Alright, here's our first text,
or our text for the evening. Beginning in verse 6, we're leaving
off part of it. When the Bible said in verse
6, she arose, of course it is talking about Naomi. and her two daughter-in-laws.
So, we know that. 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 how that the Lord had visited
His people in giving them bread. Wherefore, she went forth out
of that place where she was, and her two daughters-in-law
with her, and they went on the way to return unto the land of
Judah. Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law,
Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with
you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. And the Lord
grant that ye might find rest, each of you, in the house of
her husband.' Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their
voice and wept. And they said unto her, Surely
we will return with thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn
again, my daughters, why will you go with me? Are there yet
any more sons in my womb that you may be your husbands? Turn
again, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have
a husband. If I should say I have hope,
if I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear
sons. Would ye tarry for them till
they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having
husbands? Nay, my daughters, for it grieveth
me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out
against me.' And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah, kissed her mother-in-law,
but Ruth clave unto her. And she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law
is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Return thou
after thy sister-in-law. Ruth said, Entreat me not to
leave thee, or to return from following after you, for whither
thou goest I will go. Where you lodge, 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 aught but death part thee and me." When she saw that
she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left off
speaking unto her. I guess you are aware that there
are two little books in the Old Testament that bear the name
of a woman. The one is Esther and the other
is Ruth. And both of them are wonderful
unto us because they abound in examples of the providence of
God. How God's providence fell out
in their lives and how God's providence made a turning point
in their life. how evil plots failed, unexpected
blessings were received, fortunes were reversed with great impact
by an act of the providence of God, and how weighty and providential
when we read in the book of Esther chapter 6, and it is verse 1,
of a night when the king could not get to sleep, being beset
with a case of insomnia on a particular night, and sleep would not come,
his eyes would not close in sleep on that night. try as he might,
he could not seem to drift off into a sleep. Also amazing is
what came into the mind of the king because he could not sleep. Instead of trying those remedies
that might be at the disposal of a king, he called instead
for the written history of his reign. He sent for the book of
the Chronicle that had in it the record of the events of his
reign. And again, Providence carried
the knife in the place from which the king happened to read from
the Chronicle. It completely altered the life
and completely altered the fortunes of many. By such an ordinary
thing as the king losing his sleep and some words in a book
became a turning point for many in that kingdom. However, providence
is also evident in the book of Ruth that we have read from this
evening, where there are connecting events that fall out one after
the other, like dominoes down the line. causing the events
to come in a wonderful way unto some. Now, a turning point is
seen in Ruth chapter 1 and verse 6 from which we read, which word,
or when word, reach Naomi in the land of Moab how the Lord
had visited His people in Bethlehem in giving them bread. This year
would be a bountiful harvest and the news carried even into
Moab." And it seems that this is a good place that we might
stop here and notice, Ruth, that there are two sorts of providence
that God may bring across our way and to His people. Well,
you see, providence runs in both directions when we trace it out
in the Scripture. Number one, there is what some
have called frowning providence, frowning providence. Others have
called it evil providence, when things fall out that are unpleasant
and they are hard. And in this case, we have three
dead men. The providence of God has worked
in that direction. And then there is a two-fold
providence. There is, on the other hand,
the mercy and the goodness of God. The husband of Naomi is
dead. The husband, or rather, yes,
her two sons are dead as well. Even though it was bitter, yet
it was a part of the overall providence and plan of God. Because you see, without this,
without their death and without word from the land of a bountiful
harvest, Ruth would not have been in the picture, she would
not have come with them unto Bethlehem, she would not have
met Boaz, and she would not have had part in the generation or
the lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ, Matthew 1 and verse 5. Now, an old-time author by the
name of John Flavell, or some might say Flavell, wrote a very
large treatise that he called, The Mystery of Providence. And in that work, he wrote these
words, and I quote, There are two ways whereby the blessed
God condescends to manifest Himself unto men, and that is by his
word and by his works." Now secondly, we noted, the second kind of
providence is like that described by the psalmist. Psalm 16 and
verse 6. where he said, the lions have
fallen out unto me in pleasant places, yea, I have a goodly
heritage. Psalm 57 and verse 2 again, I
will cry unto the Lord God Most High that performs all things
for me. and how the providence of God
performed good things for Ruth and caused her lands to fall
out in exceedingly pleasant places, brought her into a good inheritance
and many other things. For consider, if you will, providence
brought her into the family of a man of Israel. God put it into
her heart to espouse the God of Naomi, the God of Israel. Brought her to Bethlehem at just
the right time in the beginning of the barley harvest. And when
she went to glean in the field that they might have something
to make bread for their table, it was the providence of God
again that brightly shines, for it guided her into the field
of a man by the name of Boaz, who happened to be a kinsman
of Elimelech, the husband of Naomi. Now one blessed thing
about the book of Ruth is that it gives us a good view, perhaps
the best view in all of the Old Testament of the person and the
work of the Goel or the Kinsman Redeemer in Israel, who was without
a doubt a type of the Lord Jesus Christ and His redeeming us and
bringing us into our great inheritance. Perhaps in the end we may have
to consider something about the Goel Redeemer. But now has come
to Ruth's resolution, her resolve to leave her kin, to leave her
country, and to leave her religion behind, and become a worshipper
of the God of Israel, the Lord God Jehovah. Now as we know,
Naomi who is now very bitter, had two daughters-in-law. Ruth and the other was named
Orpah. Now when Naomi planned to return
to Bethlehem, because the Lord had visited them, she assumed
that her daughters-in-law would be content to remain behind in
Moab and stay with their houses and with their family. We evidently
see there was a very strong bond between Naomi and her daughters-in-law,
a very good and loving relation it must have been." Now, this
is a very emotional scene, if we might be able to imagine it
in our imagination. Twice in what we read, we read
of a loud and an emotional weeping. First, in verse 9, they lifted
up their voice and they wept. Then again, In verse 14, they
lifted up their voices and they wept again. Then came the parting. Verse 14, Orpah kissed her mother-in-law. That means that she took her
leave of Naomi. That means she went back. Verse
15 said, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people and
unto her God. Orpah loved Naomi, but she had
no heart for God. She wept tears at the loss of
a kinsman in the flesh, Naomi, but no tears for her soul or
her religion. And it took a little convincing
for her to be persuaded to go back to her old way of life and
her old way of worship. She drew back unto perdition
as described in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 39. Of those who
draw back unto perdition. And then Naomi begins to encourage
Ruth to do the same thing. In verse 15, the last part, you
go back with her. Now, as you read that, we wonder
whether we can justify Naomi in seeking to persuade her daughter's-in-law
to stay in their pagan religion. Yet, as Naomi loved them in the
flesh, she would have them consider the cost of going with her and
not decide on her account or not decide the issue merely on
emotion. Because there would be many inconveniences
that they would meet with in Bethlehem. And in verse 11, she
had no more sons. to be their husbands. No hope
of that. Paul said of the young widows
in 1 Timothy 5 and verse 11, when they wax wanton, that is,
when their sensual desires arouse, they will marry again. Plus, Naomi was a grief-stricken
woman, deeply grieved. She was destitute. She was empty,
in verse 21, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with
me. Plus, the heathen gods were anathema
in the land of Israel, and they must part with their dearest
kin to go with her to Bethlehem. In other words, Naomi would have
them to count the cost and be aware of the troubles and the
inconveniences of going with her. I think of that man in Matthew
8 verse 19 and verse 20 who came and said to the Lord one day,
I will follow you wherever you go. He had become enthused. He had been stirred emotionally
by what he heard and what he saw from the Lord. He was under
what David Brown called, quote, a transient emotion of temporary
impulse, unquote. To him, the Lord replied, Follow
me wherever I go, will you? I tell you, then know this, that
the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head. He has no settled
residence to abide in. He has no home. He lives a transient
life here and there. and everywhere, ever moving,
place to place, as if to say to the man, you should know what
it is that you are pledging unto. And we're not told whether the
man followed through on his resolution or not. Then came another disciple,
and said to our Lord in Matthew 8, 21 and 22, recorded also in
the Gospel of Luke 9, 59 and 60, who said again to our Lord, I will follow you, but first
permit me to go and bury my father." Now Spurgeon called these two
incidents, quote, of our king discerning his true followers,
unquote. This caused me to remember something
that actually happened a lot of years ago now and in this
very building we're in this evening. During the closing prayer, after
I had preached, the lady back in this section began to cry
loudly and uncontrollably and weeping as if God had worked
a work in her heart that would be everlasting. That week, my
wife and I visited her in her home. talked about becoming a
follower of the Lord in baptism and about becoming a member of
the church. And she said this to us, she
said, look, if I join the church, will I have to give up my Mormonism
if I come and become a member? of that church. You see, temporary
flashes of emotion or enthusiasm may, and they often do, die away. And the person goes on their
way again, never to think about it or consider it anymore. Not
so with this woman Ruth, while both women wept. Both daughters-in-law
wept, whereas Oprah went back like they in John 6 and verse
66, Ruth clathed unto Naomi. She clung to her. And I searched
the word out and it means to cling. It means to adhere to,
it means to catch again, and that by pursuit if necessary,
to follow close by, to pursue, to overtake. In other words,
she joined herself to Naomi as she never had before. But then
we have her resolution expressed verbally, in verse 16 and 17. First she tells Naomi, she says,
look, quit trying to talk me out of this. I will not be dissuaded. Don't speak about it to me anymore. The margin has it, be not against
me. Don't speak against me. The NIV
has it, don't urge me anymore. Matthew Henry put it like this,
quote, Ruth puts an end to the debate. by a solemn profession
of her immovable resolution." Neither will she return to her
own house nor ever depart from her association with Naomi. She resolves to completely immerse
herself not only in the life of Naomi, I'll go where you go. I'll live where you live. Your
people will be My people, but also your God shall be My God. And even where you die, there
will I die as well, and there also will I be buried. And in verse 17 we noted that
she even invokes the name of the Lord to bind her. to her
resolution and to Naomi forever. May the Lord do so and more if
I keep not this word." Now this is one of the more touching professions
in all of the Scripture. For as Ruth here expresses her
strong resolution, it involves the same resolution, the leaving
of country and kin, friends and family, familiar surrounding,
home, and most of all, the worship of the Moabite god Shemash, called
in Numbers 21 and 29, O people of Shemash. That name seems to mean to subdue
or one who is all-powerful and able to overcome. But Ruth here
resolved to espouse the God of Naomi, the God of Israel. Let us not attribute this resolve
in any way to free will. Let's not even go there. Let's not attribute it to free
will and certainly not to persuasion from Naomi, for Naomi is telling
her, go back home. Such can only be the result of
a work of God in the heart of this woman. For her to leave
all, it is God that works in you, both to will and to do of
His good pleasure. Paul writes in Philippians 1
and verse 6, Ruth found like Noah, grace in the eyes of the
Lord. in the midst of paganism, surrounded
by paganism on every side. Yet Ruth finds grace in the eyes
of the Lord to put away the gods of her fathers and to leave the
religion of her youth. This required the power of God
exercised in her heart and in her soul. She was demonstrated
here to be a vessel of mercy aforeprepared unto glory, as
Paul says in Romans. I thought of the harlot Rahab,
a resident of Jericho, whose heart had long been prepared
before the Israelites ever came, putting the fear of God in the
heart of Rahab from what she had heard, that she received
the spies with peace, Hebrews 11 and 31. Rehab confessed in
Joshua 2, verse 11, that the God of Israel is God in heaven
above and in the earth beneath. What an unlikely convert and
an ally to the spy sent out by the Israelite, a harlot. in the city of Jericho. But both
women, Rahab and Ruth, were Gentiles. And yet the holy God opened up
their heart by His power. For He's the God of the Gentiles
as well as the God of the Jew. Romans 3 in verse 29. He is the
God of the Gentile. Now, a careful book of the study
of Ruth will convince us that the purpose of God in regard
to Ruth goes beyond her personal salvation. Yes, that's a wonderful
thing that she has espoused the God of Israel. For great issues
are involved in her conversion and her subsequent second marriage,
which turned her resolution to take up the worship of the God
of Israel, and her removing from Moab and coming into the land
of Bethlehem. And to get at all of that, we
need to look at the second part of our study, which is Ruth's
half. For that, turn to chapter 2 and
verse 1 through 3 in this very same book of Ruth. Here again,
having vowed to let the God of Israel be my God, here we see
a stunning display of the providence of God in the life of Ruth. Remember chapter 1 and verse
22, they arrived when providence had exactly a schedule. They
arrived in the beginning of the barley harvest. This is very
important. The providence of God is working
that it was the beginning of barley harvest. And what follows
is tied to the barley harvest in Bethlehem. It was this that
brought them to Bethlehem. This was the means to the redemption
of the house of Elimelech and of Ruth finding favor in the
eyes of Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer. And there in chapter 2 and verses
1 through 3, Ruth goes forth one day, evidently not long after
they arrived, that they might have something to eat. She goes
forth to glean and to have food. She goes out that she might glean
not the rich, full ears, but that she might glean the leftovers,
or what remained. or what fell on the ground, or
what was there in the corners of the field that were not gathered
in by the workers. Because, you see, there was a
particular law in the land of Israel in those days that landowners
were not to completely strip their field of every crop that
was grown. Not to gather for himself every
single marshal that was produced, but to leave some for the poor,
the fatherless, and for the stranger, and the widow, and the destitute. And you can see this in Leviticus
19, verses 9 and 10. It's again in Deuteronomy chapter
24, there in verse 19 through verse 21. This is called gleaning. and it was a privilege that one
could take advantage of if they were poor or fatherless or a
widow or destitute, most looking to find grace in someone's eyes
that they might glean and find a few marsals for their table. But we note something here, and
that is from hence forward Boaz is the definitive character in
this narrative. of the providence of God. He's
the definitive character from this point forward. And in verse
3 of chapter 2 we read, as Ruth went forth to Glean carrying
her basket or her container or whatever it might have been that
she carried to Glean in, brings up a picture of my old grandma
going into the garden to pick some beans or some okra. She'd
just take her apron and hold it up, put them in her apron
and carry them in the house in her apron and fix them for dinner. But notice something. Her half
happened. We notice that it's very important. Her hap was to enter into the
field belonging unto Boaz. And it happened that Boaz is
a kinsman of Elimelech. He's a man of means. He's a mighty
man. He has the means. There she entered
in that she might glean a few grains to have for the table.
Now the margin has it her hap happened, if you might notice
that in the King James. This is the only time I could
find that this particular word is used in our Old Testament
according to my concordances. The meaning being, something
that is met with, something that befalls a particular fortune,
a chance event, something not planned, or designed or thought
out beforehand. Surely, as Matthew Henry wrote,
providence directed her to this field." I believe that is true. She knew not one field from the
other. They're not being marked or signed
off, just their landmarks, you know, marking the corner of their
property. Alexander Corson wrote a little
commentary on the book of Esther and of Ruth, and he said on Ruth
chapter 2 and verse 3, quote, it is plain that Providence was
her conductor to the field of Boaz, for nothing is accidental
with God, even when the lot is cast into the lap, the whole
disposing thereof is of the Lord." We sometimes hear people say,
as luck would have it, and somebody talks about an accident or a
stroke of luck in this or of that. But the question comes
to our mind, what is the importance and what is the significance
that Ruth has lighted upon the field of Boaz? And why in Ruth chapter 2 and
verse 20 did Naomi, when she heard about it, Bless God that
she had gleaned in the field of Boaz. You remember chapter
2 and verse 1, do you not? Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's,
a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimenek, and his name
was And why, she said, in that same verse, the Lord has not
left us without kindness to the living and unto the dead. For there was also another law
in the land of Israel that allowed for the raising up of the name
of the dead. that their name and inheritance
not die out in Israel." Deuteronomy 25, verse 5 through verse 7. And another, for the restoring
of one who had fallen into poverty. That's in Leviticus 25 and 25. There was what was known as a
goel, that is, a kinsman. A kinsman redeemer. a Goel Kinsman
Redeemer, which John Gill summed up this way, quote, they had
a right to avenge the death of the slain, to pay off mortgages,
and raising up the name of the deceased, relative by marrying
the brother's widow." All of that is taught in the ceremonial
law. Ruth found plenty of grace in
the eyes of Boaz. He showed her much kindness and
immediately one blessing after another. There were special privileges. There was special protection.
There were handfuls on purpose. Boaz said to his workers, look,
throw down a little bit of extra on purpose for her to glean and
to take home with her. And when she came in, about all
she could carry, Naomi's eyes got big at how bountiful a blessing
they'd had that day. And in chapter 4, you have Boaz
performing the work of a kinsman-redeemer towards this young widow in Israel. If you care to, let's turn over
to chapter 4 of the book of Ruth and read verse 9 and verse 10,
and we'll see a wonderful thing here. Boaz said unto the elders,
Unto all the people, ye are witnesses this day that I have bought all
that was Elimelech's, all that was Chilion's and Melon's, of
the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of Melon, 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 in this place,
he said, ye are witnesses this day." Now, the kinsman-redeemer,
to perform this work, needs three qualifications to act as a kinsman
redeemer in the behalf of another. First of all, first and foremost,
he must be a kinsman. He must be a relative. He must
be a close relative. Only a relative could perform
the work of a kinsman redeemer in behalf of others. Secondly,
he must be able. That is, he must have the means. He must be wealthy. He must have
the means to buy out a mortgage. And then thirdly, he must be
willingly disposed toward performing that great work. Now, Boaz is
a type of our great Redeemer. And our Lord, the Son of God,
the only begotten Son of God that we talked about this morning,
He took a necessary kinship to us by His incarnation in the
flesh. partaking of flesh and blood. In Hebrews, the second chapter,
since the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He also likewise
took part of the same. Yes, He took upon Himself flesh. He took upon Himself a human
nature. Not only that, But when He did,
He had the price of our redemption. He had what was necessary to
buy us back out of our default and the loss of inheritance.
His own precious blood is the price that our Lord paid. And
thirdly and finally, yes, Our Lord was willingly disposed to
lay down His life in our behalf and perform the work. Thus, Ruth's
resolution and her half is a good type of the experience of the
elect. She, like Mary, had chosen that
good part which could not be taken away from her. Ever praise
God. that he, for the day, when he
gave us an inclination to seeking and to come unto him. His providence
ordered our steps in such a marvelous way that we met like-minded people. These two things stand out in
the life of every elect of God, that He gives us that resolution. He puts it in our heart, a new
desire, new thoughts, a new way, and eagerly puts that in our
heart, that eagerly then that the providence of God guides
us to where we can worship. Worship according to the Word
of our God. Yes, the experience of Ruth is
basically the experience of every believer. For God to incline
us to Himself is providence to order our steps. Just look back
at God's providence, how it brought us together with our mate, the
places we were born, the places that we We're converted, the
work we had, the places that we've worshipped, how the providence
of God has shined out in a marvelous way in our life. And for that,
the lions have fallen unto us in pleasant places for the most
part, and we thank God for that great act of providence. And this book amazingly, amazingly
sets forth the divine providence of God.