Jesse begat David father God Lord. Thank you for the book of Ruth
Thank you for everything that we've been able to learn from this book
I prayed now that you feel pastor Shelley with the Holy Spirit and help them to impart unto us
Wisdom and knowledge in Jesus name we pray. Amen
Amen, so we've been going through the book of Ruth and just to get a reminder exactly where we're at
Look back at chapter 3 verse 9
The Bible says in chapter 3 verse 9 and he said who art thou and she answered I am Ruth thine handmade spread
Therefore they skirt over thine handmade for thou art a near kinsman
So in the book of chapter 3 in the book of Ruth in chapter 3, we have Ruth asking
Boaz to marry her and that's basically what the euphemism of the skirt is in reference to the fact that she would become his wife
I proved this in chapter number 3 the Bible teaches that the skirt is a picture of a husband's wife
And we see in verse number 12. It says and now it is true that I am thine ear kinsmen
How be it there is a kinsman nearer than I so Boaz wasn't sure
if there was another man that would want her to become his wife in place of him because he was technically closer of
kin and in chapter number four
we actually deal with the subject because Boaz said that he was going to go and
Ask this man if he would marry her first before Boaz would potentially take her on to be his wife
Now looking back at chapter 4 and look at verse 1
Then went up Boaz
Then went Boaz up to the gate and sat him down there and behold the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by
unto whom he said
Ho such a one turn aside sit down here and he turned aside and sat down and he took ten men of the elders of the
City and said sit ye down here and they sat down and he said another kinsman Naomi that has come again out of the country
of Moab sell the parcel of land which was our brother in limilex and I thought to advertise these saying buy it before the
Inhabitants and before the elders of my people if thou wilt redeem it redeem it
But if thou will not redeem it then tell me that I may know
But there is none to redeem it beside thee and I am after thee and he said I will redeem it
So Boaz comes unto this man
He says Naomi who is Ruth's mother-in-law who was married to a limilex
She is the widow and he's saying you have to buy this land of Naomi and he says hey, I'll buy it
I'll redeem it. I'll make sure and take care of this land now
It says in verse number five then said Boaz what day thou bias the field of the hand of Naomi thou must buy it
Also of roof the Moab itis the wife of the dead to raise up the name of the dead
upon his
Inheritance says in verse 6 and the kinsman said I cannot redeem it for myself lest I mar mine own inheritance
Redeemed thou my right to myself for I cannot redeem it
So at first he was all for he was gonna buy the land
He was gonna take it on but then when he finds out that Ruth the Moab itis is attached to the deal
He begins to reject the offer. He says I cannot redeem it now
Let's keep our finger here and go back to Deuteronomy 25 and realize that they're referencing the law here
And I think we believe I believe I looked at this in chapter number three as well
But I want us to look at it again for a couple reasons
It's actually quoted here in the book of Ruth the portion of the law that we're gonna be reading but it says in
Deuteronomy look at chapter 25 verse number 5 the Bible reads if brethren dwell together and
One of them died and have no child the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger
her husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to wife and perform the duty of a
Husband's brother unto her and it shall be that the firstborn which he beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother
Which is dead that his name be not put out of
Israel and if the man like not to take his brother's wife
Then let the brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders and say my husband's brother refuses to raise up unto his brother
A name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of my husband's brother
Then the elders of a city shall call him and speak unto him and if he stand to it and say I like not to
take her then shall his brother's wife come unto him and the presence of the elders and lose his shoe from off his foot and
Spit in his face and she'll answer and say so shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house
And his name shall be called in Israel the house of him that hath his shoe loose now, that's some hard preaching right there
She's spitting mad. She's gonna rip off his shoes. She's gonna call him out in front of the elders now according to the law
It was the woman that was supposed to come under the man and she was supposed to confront him and if he was not
Willing to marry her in the presence of the elders. She was the one to take the shoe off
She was the one to spit in his face and she's the one to pronounce this judgment against him
So when we look at the book of Ruth
There is a slight variation in that in the fact that Boaz goes ahead and does it for Ruth?
But Ruth obviously in chapter number three taking off of Boaz's shoe
Signifies the fact that she's willing to perform such an action. That's basically what she's asking and a sense
She's saying hey, this is what the law commands. I'm trying to follow God's commandments, but notice what it says here in verse number
Five it says the if brethren dwell together and one of them die and have no child
It says the wife of the dead so it's describing this person as the wife of the dead
Keep your finger and go back to Ruth chapter number four and look what it says also in verse five
It says then Boaz
What day thou buys the field of the hand of Naomi thou must buy it also the of Ruth the mobitis
The wife of the dead so it's referencing that same person
It's the exact same scenario, but notice this kinsman does not want to marry Ruth for whatever reason we don't know why
Specifically this person didn't want to marry Ruth, but he does not want to raise up seed on his brethren
We see other people in the Bible do something very similar
Onan does not want to raise up seed unto his brethren. He spills the seed on the ground
God calls him wicked and destroys him and kills him. Okay, so for whatever reason this guy doesn't want his
To raise up seed unto somebody else and really I think when we look at that is probably just out of selfish
You know means you know, they don't want to do something selfless
They don't want to do all the work and somebody else get the credit
But that's the Christian life. The Christian life is one where we shouldn't be in it for vainglory
We shouldn't be in it just to put our name on the front of things
You know when you go to a church and you serve a church a lot of times maybe only the leadership gets recognition
You know, maybe only the pastor the deacon or the employees or someone that does the song leading
But we all know that a lot of people do a lot of work when it comes to the church
There's people that clean the building. There's people that do all kinds of works. They organize things. They tidy things
They give up their money. They give up their time. I mean when we look at that soul winning number in the bulletin
That's not one person's effort there
That's a whole body of believers doing a lot of work to serve the Lord
And in fact, you know one of the positions in the Bible a deacon a deacon is a servant and by nature
The deacon is not going to get very much recognition
The deacon is not going to be the one who everybody thinks of and gets a lot of honor and glory in this life
But God is going to greatly reward that person a position of a deacon is one of great value
It's one of great admiration the Bible says if you want to be great in the Bible
You're supposed to be a servant of all it's not about getting vainglory
And so if you want to be a pastor just because you want your name on a business card
You you shouldn't be a pastor. Yeah. Yeah the reason in fact, it's not worth it either, you know
If that was what I was really aiming for I would quit tomorrow because look it's not worth it
You know having that name on the business card
Look, you can just go start a business and put your name on a business card. I know a guy
He's a single guy
He can't even hold down a job and he has business cards with his name on it and it's like what are you doing?
You know, that's a different story but the reality is that one of a Christian life is not all about vainglory
It's not all about getting your name attached to it. How many thousands and
Hundreds of great Christians have existed in the last two thousand years and we have no idea who they are
You know what?
I bet they're shining bright in heaven and when it comes to the
Judgment seat of Christ when we're gonna be rewarded according to our works. It's not gonna be all the titles that you had
It's not gonna be all the business cards with your name on it
It's not gonna be all the vainglory that men saw it's gonna be the works that you did and
The person that's going to be rewarded is not the person whose name this child was in honor of
Rather it's gonna be the person that did the works. That's the one that's gonna get the recognition
That's the one who's gonna get the honor now notice though. We're following the law
He wants to raise up, you know a seed in the name of the dead
and so that's the point of Ruth chapter number three reason for it, it's really it's really a
Fulfillment of those
Commandments and in fact if it wasn't a fulfillment here when you read the Old Testament law
You're like what that story made no sense. That's why would you rip off the shoe? Why are you calling it? You know his house?
Shoes loose, but there's also a lot of spiritual significance that we can draw from a lot of these
Stories and things that we're reading here and and I want to do that
But let's read a few more verses and then we're gonna get in some deeper
Meanings that we have here written in this story, but it says in verse 7 now
this was the manner and former time in Israel concerning redeeming and
concerning changing for to confirm all things a man plucked off a shoe and gave it to his neighbor and this was a
testimony in
Israel says in verse 8 therefore the kinsmen said unto Boaz buy it for thee so he drew off a shoe
So the kinsmen ends up deciding he doesn't want it. He takes off issue voluntarily and says unto Boaz you can buy it
Okay. Now I believe that there's a lot of great symbolism here that I want to look at when we're talking about this
But we're talking about redemption. What is redemption? What is something that is redeemed if you look at the root word redeem?
It means to gain or to regain something by purchase unto yourself
So I'm gaining something or I'm regaining something by buying it unto myself. That's what it would mean to redeem something
Obviously we think of a token or a coupon being redeemed you're using it
You're spending it and redeeming it unto yourself
and in this context
We have the land of Elimelech and we have most the mobitis Ruth being redeemed unto whom
Boaz he's buying it unto himself
Now go to Luke chapter number one go to Luke chapter one. This is one of the first places. I want to look to but
consistently throughout the book of Ruth
Boaz is picturing God. He's picturing the Lord Jesus Christ
He is that constant symbol and Ruth is often symbolizing us as unbelievers or specifically the Gentiles
There's a lot of different analogies that we have there
but in this case
We have both just the unsaved being redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ and we have the Gentiles
Being redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ of which Ruth pictures both
But we have in Luke chapter number one
We have the significance that the Lord Jesus Christ redeems us now. It says in Luke chapter 1 look at verse 63
Let's read a portion of this
Says in Luke chapter 1 verse 63
and he asked for a writing table and wrote saying his name is John and they marveled all and his mouth was open immediately and
His tongue loose and he spake and praise God. So this is Zacharias
He is the father of John the Baptist and he couldn't speak because he didn't believe the angel at first
but he's now able to speak because his son is gonna be born and his name is John and
It's John the Baptist and it says in verse 65
This is him preaching and fear came on all that dwelt round about them and all these sayings were noise
abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea and all they that heard them laid
them up in their hearts saying what man or child shall this be and the hand of Lord was with him and
his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost and
Prophesied saying blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he hath visited and
redeemed his people and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as
He spake by the mouth of his holy prophets
Which have been since the world began that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all that hate us
To perform the mercy of her promise to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant the oath which he sware to our father
Abraham that he would grant unto us that we've been delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear and
Holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life
So Zacharias prophesies about the Lord Jesus Christ that he is going to redeem
His people that the Savior the Lord Jesus Christ the one in whom John the Baptist is going to be pointing to the guy that
he's going to be
Building up to that. He's teaching people about this Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ is going to redeem his people
Now some people would take this phrasing they say all see, you know, he's just the Savior of physical Israel
He's just the Savior of the Jews
But we're gonna keep comparing spiritual spiritual and realize that his people is those that believe in him
That's the the ones that are his people
Okay
Now go to the end of Luke go to the end of Luke because it starts by telling us that Jesus Christ is going to redeem
What does that mean? He's going to gain or regain a possession by purchasing it unto himself
Isn't he and that's exactly what he did
He bought and paid for all of our sins so that he can rightly have us unto himself
Look at Luke chapter number 24 and look at verse 17
The Bible says in verse 17 and he said unto them what manner of communications are these that you have said?
That you have one to another as you walk and are sad so this is Jesus on the walk to Emmaus
He's asking two guys
Why are you guys sad and one of them whose name was Cleopas answered said on him?
Aren't thou only a stranger in Jerusalem and has not known the things which are come to pass there in these days
And he said in him what things and they he's like trolling them. It's kind of funny
They said concerning Jesus of Nazareth
which was a prophet mighty indeed and word before God and all the people and now the chief priests and our rulers delivered him
To be condemned to death and have crucified him
but we trusted that it had been he which should have
Redeemed Israel and beside all this today is the third day since these things were done
So notice they were thinking that Jesus Christ was going to do what redeem?
Israel redeem Israel now
Here's their their thinking though. They thought that the redemption was physical
They thought that the Lord Jesus Christ was gonna somehow redeem them from the Romans
He was going to purchase or regain them from the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom
Right then and there and they were gonna rule and reign and from then on Jesus Christ is gonna be their king on a physical
Reign then but they're like he got crucified
I thought I thought this guy was gonna redeem us and then see what does Jesus say in verse 25?
Then he said unto them Oh fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken
Ought not Christ have suffered these things and to enter into his glory. So he's saying look you're missing out
It's both now notice the way he words this he doesn't say that they're wrong. He says
Believe all that the prophets is book. So is Jesus Christ going to physically rule and reign. Is he really going to redeem them?
Yeah, he's gonna do both but you have to believe all of the scripture
You have to understand that he must needs first have suffered. He must first have died on the cross
Why in order to redeem our souls in order for us to be able to be purchased in order to go unto heaven?
Go if you would to Romans chapter number eight, we're gonna turn in the right in our Bibles Romans chapter number eight
So we see that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer just like Boaz is the one to redeem Ruth
Jesus Christ is the one to redeem us now. It says in Romans chapter number eight. Look at verse number three
Romans chapter number eight
Look at verse number three the Bible reads for what the law could not do and that it was weak through the flesh
God sending his own son and the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin
Condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh
But after the spirit now, what does it say in verse number three it says for what the law
could not
Do could the law redeem us unto the Lord Jesus Christ?
No, it could not now keep your finger back to Ruth go back to Ruth
The Bible makes it crystal clear that the law
Nobody could be redeemed that that was no way for us in order to be saved
That it was not possible that we could go to heaven based on the law
I mean, there's there's mountains of scriptures that say this but it's interesting how it's worded in Ruth
Look at what it says in verse number six again, and the kinsmen said I cannot redeem it for myself
Lest I mar my own inheritance redeem thou my right to thyself for I cannot redeem it that first kinsmen
According to the law, right? Isn't he a picture of the law? I mean they're going on to him
They're gonna have Ruth redeemed by this law, but he cannot redeem them
He needs somebody else to redeem him. That's like the law
We cannot be redeemed by that first kinsmen the law. We need a second Savior
We need Boaz to come in and redeem us. The law is never going to be able to get us saved
It is Boaz the Lord Jesus Christ that's going to be the one to come and redeem us
Okay, go back if you would to Romans chapter number seven now and think about this though when we read in the law
After the guy that had his shoe loose
Did it say anybody else had to come and redeem that wife of the dead?
No, so Boaz is showing kindness under Ruth
Above the law. He's going beyond what the commandments of the law are to redeem Ruth
Just like the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord Jesus Christ is just in sending us all to hell if I got what I deserved
I would go to hell and if Ruth got what she deserved
She would have been rejected by the first kinsmen and moved on with her life
She would have not been able to have the inheritance
She would have been left as a stranger of the children of Israel
There would have been no man in order to have redeemed them
But Boaz is coming and redeeming Ruth just like us just like the Gentiles the Lord
Jesus Christ didn't want to let us just go without forever. No, he wants to redeem us back unto himself now
Look at Romans chapter 7 verse 1
No, you're not brethren for I speak to them that know the law
How that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth for the woman which hath an husband
Is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth
But if the husband be dead she is loosed from the law of her husband
So then if while her husband liveth she be married to another man
She shall be called an adulteress
But if her husband be dead she is free from that law so that she is no adulteress though
She'd be married to another man
Wherefore my brethren ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ that ye should be married to another
Even to him who is raised from the dead that we should bring forth fruit unto God
So the Bible is also giving us another strong analogy here saying that
Salvation us being redeemed by God is a picture of marriage. How is that picture of marriage?
Well, if a woman is married to a husband
She would be an adulteress to be married to another husband while that first husband is alive
so in order for her to be married to another the first husband has died and
Now she's no longer under the bondage of that first husband
She can now be married unto whomsoever she wants and she's gonna then be married into another we were
Technically in a sense married to the law. We're married to God's commandments in the sense that hey
No matter what person you are if you believe in Jesus Christ or not. You started out being under the law
We're all under the law the people there without Jesus Christ. They will be punished according to the law
I don't care if you're Jew Gentile Hindu Buddhist
I don't care what you are at the end of the day
You would stand before God unless you die to that husband and you marry another husband
Which is Jesus Christ and the moment that you're dead from the law and you're married unto Jesus Christ
Now you're saved is what the Bible's teaching just like Ruth who is a widow. She is dead now
She's gonna marry another whom is that Boaz Boaz is gonna be her new husband
Another picture of the marriage that we have unto the Lord Jesus Christ
Now go view would to Galatians chapter number three Galatians 7 3. So we're building on the idea of what being redeemed
Being redeemed being purchased on yourself and the bridegroom is one who purchases the bride
It's in fact when you study the Old Testament law
The husband has to give a dowry in order to buy that bride. He's buying the bride
It's his to be purchased and the Lord Jesus Christ
He bought and paid for us and the earnest payment that we receive is the Holy Ghost
Look at Ephesians. I'm sorry Galatians. We're gonna go to Ephesians moment. Look at Galatians chapter 3 verse number 11
And he I'm sorry. I'm an Ephesians Galatians chapter 3 verse 11
But that no man is justified by the law and the sight of God it is evident for the just shall live by faith
And the law is not a faith but the man that doeth them shall live in them
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us
For it is written cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles
Through Jesus Christ that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. So we see very clearly in
Galatians chapter 3 that when you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you receive the promise that was given unto Abraham and
Specifically it's to the Gentiles. Isn't that isn't it emphasizing the Gentiles here now who is wrote Ruth Ruth is a Moabitess
She's a Gentile. She received that blessing and she was redeemed by Boaz just like we are redeemed by
Christ what so that we can receive that blessing of Abraham
So we have the same picture here. Look at chapter 4
and look at verse 4
Chapter 4 verse 4
But when the fullness of the time was come
God sent for this son made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were under the law
That we might receive the the adoption of sons
So notice he's redeeming us from what he's redeeming us from being under the law
We're dead to the law once we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we're married unto another we're married under the Lord Jesus Christ
We're no longer under the bondage of the law, which is what that we'd be cursed
Now some people get confused in this when it means that you're not under the law
It specifically means you're not under the curse of the law. It does not mean that God's laws just somehow no longer apply
Obviously and I've taught a whole sermon on this
It's entitled married to another in the fact that no matter what husband you're married to
They're gonna probably have a lot of the very similar commandments in the sense that hey don't commit adultery on me make sandwiches
You know, okay just things that are very similar right just things that just apply to every marriage
Okay, and the same applies with the Lord Jesus Christ. Hey thou should not kill that's Old Testament
That's New Testament, you know thou should not steal thou should not bear false witness. There's virtually no change
Okay, but I guess in the Old Testament they had a kosher diet
He had the first wife, you know, the first husband's kosher and then the second he likes all creatures. He's great
He's like come on bring on that bacon, you know, I'm not I'm not allergic to this stuff
You know, come on bring on the sausage and the bacon and the ham and all, you know
So we see there could be a little bit of difference there and the New Testament explains those differences
But specifically to not be under the law means you're not under the curse of the law. That's what Christ had redeemed us
From okay, go to Ephesians chapter 1 go to Ephesians chapter 1 just flip the page
So we're building on this fact that God
Redeemed us through his son the Lord Jesus Christ. We were purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ
He purchased us unto himself is what the Bible says now look at Ephesians chapter 1 verse 12
The Bible says that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted in Christ and whom he also
Trusted after that you hear the word of truth the gospel of salvation and whom also after that you believe you're sealed
With that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchase possession
Under the praise of his glory so the Bible even defines for us what redemption is it's what it's that purchased
Possession is exactly the definition that I gave you from the dictionary. What's a possession? It's something that you own
What's the purchase the fact that you bought it?
So you either gained or regained a possession unto yourself through purchasing it the Lord Jesus Christ
Purchased us through his blood he bought and paid for us fully
so that he could redeem us now the
Earnest that's what you put down is just a promise that you will buy it
So technically the transaction hasn't been fully exercised in a sense because we still have the old man
We still have that old body
So we haven't technically been fully purchased only the earnest payment has been put down that earnest payment is the Holy Ghost
The moment you believe you receive that earnest which is the Holy Ghost
But one day our bodies will be fully redeemed
It'll be the fully purchased possession our incorruptible bodies, which were put I'm sorry
Our corruptible bodies which were put into the ground will come up out
Incorruptible and forever will be with the Lord. Okay, so that's basically what the Bible is teaching in these portions
Look at go back to Ruth for a moment, and I want to look at a few more things
Look at Ruth
Chapter number four. So while we have this really cool story and it looks at different aspects of the law
It really has a lot of prophetic
Significance it really teaches us a lot of different things that happened
In in the Bible and we're gonna look at a few more here, but look at verse number nine again, okay
It says in verse nine and Boaz said in the elders and in all the people your witnesses this day
That I have bought all that was a limilex and all that was chileans and Malons of the hand of Naomi
Moreover Ruth the mobite is the wife of Malon have I purchased to be my wife
to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren and
From the gate of his place. You're witnesses this day
So notice that Boaz is wanting to what he's wanting to make it clear
I bought and paid for Ruth
But notice what he then he's telling them you guys are witnesses makes me just think of what soul winning the gospel
Right. In fact in the New Testament at the Lord Jesus Christ buys our
Salvation, let's go to Acts chapter 1 go to Acts chapter 1, right?
Isn't what happened? He just now bought and paid for it. What happens right after Jesus Christ buys all of our sins
He went down to hell he's come back out. It's the resurrection of Jesus Christ
What is he gonna say unto all the people that saw him being resurrected?
What does it say in Acts chapter number one?
Let's get a little bit of a context here
It says in verse number four and being assembled together with them
Commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem
But wait for the promise of the Father which saith he have heard of me for John truly baptized with water
But ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence when they therefore were come together
They asked of him saying Lord wilt out this time restore again the kingdom of Israel and he said unto them
It is not for you to know the times of the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power
but ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be
Witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem and all Judea and in Samaria and to the uttermost part of the earth
So just like Boaz the moment that he buys and pays for Ruth
He's telling all them you guys are witnesses the same the Lord Jesus Christ after he's bought and paid for us
all he's telling his disciples you guys are witnesses and they're supposed to go out into all the world and what preach the gospel
Preach that what Jesus Christ has already bought and paid for us
So just like they would go out and preach that hey Ruth's been bought by Boaz that's signifying
What the Gentiles have been bought by Jesus Christ or specifically?
Hey, just any unbeliever you've been bought and paid for by Jesus Christ
We just trust and what he already bought and paid for go back to Ruth chapter number four go back to Ruth chapter number four
So just like Boaz bought and paid for Ruth Jesus Christ bought and paid for all of our sins
It was nothing that had to do with what Ruth Ruth didn't chip in a few bucks Ruth, you know
Isn't you know doing some extra works here Ruth? In fact has no say really it's just but we do notice this
Why did Boaz marry Ruth didn't she come and ask him
Didn't she go unto him and ask him spread therefore thy skirt upon thine handmaid
If you seek me, he shall find me for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord
Shall be saved, right? So she came unto Boaz. She asked him and what do you do?
He bought and paid for because as soon as you call upon the name of the Lord in faith
Believing he's gonna save you and so it's just another picture of how the gospel works. It's in every single page
That's why I always think though the walk to Emmaus and like that
He just read the whole Bible to her because I'm just like I don't know what story is not about Jesus Christ
They're all about Jesus Christ every single verse every single line. It seems like
But look at verse number
13
Or I back up I think verse 12, I don't think we read this one
11 I'm just all over the place
All right, forgive me and all the people that were in the gate and the elders said we are witnesses
That's a soul wing attitude right there
The Lord make the woman that is coming to thine house like Rachel and like Leah
which to did build the house of Israel and do thou worthily and Ephrata and be famous and
Bethlehem so we see Rachel and Leah were the wives of Jacob the wives of Israel who's later named
Israel and they built the twelve tribes essentially now technically even their handmaids had a part in that but it was under their name
In a sense. So these are the two women that build the the children of Israel and obviously through the children of Israel
We have many different kings. We have all kinds of different people groups that are mentioned throughout the Bible and they're very famous
Okay, look at verse 12 and
Let thy house be like to the house of Phares whom Tamar bear unto Judah of the seed
Which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman now, it's interesting
They start out by just kind of giving honor and praise unto both women of all the children of Israel
But then they highlight one tribe, don't they they highlight the tribe of Judah and specifically
His child that's born of Tamar now when you read the story
It's it's it's weird. Okay
It's it's a it's basically his daughter-in-law who pretends to be a harlot and he fathers a child through her
Which just tells me that no matter what your past is. God can still use you
I mean when you think about that historical line and notice that he's highlighting this line
Why because we know that that lineage is gonna bring us a very special person the Lord Jesus Christ
It's not a coincidence that Boaz just happens to be one of the greatest pictures of Jesus Christ
He's the exact lineage of Jesus Christ. And if you look at the lineage of Jesus Christ, you know
It's constantly great pictures of Jesus Christ. Those are the lineage David
Boaz
Abraham I mean, it's just all the archetypes are leading up to who the Lord Jesus Christ
Okay, so we have good symbols and pictures now. None of these guys were perfect
None of these were that promised seed but their pictures shadows and types and God's highlighting them for a very specific reason
look at verse
14
Or 13, I'm not gonna get it right
All right
So Boaz took Ruth and she was his wife and she went and he went in under the Lord gave her conception
And she bears son now again. Also if you study the Bible, it's very interesting like when it talks about Sarah
It'll say the Lord gave her conception and then it's talking about Ruth
It's like the Lord
Gave her conception and I think that's just a little bit of a hint of
The virgin birth of the fact that the Lord's gonna overshadow Mary and she's gonna be born also it pictures the carnal truth
That God is the one who opens and closes the womb. The Lord is the one that gives us conception
Obviously without a man and woman doing their part. You're never gonna have conception
But at the end of the day, it's the Lord as he wills who opens and closes that womb
It says in verse number 14 and the woman said in Naomi
Blessed be the Lord which have not left thee this day without a kinsman that his name
May be famous in Israel now again, sometimes it's using the kinsmen several times in this chapter
Who is this kinsman that it's referencing? It's referencing the child that's been born
It's saying this is the kinsman that she's going to have and it says very specifically that it's gonna have what its name
Would be famous in Israel now
What is that name that name is Obed and obviously Obed has some level of significance
But what is it doubly signifying the Lord Jesus Christ his name the name which is above every name the name of Jesus
That's how we're saved. That's the real name that you know, we
Emphasize it says in verse 15 and he shall be unto thee restore of thy life and a nourisher of thine old age
For thy daughter-in-law which loveth thee which is better to thee than seven sons hath born him
So it's mentioning him as being restorer of thy life being a nourisher of thine old age
And again, he is in a carnal sense, but it's also a picture of what Jesus Christ does unto us now
Go if you would back to Ephesians 1 keep your finger here and go back to Ephesians chapter 1
and
The cool thing about the Bible is God constantly
When he's writing the Word of God it means something in that direct context
but then it also many times signifies something of a spiritual significance and the fact that Obed was a restorer of
Naomi's life, but Jesus Christ is gonna restore of all of our lives
Okay
and in Ephesians chapter 1 look at verse 15 the Bible says
Wherefore I also after I heard of your faith in Lord Jesus and love and all the Saints cease not to give thanks for you
Making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of glory may give unto you the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may know
What is the hope of his calling and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints?
And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us were to believe according to the working of his mighty power?
Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him his own right hand in the heavenly places
far above all principality and
power and might and
Dominion and notice this and every name that is named not only in this world
But also in that which is to come and has put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church
Which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all so we notice that the name of Jesus is not just significant
Now it's significant period it says hey not just named only in this world, but also in that which is to come
You know Sam Gipp should read this verse a couple times over and over
He claimed that the name of Jesus was secondary to the name of Manuel, which is ridiculous
Obviously a manual is a description of God with us and amen. Jesus Christ is God with us
He is Emmanuel, but the name which God gave him is Jesus and that's the name above every name
Why is it that I've never heard a single person ever?
blaspheme the name of Manuel
Yet they take Jesus name in vain all the time, that's pretty weird
I guess you just believe nobody takes the Lord's name in vain then Sam Gipp
But obviously the Bible is telling us that that name above every name is Jesus Christ
And I don't care if you're saying it in Spanish English Hebrew Greek
It doesn't matter but it is the name of Jesus and for English speaking people
It's the name of Jesus that you call upon in order to be saved
Now look what it says in verse number
1 of chapter 2
So we noticed that it was that name that's famous in Israel the name of Jesus Christ
And in fact on the walk to Emmaus when he's asking about the situation. They're kind of like, where are you from?
Everybody knows about Jesus. Everybody knows about the guy that was crucified, you know, everybody thought he was gonna be the Redeemer
So he's like just kind of like I don't know what you're talking about
and then he's calling him the fools for not believing the whole Bible right vision chapter 2 look at verse 1 and
You have the quick in talking about who Jesus Christ who were dead in trespasses and sins
So what does it mean to be quickened and means to be made alive?
So just like Obed is gonna be restorer of the life of Naomi
Jesus Christ is the restorer of our true life because our true life is hid with Christ is what the Bible says
Christ who is our life. We have no life apart from Christ
If you don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you have no life
The Bible says he that believeth on the Son hath
Life and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life
Right. So the Bible is making it clear that we get life through Jesus Christ. Our only life is in Jesus Christ
So if you live for the flesh if you live for your physical life today
You're doing yourself a great disservice because that's not your real life
It's a facade today, it's it's deception today we ought to live for our real life, which is hid in Christ
That's why it also it notice its head. We don't know how God is going to reward us exactly
It's it's more about our heart than it is all the outward actions
Don't get so wrapped up on what everybody sees and oh, I bet this guy's getting all these words
Well, we don't know what's going on in the heart
No, I use this reference a lot, but I think it really captures this essence
When the rich people were casting in all this money into the Treasury and then the poor widow woman
She comes and cast ends the two mites. Jesus said she cast in more than they all and they're thinking like no
Putting in two nickels when this person ten thousand bucks or whatever and he's like well they cast in out of their abundance
But she's cast in all of her living and notice according to God
She's gonna be more rewarded
Than the people who cast in a lot more money physically
And so we ought not look at what you and I do from a physical sense
We ought to just be worried about our hearts and we ought to be worried about our motives and we ought about
worried about if we have charity in our heart because the Bible says if you bestow all your goods to feed the poor and
You have your body to be burned, but you have not charity the property do nothing. That's what the Bible says
I wouldn't want to give all of my money
Okay, and it rewards me nothing that sounds terrible
So honestly the Christian life is one of getting your heart right having the right motives the right intentions not to get vainglory
Not to be seen of men, but rather just doing things because you love God and you want to help others and serve others
Okay, look what it says in chapter number three now and look at verse number two
Ephesians chapter 3 verse 2 if you had heard of the dispensation of the grace of God
Which is given to me given me to you word how that by revelation
He made known unto me the mystery as I wrote a four in few words
Whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ
Which in other ages was not made known under the sons of men as it is now revealed
unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and
Partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel
Whereof I was made a minister
According to gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power
unto me who am less than the least of all Saints is this grace given that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ and it make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery?
Which from the beginning of the world has been hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ
Now this is what I think's interesting about this is it's saying the Spirit did not make manifest
the bringing in of the Gentiles in other ages
So that means when prophets would read Ruth and they would read some of these Old Testament
Prophecies the Holy Ghost wasn't enlightening them and letting them realize that that's a picture of the Gentiles coming in
They didn't quite understand it
They saw through a glass
Darkly, but when Christ had come now more revelation is given more understanding is given
More knowledge is given and now they see all these
Prophecies coming off the page of them like never before and the Holy Ghost is revealing things unto them
Which had not been revealed before and now they see oh, wow
The Gentiles are fellow heirs with the believers and that's what it just covered in chapter number two
I mean chapter two just hammers at home that the Gentiles are now made fellow heirs with the Saints
They're of the same household. They're built upon the same foundation
It's them being brought in they're being grafted in we have to understand that when they read the book of Ruth
They may not have understand what we understand. We understand through Christ
We understand through the Spirit giving us these great revelations in this great knowledge and we are not take that for granted
We had not take the fact that we live in a day and a time when God has revealed us so much more of his
Word than they had in the past
We have so much of God's Word and it seems like the day people are more apathetic than ever before. I
Mean we're given everything and you know, it's gonna be a sad day if when we're given everything we reject it because God
definitely warns us take you know, take heed how you hear and
To whom much is given of them shall much be required
So if we're given the whole Bible if we're given a free nation where we can go out and preach the gospel
We can preach all the riches of God's glory
We can preach the doctrines of replacement theology and we can replace the doctrines of salvation by faith and we can preach the reprobate doctrine
We ought to actually utilize that today
If we can take mission strips to other countries into other nations and other lands
We ought to take full advantage of what God has given unto us because when we just reject it because when we're so apathetic
And we're just living for ourselves. God might take that away from us
God might just say well, I'm gonna have somebody else come in here and take advantage of these opportunities
I'm giving unto them. So we need to take full advantage of the opportunities
We have we have not bury our talent into the ground
Because God could just take our town away from us and give it to the guy that's got ten like that's not fair
He's already doing great with it
It's like well, you know what because he's doing great with it God's gonna reward him even more
So we ought to just press towards the mark
We ought to just give it our all and do as much for the Lord as we possibly can but I like this
It's the mystery of the Gentiles
Right the Gentiles are the ones that are being redeemed and in fact the New Testament takes a major shift
Because we notice the Gentiles are the only ones really receiving the gospel. They're the ones with all the churches
I don't remember reading in Revelation about the church at you know, hot phlegm
And it she best mission, you know, it was you know in Asia
It was all the churches in Asia with all the Gentiles and you know what it is today
It's the Gentiles that are the one serving God. It's the Gentiles that are doing all the works for God and you say why?
Well, first of all because we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
That's that's the main reason but another reason is the fact that we love God
You know the Bible says if you love me keep my commandments and when we go back to Ruth
we notice something important that said about Ruth and
I think this is very interesting in talking about Naomi and
Ruth's relationship. Well, look what it said in verse 15 and
He shall be unto the restore of thy life. So this talking about Oh bed picturing Jesus Christ and a nourisher of thine old age
But look at this for thy daughter-in-law
Talking about Ruth notice this which loveth thee
Which is better to thee than seven sons hath born him
It doesn't matter how many gents it doesn't matter how many Jews you had as sons that rejected Jesus, you know
It's better than that one
Daughter-in-law who's not even of your seed, but you know what she loves you
The Gentiles are much better than the Jews because they accepted the Lord and because they loved the Lord
That's why they're going to be greatly used and in fact, they're better
They're better why because they love the Lord because they're gonna do his works and that's the same way
It is in the New Testament those that believe on Lord Jesus Christ and those that love the Lord are gonna be greatly used by
God look what it says in verse number 16. Now. This is interesting
And Naomi took the child and laid in her bosom and became nurse unto it
Now I've pointed this out to people like just verbally and they don't even believe me
But the Bible teaches that Ruth the grandmother is a nurse unto her grandson now
That's pretty cool because I didn't even know that was possible, but I even looked it up
I did some research and I went to websites called Kelly mom
It's kind of a popular blog or website talks about all kinds of different things
But there's a process known as relaxation and this is what they said
This is this is not a Bible believing website necessarily. This isn't like a fundamental Baptist. This isn't like based on Ruth or anything
This is just based on medical science. Okay, it says if your baby is four months old or younger
It will generally be easier to relactate
It will also be easier if your milk supply was well established
Frequent and effective nursing in her pumping during the first four to six weeks postpartum
So they're saying the most likely time for a woman to be able to lactate very well
And to be able to breastfeed very well is in that crucial early moments the first four to six weeks after giving birth
That's going to be the most important time for them to have established their breastfeeding and if they have done that in the past
Then if they want to pick up breastfeeding in the future, it's gonna be even easier for them to be able to do that
Relaxation is where there's been a long period of time where they have not been breastfeeding and they pick it back up
It's saying a woman that had done that in the first four to six weeks
It's gonna be very easy for them, but I'm gonna keep reading it says however
moms with older babies moms who did not establish a good milk supply in the beginning and
Adoptive moms who have never breastfed can also get good results
So it says not only women who did a really good job at the beginning
You know getting the milk supply built up with their child in the first four to six weeks
But even a woman that's never breastfed a woman that didn't establish a good milk supply at the beginning
Sometime in the future. She can still
build up her milk supply the relaxation process even an
Adoptive mother who has never breastfed now that's I didn't even know that's possible
But obviously our society is has really demonized breastfeeding in a lot of ways and has got away from breastfeeding and it's inconvenient
you know the working mom can't really be the customer service rep and can't be the secretary and
Be breastfeeding and always so it's just been kind of gone by the wayside
But it still exists that God created it that a woman can be a nurse pretty much period that her body will respond
To breastfeeding even if she's never given birth
Isn't that crazy it I looked at this article
It says keep in mind that breastfeeding is not just about the milk
Your child will get numerous benefits from breastfeeding even if you do not have a full milk supply
So it's saying that
There's a lot of benefits for the child and your body is built by God to just respond
You're in fact if women that struggle in this area, you know
If they just get really consistent a lot of times they can build back their milk supply
They can still have good results
It's saying even if you completely stop for a long period of time you could still get all the way back its
recommendation if you're trying to build it back is that every two to three hours
You would just try to nurse with your child whether they're feeding or not just to get your body to start
Reacting to that but isn't it interesting that Naomi who hasn't had a child for a long time is now the nurse
unto her
Ransom, that's pretty unique. That's pretty crazy. I'm not saying try this at home. I'm just giving you some information
Okay, I'm just trying to tell you what the Bible says, but you know, maybe in a case of emergency or other
Situations maybe would apply maybe it's beneficial
You know, the Bible is true whether science believes it or not and it's interesting when you read that kind of a story
well, look at verse 17 and
The women her neighbors gave it a name
Saying there is a son born in Naomi and they called his name Obed
He is the father of Jesse the father of David now
These are the generations of Phares. Phares begot Hezron and Hezron begot Ram and Ram begot Amenadab and Amenadab begot
Naishon and Naishon begot Salomon and Salomon begot Boaz and Boaz begot Obed and Obed begot Jesse and Jesse
Beget David. So this genealogy has a lot of reasons why it's here
First of all, we're transitioning from what the book of Judges into what the book of first Samuel and while first Samuel has a little
Bit of backstory. It's pretty much highlighting David at chapter 17
We're introduced to David and Goliath then for the rest of the portion of first Samuel
It's all about David and then leading into second Samuel
It's all about David and Ruth the transitionary story that gives us a lot of information
Where did David come from and it gives us that foundation then we kind of learn about Samuel and we learn about him who anoints
David and we learn about the first King King Saul, but the Bible if you study it, it's it's a pretty much in chronological
order now there is
Overlapping sections and the fact that the Bible a lot of times when it moves on to a new
Portion of the Bible it'll go back in time just to kind of overlap and then it'll push it out a little bit further
It always pushes the timeline out though a little bit further when you're going through these historical sections
When you're going from Genesis all the way up into the book of Esther
It's pretty much just a chronology of the history of the Bible and then when you get to the latter sections
You know Job Psalms and all the latter the minor prophets. It's gonna be the major and minor prophets
It's gonna have overlap with those different sections
So that's one reason another reason is the fact that if you look in Matthew chapter number one you get the exact same
Genealogy and that is of the Lord Jesus Christ now in Matthew chapter one. It starts a little bit further before
Thérèse it goes to Abraham it goes from Abraham unto David and then it goes from Dave and the carrying of Babylon and it goes
And carrying of Babylon unto Jesus Christ, so we get that same genealogy also in Second Chronicles
It brings us genealogy and the Bible just out of the mouth of two or three witnesses is establishing every word
But the Bible is highlighting one thing
Jesus Christ, that's why we have this genealogy. It's constantly highlighting Jesus Christ. That's what it's pointing to
It's giving us that lineage. It's not just a random bunch of people
It's not just hey, here's a bunch of guys that produced each other
No, this is the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ and notice that God wants to tell us certain things about some of this lineage
we don't know that much about Amenadab and
Aram and
Nahshon, you know and these guys might have lived a long life
We don't even know exactly all the information about them
But it's interesting that it highlights people like Raycab the harlot that it mentions people like Ruth the Moabitess
Both not the children of Israel both women who were not of the chosen seed of Israel
But rather they're the lineage of Jesus Christ
Again highlighting the fact that I don't care where you come from what you did once you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
You know what? God can do great things through you
And even women who had a shaded past I mean Raycab was a harlot
Now Ruth she has she's a really pretty good person at least when we start learning about her
We don't know what she was like in Moab. She might have been worshipping false gods
She might doing a lot of things and I don't care if you're Catholic
I don't care if you were raised atheist
I don't care what you were doing you have your whole life ahead of you and you can do great things for God
Now I want to have three last conclusions before we finish the sermon just conclusions about the book of Ruth
okay, we've been going through the book of Ezra and
I we're gonna go back to Ezra and we're gonna we're gonna kind of finish that chapter
but I wanted to go to Ruth because I think it helps us with a few things the first one that I
Conclusions of Ruth is this the Gentiles were obviously reconciled by Christ
And that is foreshadowed by Ruth. That's foreshadowed by a lot of different people in the Old Testament
We see God was not a respecter of persons in the Old Testament just like he's not in the New Testament. He doesn't change
He didn't like become less a respecter of persons in the New Testament or anything like that
It's just in the Old Testament the heathen by and large just rejected God. They just rejected the Lord Jesus Christ
They didn't want anything to do with them a lot of very wicked and ungodly nations think of nations today like North Korea
think of nations today like the
People in China think about people that live in India
There's huge pockets of people today where none of them believe in Jesus Christ
They want nothing to do with the Bible think about Muslim nations
There's whole Muslim nations where you know, Jesus Christ is an anathema
They don't you know, they don't believe in him as a the son of God
They might call him a prophet, but they don't believe in him. Think about huge Catholic population
There's huge populations in this world that hate God and they hate the Bible and they hate the Lord Jesus Christ
Just like in the Old Testament and hey, there's still remnants in those places
Just like there was remnants in the Old Testament
But the Bible is foreshadowing and picturing the fact that there's gonna be a shift the Gentiles are gonna be the ones that receive
You know, basically the Savior and they're the ones they're gonna do great exploits for Jesus Christ number two conclusion that we have of Ruth
Ruth
What was Boaz's attitude towards Ruth in this in this book? Was it one of judgment?
Was it one of rejection?
Was it one of mercy and grace is one of mercy and grace wasn't and when you read the Old Testament law
There is no mercy and grace
Towards the mobites none. It says that they're never allowed to be entered into the into the congregation of the Lord
Under the tenth generation forever, I mean, it's just like there's no grace there
There's not any mercy there. But notice the law is not there to just explain all the intricacies of mercy and grace
it's to explain you what's just and God is both just but God is also merciful and
In fact, the mercy triumphs over justice if I got what I deserved I would go to hell
You would go to hell we all deserve hell all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire
Which burneth the fire mist on the second death? I mean, it's not giving any you know exceptions there
Okay, but why do I get to go to heaven then if that's what's just if that's what's righteous according to law
Because God also has mercy because God is also gracious and we see the gracious
Aspects of Boaz. He's gracious under Ruth. He's loving under Ruth. Now you'd say why?
Is it just because I should be nice to this person or was it because
Ruth came to trust in the Lord
Ruth is one who wanted to come into the shadow of the wings of the Almighty of God and
Because she believed in the Lord. That's when she gets the grace. That's when she gets the mercy
Why do we get grace and mercy from the Lord because we believe in Jesus Christ. That's why we get the grace
That's why we get the mercy but notice that we need to show compassion and grace
To the stranger to the loss to people we ought not be one that's full of judgment
We had a balanced judgment with mercy today, and we don't want to go to either extreme here
We don't want to be so merciful that we come Joel Osteen
But we don't want to become so full of judgment that we become the Pharisees
We want to have a good healthy balance and show compassion and mercy on the right people not the pedophile
You know, but the stranger the foreigner, you know
I'm not just gonna damn every single Muslim
That would be a wicked attitude. There's people that want to do that. I'm not gonna damn every single person that lives in Mexico
I'm not gonna just damn whole nations today
But you know what?
There are selective people that I'm not going to show mercy and grace upon and we have to use the discretion of the Bible to
Tell us who what when where?
My third conclusion of the book of Ruth is this that salvation and blessing are to those who seek the Lord
Notice that Ruth receives great salvation and
Blessing but why because she seek the Lord she sought the Lord diligently and she found him even in a very difficult
Timing of her life. She lost her husband
And honestly, that's I mean, I don't know how much of a worse of a situation you can be in losing her husband really rough
She loses her husband. She leaves her whole family. She leaves her whole upbringing
She's in a completely foreign nation with different customs different laws a completely different God
Even and she's only there with her mother-in-law and frankly when we read the story Naomi's not a beacon of joy
She's literally called bitter she's I mean when they're coming back she's pretty bitter
She's pretty upset but Ruth constantly has a good attitude. She's seeking the Lord. She works very hard
She's very diligent and at the end she ends up receiving what great blessing
She has Boaz come and redeemer now
She's gonna be married in the Boaz who's a man of wealth who's gonna be able to provide for
Who's gonna be able to love her and she's gonna be in the lineage of Jesus Christ
This tells me that there's great reward for serving God
There's great reward for seeking him for receiving his salvation and trusting him even in the darkest moments of your life
You never know what's around the corner. You never know what blessings around the corner and we all realize at the end of her life
There's a huge blessing around the corner. And so no matter what you're going through no matter what difficulties no matter what struggles
We need to have the attitude of Ruth and say, you know what though he slay me
Yet will I trust in him? Let's close in prayer. Thank you father so much for your word
Thank you for this great chapter and this great book of Ruth. Thank you for being one who wanted to