Bible Character - Ruth

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
All right, let me, y'all see here, make sure I
want my volume. There we go testing one? Two? Ah
see here? Okay, sorry, everybody, get my stuff together here.

(00:25):
I am doing a spaces today on Ruth and let's
see here, going to act out of that and open
up Bible and let's get this going. I am so

(00:48):
glad to be here. I am praising Jesus, the goodness
of God. It's just wonderful. Excuse me, why I get
this together? I gotta be honest. I'm not super familiar

(01:12):
with where the Book of Ruth is, so I'm going
to have to find it. Judges Ruth. That's right, Thanks Lord.
What would we do? What would we do? Thank you Lord? Okay,
so ah, let me just invite to be a speaker here.

(01:40):
Excuse me just a moment. Yeah, okay, all right, great,
and got spreaker up and running. Okay, let's start a
word having my Father, thank you for your words. I

(02:00):
thank you that your word is a lamp to our
feet and a like to our path. Holy Spirit, I
call upon you, as a spirit of wisdom and revelation
and the knowledge of God, to enlighten the eyes of
our understanding. I pray that we would know. What is
the hope of your calling, What are the riches of
the glory of your inheritance and the saints? What is
the surpassing greatness of your power toward those who believe you?

(02:22):
In Jesus' name, Thank you for directing the hearts of
those who listen, Lord into the love of God and
into the steadfastness of Christ, according to your word. In
Jesus' name. Praise God. All right, let's get started. I
am going to start reading the Book of Ruth and Enjoy. Now.

(02:48):
It came about in the days when the judges governed
that there was a famine in the land, and a
certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in
the land of MoES with his wife and his two sons.
The name of the man was Alimelech, and the name
of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two

(03:08):
sons were Malan and Chilean Aphrathites of Bethlehem in Judah.
Now they entered the land of Moeb and remained there.
Then Alimelech, Naomi's husband died, and she was left with
her two sons. They took for themselves Moabite women as wives.

(03:28):
The name of the one was Orpha, and the name
of the other Ruth, and they lived there about ten years.
Then both Malan and Chilean also died, and the woman
was bereft of her two children and her husband. Then
she arose with her daughters in law that she might
return from the land of Moab. For she had heard
in the land of Moab that the Lord had visited

(03:51):
his people in giving them food. So she departed from
the place where she was, and her two daughters in
law with her, and they went on the way to
return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to
her two daughters in law, go return each of you
to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you,

(04:11):
as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
May the Lord grant that you may find rest each
in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them,
and they lifted up their voices and wept. And they
said to her, no, but we will surely return with
you to your people. But Naomi said, return, my daughters.
Why should you go with me? Have I sons? And

(04:33):
have I yet sons and my wound, that they may
be your husband's. Return, my daughters, go for I am
too old to have a husband. If I said, I
have hope, if I should even have a husband tonight,
and also bear sons, would you therefore wait until they
were grown? Would you therefore refrain from Mary, No, my daughters,
for it is harder for me than for you, For

(04:55):
the hand of the Lord has gone forth against me.
This was her assessment, and she continues to reveal where
her mindset was at as the story goes on. Okay,
let me get back to it verse fourteen. And they've
lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed
her mother in law, but Ruth clung to her. Then

(05:16):
she said, behold, your sister in law has gone back
to her people, and her gods. Return after your sister
in law. But Ruth said, do not urge me to
leave you or turn back from following you. For where
you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I
will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your
god my god. Where you die, I will die, and
there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do

(05:38):
to me and worse, if anything but death parts you
and me. When she saw that she was determined to
go with her, she said, no more to her. So
they both went until they came to Bethlehem. And when
they had come to Bethlehem, all the city was stirred
because of them, and the women said, is this Naomi?

(05:59):
She said to them, don't call me Naomi, call me Mara,
meaning bitter, for the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full, but the Lord has brought me
back empty. Why do you call me Naomi? Since the
Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me.
So Naomi returned and with her Ruth the Moa Bidas,

(06:23):
her daughter in law, who returned from the land of Moab,
and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man
of great wealth of the family of Elimelech, whose name
was Boaz and Ruth. I'm going to take a quick

(06:44):
moment here and just mention for those of you who
aren't from church culture and aren't aware, there is quite
a contingent of church ladies who exclaim about their hope
and wish to find their Boaz, as it's termed in
church circles. And I learned not that long ago that

(07:10):
historically it's again, I don't have a source for this.
The person did the writing. The reading that I did
was from a book that looks at history, but they
didn't cite their source anyway. The book said that Boaz
was eighty years old. So it just goes to show

(07:32):
that all of us need the Holy Spirit to help
us understand the Word. And it's a good idea to
make an effort to avoid jumping to conclusions and sort
of trying to use the Bible for our own purposes.

(07:54):
The Psalm one hundred and nineteen, verse one oh five
says that the Word of God is a lamp to
my feet and light to my path. Praise God. Let's
get back to the text. Chapter two. Now, Naomi had
a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth
of the family of Alimelech, whose name was Boaz. And
Ruth the Moabitis said to Naomi, please let me go

(08:15):
to the field and glean among the ears of grain,
after one is in whose sight I may find favor.
And she said to her, go, my daughter. So she
departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers,
and she happened to come to the portion of the
field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Alimelech.

(08:36):
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers,
may the Lord be with you, And they said to him,
may the Lord bless you. Then Boaz said to his servant,
who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman
is this. The servant in charge of the reapers replied,
she is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi

(08:57):
from the land of Moab. And she said, please, let
me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.
Then she came and has remained from the morning until now.
She has been sitting in the house for a little while.
Then Boaz said to Ruth, listen carefully, my daughter, do
not go to glean in another field. Furthermore, do not

(09:20):
go on from this field, but stay here with my maids.
Let your eyes be on the field which they reap
and go after. Then, indeed, I have commanded the servants
not to touch you. Whenever you're thirsty, go to the water
jars and drink from what the servants draw. Then she

(09:42):
fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said
to him. Why have I found favor in your sight
that you should take notice of me since I am
a foreigner. Boaz replied to her, all that you have
done for your mother in law after the death of
your husband has been fully reported to me, And how
you left your father and your mother in the land

(10:02):
of your birth and came to a people that you
did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work
and your wages be full from the Lord, the God
of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.
Then she said, I have found favor in your sight,
my Lord, for you have comforted me, and indeed have
spoken kindly to your maid servant, though I am not

(10:25):
like one of your maid servants. At meal time, Boaz
said to her, come here that you may eat of
the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.
So she sat beside the reapers, and he served her
roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied, and had
some left. Three guesses who that was for him. When

(10:47):
she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servant, saying, let
her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. Also,
you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from
the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and
do not rebuke her. So she gleaned in the field
until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned,

(11:07):
and it was about an ephat of barley. She took
it up and went into the city, and her mother
in law saw what she had gleaned. She also took
it out and gave Naomi what she had left. After
she was satisfied. That was her lunch leftovers. Right there.
Her mother in law said to her, where did you

(11:28):
glean today? And where did you work? May he who
took notice of you be blessed. So she told her
mother in law with whom she had worked, and said,
the name of the man with whom I worked today
is Boaz. Naomi said to her daughter in law, may
he be blessed of the Lord who has not withdrawn
his kindness to the living and to the dead. Isn't

(11:52):
that a beautiful change of heart? The Bible talks about
how the kindness of God, the goodness of God, is
intended to lead us to repentance. Look at that change
in her. Instead of the Almighty has dealt has dealt
very bitterly with me. What did she say, Yeah, the
Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me, instead of call

(12:15):
me Mara, instead of the hand of the Lord has
gone forth against me. She said, let me get it here.
The Lord has not withdrawn his kindness to the living

(12:38):
and to the dead. And of course, the difference was
not in the Lord. The difference is in whether or
not she was in obedience to the plan of God
for her life or not. When she was out of
obedience to the plan of God for her life, she
did not experience this kind of the Lord that he

(13:01):
had for her. When she got back into obedience to
the plan of God for her life. Now she's experiencing
his kindness. It's wonderful. Okay, May he be blessed of
the Lord who has not withdrawn his kindness to the
living and to the dead. Again, Naomi said to her,
the man is our relative. He is one of our

(13:22):
closest relatives. Then Ruthu Mobidas said furthermore, he said to me,
you should stay close to my servants until they finished
all my harvest. Naomi said to ruth her daughter in law,
it is good, my daughter, that you go out with
his maids, so that others do not fall upon you
in another field. So she stayed close by the maids

(13:43):
of Boaz in order to glean until the end of
the barley harvest and the wheat harvest, and she lived
with her mother in law. Then Naomi, her mother in law,
said to her, my daughter, shall I not seek security
for you? Then it may be well with you. Now,
is not Boaz our kinsman with whose maids you were

(14:05):
behold He winnows barley at the threshing floor. Tonight, wash
yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes,
and go down to the threshing floor. But do not
make yourself known to the man until he has finished
eating and drinking. It shall be when he lies down

(14:25):
that you shall notice the place where he lies, and
you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down,
and then he will tell you what you shall do.
She said to her, all that you say, I will do.
So she went down to the threshing floor did according
to all that her mother in law had commanded her.
When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry,

(14:47):
he went to lie down at the end of the
heap of grain, and she came secretly and uncovered his
feet and lay down. It happened in the middle of
the night that the man was startled and bet ford
and behold, a woman was lying at his He said,
who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth, your mate.
So spread your covering over your maid, for you are

(15:08):
a close relative. Mm mmmmm, there's some language there she
got from her mother in law. Hallelujah. Then he said,
may you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter, you
have shown your last kindness to be better than the first.
By not going after young men, whether poor or rich. Now,

(15:29):
my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you
whatever you ask. For. All my people in this city
know that you are a woman of excellence. Now it
is true I am a close relative. However, there is
a relative closer than I remain this night. And when
morning comes, if he will redeem you, good, let him

(15:50):
redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you,
then I will redeem you. As the Lord lives. Lie
down until morning. So she lay at his feet until
morning and rose before one could recognize another. And he said,
let it not be known that the woman came to
the threshing floor again, he said, give me the cloak

(16:10):
that is on you and hold it. So she held it,
and he measured six measures of barley and laid it
on her. Then she went into the city. When she
came to her mother in law, she said, how did
it go, my daughter? And she told her all that
the man had done for her. She said, these six
measures of barley he gave to me, for he said,

(16:31):
do not go to your mother in law empty handed.
Then she said, wait, my daughter, until you know how
the matter turns out, for the man will not rest
until he has settled it. Today. Now Boas went up
to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the
close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by. So

(16:52):
he said, turn aside, friend, sit down here. And he
turned aside and sat down. He took ten men of
the elder of the city and said sit down here.
So they sat down. Then he said to the closest
or relative, Naomi, who has come back from the land
of Moab, has to sell the peace of land which

(17:12):
belonged to our brother Alimelech. So I thought to inform you, saying,
buy it before those who are sitting here, and before
the elders of my people, if you will redeem it,
redeem it. But if not, tell me that I may know,
For there is no one but you to redeem it.
And I am after you. And he said, I'll redeem it.

(17:34):
Then Boaz said, on the day you buy the field
from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire ruth
the moa bidis the widow of the deceased, in order
to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.
The closest relative said, I cannot redeem it for myself,
because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself,

(17:58):
you may have my right of redemption. I cannot redeem it. Now,
this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning
the redemption and the exchange of land. To confirm any matter,
a man removed his sandal and gave it to another.
And this was the matter of a testation in Israel.
So the closest relatives said to Boaz, buy it for yourself,

(18:21):
and he removed his sandal. Then Boaz said to the elders,
and all the people got a group watching. Now, got
a whole group gathered around, awaiting developments. Then Boaz said
to the elders and all the people, you are witnesses

(18:41):
today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi
all that belonged to Alimelech, and all that belonged to
Chilean and Mahlum. Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moa Bidas,
the widow of Malan, to be my wife, in order
to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance,

(19:02):
so that the name of the deceased will not be
cut off from his brothers or from the court of
his birthplace. You are witnesses today, all the people who
are in the court, and the elders said, we are witnesses.
May the Lord make the woman who is coming into
your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built
the house of Israel. And may you achieve wealth in

(19:24):
Ephratha and become famous in Bethlehem. Moreover, mayor house be
like the house of Perez, whom Tamar tamorrow bore to
Judah through the offspring which the Lord will give you
by this young woman. Isn't that beautiful? And Ruth, by
the way, turned out to be in the lineage of Jesus,

(19:50):
I believe it was obed that she and Boaz had
who was the father of Jesse, was the father of
King David and Dah. What a special answer, what special
prayer they prayed, a declaration they made over Boaz and
his future, this area of his future. And what an

(20:13):
answer God gave to their prayer and declaration Verse saw
thirteen of chapter four. So Boaz took Ruth and she
became his wife, and he went into her, and the
Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to
a son. Then the women said to Naomi, blessed is

(20:34):
the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today,
and may his name become famous in Israel. May he
also be to you a restorer of life and a
sustainer of your old age. For your daughter in law,
who loves you and is better to you than seven sons,
has given birth to him. What a beautiful redemption. See

(21:03):
when Naomi first came back in Israel and she was
interacting with the women, she had her version that she
tried to tell them, And after they had a chance
to watch her and watch her life and watch what
God did for her, they're now giving her what to

(21:27):
say and a way to think about herself and her
life and her situation is really beautiful, okay. Verse sixteen.
Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her
lap and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him
a name, saying a son has been born to Naoi,

(21:47):
so they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse,
the father of David. Now these are the generations of Perez.
To Perez was born Hesron, and to Hesron was born Ram.
And a Menadab into Menadab was born nash Into Nashaw
and Salmon, and Salmon was born Boaz and a Boaz

(22:08):
Obed into Obed was born Jesse, and too Jesse David,
Praise God. So that is the book of Ruth. And
I sent you an invite to speak. If you're interested
in doing that at any point, you should just jump in.

(22:32):
Let's see. Yeah, there's so much. There's so much there.
It's such a beautiful story and it's so symbolic as well.
It's a it's a combination of a beautiful story. There.

(22:55):
There's an Australian businessman, a brother in Christ named Peter
Daniels that talked about how good morals is good economics
and highlighted some of the virtues of doing the right

(23:18):
thing regardless of how much society discourages it or even
makes fun of it, and how much benefit it brings
personally and to the larger group. And I notice in
the story of Ruth there's a number of instances in

(23:39):
which people did the right thing, like really did the
right thing, really pushed pressed in to making decisions of
high quality of character that many others wouldn't have done

(24:00):
be in the same situation, and how they treated it
as an honor to do that. And it's really, it
really makes it's really this story to me is really
an illustration of how beautiful it makes life when an individual,

(24:22):
especially a number of individuals, deliberately make the effort to
be a person who presses in on doing the right
thing and living a higher quality of life in terms

(24:45):
of not in terms of what they consume, as much
as what they produce in the lives of other people.
Who really speaks to me, I'm really grateful that this
book is in the Bible and that this story is shared.
And I love watching how the Lord works and orchestrates

(25:14):
the details of their lives. I mean obvious one is
Ruth ending up in Boaz's field of all people, But
of course there's a number of things there, and it's
wonderful to see. It's wonderful to remember that we bring

(25:37):
the things that the Lord does in the details of
our life into greater evidence when we ourselves choose to
go in the right direction. It highlights and makes more
obvious to others the handiwork of the Lord and what
he does directly that we couldn't have done for ourselves.

(26:00):
So praise God, it's a pleasure to read and speak
about this Bible character with you today. I will be
back again, plan to be back again next Sunday. I'll
talk to you guys again soon Bye.