The lesson this morning will
be taken from Ruth chapter 3. I'm going to use this same chapter
this week and next week. Ruth's mother-in-law in this
chapter gives her wise counsel concerning what she discerned,
what she understood to be an interest in her by the man whose
field she'd been gleaning, Boaz. Now you remember the story of
how Ruth went out. She said, I don't know where
I'm going, but I'm going to glean in whose ever field I find grace
in his eyes. That's where I'm going to glean. She was shut up to the grace
of God. And she goes out, and then all these things start happening
to Ruth. a personal interest in Boaz,
and commandments concerning his servants, and handfuls of purpose,
all these things. But Naomi's not aware of any
of this. Naomi's at home. She don't know any of this shit.
And then in this chapter, Ruth comes home, and Naomi looks and
sees what she has in her arms, and her whole message toward
that daughter changes. Let's read these verses together.
Ruth chapter 3, beginning with 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 went with barley to-night
in the threshing-floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint
thee, and get thee down to the floor. But make not thyself known
unto the man, until he hath done eating and drinking. And it shall
be, when he lie down, thou shalt mark the place where he shall
lie. And thou shalt go in and uncover his feet. And then you're going to lie
down. She's going to lie down at His
feet, and He'll tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto
her, All that thou sayest unto me, I will do. Oh, there's a one in a million.
All thou sayest unto me, I'll do. And she went down unto the floor,
and did according to all that her mother-in-law obeyed 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, that is, he was startled,
and turned to himself, and behold, a woman lay at his feet. And
he said, Who are you? Who is that? And she answered,
I am Ruth, thy handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over
thy handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman. And he said, Blessed
be thou, the Lord, my daughter, for thou hast showed more kindness
in the latter than at the beginning, insomuch 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. And now
it is true that I am thy near kinsman. Howbeit, there is a
kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it shall
be in the morning 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 I will do the part
of the kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth. Lie down until the
morning. And she lay down 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. That is, hold it out. 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 unto me, go not empty unto
thy mother-in-law. Then said she, sit still, my
daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. For the
man will not rest until he hath finished the thing this day. Now symbolizing the church, Naomi says to her daughter-in-law,
shall I not seek rest for thee? Thick or thin, up or down, good
times or bad, believers never forget the intervention of God. They never forget. It is stamped
so completely into their hearts and minds that they cannot forget. They cannot forget. God did not leave them alone
in their sin and ignorance, but he came to them in love and mercy
and gave them peace in their souls and a blessed rest in Christ. And because he did, they in turn
are always ready to assist another in like circumstances as they
were. They're ready to stretch out
the hands. They're ready to say, come on
in. They're ready to say, sit here. Sit here. Why? Because they remember what the
Lord has done for them. And as a believer, as a poor
sinner being saved by grace, and as your pastor being joined
to this congregation by the providence of God, I say to you, shall I
not seek rest with thee? I didn't look over a list of
names and say, well, I think I'll go down to Arkansas. No, God in His providence opened
that door. He opened that door. He joined
us together the same as He joined Ruth to Naomi by His providence. Now the promise of Christ to
those that He sent out is this, He that heareth you Heareth me. And with that being understood,
the old preacher, Horatius Bonar, penned this hymn. I heard the
voice of Jesus say. Now, he didn't hear Jesus, but
he did hear his preacher, and he that heareth him, heareth
Jesus. You see what I'm saying? I heard
the voice of Jesus say, come unto me and rest. Lay down, thou
weary one, lay down thy head upon my breast. So I came to
Jesus as I was, weary, worn, and sad, and I found in him a
resting place, and he has made me glad. I use the word symbolize concerning
Ruth and Naomi, and I hope you're not put off by that. Some people
are. For some who find the terms figuratively
or symbolically distasteful, they call it masking the Scriptures. If I say, well, this is figuratively,
oh, you're masking the Scriptures. Brother Scott brought a message
down in Ball, Louisiana from many years ago. Will a man rob
God? And because he didn't preach
on tithing, he was lambasted, and there was a man down there
who wrote a magazine, well known among grace churches, and he
lambasted Scott to no end. Because he said he masked the
scriptures. Because he used that term figuratively. Will a man rob God of his glory? Huh? Will he rob God of his purpose? Will he rob God of his accomplishments? Huh? Will a man rob God? He's
not talking about tithing there. He's talking about a man robbing
God of who God is and such things as God has purposed. Did you know that the entire
book of Hebrews was written to show the typical meaning of the
Old Testament ceremonial law? This whole book is dedicated
to this. In Hebrews 9, 9 referring to
the Jewish priesthood, tabernacle, the high priest, the mercy seat
and sacrifices. He says, which were a figure
for the time then present. It was a figure. There was no
life in the animal blood. There was no deity in the tabernacle. They were figures. They were
types. They were pictures. They were a figure for the time
then present, and they signified that the way into the holiest
of all was not yet made manifest, while as these first things were
still standing. In Hebrews 9.23, in reference
to things being purged by the blood of animal sacrifices, He
said it was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in
the heavens be purified with these. But heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these. These were patterns. He goes on to say that the high
priest entering into the holy place was a figure of the truth. In Galatians 4 he says Hagar
and Sarah and their relationship to Abraham were an allegory. Figurative language and events
are used throughout the scriptures and without which the gospel
would be veiled completely in the Old Testament. And he tells
you that over in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4. He tells you that. The veil is still over their
face. They still don't get it. Books of the Bible like Esther
and Ruth and Jonah and Hosea would just be stories, history,
and at the best, fables, without figurative understanding. Would
they not? My soul, give me some explanation
for God telling His prophet to marry a harlot. Huh? Give me
some worldly definition of that. You can't do it. But you can't
in figurative language, because she's a picture of every sinner
saved by grace. You see what I'm saying? Symbolism is not a mask, it's
the removing of the mask. And in this divinely inspired
book, Ruth is a picture of a chosen sinner. A picture, what's the
difference between a sinner and a chosen sinner? Huh? Why do you have to use that term
chosen all the time? What's the difference between
a chosen sinner and a sinner? The sovereign grace of God. That's what the difference is.
Who maketh thee to differ from another? Huh? Oh, you mean somebody
made me make a difference? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I say she's a chosen sinner.
in the same way that I would say of some of you. Chosen sinners. And I say it because of the prevenient
grace that attended her life. God has a people. He has a people
that is purposed to save for the glory of His name. And having
purposed their salvation, He made full provision for them
in His Son. And they, like Ruth, are no different
in their outward appearance than any other heathen. Ruth was a
heathen. She was a Moabite. Naomi didn't beg her to come
with her. Ruth begged Naomi. Naomi tried to get Ruth to go
back home. And the one did, but Ruth wouldn't.
Why? One was chosen and one wasn't.
That's why. The Sovereign Grace of God. And
it's called Provenient Grace because it comes before the actual
manifestation of the truth. And it attends the way of every
sinner. It's His story. Like Abraham of old, God at a
set time is going to intervene. He's going to separate him from
his father's house. But until that time comes, he'll
assist his father in making idols for an idolatrous world. And most of what I have to say
this morning is about God's intervention in the life of Ruth and Naomi.
Next week, Lord willing, we'll get into all these instructions
that Naomi gives to Ruth. So let me begin our study this
morning by showing you what prompted Naomi to give instruction to
Ruth concerning Bowie. She saw first and foremost a
mysterious act of God. When she sent out this young
lady to Glen, let me tell you what she's hoping for. You ladies,
you use those little gallon Ziploc bags. She was hoping to get a
Ziploc bag full of flour. That's what she's hoping for.
Now you think about what she was doing. She's out in a barley
field. Now this ain't like finding an
ear of corn in a cornfield. You find a stem, it's just got
a few little specks on it and you have to work your tail off
trying to get that little stuff out and make flour out of it.
Every individual little thing is covered and covered and covered. And they go down and they beat
it. They sit there and beat it until the flour comes out. And
out of one little stem of barley, You can probably put the flour
on the end of your little finger that comes out of it. And she was at the most, all
day's work, daylight till sun goes down, expecting maybe a
Ziploc bag full of flour. Something she could make a little
loaf of bread for her and Ruth. And here comes Ruth in the door
and she's toting six and a half gallons of flour. My soul. Six and a half gallons. You know how heavy that little
thing of flour is? She carried six of them. After working all day. And she
beat it all out. She did all that. And she comes
in and Naomi said, where you been leaning? Huh? I came home. with a little bit
of understanding, not much, but just a little bit of understanding
about God's sovereign grace and His absolute sovereignty and
His election and His predestination. And the first thing my dad said
was, where have you been going? What have you been reading? Where
have you been gleaning? Except he was angry. But Naomi
knows the truth. And she said, where are you being
blamed? Oh, God's elect are sanctified in divine election. They're set
apart and predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will. And like royal children, these
sons and daughters are sons and daughters of the king. Now listen
to me. They're treated with extreme
prejudice. The same as Pharaoh treated his
daughter with extreme prejudice. Had anybody else brought that
Jewish baby out of that river up before Pharaoh, Pharaoh would
have took it by the feet and smashed his brains in and never
gave a second thought. But they didn't, his daughter
brought it up. Boy, that makes a difference,
don't it? I tell you, I tolerated things
out of my kids, I wouldn't tolerate out of anybody. Don't tell them
I said that. Like royal children, the sons
and daughters of kings, they're treated with extreme prejudice.
In fact, an entire race of beings, spiritual beings, were created
for no other reason than to minister, now listen, to those who shall
be heirs of salvation. They're not yet. But they shall
be. And angels are attending their
way. Oh, you can't see them. You can't
see them unless they want to be seen. This race of beings is called
their, T-A-G-I-R, their angels. They do always stand before your
Father. Oh, that servant of the Prophet,
he come in and he said, I hate to bother you, but he said, we're
in trouble. He said, we've been surrounded.
And the Prophet said, Lord, open this young man's eyes. And he told them to go outside
and look. He went back out and looked. He come back in and he
said, there's an army surrounding that army. They go all the way
around. You can't see them, but they're
there. They're there. I don't know how many times I'll
be dead. Did angels any rain? I don't
know, but God did. And I suspect he used angels
on occasion. They're assigned to them. Invisible
to the eye, yet always there watching over the king's sons
and daughters. But there's a far more powerful
and far-reaching provision than angels. It is the very providence
of God. That's what I want you to see
this morning. The providence of God. Turn with me to Ephesians
chapter 1. In Ephesians 1 verses 3 through
7, he lists the eternal blessings and gifts of God's grace to his
elect in Christ. He talks about their election
in Christ. Their predestination, their adoption,
their acceptance, their redemption, the forgiveness of their sins.
He lists them in order. And then he goes on to talk about
God abounding toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Prudence
is not a word we use much anymore. Prudence is common sense, good
judgment, foresightedness, able to put things together. And this
wisdom and prudence is given to us of God, and it's concerning
the dispensation of the fullness of time. It's telling us what
time is all about. It's telling us what creation
is all about. It's telling us this world in
which we live, what it's all about. And without going into
a long explanation, let me just say this is about the stewardship
of Christ over all things. All things concerning God's eternal
purpose of grace. Now with that in mind, read verse
11. Look at this. Ephesians 1, 11.
In whom? Who's he talking about? The one in charge. Huh? The one seated at the right hand
of God. In whom also? We have obtained
an inheritance being predestinated according to the purpose of him,
now watch this, who worketh all things. Uh-huh. What things? All things. Good things, bad
things, holy things, unholy things. He
worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. And God's providence is the absolute
sway, power, authority, and it governs everything that takes
place in time. They all did what they wanted
to do to Christ, but when they did it, they did what God's hand
and God's counsel determined before to be done. Scripture said, I'm not like
any other God. That's what He told the people
through Isaiah. Who are you going to compare
me to? Huh? You can't compare me to
anything you've ever seen or known. I'm God. There's none
like me. He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done.
saying my counsel shall stand and I'll do all my pleasure. Well he does here and there,
now he does everywhere. In a place called heaven there's
a throne, and on that throne a sovereign, almighty, all-wise,
unchangeable God. And this God, the true and living
God, has intervened in the lives of Naomi and Ruth, Now in a general
way, I preach the gospel to any and all who will hear it. I don't
care who comes through that door, I preach the same gospel. But on occasion, I seek God's
hand of intervention. And to that one, I have special
instruction. You see what's going on with
Naomi? Ruth no longer just a moabite
that her crazy son married. Now she begins to see this is
truly one of God's elect. I'm going to such and such a
field, and glean after him, in whose sight I shall find grace."
Ruth chapter 2, verse 2. And her hap, something that befell
her, something that happened or came to pass, her hap was
the light on the part of the field belonging to Boaz. And
oh, the invisible, majestic, effectual hand of grace that
attends the way of every believing soul. There's only one man in
all Israel who could and would redeem Naomi and Ruth. Just one. Just one. What are the odds of
this cursed sinner, this Moabite widow, even getting permission
to glean, let alone being allowed to glean in Boaz's field? What's
the odds of that? Many women want to talk about
salvation as though it were by chance. It's not by chance, it's
by providence. You don't get accidentally saved.
You get saved on purpose. God does things on purpose. And Naomi knows the story of
the sinner being a figure of the church, and she knows the
sinner is cursed of God. an alien from the commonwealth
of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, having
no hope without God in the world, called uncircumcised by those
of the circumcision. But there are some signs of hope.
She's in the place where God has visited His people with bread. I see God's hand on anybody that
walks through that door. Now whether they're going to
be warned or called, I don't know. But I know not just anybody
comes through that door. If they come through that door,
this is an act of God. She's in the place where God
has visited his people with bread. She's willing to go out and glean
from the crumbs of the harvest. How long has it been since you've done
that? How long has it been since that overwhelming feeling of
willingness to go and sit and eat the crumbs from the master's
table? Just the crumbs. I'm not expecting
roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy. Just the crumbs, William.
Just give me some crumbs. Ruth was... She was willing to abide with
God's people. Thy people shall be my people.
That's what she said. But then at the end of the day,
she comes home and she's packing six gallons of flour. And I think all things considered,
Naomi probably wasn't expecting her to have all that much flour.
Maybe enough to fill up a little bag. When she sees what she's
carrying in her arms, she said, where you been leaning today? And Ruth said, His name is Boaz. What about you? Do you know the
name of the man in whose field you are gleaning? Whosoever shall
call upon that name shall be saved. Do you know His name? One name under heaven, just one,
whereby thou must be saved, Christ the Lord. Do we know his name? Ruth did. How'd she know his name? He came
over to her and said, hey, my name's Boaz. Well, how'd she
know? Because the servant said, you're
in Boaz's field. Oh. How do you know his name? Well,
his servant told me, and the reapers told me, and his maidens
told me. But more than anything else,
he told me. And not only that, but he said,
come to my table and eat. And at lunchtime, he took some
of his parts of corn and handed it to me. And said, take this
and eat. And pushed that spice vinegar
over and said, here, dip it in my vinegar. He not only told me his name,
but he told me I can glean even among the sheaves. I can glean
anywhere I want to glean. I don't have to go out there
in that old bare field that everybody's been walking over. I can go over
here where the sheaves are. Boy, you didn't do that, but
she did. He told me to eat at his table.
He gave me a piece of his corn. He called me his daughter. He told me to glean in his field
alone. Don't go to another field. And he gave orders for his young
men not to touch me. Leave me alone. Naomi said, Blessed be the Lord. Naomi said, let me talk to you.
about some rest. I'm going to preach the gospel
to you. I don't care who you are, where
you come from, how you were raised, what color you are. I don't care.
Anybody comes through that door, by the grace of God, I'm going
to preach the gospel to them. But I'm going to tell you something.
When you come back, and come back, and come back, I've got
some special instruction for you. Now I see the flower. Now I see the blessing. Now I
see God's invisible work. I see this secret work of God
in your life. And I'm going to give you some
instruction. And it's not the same instruction I'm going to
give to this world. We're not talking about gleaning
corn anymore. That was her whole message to
Ruth, go out and live. Not now. Her whole message now
is Boaz. Boaz, Boaz, Boaz. He's a kinsman. He could redeem us. This is our
redeemer. Oh, you talk about, I tell you
what, when she saw that flower, that poor woman that was mourning,
read the first two chapters. She's mourning, sad. Don't call
me Naomi anymore. Don't call me that. Call me Mara.
I'm so sad. I'm so bitter. Boy, not now. She sees that flower and a sparkle
comes into her eyes and she's ready to talk now. Huh? And I know, sometimes I just
get up here and talk and talk, and people get tired of hearing
the same old thing. And then I see somebody comes
in, and they come back, and they come back, and they come back,
and then you see a sparkle of mines. Oh, let me tell you about the
Boaz. Huh? Grace always fills the arms of
chosen sinners. And when Naomi saw the makings
of the poor man's bread, a sparkle came into her eyes, and she blessed
the Lord for Boaz. Blessed be he of the Lord. Now, Lord willing, next week
we'll look at the instruction Naomi gives to Ruth. I don't
know if I can get it all out in one message or not, but we'll
work on it. And there's just a treasure trove in these things. Oh, God be pleased to make these
things known to us. Thank you.