1 00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,040 Hey, man, if you have your copy of God's Word, and I hope you 2 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,920 do, go and make your way to Ruth chapter 3, Ruth chapter 3 as we 3 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,960 continue our series from this Old Testament book that we've 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:24,640 titled When God Writes Your Story. 5 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:29,560 And of course, what I mean by that is when we put ourselves by 6 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:34,280 faith into God's hands and say, God, I want you to have total 7 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,120 control of my life, but not that he doesn't already have total 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:40,000 control of your life in one way. All right. 9 00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:43,440 But then when we willingly by faith, say God, I want you to do 10 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:46,200 with my life, but otherwise wouldn't happen if I didn't 11 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:50,480 entrust all of me to you so you can use all of me for all of 12 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:53,560 you. This is 100% surrender. 13 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,520 This is when we give God the pen. 14 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:58,160 Say, God, I want you to write the story of my life, the when, 15 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:01,080 where, what and how, the way you want to write it. 16 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,280 Not where I write it, but where you do it. 17 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:05,519 And where God, you do things that I couldn't do. 18 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:07,240 God, you lead me where I wouldn't know where to go. 19 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:09,800 God, you have your way and you get all the glory. 20 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,040 This is what we're talking about when we say when God writes your 21 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,680 story. Well, when it comes to stories, 22 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:18,800 one of the things that I enjoy most about being a pastor is 23 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,840 hearing the stories, your stories, the stories of what 24 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:25,880 God's doing in people's lives and our church. 25 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,160 And it's amazing to me and I'll never forget right and never get 26 00:01:30,160 --> 00:01:33,400 tired of hearing the stories about God has worked in your 27 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:34,800 life. And how many of you have shared 28 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,120 that with me? And they, they never get old. 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,000 The power of God's grace and the goodness of the gospel and his 30 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:42,360 son Jesus Christ is, is overwhelming. 31 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,440 It's never, it's never tiring. I love hearing your stories and 32 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,200 of course, and I'm able to get to know you. 33 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:49,840 And maybe if you're married, I get to know you as a couple. 34 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,920 And sometimes hearing your story involves learning how you met 35 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:57,240 and maybe eating how you got engaged or how he proposed to 36 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,720 you, right? So proposal stories can be all 37 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,720 over the map. They can be really simple and 38 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,320 private. And you know that you never, 39 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,400 some people don't tell that story very much. 40 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:10,000 And, and sometimes that story can be as crazy and creative as 41 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:13,120 as you can get, right? I mean, sometimes guys have done 42 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:18,520 stuff like put it on a Jumbotron in front of 100,000 people, some 43 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,120 guys that they've been at the beach. 44 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,600 Next thing you know that Beach Plains got the banner behind it 45 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,840 that says those 4 words will you marry me right and drops to a 46 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:28,680 knee on the sand or whatever it might be. 47 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,760 So I mean some guys have gone so far as they faked their death 48 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,880 and they faked an arrest. They planned a drug raid. 49 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:36,920 Don't know why you want to do that. 50 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:39,800 Set themselves on fire. I don't know why she'd say yes 51 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:44,520 after that, but guys have done all sorts of stuff to pop the 52 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,760 question and say those 4 words. Will you marry me? 53 00:02:48,760 --> 00:02:51,680 Well, why do I bring that up? Because our text today, Chapter 54 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:56,480 3, contains one of the most unusual proposals that you'll 55 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:00,600 read about. But the point really is not this 56 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:04,200 proposal. The point is a different 57 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:09,640 proposal that is the greatest beyond your wildest imagination 58 00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:14,640 proposal you could ever, ever, ever dream up and it's towards 59 00:03:14,640 --> 00:03:15,840 you. And I want you to be thinking 60 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,600 about that even as we read and process Ruth chapter 3. 61 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:23,080 But let's begin here. The first 5 verses of our text 62 00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:24,520 today. The Bible says this. 63 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:29,240 Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, that's Ruth's mother-in-law, 64 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:35,880 said to her, My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it 65 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:41,840 may be well with you? Is not Boaz our relative with 66 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:44,440 you, with whose young women you were? 67 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,640 See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 68 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,560 Wash therefore, and anoint yourself. 69 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:57,400 Put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not 70 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:01,760 make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and 71 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,600 drinking. When he lies down, observe the 72 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,000 place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and 73 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:11,680 lie down. He will tell you what to do. 74 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:18,720 And she replied, all that you say I will do when we pick up in 75 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:23,040 this story of Ruth, what you got to remember is after 10 years in 76 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,000 Moab, Ruth and Naomi after losing their husbands have moved 77 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:31,280 back to the promised land and to try to eke out in existence, 78 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:33,320 somebody's got to get up and go to work. 79 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,600 And so that means Ruth is spending all day, sun up to 80 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:41,200 sundown in the barley fields for the last several weeks, gleaning 81 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,200 so they can have food for her and her mother-in-law to eat. 82 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:49,600 Well, obviously, one of these days Naomi's home by herself, 83 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:51,640 and Ruth is off at work getting the groceries. 84 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,000 And no, Naomi begins to think to herself, she comes up and says, 85 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,680 My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be 86 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,960 well with you? Is not Boaz our relative with 87 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:04,640 whose women you were? First of all, what in the world 88 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,880 is happening? Well, we've already seen Ruth's 89 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:12,160 extraordinary kindness to Naomi. She's not abandoned her. 90 00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:14,920 She's returned with her. She's committed herself to her. 91 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,280 She's out busting her day in and day out, not just for herself, 92 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,440 but for her mother-in-law. This is extraordinary kindness 93 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,080 and commitment that Ruth is shown to Naomi. 94 00:05:24,080 --> 00:05:27,520 But now Naomi, we see is returning that kindness. 95 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:32,040 Now we see her being extraordinarily kind to Ruth. 96 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,920 How so? Well, here's what's happening. 97 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:35,720 One day Naomi's home and she's like, you know what? 98 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:42,200 I'm getting old and I got somebody to care for me, but 99 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,920 who's going to care for the one caring for me? 100 00:05:45,840 --> 00:05:49,480 Who's there for Ruth? I've have her giving me rest, 101 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:52,680 providing Wellness for me. But Oh my goodness, what's going 102 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:54,520 to happen when Ruth is in my shoes? 103 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:55,760 Who's going to care for her? Ruth? 104 00:05:55,960 --> 00:05:59,400 Should I not seek rest? Should I not in kindness back to 105 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,440 you, seek that things should be well for you? 106 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,280 Who's going to provide for you? Well, Naomi's plan, if you 107 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:09,680 noticed it when we, when we read, is to play a little 108 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:14,080 matchmaker. Y'all see this, Ruth? 109 00:06:14,080 --> 00:06:18,600 She says that Boaz is. I mean, he's he's pretty cute, 110 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:24,840 don't you think? Yeah, well, every Mama out there 111 00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:27,400 has done that, whether she wants to admit it or not. 112 00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,440 I've actually met couples in our church that the mom is the one 113 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:32,840 who set them up on a blind date. Amazing, right? 114 00:06:32,840 --> 00:06:34,400 Praise God. Sometimes it works out, 115 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:37,400 sometimes it doesn't. All right, Mama's going to try 116 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:39,360 either way. All right, Naomi. 117 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:43,120 Then she says further. Ruth, listen, Boaz is not only 118 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,640 cute, he's a relative. Now that'll shut things down 119 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:51,240 right there in our day and time, if you discovered that, all 120 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,280 right. But in this day and time, this 121 00:06:53,280 --> 00:06:55,480 is exactly what the doctor ordered, right? 122 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,280 Remember, part of God's welfare plan for his people when things 123 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:03,200 went wrong was when a widow was left after her husband passed. 124 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,200 The nearest male adult relative would have had the right 125 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:10,040 responsibility to step in and marry that widow in order to 126 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,760 provide for her to bring up off spring and continue the dead 127 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,280 husbands name and inheritance and family line. 128 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:18,920 This is part of God's plan, all right. 129 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,040 So this is what he's qualifying to be. 130 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:23,800 Not only is a cute, he's qualified because he's a 131 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,000 relative. He's a prime prospect. 132 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:32,480 All right, Naomi is hatching a plan for Ruth's rest, her good 133 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:34,080 and her future. And here's the plan. 134 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,640 All right, She knows that Boaz is at the threshing floor. 135 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:40,880 That's the location where they are separating all the barley 136 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,040 that's been gleaned and threshing it or winnowing it, 137 00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,160 preparing it for grain so they can separate out what's not 138 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,120 edible from what it is edible. And here's the plan, right? 139 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,480 Number one, she gives Ruth three very specific things. 140 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,200 You notice this? Number one, take a bath. 141 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:59,760 By the way, that's great advice, teenage boys, especially when 142 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:02,240 I'm at camp with you next week, every day, take a shower. 143 00:08:02,240 --> 00:08:04,600 All right, But you got to, you got to think, why would she say, 144 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:07,400 take a bath? Listen, the days before hot 145 00:08:07,400 --> 00:08:12,000 running water, people didn't bathe that often, all right? 146 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,400 This was a day. This was a night for a bath, all 147 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:17,400 right? No matter what it took all day, 148 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,080 working in the barley fields before date night was not going 149 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:23,480 to be good without a bath. So take a bath #2 anoint 150 00:08:23,480 --> 00:08:27,360 yourself, straighten, curl, fix your hair, whatever way, fix 151 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:31,000 your face, deodorant, perfume. The point is, make yourself look 152 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,280 as good and smell as good as you can. 153 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:40,559 All right #3 put on your cloak. Now, we don't know this for 154 00:08:40,559 --> 00:08:46,600 sure, but lots of scholars think that it's probable that up until 155 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:51,120 this time, Ruth may have been continuing to wear the garments 156 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:53,760 that a widow would have worn after losing her husband that 157 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:58,880 showed she was in mourning. And perhaps this is Naomi's way 158 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,680 of saying to her, honey, it's time to take a bath. 159 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,640 It's time to anoint yourself. Fix your hair. 160 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:06,480 It's time. Not like we're not grieving 161 00:09:06,480 --> 00:09:08,000 anymore. It's time to put on your cloak. 162 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,760 And actually, I hate to use the word, advertise that you're now 163 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:13,200 eligible. All right? 164 00:09:13,560 --> 00:09:16,840 We're no longer in mourning. We're moving forward, she's 165 00:09:16,840 --> 00:09:19,280 saying. And you're a prospect for 166 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:20,360 marriage. She says go down to the 167 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:22,720 threshing floor. Don't make yourself known. 168 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:26,760 When he lies down to sleep, uncover his feet and lie down. 169 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:28,960 He'll tell you what to do. Now, I don't know about you, but 170 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:31,320 my Mama told me that plan. If I was in Ruth's shoes, I'd 171 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,040 say you're crazy, right? I mean, who comes up with that 172 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,800 kind of stuff? Well, just keep following. 173 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,400 We get Naomi wanting to play matchmaker out of kindness. 174 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:42,920 But I mean, we're kind of thinking, right, Mama, 175 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,280 mother-in-law, you've gone too far at this point. 176 00:09:46,320 --> 00:09:49,480 But this whole spy on him, pull the covers off, you know, lay 177 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:56,040 down sounds crazy and shady at the same time, but Ruth's got to 178 00:09:56,040 --> 00:09:58,120 be thinking no way. But what does the text say? 179 00:09:58,120 --> 00:10:01,440 Ruth says to the plant. You'd expect her to have some 180 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,360 questions maybe like Naomi, Are you sure? 181 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,640 What if this goes wrong? What does she say? 182 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:14,560 All that you say I will do. She got some faith in 183 00:10:14,560 --> 00:10:18,040 mother-in-law, Amen. She's got some trust. 184 00:10:18,040 --> 00:10:22,000 She's respecting her and she says I'll do it. 185 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,520 Now let me just stop right here and say let me be clear. 186 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:30,000 None of these actions right here in the Bible or for our modern 187 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:34,600 day application in dating or marriage or proposal, all right? 188 00:10:35,200 --> 00:10:37,240 I mean, sometimes we preachers got to be clear what we said and 189 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,240 what we didn't say, all right? So what I'm not saying is that 190 00:10:40,240 --> 00:10:42,480 anything literal here should apply to your dating life, 191 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,160 marriage life or thoughts about proposing, right? 192 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,760 Just because something's done in the Bible does not mean it's for 193 00:10:49,760 --> 00:10:53,040 our literal application. It often times is, but often 194 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,200 times is not. Now it's instructive for us, but 195 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,080 not to go and do this is not a take home and try, all right? 196 00:10:58,640 --> 00:11:02,200 That's not what the Bible say. I'm just trying to be clear now 197 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:04,760 again, I, I want to be, I, I don't want to skip over 198 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:06,480 anything. You can read about this yourself 199 00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:07,920 and your homework. I'm just going to face it 200 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,560 straight on. The term here for feet actually 201 00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:14,840 does refer to the lower half or really the legs, if you will, 202 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:18,120 the lower half of the body. And I know maybe what you're 203 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:20,160 thinking. She's instructed to go and take 204 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,240 the covers off. And this is going from wild to 205 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:24,040 worse real quick. And don't, don't, don't go 206 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:28,040 there. All right, This is this is 207 00:11:28,040 --> 00:11:31,960 provocative, but it is pure, all right. 208 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:37,760 This, as we see, is not a not a bad move, but it is a bold move, 209 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,160 all right? It's risky, but it's not risque. 210 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:43,920 There's nothing seductive in what she is attempting to do 211 00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,360 here. That's going to become more 212 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:48,720 clear. Naomi is planning for Ruth's 213 00:11:48,720 --> 00:11:51,240 good, as crazy as it sounds, right? 214 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:52,800 But the essence of the plan is this. 215 00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:56,080 She knows she's got to get Ruth and Boaz together alone so they 216 00:11:56,080 --> 00:11:58,960 can have a conversation. All right, right, threshing 217 00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:01,400 floor at night. She's going to work this out. 218 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,680 She also knows Ruth has got to perform an action that 219 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:10,160 unmistakably says the message, which I'll tell you what that 220 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:13,720 message is in a moment. But she's got to unmistakably 221 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:19,200 communicate her intentions and #3 it's got to put the ball in 222 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:23,720 Boaz's court. And all all three of those check 223 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:27,480 marks are, are made by this plan that Naomi is hatched as 224 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,000 matchmaker. Naomi has a plan. 225 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,280 But what I really want you to see, if you're reading between 226 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,920 the lines, I know this might be hard to see right now, but when 227 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:38,360 you zoom out, you can see what's going on even in the 1st 5 228 00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,520 verses of this chapter. Is this not just Naomi planning 229 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,720 for Ruth's good that I want you to see? 230 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:46,280 And what I want you to does apply to us is that God in a 231 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,880 much bigger way is planning not just for her good, but for our 232 00:12:49,880 --> 00:12:51,880 good. God is planning. 233 00:12:51,880 --> 00:12:54,560 God is behind the scenes. I love how somebody said like 234 00:12:54,560 --> 00:12:58,200 God is plotting for our good even when we can't see it and we 235 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:00,800 don't feel like it. God is always behind the scenes, 236 00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:03,240 even if it is a wild crazy idea or plan. 237 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:07,080 God's always planning for your good and for mine. 238 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,840 Here we see Naomi purposefully planning for Ruth's good. 239 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:14,440 Now Naomi is going to going out of her way to show kindness to 240 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:19,640 Ruth, but ultimately all the kindness of Naomi here is again, 241 00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:24,080 the kindness of God on display. It's like, how? 242 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:27,960 Why would you say that? Because he's the one writing the 243 00:13:27,960 --> 00:13:30,760 story. He's the one orchestrating these 244 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:35,200 things and you see the kindness of God in your life and mine 245 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:39,200 most often isn't going to come out of a dropped out of heaven 246 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:42,200 all the sudden didn't see it come in miraculous kind of way. 247 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:46,600 It's going to come through the small little ordinary actions 248 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:49,640 and words and thoughts and deeds of other people and 249 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,720 circumstances around you where God just, you can just see 250 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,360 little evidences here, sometimes big, but everywhere around you, 251 00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,520 evidences of the kindness of God who's planning for your good. 252 00:14:00,560 --> 00:14:02,720 And you look back and you see, man, I didn't see that coming. 253 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:04,800 I didn't know God would use it that way. 254 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,080 And yet hindsight's 2020. And you look back and see the 255 00:14:07,080 --> 00:14:11,920 whole time God was planning for my, for your good. 256 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:13,880 And that's what's happening here. 257 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,840 Let's pick up in verse 6. So she went down to the 258 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:22,800 threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded 259 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,400 her. And when Boaz had eaten and 260 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,640 drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end 261 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:34,400 of the heap of grain. And then she came softly and 262 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,200 uncovered his feet and lay down. At midnight the man was 263 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:42,360 startled, turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. 264 00:14:43,160 --> 00:14:46,400 He said, Who are you? She answered, I am Ruth, your 265 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:49,120 servant. Spread your wings over your 266 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,080 servant, for you are a Redeemer, he said. 267 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:54,920 May you be blessed by the Lord. My daughter, you have made this 268 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:58,720 last kindness greater than the first, and that you've not gone 269 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,120 after young men, whether poor or rich. 270 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:02,880 And now, my daughter, do not fear. 271 00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:05,960 I will do for you all that you ask for. 272 00:15:05,960 --> 00:15:09,440 All my fellow townsmen know that you are, I don't miss this, a 273 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:13,960 worthy woman. Boaz has finished a long day's 274 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:15,600 work. He ate and he drank. 275 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:18,440 His stomach is full, his heart is happy. 276 00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:21,120 He's ready to go to bed for a good night's rest. 277 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:24,200 He he lies down and goes to sleep totally undetected. 278 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,240 Ruth begins to make her move she sees exactly where he had lain 279 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,600 and she tip toes up, takes the bottom if you will off his 280 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,320 garment and removes it and uncovers his legs or lower half 281 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:43,320 and lays down beside him. At midnight, startled by the 282 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,040 cold of the middle of the night, Boaz awakes, and to his 283 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:52,480 amazement and shock, you know who that he doesn't know who is 284 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:58,320 yet, there's a woman lying laying at his feet right now. 285 00:15:58,320 --> 00:16:03,720 Please, let me just say again, don't get any ideas, men. 286 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:06,600 Don't expect this to happen to you, all right? 287 00:16:06,880 --> 00:16:11,960 And if it does for any reason, when you wake up, run, run. 288 00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,880 That's probably the best thing I can tell you don't ask any 289 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,920 questions like Boaz. There's no need to ask any 290 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,880 questions. You can do that in the daylight. 291 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,800 Just run. All right, so Boaz asked the 292 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:25,840 most logical question he could ask. 293 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:27,960 Praise God, we know he's a worthy man. 294 00:16:28,160 --> 00:16:30,080 He he doesn't jump to conclusions. 295 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,720 I mean, 99.9% of the time, a, a woman at your feet on the 296 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,120 threshing floor at night, it it probably be a shady thing. 297 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:38,680 All right, let's just just put that out there. 298 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,600 This is not so we ask a logical question. 299 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:42,440 Who? Who are you? 300 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:48,800 Boaz is asking this. And Ruth says I am Ruth, your 301 00:16:48,800 --> 00:16:52,320 servant. Spread your wings over your 302 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:56,960 servant, for you are a Redeemer. Now, let me try to explain 303 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,160 what's going on. I told you that part of the plan 304 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,880 had to involve an action by Ruth that gave an unmistakable 305 00:17:03,880 --> 00:17:06,000 message. All right, here it is. 306 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:11,400 You ready? The Hebrew word kanap is the 307 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:16,079 word we translate for wing or edge of 1's garment. 308 00:17:16,079 --> 00:17:20,839 It's the same word for wing or edge of 1's garment. 309 00:17:20,839 --> 00:17:23,760 Now listen closely. Remember what Boaz said to Ruth 310 00:17:23,760 --> 00:17:25,960 in Ruth chapter 2 verse 12. Listen to this. 311 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,200 He said, the Lord repay you. This is like a prayer of 312 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,440 blessing. The Lord repay you for what 313 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:32,960 you've done. A full reward be given to you by 314 00:17:32,960 --> 00:17:35,480 the Lord the God of Israel. Under whose knap? 315 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:39,120 Under whose wing? Under whose edge of Yahweh's 316 00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:44,680 garment you have taken refuge? What is he saying? 317 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,720 Ruth has taken refuge. Under whose garment first? 318 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:54,040 Under whose wings first? Yahweh's. 319 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:57,160 She's given her heart to Him. She's given her life to Him. 320 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,880 She's in faith decided to follow Him and to belong to Him. 321 00:18:01,120 --> 00:18:05,720 Now Ruth not only has taken refuge under the wings or the 322 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:09,360 knap, the edge of Yahweh's garment if you will, but now 323 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,920 Ruth is taking refuge in an act that symbolically has removed 324 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:16,480 the edge of his garment, laid down beside him and say, Boaz, 325 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,680 spread your knap, spread your wings. 326 00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,560 I'm seeking for refuge under the edge of your garment. 327 00:18:21,680 --> 00:18:25,080 Boaz, he sees unmistakably saying, redeem me. 328 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:30,000 Be the answer to the prayer you prayed for me, Boaz. 329 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,640 She's saying she's proposing forward. 330 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:37,560 Say with me, will you? That's what she's unmistakably 331 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:41,640 saying, with a pure of heart and intentions as possible. 332 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:46,960 She has every right, even an unusual way, to seek redemption 333 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,160 that she's eligible for. Boaz, will you marry me now? 334 00:18:50,160 --> 00:18:52,280 I don't know about you, but my mind just happens to go. 335 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,720 Can you just Fast forward a few years and they're married and in 336 00:18:55,720 --> 00:19:01,120 conversation they get asked. Well, how'd y'all meet Barley 337 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,360 Field? You're trying to say as little 338 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:03,960 as possible. Barley Field? 339 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:06,160 Really. Tell me more about that. 340 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,520 Well, you know how How did you propose, Boaz? 341 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,640 Well, I I I did. I didn't. 342 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:14,840 What? Yes, she did. 343 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:18,360 Ruth, tell me how you propose. That's how unusual. 344 00:19:19,360 --> 00:19:21,920 Well, it's my mother in law's idea. 345 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,120 The Lord bless her heart. And yeah, I mean, Can you 346 00:19:25,120 --> 00:19:28,200 imagine how this went? You know, I mean, how unusual a 347 00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:31,200 proposal in the story that they had. 348 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,080 Right. But what in the world does Boaz 349 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:36,240 say? He will he say yes. 350 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,240 Listen, Verse 10, may you be blessed by the Lord. 351 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:43,560 My daughter, You have made this last kindness greater than the 352 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,200 first. And that you've not gone after 353 00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:49,800 other young men, whether rich or poor. 354 00:19:50,120 --> 00:19:54,120 What is he saying there, Ruth? This this kindness is greater 355 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:56,200 than your first kind. What was Ruths first kindness? 356 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,880 That was her kindness to Naomi. That was her kindness to commit 357 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:02,240 to her and care for her and not leave and abandoned her. 358 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:07,640 This was her first kindness to her deceased husband and to her 359 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:10,200 father-in-law. And to do that which would care 360 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,040 for his relatives and perhaps even one day carry on his name. 361 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:16,080 Right. So now your first kindness was 362 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:17,800 to Naomi. But now, Ruth, you're showing an 363 00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,760 even greater kindness to me. Ruth, you could have pursued 364 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,480 other men. Now, what does he mean by this? 365 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,400 Well, I think what he's talking about is this, Ruth, you could 366 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,560 have pursued marriage in a way that was selfishly all about 367 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:31,680 you, all about you, what you wanted, all about what you 368 00:20:31,680 --> 00:20:34,200 desired. But you've not gone after other 369 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,760 men just to get what you would selfishly want. 370 00:20:37,800 --> 00:20:39,800 You could go off and start a life of your own, a marriage of 371 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:41,120 your own, a new family of your own. 372 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:44,160 But what you've done is you've been kind of Naomi, and now 373 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,960 you're seeking marriage in a way that's further kind not just to 374 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,920 Naomi, but now to me. Because guess who Boaz was a 375 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:51,480 relative of the Limelux. Guess what? 376 00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:54,600 She would be giving Boaz a chance to redeem that which 377 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,280 belonged to Elimelech and her husband. 378 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,360 You're doing for the family that which is bigger than just you, 379 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:00,640 Ruth. You're thinking more than just 380 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:02,280 you. You're not just being kind to 381 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:03,880 Naomi. Now you spread that kindness 382 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:08,080 even to me by pursuing one who's has the right to be Redeemer. 383 00:21:09,480 --> 00:21:11,800 This kindness is greater than your first kindness. 384 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,000 This kindness includes more people than your first kindness. 385 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:19,200 Look at verse 11. And now, my daughter, do not 386 00:21:19,200 --> 00:21:22,760 fear. I will do for you all that you 387 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,320 ask from my fellow townsmen. Know that you are. 388 00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:26,520 Don't miss that word. A what? 389 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:32,680 A worthy woman. Yes, Ruth, I'll redeem you 390 00:21:33,960 --> 00:21:36,760 because you are a worthy woman and everyone knows that you are 391 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,880 just the kind of woman that I've been waiting for. 392 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,200 Now here's what's fascinating to me. 393 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,200 Boaz has already been called a what kind of man? 394 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:53,720 Same word, a worthy man. Now we have a worthy woman. 395 00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,520 But remember, what kind of days are they living in? 396 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,760 The days of the what? The judges. 397 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,200 You can read the book of Judges if you want to for homework. 398 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,000 Things get real shady there, like legit shady because they're 399 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,760 sinning and doing what's in right in their own eyes, not in 400 00:22:08,760 --> 00:22:11,440 God's eyes. And it is, it is wicked. 401 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,040 Now you got two people living in a time and a culture and a world 402 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:19,280 where they're not doing what everybody else is doing. 403 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:21,240 They are swimming upstream. Can you see it? 404 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:25,640 Because they have trusted in the kindness of God and sought 405 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,040 refuge under his wings. And now they're living not 406 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,080 because they're worthy, because God is worthy. 407 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,640 And they're seeking to show that he's worthy. 408 00:22:31,640 --> 00:22:34,520 And now and now they're they're living out that righteousness in 409 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,280 their own lives. What I also think just blows my 410 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,600 mind is this. If you were to pick up a Hebrew 411 00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:43,920 Bible with the ordering that the Hebrews had, the books in it had 412 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,560 been divided into the three sections, the law, the prophets, 413 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:51,760 and the writings, right? And the book of Ruth follows the 414 00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:54,600 book of Judges in our English ordering of the Bible. 415 00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:58,080 But in the Hebrew ordering, the book of Ruth would have come 416 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:00,120 right after the book of Proverbs. 417 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:01,840 Now you say, Kyle, why is that significant? 418 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,680 Do you know anything about how the book of Proverbs ends? 419 00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:11,040 The final chapter, a famous chapter called Proverbs 3031, 420 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:17,800 which is all about a what? A virtuous, A worthy woman that, 421 00:23:17,800 --> 00:23:21,520 by the way, describes as a woman that Let her be praised in the 422 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,680 gates. Let The Town Talk of her virtue 423 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:26,600 and her worth. Guess what's happening in the 424 00:23:26,600 --> 00:23:30,000 life of Ruth right now. They're Speaking of her worth in 425 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,240 the city gates. Now here's what's crazy. 426 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:35,040 Ruth would have been the farthest thing at one point in 427 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:38,400 her life from a worthy Proverbs virtuous 31 woman. 428 00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:41,880 She'd have been a Moabite foreigner, a worshipper of false 429 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,440 little G gods outside the will of God, outside the land, the 430 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,160 promised land of God, cut off from the people of God. 431 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,120 And yet because of faith in God, she's gone from being one far 432 00:23:52,120 --> 00:23:56,440 away from God to being called a virtuous, worthy Proverbs 31 433 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:57,840 woman. In the Hebrew Bible. 434 00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,840 You read Proverbs 31 and then you read Ruth chapter 1. 435 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,240 Is that not amazing? It's like God just say, hey, let 436 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:07,640 me in the order, just show you an example of what I've just 437 00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,200 described. By the way, if you want to 438 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,760 something that I hope you never forget, if you walked in the 439 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:21,800 doors today wondering about if you're far from God, if you 440 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:25,600 think that I'm far away from the will of God, I'm far away from 441 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:27,960 the people of God. I'm far away from being worthy, 442 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,640 walking worthy of the Lord, and with the Lord. 443 00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:37,440 If you think you're too far away from God's mercy and compassion, 444 00:24:37,440 --> 00:24:41,080 kindness and grace, the book of Ruth proves to you beyond a 445 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:42,320 shadow of a doubt that you're not. 446 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:49,560 If God could take her and now describe her as a worthy woman, 447 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:53,720 God could take you as a man, woman, boy or girl, if just by 448 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,480 faith in Him. Be willing to say God have your 449 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,720 way in my life. God take the pen, God write the 450 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:00,560 story. God do in me what only you can 451 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,880 do, and God would do the same for you. 452 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:05,800 The third the second thing I want you to see is not only is 453 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,600 God planning for our good, but God is proposing for our good. 454 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,600 I told you the point of chapter 3 is not really Ruth's proposal, 455 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,240 as crazy as it is the point of Ruth chapter 3 is actually the 456 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:22,280 fact in a much bigger way, God is proposing for our good. 457 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,280 You see, we saw the kindness of God on display through the 458 00:25:25,400 --> 00:25:28,400 kindness of Naomi. We've seen the kindness of God 459 00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:30,560 on display through the kindness of Ruth. 460 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,760 The kindness that they've shown is bold, It's risky, it's 461 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,640 shameless and provocative. But I want you to consider with 462 00:25:37,640 --> 00:25:41,520 me how much more shameless God has shown his love. 463 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:45,600 How much more shameless has God, how much more boldly has God 464 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:49,480 shown us his of how much more provocatively has God shown us 465 00:25:49,600 --> 00:25:52,040 his love in his Son Jesus Christ? 466 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:54,240 You say, what do you, what do you mean by that? 467 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:56,120 Here's what I mean. Let's let's just think through 468 00:25:56,120 --> 00:25:58,320 it. How provocative, how bold, how 469 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,480 shameless number one, that God would send his one and only son 470 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:04,040 to be conceived in the womb of a virgin. 471 00:26:04,160 --> 00:26:08,920 Y'all realize everyone else living at that time, they 472 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:12,280 thought as pure as that was and as perfect as that was, it was 473 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:18,280 scandalous in the moment. God shamelessly, boldly did it 474 00:26:18,280 --> 00:26:21,320 in a way, a perfectly pure way, but nonetheless in a way that in 475 00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:26,160 men and women's eyes that looked on, look scandalous, look 476 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,080 provocative, conceived of a virgin, He would send him to 477 00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,160 take on human flesh and live among us. 478 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:35,360 How provocative that God would take on human flesh and actually 479 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:37,960 be named Emmanuel. God with us living and 480 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:42,840 breathing, walking among us in our shoes by calling him to 481 00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,360 suffer on a cross. And I want you to think of, we 482 00:26:45,360 --> 00:26:48,360 don't talk about this a lot, but He's up there physically bearing 483 00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:52,360 the physical shame, and not just the physical shame, but the 484 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:58,480 spiritual shame of all of our sin laid on Him becoming a curse 485 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:01,120 for us. I'm talking about between two 486 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:03,000 criminals. How much more scandalous that 487 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:07,360 the Son of God would lay there physically laid bare before the 488 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,960 world and laid bare and hanging there suffering to the point 489 00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:15,440 that he would cry out, shedding His blood for us to the point it 490 00:27:15,440 --> 00:27:19,960 was finished and gave His last, dying in our place, becoming a 491 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,960 curse for us, His blood shed for us. 492 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,960 Why? To redeem all who would call on 493 00:27:26,960 --> 00:27:30,560 His name for salvation. To save those who would say yes 494 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:35,480 to his proposal of salvation. You see, here's the truth, 495 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,520 friends. We have not proposed to God. 496 00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:47,840 God has proposed to us. And that's not the way you think 497 00:27:47,840 --> 00:27:51,200 it would go. But he did it shamelessly. 498 00:27:52,040 --> 00:27:55,640 He did it boldly. He did it more provocatively, 499 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:58,600 purely than you could ever imagine. 500 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:00,880 The question is, have you said yes? 501 00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,040 Have you said yes? Let's pick up with where the 502 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:05,800 text where we left off, verse 12. 503 00:28:05,800 --> 00:28:12,400 And now it is true that I am a Redeemer, Boaz says. 504 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:17,560 And yet there is a Redeemer nearer than I remain. 505 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:21,000 Tonight in the morning, if he will redeem you, good, let him 506 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:23,600 do it. If he is not willing to redeem 507 00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:25,920 you, then as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. 508 00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:29,960 Lie down until the morning. So she lay at his feet until the 509 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:35,160 morning, but arose before one could recognize another. 510 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:38,280 And he said, Let it not be known that the woman came to the 511 00:28:38,280 --> 00:28:40,360 threshing floor. And he said, Bring the garment 512 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,160 you are wearing and hold it out. So she held it, and he measured 513 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,920 out six measures of barley and put it on her. 514 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,160 Then she went into the city and when she came to her 515 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:52,480 mother-in-law, she said, how did you fare my daughter? 516 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:55,840 And then she told her all that the man had done for her, saying 517 00:28:55,840 --> 00:28:58,080 these six measures of barley he gave to me. 518 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:01,000 For he said to me, you must not go back empty handed to your 519 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,720 mother-in-law. That's a smart man right there, 520 00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,320 she replied wait my daughter until you learn how the matter 521 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:10,040 turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter 522 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,320 today. Boaz said yes, but he can't act 523 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,880 on that. Yes, unless someone else says 524 00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,480 no. Now I just want you to think 525 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,080 about this. How awkward would this be guys? 526 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:22,600 If you know you're thinking about how you're going to 527 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,400 propose to your wife and got the plan together. 528 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:27,880 You got the ring, you're in the moment. 529 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:33,320 You drop to one knee and she's like, yes, as long as somebody 530 00:29:33,320 --> 00:29:37,120 else says no. I mean, how weird would that be, 531 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:39,480 right? But the deal is, yes, Elimelech 532 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:43,720 is a Redeemer, but he's not the closest male relative. 533 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,200 There is one closer in Elimelech's family that ought to 534 00:29:47,200 --> 00:29:51,760 have the right, the right first, the right of refusal first, if 535 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,160 you will, to redeem. So Boaz is not up to the plate 536 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:56,120 yet. He's on deck. 537 00:29:56,120 --> 00:29:59,000 They got to check and do this right with the first Redeemer. 538 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:01,600 In the meantime, right, To send Ruth home in the middle of the 539 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:03,760 night would have been unkind and unwise. 540 00:30:04,080 --> 00:30:06,800 So she continues to stay there under his protection. 541 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,680 They just set their alarms early enough to get up before 542 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:10,760 daylight. Y'all notice that? 543 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:12,440 They're like, listen, we don't want people. 544 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,040 We don't want to give the appearance of evil. 545 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,200 This has been pure and virtuous. And yet we need to take care of 546 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,360 this in a way that would be wise. 547 00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:24,080 And so Ruth makes it home. But Boaz doesn't leave Ruth. 548 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:26,840 And she he doesn't send her home empty handed. 549 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:28,440 I love the way one preacher put this. 550 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:31,720 He said, you know, Ruth kind of catches Boaz off guard, like he 551 00:30:31,720 --> 00:30:33,120 caught, she caught him by surprise. 552 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,400 So he didn't really have the ring ready right, but he did the 553 00:30:36,400 --> 00:30:39,440 next best thing he could, which was six months supply biscuits 554 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,680 to take home the mother-in-law. So he's like hey, I'm going to 555 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:43,920 load you up with bread. Y'all going to eat good for a 556 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,160 while. This is I'm going to make good 557 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,200 on my promise. And this is seriously a 558 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,360 significant act, right? Because it's a continuation of 559 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:55,680 Naomi's reversal where she again blamed God when she came back to 560 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:57,600 Bethlehem. Remember what she said, Don't 561 00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,320 call me Naomi, Don't call me sweet. 562 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:00,800 Don't call me pleasant. Call me what? 563 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:04,000 Call me bitter. And you know why? 564 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:05,920 Because she was bitter, because she was blaming God. 565 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:07,520 That's what happens. We get bitter is when we're 566 00:31:07,520 --> 00:31:10,240 blaming God. And what she said was, you know, 567 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,600 I was full. But guess who emptied me? 568 00:31:12,600 --> 00:31:16,640 Guess whose fault it is? God emptied me. 569 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:19,440 But guess who is refilling Naomi? 570 00:31:20,720 --> 00:31:23,680 Guess who's renewing her? Guess who's providing for her? 571 00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,800 God is. You know, the third thing I want 572 00:31:26,800 --> 00:31:29,160 you to see? Not only is God planning for our 573 00:31:29,160 --> 00:31:32,640 good, not only has God actually proposed for our good, but God 574 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:38,600 is in heathen, the here and now, providing for our good here and 575 00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,600 now and forever. God is providing for our good 576 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:46,040 now and forever. Y'all, the point of Ruth 3 is 577 00:31:46,040 --> 00:31:48,080 not Mama. You ought to play matchmaker. 578 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:51,080 That's not the point. That may work out, it may not. 579 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:53,680 Y'all. The point is not ladies, If he 580 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,720 doesn't propose, then take things into your own hands and 581 00:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,360 sneak up on him at night and lie down. 582 00:31:58,360 --> 00:31:59,880 See what happens. Don't do that. 583 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:03,640 The point is not, guys, if you don't have a ring, you know, 584 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:05,680 give barley instead that. I mean, none of those are the 585 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:09,920 point, right? What, what, what is the point? 586 00:32:11,960 --> 00:32:16,080 The point is that we see the kindness of God on display 587 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:19,640 through the craziest of proposals that we couldn't 588 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:22,560 imagine. But actually the point is 589 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:27,800 there's a much greater proposal that's much crazier, that's much 590 00:32:27,800 --> 00:32:30,520 Wilder. It's quite honestly much more 591 00:32:30,520 --> 00:32:35,440 scandalous, this much bolder, much bolder, much more shameless 592 00:32:36,240 --> 00:32:40,080 that God has done for us, planning for our good, proposing 593 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:43,440 for our good through his Son and providing for our good through 594 00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:46,120 his Son as well. There, there is a lesson here 595 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:50,320 too I don't want to overlook. You've heard it said that, and 596 00:32:50,320 --> 00:32:52,200 often times it's attributed to Scripture. 597 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:55,000 You've heard this saying God helps those who help themselves. 598 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:57,440 That's nowhere in the Bible, by the way. 599 00:32:59,400 --> 00:33:02,680 The book of Ruth seems to say the exact opposite of that. 600 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,760 The book of Ruth seems to say, you know who God is kind to and 601 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,840 shows kindness to and goes out of his way to be kind to those 602 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:13,800 who first think of others and are kind to them. 603 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:23,800 Ruth to Naomi, Naomi to Ruth, Ruth to Boaz, Boaz to Ruth and 604 00:33:23,800 --> 00:33:26,200 Naomi. Don't you see the kindness going 605 00:33:26,200 --> 00:33:29,880 around and God behind it orchestrating at all, being kind 606 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,160 to those who show kindness? But it's even deeper than that. 607 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:35,080 Because if we stop there, that'd be wonderful, but it wouldn't be 608 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:37,840 merciful and gracious. God is kind even to those who 609 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,200 are not kind, because we've certainly not all been kind to 610 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:41,760 Him. Every one of us have sinned and 611 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:44,120 gone our own way, turned our backs on Him. 612 00:33:44,120 --> 00:33:47,520 God has been kind to us. God has proposed to us even in 613 00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:50,400 our know, even in our sin, even in our rebellion. 614 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:55,440 God's been kind to us and proposed to us anyway to His 615 00:33:55,440 --> 00:34:00,800 Son, Jesus Christ. Look at the kindness of God. 616 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:05,000 You know, I want to finish and land the plane this way. 617 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:08,719 I want to kind of go up to just 40,000 feet and connect some 618 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:10,760 dots. The book of Ruth is so amazing 619 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:13,480 for so many different reasons. One of the ways is just how it 620 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,080 connects with the overarching story of the Bible. 621 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:17,280 I want you to think about it like this. 622 00:34:18,159 --> 00:34:22,080 Israel, the people of Israel would have been reading the book 623 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,040 of Ruth while they were in exile. 624 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:26,520 Now, if that doesn't mean anything to you, that means, 625 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:29,880 right, that what happened is what God said would happen is 626 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,280 that things would go from bad to worse if His people did not obey 627 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:35,679 him. So God would not just shut up to 628 00:34:35,679 --> 00:34:37,239 heaven. So there was no rain and no 629 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:39,960 food. If they kept on the trajectory 630 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,280 of sin and unfaithfulness, God was one day going to give them 631 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:46,560 the boot from the promised land. He was going to evict them 632 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,920 through foreign people's coming in, conquering and hauling them 633 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,600 off into exile. That's what's happened. 634 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,560 And that's where Israel is. When they get the book of Ruth 635 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:57,880 and they're reading it. I just want you to think big 636 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:01,960 picture, Who else was exiled? Could I put it like this? 637 00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:06,480 Was evicted from their promised place of living after they 638 00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:11,640 sinned all the way back in the beginning, Adam and Eve. 639 00:35:13,240 --> 00:35:16,640 Adam and Eve sinned and they got the boot. 640 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:18,280 They had to leave the promised land. 641 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:22,920 They were exiled, if you will. Now, they weren't exactly forced 642 00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,440 to leave, but they chosen their sin to leave. 643 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:28,600 And under God's consequences, guess who else had to leave the 644 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:32,160 promised land or who chose to leave the promised Land here 645 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,840 described in the book of Ruth, Elimelech and Naomi? 646 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:40,600 And their two sons left again. That was not a wise decision to 647 00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,560 leave the place God had promised to provide for them. 648 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:46,560 All right, so Israel's, we've got to be reading this, 649 00:35:46,560 --> 00:35:49,680 identifying with Naomi. We've been evicted. 650 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:52,760 Will God be kind to us again? Will we ever be able to return 651 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:56,400 to the place and provision of God and his promises for us? 652 00:35:57,120 --> 00:35:58,920 What's going to, what's God going to do? 653 00:35:58,920 --> 00:36:00,640 Right? And furthermore, there was a 654 00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:03,560 promise that God gave back in the very beginning, after that 655 00:36:03,560 --> 00:36:06,560 first eviction from the garden. Adam and Eve sinned. 656 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:10,560 God evicts him, but God gives them a promise, whereas mercy 657 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:13,920 and grace is all over. And it's in Genesis 315 where 658 00:36:13,920 --> 00:36:17,480 one day one would be born. The Bible says a seed and 659 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:20,800 offspring of the woman that would actually one day bring 660 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:24,440 success, bring a conquering of sin, bring a restoration By 661 00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,080 doing what? Crushing the head of the 662 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:30,480 serpent, the enemy that tempted mankind to sin. 663 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,400 Now, what they don't know right now is that the one to be born, 664 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:36,920 the promised one of that line is going to be born in the line of 665 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:39,800 who? Ruth. 666 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,240 But guess what? So far in the story, there's no 667 00:36:44,240 --> 00:36:46,000 offspring. There is no son. 668 00:36:46,680 --> 00:36:51,000 And if there's no son, the line of Genesis 315, the promise is 669 00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:52,280 in jeopardy. Right now. 670 00:36:52,280 --> 00:36:54,760 There's only two dead sons. And by the way, Ruth has been 671 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:57,920 barren for 10 years. What's God going to do to 672 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,840 fulfill his promise? Well, to jump forward in the 673 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,840 book of Ruth, we want today, but I'll go ahead and tell you, a 674 00:37:02,840 --> 00:37:06,800 son is going to be born. Guess where he's born? 675 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,280 Where are they living right now? Bethlehem. 676 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:20,240 Guess where else the Son would be born to fulfill the promise 677 00:37:20,240 --> 00:37:22,200 that God was not going to drop in Ruth. 678 00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,560 He wasn't going to drop from the moment he said it in Genesis 679 00:37:24,560 --> 00:37:31,240 315, where Jesus the Son of God would be born in Bethlehem, a 680 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:35,520 far better, much greater Redeemer than Boaz, a Redeemer 681 00:37:35,520 --> 00:37:38,520 for all who would trust him by faith to forgive them of their 682 00:37:38,520 --> 00:37:41,240 sin and offer them life and eternity. 683 00:37:42,480 --> 00:37:46,960 You know, our Redeemer had to have three things, a Redeemer 684 00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:51,120 here and for US. Number one, had to be a 685 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:53,040 relative, had to be related by blood. 686 00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:58,120 Aren't you glad Jesus Christ was related by blood to us? 687 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,880 By taking on human flesh, He qualified as a relative. 688 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,680 But then a Redeemer also had to have the resources. 689 00:38:05,680 --> 00:38:08,080 He had to have the ability to purchase. 690 00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:12,480 He had to have purchasing power. What gave Jesus the purchasing 691 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,680 power to buy back and redeem sinners from the enemy? 692 00:38:17,720 --> 00:38:19,040 Why Him? What qualified Him? 693 00:38:19,320 --> 00:38:22,040 His sinless, innocent perfection. 694 00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,160 The reason why He qualified in your place and mine is because 695 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:27,840 He never did what we did, and that's sin against God. 696 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:31,640 He had the purchasing power by His innocent blood to buy 697 00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:33,800 sinners, if they would trust Him by faith. 698 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:39,520 He was a relative by blood. His blood was the purchasing 699 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,960 power and He shed His blood because He thirdly had the 700 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:48,400 resolve, our resolve to redeem. And what I mean by resolve, what 701 00:38:48,400 --> 00:38:50,720 drove Jesus to be our Redeemer for God? 702 00:38:50,720 --> 00:38:58,200 So His love for you, His love for me gave him the resolve, the 703 00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:02,760 right, the resources and the resolve to redeem you and me. 704 00:39:03,760 --> 00:39:10,400 Y'all, we have not proposed to God, but God has proposed to 705 00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:14,080 you. And by the way, I could have 706 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,280 told you stories of wild proposals, the most creative 707 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:22,920 ideas, but no proposal will ever top God's proposal to mankind, 708 00:39:25,080 --> 00:39:28,640 to his Son. The question is, have you said 709 00:39:28,640 --> 00:39:31,560 yes? John and praised him are going 710 00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:32,800 to come. And here's what I want to ask 711 00:39:32,800 --> 00:39:36,120 you. If you've not said yes to Jesus 712 00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:41,040 Christ, I will follow you. I will follow you. 713 00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,680 Only give my heart and my life to you. 714 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,880 Then the decision that God is leading you and longs for you to 715 00:39:46,880 --> 00:39:50,080 make today is to trust Him simply to say yes. 716 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:52,800 I'm going to stand here as we sing and would love to have you 717 00:39:52,800 --> 00:39:55,680 step out from where you are. Say, Pastor Kyle, I need to say 718 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:59,000 yes to Jesus. I need to say yes to Him. 719 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:05,240 I want to today. Maybe you think you or you have 720 00:40:05,240 --> 00:40:09,280 said yes, but maybe you feel like you've walked away. 721 00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:14,280 Maybe you felt like you're a long way from the will and the 722 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:18,160 kindness of God. Maybe you feel unqualified to be 723 00:40:18,160 --> 00:40:24,080 back in the kindness of God. Can I remind you again that if 724 00:40:24,080 --> 00:40:29,440 God can take Ruth from a Moabite Pagan foreigner to a worthy 725 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,000 woman walking in his will, God can do the same in your life? 726 00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:34,880 Maybe you seem to come and get on your knees or come to this 727 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:38,880 altar and say, God, listen, you know where I am and I want to 728 00:40:38,880 --> 00:40:41,280 thank you that your kindness has not given up on me. 729 00:40:43,280 --> 00:40:45,560 Maybe you just need to pray and you're going through a difficult 730 00:40:45,560 --> 00:40:47,760 time and right now you're struggling to see the kindness 731 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:51,840 of God in your life in any way. Maybe been looking for God to do 732 00:40:51,840 --> 00:40:55,040 something out of heaven, Drop it on you, a miracle inexplicable 733 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:56,880 way other than, Oh my goodness, that was God. 734 00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,000 When you know what, God's probably just dropping you 735 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:02,680 little bread crumbs every single day to remind you he's with you. 736 00:41:02,800 --> 00:41:05,360 He's not forsaking you. He's got a plan for you if 737 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:07,040 you'll just keep your eyes on him and trust him. 738 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:08,160 And maybe you just need to ask God. 739 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:13,840 God, help me to see and open my eyes to your kindness and help 740 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:16,880 me to be an instrument and a conduit for it, the lives in the 741 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:21,960 lives of other people so they can see your kindness and 742 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,760 respond to him. Heavenly Father, I want to pray 743 00:41:25,120 --> 00:41:28,240 right now that you would allow us to say yes to your kindness 744 00:41:28,240 --> 00:41:31,520 to your proposal, the greatest proposals that man could never 745 00:41:31,520 --> 00:41:35,600 top that you would leave heaven and take on human flesh and step 746 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:38,480 in our shoes and hang on a criminal's cross and shed 747 00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:42,840 innocent blood for sinful men and women who've said no to you 748 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,920 who often times continue to say no to you and yet you hold out 749 00:41:46,920 --> 00:41:50,920 your arms to us and Jesus saying would you say yes in faith to 750 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:52,240 me? God, I pray that somebody here 751 00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:55,200 today would say yes to you. God, I pray that somebody here 752 00:41:55,200 --> 00:41:58,520 today would come from far away thinking there so far and 753 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:01,440 perhaps never able to get back to your kindness. 754 00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:05,640 And yet today show prove to them by what they've heard today that 755 00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:09,400 they can step back into your will by faith, repenting of 756 00:42:09,400 --> 00:42:12,600 where they've been, trusting you for where they are and asking 757 00:42:12,600 --> 00:42:14,120 you to write the directions forward. 758 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:17,920 God, I pray that we wouldn't. We would just say yes. 759 00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:20,520 We'd say yes to you in Jesus name. 760 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,120 I pray all God's people said Amen. 761 00:42:23,120 --> 00:42:24,760 Would you stand with me? I'm going to be here. 762 00:42:24,760 --> 00:42:27,640 I encourage this will be close. Would you come as we sing and 763 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:28,280 worship together?