OK, we're again in Ruth Chapter
2 tonight. Ruth Chapter 2. Due to the fall of our federal
head, Adam. Our representative. You and I
were born in sin. Spiritually speaking, you and
I were born dead. Born dead. No life, no ability,
no will. Unable to save ourselves. Unwilling
to help or save ourselves. You know, you can't be half dead
or half alive. You're either dead or alive.
And when we were born, we were physically alive, but spiritually
dead. In order to be made spiritually
alive, we must have a Redeemer. There's no other way. We must
be redeemed. Redeemed means to compensate,
pay for the faults and bad aspects of something or someone. You
redeem something. If you've got a coupon, you redeem
it. It's to pay for something. Redeemed means to compensate. pay or compensate for the faults
and bad aspects. It means to atone or make amends
for an offense of error or evil. Redeem means to gain or regain
a possession of something in exchange for payment. And lastly,
redeem means to fulfill or carry out a pledge or promise. Now,
a dead person cannot redeem themselves or anyone else. They don't have
the ability to redeem. And being dead, they don't have
the will to redeem. People talk about will, their
will. I will to do this, I will to
do that. Not spiritually, because you're
dead. Someone must redeem them. And
the one who does, first of all, must be able to redeem. And secondly,
they must be willing to do so. This someone must be able to
pay the required redemption price. And this someone must be willing
to pay this, willing to pay, not just able, but willing. And
you and I have offended God. I don't know how anybody can
make light of sin. Shall we continue in sin and
grace may abound? God forbid. I hear folks say
things like, well, that's, I'm just a sinner. That's what sinner
does. We've offended God's law. We've
offended his justice. In short, we've offended him.
God is offended. God is angry. with the wicked
every day. So what is the redemption price? Well, the scripture's clear,
the wages of sin is death. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die, you know that. Woe unto the wicked, it shall
be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. And that's why the child of God
prays that the Lord don't give him what They deserve, we don't
want what we deserve. We know what that is, death.
We want mercy. For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse for it's written, curse is everyone
that continueth not in all things which are written in the book
of the law to do them. So we see the price for offending,
disobeying, and sinning against God is death. And not just physical
death, but eternal spiritual death. Eternal separation, everlasting
separation from God. Wow. That's the penalty of man's crime. That's man's sentence. It's a
death sentence. Now, unless that man can be redeemed,
unless someone can pay that price of redemption for them, unless
someone can compensate, make amends, regain that which they
lost, unless someone can carry out that pledge, that promise
to redeem them, they will die in their sin. Now, I know this
is elementary, but it's amazing how few folks know this, and
it's, Amazing, really, how many who profess to know don't know.
There's only one way we can be redeemed, and there's only one
who can redeem us. It's just that narrow. It's just
that straight. It just is. And that's redemption by their
near kinsman redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ. How did he who
is God become our kinsman? Well, Paul tells us in Philippians
chapter two, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery
to be equal with the God, but that one made himself of no reputation. and took upon Him the form of
a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found
in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross." Philippians 2, verses
six through eight. How did He become our Redeemer?
He humbled Himself. He became obedient to death,
even the death of the cross. That is the death that you and
I deserve. The book of Ruth is about Boaz,
the kinsman redeemer, and Ruth pictures the needy sinner. You
know this. We've already discussed this.
God made a provision of grace and mercy to who? The needy. Always comes back
to that. The needy. Ruth pictures the
needy sinner. According to the law of Moses,
the owners of the fields in Bethlehem Judah were not allowed to harvest
the corners of a field. They were not allowed to pick
up the grain that fell down to the ground during the harvest. God made provision for the needy. That belonged to the poor and
needy and they were freely allowed freely allowed to gain, to glean
that for themselves. It fell to the ground, but it
fell to the ground for the poor and needy. The widows and the
fatherless could glean from it. And all through the scriptures,
the poor, the needy, the widowed, and the fatherless are designated
as objects of mercy. And that's what sets forth the
glory of God and the sovereign in his mercy and grace. God's
word assures the poor and needy that it is God, Christ, our Redeemer,
that provides for us our every need, every single one. Spiritually speaking, we're all
poor and needy. God causes his son to rise on
the evil and the good and God sends his rain on the just and
the unjust. The Lord is good to all and his
tender mercies are over all his works. The rain fell from heaven
and the fruitful seasons fills the hearts of all with food and
gladness so that they are not without a witness of God's mercy
and grace, Acts chapter 14, verse 70. But God is not redeemer to all
who gleans in this field. picturing the world, just as
Boaz wouldn't. You know, I was thinking about
that this week. According to God's law, everyone
who was poor and needy could glean from any man's field in
Israel. It was part of the law of God.
It was a provision that God made for the poor and the needy. And
I am certain that there were many, not Ruth alone, who enjoyed
the harvest of Boaz's gain. But Boaz set his affection on
Ruth alone. Boaz was infatuated with one. I don't know how many gleaned
in his field. I'm sure several. Boaz set his
eyes upon one. He became a kinsman redeemer
to one Moabite widow who fell at his feet for mercy. That's
what the book of Ruth's about. It's about the redemption of
Ruth by Boaz. Ruth represents every single
sinner saved by grace. What a picture we have here of
the believer being drawn and taught to rest in Christ. You
know, we have to be taught that, don't we? I'm still learning
to lean on the everlasting arms of the Lord Jesus. Still learning
to lean. I'm still laboring to rest. As we've seen and said, God sovereignly
manipulated Ruth to be in Boaz's field. She took out that morning
to glean. It says it was her hat to land
upon this this particular field, but she didn't know whose field
it was. It was Boaz's field. And God
sovereignly manipulates His people in divine providence to our appointed
end. No mistakes, no, it's all purposed
of God. Our salvation, not by luck, not
fate, not chance. Our hap is what God Almighty
purposed. And he did so before the world
began. And that just proves to us further
that we didn't have anything to do with it. Ruth chapter two, verse 15. And
when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young man
saying, let her glean even among the sheaves and reproach her
not. And let fall also some of the
handfuls of purpose for her and leave them that she may glean
them and rebuke her not. Boaz commands his young labors
to leave handfuls of purpose on purpose for Ruth. And the Lord Jesus commands his
labors, his preachers, to drop truth on purpose for his chosen
people. Pretty much all the miracles
that our Lord performed were for those who had a great need.
Some came to Him and He came to some, but they all had need. I've many times said, people
don't come to hear the gospel because of a lack of interest.
It may seem so, but that's not why they don't come. They don't
come because of a lack of need. I've been attempting to preach
now for about 33 years. That's hard for me to believe.
I've been striving to be a pastor now for 16 years, 11 or so here. And in many ways, I'll be honest
with you, I still feel like a novice that falls way short. Does that
ever change you? But I've come to understand this
much. No one will ever truly seek the
Lord until they see that they've got a desperate need. The folks
that our Lord healed had great physical impairment, but each
one of those shows us something of their and our spiritual need. Bartimaeus' blindness, that pictures
our inability to see our sin and our blindness to see Christ
as the only divine giver of sight. We're blind to that, unless God
gives us eyes to see. That impotent man that lay at
the pool of Bethesda. Scripture says 38 years, I believe. That's a long time. He represents
our inability to help ourselves in, by, and through the law of
God. He said, I have no man to put me in the water. That Syrophoenician
woman came to the Lord and said, Lord, help me. Lord, help me. Shows us that we cannot help
one another, even those that we desperately love. She couldn't
help her daughter, only the Lord could. The man with the withered
hand, he shows us that there's nothing we can do by the work
of our hands to merit, deserve, or earn the least of God's mercies. That woman with the issue of
blood, she shows us that even if we spend all that we have
without Christ, we'll just grow worse. That leper represents
mankind in their dead state, being an outcast in the land
of the living. That's what we are. The woman
who was bowed over to the ground, she couldn't look up. And she
couldn't straighten up and walk right. That's what religion says,
straighten up. You know, get these things straight
in your life, then you can serve the Lord. You'll never do it
because you're unable and you're unwilling. The deaf and the dumb
cannot hear or say anything that would cause God to be mindful
of them. They can't hear the mercy, the
sweet tokens of God's mercy. They can't speak. They can't
repent unless God give them the repentance. We're shut up to
the voice of Christ who must speak and hear the commandment
of God on our behalf. And listen, He kept every dot
and tittle of the law for us, that we might be made perfect
by His righteousness. We can do nothing to redeem ourselves,
as we've already said, and the proof is throughout the Scriptures.
Ruth pictures the poor and wretched one who came to the field as
a mercy beggar. She didn't come entitled. Folks
today come entitled as if they're doing some great thing for the
Lord by, they say, giving Him their heart or letting Him have
His way in their life. My, my, she came as a mercy beggar,
depending entirely upon the kindness and the mercy and grace of the
master and owner of that field. Boy, isn't that a picture? That's
how we come. What can an idol-worshipping
Moabite contribute? Her race was under the curse
of God. So was ours. So was ours. Ruth had no rights, but those
that were given to one who has no rights. That's what the law
of God did. She was a recipient only of what
the Lord granted her in her poverty by His holy law. It's the same
with us. And these handfuls of purpose,
were not due to her heritage. She was a Moabite. It wasn't
due to her character or her conduct. She had the right to glean only
because God had freely left provision for the poor. And that's our
state. We too are members of a cursed
race. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and
death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned. Romans 5, 12. Paul wrote in Ephesians
2, wherefore remember that you being in time past Gentiles in
the flesh who are called uncircumcision, that at that time you were without
Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers
from the covenants of promise, having no hope. And without God in this world.
Now, the only right we enjoy is what God has left us in this
world for sinners. And as we said, God shares the
sunshine and the rain for his elect with the evil and the unjust. But Ruth here, she pictures that
one in great need that's found favor with her master. That's
of interest to me. Oh, I want to find favor from
him, don't you? She was not in Boaz's field by
her own decision. It was God who had decided for
her. We don't sing, I've decided to follow Jesus. We sing, depth
of mercy, how can it be? Mercy is still reserved for me.
That's one of the greatest mysteries, that God would have mercy on
a wretch like me. Ruth was not there where she
was by her own choice. She was there by divine appointment. That's where we are in this thing. By divine appointment. I hear
men and women say things like, I got saved. That phrase, I got,
insinuates that you succeeded, attained, or achieved something.
That phrase, I got, means that you moved in order to obtain
or reach a specified state or condition. I got means that you
did something to progress to a certain state of being. The
only thing that you and I did was get lost and get dead. But
we did nothing to get saved. Now, I want to look at these
two verses and see the instruction and commandment of Boaz here.
The first instruction and commandment that he gave to his reapers mirror
the responsibility and privilege given to those whom God has called
to preach and feed the sheep of God. The master Boaz determined
and told his reapers, he said, let her glean among the sheaves. A preacher doesn't determine
how much of the gospel and the truth is given to who. They plant
and they water, but God determines who is increased. Boaz said,
let her, Ruth, let her. Not even one of these others
in the field. Let her glean among the sheaves. He didn't say that concern to
anyone else in the field. Secondly, the command from Master
Boaz was do not reproach her. That simply means don't shame
her. It's not the master's servant's business to chastise or correct
God's chosen people. That's the master's doing as
an owner of all. I had a man come to me in tears
this past week after service, not because I chastened him,
but because God did. The power of the Holy Spirit
convicted him, and he was broken in his heart. We don't do the chastening, God
does. And he does it as a heavenly
father does to the children that he loves. Sometimes we like to
correct folks, I'm not gonna lie to you. Sometimes we like
to chasten, sometimes as God's shepherds, we must. But only
God, the Holy Spirit can do so effectively. It's the preacher's
job to preach the gospel. He's to comfort the people of
God with glad tidings. That's what the gospel is. Good
news for sinners. The Holy Spirit takes the gospel
that we preach and comforts and convicts and chastens and consoles
His people, His sheep. Then thirdly, the command of
Boaz was, let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose. And
again, he says, for her. We miss those little words, for
her, for her, for Ruth, for the one who would be redeemed, not
for the whole world, but for her, his church, his heavenly
bride. The pastor, the shepherd is to
be keenly aware of his sheep. He's to watch over them and to
strive to give them God's word that meets their particular and
individual needs. And the greatest need that they
have in the spiritual warfare that we're all in is to let fall
handfuls of purpose. That's why you're here tonight.
I hope it is that you might again, fill up your sack with the morsels
of sweet mercy and grace that the Lord leaves on purpose for
you. And the greatest need that we
have is that the Word of God, the gospel we preach is a word
of purpose. He says handfuls of purpose.
It's the purpose of God in the salvation of sinners. The gospel
reveals that God does everything on purpose. The gospel is not
about possibilities. It's not about probabilities.
It's about God's purpose. The gospel speaks of the certainty
of God predestinating, predetermining all things. We don't love the
doctrine of election just because we agree with that doctrine. We love the doctrine of election
because God on purpose saves sinners. Not by accident. on purpose. The gospel speaks
of His election to particular sinners, and we pray that we're
one of them. The preacher of the gospel lets
handfuls of purpose, divine doctrine, glorious truths of sovereign
purpose that will always, always, always meet the chosen sinner's
needs. And fourthly, this command of
Boaz was repeated in a more strongful and forceful manner. He said,
rebuke or not. The people of God are God's people.
God has a right to do with His people what He will. They do
not belong to the pastor. They don't belong to the church.
They belong to God. And as I see it, sometimes it's
required that pastors rebuke and reprove, but they are to
exercise long-suffering and patience, speak the truth to God's children
as objects of love. And I'll be honest with you,
I pray often, Lord, help us who are under shepherds to treat
God's sheep with love and affection. Sometimes it's difficult. You
know, preachers are sinners too. May we always remember that the
best of men are men at best. And man at his best state is
altogether vanity. Help us, Lord, to preach Christ
and Him crucified. And remember that it's what we're
called to do. The Lord God, His Boaz, loves
His called Ruths. Christ, like Boaz, has set his
affection upon his church. Now, at this point, Boaz has
no relationship with Ruth, nor she with him, but he loved her. And God's people love him, God,
because he first loved them. Before I ever entered into a
quote relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ before I ever professed
to be a believer, before I ever publicly professed to trust in
Him and Him alone for my salvation. He loved me. I'm one of His,
He loved me. If He ever loved me, He still
loves me and He'll always love me. Look at verse 17. So she gleaned
in the field until evening, and beat out that she had gleaned,
and it was about an ephol of barley. And she took it up, and
she went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had
gleaned, and she brought forth and gave to her that she had
reserved after she was sufficed, what was left over. And her mother-in-law
said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? You know, as I
read that again, I almost read it this way. And her mother-in-law
said unto her, looking at this bushel or more sack of barley,
said, where hast thou gleaned today? Where did you get all
this? Where wroughtest thou? And before
Ruth can say anything, she says, blessed be he that did take knowledge
of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law
with whom she had wrought and said, this man's name with whom
I wrought today is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law,
blessed be he of the Lord who hath not left off his kindness
to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, this
man is nearer of kin unto us. one of our next kinsmen. Now,
I want you to picture this. Instead of Ruth bringing in a
little sack of garlic, probably what was normal for one who gleaned
in that day, she brings in a whole bag, a little over a bushel,
much more than expected. And as I said, Naomi said, where
did you glean today? And then she said this, blessed
is He that did take knowledge of thee." In other words, that
person sure was kind to you. Sure was kind to you. Beloved,
how blessed are we that Christ has taken knowledge of us, His
people. So undeserving, so wretched. He's so kind to us. Ruth shows Naomi with whom she
had received this bounty. She said, his name is Boaz. And
can you imagine how Naomi must have felt? Boaz has never been
mentioned to Ruth. This was the Lord's doing. This
was no doubt providential. All things are. God working out
in time what he purposed in eternity. Ruth said, I gleaned in the field
which belonged to Boaz. And don't you know that Naomi's
heart leaped with joy? while you could have knocked
her over with a feather. Did you pay particular attention
to the words of Naomi upon finding this out? She said, blessed be
he of the Lord, who has not left off his kindness to the living
or to the dead. And what she meant was this,
Boaz had not left off his kindness to Elimelech, her husband, or
Ruth's husband, Malon, who were now dead. And Boaz continued
his kindness to Naomi and to Ruth for the sake of the dead. He had left off his kindness
to those that are dead and to those who are alive. Showing
Ruth this kindness, expressed his respect to the memory of
the dead. And the words, blessed be he
of the Lord, in my margin that says blessed, Be he one that
hath right to redeem. Boaz had right to redeem. He
had the right, he had the ability, he had the power to redeem. He
had the right to restore all that Ruth had lost. He had the
right to restore all that Elimelech and Naomi had sold. and all that
they had lost in a limolet. God has given him the right to
buy back all that Naomi had lost and left. Now, that's a picture
of Christ. That's Jesus Christ. He's our
kinsman redeemer. Christ became flesh of our flesh
and bone of our bone. He's able. He had to be. He had
to be. Our redeemer had to have something
to pay. Our debt has to be paid. It can
only be paid by the precious blood and suffering that God
Himself made. Whatever a limoneck sold, it
has to be returned to the man who bought it. Whatever Adam
sold had to be paid if you and I were to be redeemed. Christ
has a right to pay it. Christ has the ability to pay
it. Christ has the power to pay it. All that we lost in Adam,
Christ can restore. and all that we sowed under sin,
He can restore. Boaz must be willing to redeem
Naomi and Ruth, but maybe he's not willing. You know, there
was another, a closer redeemer that we're gonna find in the
next study or two, who was not willing to redeem her, but Boaz
was. He was willing to redeem. Maybe
he could have said, you know, you got yourself in this mess.
You can get yourself out of it. Or just maybe He'll have compassion. Maybe He'll have mercy. Maybe
He'll redeem. You know, Boaz didn't owe them
anything. He didn't owe them anything. Did Boaz owe Naomi or Ruth anything? No. They're the ones who sold
out. The Lord Jesus doesn't owe us
anything. He doesn't. But that's what makes
him mercy. Verse 21, and Ruth the Moabitess
said, you know, I read that even now,
Ruth the Moabitess, Rahab the harlot, David the sinner. He said unto me also, thou shalt
keep fast by my young men until they have ended all my harvest. What Ruth is saying is, besides
all the favors that He's already shown me, He's given me reason
to expect more. Boy, isn't that so true of us
and our Lord? Ruth is saying He gave me strict
orders, and His will is that I keep following the reapers.
And that's the Lord's will for us, that we keep following the
Gospel, that we stay under the Gospel, Keep looking to Christ. He instructed me to keep gleaning
after them as long as the harvest lasted, until the Lord returns
and wraps this whole thing up. And look what Naomi says in verse
22. And Naomi said unto Ruth her
daughter-in-law, it is good, my daughter. You know, I left
this untitled the last few days. And when I got to verse 22, I
said, there's my title. It is good. It is good. It is good, my daughter, that
thou goest out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any
other field. Don't you go in any other field.
Don't you leave this gospel. So she kept fast by the maintenance
of Boaz to clean and glean, excuse me, until the end of barley harvest
and of wheat harvest and dwelt with her mother-in-law. Beloved,
the Lord Jesus Christ is your kinsman, Redeemer. He's out to
do you good. It's good. It is good. The gospel, it is good. It's
good news. Gospel news. The Lord knoweth
them that are His. Isn't that good? That's good
news, isn't it? The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly. He makes them godly and He delivers
them. He knows how. Good and upright
is the Lord. Therefore will He teach sinners
in the way. Psalm 25a. Boy, that's good. Oh, taste and see that the Lord
is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in Him." That's so good. "'Hear me, O Lord, for Thy lovingkindness
is good. Turn unto me according to the
multitude of Thy tender mercies.'" That's such good news. "'But
it is good for me to draw near to God. I put my trust in the
Lord God, that I may declare all Thy works.'" Not my works,
Thy works. Psalm 73, 28. For the Lord God
is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and
glory and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly. Who walks uprightly? Those in
Christ. For thou, Lord, art good and
ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call
upon thee. That's such good news. Isn't
that good? Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks
unto the Lord, for he is good, and his mercy endureth forever. What happens to Ruth is good.
When the kismet redeemer redeems, it's always good. What happens
to the believer is good. When our kismet redeemer redeems,
it's always good. Whatever comes our way. is good. Let the redeemed of the Lord
say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy. Therefore,
the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing
unto Zion, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head. They
shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and mourning shall
flee away. That sounds awful good to me.
and they shall call them the holy people, the redeemed of
the Lord, and thou shalt be called sought out, a city not forsaken. And we know that all things,
how many things? All things. How many things?
Everything works together for the good of them that love God
to them who are the called according to what? His purpose. Handfuls and handfuls and handfuls
of purpose. The purpose of God is to do His
people good. Every time, all the time, all
the days of our life. And that, my friends, He'll do.