1969, when I was a young man,
19 years old, a man came to my hometown preaching the gospel
of God's grace. He was not preaching in the church
that my wife and I were members of, but one close by, Brother
Henry Mayhem. I had the privilege of hearing
him twice on this particular week that he was in Western Salem.
The first message he preached was out of the Book of Ruth on
the subject of Christ our Kinsman Redeemer. If you have read your
New Focus magazine that's just out, you will have seen the message
in print that I heard on that occasion, and you will be a little
bit prepared for the message this morning. Turn with me to
the Book of Ruth. If God will enable me, I want
to talk to you about our blessed Savior, Christ, our kinsman,
Redeemer. We'll begin with the ninth verse,
but really the text is the whole of the book of Ruth, these four
chapters. The ninth verse of chapter three
reads this way, Boaz said to Ruth, who art thou? And she answered,
I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over
thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman." Now the key
word in this book of Ruth is kinsman. Kinsman. It's found throughout the book
and found numerous times. I hope that you understand clearly
that everything written in the Old Testament, all the laws given
in the Old Testament, both what is called the moral law or the
Ten Commandments and all of the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament
both those having to do with the priesthood, and the tabernacle,
and the temple, and the sacrifices, and the holy days, and the observances
of the Jews throughout their generations, and all the events
of the Old Testament. All of these things were written
for our learning and our admonition. The Old Testament is never to
be read merely as a book of history, never to be read merely as a
book displaying God's great power, but all the events that came
to pass and are recorded in the scriptures came to pass by divine
providence to be to us a picture of redemption, a picture of grace. The book of Ruth, particularly,
is a picture about Christ, our blessed Redeemer. Let me show
you some highlights. Chapter 2, verse 1. We're told,
had a kinsman of her husband's. Verse 20, the last line, the
man, Naomi said, is near akin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. Chapter 3, verse 9, Ruth said
to Boaz in the very last line, thou art a near kinsman. In verse
12, Boaz said, now it is true, I am thy near kinsman, how be
it? There is a kinsman nearer than
I. And then in chapter 4, the kinsman
said to Boaz, I cannot redeem it for myself. And in verse 14
of chapter 4, Blessed be the Lord which hath not left thee
this day without a kinsman. Oh, bless God. He has not left
us without a kinsman. The Law of the Kinsman Redeemer,
you can read at your leisure in Leviticus chapter 25. The
law provided that God gave to his people, it provided that
if a man had lost his substance, he had lost his land, he had
lost his property, either by some thing that happened in poverty,
through poverty or some other means he had lost it, or even
through carelessness or his own fault, he had lost his inheritance. When that man died childless,
then another kinsman could buy his property and should buy also
to himself the right and responsibility to marry the man's wife and raise
up children in the name of the dead. Not only was it his right,
it was his responsibility as the kinsman to do so. Now that
prophetic law was given, of course, to be a picture of our blessed
Savior. Our father Adam sold us into
bondage and sin, but Christ our kinsman Redeemer brought us and
brought us into righteousness and life and liberty as the sons
of God. The psalmist speaking says, then
I restored that which I took not away. And of course the psalmist
speaks there as the representative of our Redeemer. The book of
Ruth is a picture of this whole thing. Now there are principally
seven people in this book whose names are significant. The first
is Elimelech. Elimelech means my God is king. Apparently his mom and dad believed
God. And I think it's important that
we understand in the Old Testament particularly in the early books
of the Old Testament. Those people who believed God
understood what the prophecies were. They understood what Christ
would come and do. I have no question at all that
when Abraham took Isaac up to Mount Moriah and Isaac said,
he said, Daddy, you told me all my life I've got to worship God
with a lamb. and we've got the wood and we've
got the fire for the burnt offering, but where's the lamb? We can't
worship God without a lamb. And Abraham said to him, my son,
God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. He didn't
say God will provide for himself. He said, God will provide himself
a lamb for a burnt offering. And Abraham fully understood
that when the seed God promised him came, the seed who must come
through Isaac, that seed, the Christ, the Redeemer, would himself
be God incarnate, our Redeemer. And when we read the book of
Ruth, this man Elimelech, his name means God is King, apparently
his mom and dad believed God. Apparently Elimelech did not.
Because when famine came to Bethlehem Judah, when his family and his
people, his kinsmen, the people of God needed him desperately,
the wealthiest man in all the land gathered his wife and his
sons and his wealth together and they left Bethlehem Judah
and went down among the ungodly pagan idolatrous Moabites. His wife's name Naomi means sweet
and pleasant. Malon, one of his sons, means
weakness. Chilion, the other, means consumption. These two boys down in Moab married
two women. Orpah married the one. Her name
means stiff-necked and declining. The other married Ruth, whose
name means companion. And the principal character in
the book is a man by the name of Boaz. Boaz and Ruth, these
are the ones around whom the whole story revolves. This man
Boaz, his name means in him is strength. Elimelech, as I said,
left Israel in weakness. And he was consumed in Moab.
But while he was in Moab, he died and left his wife a widow
with two sons. And his two sons married Moabite
women and lived with them for 10 years. And then they died. And Naomi was left poor, empty,
brokenhearted. And she heard, we're told in
verse 6 of chapter 1, that the Lord had visited his people and
giving them bread. Oh, what good news. Down in Moab,
far off from the house of bread, she heard that the Lord had visited
his people and had given them bread. She heard good news from
the far country. And hearing the good news, she
determined to go back to Bethlehem. And she told her two daughters-in-law,
you stay here with your parents and find you men among the Moabites
and marry them and I'm going back to Bethlehem. And Orpah
did just that. She said, no, no, I'll go back
with you too. But she was half-hearted. She
was stiff-necked and rebellious and went back. But not Ruth. Ruth was steadfastly minded to
go with Naomi. Now look at verse 16 of chapter
1. Ruth said, entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return
from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will
go, and whither thou lodgest, 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 ought but death part thee and me. Shelby and I were
married, it will be 39 years ago in June. And at our wedding,
some friends of ours sang a song containing those two verses.
It's very commonly used in weddings back in the States. But this
has nothing to do with a wedding, except the wedding of a heart
to the Redeemer. Naomi heard and Ruth believed
the report Naomi gave her. As you read through this book,
you will find that Naomi told her daughter-in-law about this
kinsman. Naomi told her daughter-in-law
about the law that God had given in Israel. And Naomi told her
daughter-in-law what God provided for his people. And Ruth says,
I will go with you. And your God will be my God,
and nothing will part me from you." Ooh, what a steadfast resolve. Ruth said, if there's a possibility
that I should get in on such an inheritance, I will not be
turned away. Now, let me show you several
instructive pictures in these four chapters. The first is this. Look at verse 19, chapter 1. So they went, They too went until
they came to Bethlehem and it came to pass when they would
come to Bethlehem that all the city was moved about them and
they said, is this Naomi? She went out full. She came back
empty. She went out the richest gal
in town. She went out dressed like nobody
else dressed. Wearing jewels nobody else could
afford. And she came back in utter poverty,
an old woman broken and destitute. Is this Naomi? She said to them,
Call me not pleasant. Call me not Naomi. Call me Mara. Call me Mary. Bitter. Call me bitter. Not because I
am bitter, but because the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with
me. I went out full, and the Lord
hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me Naomi, seeing
the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted
me?" That's a pretty good picture of our ruin by the sin and fall
of our father Adam. I got up this morning and went
down to the bathroom, looked in the mirror, And I had this
on my mind and as I looked at this face, is this Adam? Is this Adam? God created Adam
in his image and after his likeness. God created Adam in the image
of him who would come the last Adam. He created Adam in the
image of our Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, our Savior. Created
him not only upright, but in the perfection of manhood. created
him and gave him enormous, incomprehensible to us, powers and abilities of
intellect and manhood. This man Adam was created in
righteousness, he was created upright, he was created to be
the king of all the world. Adam. God brought all the animals
out of the garden, and said, what do you want to call them?
The lion was his house cat. He named them what he would. Named them as he would. God gave
him dominion over all his creation. And here stands this man Adam. Broken and empty and weak and
ruined. I recall years ago reading about
it, hearing about it, can't recall which it was now. Back during
the days of the Great Depression in Chicago, me helping in the
soup line. Some of you folks can remember
those things. I'm not quite that old, but I've read about it and
heard about it. And folks were in the soup line,
and as the fellow was waiting on people, one after the other,
he spotted a man back in the line who obviously had on a tailor-made
suit, distinguishing looking hat, very proper cane, and he
just couldn't take his eyes off of him. Obviously this man had
been very wealthy at one time. Obviously at one time this man
had been a distinguished pillar in the community wherever he
came from, and the fellow helping in the soup line just kept looking
at him. And the man realized he was staring
at him. And when he got up to the Man
who was watching him, he held out his cup and he said, I've
seen better days. That's the way it is with humanity.
We've seen better days. Naomi went out full and came
back in empty. And now you and I, the sons and
daughters of Adam, we who were created in our father Adam as
a prince are now paupers. He who was created to be king
is now a beggar. The one who was pleasant in the
garden by reason of sin is made bitter. And he who was full is
empty. The blessed race. Adam, blessed
of God in the garden. Then by sin, the whole race is
made a cursed race. So that every man, woman, and
child born of Adam comes into this world, children of wrath,
even as others, so that they sense the fury of God's anger
and wrath justly upon us because of sin. And that's the nature
of man. Now, look at chapter 2. The second
thing we have here is a picture of our Savior's free love for
sinners. Can I say that again? Our Savior's
free love for sinners. His free love for sinners. We're just saying not the righteous,
not the righteous sinners Jesus came to call. Our Lord Jesus
came into this world to seek and to save sinners. Find me
a sinner. And I'll tell that sinner, Christ
loves you and redeemed you and God Almighty will be gracious
to you. Sinners, men and women who are
strict and empty and bankrupt and helpless before God, Christ
loves sinners. Look at chapter two, verse one.
Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the
family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth the Moabitess
said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean years
of corn after him, in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said
unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went and came and gleaned
in the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on a
part of the field belonging unto Boaz." Her hap. We sometimes
use the word luck and chance, that's the word here, hap. As
far as she was concerned, it was just It just happened. It was as luck would have it,
she wound up in the right field. As chance would have it. But
that which is but chance with men is according to the purpose
of God Almighty. She came to Boaz Field who was
of kindred of Alemalek. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem
and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered
him, The Lord bless thee. Then Boaz said to his servants
that was said over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? He spotted
that Moabitess woman. She stuck out from the crowd.
Her skin darker than the others. Who is this? Verse 9. Let thine
eyes be on the field, he says to Ruth. Let thine eyes be on
the field that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have
I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? And
when thou art athirst, go into the vessels and drink of that
which the young men have drawn. Verse 16. And he says to his
servants, let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for
her and leave them that she may glean them and rebuke her not."
Naomi had heard that the Lord had visited Bethlehem Judah and
they returned to Bethlehem Judah at the beginning of the barley
harvest. They were poor and their inheritance was gold. They had
no one to support them, no one to take care of them. These two
destitute women. But as God and His law had ordained,
He provided in Israel that the poor people should not be allowed
to starve. But rather, He provided a welfare
system for them. A good welfare system. A welfare
system that involved work and honor. Men who had fields were
not allowed to take everything out of the field. Those who had
vineyards were not allowed to take all the grapes out of the
vineyard. Those who had fruit trees were not allowed to take
all the fruit. But they were required to leave a portion for
the poor who could come behind them and gather out of their
fields such things as they needed. And the Lord God did this specifically
for the purpose of showing us something about our Savior's
provision of grace for us through our blessed kinsmen, Christ Jesus
the Lord. Ruth knew that there was a kinsman
such as this man Boaz. She knew there was a kinsman
in Israel who could redeem her if he would. Look at chapter
2 again. In the first verse, Naomi had
a kinsman of her husband's. I can almost picture Ruth and
Naomi as they're walking along the road coming from Moab back
to Bethlehem. And Ruth says, tell me about
this law that God gave by Moses again. And tell me about this
kinsman and what the kinsman must do. What the kinsman is
like. Tell me how it is that the kinsman
may indeed marry me and raise up children unto my husband.
How is it that he may lawfully provide for me and marry me a
Moabite woman? The kinsman was Boaz. He was a mighty man and a man
of great wealth. His kinsman is a picture of our
blessed Savior in at least these four ways, at least these four
things. Four things had to be true of
the kinsman. Number one, he had to be related
by blood to those he redeemed. Deuteronomy 25 describes it.
He must be one who is near of kin. The one nearest, the one
to be redeemed, the one of nearest kin was the one whose responsibility
it was first. If he failed, the next of kin. If he failed, the next of kin.
If he failed, the next of kin. And the kinsman then must be
a blood relative of the one to be redeemed. Turn over to Hebrews
chapter 2. Hold your hands here in the book
of Ruth. We'll be right back. You're very familiar with those
words of John 1.14? The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. I had just begun preaching through
the book of John at home and was reminded again the word was
made flesh. The word that is used for flesh
in John 1.14 The Spirit of God could not have
selected any word in the Greek language that would more distinctly
identify the great humiliation of our Lord Jesus Christ when
he became a man for us. The Word was made mortal, dying
flesh. The Word was made weak flesh. The Word was made flesh and brought
among us. The Lord Jesus actually did become
one of us, a kinsman. We'll talk about that just the
other day, but again, a real man. He who nursed his mother's
breast, who had to have the milk of his mother's breast as much
as any baby must have the milk of his mother's breast. At the
same time, He's God who puts milk in the breast. But He was
made flesh. He became one of us. Hebrews
chapter 2 verse 14. For as much then as the children
are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took
a part of the same, that through death He might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them
who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to
bondage. And He tells us in verse 16,
when He came, He took not on Him the nature of angels, no,
no, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham. To make it distinct
and clear that our Lord Jesus, when He came here, came to redeem
and save not all the sons of Adam, but a covenant people,
the sons of Abraham. He took on Him the seed of Abraham
as He was made flesh. He identifies himself then with
fallen Adam, and as he identifies himself with fallen Adam, becomes
kinsman to fallen Adam, yet he does so as the special kinsman
and the redeemer of Abraham and God's covenant people in him.
Second, the kinsman not only must be a kinsman, a blood kin,
but he must be one with the ability to pay the price required for
redemption. The kinsmen were told in verse
1 of chapter 2 in the book of Ruth Boaz was a mighty man of
wealth of the family of Elimelech and you know that you were redeemed
not with corruptible things such as silver and gold from your
vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers oh
no we were redeemed with the precious Blood of Christ. Precious blood. How can it be
described for its preciousness? So precious that it is described
in Acts chapter 20 as the blood of God Himself. The Church of God which He redeemed
with His own blood. Oh, but Brother Don, you know
God doesn't have blood. I know, but the God-man does. And He who is our Redeemer is
Himself God. That means that His blood, that
means that His ransom price, that means that His righteousness,
His obedience is of infinite worth before God Almighty. of infinite worth to satisfy
the justice and the anger and wrath of the infinite God. He and He alone is able to pay
that which is owed. But being able to pay and paying
is two different things. The kinsman redeemer must be
willing to redeem. He must be willing. Look at chapter
3 verse 11 of Ruth. We'll see in just a little bit
that there was a nearer kinsman who was not willing to redeem.
But this man Boaz was willing to redeem. Verse 11, chapter 3. Boaz says
to Ruth, Now my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that
thou requirest. The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom
for many. He says concerning himself, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. He said, I laid down my life. I had the power to lay it down
and I had the power to take it again. He said as He came into
this world, Lo, I come to do Thy will, O my God. The Son of God is willing to
save, willing to redeem. Our Savior, when He knelt before
His Father in Gethsemane and our Father, cried with broken
hearts, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Not because
somehow something happened that he started to withdraw from his
purpose of grace. Never, never, never. Not as though
he had second thoughts about this thing. Never, never. In
Gethsemane's garden, he began to anticipate Be made sin for
us. And he cries, Father, if it's
possible to redeem and save my people and not be made sin, let
this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will, thy
will be done. And he shakes himself, he braces
himself and again sets his face like a flint to go and suffer
all the fury of God's holy wrath as he's made sin for us. Then
he cries at last, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
And at the apex of his obedience is forsaken of the Father because
he willingly laid down his life for us. Could we with ink the
oceans fill? And were the skies of parchment
made, Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe
by trade, To write the love of God above Would drain the oceans
dry, Nor could the scroll contain the whole Though stretched from
sky to sky. O children of God, understand
as best you can the indescribable willingness of the Savior to
endure the hell of God's wrath in your room instead for you. And the kinsman redeemer must
have one other qualification. He must be free of all debt. If he was a debtor, he couldn't
redeem. And our Lord Jesus Christ, the
righteous one, the Holy Lamb of God, owed nothing. When our Savior lived in this
world in obedience to God's law, it was not for himself. when
he suffered the wrath of God upon the cursed tree. It was
not for himself. He owed nothing. He is the holy
Lamb of God without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. He owed nothing. And this one now who took on
himself our nature, who is himself the infinite God mighty to redeem,
who is God the Savior, our surety, our mediator willing to redeem,
this one is able because he owes nothing himself. Ruth then in
verse 2 of chapter 2, went out to the fields to glean. How come? Well, let's let her
tell us. Ruth the Boabite said unto Naomi,
Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn, after him
in whose sight I shall find grace. She went to the fields hoping
for grace. She went to the fields, saved
herself if it's possible for me, a miserable Moabite woman,
to obtain an inheritance, to obtain an inheritance among the
people of the living God, to obtain an inheritance among the
chosen of God, If it's possible for me, a dark, cursed Moabitess,
to have an inheritance among God's Israel, I'm going to have
it. And she goes out into the field.
And she went to the place where she's most likely to meet with
the kinsmen. You've come here today into the
field of our Redeemer. This is the place where God speaks
to men and women. This is the place where God proclaims
his word. And here, sinners hear the good
news of his grace. While she's there, Boaz spotted
Ruth and had compassion on her. Verse 5, Boaz said to his servant
that was sent over the reapers, whose damsel is this? There were
lots of gleaners in the fields, lots of poor people there. Lots of them who might have had
what appeared to be a claim on Boaz. Lots of them who were themselves
children of Abraham after the flesh. But Boaz spots this Moabite. And he sets his eye on this Moabite. And he selects this Moabite as
the object of his care. Boaz had compassion on Ruth,
and so it is with our Savior, the Lord Jesus. He took notice
of us, though He passed others by. He loved us, though He loved
not another. He chose us, though He chose
not another. And all this He did for us before
ever the world was freely from eternity. All right, now here's
the third thing. In the second chapter of Ruth,
the Spirit of God gives us a beautiful picture of God's special providence. Oh, how God graciously overrules
all things for His own. I spend most of my life studying
these things. I spend most of my life studying
the wonders of God's character, especially in his glorious sovereignty. And the wonders of redemption
by the precious blood of Christ, our substitute. and the wonders
of providence. Oh, God's providence. Our brother
George is a historian. Do you know what history is?
It is his story. It is his story. God's good providence
is the rule of this world. The absolute rule of this world,
the absolute rule of this world for the saving of his people. I can't see much of what God's
doing in his providence, just little pictures. I look back
over my life and I can see little pictures of things. I have personally
seen God Almighty supernaturally intervene. and turn things upside
down just for me. I may one day write a book about
it. It'll be written under somebody
else's name, lest folks misunderstand. But I've seen God turn things
upside down. I've seen God overthrow the plots
of men. I've seen God do wondrous things,
obviously, just for me, just for me. Now imagine this. He does everything just for you. Just for you. Just for the good
of your soul. Just for your everlasting good. I know folks say, well, I wouldn't
worship a God like that. You won't worship any other.
You may drive a Jew bargain with another, but you won't worship
him. You may carry him around in your pocket like a good lump
charred rabbit's foot. You can run and have prayer whenever
you get into trouble, but you won't worship him. The only God
you will ever worship is God who is absolutely God. And if ever you find out who
He is, you'll be delighted for Him to be who He is. My daughter,
my son-in-law, my grandchildren, that dear lady sitting there,
do you know what they would like They'd love for me to have absolute
authority and absolute power to rule the universe, including
you. They'd love for me to. In all
my sinful, fickle, frail being, they'd love for me to have that
kind of authority. How come? Because I'm daddy.
And they know I will take care of everything just for them. Will you hear me, children of
God? Our Father rules. And I'm no father by comparison
with Him. And I'm delighted that He rules.
He so rules all things that He rules even the evil deeds of
men absolutely. No question about it. There was
a man who was nephew to Abraham. You can read about him back in
Genesis chapters 18 and 19. A fellow by the name of Lot.
He's been delivered from Sodom. God sends angels specially to
bring him and his two daughters out of Sodom. His wife has turned
to a pillar of salt. And Sodom being destroyed, Lot
cried that the Lord would let him escape to Zoar, a little
place, and he escaped to Zoar. And Lot's two daughters, I guess
they thought the whole world had been destroyed. They made
a pact together. They said, let's get our father
drunk, and you sleep with him tonight, and I'll sleep with
him tomorrow night. And both of them conceived children by
their father in a drunken stupor, in incest. What could be more
horrible, more evil? Surely no good can come from
that. Moab and Ammon, two cursed nations,
two cursed races of men. But God gave Moses strict prohibition
concerning the Moabites. All the other people Israel confronted
as they wandered through the wilderness, God said, don't you
harm the Moabites. You leave the Moabites alone.
How come? Because there is, from this incestuous
relationship of Lot and his daughter, a nation sprung up in the earth
from whom God would have one of his elect, a woman by the
name of Ruth. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee, and the remainder of wrath wilt thou restrain."
Elimalech takes all his money and leaves Bethlehem due to a
time of famine. forsakes them, does horrible
things. What could be more horrible than
for a man in the time when his nation and his people and his
family, his kinsmen need him to take everything in selfish,
self-serving lust and run off to another land. This is what
a Limelech did and he ran off to Moab. Oh, but had a Limelech
not run off to Moab, he would never have found Ruth. Had Lot not committed incest
with his daughters, there would have never been a Ruth. Had our father Adam not sinned
in the garden, there would never have been a Redeemer for our
souls. Children of God don't ever think for a moment that
anything escapes the absolute will and purpose and determination
of our Heavenly Father. Look at verse 9 of chapter 2. Boaz says to Ruth, let thine
eyes be on the field that they do reap and go after them Have
I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? God gives commandment to all
the creatures of the earth. God gives commandment to all
the demons of hell. God gives commandment to Satan
himself. Touch not mine anointing. He said, I've made a covenant
with you, with the very beast of the field. No evil shall happen
to the just. No evil shall fall upon God's
elect. Verse 60, And let fall also some
of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them that she
may glean them. and rebuke her not. Fellas, just
reach in the sack and throw out extra grain here. Wherever you
see she might be stepping, throw out a pile of grain. Just throw
it in her way. Notice it says, let these handfuls
of purpose fall for her. For her. I know we live in a
day folks talk a great deal about common grace. There's nothing
common about God's grace. They talk about, well, there's
a sense in which God loves everybody, a sense in which God's gracious
to everybody. That means there's a sense in
which His grace and love don't matter. No, no, no. Folks talk
about common grace as well. As a matter of fact, I was talking
to a fellow just recently. He said, well, you know, it rains
on the just and the unjust alike. That's common grace. I said,
well, when it hails, it hails on the just and unjust alike
too, doesn't it? Would you call that common judgment?
No, no, no. He left all handfuls especially
for her that she might glean. David put it this way, surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Not goodness and mercy follow
behind me. Goodness and mercy shall be nipping
at my heels all the days of my life. Those two blessed hounds
of heaven by which God chases me into his kingdom and into
his glory. As the fields of Bethlehem belong
to Boaz, so this world belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. It
is his by design, his by decree, and his by virtue of his death.
as Ruth's hat was to the lights on that part of the field belonging
to Boaz, so God graciously brings each of his elect to the place
where he will be gracious to them. I don't know how to explain what I'm about
to tell you, but I fully believe that God arranges all circumstances and that God's people Each of
them will be called according to the purpose of God under specific
circumstances. I do not believe it possible
that Onesimus could ever have heard and believed the gospel
apart from first taking his master's goods and running away down to
Rome. I do not believe it possible
that Don Fortner should ever have been converted except passing
through all the experiences of God's providence that brought
me to the place where he graciously worked upon my heart, giving
me life and faith in Christ. Read the 107th Psalm. It's all
about God's providence. Ruth is brought to the place
where God was pleased to cause her to meet Boaz. And Boaz in
verse 14 asked her to join him for lunch. At mealtime they came,
he said, come hither and eat of the bread and dip thy morsel
in the vinegar. He said, take your biscuit, dip
it in my gravy, honey. And he flirted with her. And
somebody said, oh, you shouldn't use that kind of word. Well,
that's what he did. That's what he did. He was tugging at her
heart, winning her heart, making her comfortable with Him. At
the table He charmed this woman, and then He commanded His young
men not to touch her, just as our Savior has done with us.
And He leaves these handfuls of purpose providing for her,
just as our Savior does for us. Now look at verse 18. According
to the law given to Israel, If a man sold his inheritance, remember,
and he had a near kinsman who was willing and able to do so,
the kinsman could buy back his brother's lost inheritance. And
she took it up, took up what Boaz gave her, and went to the
city. And her mother-in-law saw what
she had gleaned. And she brought forth and gave
to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her
mother-in-law said to her, where hast thou gleaned today? Honey,
where have you been? Where wroughtest thou? Blessed
be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law
with whom she had wrought and said, The man's name with whom
I wrought today is Boaz. And Naomi said, Bless God. You found the Redeemer. Bless
God! This is He! Blessed be the Lord
who hath not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead.
Chapter 3. Naomi tells Ruth what she must
do. And gives us a tremendous picture
of true repentance. For the sake of time, I'll not
read it all. But she said, Ruth, Verse 4,
you go in and uncover his feet and lay thee down and he will
tell thee what thou must do. And she did. Boaz came in after
he had drunk and was well buried and laid down on the threshing
floor. Verse 9, he turned in the night and saw a woman at
his feet and said, who are you? And she said, I am Ruth, thine
handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over
thine handmaid, for thou art a near kinsman." Naomi said,
now Ruth, you've got to go humble yourself. How could she tell this woman,
who was known as a virtuous woman, to go to the threshing floor
and slipped down at this man's feet and pulled his covering
over her. How could she do that? Because
she had only one thing left. Just one thing. She didn't have
a penny to her name. She didn't have a change of clothes.
She didn't have anything except her good name. that by which she knew herself
to be different from other people. You're going to have to lose
that. You're going to have to lose that. You've got to lose
it all. You see, there is really no difference
between you and another. None. Well, I'm not like that
harlot. I'm not like that drunk. I'm
not like that pedophile. I'm not like that beast. Oh,
yes, you are. Oh yes you are. Exactly like
them. And you will either take your
place as the lowest of sinners at the feet of the great Redeemer
or you will never know His grace. Who are you? I'm yours. And you can do with me what you
will. You're the Lord. I'm your servant. Will you please
Spread your skirt over me and take me for your own. The leper
came and said, Lord, if you will, you can make me whole. That woman
came with her daughter and said, my daughter is grievously vexed
of a devil and the master said to her, it's not right to take
the children's bread and give it to dogs. And she said, all
right, I'll take the ground you gave me. I'm your dog. And it'd
be all right for you to throw some crumbs my way, wouldn't
it? That's called faith. That's called faith. Many are
too proud to bow as broken, humbled sinners. But this woman risked
being scandalized. She risked losing the only thing
she had left, her good name, that she might obtain Boaz's
favor. I'm reminded of Tamar. Tamar
understood what was involved in the birthright. And she would
not be put off. Judah had made a promise he refused
to keep. And when finally Tamar put on
the veil of a harlot and played the role of a harlot, Judah said,
she has been more righteous than I. She said, I will have the
Redeemer no matter what it costs me. Will you? Because having Christ will cost
you everything. I was sitting at Duke University
Hospital 1975, taking 76, taking cobalt treatments
for cancer. I happened to be reading a book
by J.C. Ryle called True Christianity. And a fellow had been sitting
beside me a couple of days and he had seen me read the book
in the lobby while we were waiting to go get sick. And he said to me,
can you tell me, what does it take to be a true Christian?
And I paused for a minute and looked at him, and I said, yes,
sir, I care. Nothing from you, but all of
you. Christ Jesus cannot be bought. God's grace cannot be bought.
But Christ Jesus demands you surrender to him. Lock, stock,
and barrel. He will be Lord of all or not
Lord at all. Ruth plainly told Boaz what she
wanted and Boaz spoke to her and said, I will do all that
thou requirest. But then in chapter 4, he gives
us something else. In verse 11, he said to Ruth,
now my daughter, fear not, I will do all to thee that thou requirest. For all the city of my people
doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. How be it? There is a nearer kinsman. See that in verse 12? Now it
is true, I am thy near kinsman. But there is a kinsman nearer
than I. So in chapter four, Boaz says,
I'll tell you what, honey, I'll deal with this other kinsman.
I know him well. I know him well. And he said,
you just wait, and I'll take care of things. And in chapter
four, you can read it at your leisure, he calls the elders
of the city together where they did business, and he saw this
next kinsman, the nearest kinsman, and he said, hey Joe, come over
here, I need to talk to you. Our brother Lemelack, you remember
Lemelack, oh yeah. Oh yeah, I've had my eye on that
40 acres he's got over yonder. I've been watching that. And
he said, Lemelack's wife Naomi has come back and if you want
to, you're the first kinsman and you can have that 40 acres
over yonder. I'll take it. I'll take it, yes
sir. I'll take it. And Boaz said,
wait a minute, wait, I'm not done yet. A Limelech's heritage
involves somebody else. There's this Moabite woman by
the name of Ruth. This Moabite woman, in the day
that you buy that fine prime 40 acres, you've got to marry
Ruth and raise up children to Limelech's sons. Oh, I forgot
about Ruth. No, if I do that, I will mar
my own inheritance. Boer says, okay, I'll buy it,
and I'll buy Ruth. And the elders at the gates of
the city, he said, you be witnesses now. I bought that, which was
a limolex, but he wasn't the least bit interested in that
40 prime acres. And I bought Ruth. That's what
I want. I bought Ruth. And so it is with God's holy
law. The law has first claim upon
us. The soul that sinneth, it shall
die. And God himself in his justice
and truth cannot remain true to his character and wed our
sinful souls except first justice be satisfied. And Jesus Christ
came into this world to satisfy divine justice in our room instead
that God might be just and the justifier of him to believe us. And he by that mighty work of
redemption performed in the room instead of His people. Having
satisfied the justice of God, He is married to us and He takes
sinners like you and me into His family and makes us His own. Did you ever read carefully the
genealogy of our Savior in the book of Matthew? The Jews challenged our Savior
about a lot of things. They raised lots of objections
to his claim to be the Messiah. You know what they never challenged?
Not one time. They never questioned his genealogy.
Never questioned it. Because they kept accurate records.
And they knew the records. They understood the records.
There are four women named in the genealogy of Christ. Four
women. Just four. Tamar. the harlot. Rahab, the harlot. Ruth, the Boabitis. Bathsheba, the harlot. Just four. Just four. throughout the history
of the universe, throughout the history of the Old Testament,
throughout the history of the New Testament, even in his genealogy,
while he walked on this earth, and now today as he sits upon
the throne of grace, the Lord Jesus says to the universe, I
am the Savior of sinners. Pastor, I've never qualified
for anything in my life. I've never qualified for anything
in my life. I qualify for grace. I take my
place as a sinner at the feet of the Sovereign Savior, seeking
His mercy. And I want to tell you something.
You read through this book, you will never find a sinner who
sought mercy from the Son of God, who didn't walk away with
mercy. God make it yours for Christ's
sake. Amen.