Ruth II

 

Ruth II.

   There is a certain kind of belief which many of the " Christian" sort teach today that we will be blessed wherever and whatever we do.  That flies against the Bible, human nature, and the God of the Bible.  Of course as Christians we are blessed in  spiritual places, that is in Christ by faith here,  and will one day be eternally blessed in heaven where there will be no more difficulties, taxes, or pesky elections or illness ---expected or unexpected and sinful actions on our part or others I should add.  But now here we are talking about Ruth and last week we heard, " ...there was a famine in the land." 

1:1 Ruth.  Her name may mean friend in the Hebrew, and that she was as she followed Naomi her mother-in-law , and her  God who she eventually claimed to be her own, "  Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God..." vs 16

Yes, some teach the cake is all about the icing and sugar, but that is not the experience of our human condition. Real Christianity encompases our humanity and our redemption together in Christ, not some teaching that leave those things out. Ruth experienced the death of her father -in-law and then the death of her husband.  We too know this as our lives are full of the uncertainty of life.  There are many things we can be certain about, that as we follow after our God, He shall lead us beside the still waters.  But there is the valley of the shadow of death.

What is our calling now?  To be a friend of God , as was Abraham , James 2:23 and as Ruth , a friend of God and companion and friend to those who need to be friend of God but are still the children of disobedience ...fulfilling the lust of the flesh, and of the mind,Ephesians 2:3.  Now we may be and should be " lights in the world", " Holding forth the Word of life" (Ephesians 2 ).  We are the better, good wine of the wedding feast in Christ ( John 2) , a savour of life to them that are saved...to others the savour of death that are perishing 2 Cor 2:16.

1. Ruth is more than a wonderful example of Hebrew literature , but its purposes are to " To show David's ancestry Ruth 4:17 " There is a son born to Naomi: and they called his name Obed: he is the father of David."

Matthew 1: 5-6 , " ...Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse: and Jesse begat David the King"

Our ancestry too is God directed.  This is our comfort.  Unknown to us, we were and are unconditionally loved in Christ before the foundation of the world, and all the turns and paths we take are there for a reason and are part of God's plan.  There are no meaningless circumstances .  We are here for a reason to glorify God in our lives by His power and our faith in His Son , whose wonderful ancestry came from Ruth, a woman from Moab who married into the Covenant through the grace of God as she wed Boaz .

2. Ruth as we showed last week was from Moab and this teaches us that God's grace extends to all who trust in Him ---even the Gentiles.  Ruth we are constantly reminded thru the Book was not from Israel either by birth or faith which came later.  1:22 " Ruth the Moabitess", 2:2,6, 10, 21

3. The Book of Ruth shows that even in a time of spiritual darkness, faith still exists.

--Ruth served God and His people. 1:16-17  Her virtue was well known. 3:11

Boaz fulfilled the Levirate marriage in the Bible.  Deuteronomy 25:5-10

Ruth 3:12-13

4.  Boaz as a Kinsman is the Heart of the Book.  He as a Kinsman redeemer is a foreshadowing of the work of Jesus Christ our Lord.

a.  a blood relative.  Boaz was a relative of Ruth 2:1, 3, 20  He was of the family of Elimelech. Jesus is a blood relative of man.  Hebrews 2:14 " Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil..."

b. The Kinsman Redeemer had to have the purchase price necessary to redeem his poor brother, Leviticus 25:25 " if thy brother be waxen poor , and hath sold away some of his possession , and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold."

Boaz was wealthy 2:1  --Christ was the Sinless Son of God who was able to redeem a fallen human race.  I Peter 1:18-19 " ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold, .....but with the precious blood of Christ , as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."

c.  The Kinsman Redeemer had to be willing to redeem.  Boaz was 4:9

Christ was John 10:11 " I am the Good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Mt 20:28 " Even as the  Son of Man came not to be ministered unto , but to minister , and to give his life a ransom for many."