The Book of Ruth is a great blessing I believe to many Christians. Many Christians love to read the Book of Ruth not because of its romantic theme but because they can see the workings of God and they can see the Lord bringing this Moabitess woman under the protection and care of Boaz and being provided for and blessed and even brought into the line of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so it's a lovely book to read and see the providential workings of God and the grace of God that he would stoop down to such a woman as Ruth and to bring her to salvation. And as we read, we see the way by which, again, the same as like with Esther, the hard providences of God, the difficult situations seemingly impossible to man, are then overturned and work together for good.

And we see it with Naomi how that She leaves Bethlehem and goes to the land of Moab fleeing famine and then in the land of Moab suffers the loss of her sons and the loss of her husband and her life seemingly greatly distressed. Much sorrow and sadness enters into her life and she feels that the Lord has rebuked her and dealt harshly with her.

She says, I went out full and have come back empty do not call me and she changed her name to Naomi meaning bitter the Lord has dealt bitterly with her and she went out full and the Lord has brought me home empty But we know that the Lord looks upon the life of his people and although he may deal with them harshly because of their sin and because of their lack of faith yet he still has a favour and love towards them and that he is even able to turn around the effects of their sin to bring about his own purposes and as we see as they leave She comes back with Ruth and Ruth is going to be brought into a marriage relationship with Boaz.

She is going to be, in the end, to have a son called Obed. Obed is going to have a son called Jesse. Jesse is going to have a son called David. David is going to be the king. King David is going to have a son that sits upon the throne, an eternal throne, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so you can see that God in his mercy is able to bring about good out of the lack of faith and maybe disobedience and sin of his people and that he's able to take this idol worshipper, this Moabitess woman who was a stranger and a foreigner and not outside of the covenant of Israel and he's able to bring her into that covenant and to make her his own.

And again as even Charles mentions that the role of women that God has a favor to both male and female and we see right there in the land of Jericho when Rahab the harlot is spared out of all of that city yet Rahab the harlot as she hears all that the Lord has done to the people of Israel how He had delivered them and overthrown the Egyptians and how the Lord had brought them through the Red Sea and how he had brought them through the River Jordan and she had faith to believe and to trust in this true and living God and so she also is brought as a sinful, immoral woman to be found trusting in the true God of Israel.

And so not only is Ruth noticed by God, God is the one who changed her. God who is the one who had been following her we can say right from before the foundation of time but as she was born it was the Lord who led her to marry this young man from an Israelite family. It was the Lord who gave her that desire to cleave unto her mother-in-law even though the other daughter-in-law had left her. And so the Lord changed her. And as with every person who is changed by the Lord, that change is noticed by others. You see, this man, Boaz, he noticed that this young lady was different. He had heard about her. Although he lived in Bethlehem, he had heard about her. He had seen and heard the way by which she had taken care of her mother-in-law. And he says to her, and Boaz answered and said unto her, it has fully been shown me He was fully aware of her character and her nature and all that she was doing. All have been fully showed me. All that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy nativity and come unto a people which thou knowest not.

And so Boaz had noticed this. He'd noticed that she was a diligent lady in the fields, gleaning. He had heard about her love and compassion towards her mother-in-law. He had heard that she had left her father and her mother and come onto a strange land. But also he noticed something far greater. It wasn't just a natural love that Ruth had. He noticed that she had come to trust in the Lord God of Israel. That's what he had noticed. Maybe that is what he found attractive in her. This was a girl who had left the idol worship, left the immoral ways of sin and come to trust in the true and living God and he noticed her behaviour.

You think of her life naturally speaking. would have been a life of hardship and maybe loneliness. We see the lady in the time of the Lord Jesus Christ who went to the well alone at midday. You know ladies, and as we spoke about the other Sunday actually, when there is somebody different, When there are groups of people from different places that come together there can be those fractions that are made and people can be isolated and no doubt Ruth experienced that as a stranger and a foreigner in another land coming from a place that worshipped idols. No doubt she found that there was that isolation and so her life was difficult. She had lost her father-in-law, she had lost her husband and her fellow sister-in-law had returned home and she's come now to a strange land.

The Lord was in full control of all of these things, all of these hard providential circumstances that were taking place were being used by the Lord to get her to the place that he would have her to be. God was working out his purposes, working out his plan in her life unbeknown to her. She didn't know exactly what the Lord was doing. She could not see a few months ahead that her whole life was going to change in a moment. But she kept diligently serving her mother-in-law, kept diligently doing what she felt to be right. And the Lord providentially guided her into the arms of this Boaz.

And the Bible tells us It uses the word her hap or it came to be that she lighted upon a certain part of the field that belonged to Boaz. We'd say by chance or by providence the Lord directed her to a specific field that was owned by the man that was her relative by marriage. and there are things in our own lives and we don't know what the Lord is doing And there are things that take place, decisions that we make, maybe prayerlessly. A little decision like, Ruth, oh, that looks a nice field. I'll just go and glean in that one. But in that decision, the Lord is controlling her thoughts, controlling her steps, and guiding her to the specific place where he would have her to be because of his greater plan and purpose for her life. And Naomi sees that as she returns home. She sees the abundance that had been gleaned. And so she asks her, where is it that you have been? And she says, I've been to the field of Boaz. And Naomi realizes that the Lord is now in control, that this man is a family member and able to redeem her, to yet to redeem her. So providentially we see the goodness of God in guiding her and directing her.

And Boaz recognises that she is also trusting in the Lord. He says the Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord of the Lord God of Israel. Now we know that this is what is revealed in scripture that the Lord honours those that honour him. And although the rewards that he gives are not merit-based, yet he does notice those who have left all. She has walked away from her father, mother, the land of her nativity and cast in her lot with the people of God. And the Lord notices the sacrifices of the Lord's people. And he has promised to provide more than they give. And so he says, the Lord reward thee for thy work.

Sometimes we do things in life and we don't feel that anybody sees what we're doing. But the Bible tells us whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, do all for the glory of God. And the Lord notices. There's the story, isn't there, of the girl who who is cleaning the toilets. And she cleans them and then she comes out and they're used and they become dirty. She has to go and clean them again and again and again. And she complains and she says every time I do it they just become dirty again and nobody notices, nobody cares. But the teacher says to her, well we do it unto the Lord. The Lord sees. And so we do everything that we do, we do for the honour and glory of God. We do it to the best of our ability knowing that our Father in heaven sees the things that we do and he notices the things that we do as we don't do them for our own glory, our own benefit but we do them for his honour and for his own glory.

And we see this in the life of Cornelius. with Cornelius the Bible tells us that as he was fasting and praying the Lord sent an angel similar to with Daniel when Daniel began to pray the Lord sent an angel to him but the angel comes with a very specific message to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10 in verse 1 there was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, the centurion of the band called the Italian Band, a devout man and one that feared God with all his house and gave much alms to the people and prayed to God always. And he saw a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of God coming in to him. and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid and said, what is it, Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thine arms are come up for a memorial before God. Come now, send men to Joppa and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.

And so as he had been He had been living a life of service to God and he had been giving out of the abundance that he had. Now no doubt he was not giving to obtain favour from God. He was giving because of love and concern for those round about him. Out of his abundance he gave to assist the poor, maybe the widows and the orphans and those in poverty. And his motive for giving was out of the abundance of his heart, not to receive any favour and benefit from God. But the Lord noticed his giving. It was not forgotten about. And the angel says that they have come up and they have been presented to God. We know that salvation is not a salvation by works. We do not obtain our salvation by giving or by doing good works. But the good works and the giving are a product of the transformation of the heart of the person. We do not give or do good works to obtain the favour of God because we already have the favour of God in Christ Jesus. But we give out of love and concern for those who we give to knowing that the Lord has given unto us.

And Cornelius, he had given. and the Lord says that giving had come up as a memorial before God. Boaz says to Ruth, a full reward be given thee of all of your labour and all of your giving, all of your sacrifice, a full reward be given thee by the Lord under whose wings you have now come to trust. She had stepped out from under the wings of the idols, the dead gods, the gods that can't see, hear or speak and she's now come to step underneath the wings of God himself, the true and living God and she'd come to trust in him.

She said to Naomi, entreat me not to leave thee nor return from following after thee for whether thou goest I will go and whether thou goest I will lodge and thy people shall be my people and thy God my God where thou diest I will die and there will I be buried the Lord do so to me and more also if all but death part me and thee she says thy God the God of Israel I want him to be my God. She placed herself underneath the care, the covenant care of the true and living God and she put herself under his protection, under his wings and under his care.

It's a beautiful illustration of God. that the Bible uses this illustration of the wings. As Jesus said to the Jews, he says to them, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I would have gathered thee together as a hen Let me just find it. Gathers her chicks under her wings. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, but ye would not.

And it gives us this beautiful picture of the care and the goodness of God. that he brings his children under his covenant protection as a chicken takes care of her chicks. I think I've told you before how we used to have chickens in Kenya and the fierceness of the mother hen, how she would protect her chicks. And in the rainstorm, she would stand there with her wings spread and the little ones would all get underneath her wings. And you could just see their feet. They were completely surrounded by her feathers. Not a drop of rain would go upon them. She would shelter them and protect them and be an umbrella for them.

And so the Lord takes this picture of himself and says, this is how I take care of my children. gathering them under my wings. In Psalm 91 it says, He that dwelleth in the secret places of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and thy butler. And so it gives us this great illustration of the greatness of God, the shadow of the Almighty. The Lord is my refuge, a place of safety, a fortress, a strong tower. these are unliving fixed things so then he brings it down to a living fowl shall cover thee with his feathers and under his wings thou shalt trust. And so Ruth the Moabitess had been brought from these dead idols to the true and living God and was sheltering now under the wings of the Almighty.

She was knowing that protection, that security and that care and we see now the providence of God working in her life to bring her where the Lord would have her to be. As the Lord says to Moses, I will put you in the cleft of the rock. I will put my hand over you and I will pass by and you shall see my back parts. I will put you in the cleft of the rock. I will shelter you and cover you with my wings and I will provide for you and protect you and guide you in your life.

And so we see with Ruth how the workings of God take place as the mother-in-law hatches a plan to bring Boaz and Ruth together to make him aware of that relationship. She sends her to the threshing floor. And so as she is under the wings of the Almighty and she is trusting under the wings of the true and living God she now comes to Boaz and she asks him after he wakes up in the night she says I am Ruth thine handmaid spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid for thou art a near kinsman.

She's not being suggestive but she is asking for marriage. She's asking to come under the protection of her husband. As God has, we can say, married her, brought her into a covenant relationship in Christ Jesus and covering her with his wings, now she is being led to ask for that physical covenant care of a husband. And so she says, spread thy skirt over me, provide for me, protect me, look after me, take me under your wing.

And as we read the account we see how there was another kinsman who was nearer who rejects that proposal and then Boaz buys Ruth and Naom and they become into his family and she becomes his wife. And so it is an amazing picture of the providence of God, the workings of God, to bring about the purposes of God.

But also it shows us the greatness of the grace of God to bring a Gentile sinner from pagan worship into the covenant of Israel. And then not only that, to bring her into the royal line of the Lord Jesus Christ and we see that in the Lord's people. of all of those in Christ Jesus. They are brought into royal line. They are kings and priests and prophets with Christ Jesus. They are sons and daughters of the true and living God. They have been adopted into his family. They have been purchased with a price as Ruth is purchased by Boaz and she becomes his bride.

So Christ has purchased his people and they become his bride and they come under his protection and care. As we see, as Jesus says, I go to prepare a place for you. And the whole picture is that of a Jewish marriage and after the betrothal, the husband going away and providing a home and a place for his bride. And then he will come again to receive them unto himself.

as Ruth is married to Boaz, so we wait, the believers wait for the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the gathering of his people to take us home, to take us home to glory. And so as we look at Ruth, you and I, outside of that covenant, a Gentile, a sinner, yet through the Lord Jesus Christ are able to be brought into a covenant relationship with God the Father. Through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ his blood shed upon Calvary is the seal of that covenant. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. of sin. We thank God that the Lord Jesus Christ rose again on that third day and that Christ is this wing of God, that we can come and shelter under the Lord Jesus Christ, under that protection, under that safety, that Christ himself absorbed the wrath of God for the sins of his people.

I'm sure you're all aware of the story of of the fire that was in the chicken house and as the firemen put out the fire they walked through and they kicked a carcass of a chicken that was burnt and underneath were the chicks and they all scurried out safely. The mother had died having protected having protected its chicks.

And just like the Lord Jesus Christ, he absorbed the full wrath of God for the sins of his people. He didn't lay in the grave. He didn't lay in the grave forever. He rose again triumphantly on the third day, defeating death, defeating Satan, defeating sin for his people. Now he ever lives at the right hand of God the Father.

May the troubled soul tonight find rest in Christ Jesus. May the troubled soul tonight come to shelter under the wings of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord reward you for your work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust. May the Lord bless these few remarks. Amen.

next hymn is from hymns for worship hymn 45 to the tune 220.

Thy mercy and thy truth, O Lord, transcend the lofty skies. Thy judgments are a mighty deep, and as the mountains high, Lord, thou preservest man and beast, since thou art ever kind. Beneath the shadow of thy wings, we may a refuge find.

Hymn number 45.

you.

? Mercy and light to the Lord ?
? Transcended of design ?
? Light, judgment, sorrow, mighty deed ?
? Bender of the mountains ?

Lord, the prize of this man and beast, since Thou art ever kind. Beneath the shadow of Thy wings, may we arrange the abundance of thy house, we shall be satisfied. From ripples to unpanning joy, the earth that shall be, Welcome tide, O winter, O love, Which from the Lord we bring, And in the brightness of the Thee clearly light shall see. From those and only men I love, And mercy not demand, And may thy justice still protect, And bless thee, our bright home.