Alright, turn with me if you
would to Ruth chapter 3. Ruth chapter 3. Just a moment ago we sang, "'Tis
done, the great transaction's done. I am my Lord's and He is
mine." That's what we are remembering
in the table that we are going to observe tonight. That's what
the end of the story of Ruth is all about. Ruth and Naomi
are two ruined sinners who have been called to and notified
of the favor and the kindness of their kinsmen redeemer. They've
just been called to it. They've just been notified of
it. They heard a notification of
good news. A message of good news came to
them. They heard a message of mercy
and grace that there was one who had the right to redeem them. They were lost, ruined sinners,
and they heard there was one who had the right to redeem them. Not every man had that right. In Leviticus 25, the law said
that if a man became ruined and poor, If he had to sell everything
he had because he was just ruined, his kin could buy it back for
him. His kin could redeem it for him,
but he had to be kin. Whoever he sold it to had to
sell it back to his kin, couldn't keep it forever. If his kin could
buy it, he had to sell it back to him, but he had to be kin. If he was not kin, if he was
not a kinsman, he did not have the right to redeem it. And the amazing thing is the
Lord Jesus Christ made himself to be kin to us. That's the amazing
part about it. He took not on him the nature
of angels. But He took upon Him the seed
of Abraham. He made Himself to be in the
likeness of sinful flesh. Why would He do that? Why would
He do that? He made Himself to be in the
likeness of sinful flesh. He made Himself to be a man.
That's one of the greatest things that could ever be told. Thank
God. He made Himself to be a man. He made Himself to be one with
His people. He joined Himself to His people. He identified with His people. And in doing so, because He humbled
Himself, and that's what He did when He identified with His people.
When He joined Himself to His people, He humbled Himself. And
because he humbled himself and made himself to be born of a
woman, made himself to be under the law, because he willingly
did that, that gave him the right to redeem them that were under
the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. That's
what Galatians tells us. So Ruth has just come back to
Naomi. after having gleaned all day,
and she showed Naomi how much she was given. She'd been gleaning
all day, and she comes back and shows Naomi how much she was
given. And out of absolute amazement and wonder, Naomi said, whose
field did you go to? I've never seen anything like
this. Who gave you all of this? And Ruth said, the man's name
is Boaz. And Naomi, leaping for joy, said,
Ruth, you ended up in the field of the man who has the right
to redeem us. Alright, now 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? She said, I seek rest for you. I seek peace for you. I want
it to be well with you in your latter end. And I say the same
thing to you, and I say the same thing to me. I seek rest for
you. I seek peace for you. I want
it to be well with us. And there's only one man who
can provide that for us. Christ our Redeemer. 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 winnoweth barley tonight 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 shall have done eating and drinking, And
it shall be when he lieth down that thou shalt mark the place
where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in and uncover his feet
and lay thee down, and he will tell thee what thou shalt do.
And she said unto her, all that thou sayest unto me, I will do. And she went down unto the floor
and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. And
when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went
to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, and she came softly,
and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. And it came to pass
at midnight that the man was afraid, and turned himself, and
behold a woman lay at his feet, and he said, Who art thou? And
she answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy
skirt over thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. She came softly, she came humbly,
and she came begging for a covering. Our Lord said in Ezekiel 36,
I'm gonna do all of these glorious things for my people. all of
these wonderful redeeming things for my people, but they are going
to ask me to do it for them." And that's what she did. She
said, would you please spread your skirt over me? Can you relate
to that? Would you please cover me? Would you please cover me? Would
you care for me? This is what she's asking Him.
Would you vouch for me? Would you provide for me? Would
you protect me? Would you take me to yourself?
Would you call me your own? Would you do it because you're
my near kinsman? Would you do it for your namesake?
Would you do it for your namesake? You are my near kinsman. You're my only hope. Verse 10,
and he said, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter. Any
sinner who comes asking that, crying that, begging that is
a blessed sinner. It is not of the flesh to come
crying and begging for mercy. It is not of the flesh to come
crying and begging for a covering over my sin. That is a blessed
man or woman. Verse 10, and he said, Blessed
be thou of the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed more kindness
in the latter end than at the beginning. Inasmuch as thou followest
not young men, whether poor or rich, And now, my daughter, fear
not. I will do to thee all that thou
requirest, for all the city of my people doth know that thou
art a virtuous woman." He said, yes, I sure will. Oh, would you please, would you
please? He said, yes, I sure will. I
will. All who come to Christ out of
a desperate need, he will in no wise cast out. in no wise. If we ask just like that, we
shall receive. All who ask just like that, receive. But he said in verse 12, Now
it is true that I am thy near kinsman. Howbeit there is a kinsman
nearer than I. There is someone else involved.
In order for us to be just and right and legal about this, there
is another kinsman to you who must be dealt with first. Spiritually
speaking, that nearer kinsman represents this law, this holy
law, God's holy law of commandments. We are all born under the law. BOUND LEGALLY TO THE LAW. So He said in verse 13, TERRY
THIS NIGHT, AND IT SHALL BE IN THE MORNING, THAT IF HE WILL
PERFORM UNTO THEE THE PART OF A KINSMAN, WELL, LET HIM DO THE
KINSMAN'S PART. BUT IF HE WILL NOT DO THE PART
OF A KINSMAN TO THEE, THEN WILL I DO THE PART OF A KINSMAN TO
THEE. AS THE LORD LIVETH, LIE DOWN
UNTIL THE MORNING. IF THE LAW WILL REDEEM YOU, THEN
LET THE LAW REDEEM YOU. IF THE LAW CAN, THEN LET THE
LAW REDEEM YOU. BUT IF IT CAN'T, THEN I MAKE
THIS PROMISE TO YOU. ON MY WORD, ON MY NAME, ON MY
LIFE, I'LL DO IT. Verse 14. And she lay at his feet until
the morning, and she rose up before one could know another,
and he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor.
Also he said, Bring the veil that thou hast upon thee, and
hold it. And when she held it, he measured
six measures of barley and laid it on her, and she went into
the city. And 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
thy mother-in-law." A soul that comes to Christ never walks away
empty. Anytime we go to Christ in sincere
need, I mean in sincere need, we never walk away empty. Never
leave empty-handed. Verse 17, She said, These six
measures of barley gave He me, for He said to me, Go not empty
unto thy mother-in-law. Then she said, Naomi said to
Ruth, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter
will fall, for the man will not be in rest until he have finished
the thing this day." Stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord. That's my favorite thing to do when God allows me to do
it. Just stand still and see the
salvation of the Lord. He will set His face like a flint. He will finish this thing today. Now in this we see the work of
our Redeemer on the cross of Calvary. We see what had to take
place in order for Him to redeem us to Himself. This is what had
to happen. Chapter 4, verse 1. Then went
Boaz up. Our Lord said, If I be lifted
up. Then went Boaz up to the gate,
and sat him down there. 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 ye
down here. And they sat down. And he said
unto the kinsman, Naomi that is come again out of the country
of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech's. 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
beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. The law says, do this and live. As long as a soul keeps the law,
the law will keep the soul. As long as a soul keeps the law,
that rich young ruler came to the Lord and said, good master,
what do I need to do to be saved? And he told him, if you do this,
you'll be saved. But no man's ever been able to
do that. If a person could perfectly abide
by and perfectly obey the law, the law would walk that person
straight through the gates of glory. But if the law is broken in one
point... Oh, this is so critical. This
is the whole reason the Lamb was slain. Men and women, it's so sorry. They think they're keeping God's
law. They think they're obeying God's law. If it's broken in
one point, whether we know the whole law
or not. I don't know the whole law of
this land, much less that land. If a soul disobeys one word or
one piece of a word, one dot of an I or one cross of a T,
then the law cannot do anything for a soul but condemn it. That's all the law can do. It's the holy law. It has to. That's all it can do. Verse 4, Boaz said, 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
beside thee, and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. Then said Boaz, What day thou
buyest the field of the hand of Naomi? Thou must buy it also
of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance. If you redeem Naomi and all that
she has, you have to redeem her daughter-in-law, Ruth, with her. this Moabitess woman, this woman
from the land of idolatry, this woman from the land of sin. Verse
6, And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I
mar my own inheritance. The law cannot overlook, the
law cannot forgive, one sin. There is no forgiveness in the
law. None. The kinsman said, I cannot
redeem it for myself lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou
my right to thyself for I cannot redeem it. What the law could
not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh by sin, by a sacrifice
for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. The law condemned us because
of sin. So Christ came and condemned
the sin. Verse 7. Now this was the manner
in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing
for to confirm all things a man plucked off his shoe and gave
it to his neighbor and this was a testimony in Israel. Therefore
the kinsman said unto Boaz buy it for thee so he drew off his
shoe. fulfilling His promise, fulfilling
His covenant. He plucked off His shoe. He humbled
Himself. He brought Himself down. He lowered Himself down into
the dust. He entered into the dust of death
that man was destined to return to. God told Moses, Take your
shoes off of your feet because you're standing on holy ground.
And Christ suffered the judgment that was owed to His people because
of their sin against this holy God. They were standing on holy
ground and Christ suffered the judgment of that holiness. He
paid everything that was required to be paid and He suffered everything
that was required to be suffered. And after he by himself fulfilled
the transaction, he cried, it is finished. It's finished. And it is indeed finished. It is indeed finished. Salvation
is finished. Salvation is complete for all
of God's people. It's finished. Verse 9, And Boaz
said unto the elders, and unto all the people, You are witnesses
this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's, and all
that was Cilion's, and Mahlon's of the hand of Naomi. Moreover,
Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to
be my wife." This is what it took for Christ to purchase His
bride. He gave Himself, He purchased
His bride by giving Himself for her. It took His life, it took
His blood, it took His all. Verse 10, He said, Moreover,
Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Milan, have I purchased 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, you are witnesses this day. And
all the people that were in the gate and the elders said, we
are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that
has come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which too
did build the house of Israel and do thou worthily in Ephrata
and be famous in Bethlehem. And let thy house be like the
house of Phares, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which
the Lord shall give thee of this young woman. So Boaz took Ruth,
and she was his wife. And when he went in unto her,
the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women
said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee
this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer
of thy life and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law,
which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath
borne him." And that's exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ is
to us. He is the restorer of our life. He is the nourisher
of our eternal days. He is our kinsman redeemer. Verse 16, And Naomi took the
child and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And
the women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a
son born to Naomi. And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the
father of David. This woman, Ruth, you talk about
redemption. You talk about redemption. She
went from being an unworthy, sinful, beggar on a dunghill
called Moab to be in the great-grandmother of King David in the city of
Bethlehem, the place where the son of David would be born, Christ
our Redeemer. Verse 18, now these are the generations
of Phares. Phares begat Hesron, Hesron begat
Ram, and Ram begat Amenadab, and Amenadab begat Nashon, and
Nashon begat Salmon, and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David, who represents Christ
our King. directly in the line and family
of God. This ruined center was set among
princes, literally princes free from the law. Oh, happy condition.
The Lord Jesus Christ bled and there is remission. Cursed by
the law and bruised by the fall, but Christ has redeemed us once
for all. Let's remember him tonight. We always, when we remember him
by observing this table, we remember him in a very solemn way. in
a very serious way and without losing one ounce of that, let's
remember Him in a very joyful way, in a very thankful way. Oh, the joy of our redemption
through His body, through His broken body, through His shed
blood. If that's our hope, if that's our all, then let's remember
Him in a joyful way.