Ruth: A Life of Noble Character

The week of October 7, 2019 will be remembered as the week that the entire state of California, 37 million people, was placed in a state of panic. Stores ran out of drinking water, retailers ran out of electrical generators. Restaurant owners were faced with the threat of losing thousands of dollars of inventory. All because electrical utility giant PG&E threatened to turn power off all over the state to avoid the risk of wildfires caused by high winds and dry conditions. Traffic accidents were reported due to traffic lights not working. Cell coverage, internet and television access were all shut down due to a lack of power across the state.

The New York Times wrote, “Californians Confront a Blackout Induced to Prevent Blazes”. KRON4 reported that over one million people were without power although the more accurate figure may be 600,000. So many people tried to access the website that the Washington post reported, PG&E shut down power. Too many Internet users shut down its website. Even though they doubled their servers, the utility said traffic levels were eight times what it expected.

PG&E shut down power. Too many Internet users shut down its website.

The utility said traffic levels were eight times what it expected.

The San Jose power outage shows us two things - that PG&E has more power than we may have realized and second, that power to have no power was completely beyond our control.

E literally has the power to have no power

Also this week, on the other side of the world, the islamic country of Turkey began attacks against Kurdish islamic rebels in Syria. And this brings the very real threat of innocent people being killed, many of whom identify as Christian.

Aljazeera Online News reported this: Ecuador unrest: What led to the mass protests?

For more than a week, mass anti-government demonstrations over fuel subsidy cuts have paralysed parts of the country. by Kimberley Brown10 Oct 2019

by Kimberley Brown10 Oct 2019

Ecuador sees 10th day of anti-austerity protests today Protesters infuriated by killings yesterday Quito, Ecuador - Mass anti-government protests have paralysed Ecuadoran transportation and other services for more than a week.

Chilean astrophysicists on alien life, Mars and space explorationtodayTwo dead as migrant boat sinks off MexicotodayEcuador sees 10th day of anti-austerity proteststodayEcuador emergency: Protesters infuriated by killingsyesterday

Quito, Ecuador - Mass anti-government protests have paralysed Ecuadoran transportation and other services for more than a week.

Protesters are angry over President Lenin Moreno's decision to cut decades-old fuel subsidies and implement tax and labour reforms.

In Ecuador, the government had to flee for their lives after attempting

the government fled the city.

And so, while PG&E in California and battles in the middle east and South America may not seem to be related, there really is a connection here.

We live in a world of pain and suffering and evil and uncertainty. And that begs the question, if we are not in control, WHO is? And from a Christian worldview there is only one answer: God is in control. But we also understand that in this life it will not always seem that God is in control.

And that is why we are beginning a 6 week series from the Old Testament Book of Ruth.

The story of Ruth reminds us that the Lord is quietly and powerfully at work.

And this week we will begin with an introduction, a reminder that there have been desperate times in the past, there has been the appearance of evil winning over good in the past, there has been a sense of hopelessness in the past, BUT GOD is at work, sovereignly working in the lives of his faithful children and powerfully building His Kingdom for His glory. And that is a message we all need to hear.

And so please turn with me to the 8th book of the Bible.

An introduction to Ruth:

Ruth is the main character but she is not the star. The hero of this book is a man by the name of Boaz. The villain, in my opinion, is her mother in law, Naomi. But Boaz is not your typical hero and Naomi is not your typical villain. Because what sets them both apart is their faith. Boaz’s great faith and Naomi’s lack of faith. Boaz’s noble character and Naomi’s lack of character. Boaz’s consistent character and, fortunately, Naomi’s struggling faith and character at the beginning of the book and her restored faith and changed character at the end of the book.

(1) The Book Judges and Ruth:

Ruth 1:1 ESV

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.

Judges is named after an interesting collection of individuals who led Israel after Joshua’s death until the rise of the monarchy under Samuel (up to about 1050 B.C.). In this time of national decline, despite their promise to keep the covenant () the people turned from the Lord and began to worship other gods. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 21:25). A pattern repeats throughout the book: 1) the people abandoned the Lord; 2) God punished them by raising up a foreign power to oppress them; 3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and 4) God raised up a deliverer, or judge, for them.

Judges is named after an interesting collection of individuals who led Israel after Joshua’s death until the rise of the monarchy under Samuel (up to about 1050 B.C.). In this time of national decline, despite their promise to keep the covenant () the people turned from the Lord and began to worship other gods. “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (17:6; 21:25). A pattern repeats throughout the book: 1) the people abandoned the Lord; 2) God punished them by raising up a foreign power to oppress them; 3) the people cried out to God for deliverance; and 4) God raised up a deliverer, or judge, for them. The author of the book is unknown, although some Jewish tradition ascribes it to Samuel.

To understand the Book of Judges let’s look at two verses:

Judges 17:6 ESV

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Judges 17:6

Judges 21:25 ESV

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

These verses are a summary . The downward spiral of the judges. Things are getting worse and worse.

The pinnacle of wickedness. Judges and the downward spiral - everyone did that which was right in their own eyes, there was no king. The concubine.

Judges

And so how can God bring out anything good from a time of such dplorable wickedness? Let’s keep going.

Turkey attacks Syria

(2) The nation of Moab and Ruth:

We live in a world of pain and suffering and evil and uncertainty. But God is in control.

The story of Ruth reminds us that the Lord is quietly and powerfully at work.

John MacArthur - Ruth - the Redeemer sermon - the curse on Moab

God’s promises to the world

MacArthur edited: Ruth was a Moabite. She lived in the country called Moab. She was not an Israelite, not a Jew. She lived in Moab, which is east of the land of Israel, across the Dead Sea in a barren desert area. Moab was cursed by God and, consequently, Ruth, being a Moabitess, was under that curse. Moab was cursed by God, because Moab rejected the true and living God. Moab was an idolatrous nation, and Moab was the perennial enemy of Israel. That nation was constantly hostile to the people of God and to God.

Moabites were the descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham, and his oldest daughter after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Incest between a father and a daughter produced Moab.

Centuries later, the Jews suffered opposition from one of the kings of Moab by the name of Balak.

And were you to read to 25, you would remember that Balak wanted to curse Israel. And so he found a prophet for hire by the name of Balaam, and he hired Balaam to pronounce a curse on Israel. But God turned Balaam’s curses into blessings. But in order to get the payment from Balak, Balaam convinced the king to send woman in to the Israelite camp and to seduce the men and convince them to engage in idolatrous worship.

For many years, Moab oppressed Israel during the period of the judges, if you read Judges chapter 3, at least 18 years of direct oppression by Moab against Israel during the period of the judges. Now, the period of the judges was before Israel had a king - before Saul, David, Solomon.

In addition, Moab was wickedly idolatrous. Moab worshiped a god by the name of Chemosh, and one of the characteristics of worshipping Chemosh was child sacrifice. It was customary for those who worshiped this god Chemosh to offer their infant children as sacrifices on an altar, burnt offerings. First Kings chapter 11; 2 Kings chapter 3 describe this.

So Moab, on and off again, was troublesome to Israel. Moab was idolatrous, rejected the true God, and was generally an enemy of Israel. And, as I said, they had a horrible beginning, cursed from the very outset, because Moab was a child of the grossest kind of incest. Beyond that, Moab worshiped a god by the name of Chemosh, and one of the characteristics of worshipping Chemosh was child sacrifice. It was customary for those who worshiped this god Chemosh to offer their infant children as sacrifices on an altar, burnt offerings. First Kings chapter 11; 2 Kings chapter 3 describes that.

And so because of their rejection of the true God, because of idolatry, because of child sacrifice, because of their persecution of Israel, God pronounced a curse on Moab.

The key verse is

Deuteronomy 23:3 ESV

“No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever,

And Ruth was a Moabite. And so how does she get a Book of the Bible named after herself? Let’s keep going.

(3) The wickedness of Judah and Ruth:

Judah and Tamar -

Genesis 38:26 ESV

26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

If Judah and Tamar were so messed up, how in the world did their son end up being in the family line of the Lord Jesus? Let’s keep going:

(4) The sovereignty of God and Ruth:

The

The lineage of David in ; 18-22

The characters of Ruth

Ruth is the main character but she is not the star. The hero of this book is a man by the name of Boaz. The villain, in my opinion, is her mother in law, Naomi. But Boaz is not your typical hero and Naomi is not your typical villain. Because what sets them both apart is their faith. Boaz’s great faith and Naomi’s lack of faith. Boaz’s noble character and Naomi’s lack of character. Boaz’s consistent character and, fortunately, Naomi’s struggling faith and character at the beginning of the book and her restored faith and changed character at the end of the book.

The nation of Moab

Genesis 38:

The noble woman of .

Ruth the Moabite, Tamar acting like a prostitute, Judah the wicked wretch.

What are we to think when everything looks so wrong, so hopeless?!!!

Written by Hildai the female prophet?

Let me say it again:

What are you seeing in the world today? What is going on in your life? Are you trusting God to pull everything together as you faithfully trust him and live for him.

Let’s see together how Ruth and Boaz show us the joy and the blessings that come from living a life of noble character.

Conclusion:

Jesus begins a parable on prayer with these words:

Luke 18:1 ESV

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Application:

What are you seeing in the world today? What is going on in your life? Are you trusting God to pull everything together as you faithfully trust him and live for him.

Let’s see together how Ruth and Boaz show us the joy and the blessings that come from living a life of noble character. Let’s see how the Lord can take a life with uncertain value and do something marvelous.

A father, before he died, said to his son: “this is a watch your grandfather gave me and is more than 200 years old. But before I give it to you, go to the watch shop and tell him I want to sell it and see how much he offers you”.

He went and then came back to his father and said, "the watchmaker offered 5 dollars because it's old”.

He said to him: “go to the coffee shop”.

He went and then came back and said: “He offered $5 father”.

“Go to the museum and show that watch”.

He went then came back and said to his father, “They offered me a million dollars for this piece”.

The father said: “I wanted to let you know that the right place values you in the right way.

Don't find yourself in the wrong place and get angry if you are not valued.

Those that know your value are those who appreciate you - don't stay in a place where nobody sees your value".

Know your worth.

Ruth: A Life of Noble Character

Here’s what I want you to think about during this message:

How can God work when things look so bleak? How can God accomplish good when there is so much bad? How can God be glorified in a world that glorifies evil?

And then I want you to think about this:

A sovereign God has a plan that can never be stopped by bad people, evil times, or hopeless situations.

God is quietly at work, graciously working behind the scenes so that His glory might be revealed and our faith might be strengthened and your hope in the future restored.

4 Key Things you need to know before you read the Book of Ruth

How can God work when things look so bleak? How can God accomplish good when there is so much bad? How can God be glorified in a world that glorifies evil?

How can God work when things look so bleak? How can God accomplish good when there is so much bad? How can God be glorified in a world that glorifies evil?

And then I want you to think about this:

The truth is this: Our sovereign God has a plan that can never be stopped. Not by bad people, not during evil times, not even in hopeless situations.

God is quietly at work, graciously working behind the scenes so that His glory might be revealed and our faith might be strengthened and your hope in the future restored.