May it please Almighty God to
bless us today, or this morning rather, as we meditate in the
word of God. Let's turn to the book of Ruth,
the first chapter, and we'll read verses 16 and 17. The book
of Ruth, chapter one, verses 16 and 17. And Ruth said, entreat
me not to leave thee, or to return from following after
thee. For whither thou goest, I will
go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my
people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also. if ought but death part thee
and me. We should be very thankful to
God that he has granted this wonderful little book of Ruth
to be recorded and to form part of the Word of God. Because there
is much interest and much direction to be obtained from this book,
to see very clearly God's grace, God's love, God's mercy and indeed
God's overruling providence in the case of Naomi and also Ruth. And we should recognise that
there were many people in Moab Many people who were worshipping
false gods and it was God's purpose, divine purpose, we can say sovereign
purpose as a king to call this woman Ruth out of the dark religion
which existed in Moab and to come and to be brought back to
Bethlehem where the true God was worshipped. So it's an amazing
account and we see how God brought it to pass. We can recognise
that God's ways are higher than our ways. We could never perhaps
have planned the detail that was involved in bringing Naomi
back to Bethlehem and also to bring Ruth along with her. We
see the commencement of this book that there was Nehemiah
and her husband Elimelech, they left Bethlehem, there was a famine
there and they thought well obviously they would go to Moab and perhaps
find better situation Well, we're told they went out as we read
at the end of this chapter. No my says The Lord if I went
out full But the Lord has brought me back empty She went out with
liminec and how her life changed initially, obviously it went
smoothly and her two sons they they married and and but then
we see how things changed and we see that in liminec her husband
died and then her two sons also died and she wasn't there was
there for quite some time with We're told in the second verse
what happened. And they came into the country
of Moab and continued there. But they didn't continue there
for very long. They continued there just for
about 10 years. as we're told also in this account. And the fact was that then Naomi
heard that there was corn back home in Bethlehem and food, the
famine had ceased, and she then decided to return back to her
country. We're told 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, and this
is interesting, how that the Lord had visited his people in
giving them bread. She was obviously conscious of
that The great God had visited Bethlehem and granted that there
was bread once again. So her reaction was then to rise
up. She arose with her daughters-in-law
that they might return to the country of Moab. And then we're
told she went forth out of the place with her daughters-in-law
to return. And Nehemiah then said to her
two daughters-in-law, go return. each to her mother's house. The
Lord deal kindly with you as you dealt with the dead and with
me. The Lord grant you that you may
find rest, each of you, in the house of her husband.' She kissed
them, they lifted up their voice and wept. And of course, as we
know, The one returned back to Moab, and the other one, Ruth,
did not. As we're told, they lifted up
their voice and wept again, and Orpah kissed her mother-in-law,
but Ruth clave unto her. So, we see there was a difference
between these two women. And Nehemiah tried to encourage
Ruth to Return also, but then Ruth came and responded in the
words which we read in these two verses 16 and 17. And what we see here is the effect
of the grace of God. The effect of the grace of God. Remember here, here was Ruth,
a Moabitess, lived there up to this present time, probably hadn't
travelled outside of Moab, had been there, that was her home,
that was where her family was. And now she is about to leave
it, leave everything else behind. And she asks and says to Naomi,
entreat me not to leave thee, or to return. from following
after thee. For whither thou goest, I will
go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people,
and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die,
and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more
also, if ought but death part thee and me. Now it's very clear
from the statement made by her that she was a changed person. She'd heard what Naomi had spoken
to her quite clearly of the things of God, and that had produced
in her heart a desire and an attraction to follow the true
way, the things of God. It's a very interesting account,
but of course it doesn't just remain history. The Lord has
written this book that might have an effect upon many, many
people, and it might have an effect upon us as we look at
ourselves, even today, and examine ourselves as to whether there
has been a change in our life. Naturally speaking we can think
of Moab as being a place of the world where the true God was
not worshipped and that's where we were in our heart, we were
in the world, we didn't really worship God, we didn't really
have a real concern, we were happy just to jog along in the
things of this vain world and content with what the world offered. But what a wonderful blessing
if through perhaps the preaching of the Gospel, through perhaps
words that others have spoken to us, we've been alerted to
the great difference and to recognise that there is a true God and
be able to say in those glorious words that Ruth said, she says,
and thy people shall be my people and thy God my God. What a great blessing that is
and what a great blessing for us today if we know in our hearts
that God has brought about a change so that at one time we weren't
really concerned about worshipping the true God we were just happy
in our lives but to think that there was this tremendous change. And we can obviously understand
that Nehemiah must have spoken very clearly to her about the
true things of God. And of course the vast difference
was that the people of Moab worshipped false gods, the people of Bethlehem
worshipped the true God. And of course, these were the
Old Testament days, but they were days wherein Israel had
come out of Egypt and they'd been brought across through Jordan
and had been through the wilderness and come into the promised land,
and God had led and directed them. And one of the great things
which was evident was, as we know, I hope we know anyway,
that when they were coming out of Egypt, the Lord God instituted
what we talk about and speak about and read about as the Passover. And that was when God passed
over all those who were under the blood. That means those who
were safe in their houses in Egypt, and they put blood upon
the doorposts and lintels which had been taken from a lamb, as
pure as possible, slain, and the blood put on those doorposts
and lintels. And then, of course, the lamb
had then been roast, and the children of Israel had partaken
of that. And what it showed forth was,
in a very wonderful day, the wonder of that which would come
to pass in the life and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, who,
as John the Baptist described him, behold, the Lamb of God,
that taketh away the sin of the world. Now, this was the God
who Israel were worshipping, this was the God that those in
Bethlehem were worshipping, and this was the God that Naomi would
have explained to Ruth. And the effect had been wonderful,
the effect had changed Ruth in her outlook, Instead of living
in the place of Maya, in the things of the world, her outlook had been changed
and she was able therefore to recognise the greatness of the
true God and be able to say, thy people shall be my people
and thy God my God. Now all of us really want to
have been or come into this situation where God shows to us very clearly
the true God. The true God may be through preachers
and it may be through people. And it's a good testimony for
all of us to realise that here was a woman, Naomi, had really
left left the great place of where true religion was and gone
to Moab. God had had mercy upon her, although
in a strange way that she lost her husband and lost her sons,
but had given her the opportunity to speak to her daughter-in-law,
well both the daughters-in-law apparently, about the things
of God. And the wonder was that the truth
had clearly entered in to the heart of Ruth and therefore she
wanted to be with Naomi because she saw in Naomi something very
different and something very special and she wanted therefore
to worship her God, the God of Naomi and to return with her. Well, it's a big testimony and
it's a big example for you and me today. You see, we have these
two characters, Orpal and Ruth. And really, it sets forth the
believer and the unbeliever. And it sets before that in your
life and my life. as either a believer or an unbeliever. We're either happy to go back
into the things of the world or we want to cleave and follow
the things of God. And that is so true and so important
for you and me to realise. So although we have a very interesting
account here in this book of Ruth, the reality is it shows
to us the difference between a false religion and the difference
between a true religion. And it's a good example for all
the Church of God to realise the importance in your life and
my life that we do speak about the things of God to those who
are unbelievers. quite clearly Ruth and Orpah
were unbelievers, they were in the land of Moab, and it was
through Naomi's testimony that Ruth came to be a believer. And it's set before us here,
and we should recognize the relevance of it, therefore, and look for
opportunities as we come across those people, who perhaps are
close to us, who are not believers, to be able to speak very clearly
of the great truth of God. And indeed, really in the same
words that I mentioned John the Baptist when he said, behold
the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And to
speak really clearly that we've all sinned and come short of
the glory of God. Every one of us is guilty. Every one of us deserves to be
eternally separated from God. But oh how glorious it is to
know that that God, that great God, the ruler of the universe,
has looked down upon us and from eternity determined to save our
souls. It is really a very humbling
consideration, because if you look around today, the billions
of people in this world, the billions of people that have
existed in this world, and relatively how few people has the Lord looked
upon and come and changed their outlook, changed their desires,
shown them that they are sinners, shown them that they need a Saviour,
and directed them to the great and glorious Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, they were
directed by faith to look forward to the Saviour. It had been clearly
set before them from the Garden of Eden, there would be a Saviour. And the Saviour did come, a long
time afterwards, some 4,000 years after it was first promised.
But in due time, the Messiah did come. And He fulfilled so
many truths recorded in the Old Testament. And it's wonderful
really to recognize as we see God's amazing plan. And especially
as we see the words of God spoken through the various prophecies,
the larger prophecies, through the Psalms, through the minor
and smaller prophecies, we see the Lord Jesus Christ prophesied
in so much detail so often. And then, of course, in due time,
the prophecies came to pass. Now, no doubt, in measure, in
those scenes which were available to Naomi, she would have spoken
about the Passover. She would have spoken about the
importance of it, how there was deliverance when they were under
the blood. And what a blessing if they received
that faith to look forward to the need there was, that all
of us, all of us, as she needed to know that they were under
the blood. That means that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for us. Now then, it'll mean nothing
to you and me unless the Holy Spirit has shown to us a need. And that means a need of salvation. That means a need of a Saviour. That means a need to have our
sins taken away. And it's a blessing when the
Holy Spirit shows to us our true situation, our true condition,
before and under the eye of Almighty God. To realise that we are a
guilty sinner. We haven't just offended in one
thing. We've offended in many things.
we're guilty we don't deserve any mercy we don't deserve any
mercy and yet what a blessing it is when the Spirit of God
directs us to pray for mercy to call for mercy you know that's
really the sign of spiritual life when you and I from our
heart pray for mercy we have that glorious example of the
Lord Jesus, of the publican when he came and he cried out, God
be merciful to me a sinner. Well, have you prayed that? Have
I prayed that? The Lord looks at our heart.
He knows whether we have prayed that or whether we have not prayed
it. Well, every true believer will
pray that prayer. They will need mercy. They will
need mercy. They will need God to look upon
them and forgive all their sin. They will need to have it shown
to them that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world in the words
of the Apostle Paul, to save sinners of whom I am chief. What a blessing it is to know
that However black we may appear, however great a sinner we may
appear, there is a sufficiency in the glorious shed blood of
the Saviour to save the worst and the vilest of sinners. And that will be a great blessing
for you and me to have the evidence that that is so. Because what
will it do? It will show to us and give to
us the desire to follow the pattern that Ruth shows us here. Thy
people shall be my people and thy God my God. And you know
she wanted to live with Naomi. She didn't want to be separated.
She didn't want to go and find herself living with people who
didn't believe. She tells us here, whither thou
goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. You see the relevance. Didn't
want to be separated from Naomai because quite clearly she must
have observed there was a difference in Naomai to the other people
that she'd been used to living with in Moab. And she saw there
something real and something special. And she wanted, therefore,
to be with her. And not just for one or two days. She tells us, where thou diest
will I die, and there will I be buried. Clearly, she wanted to
live with Nehomai, be in her company. and that's a good testimony
that's a good mark of the grace of God that you and I want to
be with the people of God we want to be close to them and
not living in the world and be separated from the things of
God you see there's a great depth of truth in these simple words
and how wonderful it is if the Holy Spirit comes into our lives
and shows to us the truth of God. And it's wonderful, therefore,
if we come into contact with the true preaching of the Gospel,
which we can thank God for, if these great truths have been
explained to us. And therefore we've been given
and understanding. That's the great need of the
gospel today, that the church of God, people might be given
a spiritual understanding to realize where they stand before
a holy God. Very few people realize they
are a guilty, hell-deserving sinner. They deserve to be cut
off. They deserve to go to eternity
in hell. There's nothing in them naturally
of any good. And what does it make the true
Church of God do? Pray for mercy. Pray that Lord Jesus Christ might
be revealed to them as their great and glorious personal Saviour. My friends, as I often say, and
it is so true, real religion is personal. You and I cannot
go to heaven relying on anybody else's religion. You and I need
to have a personal relationship with Almighty God, a personal
understanding where we are because of our sin, Guilty, helpless,
ruined. The hymn writer used a very useful
line when he said, O thou hideous monster sin, what a curse hast
thou brought him. Now, sin, when we're unconverted,
doesn't weigh very heavily. we can sin and we can ignore
it and think it's well it doesn't really matter well it does matter
it does matter and it matters for this reason heaven is a holy
place heaven is a place where there is no sin no sin at all
and therefore you and I will never go to heaven if we have
sin We need that sin to be removed. We need that sin to be taken
away. And there's only one path for
that, and that is through the glorious sin-atoning death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus didn't come into this world
for any other reason than to pay the price required to free
you and me from our sin, to take away our sin. He came. He came to die. The just for
the unjust and to pay that punishment is due to us. And it's a wonderful
truth that Jesus did come. and He was willing to die. We
need to recognise the wonder, therefore, of what we term as
redeeming love. What it really means is this. The Lord had so much love for
us that He was willing, therefore, to take upon Him that curse which
we had brought upon ourselves through our sin and our sin to
be taken away. Jesus Christ died. He gave his
life to pay that price. He gave his life, therefore,
to redeem us. You know, we don't perhaps see
it very clearly in these days, but in old days there was what
we used to term a pawnbroker. People used to, if they were
hard up, they would take something of their own and take it to the
pawnbroker and get paid something which they could borrow for the
time. And then when they were able
to pay it back, they would then come and receive their gift. Well, the Lord Jesus Christ,
he paid the punishment to redeem our souls. Naturally, there was
that redeeming. People could then pay back and
redeem that which they had pawned. My friends, you and I need that
redemption. We need to have our souls, our
spiritual life redeemed. and it's only through the Lord
Jesus Christ. You and I cannot redeem ourselves
because we are sinners. Whatever we do is imperfect. We need the great and glorious
work of the Holy Spirit to show to us that He has died upon that
cross at Calvary to take away our sins. Well, God knows whether
this has been a concern, whether it is a concern, but the great
thing is that each one of us cannot pass out of time without
the knowledge that we are redeemed. Without the knowledge that our
sins have been taken away, Because if we pass out of time without
that knowledge, we are lost, we are ruined. We shall never
find ourselves in heaven. What a great concern that should
be. And to be therefore, to be able
to come and join really with these words that Ruth was able
to speak to Naomi. testifying of her own situation
her own spiritual life and she says entreat me not to leave
thee obviously it was a big concern to her and these things should
be a big concern to you and me that we do have the evidence
that we are born again that the Lord Jesus Christ has died for
us to take away our sins. And so she says, entreat me not
to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. She wanted
to follow the right way. When are we following the right
way today? You know who knows? Only one
person, Almighty God. Why is that? Because He looks
into your heart and my heart. No one else sees what you and
I are thinking, what you and I truly desire, but God does. He knows exactly. You can't hide
from God. And so what a mercy to have this
real desire and come and say, for whither thou goest, I will
go to be a true follower of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Where thou goest, I will go. Do we want to be, desire to be,
a true follower of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ? Are we
following the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we taking up our cross? And
are we following Him? Where thou goest, I will go. And where thou lodgest, I will lodge.
Thy people shall be my people and thy God my God. Again, we
need to examine ourselves and test ourselves as to whether
God's people are our best friends, the ones that we love to be with,
or are we glad to get rid of them and join the world? Well,
the world will perish. But my friends, the church of
God will go home to glory. And so this is a great statement
put very simply for us. And as Ruth says here, whither
thou goest, I will go. Yes, there was a determination,
wasn't there? I will go. And where thou lodgest,
I will lodge. Join to the Church of God. Thy
people shall be my people. Didn't want anyone else, apart
from the Church of God. And then, of course, most importantly,
thy God, my God. Oh, friends, we need to be the
worshipper of a true God, the ever-living God, the great God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Where thou diest, Will I die? Yes, we will die, all of us.
We'll have to die. We must die. But what a blessing
it is, therefore, to dwell with the people of God, the Church
of God, until our dying day. And there will I be buried. The
Lord do so to me, and more also. Yes, she wanted it enhanced,
to have greater evidence. if aught but death, part thee
and me. Well, it had an effect upon Naomi
and we're told that when she saw that she was steadfastly
minded to go with her. Well, today, you and I must answer
before God as to whether you and I are steadfastly minded
to be a true follower of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. It's not something which is irrelevant. It's not something which is trivial,
because our eternal life depends upon it. And so, as we think
upon these lovely words, really, that Ruth, by the grace of God,
was able to say, and is so, and what a mercy, therefore, if you
and I have received The grace of God, and as I hope you know,
the grace is the free and merited favour of Almighty God. We don't deserve it. We can't
merit it. God freely gives it. He gives
the great and wonderful gift of eternal life. There's no greater
gift. There's no greater blessing.
And let us, therefore, look forward and rejoice in such wonderful
truths and to realize how God indeed was with Ruth, how God
was with Naomi. Naomi's life was really quite
a strange life, but it was, God was in it. God had ordained that
she should go to Moab with this divine purpose, to be that one
who was used to describe the things of God to Ruth and the
glorious effect it had upon her. There's no doubt Ruth recognised
her sin and was directed to look forward to that great and glorious
Saviour who would come. Well, today we don't have to
look forward because we know that the Saviour has come, the
Lord Jesus Christ. And we can read, can't we, that
many of the details now in the New Testament to encourage us
and to see the cost of our salvation and to rejoice in it and to recognize
the relevance and the importance of true religion and to not settle
down and be satisfied something which is just superficial. The religion of Ruth was sufficient
to make her leave everything else and to follow the truth. What a good thing, if that is
the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and my life, to be
able to say, I could from all things parted be, but never,
never, Lord, from thee. Amen.