The Book of Ruth is the Gospel. You heard me last week say, turn
to the Gospel of Ruth. It's a slip of the tongue, but
it's really the right thing to say, isn't it? This is the Gospel,
the Book of Ruth. It begins, like the Gospel, it
begins in death and ends in life. It begins with a man dying. It
ends with a child born, a son given. It begins with two poor
widows who lost it all, two sinners who lost everything. And it ends
with a great and merciful man restoring everything, redeeming
everything. This book is a story of a great
man, a great redeemer, and his great redemption. And I'm not
talking about Boaz. I'm talking about the Lord Jesus
Christ. This book could be called Boaz,
the book of Boaz, couldn't it? Or it could be called the Redeemer.
But the Lord had men call it the book of Ruth, allowed men.
And that's okay, because Ruth is a trophy of God's grace, isn't
she? She was a heathen. And God had
them name this book after a heathen woman. And because she's such
a trophy of God's grace, such a picture, such a promise, a
reality of the fact that this man came into the world to save
sinners. That's what this book is about.
The Lord Jesus Christ coming into this world to save sinners.
And he named his book after a heathen woman that he called out of idolatry
to save. Verses 1 and 2, this mighty man
Boaz came to the gate and sat down there. Now this is before redemption.
And our Lord, after redemption, what did He do? After He obtained
eternal salvation, He did what? Went to the right hand of God
and Sat down. Expecting his enemies to be made
his footstool. But this man sat down, and I
like this. It says the kinsman of whom Boaz
spake came by and he said, Hope, sit here. And then he called
the elders in verse 2 and said, Hey, sit. What did they all do? They came, they sat. This is
a mighty man. This is not a beggar. He doesn't
plead with people. By the power of His voice and
His will, He said, sit, and they sat. That's our Lord Jesus Christ. He's no beggar. He doesn't plead
with sinners to sit. But by His powerful command,
His powerful voice, they come. All the Father gives Him, they
come to Him, and they sit at His feet and hear of His purpose
to redeem. So it is. Now, Boaz, I am certain,
as soon as Naomi and Ruth walked in Bethlehem, he knew what he
was going to do. You reckon? He's a great man. He's a powerful man. It would
be nothing for him to redeem these two. He was a rich man. It wouldn't diminish his riches
one bit to redeem these two. And I knew, I think, he knew
exactly what he was going to do when they came into town.
He's their kinsman. Bone of their bones, flesh of
their flesh. Our Lord made this covenant of grace, of redemption,
before the world began. He knew what he was going to
do. He purposed it. He purposed it. So Boaz purposed
it. And it's going to happen. It's
going to happen. And so is the covenant of grace. It's ordered and it's sure. So the ten men sat down and the
kinsman nearer than he. And they sat down. In verse 3,
let's read verses 3 through 6 again. He said to the kinsman, Naomi
is coming again out of the country of Moab. She selleth her soul
a parcel of land to pay debt, is what it was. That's what redemption
is, to buy something back that someone is in debt. Belonged
to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to advertise thee,
to tell you, to say, to buy it before the inhabitants, before
these witnesses, 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. There's none to redeem it beside
thee, and I am after thee. And the man said, I will redeem
it. And said, wait a minute, hold on. The day you buy the
field of Naomi, you must buy also of Ruth the Moabitess, the
wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his
inheritance. And the kinsman said, I can't
do that. I can't redeem it. I said, I'll honor my own inheritance.
I can't do that. I can't afford to do that. I
can't do it. I'll mar my inheritance." He said, you redeem my right
to your sale. I cannot redeem it. Now, you
know, you've studied this with me before. This nearer kinsman
is the law. This Nero Kinsman represents
the law of God who has a claim on every one of us when we're
born into the world. Right? What the law say it? They say it to them under the
law. We're born under the law. All right? I thought about, this man is
related to Boaz. Right? Was he his brother? In
the law, In the Old Testament, God made this law of redemption. I told men that I wanted to preach
and talk about God's law, not as a doctrinal issue. I wanted
to touch our hearts. This is more than just doctrine.
God wrote the law. The law is holy and just and
good. The law is wonderful. The law is good. There's nothing
wrong with God's law. Everything right with God's law.
No fault in God's law. The fault is in us who can't
keep it. The law is wonderful. I would love to be able to keep
God's law. Our Lord did. He lived by the law. Ever say
anything about the law of God that's irreverent or disrespectful
or dishonoring? If you do, you dishonor God.
This is God's law. It's a reflection of His person,
His character. And everything He wrote is good.
Everything in it, really. This law of redemption, people,
was mercy, was grace. God made this law that if a man
died, his brother was to marry his wife and raise up children
so that she wouldn't lose everything. What mercy, what grace. That's
the law. So there's nothing wrong with
God's law. I'm glad we're not under it, because we can't keep
it. It's too strict. It demands perfection
in thought, in word, in deed. We can't do it, but Christ did. David said, I love thy law. Well,
the son of David came and honored God's law, and magnified the
law, and made it honorable. Righteous. His righteousness
was of the law. Wasn't it? Yes, it was. But he,
as our great Redeemer, And grace gave us His righteousness. Did it all for His people. But,
you know, I don't want to... Often when we talk about the
law, we make it sound like it's a bad thing, an awful thing. We preach it by rote. We say
Christ satisfied the law. We say it so many times, I think
it just goes wherever I hear it. Just and justifier? You remember reading before we
started this study in the last verse in the book of Judges,
it says there was no king in Israel, and everybody did that
which was right in their own eye. Remember that? No law, no
king, no right, no wrong, no rule, it was anarchy. Anarchy
is no respect for judgment, for law, anybody does anything they
want to do. That's pretty much how we're
living now. Aren't you glad there's law? Aren't you glad God wrote
his law in the hearts and minds of people? Aren't you glad? Yes, sir. I love the law of God.
I do. And this is the story of a man
named Boaz who loved God's law, too. And here came two sinners
that had nothing, nothing, And he being a knowing God, and loving
God, and loving God's law, said, I'm going to redeem those two.
I'm going to honor God's law. God said for somebody, a kinsman,
to redeem. He said, I'm going to do that.
They didn't know him. They didn't care about him. Naomi
knew him, but she forgot him. She left. What grace, what mercy,
this man. Soon as they walked in, he knew
everything. Boaz knew everything that was
going on. as our law, the picture of our law. God wrote the law, and it's a
good thing, and man broke the law and breaks the law. And yet
God, by the law, redeems us. And that's not by
us keeping it. That's what Romans 3 says. Now
righteousness without the law is manifest, being witnessed
by the law by these witnesses. You're witnesses now. So this
is great mercy. God's law, Christ's law is mercy
and grace that He wrote this law, and every jot and tittle
of the law has something to do with Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. You see how wonderful the law
is? So Boaz knew what he was going
to do, as our Lord knew. But he had to advertise, he had
to announce before all. Everybody had to hear of his
intentions, his purpose to redeem. They all had to know that it
was His mind, His will, His heart, His affection, His glory. This is going to make Him famous. He already is. He already was
before He did that. This is going to make Him even
more famous. That's what? The Redeemer. Lord Jesus Christ made the universe. He didn't need to redeem anybody.
He didn't need to make man, did He? He's great before He came. But, His greatest glory, His
greatest honor, the thing that makes Him most famous, and which
we will be singing of throughout eternity, is His redemption. Not by money, but by His own
precious blood. So He did this before all of
us. Now, you and I know that the law is not given to save.
The law was never given to save. Romans is clear about that. The law was given to show sin,
to reveal sin. Right? Whatsoever things the
law saith, that saith that everyone is under the law, that every
mountain may be stopped, and all the world become Guilty as
charged of breaking every single law. The law kills. The law cannot
give life. The law casts down. Cannot raise
up. Can't raise the dead. The law
can't do it. It can only kill. Only grace
can raise the dead. Only Christ can raise the dead. Boaz said to this nearer kinsman,
he said, you redeem it. He said, I will. But he said,
now, if you redeem one, you got to redeem them all. You can't
just redeem one. Do you know why God made Adam
our federal head? Do you know why that Eve's sin
is not charged to us, but Adam's? and the wisdom of God. Isn't
that wonderful? The seed of man, Adam. So we're sons of Adam, okay?
Had not Adam and Eve sinned, had they had children who were
righteous, and they had more children. Every person, Christ
would have had to die for individual people several times. Whoever
sinned. Are you with me? Because Adam
sinned, everyone that came from him was born a sinner. So Christ
died for all that he chose. They were all dead. But if there
had been one righteous son that lived and didn't disobey God,
or one daughter and they go on and on, you understand that?
That's the wisdom of God. Romans 3, go to Romans 3 with
it, real quickly. And, you know, I can't make this
interesting. But I tell you what, it's glorious.
God's wisdom, God's law, and how by the law Christ redeemed
us, and by His grace, and law and grace, and the law of the
schoolmaster that brings us to Christ, and all through Romans
and Galatians and Hebrews. And Romans 3, look at it. Romans
3, verse 19. Now, I'll just quote it. Every
mouth must be stopped for the law. All the world guilty before
God. Therefore, by the deeds of the
law shall no flesh be justified in his sight." I would like for
so many people to hear this. Wouldn't you? A woman told me one time, she said,
I don't know much about God's Word, but I know this. You better
keep those Ten Commandments. She was right about one thing.
She didn't know much about God's Word. Because we've broken every
one of those commandments. Because God requires thought,
word, and deed. Our Lord, in the Sermon on the
Mount, showed us clearly. Well, read on. By the deeds of
the law, no flesh will be justified in His sight. We're going to
be with God someday. We've got to be justified. We've
got to be holy, pure, righteous. By the law is the knowledge of
sin. Paul went on to say in Romans 7, I wouldn't have known holiness
and righteousness without the law. He said, the law came and
slew me. Remember, he said, I thought
I was righteous. I thought I was holy. I thought I was blameless.
I was keeping the Ten Commandments. This is when I found out what,
it killed me. It killed my religion. Till the
only thing I had to trust was Christ. That's good. Read on. He says now, the righteousness
of God, verse 21, without the law, that is, us keeping the
law. Somebody had to keep it. Who? Christ. It's manifest, revealed, witnessed
by the law and the prophets. As said, every single law, every
single thing throughout the Old Testament bears witness of Jesus
Christ who was to come. Born, made a woman, made what? Under the law. To do what? To redeem them from the curse
of that law. From the penalty of that law.
From the demands of that law. He says, now, the righteousness
of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. Do you know how
many times it says that? Faith of Jesus Christ. Is that a misprint? Is that poor
grammar? No, it's perfect grammar. It's His faithfulness to God,
to God's law on our behalf. Adam was unfaithful, and Adam
all died. Christ was faithful. He kept,
and here we live. All sin, I'm sure. So what we're
talking about, it's not just a doctrine. We're talking about
Christ coming down here for rebels and lawbreakers and people that
didn't want Him, didn't ask for Him. And when He came, He killed
Him. But in mercy and love and grace,
He did it anyway. Why? In Ezekiel 36, I don't do this
for your sake, I do it for my holy namesake. To the praise
of the glory of His grace. And yet, He did it in love. Boaz set his love on Naomi and
Ruth when they walked into town. Before they walked into town. I think God told him that Naomi's
coming home. Who else would tell him to drink
with your table? The Lord did, the Spirit of God did. He set
his love on her, and he wooed Ruth. Ruth didn't even know him,
and she came to her of all those maidens, all those damsels. Here's this widow, this heathen,
and she happened to be in his field, and he came into his field,
greeted everybody, and he looked on that one woman. I'm going to have her. Mindy and I were talking about
this, that Boaz, you know Boaz was probably 30 years older than
Ruth. She's in her 30s, he's probably
in his 60s or more, okay. We talked about this, Boaz might
not have been a real handsome fellow. That'd be fitting, wouldn't
it? No beauty that he should be desired,
no form or comeliness. Yet all his servants loved him.
All his maidens, all the damsels everywhere loved him. Why? Because
he was so lovely. He's so gracious. He's so merciful. He's so kind. They loved serving
him. They loved being in his field. But boy, he made Ruth fall in
love with him, didn't he? Why do you love the Lord Jesus
Christ? Because He's altogether loving. She said, remember what
she said? Why have you shown such grace
to me? Why did you speak to me? Brothers
and sisters, let's never get over this. Why would you speak
to me? Why am I in your field? Why are
you feeding me? Why do you betroth me to yourself? Why? Of all people. I'm a heathen. Look at all these... You know, when she came to that
field, she's poor, she's broken down, she's in rags. She's not
looking up, she's humbled, she's broken, she's looking down, she's
gleaning, she's on her hands and knees, she's dirty, she's
sweaty, there's nothing lovely about her. She's not beautiful
to look at. Boaz didn't choose her because
she was beautiful. And she looks up, and he's looking
at her, and he speaks to her, and she says, come to the house.
You come to my house. And you're going to stay right
there. Why me? Don't ever lose sight of that. Ruth, Rahab, my, my. That's what this story's about.
Or rather, who? Our Lord Jesus Christ, throughout eternity,
we're all going to be saying, why me? Why? I'll tell you why. To the
praise of the Lord of His breakfast, because He did. Why did Boaz
choose her? Because he did. Because he did. She was not the
prettiest. You see your calling, brethren,
who God has chosen. So the law can't redeem it. Now
here it was the... You know, I started to have you
read the rest of Romans 3 to show you how wonderful it is
that Christ came under the law. Because the first part of that
says, they hated God. Cursing and bitterness, swift
as shit. That was all of us by nature,
but God. So that, see what a wonderful
redemption. Alright, so Boaz did this because
he did, because he's loving and merciful and gracious because
he's a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. We sang that song, Oh
the love that drew salvation's plan, Oh the grace that brought
it down to man, Oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. The law in Deuteronomy 25 said
this, that when someone lost everything, if he had a kinsman,
he was to buy it back. If that person, that man, was
married, the woman had no rights to the man's, the woman did not
get her, the offspring did. Okay? Sons. Women were not to
get anything. You hear me? People complain
about women's rights today. Okay, women didn't get anything. Sons were the heirs of everything.
Both of her sons died, so there were no heirs. In the law, God
said a brother, a kinsman, would marry the wife of the deceased
so that she could have something, not lose everything. Isn't that
a picture of our Lord who came? In Adam we died and we were married
to the law. Our husband in Romans 7 talks
about that. He came, our husband died. We're
dead to the law by the body of Christ. We're married to Him
and He restored everything. But in Deuteronomy it says this,
that the near kinsman, if he would not redeem it, that he
was to take off his shoe Somebody take his shoe off. And they spit
in his face that he was shame. He was to
bear shame and ridicule before everybody. All the witnesses
bore witness that he would not redeem. He would not redeem.
And they spit in his face and took his shoes off like a slave.
Rich landowners didn't go barefoot. Slaves did. Now, what's all that
a picture of? Now, Christ is all. Isn't it? He's the great lawgiver. Okay? He came. Made of woman, made
under the law. And He was made sin under the
law. All right? Our Lord, at Calvary,
they removed His shoes. They stripped him of all his
clothing, his covering. He was put to shame before everyone. They spit in his face and hung
him on a tree and called him a blasphemer. He didn't honor
God. And he willingly did. But now, Christ redeemed. He redeemed by that same work
on Calvary's tree, by his own precious blood, he redeemed his
people. He redeemed the right, he paid
the right, for to this end Christ both died and rose and revived
that he might be Lord of the dead and the living. So he had to be made sin to pay
for that sin, but he had to live. to be our Redeemer, it's going
to go on to say our nourisher. Alright, read on with it. Here,
let's go on down here. It's really a mystery in it, but it's got
to have something to do with Christ. I tell you this, John
said, I'm not worthy to unloose his shoes. And he let him loose his shoes.
He took his shoes off like a slave. All right, so Boaz said to the
elders, verse 9, all the people, you're witnesses this day. I
have bought all. I bought all that was in there
in Melech, all that was in the hand of Naomi. I bought it all.
Are you witnesses? How are we redeemed? The scriptures
over and over again says you've sold yourself for naught, you're
going to be redeemed with that money, with that price. Redeemed
one way, bought one way by the blood of Jesus Christ. He said,
I bought all. I paid it all. Everyone he purposed
to redeem. Boaz purposed to redeem Naomi
and Ruth. And he redeemed them, didn't
he? He bought them. And he bought everything for
them and restored it to them. Our Lord Jesus Christ paid for,
laid down His life for His sheep, no one else. All that the Father
gave Him. All His sheep. He laid down His
life for them all. Not goats, sheep. And He paid
for every sin of all of His people. All the sins of all of God's
people. Yes, he did. I bought it on.
He said, you're witnesses. Are you witness to that? Scriptures
bear witness to that. Moreover, is there more? Yes, there is more. Not only
did Christ justify us, not only did Christ redeem us from the
curse of the law, He married us. He said, remember verse 10,
Ruth the Moabitess, remember he keeps calling her the Moabitess,
the Moabitess? I'm going to drop that name real
quick. She's going to be Boaz's wife. Ruth the Moabitess, the wife
of Mallon. John, may I tell you this, John
Bar-Davis, the son of Adam, sinner, the heathen. He's mine. I purchased him. Be my bride. I purchased to be
my wife. Purchased, like Gomer. Paper. I bought her to myself. Purchased
to be my wife. You know, you're not your own.
You're bought with a price. Bought with a price. And he said,
I did this to raise up the name of the dead and his inheritance. That's Ephesians 1. We didn't
get to that in Ephesians 1. We will. Maybe. That the name
of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren from the gate
of his place. Hear witnesses this day. And all the people
that were in the gate, here's what they all said. All of Boaz's
witnesses and elders, they said, we're witnesses. Hebrews 12 said
there's a great cloud of witnesses. From Abel, And all of Hebrews
11 is a hall of faith. All those for whom Christ died. All those who died in faith.
Faith in who? Jesus Christ. Started with Abel
bringing blood. Didn't it? So all of those in Hebrews 11
were witnesses. And Hebrews 12 begins this way.
See, and there's a great cloud of witnesses. What are they witnesses
of? Let's everybody in heaven witness
it out. So great redemption accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ. Why
are we here tonight? To witness this wonderful redemption. To hear the reading of the will.
To see if our name, see if He purposed us to be His wife. If you love what you've heard
thus far. Okay. So they said, ìWeíre witnesses.î
And hereís what they said, verse 11, ìThe Lord make the woman
thatís come into thine house like Rachel and Leah, and build the house of Israel.î Who
are we talking about? Rachel and Leah. You know that
story of them. And all those concubines and
Rachel, you know the story, Leah deceived Jacob and all that went
on. Oh, where sin abounded. All these children of Israel.
Jacob is who it is. We're talking about Jacob and
all his sons. We went through that story, didn't
we, Jen? There's nothing but sin everywhere. Starting with
Jacob. Leah and Rachel and the concubines
and all these sons and all their sins and everything, just sin
abounded. We're seeing a man. Grace didn't
much more man. God said, these are my sons. These, I'm not ashamed, God said,
to call them brethren. See, this man, everything bears
witness that this man came into this world to save sinners. Even the chief. They went on
to say, how about the house of Phares and Tamar? Make the house
of his like Tamar. Tamar! Do you know what happened
there? We started this also mentioning
four women in the Lord's lineage in Matthew 1. Only four women's
names were mentioned. Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and don't
even mention Bathsheba, because it was such a shameful thing,
called the wife of Uriah. But those were the Lord's relatives. His blood and kin. He was not
ashamed. David is going to be born. David's
going to be born. They say, who's your grandmother?
Rahab. Who? Rahab. Oh, I love that dear lady.
What does she do for a living? That's my grandmother, and I
love her. Do you see what this is all about? Rather, the Lord Jesus Christ,
the Savior of sin, redemption, is not a doctrine, it's a person. A person. So Moaz took Ruth,
and she was his wife. Did he ask her to be his wife?
Did he? Did he get down on his knee and
propose and offer her a diamond? It's not big enough. Did he? He took her. Aren't you glad? That's what the Lord does. Aren't
you glad he came and said, you're mine, you're coming with me.
Aren't you? Huh? You're not lovely enough
for him to marry you. You're not good enough for him
to marry you. Now he's a great man, and he
only marries the no-goods and the unlovely. And he takes you. You're not willing at first. But when you fall in love with
him, then you're just so grateful. He took her. And she was his
wife, and he went in unto her. That's the union with Christ.
There's nothing more wonderful, there's nothing more intimate,
there's nothing more glorious, no greater picture of the union
of the believer in Christ than this right here. Christ in you
is the hope of glory. When he plants his seed in you,
there's not life there. It's a dead, barren, you're a
barren woman until he plants the seed of life in you. And
what comes forth? What is born in you? A son. A son, not until he impregnates
you with this gospel. You know, the old preachers used
to call this the pregnant gospel. That's what they called it. Our
society is so sick, so perverted. They used to talk about the wonderful
intercourse of the scriptures of Christ and his people. Not
a perverted thing, as in sex, but how Christ, through the Word,
enters into a person and creates life in them by the Gospel. And you're one. You're one. These
two become one flesh. And He went into her and gave
her conception, and man's will doesn't save it, doesn't create
life, man's choice, man's nothing. It's his seed. He gave her conception. He gave
her conception. And she'd bear a son. Christ
in you is overflowing. A son. A child was born. There's a son. Let's get it.
And the women said, under Naomi verse 14, Blessed be the Lord. If you've been born again, if
God has You've been born again by the incorruptible seed, which
is the gospel of Christ. Oh, how blessed you are of the
Lord. Blessed be the Lord. He's not
left you. He hasn't left you yourself.
He hasn't left you without a redeemer, without a kinsman. Now, His name
may be famous in Israel. Oh, brothers and sisters, we
bear His name. And He shall be, here it is,
He shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life. She that died with nobody and
nothing, so would Ruth, with no name, poor. But now she's going to be the
wife of Boaz, the relative of Boaz, and a nourisher, a nourisher
of that old age. What is Isaiah 46 saying? Let me read it to you. I got to read this to you. You
know what I mean? At times it speaks of the Redeemer and Isaiah.
Listen to this, though. To your old age I am He. Chapter
44, verse 6, it says, Thus saith the Lord, the King of Israel,
and His Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first, I am the
last. Beside me there is no God. And here's what He said to your
Redeemer. He said, To your old age, to your hoary heads, I will
carry you. I've made you, I will bear you,
I will carry you, and I will deliver you out of whatever you
get into. He's going to be the nourisher
of thine old age, and your daughter-in-law loveth thee. She's better to
thee than seven sons that she hath borne. Do you realize that Naomi lost
all of her true blood kin? Her husband, her two sons, they're
gone, they're dead. And Ruth has no blood, none of
Naomi's blood in Ruth. She's more precious to her than
seven natural born sons. Do you get the picture here?
Irene is just as much my sister, more so than my natural-born
sister. We'll always be brothers and sisters. Why? We've got blood
running through us, all right. The blood of Christ. The blood
of Christ. Now, my brothers and sisters,
behold, my mother and my brethren. Better to me than seven natural-born
brothers. Naomi took the child, laid it
in her bosom, and became a nurse unto it. The women, her neighbors,
gave it a name, saying, as a son born to Naomi, they called his
name Obed. That means servant. That's interesting,
isn't it? He's the father of Jesse, which
means the existent one. He's the father of David. David. And it goes on to to mention
the Pharaohs and all the lineage of David to show who David came
from. Judah, the tribe of Judah is
what it is. David, the lion of the tribe
of Judah. Our Lord came through the seed
of David and Judah, Jews. This is the story of the Lord
Jesus Christ who was made bone of our bones, flesh of our flesh,
made in the likeness of sinful flesh, came down here, made under
the law, redeemed his poor people under the law, and he did it. He did it all. May the Lord get
glory from all this. Stand with me.