Our God Redeems and Restores

In this episode, Sarita explores the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, focusing on themes of redemption and restoration. The narrative highlights Ruth's loyalty to Naomi, God's provision, and the significance of the kinsman redeemer. Throughout the episode, it emphasizes God's faithfulness and the transformative power of hope, even in difficult times.  

Isaiah 61:3 NLV  "To those who have sorrow in Zion I will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I will give them the oil of joy instead of sorrow, and a spirit of praise instead of a spirit of no hope. Then they will be called oaks that are right with God, planted by the Lord, that He may be honored."

Takeaway Reflection:  We are The Beloved, and our God is One Who redeems and restores. 

• The Bible is filled with stories of redemption and restoration.
• Ruth's loyalty to Naomi exemplifies unwavering faith.
• God often works in unexpected ways to demonstrate His love.
• Naomi's transformation reflects God's faithfulness.
• The kinsman redeemer plays a crucial role in the story.
• Prioritizing the needs of others can lead to our own blessings.
• Ruth's actions illustrate the importance of faith in hopeless situations.
• God's plan for redemption is woven throughout history.
• Even in bitterness, God can bring sweetness and joy. 
• We are all beloved and redeemed through Christ.

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Episode Transcript

Introduction (00:03):
Welcome to a place of peace, hope, and divine
encouragement. This is Joy inEvery Step with your host,
beloved preacher, retiredteacher, and faithful through

(00:31):
the valleys or dancing on themountaintops, Sarita's voice
will guide you back to hispromises step by step. So open
your heart, settle your spirit,and take the next step in faith
with joy in every step.

Sarita Bernadette (00:49):
Hi, I'm Sarita Bernadette and welcome
back to another episode of Joyin Every Step. I'm glad you're
here. Psalm 103 verses onethrough four Bless the Lord, O
my soul, and all that is withinme bless his holy name. Bless

(01:11):
the Lord, O my soul, and do notforget all his benefits, who
forgives all your iniquity, whoheals all your diseases, who
redeems your life from the pit,who crowns you with steadfast
love and mercy. And Psalm 100and seven:two Let the redeemed

(01:33):
of the Lord say so, those heredeemed from trouble.
Our God redeems and restores.The Bible is a book filled with
stories of redemption andrestoration. Today I want to
look at one in particular. It'sfour short chapters that became

(01:58):
a crucial part of a much biggerplan. It's the story of Ruth.
Ruth is the main character.However, her mother-in-law Naomi
plays a crucial role in how thestory turns out. Normally when
this story is shared, the focusis on Ruth's journey. You've

(02:23):
probably heard about Ruth andBoaz. But this time around,
let's track what happens toNaomi.
Beginning in Ruth chapter one,Naomi, her husband, and two sons
find themselves in the midst ofa severe famine in Israel. So

(02:45):
the family moves from Judah toanother country called Moab.
Naomi's husband Elimelech diesand both of the sons marry
Moabite women. Makhlone, one ofthe two sons, marries Ruth. The
other son, Kilion, marries awoman named Orpah.

(03:08):
After they live there in Moabfor about ten years, both sons
die, so Naomi is left withouther husband and her sons. It's
just her and her two daughtersin law. Now Naomi hears that God
is providing for his people backin Judah and she decides to head

(03:30):
home with her two daughters inlaw in tow. On the way though
she determines that they shouldreturn to their families in
Moab. She blesses them and shesays goodbye.
Now at first both women disagreeand they say they want to stay
with Naomi. Then Naomi does allshe can to discourage them. She

(03:56):
paints a pretty bleak picture.This is Ruth one verses 11
through 14 rather. This is howit reads: But Naomi said, 'Turn
back my daughters.
Why will you go with me? Do Istill have sons in my womb that
they may become your husbands?Turn back my daughters, go your

(04:18):
way for I am too old to have ahusband. Even if I thought there
was hope for me, even if Ishould have a husband tonight
and bear sons, would you thenwait until they were grown?
Would you then refrain frommarrying?
No, my daughters, it has beenfar more bitter for me than for

(04:40):
you, because the hand of theLord has turned against me. Then
they wept aloud again. Orpahkissed her mother-in-law goodbye
and Ruth clung to her. So Orpahthe other daughter-in-law makes
the decision to return to Moabbut Ruth refuses. I believe Ruth

(05:05):
was listening to the voice ofthe Lord over the words of
Naomi.
Here's what she said to hermother-in-law in verses sixteen

and seventeen (05:14):
Do not press me to leave you, to turn back from
following you. Where you go, Iwill go. Where you lodge, I will
lodge. Your people shall be mypeople and your God my God.
Where you die, I will die, andthere will I be buried.

(05:36):
May the Lord do thus to me, andmore as well, if even death

parts me from you. Verse 18: When Naomi saw that she was (05:42):
undefined
determined to go with her, shesaid no more to her. I'm going
to read that again. When Naomisaw that she was determined to
go with her she said no more toher. Now we don't read where

(06:08):
Ruth had any sort ofsupernatural experience with God
prior to this moment, yetsomehow Ruth responds in faith
knowing the God of Israel willprovide.
This is a powerful example ofhow we as believers should

(06:30):
respond when faced withsituations that appear to be
hopeless. We're supposed toactivate our faith even when we
don't know what the futureholds. Beloved, when we yield to
God he often works in unexpectedways to demonstrate his power

(06:50):
and his love for us. Psalm 20three:one The Lord is my
shepherd I shall not want.Period.
Our shepherd provides. Ruthshows unwavering loyalty to
Naomi and the two of them go onto Bethlehem. When they arrive

(07:14):
there's a bit of a stir in thetown and Naomi announces her
name change. She declares thatthe Lord has dealt harshly with
her and therefore she now wantsto be called Mara which means
bitter in Hebrew. So the twowomen decide that Ruth should

(07:37):
pick grain from one of thefields there so that they can
have food to eat.
And Ruth happens to find work inthe field of Boaz, a distant
relative of Naomi's. Now Boaz isa noble man of good character.
He sees Ruth working alongsidesome of the other women and he

(07:57):
asks about her. After hearingabout her loyalty to her
mother-in-law, he shows herkindness and generosity by
allowing her to continue togather grain in his field. Boaz
is so captivated by Ruth that heprays that the Lord would bless
her.
Remember when I mentioned howthe Lord does unexpected things

(08:21):
for us when we activate ourfaith? Yes, he does. Ruth tells
Naomi all about her encounterwith Boaz that day and Naomi
gets excited. Yes, even hopeful.Because aside from the tradition
of being kind to foreigners, sheknows it's also a cultural

(08:44):
practice for the kinsmanredeemer or family redeemer to
marry the widow of a malerelative, take over their land,
and go on to protect the family.
We'll expound on on that in abit. In Ruth three:one we read:

(09:05):
Naomi, her mother-in-law, saidto her, My daughter, I need to
seek some security for you sothat it may be well with you.
Naomi's focus shifts from herown plight, from her own
bitterness if you will, toconcern and care for someone

(09:28):
else. I believe heaven gets busywhen we prioritize the needs of
others over those of ourselves.As we're meeting their needs,
God is meeting ours.
Do you see how God is working onNaomi's heart here? So Naomi

(09:50):
gives Ruth instructions for thenext encounter and Ruth does
exactly what she tells her todo. Ruth three and four: When he
lies down, she says, observe theplace where he lies then go and
uncover his feet and lie down,and he will tell you what to do.

(10:14):
She said to her, All that yousay I will do. That's Ruth
responding, I'm going to doexactly what you're telling me
to do.
You see Naomi was familiar withthe traditions of her people and
she was prepared for thismoment. By lying at the feet of

(10:36):
Boaz and telling him he was thenext of kin, Ruth illustrates
her need and his ability to actas that kinsman redeemer. The
kinsman redeemer is a malerelative who according to
various laws of the Pentateuchor the Torah, the first five
books of Moses, had theprivilege or the responsibility

(10:58):
to act on behalf of a relativewho was in trouble, in danger,
or in need. The Hebrew term goeldesignates one who delivers or
rescues or redeems property or aperson. The ancient Israelite
custom was a symbolic gesture ofa woman asking a man to marry

(11:23):
her and provide for herspecifically a request for him
to cover her with his cloak.
So Ruth asked Boaz if he wouldredeem the family and become her
husband. And again Boaz is soimpressed by her loyalty to
Naomi here. He wants to say yesin the moment but he knows that

(11:49):
there is another relative closerto Naomi and he has to make sure
that that relative isn't willingto be the Redeemer. Integrity.
Integrity.
So he talks to the relative,Boaz talks to the relative and
he gets the go ahead. He thenmarries Ruth in the presence of

(12:10):
the witnesses in town. And inshort, Ruth and Boaz have a son
named Obed who becomes thegrandfather of King David and is
listed in the lineage of JesusChrist. Redemption and
restoration. Naomi gains anotherson and is able to welcome a

(12:34):
grandson.
Ruth four fourteen-fifteen Thenthe women said to Naomi, Blessed
be the Lord who has not left youthis day without next of kin,
and may his name be renowned inIsrael. He shall be to you a

(12:55):
restorer of life and a nourisherof your old age. For your
daughter-in-law, who loves you,who is more to you than seven
sons, has borne him. What ablessing! God was at work
throughout this story, beloved.
Even though he isn't mentionedexplicitly or directly, it's

(13:19):
clear this short piece ofhistory was an integral part of
a larger plan God's plan ofredemption for mankind. Listen,
Naomi had lost all hope. Shethought God had abandoned her.
But as the story unfolded herhope increased and she began to

(13:41):
believe in God's faithfulness.We didn't read anything else
about the name Naomi had wantedto be called.
Remember Mara? Yes, the primarymeaning is indeed bitter. But
due to that transformation wewatched take place in Naomi in

(14:01):
this story, that name cansymbolize a journey of struggle,
resilience, strategic response,and yes, favor. Side note, side
note, Marah with an H on the endwas also the name of the place

(14:23):
where the Israelites grumbledagainst Moses out in the desert,
out in the wilderness. Theygrumbled because the water was
bitter.
And according to the Bible, Godshowed Moses how to make the
water sweet. Go and read it foryourself. He told them to throw
a log into the water and insteadof the water being bitter to

(14:46):
drink it was sweet. That'sanother episode, beloved. That's
another episode.
Let's just remember how faithfulGod is even when we're in the
midst of a tough time, even whenwe're going through it.
Remember, God is faithful. Let'sremember the promise he made in

Isaiah 60 one:three (15:10):
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a
crown of beauty for ashes, ajoyous blessing instead of
mourning, festive praise insteadof despair. In their
righteousness they will be likegreat oaks that the Lord has

(15:32):
planted for his own glory. Andbeloved, if you're thinking that
only pertains to Israelis orpeople of the Jewish faith, let
me just share this piece toclear that up.
It's from Ephesiansone:five-seven. He destined us
for adoption as his childrenthrough Jesus Christ, to the

(15:53):
good pleasure of his will, tothe praise of his glorious grace
that he freely bestowed on us inthe beloved. In him we have
redemption through his blood,the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to theriches of his grace. We are the

(16:16):
beloved and our God is one whoredeems and restores. Psalm
3zero 11 You have turned mymourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothesof mourning and clothed me with
joy. You've been listening toJoy in Every Step. I'm Sarita

(16:39):
Bernadette and I'm grateful youchose to spend some time here
with me. You can find Joy inEvery Step wherever you listen
to your podcasts and give us afollow there. Do check out the
website at joyineverystep.org.