Good afternoon. It's good to be together.
Again, this afternoon, we're happy to have this opportunity
to worship together in spirit and Truth, happy to have each
and every one of you present here with us this afternoon and
I'm thankful to be invited. Once again, to be your speaker.
Want to read a passage of scripture with you to begin this
afternoon from The Book of Proverbs Proverbs chapter 4.
And I'd like to read here with you, a few verses that are
things that are taught to Solomon.
From his father, David that he's wanting to share with his son
rehoboam. And in Proverbs Chapter 1, the
Bible says, beginning at verse 4, he also taught me and said to
me, let your heart retained. My words, keep my commands and
live get wisdom. Get understanding, do not
forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth, do not
forsake her and she will preserve you.
I love her and she will keep you.
Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore, get wisdom and all
your getting get understanding exalt her and she will promote
you, she will bring you honor. When you Embrace her, she will
place on your head and ornament of Grace, a Crown of Glory, she
will deliver to you. It's helpful, isn't it at times
to have the Bible just kind of give you a little verbal
highlighter and that's really what happens in verse 7.
Where you see that phrase? Wisdom is the principal thing.
Therefore, get wisdom. This is something that David
taught, his son, Solomon Solomon wants to teach his son.
Rehoboam and so we have the Book of Proverbs the first nine,
chapters of the Book of Proverbs provide primary Marilee poems
that are exalting the benefits of wisdom, she is the most
attractive companion and she will bring you the most
attracting attractive rewards in life.
And so wisdom should be prized and honored and pursued.
And so this is something that we continue to be aware of even
today. Wisdom, we want wisdom.
It's beautiful thing. It's an important thing.
It's something that is a priority.
And so, what is that? What is wisdom?
You know, wisdom is related to knowledge.
Knowledge, of course is the Gathering of information of
facts and all that thing. But wisdom is the ability to
apply that knowledge to a particular situation.
So a person who is wise knows how to apply what they know.
To what they are doing. And so we want to learn God's
will we want to know the truths of God's will?
It's a vital that we know the truths of God's will?
But we need wisdom to, we need to understand how to apply those
truths to particular situations to be able to recognize how
God's word the truths of God's word.
Actually should look in real life and how they should impact
our real life. So we want to spend a few
moments this afternoon thinking about that.
How is it that you would get wisdom?
Where do you get wisdom from after all?
Well, there's a lot of different ways that I think you can get
wisdom a lot of different avenues that God provides for
us. But one of my favorite ways is
through studying characters of wisdom, in the Bible So want to
do this afternoon for just a few moments is study about a woman
of wisdom and this woman of wisdom her, the light of her
life shines especially bright because of the darkness of her
days. This particular woman of wisdom
lives in the days of the judges and if you know anything about
the history of the Bible and the way that the story of the Bible
is told the history of the judges is one of the most
miserable periods in the The history of God's people
miserable because of their incessant Rebellion against God.
So the time of Judges happens just after the time of Joshua
and so if you look in your Bibles, you find there beginning
with Joshua 12, books of history and judges is the second book of
history. When you read the Book of
Judges, when you begin reading that book the generation of
Joshua is dying the way there. Gone.
And what's going to happen in the days of the judges, the
entire book is actually characterized by the very last
phrase, in the book, in those days.
There was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in
his own eyes. That's the period of the judges.
People did whatever they wanted to, that's not very wise as if
they're not applying the truths of God's word to their life.
They're doing what they want. And as you read through judges,
you kind of read this repeating cycle, where you find the
children of Israel, you know, inhabiting, the promised land
are being blessed by God and then they Rebel.
And then they suffer. And then they cry out to God.
And God sends them a judge or a deliverer.
That's what the word judges. That's what that means.
I deliver him. He sends them a deliver and this
deliver drives out the enemies and then there they are being
blessed again and then they rubell.
And on that cycle goes all the way through the Book of Judges.
and you think God is depending on these people, And he's made
promises that he has to keep the all of humanity that he's going
to fulfill through these people. How is he going to do that?
There didn't seem to be a good one among them.
And so you read all the way through the Book of Judges.
And by the time you get to the end, you are literally the last
stories kind of make you a little ill to be honest with
you. They're awful.
And you think that how could it get?
How can it work? And then you read the book of
Ruth, aren't you? Glad the Book of Ruth is in the
vial on so happy that it's there in the more, you know, about
this dark time. The more beautiful this book
becomes because the Book of Judges tells us about this
period, and then you have this little short little book for
chapters. That tells you the story of
Ruth, Ruth happens, to take place.
In the land, we begin in the land of Moab.
As you begin to To read the beginning of the book of Ruth.
It tells you about a man named elimelech.
His wife is Naomi. He has two sons Malian and now
Alan and Chilean. They are F recites of Bethlehem
Judah. They went to the country of Moab
and remain there there there because of famine And elimelech
Naomi's husband died, and she was left in her two sons.
And they took wives of the women of Malaysia.
The name of the one was orpah, the name of the other Ruth they
dwelt there about 10 years. And then both Malin and Chilean
died. So the woman survived her two
sons and her husband, as you read the first, five verses of
Ruth, the sun doesn't begin. Shining kwacha.
That's a pretty depressing beginning.
And by the time you get to verse 5, you're left with Naomi and
her two daughter-in-laws. And you think what are these
folks going to do their providers?
Their protectors have died. What are they going to do?
And so, we find ourselves in the beginning of judges in a period
or in the beginning of Ruth, that a period, where it appears
to be very difficult to carry out.
The will of God grab your Bibles and read with me here for a
minute. I want to read verses 6 through
18. I'm not going to read the whole
book of Ruth with you but I do want to read this little section
here because it tells the story of what happens next now that
they find themselves in this difficult scenario.
What are they going to do? What decisions are they going to
make? And just keep it in your mind in
a difficult moment. What do the commands of God?
Where do they go? Are they still with you or do
you throw them out because times are too hard.
Let's see what they do. Let's begin here in verse 6.
Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might
return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country
of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving
them bread. Then she went out from the place
where she was, and her two daughters in love with her and
then went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
De. And they only said to her two,
daughters-in-law go return each to her mother's house.
The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and
with me, the Lord grant that you may find rest each into house of
her husband. So she kissed them and they
lifted up their voices and wept and they said to her surely we
will return with you to your people but Naomi said, turn back
my daughter's. While will you go with me?
Are there still sounds in my womb?
That they may be your husband's turn.
Back my daughter's. Go Fran, too old to have a
husband. If I should say, I have hope if
I should have a husband tonight and should also bear Sons.
Would you wait for them till they were grown?
Would you restrain yourselves from having husband's know, my
daughter's for it. Grieves me very much for your
sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me, then
they lifted up their voices and wept again and orpah, kissed her
mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her, And she said, look, your
sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her God's
return after your sister-in-law. But Ruth said, entreat me not to
leave you or to turn back from following after you, for
wherever you go, I will go wherever you Lodge.
I will Lodge. Your people shall be my people
and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die.
And there will I be buried the Lord do so to me and more also
if anything but death Parts you and me When she saw that she had
determined to go with her. She stopped speaking with her.
And so things, get better. It seems the Lord has blessed
the promised land. Again, she's going to return.
Naomi is from this land of Moab. She's going to go back home and
as I start cruising along here, come the daughters-in-law with
her And what does she tell them? She says go home.
You know, what is this conversation?
Do you notice what happens? She tells him to go home and
they cry their sad. And you know, I'm sure on the
days these girls married into this family.
This is not what they thought was going to happen.
This is you know, things as they planned out, had not turned out,
they didn't work. Like they thought it would And
so you can just go back home. You know it's more though than
just frustrated expectations. That's at the center of this
Exchange. What is the only mean when she
says, will you wait for me to get married and have sons?
Will you restrain yourselves from having husband's in a, what
is all of that about? You know what that is?
That's something she's referring to something called the lived.
Here it law. The levira it law is in
Deuteronomy chapter 25. If you want to read it, I think
it's in verses 5 through 10. What is the labirynth law will
buckle your seatbelts? Here's what the levirate law is.
Remember, this is for Israel, this is their law and this is
all about building a nation. That here's what would happen if
you had two brothers and one brother dies and he does not
leave behind his Sun, it becomes his brothers responsibility to
take that wife and father, his son on behalf of his brother.
And so that is the love irit law.
When these girls married into this family, they did more than
just marry these guys. They literally married into the
family. and when their husbands died without Sons, God has a law
for that. God has expectations for what
people are supposed to do in that circumstance.
What are they going to do? You know what Naomi says?
And I don't want to be too hard on.
They only know me as it is a good person.
I believe that she's having a difficult time figuring out how
to follow God's Will. And these particular moments we
can relate to that. All of us maybe have been there.
But what is Naomi recognized or what does she recommend?
She recommends go home. We can't do it.
It won't work. I know God's law.
I know what he says. We're supposed to do in the
circumstance, but it's too hard. It's just too hard.
There's no way it can work out. So you girls, you go home.
For them to leave Naomi then is not just about loyalty, it's not
just personal loyalty. It is actually to leave.
God's will do you notice when orpah leaves?
Look at this little phrase here that can sneak by, if you're not
watching it, real close verse 15, what does she say?
Warper has gone back to her people and to her gods?
You know, leaving the only wasn't just about leaving a
familiar person leaving someone. They loved leaving someone that
they wanted to that wasn't just the deal.
It was about leaving God. Going back to idolatry.
So to leave me only as to go home to idolatry and to re-adopt
those ordinances as they had in their own country.
Or believes the Ruth refuses to go.
Look at what Ruth says now. Beginning in verse 15.
Jesus don't entreat me to leave you.
Because I'm going to go with you, where you go.
I will go. I want you to notice as we look
at these phrases, the increasing level of commitment with each
phrase that she states. The first thing she says, where
you go. I'm going to go.
Okay, they're going to take a road trip together.
I mean, Chris here we have taken I don't know quite a few road
trips together. Actually, over the years, takes
a level of commitment to do that.
Not a super. Profound level of commitment,
maybe. But look at what she says.
Next, where you stay? I'm going to stay when we've
done that, too. We used to have 15, guys.
Stay in one room at a meeting at one time took a shower at 3:00
in the morning because that's not when the time was Then she
says, your people will be my people.
So you my family is going to be your family and your God, my
God. I'm going to die.
Where you die. I'm going to be buried where
you're buried. Do you see the increasing level
of commitment that she announces?
This is not just because Ruth really likes Naomi.
The first point of wisdom, I want you to see in Ruth as this
Ruth is committed to God until she dies.
She does not have an Escape Plan.
She does not have an option. It is I'm committed to God and
I'm going to be committed to him when I die.
You know, when you run into challenges in life you're going
to find situations where you think, I don't know how to do
God's will. In this moment you may find
situations like that you may struggle to understand how to
apply God's word to a particular situation.
But I'm going to make you a promise.
You will never figure it out if you don't begin with this
commitment. If you don't have it in your
mind that there is no way, I will leave God, I don't know how
this will work. I don't know the direction we're
going to go but I'm never leaving him.
No matter what. If that's not your starting
point, you're gonna have a hard time making a wise decision in a
difficult time. But that's where Ruth begins.
She is loyal to God until she dies.
There Is No Escape Plan. So I love verse 8, verse 18.
When she saw that she just stopped speaking.
And then verse 19, They Come to Bethlehem, don't you?
Wish you had a little bit of a note there on what they talked
about on the way, they have this conversation, then they walk all
the way from Moab for Bethlehem and we don't know what they say,
but I know they chatted on the way.
I'm sure that they did. So when they get back to
Bethlehem the end of chapter 1, tells you about their return to
Bethlehem. And, you know, people remember
Naomi. It's been a while since she's
been there, but they remember her.
This is her hometown and she comes home and people say, hey
Naomi's here and she says, don't call me Naomi, you call me Mara.
Well, that's kind of a distressing greeting.
The name Naomi really means sweet.
The name, Mara means bitter. Don't call me sweet.
You called me bitter. Why does she say that?
She says, because God has basically reached out against me
and my family. Is that true?
Naomi is the first person to believe that.
Do you know a lot of people believe that even to this very
day A lot of very conservative scholars believe that maybe
that's true. I don't know.
I kind of wonder about it though because when and other places in
the Bible where God punishes people like that it says God
punish them like that. And so when you read in Genesis
about the descendants of herb being punished, it tells you
when you read in second, Samuel about other grabbing the ark God
tells you, I killed him. It doesn't say that here.
I just want to give that to you. You think about it as you read
the book of Ruth. But anyway that's what she
believes. The very last verse of chapter 1
gives you a little bit of a note here about the circumstances of
their return as well. It says now Naomi returned and
Ruth the moabite his daughter-in-law with her who
returned from the country of Moab and they came to Bethlehem
at the beginning of barley Harvest let me read the first
three, verses of chapter 2, there was a relative of Naomi's,
husband, a man of great, Great wealth of the family of
elimelech. His name was Boaz.
So Ruth the moabite is said to Naomi.
Please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after
him in whose sight, and I find favor and she said to her, go my
daughter and she left and went and gleaned in the field after
the Reapers. And she happened to come to the
part of the field belonging to Boaz who was of the family of
elimelech. as you read the very end of chapter, one in the
beginning of chapter 2, there's this little note about the time
of their return, its barley Harvest, it's Harvest Time And
speaking of God's law, God had a plan for people who were down
and out here comes Ruth and Naomi back to this particular
area. They don't have any money, they
don't have a bunch of Provisions, late aside, they're
really in bad shape. And so, how are they going to
provide for themselves? I mean literally, what are they
going to eat for dinner? Will God had a plan for that,
you know, in The Book of Leviticus, it mentions a little
bit about this. If you read Leviticus chapter,
19, verses 9 and 10, Leviticus chapter 23, verse 22.
And there's a couple of other places too, but God had a plan
for what those who were less fortunate.
We're going to be allowed to do. So, here is his plan. when these
Farmers would go through and reap their fields, there's a,
there's a couple of rules first rule you go through the field
once You don't go through and harvest twice.
You go through and you harvest your field one time.
Rule number two, is you leave the hedges around your property
and don't Harvest them at all. So what's the point of all of
that? Well, those that were having a
difficult time, those that are struggling were allowed them to
go through those fields and harvest for themselves.
That's the way they were designed to provide for
themselves in those difficult times.
So, Ruth here, when she says, all that, why do you think she
says that you know why? I think she says that because
she read Leviticus 19 before because she read Leviticus 23,
she knew the law and what does she do?
She applies God's law to this difficult circumstance.
Let me go out to those fields and let me go reap.
I love this example. In the middle of a difficult
time. What should you do?
Well to begin with Ruth is loyal to God till she dies but number
two is Ruth Works to solve her problems.
She works according to God's will to solve her problems.
Reminds me of Madison's first grade teacher, my oldest
daughter Madison, she had this first grade teacher named mrs.
Jones, Mrs. Jones was a wonderful teacher.
She had been teaching first grade for 30 years or something.
She was an expert at teaching first grade.
And at teaching parents, as it turned out, she was wonderful.
And in this class, these kids come into first grade that's a
big jump. Isn't it to go from kindergarten
to first grade big jump? And you have to do all these
things, all the sudden and she told us, she said, you know,
these, these kids need to be ready on the first day of school
to do all of these different things and like, tie their own
shoes, and those sorts of things.
And then she explained, you know, what happens, these first
graders, every single problem, they have they come up to me and
ask me to solve it. And one of the things I'm going
to teach these kids is to solve your own problems.
Wow, I love that. I was a brand-new dad, you know,
Madison's in first grade, I'm learning right along with her,
but I love that solve your own problems like that.
And so when she has her shoe untied what are you supposed to
tell her, solve your problem, you can do that.
You go do it. Where's my pencil?
I don't know. You go find it.
That's what mrs. Jones, tallest to do.
And so in our family, even to this day, if I can tell Madison,
Sy LP, she rolls her eyes, but she knows what that means.
Solve your own problems. You know, there's there's
something you can do when you have problems.
There are things you can do and you don't we're tempted to do.
Is nothing. We're tended to be defeated by
these problems and think, maybe they can't be overcome.
And I don't say that to be critical.
They feel overwhelming, they feel too big.
They feel too difficult. And you think there's nothing I
could do to make a difference? Yes, there is.
Get up and go to work on something.
Go work on something you can accomplish and you read in the
Bible and see the specific things.
God tells us to be working at go work at some of those And if
you're having a really, really difficult day get up and go work
on something. Is that going to be easy?
Maybe not. Maybe not But it's the best
thing for you. You know what happens with Ruth.
If you read chapter 2 it's really neat.
She shows up in this field you know she's Brave isn't she?
Here she is as foreign-born girl going out to a field to harvest
along with all of these Israelites who I'm sure hated
her guts and hated that she was there and wanted to be mean to
her. Where did she show up in the
field of Boaz their relative? And once he figures out who she
is, he tells the Harvesters hey you kind of give her some room
and you let her take what she wants.
Don't ask her any questions you give her the opportunity to take
whatever she wants. Well, she's a hard worker.
You read the end of chapter 2. She's pretty successful.
And she has kind of, as you could say, maybe a hard time,
carrying everything home at the end of the day and she shows up
and Naomi says, where did all of this come from?
And she says, well, I ended up in the field of Boaz and you can
almost see the light bulb come on and they only his eyes.
The Life just comes right back into her soon as she hears his
name. Because she can see, there is a
way to do God's will. There is a way, this could work
out. Why is Ruth wise?
Ruth is wise, because she's committed to God, no matter what
till she dies, and she is wise, because she works according to
God's will to solve her own problems.
She does what she can to work on her problems.
Number three, though, we want to take a look here at chapter 3
because what happens here, once Naomi realizes you just found
Boaz Boaz is our relative. This could actually work.
Naomi kind of, it seems like when you read it, she kind of
gets back to her old self, and here's what happens.
Let's take a look at the beginning of chapter 3, then
Naomi her mother-in-law said to her.
My daughter, shall I? Not seek security for you?
That it may be well with you. That's the levirate law.
It can work. We can find security for you.
Here's how now, Boaz, whose young women you were with is he
not all relative. In fact, his winning winnowing
barley tonight at the threshing floor, Therefore, wash yourself
and anoint yourself, put on your best garment and go down to the
threshing floor. The new not make yourself known
to the man. Till he is finished eating and
drinking, then it shall be. When he lies down, you'll notice
the place where he lies, you shall go in uncover, his feet
and lie down and he will tell you what you should do.
And she said to her, all that you say to me, I will do.
So she went down to the threshing floor and did
according to all that her mother-in-law instructed her to
do. So you just seen the only kind
of come back, don't you? You can almost see the color
come back to her face in just the life come back to her.
And all the sudden she sees it can work and it can work.
And so then she begins telling Ruth what to do.
Here's what you do? You get all dressed up.
You make yourself all pretty and all of that.
And he's going to eat dinner and then he's going to fall asleep.
Guys haven't changed. We're all still the same.
We're going to eat, then we're going to, we're going to sleep.
That's what Boaz was going to do.
He's worked hard. All day is going to eat this big
old meal and he's going to be out like that. and she says, you
get up there and you You're going to look all nice and
everything and when he falls asleep, you uncover his feet.
You just lay down at his feet. I have to admit, that's kind of
a strange little section to read, and I don't know that.
I know everything about it. Read a few different
explanations, some of which I know are incorrect.
Boaz and Ruth both are spiritually minded people.
The very first thing Boaz says, when he wakes up, by the way, as
are spiritually minded things. It's nothing sensual about this
to me. My favorite explanation I've run
across is, why does she uncovers feet?
So he'll wake up in the middle of the night, that's why.
I would you want to cover my feet?
I will I'll wake up. So anyway, whatever the reason
when he wakes up there's a message in her posture.
It's a message of humility. And it sends a message of who
Ruth really is in her heart. and when Boaz wakes up, And he sees
her, he realizes the opportunities as well, right?
In the middle of all of this though, is point number three.
How is Ruth wise Ruth is wise? Because she listens to wise
counsel, I want you to think about exactly what Naomi tells
her to do. Naomi is involved in her love
life. She's telling her about how to
pursue a romantic relationship with this guy.
This is the kind of guy you should be interested in.
Here's what you should do to sort of build your relationship
with him. well in our time, that just sounds kind of intrusive
who are you to get involved in my business like But do you
notice what Ruth did it? She said everything, you said to
me, I'm going to do it. And she did.
That speaks well of her, doesn't it?
She's willing to listen to advice.
His sometimes, within our hearts, we don't necessarily
want to listen to good advice, but it's always better that we
do. I've had to learn that a little
bit in Oklahoma because like I told you I'm a Californian
living in Oklahoma. And so they actually have
weather out there. We have weather here too, but
not like Oklahoma it's it's different.
The first winner I was back there and went to the preacher
study in Texas. And, you know, it's the very end
of the session. And this we're having lunch and
it was going to be an afternoon session and then it was going to
be over and the solder preacher comes up to me, and he says,
when are you going home? I don't know.
I'm not sure. He said if I was you, I'd go
home right now. After I go back to the place
during lunch, I get your car and bring it back here and I'll
leave immediately. After the last session drive to
your house. You know what I thought when he
told me that that's all I don't want to do that.
I'm tired. And I want to stay here tonight
and drive back tomorrow. After I've got to sleep, But he
said, there's a storm coming and if I was you, that's what I
would do. well, I just had a little wrestling match inside
myself, to be honest, with you, sitting there eating lunch and I
thought, well, I guess I'll do it.
So I went back out my car and drove home that night.
It was an easy drive home. The next morning, I never live.
Where we've had snow before, the next morning.
Here comes all this ice. And then a bunch of snow.
And a whole bunch of preachers were stuck at trying to get home
but not me. I was home.
And you know, I looked a lot smarter than I am.
Why? Because that guy's wise a new
about the weather a lot more than I do.
In that how that works. We borrow other people's wisdom.
I don't know everything. You don't either.
Sometimes we need help. It didn't really matter who you
are, how much experience you have.
You're going to find people that know more than you about
something from time to time. And you can learn from Proverbs
12 and 15 talks about. The fact that there is safety in
a multitude of counselors. God doesn't expect you to figure
everything out on your own. He wants all of us to listen to
wise advice. Ruth does a great job of that.
She listens to Naomi, she takes the advice of Naomi and it turns
out that she begins this relationship with Bo has just
like the only thought it could happen.
Ruth is loyal to God till she dies.
She's a hard worker. And she is a person who will
listen to wise counselor, I want to mention the fourth point to
you. Now, we go to chapter 4, towards
the end of the story. Boaz is now aware of everything.
He is now aware of the opportunity, but he also is
aware R because he is an individual of knowledge of some
things they need to do in order to walk through this legally.
So, beginning a chapter for Boaz Takes Ruth and makes his way to
the city gate. Now, why are they going to The
City Gate? The fact of the matter is there,
The City Gate where we're going to go here as we read this
together. That's where the elders are.
And these Elders, they're good. They're the ones that are going
to be able to provide wisdom and all that sort of a thing, you
know, the elders don't really say anything.
But their witness to it. And in other words, the
procedure has a great amount of credibility.
So let's just see here. What bill has does listen
beginning in verse 1. Now Boaz went up to the gate and
sat down there and behold a close relative of Boaz had had
spoken come by, there's another relative closer related than
Boaz, that's who he's talking about.
So boys says he's going to negotiate with him here at
discuss things with him. He says, come aside, friends,
sit down here. So he came aside and sat down
and he took ten men of the Elders of the city and said, sit
down here. So they sat down Then he came to
the close relative Naomi who has come back from the country of
Moab sold the piece of land, which belonged to our brother
elimelech and I thought to inform you saying, my back in
the presence of the inhabitants in the Elders of my people, if
you'll redeem it redeem it, but if you'll not redeem it then
tell me that I may know for there's no one but you to redeem
it and I am next after you. He said, I'll redeem it.
And Boaz said, on the day, you buy the field from the hand of
Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth.
The moabite US, the wife of the Dead to perpetuate the name of
the Dead. Through his inheritance, listen
to verse 6 at the close relatives and the close relative
said, I cannot redeem it for myself.
Lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of
redemption for yourself for I cannot redeem it.
What happens here? There's a relic, there's a law,
you know, the law of redemption, and I'm going to run through all
that but here we find again a mosaic law behind this story and
what is the law of redemption? Basically, that there was
relatives that were closely related than others?
Maybe like we would think first second, third, cousin, that sort
of thing. So, you'd say the first cousin
had the right of redemption before the second cousin in
before the third cousin and so on and so forth, that's kind of
what you're finding right here. so, here's this relative that's
more closely related to Naomi the specifically to elimelech
then Boaz is What is his name? Isn't it funny?
I think it's funny. It never says his name.
Maybe his name is not worthy. Remembering look what he does.
Do you want to redeem it? Yes.
I'm going to redeem it. But when you do, there's a
Deuteronomy 25 situation here. On second thought I'm not
interested. I don't want that
responsibility. So he lets it go.
This close relative that we don't never know his name he
lets it go. But do you notice what Boaz does
by negotiating all of this or discussing it or whatever, where
he does? Do you see the level of
credibility there is to their relationship?
So here's the fourth point. I want to make Tia Ruth is wise,
because she's loyal to God till she dies, and she's a hard
worker and she listens to wise counsel.
But the fourth thing about Ruth, she is wise because she marries
a man of wisdom. You take one person and you have
them marry another person of wisdom.
What do you think can happen? You know, the choice of mate,
the choice of whom you're going to marry is such an important
decision. So important, the most important
decision you're going to make for sure is to become a
Christian The second most important decision you're going
to make is whether or not you get married.
And if you do, who are you going to marry?
Oh, that's important. Who's going to influence your
life more than your spouse? Nobody.
You know what? If you marry somebody?
Who's wise, that's good. That's really, really good.
because the biggest influence in your life as a person of wisdom,
And for those several of you, here are married already and
have been married a long time. This is relevant, for those of
us who are married to because we have to realize the on the other
side of that decision as we are married.
That whether or not we're wise has a pretty large impact on the
quality of life of our spouse. It's not just about me.
I've got to be wise to be a good husband. and if you're married,
you need to be wise to be a good spouse to In other words, wisdom
is an important Cornerstone. Of a good marriage of a
marriage. That honors.
God, I want you to look what happens.
Now, that Boaz and Ruth are together these two people that
are wise. These two people who are looking
to apply God's will to their life.
Even in difficult times, listen to the end of Ruth, Ruth,
Chapter 4, verses 18 to 20. Now, this is the genealogy of
Perez Perez be got hezron, hezron, bhagat ram.
Ram, be got a minute ab and admitted to have begot nahshon
nahshon begat salmon, salmon, begat boy.
Oh, as well as begat opened Obed, begat, Jesse, and Jesse
begat David. There's a great big bang at the
end of that book. A genealogy.
But it's just not any genealogy. I want you to look and see what
came out of this family. There's a Heritage here before.
Boaz ever comes along. There are men of Faith before he
ever comes along, but look what happens after him.
The Laz is the father of a guy named Obed.
Who's the father of a guy named Jesse, who's the father of a guy
named David? Did you know the story of Ruth
is the story of the love story of David's?
Grandparents. King David is a descendant of
Ruth and Boaz. God, how are you going to keep
all your promises? In a dark time he needs to
people of wisdom the lesson Ruth.
And here comes the line toward David but it's even better than
that. It's not just that Ruth and Boaz
are the grandparents of David Ruth and Boaz are the
grandparents of Jesus Christ. This Is The Love Story of his
grandparents long. Many many greats back before.
The Ruth and Boaz have a role and bringing the world our
savior. Their wisdom.
Look at the lasting consequences of their wise decisions.
Aren't you thankful tonight for the faith and wisdom of Ruth,
and Boaz and for the family that together, they were able to
raise it. For the blessing, their family
has become to the world Wisdom is the principal thing.
Therefore, get wisdom. Ruth did just that wisdom was
important to her, she prioritized it, and she lived a
life of wisdom. Her life of wisdom built around
her loyalty to God, her work, ethic her willingness to take
counsel, and her wisdom, and choice of a mate in those four
ways, Ruth, teaches us how we can seek after wisdom Even in
our own time. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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