We're at a very special time of year as we're all aware of. This is the time between Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread and Pentecost. God's word has a great deal to say about this time of year. Basically, I'm not talking about that this Sabbath; next week I'll spend more time on that. But I do want to speak about a subject today that lends itself very well to this time of year, because in the Word of God we are given examples of people, ordinary people just like us who God used in very wonderful ways. Sometimes He used them in miraculous ways to carry out his purpose and his will throughout the annals of mankind. We also find that there are many scriptures in God's Word, the Bible that are associated with certain aspects of the Jewish religion, but also carry a parallel connection with our understanding of God's plan of salvation; salvation that He has laid out for us in our observance of his Holy Days. I want to speak about such a person, or actually persons because there is a connection that we find in the book of Ruth. I know most of you aren't surprised that this is a book we would be speaking about this time of year. In fact, I just found out recently that Mr. Robin Webber gave a sermon in Cincinnati on the book of Ruth, in which he probably stole some of my material, but that will be all right… I'll let him get by with it. I haven't actually heard it, but Ruth is a wonderful, wonderful book as I hope we are going to see today. It's a very short book; it's only four chapters long, very easy to read through. We'll be reading through a good portion of it today.

The book of Ruth is a story about three people, basically… three characters that are revealed in this book, this story. It's actually a saga of tragedy as it starts out, that ultimately turns to triumph, which is always a wonderful thing to read through. We find that from the Jewish standpoint, this is a book that is read in Jewish synagogues still to this day at morning services during what they call "Shavuot", which is also "Feast of Weeks", sounds familiar to us I'm sure. It takes place seven weeks after the weekly Sabbath following the Passover and we of course, as it's shown in the New Testament, know it as Pentecost. It's very appropriate for us to look at Ruth during this time.

As we move through the message today, I would like for you to think about why the book of Ruth is important for us to understand; why we would take a Sabbath service to read through this story. Also think about how this story might relate to you personally, because it can and does relate to each of us individually. It relates to each of us in different ways because we are each going through this life and dealing with different things at different times in different ways. We find that in this book, that it's a book of, maybe, simple lessons (if you would) that are played out by simple people that produce profound healing in their personal lives. Healing that all of us find ourselves in need of at different times as we go through this life. All of us deal with life sometimes by looking at where we are and we realize that life just hasn't quite worked out the way we thought it would in the beginning. It doesn't matter what our background has been, it doesn't matter what experiences we've had, we all face times of doubt, times of spiritual drought, even times of fear with what lies ahead for each of us individually. As we go through this book today, I want us to think about these people and their lives and how our lives can relate to them. You see, the book of Ruth can provide us with a guide to help us as we go through our lives. So, as we look at Ruth, consider how these experiences revealed in her story, in their story, relates to our personal lives.

In the book of Ruth, we see demonstrated… one thing of many things… the power of effective closure on what may have transpired in our lives in the past. That's something that sometimes troubles a lot of us when we have not successfully closed the door on our past. Each and every one of us has a story in our lives; each and every one of us has a past that for some reason we may still be dealing with. Maybe we even think that maybe God hasn't been quite fair with how things have worked out for us. Maybe we feel that God has or does not care what may be happening to us. Maybe we've been hurt by other people and the pain of that still nags at us to this day as a result of that hurt. And the question that we often deal with and struggle with is, "why?” 'Why did this happen in the way it did?' Well, maybe as we look at the situation with Ruth, it will help us realize that we are able to… as Ruth did, go forward in our lives in faith and confidence… that we will no longer let our past hold us back. I want us to realize that we can have an abiding, abounding and growing faith that God has a presence in our life.

It's interesting that as you study through Ruth, and study the various writings on Ruth (quite a few books have been written about the book of Ruth, we have one at home, it isn't very large, but it is very interesting to read through), other people's thoughts and ideas about what we learn from the book of Ruth, to be honest with you, most of it is very right on, spot on. It's interesting that there's so much in this book that relates to the Spring Festivals that we observe. Notice one simple parallel from the book of Ruth that we will see. We have the story in this book of putting off the old woman of Moab and then walking new in faith in a new land and coming upon a savior in the form of a man named Boaz, a man she did not know about before. He was a man she did not understand, but as she came to see… was a man who was rock solid and was there to save her and redeem her. We see in this story of Ruth, in so many ways that it actually pictures the Spring Festivals that we observe. Those of you who have observed God's Holy Days for years, can easily see this parallel and it will easily come to your mind as we go through this.

It's important when you read through the story of people in God's word, especially in the Old Testament that you get the context of the culture, the climate in which this book is written. We want to do that with Ruth. What we want to do is to go back to the previous book in the Bible, the book of Judges, because it is believed that Ruth was written by Samuel. It is also believed that Samuel also wrote Judges. Judges 21:25 "In those days, there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." This is the culture in which Ruth is written, because Samuel continues and fills in the rest of the story in the book of Ruth about a very real people with very real problems who worship a very real God, a people who stand out in an otherwise discouraging and antagonistic time. You see, during the time of Ruth (if I could put it this way), being a Christian was not easy. Remember that everybody was, in their religious observances, doing basically what they wanted to do. True followers of God who strived to live in obedience to his law were there among a culture and a nation that was basically anti-God, (true God). It wasn't easy to live in obedience to God; I think we can understand that in our culture today. It's getting more and more difficult to live in obedience to God surrounded by the Godless world in which we live. Let's capture the setting for this story for just a moment: this is during the spring harvest season, a time of firstfruits (the barley is being harvested); it's the season or time that we are in right now. This is a story that has basically three main characters: Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. These are three unlikely characters that God has recorded this portion of their lives for one purpose, for us to learn lessons from what they experienced. One of the three is a woman who was marginalized through the death of her husband, and is now a widow, who is living in a patriarchal society in a land away from her own people; the other is a younger woman who is a gentile, a foreigner; then we have the man Boaz whose mother was none other than Rahab. Remember Rahab was the woman who hid the two spies that Joshua sent into Jericho to see the strength of the city. It's interesting as most of us have always understood and believed that Rahab was a prostitute, in fact she is called a harlot there in Joshua chapter two. Many commentators believe that Rahab was not really a prostitute, but instead she ran a boarding house that catered to many people coming in and out of the city who needed accommodations for a short period of time. We may not know for a fact that is the case, but it seems to make sense because… remember, these were spies. They didn't want to be seen or recognized, so going to a boarding house to stay would not draw attention to them because strangers going into that city would naturally go to a boarding house to rent a room for a night or a day or a week. It could be, but that's just a side point. What is important to glean from the book of Ruth is that God can and will use anyone who is open to Him and open to his purposes. It's a lesson as we go through Ruth that we can't let go past us without thinking about.

Let's begin looking at this wonderful story that is preserved for us to learn from. You find at the beginning of the book of Ruth that there is a famine in the land of Judah, not an unusual circumstance in Biblical times. Remember this was an agrarian society, so when there was no rain, you had famine. They didn't have grocery stores you could go down to and buy the food. They were totally dependent on God's mercy and God's blessings with the weather. You find there's a famine and a man named Elimelech who took his wife and two sons and he moved to the land of Moab, apparently the famine and drought wasn't as severe in Moab. Right off at the beginning of the book, we see a valuable lesson for us to contemplate… that is GOD WILL OFTEN USE ADVERSITY TO TEST HIS SERVANTS, to move them into new environments, to move them into new situations. He does this not so they can fail, but so they can grow. We see that time and time again with God's people. We find that in the course of time that Elimelech dies leaving Naomi with her two sons. Her two sons eventually married women of Moab and it says that Naomi and her sons lived in Moab for ten years. (At least ten years, I think she was probably there longer than that.) Then her two sons died, leaving Naomi and two foreign-born daughters-in-law alone. Now we have three women in a society that was anything but kind with regard to women and especially women left on their own. What were they to do? Ruth 1:6-7 "Then she arose that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard that in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread." The famine in Judah had lifted; things were better there. Verse 7 "Therefore, she went out from the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her and they went on their way to return to the land of Judah." They decided to leave and go back to Judah and her daughters-in-law were going with her. Notice the phrase that is used here in verse seven that I find very interesting. It says 'therefore'; every time we read that phraseology in the Bible, again we should stop and consider what God is about to tell us. It says, "Therefore, she went out from the place where she was." What is interesting here is that the words seem to indicate that God called Naomi out from where she was and it says she went. Where else in your thinking do you remember similar things happening to someone that God was going to use? ABRAHAM! Remember when God called Abraham, and that happened nearly five hundred years before the time of Ruth. It says of Abraham that he went. He went, he left his homeland, he left the surroundings that he was familiar with and he became a pilgrim, a sojourner in a foreign land. Well, in the same way Naomi and Ruth are about to embark on their journey of faith, just as Abraham did. They were about to leave everything they had known for many years. They did not know what lay ahead for them, but it says, 'she went'. She went with her two daughters-in-law. Ruth 1:8 "And Naomi said to 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'" Verse 9 "'The Lord grant that you may find rest each in the house of her husband.' Then she kissed them and they lifted up their voices and wept." Naomi urges her two daughters-in-law to go back to their own families; remember here are three women with no husbands, no father to watch over them and care for them, to provide for them. Naomi out of concern for her daughters-in-law urges them to go back to their own families, but they both lifted up their voices and wept, in other words, they didn't want to leave her… they wanted to stay with her. Verse 10 "And they said to her, Surely we will return with you to your people.'" Verse 11 "But Naomi said, 'Turn back, my daughters, why would you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands?'" Verse 12 "'Turn back, my daughters, go for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, if I should have a husband tonight and should also bear sons,"' Verse 13 "' would you wait for them until they were grown? Would you restrain yourselves from having husbands? No, my daughters, for it grieves me very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.'" We see that three times Naomi urged them to return to their families. Again, look, we have three women all alone, unknown future, having no idea what was going to happen to them, so Naomi urges them to leave and go back to their family.

Why would the daughters-in-law refuse to leave Naomi? Naomi's name tells us a lot, because Naomi means 'pleasant one'. We can surmise that Naomi was of such character that she was admired and loved by these two girls so much (and because she had been a wonderful example to them) that they couldn't imagine leaving her, and not being with her. It says that Naomi was grieving; we've all grieved at times when we've lost someone, but think about Naomi. She had lost her husband and her two sons all within a reasonably short period of time, so it's surely understandable why she would be in this state of mind and why she was grieving in her heart. You see, she didn't have all the answers at this time. She knew there was a God, but she doesn't really understand what God was doing, and of course that is perfectly all right, because we know God's ways are not our ways, God's thoughts are not our thoughts. At times we can wonder why God is allowing things to work out the way they are. It's not wrong to think that way as Naomi did. Let's notice what happens in verse fourteen; this is a crucial point that we don't want to miss in this story of Naomi and Ruth. Ruth 1:14 "Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law," (which means she succumbed to Naomi's insistence that she return to her family, and she left. She kissed her good-bye and she went back to her family, but notice what it says about Ruth) "but Ruth clung to her." Verse 15 "And she said, 'Look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law."' There's something fascinating here about Ruth; Ruth, who is going to be in the line of David, who is going to be in the line of Jesus Christ… that's why this story of Ruth should be of great interest to you and me. Something wonderful is transpiring here as revealed in these simple words: 'but Ruth clung to her'. We're going to see what that means. How about the other daughter-in-law who went back to her family? Was she a bad person? Did she do something wrong by going back to her family? No, she didn't do anything wrong, it's just that Ruth made a better choice. The lesson for us is that you and I also have choices to be made; it's the same choice that men and women of faith have had to make down through the ages. It's the same choice that you and I have to make daily in our lives. Somewhere on the road between Moab and Bethlehem, Ruth made her choice to follow the way of God; the same choice you and I have made. There was no return for Ruth after she had made this choice; she was 'putting her hand to the plow' and there was no going back to the past.

In verses sixteen and seventeen we read what is called 'The Song of Ruth'. Ruth 1:16-17 "BUT RUTH SAID, 'ENTREAT ME NOT TO LEAVE YOU OR TO TURN BACK FROM FOLLOWING AFTER YOU. FOR WHEREVER YOU WILL GO, I WILL GO, AND WHEREVER YOU WILL LODGE, I WILL LODGE. YOUR PEOPLE SHALL BE MY PEOPLE, AND YOUR GOD, MY GOD.'" Verse 17 "WHERE YOU DIE, I WILL DIE, AND THERE WILL I BE BURIED. THE LORD DO SO TO ME AND MORE ALSO IF ANYTHING BUT DEATH PARTS YOU AND ME." There is so much symbolism in these few words that Ruth said to Naomi. Even with her young husband recently dead; even with the chance to go back to her own family, Ruth is abandoning her past. She is fully clinging to this new family of Naomi and she is saying, 'I will be buried with your family, I'm giving up on my former life; I'm giving up on my life in Moab; I'm giving up on my life in the old world, the old ways." Life had not been fair, from a human standpoint to Ruth, but Ruth was willing to step out with Naomi… she was stepping out on faith. When you go through the commentaries and read about this book of Ruth, it seems that when she said, 'Your God will be my God', she did not use the term Elohim for God, which normally would be the term that foreigners would use in talking about the Great God… instead she used the term 'Yahweh', which indicates a personal God. This indicates a personal relationship with this God that she was choosing to follow. Ruth had chosen to have that personal relationship. She had chosen to walk in this new way of life that she had not known before. Verse 18 "When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her." That doesn't mean that she was mad at her or quit talking to her, it just means that Naomi realized that Ruth was resolved to do what she wanted to do and nothing Naomi was going to say would deter her from following the way of God. THAT'S THE WAY WE ALL WANT TO BE!

They traveled and came back to the city of Bethlehem; the city was excited to see Naomi return. It is said that the women questioned, "Is this Naomi?" Remember she had been gone for a minimum of ten years; they probably hadn't known if she was still alive… so they were excited to see and hear of her. Notice what Naomi said to these women. Verse 20 "But she said to them, 'Do not call me Naomi (which means pleasant), but call me Mara (which means bitter), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.'" Verse 21 "I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty. Why do you call me Naomi since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me." I think we can all relate to the way Naomi felt, you see, her life had been turned completely upside down. She'd lost her husband and her sons, she lived through some very trying and traumatic times in her life and she was being very honest at this time with her feelings. She was being very honest with her daughter-in-law. She was being very honest with God. Perhaps we see in Naomi the need for us to be more honest with one another. I don't mean just sharing our joys and great times in our lives, but at times sharing what would be perceived as unedited, unabridged thoughts and commentaries on where we actually are in our personal lives, those times when life becomes extremely hard, when we need strength and support from our fellow laborers in the faith. God could use other people sometimes to help bring us back and strengthen our relationship with Him. We have to ask ourselves as we think about this interaction with Naomi and Ruth and the other women and men of the city: 'should we, are we willing to allow God to use us in such a powerful way as we see happening here in the lives of these people?' God used Naomi to help Ruth come through the troubles of Moab and now we're going to see that He uses Ruth to help Naomi to come back from the bitterness, to come out of the sorrow that she now found herself engulfed by. Verse 22 "So, Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest." This takes place right after Passover and Unleavened Bread, that's the time in which this is transpiring.

Then we move on to Chapter Two. Now we have the man, Boaz entering the story. In verse one we are told that Boaz was a wealthy man, he was also a relative of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband, which is very interesting and comes into play in just a moment. As the story unfolds with Boaz, something very important comes out about this man that I want us to see very quickly. Not only was he a wealthy man as far as his material possessions in this world, but more importantly, Boaz was a man rich in integrity and compassion. Those are qualities that all of God's people should be striving to emulate. Ruth 2: 3 (Talking about Ruth) "Then she left and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz (Now, in human terms, she just "happened" to come to this field, but as you go through this story… this just didn't happen by coincidence; this was all by design from the Great God.), who was of the family of Elimelech." Remember, she did not know this; she had no clue about who Boaz was nor anything about him. Verse 4 "And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, (Don't miss this.) 'The Lord be with you' (These are men who worked for Boaz, what was their response to their boss?) And they answered him, 'The Lord bless you.'" Can you glean the relationship that Boaz had with his workers? They had tremendous respect for this man and he had respect for them… a great, great example that all of us should try to follow. Verse 5 "Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, 'Whose young woman is this?'" He's talking about Ruth; he had no clue who this woman was. Verse 6 "So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, 'It is a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.'" Verse 7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued until now, though she has rested a little in the house'." Verse 8 "Then Boaz said to Ruth, 'You will listen my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.'" Verse 9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap and go after them. Have I not commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.'" Verse 10 "So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground and said to him, 'Why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?'" She was not of the land of Judah. She was not an Israelite. Verse 11 "And Boaz answered and said to her, 'It has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people whom you did not know before.'" Boaz understood the sacrifice that this young woman was making; there are so many lessons we can learn from this. But remember, at this time, in this culture in Israel every man was doing what was right in his own eyes. Not everybody was upholding the laws of God. Not everybody was setting aside a portion of their fields for the poor and the homeless. God had commanded in Leviticus nine that the people should not reap the corners of their fields, nor gather the gleanings, that portion of grain that would fall to the ground. These were to be left, very obviously in the fields for the poor and the stranger of the land to go in and gather those for themselves. It was made available for the poor, but they had to go forth and put forth the effort, in other words, they had to work to gather it for themselves, but it was to be left for them. Boaz was not only a man of faith; he was a man who kept the law of God. By Boaz keeping these laws, it was the means by which Ruth was able to participate and come into contact with these laws of God. He exemplified obedience to the laws of God.

Ruth 2:12 "The Lord repay your work and a full reward be given to you by the Lord God of Israel (notice what Boaz says to her) UNDER WHOSE WINGS YOU HAVE COME FOR REFUGE!" Can you imagine again with the situation Ruth was in, how encouraging these words were to her? Words spoken by a faithful servant of God, spoken to this young woman who had given up the gods of Moab and was coming into a relationship with Yahweh. You can only imagine how they strengthened her belief in the God of Israel. Her blessing was not only that she had come into the barley field of a godly man, but also she was coming under the wings of God, the God whom Boaz worshiped. Verse 13 "Then she said, 'Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not one of your maidservants.'" Verse 14 "Now Boaz said to her at mealtime, 'Come here and eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.' So she sat beside the reapers and he passed parched grain to her and she ate and was satisfied, (notice the wonderful example here) and she kept some back." She kept some back; we're going to see what that means. This was some of the food they had given to her. Verse 15 "And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men saying, 'Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her." He was showing special favor to this young woman. Verse 16 "And let grain from the bundles fall purposely before her" (I wonder who was inspiring this?) "Leave it that she may glean and do not rebuke her." Verse 17 "So she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned and it was an ephah of barley." Verse 18 "Then she took it up, went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she brought out and gave to her (notice) what she had kept back after she had been satisfied." She brought food to Naomi. Here was a young woman who had nothing in this world, she was among the poorest of the poor, yet we see that she had a heart filled with the desire to give and share with someone else. You see, Ruth was living Philippians 2:4 "Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others."

Naomi asked Ruth where she had gleaned that day and Ruth told her she had gleaned in the field of a man named Boaz. Naomi tells her that he is a close relative. The point that most of you may understand is that in the culture of Israel at that time, if a person had suffered loss, the closest relative of that person, who had the capacity and was qualified, could redeem the relative who had suffered the loss. He was obligated to redeem that person, to help the poor relative in such a state. We use the term 'kinsman redeemer' to describe such a relative in order to convey the idea that this person was a combination of a human relationship with a divinely appointed role of redeemer. The expression 'kinsman redeemer' is often used to convey that idea. When we think about that concept, we see Boaz as a type of whom? Jesus Christ! That's what Boaz, as a type, was. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, who has rescued us from our spiritual poverty. It is quite a picture when you spend time thinking about it.

Ruth 2:22 "And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, 'It is good my daughter that you go out with his young women, and that the people you see or meet may not see you in other fields.'" Verse 23 "So she stayed close by the young women of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and wheat harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law." Remember the time this is taking place in Israel, the time of the firstfruits; the firstfruits of God that are being exemplified by these three individuals: Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. These are people whose hearts were filled with the goodness of God, people who show a heart of love and compassion and the actions that the love and compassion motivated in their lives, a people of integrity and compassion, whose reputation went before them.

Ruth 3:1 "Then Naomi said to her, 'My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you?" Again we see the concern Naomi is showing for her daughter-in-law. Verse 2 "Now Boaz, whose young women you were with, is he not our relative?" Is he not our kinsman redeemer? "In fact he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor." Verse 3 "Therefore, wash yourself, anoint yourself and put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.'" So, stay inconspicuous, don't let him know you're there. Verse 4 "Then it shall be that when he lies down, you shall notice the place where he lies; and you shall go in, uncover his feet and lie down. And he will tell you what you should do." Remember, it's pitch dark; there are no lights. They're all lying around on mats or whatever; so she has to notice where Boaz lies down to sleep that night. Verse 5 "And she said to her, 'All that you say, I will do'." Verse 6 "So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to what her mother-in-law had instructed her." Verse 7 "And after Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was cheerful, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. And she came softly, uncovered his feet and lay down." Verse 8 "Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and he turned himself and there a woman was lying at his feet!" Startled would probably be a correct way to look at that. Verse 9 "And he said, 'Who are you?' He didn't know who this was, it was dark; he couldn't see. "So she answered, 'I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a close relative." or a kinsman redeemer. People read this and they think there's some kind of hanky-panky going on here or some kind of illicit sexual stuff, but that's not the case at all. Remember these are times when they were living under the laws that God had given to Israel. Under that law, when a woman's husband died, God had given the law that the closest next of kin would honor their family member by taking his wife to be their wife, by bringing her into his own family. They did that to ensure that the name of that deceased husband would not leave the land of Israel. If they had children, they would not take the name of that man, but would take the name of the deceased husband. That name would then be carried on in the land of Israel. What we see happening in reality here is that Ruth is submissively at the feet of Boaz. She willingly and voluntarily submits herself into this position, one of submission. Boaz stretches his cloak over her; remember the symbolism we're looking at here, it's quite revealing. Remember that Boaz had said to her, 'You have come under the wings of God for refuge'. That is what's symbolized by putting his cloak over her. She was now under the refuge of Boaz; I would think that Boaz didn't understand that he was being used by God to bring her into this position of being under the wings of God. This was her refuge. He probably didn't recognize that at the time. You see, God uses people to serve people. He uses people to help people. He uses people to manifest his will for other people. We're all instruments and this is what's occurring right here in the book of Ruth.

Ruth 3:11 "And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman." That alone tells us that there was nothing illicit going on here at all; she was a virtuous woman. She was just showing her submission to this kinsman redeemer that Boaz was. Verse 12 "Now it is true (remember again the character of Boaz) that I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I." He realized he wasn't the closest relative to Naomi. Again the character of Boaz comes shining through here… he could have taken advantage of the situation, but remember he obeyed the laws of God to the letter. Verse 13 "Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you, good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning." He was very open that if your closest relative does not want to redeem this, then I will do so. Boaz was showing himself to be a very honorable man who respected God's laws. Ruth goes back to tell Naomi what has transpired. Verse 18 "Naomi said, 'Sit still, my daughter, until you know how this matter will turn out; for the man (Boaz) will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.'" Many times God is telling us in our situations to 'stand still' and see the salvation of the Lord. Naomi understood and knew the character of Boaz and she knew he would not rest until this matter was settled, but it was going to be settled according to the law of God.

Ruth 4:1 "Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, 'Come aside friend, sit down here.' So he came and sat down." Verse 2 "And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, 'Sit down here.' So they sat down." He wanted witnesses to verify what transpired here. Verse 3 "Then he said to the close relative, 'Naomi who has come back from the country of Moab, has sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech'." Verse 4 "And I thought to inform you, saying, buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, tell me that I may know; for there is no one to redeem it and I am next after you.' And he said, 'I will redeem it'." Verse 5 "Then Boaz said, 'On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance'." Again, that was the law that God had given Israel. Verse 6 "And the close relative said, 'I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance; you redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it '." Verse 7 "Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging; one man took off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was a confirmation in Israel." Verse 8 "Therefore the close relative said to Boaz, 'Buy it for yourself, so he took off his sandal." Verse 9 "And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, 'You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that is Elimelech's and all that is Chilion's and Mahlon's from the hand of Naomi.'" Verse 10 "Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from his position at the gate, you are witnesses this day.'" All of this was done in accordance with the law of God. Let me share one other thought that was brought out about this other kinsman redeemer who refused to redeem the property and Ruth back from Naomi. What could we say about this man? What can we learn from his example? We don't know who he was; we're not given any names at all. But you see, when this was first presented to him, he saw it to his advantage to acquire more property from Naomi… that was a pretty good deal, he could have probably gotten it for a 'song and a dance'. But, when Ruth was thrown into the deal, the bet was off. He saw no personal gain here for himself. There's no gain from marrying a foreigner, he thought; no gain from marrying a gentile, by marrying one who was 'outside the camp'. She was going to bring nothing to the relationship; in his mind he would be on the losing end of that proposition. Boaz, on the other hand accepted the circumstances, lovingly because he was a man of compassion. He was a man who kept the law of God; he was a man of integrity. He was a type of Jesus Christ. You see Jesus Christ did not desire us for what any of us have… we have nothing, absolutely nothing that we could bring to that relationship. We were outside the land; we were in a sense, dead. But Christ came along and He said to the Father, I know they're nothing, I know they're not part of our family, I know they've been outside the camp, but I am willing to have my sacrifice cover them, to redeem them and I'm not worried about losing anything. And we know Jesus Christ did lose everything. He gave up everything He had with the Father, He came to this earth as a man to prepare us as his bride by redeeming us and giving us opportunity to enter into his eternal family as his wife. He did it all for the joy that was set before him. What a wonderful example this story is of our lives, for us to learn from.

It's a wonderful story; it's a wonderful message; wonderful people… little people, of and by themselves who served a purpose, a great purpose for what was to come in the future. We have to ask ourselves as we study and think about their lives and what they went through… are we prepared when opportunity comes our way to glorify God in what we do? That's something we should think about often. Understand that at times God is testing us; God wants to know if we will look beyond the moment, beyond the personal loss we may have at times. Look for the greater good, look for the glory of God's kingdom. We know that at the end of the story, here that Naomi was again happy. She had a little baby on her lap; she served as the nurse to a little guy named Obed. Obed whose son would eventually be Jesse, whose son would be David. You see, God isn't a God who is confined to the moment because eventually after David, his great, great, great, great, great grandson was none other than Jesus Christ. (Did I get enough greats in there? I don't know, but anyway Jesus Christ was in this line.) God is not confined to the here and now. We not only have a loving God, we have a God that has had a wonderful plan of salvation from before the beginning and He is a God who is working his plan and nothing is going to keep that plan from being fulfilled. Yes, God uses ordinary individuals to carry forth that plan, sometimes in truly miraculous ways as He did with Naomi and Ruth. These are women all of us can learn so much from… women who exhibited the qualities of integrity, compassion, tenacity, hard work, and honor… qualities we see multiplied a hundred fold in the life and character of their future kinsman redeemer, Jesus Christ.