Ruth

What God has for us today is a lesson in his desire to touch hearts and lives of people that feel that they're lost and they're not finding themselves where they need to be. And that's so we'll look at that roof a picture. We have kind of a sense of God's hand wanting to get close to people. You know, God was reaching out to the people of Israel. We've talked about Justice and Sunday school for a long time, you know in God's longing to reach out to people and he's always there wanting to touch people's hearts and he wanted to touch and move the hearts of the people of Israel to follow him. And even when they were in Disobedience, he still wanted to them to come to him to fall on their knees and repentance and he said that I will restore you I will give strength to your lives and he did that through their entire if we take a look at the life of the most despicable King that is real or Judy. I had Manasseh. He did more corrupt things than anybody you could possibly imagine. I mean it would just scare you to really think through all the evil. He perpetrated on himself and the people of Judah. He was so bad that ultimately godsend judgment upon him. The Assyrians came in they captured in they stuck a hook in his nose and dragged him all the way to Babylon some 500 miles away. Can you imagine having that hook in your nose and being dragged for 500 miles? Well, he got back to Babylon. And he fell on his knees before the Living God and ask for forgiveness. And God in his mercy and Grace restored even that evil King. So if you think that somehow in your life, you've gone too far. You've wandered too far away from God. You haven't got your life together. Remember God is still there. He's still there and he wants to take you and restore you and make you a live-in him. And we'll see that in the life of Ruth. We'll see that here. Willis Reed Ruth, I will read the first 15 verses and take a look at her life and where she was and then we'll take a look at where she is going to go because there is a heart for God in that lady. Says in the days when the judges ruled their rule there was a famine in the land and a man from Bethlehem in Judah together with wife and two sons went to live a wild in the country of Moab. The man's name was elimelech and his wife's name Naomi the names of his two sons were Maylon and kylian. They were ephrath ice from Bethlehem Judah and they went to Moab and live there. Now elimelech Naomi's husband died and she was left with her two sons. They married moabite women one named orpha in the other roof after they had lived there about 10 years both Malin and Killian also died. And Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband. When she heard heard in Moab that the Lord had come to the aid of the People by providing food for them Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from their with their two daughters-in-law. She left the place where she had been living and set out on the road that would take them back to the land of Judah. Then there were only said two were two daughters-in-law go back each of you to your mother's home. May the Lord show kindness to you as he has shown to your dead and to me may the Lord grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband. I meant she kissed them and they wept aloud and she and said to her we will we will go back with you to your people. But Naomi said return home. My daughter's why would you come with me? Am I going to have any more sons who could become your husband's return home? My daughter's I'm too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me even if I had a husband tonight and they gave birth to Sons. Would you wait until they grew up would you remain unmarried for me know my daughter? It is more better for me than for you because the Lord's hand is gone out against me. At this they wept again and then Norfolk kiss her mother-in-law. Goodbye, but Ruth clung to her look said Naomi your sister-in-law is back is going back to her people and her Gods go back with her. And that's where we find Ruth in her life, you know when you'll if you look at a life like that you say wow. How destitute is that? How horrible it is to be in that position? And sometimes when we get in that position, we want to look the guys say why why are we like this? And yet this is exactly where God wanted Ruth to be. You know, sometimes we want to change things and take away the hardness of things and yet God has a purpose for life with us take a look at whom or who wrote. This is first of all Ruth was a moabite. I don't know if you remember the stories of the moabites, but they were the people that when Israel was coming to they've wandered 40 years in the desert. They were getting ready to go into the promised land but there was a king who wanted Israel to be cursed and remember he called Balaam and he said curse the people of Israel in Balaam couldn't do that. He blessed them three times and then the king thought. Well, we can't we can't go against them because God is with them but here with what will do will deceive them. And so he sent his people The people ask them to come worship their gods with them. We find that in numbers 25:3. So Israel joined and worshipping Baal QR and the Lord's anger burned against them. If you remember the story what happened was that the people started running around with their gods and and taking their women in marriage and then one of their leaders took one of the King's Daughters moab's King's Daughters into his tent and Phineas rose up and took a spear and drove it between end of them. Well the result of that Rebellion cause 24,000 Israel lives. Think about that 24,000 Israel lives died because of their Rebellion, but it was Moab who brought them to this and eventually they went on and wiped out the people of Moab at least most of them were obviously they're still existing in the time of roof, but then they went on and they struggled are they they found the direction that they were supposed to go. But you see Moab is truly an enemy of the people of Israel. In fact so much in the enemy that in Deuteronomy chapter 23 verse 3, it says no ammonite or moabite or any of his descendants may enter the Assembly of the Lord even down to the 10th Generation. You see they didn't want to have anything to do with either Moab Aram and because they defy the Israelites when they wanted to enter into the land. And so this a judgment is made against them. So not only is Ruth a moabite which are despised by the people of Israel, but she is also condemned to that way because she is just happens to be a motorbike. Think about that in terms of our condemnation about people, you know. If God's got a hand on him, he can move them the right way. Okay, one more struggle. She has become a widow. you know and that is a whether you like it or not as look down on society is a bit of a judgement when the God is talking about priests and marriage. He says these words from Leviticus 21 5:15. So he will not defile his offspring among the people. I am the Lord who makes him holy in other words the priests were not to marry a widow. It was against the rules. Because they would defile themselves somehow. Okay, and then finally we find that she really has no home. You know, she's married into an Israelite family. She's become that and now she's going away and she refuses to go back to her own Homeland. But she's going on to Israel not knowing what will happen there. But knowing that there's a commitment there.

Ruth's record our Naomi recognizes this in Ruth 3:1. It says one day Naomi her mother-in-law said to her my daughter. Should I not try to find a home for you where you will be well and provided for in other words, there was a concern by her mother-in-law for her safety to find a real home. So she's got all these strikes against her. And yet God is there and their place? And it happens God's working with her because there is something very redeemable about her life. And that is what comes next in the story what makes roof so redeemable and we'll see you in history how this plays out, but in verses 16 through 18, it describes loot Russe commitment to carry on with her mother-in-law.

But Ruth replied don't urge me to leave or to turn back from you where you go, I will go and where you stay I will stay your people will be my people and your God my God where you die, I will die and there I will be buried may the Lord deal with me be it ever so severely if anything but death separates you from me. Well known me realize that Ruth was determined to go with her. She stopped urging roof. Okay, so that's a picture and very often that's is used in different ceremonies as being a picture of commitment and desire and will to follow but it's a great picture of one's love for another person who willing to commit their lives into that purpose.

And so we think about the life of Ruth. And is we go through her life in the next three chapters. We see something developing that really wins over others to her life. And that is the fact that she is a woman of powerful character. Okay, if we go to chapter 3 verse 11, it says these words and now my daughter don't be afraid. This is Bo as her future husband speaking to her. Is she deceased as in now my daughter don't be afraid I will do for you. All you ask all my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character. In other words somehow since she has arrived back in Bethlehem, even though that they are probably living in very harsh circumstances that people have noticed that Ruth is a person of noble character. She cares for her mother-in-law. She does labor for her mother-in-law. She helps her along the way and people have noticed the character of her life. Do people notice your character? It's a good question for every one of us and we need to think about that for the things that we say and the things that we do you we play the character of God in our lives. Will Ruth did she displayed that character to the people of Bethlehem that they were able to see her character?

I moved along she is also a person who is faithful. Okay, she's not giving up on her mother-in-law. She has determined that that is the pathway she will choose and she will not depart from it.

And that's so important in our lives, you know, we're faithful to certain things in our life. Hopefully. Our marriage is make Us Faithful that way our children not to make Us Faithful but there are relationships in life. That should make us faithful to others and we're called to a commitment and we need to hold fast to those commitments. We have a story in of David, you know and his son Absalom had risen up and defied him and that he called together an army and they marched on Jerusalem and David not having the forces to take him on decided to park and and leave Jerusalem and leave it to his son Absalom who was coming in and on the way he's saying goodbye to people and there is a man who has brought his Armies that serve David years before and he has been serving David. He is a foreigner. He doesn't really belong in the land but he has made a commitment to David and he's going to stand with it. His name is eat pie. We don't hear much about him. But here is his words very similar to Ruth's words. 2nd Samuel 15 21 but eat I replied to the king as surely as the Lord lives and is the Lord my king lives whether the Lord the king may be wherever the Lord meant the king made be or whether it means life or death there. Will your servant be now. That's a full commitment by somebody who is determined that this is what his life is about. Okay, and that's the commitment that we see that Ruth has towards your mother-in-law.

And what she does will bring a blessing to her mother-in-law. And the other thing that we see and maybe you don't pick it out of this real quickly because it's only a few words she speaks but she says and your God will be my God.

Did you pick that up? Your God will be my God now imagine that.

She has been under the teaching of Naomi and elimelech and perhaps her husband Malin and she has learned something about their God. In fact, she has learned it. So well, she has accepted that over baal-peor that her as she was raised in Moab. That was her God and they worship that God there. She is rejected that God and taken on that relationship with the Living God the true God. And we see that in Psalm 32:6 and 7 it says therefore let everyone who is Godly braids you while you may be found surely when the mighty Waters rise. They will not reach him. You are my Hiding Place you will protect me from trouble and Surround Me with songs of Deliverance. I think about this those words were written by her great-grandson David.

You think she was one of the teachers of the words that passed down to her great-grandson? I don't know but it's interesting that those words were written by her great-grandson. They must have been words that had penetrated her heart and given her a desire to do those things with that were right and true. She was following the leadings of God far better than many of the people of Israel.

She was walking in them. And finally, she was committed. She was committed to the task. She wouldn't give up. She would hold fast to that task no matter what might happen. We see that again in the life of Jonathan that we read earlier with David and Jonathan. There was a commitment of Love towards each other you see David was anointed the future king of Israel. It should have been Jonathan who was to be the follower of his father, you know, he was the eldest son. It should have been him to be king and yet he knew that David was going to be king and still love him deeply.

Saul Saul wanted to kill David and yet Dial Jonathan says these words to David 2nd Samuel 2013. But if my father is inclined to harm you may the Lord deal with me being ever so severely if I do not let you know and send you away safely. May the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. Remember God was with saw. the king until he disobeyed him. But he wants God to be with David as he had been with his father that's commitment and later on. We see him coming to David when he's out in the wilderness and really fretting for his wife from Saul's for suit and Jonathan says you're going to be king. And I'm going to be your follower. I'll be second-in-command and I don't mind because that's God's plan and I want God's plan to be sure and so Ruth was committed to the task. They face. She was committed to that task, you know, and that's part of the way. We need to live our lives. We need to be committed to a task in the greatest task of all is the commitment that she had to honor God through her life. You're here for a reason. You know, you may know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and if you do you are still here because God wants to use you and your life in our world today and part of that is allowing your character to be seen in our world. So what difference did it make to root? What blessings did God give to Ruth? Well, as we read through the Book of Ruth, we see some of those blessings and we'll look at those things but blessings from Proverbs 28:20. It says a faithful man will be richly blessed or a faithful woman will be richly blessed but one eager to get rich will not go unpunished. And then we jump back to Ruth chapter 3 verse 10 boaz's still is speaking to a roof and he says these words for she has sought his safety his is covering and he says the Lord bless you my daughter. He replied this kindness is greater than that, which you showed earlier. You have not run after the young men whether rich or poor in other words. She thought to do that which is right and pleasing. And God's blessing came up honoring and we'll take a look at three ways to get first of all she got married, you know, she found that husband in Israel, you know, and that's that's a rich blessing a rich blessing. Ruth 4:13. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and she important blessing. Okay, here she is all alone. She's trying to help her mother-in-law Naomi. It's a difficult thing. She's out gleaning the edges of the fields just to get enough to eat.

And yet here she is getting married to a man who owns those fields. What a blessing. Another Blessing a great blessing particularly for women in in Israel because without a child they wanted people wouldn't be blessed and so in Ruth 4:13 be it says then he went to her and the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. Remember she live with me when she didn't have children, but now God has opened her womb and allowed her to have a son obit. So she has that powerful blessing of sun? huge

and the last thing is that she was a great grandmother to a very important guy. We've mentioned them later David in Ruth 4:17. It says no Aunt Naomi has a son in other words. Her life is being carried on through Ruth. Naomi has a son and they named them obid. He was the father of Jesse the father of David. I think about that David the king when we take a look at the life of David. It leads on two of The Life of Christ. And we fun Matthew 1:5 that Ruth is mentioned. As one of those whom Christ this it was descended from a moabite.

One who was despised? He had becoming one who is honored an image of Jesus Christ. blessings powerful blessings

Yeah, we we look at our society today and there's so many people think of blessings is being you know, all those things. We have all the money we make you know, where we stand in society and all these things and her blessings weren't necessarily in those Realms, but they were powerful blessings none the less. God honors those who honor him. you know, and we need to remember that in our lives in a we're going to struggle from time to time, but we need to keep the focus on the Living God. there are some of you who today perhaps are struggling with well, I don't really feel like I fit or I've I'm I want to change but I just don't have the strength in the power to change I want to do what's right before God, but you know, there are so many other things that are pulling in my life. You know, you're no different than Ruth. She went through those struggles. She had a whole society that was calling her to Worship in a different direction. She chose to worship the Living God. There was a society that was calling her back saying, hey just Live free with us, and she said no I want to be indentured to the one. who I have committed to

God is calling to hearts and lives and it doesn't matter whether your life is right right now or whether you got it together you think? God still wants you he wants that commitment from your life and from my life. You know and if you're struggling and you wonder whether you say you can walk in God's ways. All it takes is a willingness. To say yes, Lord, I commit to you. You know when we're going to have a song to close out the service and if you are feeling God's hand moving in you as it moved in rude to say yeah, I'm going to I'm going to be committed. I'm going to be faithful. I'm going to follow God as you follow God. You know. God wants your life because he wants to give you a life of blessing.

Take a hold of that. respond to the call follow him Let's pray. Call Grace's Father in heaven. We thank you for the life of roof. a life that demonstrates that no matter what might be our background the past doesn't really matter. It's the future that makes the difference.

Father help us to grasp ahold of that and be willing to adjust our lives to look for Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior who is truly the author and Perfecter of our faith. That we might walk in the light that you are and we might truly be a difference-maker in our world today because we love you. Oh Lord change Hearts today help people to respond to you. Define that amazing call for their Lots. Bless us. Oh Lord in this in Jesus name. Amen.