May it please the Lord to bless
us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us
turn to the book of Ruth and the third chapter and we'll read
verse 18. The book of Ruth, the third chapter
and verse 18. Then said she, sit still my daughter,
until thou know how the matter will fall. The man will not rest,
will not be in rest until he has finished the thing this day. This short book of Ruth is really
very instructive for us. see there was this woman, a Moabite
woman, not of Israel, and yet wonderfully and graciously brought
into the covenant. And it is a very encouraging
little account, really, from beginning to end. Although initially
there were those very sad times when Naomi's husband died and
also the two husbands of the two daughters. And so she was
left alone with her two daughters-in-law. and there was of course the statement
where she encouraged them both to go back to be with their own
people and Orpah did eventually just that but Ruth was of a different
persuasion and we should be thankful that we see the work of God recorded
in her life so that she was willing therefore to leave her own country. Naomi told her, behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Return now
after thy sister-in-law. And Ruth said, 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. But, Lord, do so
to me, and more also, if ought, that death part thee and me."
Well, we see In those words, the conviction that Ruth had
to cleave unto Naomi. We know from this other book
what the future held. Ruth, of course, knew nothing. She knew not what was before
her. It was indeed the unknown way to her. And yet, because
of the blessed work of the Spirit, in her soul, she was willing
to forsake all her own country, her own family, and to go with
Ruth. And surely it was because she
saw in Naomi the wonder of true religion. Surely she saw in the
life of Naomi that she worshipped the true God. and therefore there
was a wonderful attraction. Well, it's a good example. It's
a good testimony for us today in the day and age in which we
live so that there may be in our lives that attraction setting
forth of the greatness and the glory of the everliving and true
God so that people might indeed take knowledge of us that we
have been with Jesus and have learned of him. And so we see
that she came back to her own country. And then she went and
did gleaning. She wasn't lazy, didn't sit at
home. She went out and she was blessed
with the gleaning. And what we see is the Lord directed
her to a special field, a field that was owned by Boaz, again
unknown to Ruth. Well, it's good still today when
the Lord graciously comes and directs us in the unknown way,
just as he did with Ruth all those years ago. And Boaz, as
we know, or at least as you can read, was very favourable to
Ruth. And again, for no natural reason,
but we see the good hand of God upon her, upon him, directing
him to be kind and gracious unto Ruth. And so we should be thankful
for it. And as we read towards the end
of the second chapter, Naomi said unto Ruth, My daughter-in-law,
it is good, my daughter, that they would go out with his maidens,
that they meet thee not in any other field. So she kept fast
by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest,
and of wheat harvest, and dwelt with her mother-in-law." It is
again a favour and a blessing when God comes and directs us. Here Ruth was directed. directed to not to go anywhere
else to stay close by the maidens of Boaz. So we're thankful that
she was able to do just that. And then we have in the third
chapter how Boaz showed Ruth great favour and kindness. And clearly the Lord was with
Ruth, clearly the Lord was with Boaz, bringing about that attraction
to Ruth and the providing for Ruth, something which suddenly
came about. And then we come down to the
The words that we read in this 18th verse, which of course follow
on the time when Ruth returned to Nehemiah. When she came to
her mother-in-law, she said, who art thou my daughter? And
she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said,
these six measures of barley gave he me. for he said to me,
go not empty unto thine mother-in-law. And then Naomai said, sit still
my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. For
the man will not be in rest until he hath finished the thing this
day." Well, we know that Ruth was willing indeed to sit still
and willing to observe the Lord's provision for her. And we should
be thankful that we have accounts like this because naturally it's
never easy to sit still. The reality was that Ruth did
not know what the outcome was to be. We're not told whether
she even realized that perhaps it would end in a marriage to
bias. And therefore she was instructed
to sit still, sit still, and to see how the matter would fall. She had to be patient. She had
to wait for things to be worked out. And the Lord was in it. And the Lord was working powerfully
and sovereignly and very gloriously. And how good it should be for
us, if perhaps in our lives, and I know not what is in your
life at the present time, but perhaps the word is, sit still,
my daughter. Perhaps we've been very anxious
to move on. Perhaps we've been very anxious
to see things being wonderfully worked out. Well, they will be
wonderfully worked out. We can be sure of that if we
are walking in that right way in accordance with the will of
Almighty God, but nonetheless, the Lord has a timescale, and
perhaps we have a timescale, and those timescales usually
don't marry up, because as for God, his way and his time is
perfect. The Lord knows the end from the
beginning, and you and I don't. We only know the present situation. We only can see today. We cannot see tomorrow. We know
not what a day nor an hour may bring forth. What a blessing
it is that our God is fully aware of everything that will arise
in our life. our life's minutest circumstance
is subject to his eye. And may that be an encouragement
to us and a support to us, as perhaps the Lord speaks such
words to us, to sit still, not to get up and run around, not
perhaps even to get up and walk around, just to be patient and
sit still until they'll know how the matter will form. Well,
there will be a solution. God's solution will work out
and we can be sure it will be the best for us. And therefore
we need that grace to recognise the Lord is graciously, very
graciously, leading us and directing us. He's not leaving us to ourselves
to make mistakes. He's not leaving us to ourselves
to go in a way that seemeth right unto a man. At the end thereof
are the ways of death. But he leads us on safely. Well, he led Ruth on safely. She had to wait. Boaz had to
purchase the land. That wasn't easy. Initially,
it seemed he wouldn't be able to. But then the person who had
the right decided not to continue. And therefore, Boaz was able
then to purchase the land. And also then, we're told he
went and he and he also says, I have purchased Ruth to be my
wife to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance
that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren
and from the gate of his place we are witnesses this day. So we can observe how the Lord's
work was worked out and eventually as we are told in this account
of course that Ruth indeed was part of that great and glorious
generation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, what a mercy, what
a wonderful blessing for this mohabbatish woman who had come
out so that a country where the true God was not worshipped,
but God in his sovereign grace had seen fit to call her out
of that place of darkness into the glorious light of the everlasting
gospel. You know, we should be very thankful
that we have accounts like this to direct us so powerfully to
the sovereign grace of God. Ruth would never have thought
of such a thing occurring. God, in his love to her, called
her and blessed her indeed. Well, and so Ruth indeed became
the wife of Bones, who was indeed a near kinsman. What we have to find, as we read
in the Gospel of John, the words of the Saviour, who said, when
Jesus said unto them, my time is not yet come, but your time
is always ready. Well, the Lord's time came in
this account. and the Lord's time comes to
pass in our lives in various ways. It may be in our natural
life, it may be in the provisions of husbands and wives. We should
be thankful the Lord is very gracious and does provide husbands
and wives and it's good therefore if our young people can come
and can commit their way unto the Lord, and pray that he will
grant a supply, grant a husband, and grant a wife, because he
knows that which is best. We can easily make mistakes and
go in a wrong way, but how good it is therefore to remember this
case of Ruth. The Lord appeared for her in
therefore this wonderful way. And, you know, this sitting still
is a good thing. We can read in Isaiah chapter
30 in verse 7. For the Egyptians shall help
in vain and to no purpose. So we can look to the wrong place
sometimes for help. For the Egyptians shall help
in vain and to no purpose. Don't look anywhere else than
unto the Lord. Therefore, says Isaiah, have
I cried concerning this? Their strength is to sit still. It's not a sign of weakness.
It's a sign of strength. Sit still, my daughter, until
they know how the matter will fall. Remember, it is a sign
of strength and not a sign of weakness. Perhaps the devil will
try and point to you and say, well, This is, you must get up
and you must do this and you must do that. And yet you see
to realise that if the Lord speaks, we are to follow his words. And
we are therefore to sit still until the matter falls out, until
the way is clear. until the Lord appears. What
a mercy it is to know the Lord does hear and the Lord does appear. Now, of course, this account
has a deep spiritual significance. We should never forget that.
And we can think of Boaz being typical of the glorious Savior
himself. Now, none of the analogies, of
course, in the Word of God are ever complete, but they do give
a pattern. And so we have an example here
of this heavenly balance, and he had a work to do. My friends, our glorious Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ, he had a work to do. and Boaz did that
work which clearly he was directed to do by the Holy Spirit. You see initially that work didn't
appear to be going smoothly, it appeared almost to be going
in an opposite direction, but the Lord was with Boaz. The Lord therefore and Baaz pursued
this way. He didn't give up. He pursued
it. He went up to the gate and sat
down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom
Gaius Spate came by unto him. And he said, ho, such a one,
turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside and sat down. And then he took elders, witnesses
to come and to sit down and to observe that which he needed
to do. And that was to eventually pay
the price to purchase the land and also to purchase Ruth for
himself. Well, of course we have a much
greater and glorious picture in the life and death and resurrection
of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a great and glorious
work to do. His work, of course, was far
greater than Boaz. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
never looked back, did he? He set his face steadfastly to
Jerusalem. He knew the difficulties that
were before him, but he knew there was that blessed end when
his whole church, his bride, the heavenly bride, would indeed
be brought back, would be redeemed. And that through his life and
through his sin atoning death, they would be pardoned, they
would be purified, they would be a true bride to himself. and yet the cost was so great,
the cost was so extreme. Let us never therefore underestimate
the cost of our salvation. to be found adjoined to the Saviour
as his heavenly bride. What a mercy it is to be united
to such a Saviour. Ruth was united to Baez. It was a wonderful outcome. The Church of God united to Christ. It's a far more, much more glorious
outcome. because it is an eternal outcome. You see, Boaz and Ruth, they
were both to die. They were not naturally immortal. Their souls were, and they were
united to the bridegroom as the bride of Christ. And they would
be found in glory eternally with him. But what a mercy then, if
we look at ourselves, Look at ourselves, perhaps. Perhaps we
may think that we were like the Moabites Ruth, far off from God,
in a foreign land, no knowledge of the Saviour, no knowledge
of the things of God, until, by His grace, our path was moved
So we came into the right way. We came into the narrow way. Ruth was brought, was she not,
into that narrow way to be willing to forsake all and to follow
Naomi. What a blessing it is for us
today if the Holy Spirit directs us and the grace of God comes
to us so that we are willing to forsake all the things of
time, all the things really which are of no lasting value, and
to be blessed with that desire to follow this man, this man,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Ruth was willing to follow Naomi
and to be brought to Boaz as her husband. What a mercy it
is if the Holy Spirit comes and possesses our hearts and minds
and therefore turns us out of that broad way leading to destruction,
turns us into the narrow way which leads to eternal life. And as we walk in that narrow
way, we aren't alone. We find that we are walking with
our beloved, the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Many condescends
to take us by the hand, and to lead us on safely, and to direct
us, and to speak to us. You can, I'm sure, remember that
account of those two on that Emmaus Road. They didn't understand
what had really happened. They knew what had happened,
but they didn't really understand it. But yet you see the Lord
Jesus had a love to them. He didn't leave them to just
carry on in that condition of speaking one to another without
understanding. He drew near and went with them. Well, what a blessing it is if
the Lord indeed draws near to us and goes with us. And what did he do to those two
on the Emmaus Road? He opened to them the scriptures,
the things that they couldn't understand, they could now understand. The Lord Jesus spoke of himself
and the wonder of it was he was revealed to them. in the breaking
of bread. It's a very sacred meditation,
really, to think. And as they came, the Lord was
with them, and he broke bread for them. Then their eyes were
opened. Their eyes were opened, and they
beheld wondrous things out of the law of God. Would it be a
great blessing for us today if the Holy Spirit comes upon us
and directs us to see the glory that is in this little account,
how Ruth came to be brought in to the covenant, how she came
to be united, how she came to be married to Boaz. and what
a blessing therefore in our lives today. If we also can see how
the Lord has watched over us, we might say, as we perhaps were
like a Moabite, yes, no fear of God, following our own way. And if the Lord deign in his
sovereign will and purpose to bring us amongst people, to people,
to be able to hear the great truths of God and we saw in them
a blessed attraction. What have we really observed?
We may not really have appreciated it, but I'm sure it's like this,
that in their lives we beheld the Savior. We beheld the love
of the Savior. And what did that produce? In
our hearts it produced a wonderful and blessed attraction because
there we saw in the Lord Jesus Christ as we were led to understand
something of his great work of redemption and to understand
what a need we had as a perishing sinner, a sinner condemned to
die, directed to this great and glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. She is not of works, lest any
man should boast. What a blessing if you and I
can find out in our lives those words that the Apostle spoke
to the Ephesians, and you hath he quickened, made alive, who
were dead in trespasses and in sins, where in time past you
walked according to the things of this world. Well, in our lives,
has there been a change? There was a change in Ruth's
life, a most dramatic change, and there is. None less than
a dramatic change in the life of the true believer. It's a
change brought about by the great work of the Holy Spirit. And it's that work which, although
you and I may initially perhaps resist, we will not ultimately
be able to resist it, because blessed be God, he is all powerful.
and he brings about in our lives that which you and I could not
bring about. Here was Ruth, a stranger, brought
into contact with Naomi, blessed to observe her life, blessed
to observe how she worshipped the true God and how she wanted
Naomi's God to be her God, that God who is a gracious God, that
God who takes away all sin, all sin, that God who redeems us
from our sin, that Lord, that blessed Lord who laid down his
life so that you and I might receive life. It is a wonderful
blessing. It is a wonderful favour to realise
there is a heavenly Boaz, one who indeed works out our salvation
in our life, day by day. Everything was known to our God.
He knew it precisely. the moment, the second, when
his Holy Spirit would come and descend upon us. And he knew
precisely how we would be led and directed, just like Ruth. We might think, well, Ruth was
a very amazing and wonderful character. Well, naturally she
was, and spiritually she was, but all God's people come into
that category. Everyone, everyone. because it is a work of grace,
it is the unmerited favour of Almighty God to turn us away
from ourselves, to turn us unto him and to see in the Lord Jesus
Christ a wonderful attraction. Clearly Boaz was attracted to
Ruth. My friends, the Lord Jesus Christ
is gloriously attracted to his people. It's not something which
is not known. There is a bond. There is a blessing bond between
naturally a bride and a bridegroom, And there is a much greater bond
between the Lord Jesus Christ and his church. And it's a bond
which will never be broken. Let's ponder that. Never be broken. Once in him, we are eternally
safe. Once in him, we shall never be
cast out. Once in him, we shall spend eternity
with him. It is a most amazing prospect,
isn't it, to think the Lord has gone before to repair a place
for his people. And as he says, he said to his
disciples, if I go to repair a place for you, I will come
again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there, ye will
be also. It means that when we leave this
earth, we won't arrive in heaven and not be expected. because
there is a prepared place for each one of his people in glory,
a place that the Lord has prepared for us, a place that cannot be
taken by anyone else. It is a place which our heavenly
bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, has gone to prepare and therefore
As we journey on through life with many difficulties, well
Ruth didn't have an easy life and of course when she came into
the country of Nomai, she still had to go and she still had to
work and she still had to glean She didn't have everything just
provided for her. No, she was directed by the Holy
Spirit to go into the field and there she had to glean. What
a mercy it is, therefore, if you and I are found gleaning
in the gospel field so that our souls are blessed with heavenly
food, that we do glean. And Ruth, as we know, she took
her gleaning home and she beat it out. And she received that,
which was true food. The husk was taken away. She was blessed with that true
grain, that true grain. for the gospel. Well, so these
words that Naomi had spoken to Ruth came to pass. She did sit
still. She did sit still. We don't read
of her being impatient. What a good thing, therefore,
if you and I are willing to sit still, because as Naomi said,
for the man will not be in rest until he has finished the thing
this day, where he did finish the work that he had to do in
order to purchase the Ruth. And my friends, our glorious
bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, has also wonderfully finished
that work which his father gave him to do in order to redeem
our souls. What a thought it is. the Lord
Jesus Christ. He finished the work. Yes, none
of it was left undone. It was completed to the uttermost. Every sin had to be forgiven. Every sin of all his church were
forgiven. And they were forgiven through
the shedding of his most precious and valuable blood. The lovely
line, isn't it? invaluable plan. We cannot put a value on it,
because it has an eternal value, which is beyond our comprehension.
But we should be very thankful to know tonight, if the Lord
has enabled us to sit still and wait for the Lord, and then to
know the Lord has come The Lord has shown us that that work which
he did on Calvary was a work completed in order to save our
souls. A work completed so that all
our sins, however black, however many, should be washed away forever
in the fountain of his most precious blood. So as we meditate and
think upon this little book of Ruth, realise the wonderful truth
it contains, the wonderful blessing it contains. And may we be able
to find out as we look in our little life, we trace out our
life and it's good to trace out our life alongside of the scriptures,
so that we can follow and find, yes, the Lord has dealt with
me in love to my soul, just like he dealt with Ruth in love to
her soul. called us out of the world, directed
us to the right place to go, the right place perhaps we might
say to worship. Yes we see here Ruth you see
directed to go and to be with her mother-in-law and return
to her country and to be blessed to live with the people of God. What a mercy then if the Holy
Spirit does that for us as well. He takes possession of us and
directs us so that we are made willing in the day of his power
to follow that narrow way which leads to eternal life and to
leave the hateful ways of sin, turn to the fold, the blessed
fold of Christ where his sheep are entering. Well may all of
us be found then Within that fold, having entered in, and
to realise we are amongst those of the household of faith who,
by the grace of God, one day will be found in glory to praise
our Saviour forever and ever. Then, said she, sit still, my
daughter, until, there is an until, there will be an end. until they'll know how the matter
will form when the Holy Spirit comes and reveals his way and
his time to our souls. And we can then rest in that
great and glorious finished work of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And so thankful to know that
he did finish that work. He did not fail. What a debt
we owe. to our great and glorious Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, may God bless his word
to us and instruct us in his truth. Amen.