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Good evening. We're gonna study so- something a little bit different this evening. We're gonna talk about a woman who was a mother, a wife, a daughter, a peasant, a widow, a beggar, a foreigner, and one of Israel's greatest heroes. The times were dark, and she was in des- desperate circumstances. In the four hundred years of Israel's history, sometimes called the Dark Ages of Israel, God raised up judge after judge, leader after leader, warrior after warrior, often to dramatically save his people.
But if we were to search for the most significant individual of this incredibly dark time, our gaze would pass overing- over the glittering of swords and the fierce battle cries, and I believe it would land on a poor foreign widow who receives the greatest fame of all, because in her time of desperation, she takes refuge under the wings of Yahweh, and because she is loyal to her family. Her name is Ruth. We're going to spend a lot of time in Ruth, so it would be worth your investment to open up your Bibles to the book of Ruth.
Now, having said that, I'm just going to read a verse, and then I'm not going to get back to the book of Ruth for a while, but we are going to be in the book of Ruth, and I'd like to tell the whole story of Ruth in- in a certain way, with thinking about a, tracing a certain theme, uh, so we can land at a certain application at the end. Ruth begins with the words, and it came to pass when the judges ruled, how the New King James puts it. It's literally when the judges judged. Let's think a little bit about the times when the judges judged. Now, last week I was told that you talked about the book of Judges, so maybe a little bit of this will be, uh, repetitious, but it's worth going over anyway.
Uh, the, the days when the judges judged are dark days. It was, they were times of moral depravity. You remember the, the twice repeated refrain describing that time. It was, does anybody remember? In those days, there was no king in Israel. Every man did what was right in his own eyes. And in fact, uh, history repeats itself again and again in this book, where the people are doing well, they fall into idolatry, forsaking the Lord. The Lord gives them over to their oppressors. The people then cry out to Yahweh for a deliverer, and in his great matchless mercy, he raises up for them a savior.
The people are saved, they get complacent, and they fall away from the Lord, and the sad, sick cycle goes over and over and over again. The dark ages of Israel's history was also a time of corrupt leadership. Again, there was no king in Israel. If you were to chart the leadership's depravity, you- you'd find that, well, they start off pretty well with people like Ehud and Caleb, and there's a decline, and right around the middle, there's really a hinge in with with Gideon. And Gideon does pretty well, but then he he likes all the attention so much that, uh, eventually he takes this this golden ephod, and he...
and the people are led into idolatry because of it. Things go downhill very quickly. His son is a is a man named Abimelech. Now, Abimelech's name is interesting. At least I think people's names are interesting in the Old Testament. Melek is the word king. You think of Melchizedek, the king of righteousness. Melek is king. And you probably know what Abi is. My father, my father. So his name literally means my father is king. Now, that's probably a name that Gideon did not give him. He probably made up that name for himself because Gideon is, Gideon is very adamant that people say, Gideon, you did a really good job.
Why don't you be our king? And remember, Gideon says, no, no, no, no, no, Yahweh is your king. I will not be your king. It's a proud moment, really, in Gideon's life. So his son comes along, and he claims the name, my father is king. Well, this man is so wicked and depraved that at one point he kills seventy— Yes, that's seven zero, seventy— of his brothers, so that way he would be the only one in leadership. And the rest of Judges is tragic. Uh, it's a depressing story where the leaders are men like Abimelech or Samson, whose, uh, whose sexual promiscuity, whose moral laxity is just legendary.
And as a result of the nation's moral depravity and corrupt leadership, it was also a time of economic instability. I alluded or referenced this earlier, where God had made a very clear promise that if you faithfully obey me, you will do well. Now, notice how Ruth begins. Uh, now it came to pass in the days when the judges judged that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem. What you probably remember what Bethlehem means, house of bread. You know, things have got to be bad when the house of bread has no food. And so there Israel comes, tail between her legs, knocking on the door of her neighboring countries.
I'm sorry, but can you have mercy on us? Well, they're supposed to be the light to the nations. Well, we've been disobedient, and we don't have any food, and we're starving. Could you give us something to eat? Things have gone awry. Uh, needless to say, the nation is far from experiencing and enjoying God's best, God's plan for them. Uh, but sadly, national tumult does not stop individual tragedy from striking. It's not like individual problems take a vacation because things are going bad on a national level.
So we continue on reading. W- we'll start in verse two. The name of the ma- the, the man was Elimelech. Now, just very quickly. The- the nerdy Bible language part of me can't resist this. So- so Melek is? King. King, right? And Eli is... is not obvious father. Eli is like Eli Eli lema sabaktani. So it's- it's my God. My God is king. That has nothing to do with the message. I just couldn't resist saying that. Okay, so the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah.
And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left and her two sons. Oh, they took wives with the women of Moab. The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth, and they dwelt there about ten years. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died. So the woman survived her two sons and her husband. As sad as it would be for any woman to lose her husband, the situation of Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth is especially tragic. A widow back then did not just pull up her bootstraps and say, well, it looks like we're going to have to run the family farm, figure things out.
No, they had to be married. They depended on a husband. In a society in which almost everything revolved around having children and one- and one's identity, a woman's identity, was all wrapped up with having children, this was a truly desperate situation. Who would want to marry Naomi or Ruth or Orpah with no children? And why would Naomi's two daughters-in-law want to stick around? Really, what was in it, what was in it for them? So, uh, realizing this, Naomi urges them in verses eight to thirteen.
Let's, let's read that together. Uh, and Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest each in the house of her husband. So she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they said to her, surely we will return with you to your people. But Naomi said, turn back, my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? Turn back, my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. And if I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons, would you wait for them till they were grown?
Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. This is a really tough situation. Both Ruth and Orpah, uh, really do care for their mother-in-law. They know the incredible hardship and poverty that awaits her as she goes back to Bethlehem. And they know that in all probability, that will be their lot as well. Because a husband would be really hard to come by, since whoever married one of them would have to be in the family clan of Elimelech and would have to, by necessity, raise up seed for Elimelech, which means all of the children that they, that he has through this marriage would have to be counted for the seed line of Elimelech and not for his own.
It's a pretty hefty price to pay. This is what's called a kinsman redeemer. He had to be qualified by being close enough to the family line. He needed to be willing to do what it took. Chances are that while in Bethlehem that they would just bump into someone like that would be slim to none. Oh, realizing the odds are against them, well, Naomi urges both of them, and Orpah leaves. In fact, let- let's read about it, what- what exactly happens in verse fourteen. Then they lifted up their voices and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her, and she said, look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods.
Return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you, for wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. When she saw that she was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. With much sadness, Orpah eventually leaves, persuaded by her mother-in-law's argument, but none of this moves Ruth.
She is fiercely loyal. Let's think about her decision-making process here. She has her own dreams and aspirations. She has her own problems. But she, in lowliness of mind, considers others as more important than herself. She was more concerned about the question, what will happen to Naomi, than with the question, what will happen to Ruth? And so, in complete selflessness and unconditional devotion, she commits herself to the well-being of her mother-in-law, no matter what the consequences.
When they arrive in Bethlehem, Naomi laments her bitterness to her old neighbors, and, uh, they get settled in, and right away, what does Ruth do? She wakes up early in the morning. She goes out to the field, hoping to pick up scraps, doing whatever it is that she needs to do to take care of her family. Now, it just so happens, as if anything ever just so happens, but it just so happens that the field that she goes to is owned by this man named Boaz, and quote unquote coincidentally, uh, this man is a near relative.
He asks about this new beggar in his fields, and he's impressed with the moving story of Ruth's devotion. As a result, they have the conversation recorded in verse eight to twelve of chapter two. Let's read that. Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young men. Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn." So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me since I'm a foreigner?
Boaz answered and said to her, it has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law. Listen carefully. All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. May Yahweh repay you. May he repay your work, and a full reward be given to you by Yahweh, God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge. Now, these last two verses, verses eleven to twelve, are especially important for us. Uh, they provide for us an interpretive grid for understanding the events of chapters three and four.
Uh, what I mean by that is that the events that unfold in chapters three to four are not random events. They are divinely orchestrated so as to repay Ruth for her loyalty and faithfulness to her family. This is the work of Yahweh, the work of the Lord, to repay Ruth for what she's done. Well, Ruth, uh, then returns to Na- Naomi with far more food than, uh, either one of them ever thought possible. And of course, Naomi's excited about the food, but she's even more excited about the recognition of the family name. Boaz. And her ears perk up.
I know that name. Well, eventually, this matchmaker of a mother-in-law comes up with a plan, as many mothers are known to do. A little while later, Naomi says to Ruth, in so many words, maybe Boaz needs a little push. And in a very controversial move, Naomi says, again, in so many words, why don't you ask him to marry you? And it's risky, what her plan is. Go into the field, go, go into where the, the barley is, is stored up and uncover his feet. Now, just, just very briefly, that's a controversial move.
Some people interpret it as a, as a very sexual innuendo, as if she was making advances on Boaz. Uh, the language is vague enough to make that a possibility, but I think it's unlikely given Ruth's upstanding character, that that's what she was doing, and, uh, even though it was known for, uh, prostitutes to be at, uh, these threshing floors. But it was a risky move anyway to go there and do this at night. So let's read about what happens in chapter three, verses six through eleven. She obeys her mother-in-law, and this is what she does. So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her. And after boaz had eaten and drunk, maybe wasn't quite as upstanding as we'd like to think, he was drunk, and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
And she came softly, uncovered his feet, and lay down. Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled and turned himself, and there a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, who are you? Imagine what you would say if you woke up in the middle of the night and a woman was in your bed that you didn't know. So she answered, I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative. That may sound obscure to us, but Boaz knows what that means, and he says in verse ten, blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, and that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.
And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. This must have been above all that Ruth or Naomi could ask or think. Someone who would rescue her, rescue both of them from their dire situation, who wanted to pay that necessary price. And now the incredible sacrifice that Boaz was called to make may not seem like a big deal to us. A long, long time ago, in a far away, there's no reference to Star Wars there, but a a long, long time ago, in a land far, far away.
It doesn't seem like, well, what's what's the big deal? But this this sacrifice he was asked to pay is highlighted in what happens next, with a plot twist. Because, uh, Boaz is not next in line. There's this other guy who actually doesn't, he has a name, I'm assuming, but it's not given for us in scripture. He's just called such a one. Um, and he's next in line, and so Boaz goes to him and sa- and he says, well, wait a minute, Ruth, I need to actually, in order to be up and up about everything, I need to go to this guy and ask him if he would like to do this. So he approaches this guy, this Mr. No Name, and he says, would you like to buy the field that was a limolex? And he thinks, oh, that's good land.
Yes, put me down. In so many words, this is not actually, this is the Bruce Henning loose paraphrase of what happens. So then, uh, but then Boaz says, but if you do that, you need to raise up seed for Elimelech. And he says, that's too heavy of a price for me to pay. I pass. Notice the similarities with, with what's going on here between this Mr. No Name and Orpah. Both of them are in a situation to help one of their countrymen, but both think that in the end, after they think about it long enough, the price is just too high to pay. They say, well, no thanks, I'm going to go back to life as normal.
And think about the comparisons with Ruth and Boaz. Out of their love and devotion, they're willing to pay any price to do what is right. So, situ- uh, life is orchestrated such that finally Boaz is able to marry Ruth. And they live happily ever after. Well, no, I did not finish fifteen minutes early. There's mo- there's more to say. Um, that's not really the end of the story. As we think about this, this ancient love story, this, this great narrative of God's redemption and his provision for those who take refuge under his wings, there's really a lot to learn.
Now, in a lot of ways, our times are like the days when the judges judged, and it does seem like they're becoming more and more like that. Things are becoming more evil and dark. Like them, we are in the midst of national upheaval, political instability, and moral depravity. Of course, I could wax eloquent on all the problems that are going on in the United States, and I'm sure that somebody else came up here, you could talk about, I'm not going to talk about Canadian problems, but somebody else could come up here and talk about what's going on in Canada. And it seems like no matter where you wa- where you look, uh, narcissism wins the day, where people's interests are only for themselves, and people are unwilling to really put themselves in someone else's shoes.
It's a time when the fatherless and the widow are not defended, where people do what is right in their own eyes, whatever is expedient. We live in a time where, uh, righteousness is defied publicly, and the voices of reason which try to stop this flood are publicly ridiculed as narrow-minded or bigoted. They say, like they say to righteous Lot, who made you a ruler and a judge over us? We too are living in a time when, uh, there is corruption in leadership. Somebody mentioned the soon coming election that's going to happen in the United States, and nobody, it seems like nobody in the United States is really happy about what's happening as far as these, this is, this is, these are the people we can put forward as our president.
And if we turn to the religious arena, things seem to fare no better. Priest after priest, pastor after pastor, televangelist after televangelist, scandal upon scandal. Uh, people's consciences have become scarred. They no longer look to rel- uh, Christians, Christian leaders as the anchor point for society. And like our story, national turmoil does not prevent personal tragedy from striking. The loss of a child, the loss of a spouse, a collapse in our own personal finances. These things happen even when the world is bad outside our doors.
There is so many who think, how are we going to make it? So many who can say like Mara, who who can say like, well, that's what she called herself, who can say like Naomi, do not call me Naomi, but call me Mara, bitter, for the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me. He has sent me, I have went out full, and he has, and he has sent me away empty. There are many people today who are like Naomi, people who need a Ruth. Do you know someone in your life who needs a Ruth? Ruth is in a ter- terribly desperate situation herself. Yeah, she's got her own problems.
But Ruth's thoughts are not about Ruth. Ruth's concerns are, but what will happen to Naomi? And the incredible thing that I learn as I study the book of Ruth is God, God looks at all that's happening in, in with his people Israel at this time, and there's this book that's devoted to Ruth, and, and she's this small t- she's small town compared to, like, the people who are these epic battles of hundreds and thousands of people dying and battle cries and wars. He says, now let's, let's look at this woman named Ruth. Isn't she impressive? God says, look at how she...
she is loyal, and that's what impresses me. Not so much the political campaigns, the national agendas, the programs for change. It's... she had someone in her life, and she was faithful to that person. And God said, I'm going to take at- take care of someone like that. The Bible is very explicit about this. God's will is for us to practice the often neglected and forgotten virtue of loyalty. We're told explicitly in First Timothy five eight, but if anyone does not provide for his own, he has, you remember, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.
God's approval rests on those who will say, like Ruth, where you go, I will go, and your people will be my people. In fact, Ruth's loyalty and sacrifice for her family as she trusts in the living God is rewarded with far more than what we've read about so far. Maybe you've noticed that I have not finished the book of Ruth. There's actually more to this story. As we tell it like, in, to like our children or something, this is usually where we stop the story, but this isn't where the Bible stops the story in the book of Ruth. Let's actually turn there in chapter four and see how it ends. This is fascinating. Let's look at the last ten verses from thirteen to twenty two.
So, Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And when he went into her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative, and may his name be famous in Israel, and may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you is better to you than seven sons has borne him. Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him. Also, the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, there is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed.
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now, this is the genealogy of Perez. Perez begat Hezron, Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David. If you're the kind of person who likes to underline things in the Bible, I'd like to suggest that you underline this obscure phrase that you might just read right over.
It's in verse eighteen. This is the genealogy. This is the gene- I'm not just doing that to s- s- see if you'll do what I say, but this is the genealogy. Can we do it in a few bites? That, that's, that's an, that's a interesting phrase. It occurs at very strategic times, particularly in the book of Genesis. It's a literary device. It's, it's, it's a, it's a structure marker in the book of Genesis. These are the generations of the heaven and the earth. These are the generations of Terah. These are the generations of Ishmael. These are the generations of Isaac. These are the generations of Jacob.
In the book of Genesis, it's a literary, uh, structure marker in- in which it's like God's way of saying, and now the drama of redemption takes another big step forward. And it happens a lot in the book of Genesis. Things are getting going really fast. This is the next big that thing that happens, the calling of the of Abraham out from the nations and going down into Egypt. And then at the end of, at the end of Genesis, that little structure marker, it stops. And you don't find it again until Ruth four eighteen. And then you find it only one more time in the Bible. And it's in Matthew chapter one.
verse one. This is the book of the genealogy. This is the genealogy. This is, it has the word book in there. This is the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of Abraham, the son of David. Again, there are a lot of national efforts to fix the nation of Israel, but there's only one who can really fix the problem of Israel. It's the long-awaited seed of the woman. The one who des- whose descent came through the line of David. This one who would also be born in Bethlehem, the ultimate kinsman redeemer.
He is the answer for the world. And, and so in a, in a sense, surrounded by other great heroes like Gideon and Samson and Caleb, Ruth, in a sense, stands head and shoulders above the rest because she is connected to the story of the Messiah. She is a part of someone who stands outside the system, the coming seed, the only one who can solve the problem. Now, all of this is not to say that I'm trying to disparage efforts for change at a national level, or that we shouldn't try to do good things, or that we shouldn't be interested or concerned about human trafficking or some of the evils that occur in the world, but it can be easy to look around the problems that are so prevalent in our society and to think, well, what can I do?
I can't do anything great in the world today. I've got my own problems and difficulties. Well, know this, that the Lord values small things like loyalty, taking care of your mother, taking care of a son or a daughter, sacrificially, to where people just give a- give a ban- abandon themselves to whatever's going on in their life and say, yes, but that person matters, and I will be loyal to that one. And God looks down from heaven and says, now that impresses me. Yes, there are Gideons, there are Samsons, but there are Ruths that are included in the line of the Messiah.
Let's pray. Our Father, we are so thankful for your ever watchful eye, that nothing goes beyond your notice. That you reward those who take refuge under the wings of Yahweh. Those who sacrifice their own interests to follow the example of the Lord Jesus in humbly putting others first. We're thankful that, uh, the Lord Jesus promised that whoever is faithful in a few things, I will make him a ruler over many.
We pray, Lord, that you would transform us, that we would be like Ruth, that we would be like Boaz, that we would be like our Lord Jesus. People who say, no sacrifice is too big for me to make. I'm willing to do what it takes to, to take care of my own. To be a conduit of love to this world. There are so many who need it. Open our eyes that we would see the needs of the world around us, that we would be in tune to what your spirit would have us to do. Help us to see things with a spiritual perspective, with an eye of faith. That we would walk in such a way as to please you, fully pleasing you in all things.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for this lampstand here at Bethel Park Bible Chapel. Pray your blessing on them. I pray that you would, you would bless their efforts as they seek to make you known and to present the gospel to this world. Pray that you would encourage them and strengthen them. Keep them looking, hastening the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. We look for his return, the great Savior, the only answer for the world. We commit ourselves into your care in his name. Amen.