Let's open our Bible to Ruth
chapter three, please. It's been a joy to be with you,
enjoyed this morning. I pray our Lord would be pleased
to meet with us this evening. It's amazing these pictures that
our God has given us of his love for his people, his sovereign,
unconditional love as we see in this story of Ruth and Boaz.
And he brings this neglected woman, this outcast, this stranger,
and how everything happened to bring her, as we're gonna see
tonight, to the feet of Boaz. She's not looking for him in
Moab, but he arranged all those things to bring her. She came
just when barley harvest was beginning and she goes to the
field to glean because when you're needy and you're hungry, you're
gonna go where there's food at. And you know where the food was
at? It was in the field. And that's where she went, looking
for something for her hungry soul. That's what gleaning is. It's when needy, helpless sinners
and their beggars They have no claims, no demands, and they
come, because they're needy, and they know it and realize
it, by God's grace, and said, can I glean in your field? And
she gleaned in that field, and just so happened, here come boys.
And he makes himself known to her gradually. He speaks to her, he speaks kindness,
and she don't even know that he tells the servants, now you
make sure you drop some handfuls on purpose, just for her. That's amazing, isn't it? It's
like David said, the Lord is my shepherd. And she, this was
hers, nobody else's, this was her, dropped on purpose for her. And he's making himself known
in his grace and his mercy and she goes back home with a whole
arm load of grain for her and Naomi. You know, Naomi seems
like she's over here in the shadows somewhere, but you know, she
plays a big part. God does not bypass means. He used Naomi to
have a son who married a Moab girl, and then when her husband
dies, then she comes back to Bethlehem Judah because of Naomi.
But then she goes gleans and she comes back and she don't
have, Ruth has no idea who Boaz is. She don't have a clue. And
until God makes himself known, you don't have a clue who Christ
is. You may know of him, you may
have heard about him, and you've heard people talk about him,
but Naomi says, I'm gonna tell you who he is. He's the kinsman
redeemer. And you go, what does that mean?
She explains it to her. Imalek died. Malian died. Well, what's gonna happen to
Imalek's name? What's gonna happen to his family? Well, God stipulated
in his law, this is God's law, that that brother or the next
of kin is responsible to go into that woman and marry her and
raise up a child for that man that died, to raise up a man,
a child, the firstborn is for his name. And she told her that. And she's going, really? And
she says, Ruth, here's our hope, that Boaz, he's a near kinsman,
is if he will redeem what was lost. And I can tell you, when
Adam fell, we lost it all. We became bankrupt widows, have
no claims, strangers from the covenant of promise. But where
sin did abound, grace did much more abound. You answer, why
did he choose Ruth? Why not Orpha? Why did one go
back and one not? It's grace, grace. And he brings
her to this place. And here we see in chapter three,
after she's dwelt here with Naomi, then, Naomi, her mother-in-law
said unto her, my daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee? And if you notice back in verse
nine of chapter one, she said this to Ruth and Ortho when they
first left Moab, the Lord grant you that you may find rest, each
of you in the house of your husbands. Naomi says, I'm going to seek
rest. For you, and where's rest to
be found? Only at the feet of Christ. Rest,
you know what? When a person's under conviction,
you know what it is? Their soul is in, it's in unrest. There's no contentment, there's
no peace, there's nothing. And she says, shall I not seek
rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not
Boaz of our kindred? With whose maiden thou wast,
behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor. So I
take it if he's winnowing the barley, that the barley harvest
is over. And someone asked me on the way
to church, what does this mean? What he's doing, he's separating
the wheat from the chaff, the vile from the precious. And you
know what all the chaff does? All the chaff does is protect
the wheat. And when God's done with it, he just blows it away. And that's what, isn't it ironic
that Boaz is there? He's there at the threshing floor.
This is his wheat. This is precious to him. One
day when the scripture says the fan is in the Lord's hands, and
he will thoroughly purge his floor, and he purges it, what
does he do? He separates the wheat. from
the chaff. And here we find our spiritual
Boaz at his threshing floor where his wheat is at. And she, what's
this? Where's Boaz at? Naomi knows. I thought about this one time.
She may have been to the threshing floor. She may have went there
to get grain, and she got it from Boaz. She knew where his
threshing floor was at. She knew that was his grain.
Ruth don't know where he's at, but Naomi does. Is that not a
picture of the church? We tell sinners, where are you
gonna meet Christ at? If you was to tell a sinner what
were they to do? You go to where the gospel's preached, and you
sit down there and wait, because he said, where two or three are
gathered together in my name, I will be in the midst. Ruth don't know where he's at,
but Naomi does. And she tells her, and that's
how she finds out. Behold, he went with 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. You know, it's always us coming
down, isn't it? You go 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, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and
thou shalt go in and uncover his feet, and lay down and he
will tell you what you're to do. She's telling Ruth, Ruth, this
is what you must do. And Boaz didn't go to where she
was at. Boaz is drawing her. He's bringing
her to this place. And she has to go upon the light
that Naomi has given unto her. And you know what she has to
do? She either has to believe it or not believe it. She has
to take her word for it. That's all she has. And she said
unto her, all that thou sayest unto me, I will do. Some people just say, well, I'm
not gonna do that. Okay, we'll just starve. She said, all that
you've commanded me, I will do. And verse six, and she went down
to the floor. She went down to the floor and
did according to all that her mother-in-law had told her to
do. What am I to do when I get down
there? Am I to demand something from him? No. She told me, you
go down and you watch him. And when you mark the place where
he lays, then when he lays down, you go and you uncover his feet
and you lay down at his feet. And she went down, verse six,
to the floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law
bade her. And when Boaz had eaten and drunken 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 herself down. Oh, to lay at the feet of Christ,
our kinsman. She lays there and she doesn't
utter a word. You know, I thought about the
woman who came to our Lord. You remember it said, she washed his feet
with tears and dried them with the hairs of her head. And it
came to pass at midnight. We don't know how long she's
laid there. It came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid
and he 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 believed
what Naomi told her, and she believed, listen, she believed
that Boaz, the one she's laying at his feet, she believed that
he was her kinsman-redeemer. She believed it. That's why she's
laying there, and that's why she, We tell sinners to come
and sit and do what? Listen and wait for him to speak
to you. I can't make God speak to you.
He in his sovereign grace, if he's pleased to, he'll speak
to it. He speaks to Ruth, spoke directly to her. And she asked
him something. She's asking him if he will perform
the act of the kinsman redeemer. When she says, would you spread
your skirt over me? Would you be my protector? Would
you be my deliverer? Would you be my redeemer? You're the one that has the right
to redeem my family and my state from perishing. And she asked
him, would you spread your skirt over me? And I thought about
Ezekiel 16. Now when I passed by thee and
looked upon thee, behold, the time was a time of love, and
I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy neck, and this
yea I swear unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith
the Lord God, and thou becamest mine. That's what she's asking.
Would you, would you show mercy to me? Would you, would you spread
your skirt over me? She's not demanding, she's asking. Just exactly what Naomi told
her to do. I heard Henry talking, see he
was talking to this lady one time and she was struggling,
struggling about salvation and she said, I don't know if I've
ever been saved or not. He said, have you ever asked Him? You
know, that sounds so simple, doesn't it? You know what she's
doing here? You know what she's doing here?
She's laying at his feet and she's asking him, would you,
would you spread your skirt over me? What's gonna be his response?
Verse 10, and he said, blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter.
Isn't it amazing how he calls her? That dear word, said my
daughter, for thou has showed more kindness in the latter end
than in the beginning. And as much as thou followeth
not young men, whether poor or rich." She's not running after
every man. You know what her main concern
is? Her main concern is for her family. That's what's her main
concern. That's why she's not running
to everything. She's not running after everyone to doctrine. She's
only concerned for this one thing, this right here, is getting the
blessing. of having him as her husband.
And now, my daughter, fear not, for I will do to thee all that
thou hast requested." Can you imagine her laying at
his feet? I'll ask him, but what will he say? Well, he could tell
me no. I'm just an old poor Moabite.
And he says, all that thou hast requested, I will do. For all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman, and now it is true, now
what's this, that I am thy near kinsman. How be it? There is a kinsman that is nearer
than I. tarry this night, and it shall
be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part
of the kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman's part. But if
he will not do the part of the kinsman to thee, then will I
do the part of the kinsman to thee? As the Lord liveth, you
lie down to the morning. He says there's only one stipulation. there's somebody that's nearer
of kin than I am. And I must deal with him. I must talk to him. And if he
will perform the part of the kinsman, well. But if he won't,
I will. Whichever way, don't you worry
about it. And what I see here, we're gonna see that that other
kinsman is a pitcher of the law. She never told, he never told
her to go deal with him. He said, I, I will. It all hangs on his shoulder.
He said, I will do it. Well, how's he going to do it?
This one, this near kinsman, he has to be dealt with. The
law of God has to be dealt with. And he tells her to, lie down
into the morning. I guarantee this is probably
one of the best nights sleep she's had in a long time. And
she lays at his feet all night long. And she laid his feet unto
morning, verse 14, and she rose up before one could know another,
and he said, let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. And 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. He didn't let her go empty handed.
This is pictures of him distributing his grace and his mercy unto
her. I can see, when I picture here,
you know, women that wear an apron, their aprons tied around
them and they get the two ends of it. And I can see her holding
her apron up and he just filling it full. and he's sending her
back where, he's sending her back to Naomi. She's not going
back empty-handed. And can you think, I see her
heart's just bubbling up with joy. What's she gonna tell Naomi
now? I asked him to marry me and he
said he would. He said, I'll do everything you requested. Why me? Why would God show you
mercy? Why would he single you out? And he said, bring me a veil,
verse 15, that thou hast upon thee and hold it. And when she
had 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, go not empty
unto thy mother-in-law. Then she said, now I want you
to see this, verse 18. You know, Naomi's come through
a whole lot. And you think about this, why
did she come through all this? The trying of your faith worketh
patience. She said, sit still, my daughter. until thou shall know how the
matter will fall. And here's what she tells her.
You know, Ruth still has questions. Still has questions. She still
has doubts. And Naomi said, for the man will
not be in rest until he hath finished the thing this day. You don't have anything to worry
about. He said he would do it. You can
mark it down. He will do it. He's not going
to try to finish it. He's going to do it. And she
said this day, she says, Ruth, you just sit down. She might
have just said, well, you just sit down. We're going to eat
some breakfast. And you won't have anything to worry about.
My word to you this evening is fear not. You don't have anything
to worry about. If our God has determined to
save you and keep you, he's gonna keep you. He's gonna protect
you. He's gonna do everything the law requires. He's gonna
fulfill it all. And I think it's ironic, the first part of the
chapter, she said, shall I seek rest for you? That's what she
told Ruth. And now at the end of the chapter,
she says, he won't rest. He won't rest till his work's
finished. And it all rests upon the shoulders
of the kinsman redeemer. He's responsible. Basically,
you know what he's telling Ruth? I'll take full responsibility
for this. If I fail, I'm a failure. He's
not a failure. Verse one of chapter four. What's Boaz going to do? Then went Boaz up to the gate.
Most of y'all know that at the gate of the city is where all
the business transactions were carried about. Remember we read
a lot, he was in the gate of the city, that's where he was
at, he was like on the city council. So Boaz goes up to the gate and
he sat down there. And behold, the kinsman of whom
Boaz spake came by whom he said, ho, such a one, turn aside and
sit down here. And he turned aside and he sat
down. And he took 10 men of the elders
of the city and he said, sit you down here. And they all sat
down. What is this? This is a legal
transaction. This redemption is redemption
money. It is a legal binding transaction. And he said unto the kinsman,
now watch this, Naomi, that is come again out of the country
of Moab, she selleth a partial 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, we'll
redeem it. If thou wilt not redeem it, then
tell me that I may know, for there is none to redeem it besides
thee, and I am after thee. And the man said, the near kinsman
said, I will redeem it. I'll pay the price. I'm willing,
I'm able, I'm the near kinsman, and I will redeem it. But hold
on. Then said Boaz, there's a stipulation. What day that you buy the field
of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth. the Moabites, the wife of the
dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the kinsman said, I can't
redeem it, lest I mar my own inheritance. Redeem thou my right
to thyself, because I cannot, cannot redeem it. Boaz does this willingly. He's
here representing who? Ruth. He's here pleading for
Ruth. He's here interceding for Ruth. He does this willingly. He does
it publicly. This is not something that's
done in a corner. This is done before all these
witnesses. They're gonna testify to what
he's doing. And then the one says, I cannot
redeem it. The law of God has to be honored. He didn't just bypass the law
and say, well, he's in your kinsmen, we don't have to do them. He
said, no, he has to be dealt with. He told Ruth this. Redemption
must honor God's law and God's righteous character. Listen,
Romans 3 verse 24, being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are passed through
the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time, his righteousness,
that he might be just and justifier of him which believeth in Jesus
Christ. Grace is never exercised at the
expense of righteousness. This man, that near kinsman,
he has to be dealt with. But he says, I can't redeem her
unless I mar my inheritance. The law has to be dealt with. The law can identify sin, but
it can't forgive sin. The law slays, but it never saves.
The law, with all of its demands, was established to shut us up
to Christ and Him alone. But the law can never redeem
and save. It can't. Listen to Romans 8.3,
for what the law could not do. in that it was weeped through
the flesh, here's the kinsman redeemer, God sending his own
son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh. Is the law then against the promises
of God? God forbid. For if there'd been
a law given which could have given life, barely righteousness
would have come by the law. For it's not possible that the
blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. It cannot. It
cannot. And here we see that he cannot.
He says, well, I can't redeem her. What the law could not do
and what the law would not do, he did. You see that picture? This is what men don't understand.
They think that they are redeemed by their keeping the law. He
just said here he can't. What the law could not do and
it can't. Oh, the law says you're guilty, you're condemned, you're
getting exactly what you deserve. You sold it, you sold everything. You're a widow, it's your own
fault. That's what the law says. But he came to redeem her, and
that's what he's gonna do. And he deals with this man. Now
verse seven, now this was the manner in former times in Israel
concerning redeeming and concerning changing. For to confirm all
things, a man plucked off his shoe and he gave it to his neighbor,
and this was testimony in Israel. Now where's this at? Turn to
Deuteronomy 25 and I'll show you. Deuteronomy 25, verse five. If brethren dwell together and
one of them die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not
marry without unto a stranger." She can't marry a stranger. Her
husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him
to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.
And it shall be that the firstborn, which she beareth, shall succeed
in the name of his brother, which is dead, that his name be not
put out of Israel. And if the man like not to take
his brother's wife, he won't do that part of the kinsman,
then let his brother's wife go up to the gate, unto the elders,
and say, my husband's brother refuses to raise up his brother
a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty
of my husband's brother. Then the elders of the city shall
call him and speak unto him. And if he stand forward and say,
I like not to take her, then shall his brother's wife come
unto him in the presence of the elders and lose his shoe from
off his foot and spit in his face and shall answer and say,
so shall it be done unto the man that will not build up his
brother's house. and his name should be called
in Israel the house of him that hath loosed his shoe. When he
gave his shoe, he was relinquishing his rights to redeem. He's relinquishing his rights. Therefore, verse eight, the kinsman
said unto Boaz, buy it for thee. So he drew off his shoe. You know what he's gonna do?
He's gonna buy it. Everything that was lost. The law only takes one thing
into consideration. The justice, the justice, strict,
absolute, unbending justice of God. It identifies sin, it exposes
sin, it condemns it, and it has no other ability. It says, I
can't redeem it. But the closer relative, he pulls
off his shoe to relinquish his responsibility. You remember
when Moses stands before the burning bush? What did God tell
Moses to do? Pull your shoe off. You're standing
on holy ground. And Gil said that Boaz stepped
into that shoe and said, I will redeem her. You think about this,
what the law could not do. Why was the law given? Till the
seed should come, who is Christ. And he came to redeem and save
his people. The law's gonna be satisfied,
the law's gonna be honored, and he's going to pay the price,
the full price of redemption, for all of Elimelech's house.
The whole thing, he's gonna buy it all. You say, how can he do
that? He's a kinsman, he has the right, he has the sovereign
right, is our kinsman redeemer, he's able and he's willing. to
do everything that's required. The law demands it. The law demands
it. And Boaz said unto the elders
and to all the people, watch this, you are witnesses this
day that I have bought all that was a limalex, all that was chileans
and malians of the hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth, the Moabitess,
the wife of Malion, the firstborn of Elimelech, have I purchased
to be my wife. How is she gonna be his wife?
He bought her. He purchased her. He paid the
redemption. And he did it 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, now watch this, that is to come into thine house like
Rachel and Leah, which too did build the house of Israel. And
do thou worthily in Ephrata and be famous in Bethlehem. It's all about what he did. It's
all about what Christ did. And let, watch this, and let
thy house be like the house of Phares. Isn't it ironic that
the Spirit of God makes reference to that house of Phares? Whom
Tamar bear unto Judah of the seed of which the Lord shall
give thee of this woman. In verse 13, Boaz took Ruth and
she was his wife. He bought her. You mean that
on Moabite? And you think about it for a
minute. You think about everything that's had to happen to bring
her to this place. She is now his wife because he
bought her. You're not redeemed with corruptible
things of silver and gold from your vain conversation, but with
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and to those that
believe He's precious. You think Boaz was precious to
Ruth? Oh yeah. And when he went in to her, the Lord
gave her conception and she bare a son. And the women said unto
Naomi, blessed be the Lord which has not left thee this day without
a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And listen
to what they say, and he shall be unto thee, a restorer of thy
life, and a nourisher of thine old age. You know what Naomi
is now? She's a grandma. Her grandchildren are blessed,
and oh yeah, they're blessed. This woman went from a poor widow,
her husband dead, and her two sons, and they said, he's the
restorer of your old age. And can you see her, how she
holds this baby? She said, look what the Lord's done. Look what
he's given me. 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. Ruth's better than seven sons,
she hath born him. And Naomi took the child and
laid it in her bosom and became nurse unto him. And the woman,
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. We went through
this a while back, and you know what someone, a man in our church
pointed out? Do you know David was only three generations from
being a Moabite? And you ever notice when you
read there in the life of David, when David was being chased by
King Saul, and he goes down into the cave of Delim, and it said
his family came to him. I don't think it was safe for
him to live in Bethlehem because of King Saul. He hated him, he
despised him. And they go down to David. You know what David
did? He took them to Moab. Well, why would he take them
to Moab? That's where his grandma's from. Isn't that amazing? They're not safe in Judah, but
they're safe in Moab. And can't you see, Ruth is now
married to Boaz. And she says, one day Boaz says,
okay, Ruth, I want you to meet my mama. And she goes, she won't
understand what I was like. Boy, the tales I can tell her
being a Moabite, and how God brought me in his grace to your
feet, and you showed me mercy, and you redeemed me, and you
bought back everything that was gone, and you gave me hope, and
you gave me life, and you gave me your name. I said, I wanna
introduce you to my mama. Ruth, this is my mama. Her name's
Rahab. What do you think Rahab would say?
Let me tell you a story. Isn't that amazing? Listen, let
me read on. Now these are the generations
of Phares. Phares begat Hesron. Hesron begat
Ram. Ram begat Amenadad. And Amenadad
begat Nashon. And Nashon begat Salmon, who
was married to Rahab. And Salmon begat Boaz. And Boaz
begat Obed. And Obed begat Jesse. And Jesse,
look at David. It happened in the days of the
judges, when everyone's doing that which is right in their
own eyes, and God is raising him up a king. And that's what our Lord's doing
in this day in which we live. He's exalting his darling son. Isn't it amazing, you read these
things, you read about Rahab, you read about Tamar, you read
about Rahab, you read about Ruth, and then you read about Bathsheba. And someone said, well, who was
Solomon's mamaw, Bathsheba? Those four women listed in the
lineage of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now those women, I don't know
how much they knew, but I think most of them thought, well, I
hope I'm the one through whom the seed will come. That's why
if they weren't able to get children, it was such a disgrace and they
felt so condemned. And God chooses this Moabite,
this nobody, this stranger from an accursed place and brings
her and puts her in the lineage of Christ. Where sin did abound,
grace did much more abound. And he came into this world,
why? To redeem and save his people and he's finished the work, it's
done. The law is satisfied. We're not under the law, we're
not condemned, it's satisfied. Can't you say, somebody say,
okay boys, you don't have any right to marry her. Oh yes he
does. She's his. I bought her with
a price. You mean you're not ashamed of
that old mole? But no, he's not ashamed of her. Ain't you glad
he's not ashamed of you? The never failing love. of our
darling Savior, our kinsman, Redeemer. There is a man sitting
at the right hand of the throne of God. It is the man, Christ
Jesus. Suffered, bled, and died to redeem
and save his people. He paid the debt. He didn't pay
part of it, he paid all of it. And he said, your witness is
this day, she's my wife. You mean you want to marry her?
Yes, sir. Because the law has to be honored. And he honored him. Thank God
he did. Amen.