Ruth: Hidden Providence
Notes
Transcript
I. Introduction and Context Recap 🌍
I. Introduction and Context Recap 🌍
The Setting: DARK-INTERIM PERIOD— JUDGES
No KING/PRIMARY LEADER — BETWEEN JOSHUA & TIME of SAMUEL/SAUL/DAVID
The Problem: "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
👀 The Solution: God was STILL @ WORK BEHIND the SCENES!!👀
************
Transition: Tonight, we'll GO THROUGH WHOLE BOOK of RUTH…
… BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATES this IDEA…
BEGIN: READING 1:1-5.
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
II. Passage Overview
II. Passage Overview
A. Ruth Chapter 1: Emptiness and a Great Return 💔
A. Ruth Chapter 1: Emptiness and a Great Return 💔
Setting: Famine & Move Ruth 1:1-5
Setting: Famine & Move Ruth 1:1-5
Ruth 1:1–6 (ESV)
1 In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.
2 The name of the man was Elimelech and the name of his wife Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They went into the country of Moab and remained there.
3 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.
4 These took Moabite wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about ten years,
5 and both Mahlon and Chilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband.
(V1) Setting: Time of Judges
(v1) Problem: FAMINE!
---------------------
FAMILY LEAVES PROMISED LAND—HEADS to MOAB
**SEE P.P. PIC!**
---------------------
MOVE DOESN’T GO WELL. 🥹
ELIMELECH DIES
SONS MARRY— 10 YRS PASS —THEY DIE TOO
Result: 3 WIDOWS…
Focus: NAOMI’S LIFE RESEMBLES JOB’S—LOST EVERYTHING...
GOD’S WORD = HONEST ABOUT the HARDSHIPS of LIFE—IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY…
************
Transition: WHAT DO YOU DO??
READ: 6—14
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Rising Action: Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi Ruth 1:6-14
Rising Action: Ruth’s Loyalty to Naomi Ruth 1:6-14
Ruth 1:6–14 (ESV)
6 Then she arose with her daughters-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.
7 So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah.
8 But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.
9 The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept.
10 And they said to her, “No, we will return with you to your people.”
11 But Naomi said, “Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?
12 Turn back, my daughters; go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say I have hope, even if I should have a husband this night and should bear sons,
13 would you therefore wait till they were grown? Would you therefore refrain from marrying? No, my daughters, for it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me.”
14 Then they lifted up their voices and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her.
RUMOR HAS IT— FOOD in ISRAEL— PLANNING to RETURN...
NAOMI SENDS DAUGHTER-IN-LAWS AWAY… GET REMARRIED in HOMELAND
Background: Widowhood
Background: Widowhood
Quote: “After her husband’s death, normally a widow had to rely on her sons for support; if she had none, she might have to sell herself into slavery, resort to prostitution, or die.”[1]
NAOMI COULDN’T CARE for THEM—THEY WERE ALL GOING to BE DESTITUTE…
ORPAH LEAVES
RUTH CLINGS...
************
Transition: We’ll see HOW NAOMI RESPONDS …
Read v15-18
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Partial Resolution: Ruth’s Loyalty Ruth 1:15-18
Partial Resolution: Ruth’s Loyalty Ruth 1:15-18
Ruth 1:15–18 (ESV)
15 And she said, “See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law.”
16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.
17 Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you.”
18 And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more.
NAOMI TRIES to SEND RUTH AWAY
=> RUTH WAS UNWILLING to GO—LOYAL to NAOMI.
✨Focus: COMMITTING NOT JUST to NAOMI—BUT to HER GOD!
---------------------
(V17) **NOTICE WHAT RUTH SAYS ABOUT GOD**
Background: REMEMBER— “LORD” = YHWH,, GOD’S PERSONAL NAME!
RUTH — CONFESSES YAHWEH is TRUE GOD!
---------------------
Apologetic/C.C.: ONE STRUGGLE—MANY HAVE W/ JOSHUA & JUDGES — KILLING of CANAANITES
SOME ACCUSE ISRAEL of ETHNIC CLEANSING
Focus: SCRIPTURE PRESENTS it as JUDGMENT on SIN—NOT DESTRUCTION of CERTAIN PEOPLES for ETHNIC REASONS
RAHAB = SPARED
RUTH— PUTS HER TRUST in COVENANT-GOD of ISRAEL—VOWING to SERVE HIM!
👀 **Note: RUTH = REPEATEDLY CALLED “RUTH the MOABITESS”!
Quote: one scholar has said CONCERNING OUTSIDERS… “if they will cast their lot in with the people of Israel and commit themselves to Yahweh their God, they too may find a home in the covenant community.”[1]|
************
Transition: HEADING BACK HOME—
— SEE HOW THIS GOES
READ: V.19-22
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Conclusion: Naomi’s Return & Bitterness Ruth 1:19-22
Conclusion: Naomi’s Return & Bitterness Ruth 1:19-22
Ruth 1:19–22 (ESV)
19 So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. And when they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them. And the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20 She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me.
21 I went away full, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabite her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
NAOMI RETURNED EMPTY
“IS THIS NAOMI??” … NO… “IT’S MARA.”
NAOMI: PLEASANT
MARA: BITTER
---------------------
✨ LIFE = HARD for NAOMI— SHE UNDERSTOOD GOD was SOVEREIGN—
— BUT SHE WASN’T HAPPY W/ HER LOT—JUSTIFIABLY SO!
Background: ARRIVE HOME in SPRINGTIME—LATE APRIL—TIME of BARLEY HARVEST…
************
Transition: WILL SHE CATCH ANY BREAKS?
READ: 2:1-7
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 --- 45 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
B. Ruth Chapter 2: A Providential Meeting and Abundant Kindness 🌾
B. Ruth Chapter 2: A Providential Meeting and Abundant Kindness 🌾
Setting: Meeting Boaz Ruth 2:1-7
Setting: Meeting Boaz Ruth 2:1-7
Ruth 2:1–7 (ESV)
1 Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3 So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.”
5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
(v1) INTRODUCED to BOAZ BY NARRATOR B4 WE MEET HIM!
---------------------
✨(v2) RUTH DETERMINES to GO GLEAN in FIELDS… **WHERE SHE FINDS FAVOR**
Background: GLEANING = ESSENTIALLY SCAVENGING LEFTOVERS
Background: GLEANING = ESSENTIALLY SCAVENGING LEFTOVERS
MOSAIC LAW HAD STIPULATIONS — DON’T EXHAUSTIVELY HARVEST — BENEFITS to MARGINALIZED/ POOR
Leviticus 23:22 (ESV)📜
22 “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 24:19 (ESV)📜
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
---------------------
(v3) SHE “HAPPENED” UPON a CERTAIN FIELD— OWNED BY BOAZ
WE’VE ALREADY HEARD:
GOOD GUY
RELATIVE of ELIMELECH
---------------------
Exhort: I DON’T BELIEVE in COINCIDENCES… I BELIEVE in PROVIDENCE 💡
GOD = AT WORK in OUR LIVES…MORE THAN WE’LL EVER KNOW.
Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)
9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
Testimony: SUNDAY @ PARK W/ TRAIN—SMILE of GOD.
---------------------
RUTH = GLEANING
BOAZ COMES to CHECK on THINGS—NOTICES HER—HEARS of HER HARD WORK/DEDICATION
************
Transition: WHAT DOES HE THINK of HER?
READ: v8-13
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Rising Action: Boaz’ Favor on Ruth Ruth 2:8-13
Rising Action: Boaz’ Favor on Ruth Ruth 2:8-13
Ruth 2:8–13 (ESV)
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.
9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
10 Then she fell on her face, bowing 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?”
11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
12 The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!”
13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
BOAZ = INCREDIBLY KIND to RUTH
GIVES BLESSING
CHARGES SERVANTS—LEAVE HER ALONE!
---------------------
(V10) WHY HAVE I FOUND FAVOR?? (Recap: PRAYER of V2)
Reason: BOAZ HEARD of HER KINDNESS to NAOMI...
MIGHT HAVE BEEN a MOABITE,, BUT SHE ACTED LIKE a MODEL ISRAELITE
---------------------
✨(v12) BOAZ BLESSES HER— RECOGNIZES,, SHE’S COME to TAKE REFUGE in YAHWEH—
(v13) AGAIN RUTH NOTES FAVOR …
************
Transition: WE’LL SEE HOW the REST of HER WORKDAY GOES...
READ: v14-23
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Resolution: Boaz’ Provision for Ruth & Naomi Ruth 2:14-23
Resolution: Boaz’ Provision for Ruth & Naomi Ruth 2:14-23
Ruth 2:14–23 (ESV)
14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
15 When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.
16 And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
21 And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’ ”
22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”
23 So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
RUTH = INVITED to DINNER
(v16) BOAZ COMMANDS—DROP SOME BUNDLES for HER—NOT JUST LEFTOVERS
---------------------
(V17-18) RUTH RETURNS HOME—GREATLY SUCCESSFUL DAY
✨(V20) NAOMI PUTS FORTH: HE is a REDEEMER!
---------------------
Background on Kinsman Redeemer:
Background on Kinsman Redeemer:
IN ISRAEL—KINSMAN REDEEMER = CLOSE RELATIVE, COME to AID of FAMILY MEMBER
4 PRIMARY DUTIES:
BUY RELATIVE BACK from SLAVERY/INDENTURED SERVITUDE—FREE THEM
BUY BACK SOLD LAND—KEEP in FAMILY for INHERITANCE
MAN DIED WITHOUT CHILDREN—REDEEMER WOULD MARRY WIDOW & RAISE UP CHILDREN
AVENGE BLOOD—IF RELATIVE WAS KILLED
✨Focus: BOAZ = CLOSE KIN of ELIMELECH (NAOMI’S DECEASED HUSBAND) && COULD BE the SOLUTION to THEIR PLIGHT!✨
************
Transition: WITH THIS,, STORY TAKES MAJOR TURN
READ: 3:1-5
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 --- 26 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
C. Ruth Chapter 3: A Bold Request at the Threshing Floor 💍
C. Ruth Chapter 3: A Bold Request at the Threshing Floor 💍
Setting/Rising Action: Naomi’s Plan Ruth 3:1-5
Setting/Rising Action: Naomi’s Plan Ruth 3:1-5
Ruth 3:1–5 (ESV)
1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
5 And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”
✨Focus: NAOMI CONCOCTS PLAN— TO BRING THEM SECURITY
RUTH = PROBABLY LATE 20’S
PLAN: APPROACH BOAZ in PRIVATE & PROPOSE MARRIAGE…
---------------------
Background: WINNOWING GRAIN & THRESHING FLOOR
**SEE P.P. PIC!!**
AFTER WORK is DONE
HE’S FED & RESTED
GO to HIM—AWAKE HIM— SEE WHAT HAPPENS
---------------------
✨**Disclaimer: UNCOVER FEET—SEEN BY SOME to BE EUPHEMISM—BUT PROBABLY NOT HERE...
SHE’S UNCOVERING HIM to MAKE HIM COLD—AWAKE HIM— PRIVATE AUDIENCE
Bold: SHE’S a FOREIGNER & WIDOW—NOTHING SHE BRINGS to the TABLE
************
Transition: WE’LL SEE HOW NAOMI’S PLAN TURNS OUT...
READ: V6-13
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Climax: Ruth & Boaz at the Threshing Floor Ruth 3:6-13
Climax: Ruth & Boaz at the Threshing Floor Ruth 3:6-13
Ruth 3:6–13 (ESV)
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.
7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
8 At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
10 And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
12 And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.
13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
AS PLANNED—RUTH COMES to BOAZ in the NIGHT…
✨(v9) SPREAD YOUR WINGS— BRING ME UNDER YOUR PROTECTION/COVERING = MARRIAGE PROPOSAL…
Quote: one scholar has explained: “Ruth is hereby requesting (even demanding) that Boaz take her under his wing and assume responsibility for her security.”
THIS = CONTINUED KINDNESS BY RUTH to NAOMI!
SHE’S MARRYING THIS GUY—LARGELY on NAOMI’S BEHALF—CONTINUING FAMILY LINE,, RATHER THAN GOING HER OWN WAY
---------------------
(v12) One Problem: NEARER RELATIVE EXISTS...
LAW GAVE PRIORITY to CLOSEST RELATIVES FIRST
IF HE REFUSES—BOAZ WILL DO IT!
************
Transition: WE’LL SEE THEM PART WAYS...
READ: V14-18
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Partial resolution: Ruth & Boaz Part Ways Ruth 3:14-18
Partial resolution: Ruth & Boaz Part Ways Ruth 3:14-18
Ruth 3:14–18 (ESV)
14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,
17 saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’ ”
18 She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”
BOAZ CONTINUES to SHOW UNUSUAL KINDNESS to RUTH & NAOMI...
RUTH DEPARTS
NAOMI = CERTAIN MATTER WILL BE SETTLED SHORTLY…
************
Transition: WE’LL SEE if SHE’S RIGHT!
READ: 4:1-6
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 --- 15 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
D. Ruth Chapter 4: Redemption and Restoration 🙌
D. Ruth Chapter 4: Redemption and Restoration 🙌
Setting/Rising Action: Boaz & The Redeemer Meet Ruth 4:1-6
Setting/Rising Action: Boaz & The Redeemer Meet Ruth 4:1-6
Ruth 4:1–6 (ESV)
1 Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.
2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
3 Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
4 So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
6 Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
JUST SO HAPPENS—BOAZ MEETS the REDEEMER RIGHT AWAY
(v3) BOAZ MENTIONS LAND BEING SOLD & NEED for REDEMPTION
BUT to ACQUIRE LAND = TO ACQUIRE RUTH
-------------
(v6) MAN = CONCERNED THERE WON’T BE ENOUGH to GO AROUND,, REFUSES OFFER...
************
Transition: WILL BOAZ OWN UP to HIS WORD?
READ: V7-12
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Rising Action: Boaz Redeems Ruth Ruth 4:7-12
Rising Action: Boaz Redeems Ruth Ruth 4:7-12
Ruth 4:7–12 (ESV)
7 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
8 So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.
10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
11 Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
12 and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”
RUTH = TAKEN to BE BOAZ’ WIFE— GIVING HER & NAOMI SECURITY — KEEPING ELIMELECH’S LINE in ISRAEL
PEOPLE BEAR WITNESS & PRONOUNCE BLESSING… OFFSPRING from the LORD (V12)
************
Transition: WE’LL SEE the LORD DO JUST THAT...
READ V13-22...
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
Climax & Resolution: Ruth & Boaz Marry—A Son is Born Ruth 4:13-22
Climax & Resolution: Ruth & Boaz Marry—A Son is Born Ruth 4:13-22
Ruth 4:13–22 (ESV)
13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And he went in to her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel!
15 He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse.
17 And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,
19 Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab,
20 Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,
21 Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed,
22 Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David.
YAHWEH GIVES THEM a SON—JUST as PEOPLE PRAYED!
NAOMI’S PLIGHT HAS ENDED—AND HER STORY ENDS W/ PLEASANTNESS AGAIN
Conclusion: BEST DAUGHTER-IN-LAW,, GRANDSON—FAMILY = RESTORED..
---------------------
Fascinating Background: DID YOU EVER NOTICE HOW LONG RUTH & 1ST HUSBAND WERE MARRIED?
10 YEARS!
10 YEARS W/ NO KIDS...
NO KIDS WAS the PROBLEM that PUT THEM in THIS PLIGHT—NO SON to PROVIDE...
---------------------
BUT NOW— A SON is BORN — HAND of GOD!
✨Focus: NOT JUST ANY SON— BUT OBED
(Q) WHY is HE IMPORTANT? — DAVID’S GRANDPA
THIS is GOD’S CHOSEN LINE.💡
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 --- 5 minutes left---🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢
III. Key Takeaways from the Book of Ruth ✅
III. Key Takeaways from the Book of Ruth ✅
RUTH = BEAUTIFUL STORY of LOVE & FAITHFULNESS & ALL THAT...
Focus: WHAT WE CAN’T MISS is GOD’S HIDDEN PROVIDENCE… 💡
Background: REMEMBER—TIME of JUDGES—NOTHING is GOING GOOD!
BUT GOD’S PLANS ARE MOVING FORWARD!!
---------------------
Genesis 3:15 (ESV)
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 22:18 (ESV)
18 and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”
Genesis 49:10 (ESV)
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
GOD HAD a PLAN B4 TIME BEGAN to BRING ABOUT the INCARNATION of HIS SON!😮
=> THIS = the CHOSEN LINE!!
---------------------
👉👉**EVERY SEEMINGLY RANDOM EVENT in RUTH = ORCHESTRATED BY GOD’S PROVIDENCE**
FAMINE
MARRIAGE of RUTH
DEATH of FAMILY MEMBERS
BARLEY HARVEST/END of FAMINE
RETURNING to BETHLEHEM
**HAPPENED** to BE in FIELD of BOAZ
REDEEMER REFUSED RUTH
ALL GOD’S PLAN.
ALL DURING the DARKEST DAYS…
---------------------
Exhort: LET US TAKE COURAGE— GOD is ALWAYS at WORK👣
ALL THINGS ACCORDING to the COUNSEL of HIS WILL...
ALL THINGS TOGETHER for GOOD...
---------------------
II. ULTIMATELY BRINGING ABOUT JESUS CHRIST— OUR KINSMAN REDEEMER
TOOK on FLESH—BECOMING LIKE US
to DIE in OUR PLACE
FREE US from OUR BONDAGE to SIN
Ephesians 1:7–10 (ESV)
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
---------------------
GOD is ALWAYS @ WORK BEHIND the SCENES in the LIVES of THOSE WHO LOVE HIM/CALLED ACCORDING to HIS PURPOSE...👀
LITTLE ACTS of FAITHFULNESS CONTRIBUTE to the FULFILLMENT of GOD’S PLANS…
RUTH’S KINDNESS & DILIGENCE
BOAZ’ KINDNESS…
GOD HAS a PLAN— HE WILL ACCOMPLISH IT— EVEN in the DARKEST TIMES… & HE CHOOSES to USE ORDINARY PEOPLE LIKE US!!🤯
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
🤔Closing Questions and Thoughts 🤔
🤔Closing Questions and Thoughts 🤔
Discussion: CAN ANYONE THINK of EXAMPLES— of God's "hidden providence" in your own life?
?? THOUGHTS/QUESTIONS ??
Close in Prayer!
