We were singing that hymn. I
was thinking about what the Lord said to Mary. She has chosen
that one thing that is needful. Sitting at the Lord's feet. Pray
that He'll be pleased to speak to our hearts tonight. Let's
open our Bibles together to Lamentations chapter 1. It's right after Jeremiah. Jeremiah the prophet is also
the penman used of God to write these words of lament and in
writing them he is a type of Christ and you can see that clearly
if you know the Lord and you know anything about the gospel
you'll see that as we read these words that Jeremiah is not just
speaking of himself he's speaking on behalf of Christ Look at verse
12 of Lamentations chapter 1. Is it nothing to you all ye that
pass by behold and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow
which is done unto me wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in
the day of his fierce anger. Here's our Lord speaking from
the cross and notice that he says God has afflicted me. in
his anger when God Almighty found sin on his dear son, he had no
choice but to exercise his wrath and his anger against him. From
above hath he sent fire into my bones and it prevaileth against
them. He hath spread a net for my feet,
he hath turned me back, he hath made me desolate and faint all
the day. The yoke of my transgression
is bound by his hand. They are wreathed and come upon
my neck. He hath made my strength to fall. The Lord hath delivered me into
their hands from whom I am not able to rise up." God's justice had to be satisfied
in order for him to save sinners. This was the This was the covenant
that had been established in the purpose of God before the
world began and there was no changing it. The Lord hath trodden
underfoot all my mighty men in the midst of me. He hath called
an assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord hath trodden
the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. They all scattered as I would have done, and as
you would have done, we would have been the ones wagging our
heads and speaking blasphemy against Him. Verse 16, For these
things I weep, mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water,
because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me. My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? My children are desolate, because
the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands,
and there is none to comfort her. The Lord hath commanded
concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him. Jerusalem
is as a minstress woman among them. The Lord is righteous,
for I have rebelled against his commandment. When the Lord Jesus
Christ bore in His body the sins of His people, He made them to
be His own. Here I pray you, all people,
and behold my sorrow. My virgins, my young men are
gone into captivity. I have called for my lovers,
but they deceived me. My priests and mine elders gave
up the ghost in the city while they sought their meat to relieve
their soul. Behold, O Lord, for I am in distress. My bowels are troubled. My heart
is turned within me, for I have grievously rebelled abroad, the
sword bereaved, bereaveth at home. there is as death. They have heard that I sigh.
There is none to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of
my trouble. They are glad that they have
done it. Thou wilt bring the day that
thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me. Let all their
wickedness come before thee, and do unto them as thou hast
done unto me, for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many, My heart
is faint. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we're so very thankful that you sent your dear Son to lament
over our sin to have them charged to His account, to impute them
to Him in such a way, Lord, as to make Him the object of Your
wrath and justice, to know that in the sacrifice
that He made, that all the sins of all of Your people have been
put away once and for all, that Thou hast made Him who knew no
sin to be sin, that we might become the righteousness of God
in him. We ask, Lord, that you'd be pleased
now to enable us to set our affections on things above where Christ
is seated at the right hand of God, and to find our hope, our
salvation, and all our satisfaction in him. For it's in his name
we ask it. Amen. Let's stand together. If we're able to sing that hymn
with some understanding, it's because the Lord's taught us
something of His grace, that He would have mercy upon a sinner
like me. What a contrast from what the
world thinks about God being obligated to save all men. We're going to be looking at
some verses of scripture in the book of Ruth tonight, if you'll
turn with me there in your Bibles. While you turn, I want to encourage
you to remember me this weekend. I'm going to be in Charlotte.
I'll be baptizing half the church up there, I think, in the swimming pool at the hotel
where they meet. We'll have services on Saturday
and on Sunday, and I'm very much looking forward to that. Michael
and Bert will be bringing the messages here Sunday morning,
so please, I know they covet your prayers for them. And also
I want to welcome Robert and Deanna Horton. They've been coming
for a few weeks now, and they weren't sure if they were going
to live here or in Sarasota. They've attended the services
in Sarasota and attended services here. They said they like the
preacher here better. So they've decided they found a
place just up the road from here. So welcome, Robert and Deanna. We look forward to getting to
know you all better and fellowshipping with you. It's a joy to have
you. The Scriptures gives our Lord
the glorious title of Redeemer. Redeemer. And we just read from
Lamentations an account of our Lord's grief as He bore the sins
of His people on Calvary's cross. And yet, bearing that cross,
you remember in Luke chapter 23 when he encountered some women
that were weeping for him. And he said to them, he said,
weep not for me, weep for yourselves and for your children. The Jesus that is being preached
today is a pitiful Jesus that is to be wept for. He's one who
can't get it done. He wants to save everybody. He's
made an offer of redemption. But unless men cooperate with
Him and let Him have His way, He's not going to be able to
fulfill that title that the Scripture gives of Him as the Redeemer. It doesn't say anywhere that
He's trying to redeem anyone. The Scripture is clear in calling
Him the Redeemer. He accomplished the redemption
of his people on Calvary's cross. And he said, don't weep for me.
He said, I'm here in the purpose of God. I'm right on schedule. I'm accomplishing exactly what
I came to do. Weep for yourselves. Weep over
your own sin. Weep over your own unbelief.
Weep over your own children. You're the ones that have a need. You're the one that needs to
be pitied, not me. Don't pity me. Pity yourself
and pity your children. I'm the Redeemer. Isaiah put
it like this in Isaiah 54 verse 5, for thy maker is thy husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name, thy redeemer, the Holy One of
Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. Job said, and Job made a lot
of statements that were not true, and things that the Lord had
to correct him for in the end, but one of the things that he
did say that was accurate was, I know, in spite of my circumstances,
I know that my Redeemer liveth. I know He liveth. Isaiah 54 verse
8, the scripture says, In a little wrath I hid my face from thee
for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on
thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. Thy Redeemer. Oh, he's not a
God to be pitied. He's a God to be worshipped. He's accomplished what he came
to do. What he came to do was the redemption of his people,
was to buy back to God that which was lost. As he says in the Psalms,
I restored that which I took not away. I wasn't the cause
of you losing your fellowship with God, but I restored you.
I redeemed you. David said in Psalm 19 verse
14, Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart
be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. My Redeemer. Oh, He is the Redeemer. He bought back. He delivered
what was lost and what was forfeited. And the price that God required
for that redemption was nothing less than His precious blood. Yes, He bore in His body the
sins of His people. Yes, God imputed to Him. He charged
Him guilty on account of the sins of His people. But the only
reason that the sacrifice that He made was acceptable to God
is because Himself, He was without sin. He was without sin. Peter said it like this, for
as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold. That's not what God, He didn't
redeem you with that. No, He redeemed you from the
traditions of your father with the precious blood of Christ
as of a lamb without spot and without blemish. the Lord Jesus
Christ was an acceptable sacrifice to God because he himself was
without sin. And God accepted his blood sacrifice
for the redemption of sinners. Hebrews chapter 9 verse 12 says,
Neither by the blood of bulls and goats, but by his own blood
he entered in once into the holy place. Now that's the holies
of holies. That's where that Ark of the
Covenant was. And the Lord had told the children
of Israel that when Aaron went in and put the blood on the mercy
seat, he said, here I will meet with you. And year after year
on the day of atonement, they took the blood of the sacrificial
lamb and put it on the mercy seat as a symbol, as a sign,
as a type. of what the Lord Jesus Christ
would accomplish when he went in once into the holy place. Listen to this in Hebrews chapter
9 verse 12. Having obtained, having procured,
having earned, having purchased eternal redemption for us, the
redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ was not something that
needs anything else to be done to it. It's been done. It's finished. It's accomplished.
Our eternal redemption has been procured by the sacrifice of
the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross. He has bought back, I
have restored that which I took not away. He didn't just deliver
us from the wrath that is to come, He satisfied divine justice. He brought us into a privileged
inheritance. He made us to be children of
God. He took away the natural enmity
that's in our heart and brought us into a loving relationship
with God Almighty. I was talking to a brother today
He was saying, you know in religion we always talked about having
a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And he said, I
don't know how to express that anymore. And I said, well, you know, in
religion it was just an emotional experience. It was a feeling
that we had based on an idea that wasn't based in truth. Yes,
we have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, but
it's not founded on the subjectivity of our own feelings. It's founded
in the objectivity of the truth. The truth. And what a difference
that makes. We don't have to gin up our emotions
anymore. We just come back to the truth
and the truth sets us free. The Lord told Pilate, he said,
for this cause came I into the world. For this purpose was I
born, to bear witness unto the truth. They that are of the truth
hear my voice." What is the truth? The truth is that the Lord Jesus
Christ purchased to God that which our father Adam lost. But you know what? What he restored
was so much better than what Adam had. Adam had fellowship
with God. He walked with God in the cool
of the day. He spoke with God. That would
have been a wonderful experience, but you know what? We've got
union with God. Union with Him. As He is, so
are we. We're one with the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's a whole lot better than
fellowship. A whole lot better than fellowship. Adam was innocent. Before the fall, he was innocent.
He had not sinned. What we have restored through
the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ is so much better
than innocence. It's righteousness. It's righteousness. We have the full righteousness
of God. He's given us His name. She shall be called the Lord
our righteousness. He's imputed to us and charged
to us the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Righteousness
is a lot better than innocence. And union is a lot better than
fellowship. Adam had some knowledge of God. But you know what Adam didn't
have? He didn't have the truth. He didn't have the truth. The
truth is the fullness of God. That's the truth. Adam knew nothing
about the mercy of God. He knew nothing about the grace
of God. He knew nothing about truth. He did. We've got the truth. The full
revelation of God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who
himself is the truth. You know, Adam had the peace
of God in his life. I mean, he walked with God in
the cool of the day. He experienced a peaceful relationship with
God. You know, we have something so
much better than that by what the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed
us from and what He's restored to us. We have peace with God. Peace with God. in the Lord Jesus
Christ. And the truth is you can't really
have, you don't really know anything about the peace of God until
you have peace with God. And that can only be done through
the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. God requires a
blood sacrifice. He requires death. He requires
a perfect sacrifice. And the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
that requirement. And God's satisfied. And we have
peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. And that peace
that we have with God gives to us the peace of God. Yeah, I
guess that would be the thing, the difference between what men
in religion have. They go around trying to shore
up their peace of God, and it's a facade. Religious people can
be so, well, just fake. I don't know
any other way to put it. No, we just put it out, put on
the pretend to convince themselves that they have the peace of God
when they have nothing, they know nothing of peace with God.
Adam was under a covenant of works. He was under a covenant
of works. He was always under the pressure
of you violate this covenant. and I'll kill you." And he couldn't
maintain faithfulness to that covenant, could he? We're under
the covenant of grace. The covenant of grace has already
been established on both ends. What God required, God provided,
and it's already finished. We're not under works. We're under grace. We never have
to fear The judgment of God. We never have to fear the wrath
of God. Why? Because we've been redeemed from
that. The Lord Jesus Christ has recovered
that which He took not away. Oh, what we've got in Christ
is so much better. So much better. And Hebrew speaks
of that, doesn't it? It speaks of a better covenant
that's based on better promises. So that now we walk by faith.
looking to the Lord Jesus Christ as the author and the finisher
of our faith. Now that's by way of introduction
on what the Redeemer did for us. The book of Ruth, I've asked
you to turn with me there, is a narrative, it's a story about some actual people that
lived in Israel that God put into his word in order to illustrate
this work of redemption. It's unfortunate that the translators
titled this book the Book of Ruth. It ought to be titled,
in my opinion, The Book of Boaz, because Boaz is the central figure
in this story. Ruth is a type of those whom
the Lord has redeemed. Ruth is us. Boaz is Christ. The Kinsman Redeemer. I want
you to notice how this story begins in chapter 1 at verse
1. Now it came to pass in the days
when the judges ruled that there was a famine in the land, and
a certain man of Bethlehem Judah went to sojourn in the country
of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And the name of
the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the
name of his two sons Malon and Chilion. of the Ephrathites of
Bethlehem, Judah, and they came into the country of Moab, and
here's the saddest statement in this story, and continued
there. Elimelech left the house of bread,
that's what Bethlehem means, he left the gospel, he forsook
the gospel for a better job. He forsook the gospel for a better
job. And the consequences of that was that he died in Moab. He stayed there. He put down
roots there, started a business there, became successful there.
When the famine was over back in Bethlehem, Judah, well, you
know, my home is here. And that was his problem. And
as a result, look what happens. Elimelech, Naomi's husband, verse
3, died and she was left and her two sons, and they took them
wives of the women of Moab. So what happens? You forsake
the gospel for a better opportunity in this world that's exactly
what a limit like this mania you know they were having a they
were having a drought they were having a famine there was a there
was a financial crisis in Bethlehem Judah there was a there was a
recession and their better jobs over there in Moab let's go over
there and get a better job provide for our family that seems prudent
it seems like the best thing to do you know people still do
that I've seen it happen and the consequences are devastating. Children take for themselves
spouses from Moab. They don't have any interest
in the gospel. They don't grow up under the gospel. And they
continue there. And they die there. They died
in Moab. When things get difficult, whatever
you do, don't leave the house of bread. Young people, you get
an opportunity for a job and I pray that you'll make sure
that there's a gospel church where you're going. You don't
want to live in Moab. You know, what happens, you live
there for a little while and then you start getting established
there. You put down roots there. You buy a house there. Your children
have friends there. You got a job there. It's hard
to move. It's hard to move. There's people
listening to this service right now that live in Moab. And I
understand that some of them, some of them, it just You know,
maybe the roots are so deep, maybe the situation is such that
they just cannot get back to Bethlehem, Judah. But the consequences
of that are devastating for them and for their families. And some
of them, some of them need to make whatever sacrifices have
to be made in order to get back to Bethlehem, Judah and get on
to the gospel, be a part of the fellowship of God's people. And
if they don't, their children are going to marry in Moab, they're
not going to have an interest in the gospel, and they're going
to die in Moab. Now, Moab If you go back to Genesis chapter
19 you can read all the sordid details of where this tribe of
people came from. You remember when the angel came
and brought Lot out of Sodom and Gomorrah before the fire
of God fell and destroyed those cities and Lot and his wife and
two daughters left there and his wife looked back and was
turned to a pillar of salt, and Lot found himself in a cave in
the mountains with his two daughters. I read something this week about
this I never really thought about before, but perhaps they thought
they were the only living souls on the face of the earth. I mean
they had just observed a destruction from God that they probably concluded
was had annihilated everybody and that they were the only ones
left and so the daughters decided that you know we've got
to procreate so they got their father drunk and Moab was the
child that came as a result of that insetuous relationship. Our father Adam became intoxicated
with the spirit of disobedience. And as a result of that, he produced
children that are cursed. Moab was a cursed people. The
Moabites were at enmity with the Israelites all through the
history of Israel. They were the enemies of God,
the enemies of God's people. You and I were born into this
world as Moabites. That's how we came. We came from
the spirit of disobedience. We came from the shame of an
insetuous relationship, of intoxication, and we just come into this world
as sinners. We come into this world unclean.
We come into this world at enmity with God. We're Moabites. But the joy of this story is
that that's who the Lord came to redeem. He came to redeem
unclean Moabites. Look at chapter 3. Well, you know how things continue
in chapter 2, I'm sorry. So Naomi goes back to Bethlehem, Judah.
And her name, Naomi, means pleasant. And when she shows up back at
Bethlehem, Judah, she is so, I mean, she's destitute. She's
lost everything. Her husband, Limelech, sold everything
that he owned in Bethlehem when he left to go to Moab. And now
she comes back as a mercy beggar. And she's got nothing. She's
brought her daughter-in-law with her, Ruth, and they are reduced
to begging. And some of the women that saw
Naomi said, when they saw her, they said, is that Naomi? Surely not. I mean, she had so
aged. had been so worn down by her
circumstances, and she said, call me not Naomi, call me Mara,
for the hand of the Lord has dealt bitterly with me. You know, that's where the Lord said,
when he said, weep for yourselves, blessed are they that mourn,
for they shall be comforted. This redemption involves us weeping
over ourselves, us being broken over the fact that we're Moabites,
us being broken over the fact that we're destitute, that we're
reduced to being beggars. Well, what's the first of the
Beatitudes? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who don't have
anything, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And here's how this
story starts out. It starts out reminding us of
what our father Adam did when he took us into Moab. It reminds
us of the condition that we're in in coming back to Bethlehem,
Judah. Destitute, bitter of soul because
of our sin, because of our circumstances, and needing, needing a Redeemer. Oh, do you need a Redeemer? Do
you need someone to purchase back for you that which was lost
by your father, Adam? That's what the Lord Jesus Christ
came to do. He came to redeem. Look at chapter
2 at verse 1, and Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man
of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. Boaz was
a wealthy man, a mighty man of wealth, a man of power, a man
of influence, and he was Naomi's kinsman. The law had stated that
when an Israelite sold their land or their possessions, that
the nearest of kin was to purchase it back and return it back to
its original family. And so Naomi's hope is that she's
going to find a kinsman that's going to care for her. And Ruth
the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and
glean ears of corn, after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my
daughter. Oh, here's the Moabitess. Here's the woman who said to
Naomi in chapter one, your God will be my God and your people
will be my people and where you go, I'll go. Nothing but death
will separate me from you. Naomi had told Ruth about the
God of Israel and about the hope that they had of being redeemed
back at home. And so Ruth is right there, let
me go out into the field and glean. That's what we're doing,
isn't it? Every time we come to the Word
of God, we're going into the field and we're gleaning in hopes
to find some scraps of food. We're like that Syrophoenician
woman. Truth, Lord, I am a dog. I am
a dog. Would you just scrape a few crumbs
off the table for me? And she went, verse 3, and gleaned
in the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on the
part of the field belonging unto Boaz who was of the kindred of
Elimelech." Her hap. Don't you love the way
the scriptures are written? She just happened to end up in
Boaz's field. How did she happen to be there?
The same reason that everything happens Some people, you know,
I don't know, I can't remember if I say things here or Sarasota
or someplace else. Did we talk about providence
here last Sunday morning? You know, people say, you know,
well that was providential. Everything's providential. Everything. There's no such thing as a happenstance. There's no such thing as an accident.
There's no such thing as luck or chance. Our God is controlling
every detail of your life and my life. And when God says, she
just happened on the field, it happened because God ordained
it to happen. And everything that's happened
for you and for me has happened because it's been in God's providence. That's such great comfort to
me. We've got a God who's sitting
upon His throne. He works all things together
for the good of them who love Him. And those are called according
to His purpose. And He has a purpose in everything
He's doing. And I know what His purpose is. You say, well, I
don't know what God's doing. I know what He's doing. I know
what He's doing. I can tell you what He's doing.
He's redeeming His people. He's bringing glory to Himself
through the redemption of His children. It's all for the purpose
of saving His people. Everything. Everything. Paul called it necessities. All
these things that we've fallen into. They seem like just happenstances. They seem like circumstances
out of control. Nothing's out of control. Everything's
right on schedule. God is redeeming His people. And he's going, just as he accomplished
our redemption on Calvary's cross, there wasn't anything left to
do. He is accomplishing the salvation of his people as he reveals to
each one of them that successful redemptive work. And when he's
made himself known to the last one that he died for, it's over. It's just over. He's finished. He's done. He's going to roll
this whole place up like a scroll and be done with it. We have
a new heaven and a new earth. Oh, what a glorious hope that
is. God is redeeming His people.
And He'll turn nations upside down to accomplish that redemption. So now, Ruth and Naomi, in God's
providence, have happened upon the field of Boaz. Boaz takes
notice of Ruth. Ruth, unlike Naomi, was a young
woman and she's caught Boaz's eye. Boaz has given her some
access to the gleaners that other Reapers didn't have. Ruth now is bringing back these
gifts from Boaz back to Naomi. Naomi is encouraging Ruth on
how to approach Boaz. In chapter 3, here's Naomi's counsel to Ruth. Chapter 3, verse 1, Then Naomi
her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek
rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not
Boaz of our kindred with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he
went with barley to-night in the threshing-floor. Wash thyself
therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and
get thee down to the floor. But make not thyself known unto
the man, until he has done eating and drinking. And it shall be
when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he
lies down. Now there, you know, you can
read commentaries on this passage of scripture and people speculate
on all sorts of weird and evil things about what... This is
a gospel story. Mark the place where He has lied
down. Mark the place. Mark the man. And mark the place. Go to that
place where He is. and get as close to it. It's
the same thing that the Lord said about Mary. She's chosen
that one thing that is needful which shall not be taken away
from her. Mark the man and go to where he is and sit at his
feet and listen to his words. Where is he? He's in his word?
He's among his people? He's in the worship of God's
people? And thou shalt go in and uncover
his feet. Now Ezekiel chapter 16, in the
day of love, you remember that story about the child that was
found that had been cast out in the field and your day of
love has come? And I have covered thee with my skirt and covered
thy nakedness. That's what this is a picture
of. It's the covering of the righteous robe of the Lord Jesus
Christ upon His people. And where did she lie down? At
His feet. at His feet, showing submission
and subjection to Him. She's sitting right at His feet,
just like Mary. She's uncovered His robe. She's
sat at His feet. She's put a robe on Him. Lie
thy down and tell, and He will tell thee what thou shalt do.
Oh, I love that. You get at the feet of the Lord
Jesus Christ and say, well, I don't know what to do about this or
about that. You sit at His feet and ask Him. And He'll tell you
what to do. He'll show you what to do. He'll
work it out. Just listen to His voice. My
sheep hear My voice. They that are of the truth, they
hear My voice. They hear what I have to say.
What did God say when He spoke audibly from heaven? Behold My
Beloved, My Son. This is my beloved Son in whom
I am well pleased." And then what does he say? Hear ye Him. Lord, would you speak to me?
Would you reveal to me what your will is in this and in that? Whatever it is. If you lack wisdom,
ask it of God and He'll give it to you. You have not because
you ask not. Isn't that our problem? You know,
we run around like Martha trying to put out fires. If we would just sit at his feet,
he'd put him out for us. Those fires would never flare
up. Uncover his skirt, get at his
feet, cover up with his righteousness, and wait for him to speak to
you. And he'll tell you what to do. And she said unto her, All that
thou sayest unto me, I will do." Oh, that God would give us the
faith to do what He has told us to do. That we might discover
the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, she does, and He
takes notice of her. She comes back to Naomi. Look
at chapter 3 at the end of chapter 3. She brings back six measures
of barley. And look at verse 18. Then Naomi
said to Ruth, in verse 18 of chapter 3, Sit still, my daughter,
until thou knowest how the matter will fall. For the man will not
be in rest until he has finished the thing this day. Naomi knew
what a man in love looked like. Naomi said, this man's smitten
with you. What he has said to you and you
read the whole story and what he's given to you, he's in love
with you. You just sit still and you wait
for him to do what he needs to do to redeem you and I promise
he's not going to rest until he finishes the work. What great hope we have. He didn't
rest. He never rested until he finished
the work. He set His face like a flint
towards Jerusalem. He came in order to offer Himself
as a sacrifice for sinners and He accomplished what He came
to do. He didn't rest. What are we to do? Do something? Ask not what I can do to bring
Christ down from above or to bring Him up. What can I do to
work the works of God? No, sit still. The man will not
rest until he finishes the work. until He reveals to you how the
work of redemption is finished. And He's going to do it. I love chapter 4. We'll finish. Look at chapter 4, verse 1. Then
went Boaz up to the gate, and sat down there, and behold, the
kinsmen of whom Boaz spake, Look at verse 12 of chapter 3, I'm
sorry. Verse 12 of chapter 3. And now it is true. This is what
Boaz says to Ruth. He says, yes, I am your kinsman.
I am a kinsman redeemer. However, there is a kinsman nearer
to you than I. Now the law required the next
of kin, to step up first and be the Redeemer. And if he wasn't
willing, then the next one down the line. And so Boaz says, yes,
I'm in the lineage of being a Redeemer, but there's another kinsman that's
closer to you than I am. And he's got to be reckoned with
first. So in chapter four, he calls
all the elders of the city together, and he calls this other kinsman. Look what he says. He sat down
at the gate, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came
by, unto whom he said, Ho, such a one, turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down.
And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, Sit down
here. And they sat down. And he said unto the kinsman,
Naomi, that is again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel
of land which was our brother Elimelech. And I thought to advertise
thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders
of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem
it. But if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me that I may know. For there is none to redeem it
besides thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem
it. So he said to this nearer kinsman, he said, Now, Naomi
has come back. And her property's been sold
and has to be purchased and returned to her. And if you're going to
redeem it, you need to do it, and we need to make a public
transaction right here." And he said, Oh, Naomi, a limeleck.
Yeah, I'll do that. I'll redeem that land. She's
one of my nearest of kin. Then said Boaz, verse 5, What
day thou bowest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou also
must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitest, the dirty Gentile dog, the descendant
of Lot's incestuous relationship with his daughter, the Moabites. the dirty Moabites, the ones
who have been at enmity with God. You've got to buy Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance. And the kinsman said, oh, well,
wait a minute. Wait just a minute. I cannot
redeem her. I cannot redeem her, lest I mar
my inheritance. If I bring that Moabitess into
my family, my whole family is going to be degraded. I can't
do it. You redeem her. You know what that nearest of
kin is? That's the law. That's the law of God. The Lord
Jesus Christ had to reckon with the law. He had to satisfy the
demands of the law. And He didn't do it in a corner.
He met publicly. And no man could make a charge
against Him. Why? Because there was no sin
in Him. He satisfied the demands of the
law. He's the end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes. But the law can't redeem you.
No amount of keeping the law will be satisfactory. to redeem
you. The law can only curse you. The
law says, Amobitus, I can't have you. If the law tries to redeem us,
the only way the law can redeem us is to degrade its standard
to our level. That's the only way it could
do it. And the law says, no, no, I cannot redeem. Boaz redeems her. Look at verse 17 of chapter 4. And the woman, her neighbors gave it a name,
saying, There is a son born of Naomi. Now the son was born of
Ruth, but she's reckoned to be a descendant of Naomi. And they called his name Obed,
and he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. The child
of Ruth was the grandfather of David. Ruth the Moabitess was
put into the lineage of the house of David. You know, that's exactly what
our Redeemer does. He redeems dead dog mole biters. Dirty,
filthy mole biters. He puts them into the family
of God. And we stand amazed. We stand amazed that God would
have such mercy on us. And we say with John, Behold
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we,
that we should be called the children of God. He redeemed
me. There is a Redeemer. Is that
the hymn you have chosen? Let's stand together. Let's stand
together. It's in the blue handout. you