:42.579 on, 00:30:43.380 --> 00:30:44.460 to transform 00:30:44.460 --> 00:30:45.059 you, 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.740 amongst his 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:47.779 praying people, 00:30:48.839 --> 00:30:49.259 for the 00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:50.380 glorious purpose 00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:50.960 of his 00:30:50.960 --> 00:30:51.559 praise, 00:30:52.500 --> 00:30:52.880 forever 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:54.140 and ever. 00:30:54.580 --> 00:30:55.980 Let's 00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:57.100 close and 00:30:57.100 --> 00:30:57.740 pray together.