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Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
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Famine, Loss, and Ruth's Unwavering Loyalty 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we start a new book. It's a very short book, 4 chapters, the book of Ruth. It's an old testament love0:21 story that vividly illustrates the redemptive love of Jesus Christ that we find under the new covenant. Verse 12 of chapter 2, the lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God0:33 of Israel under whose wings you have come for refuge. Now for those of you who are looking have been looking for a break from the insanity of unbelief in the cultural and political chaos that it gave birth0:45 to, alright. Here it is. You're gonna enjoy this oasis of romance and redemption. Now this is this account is kinda like a a vintage Hallmark movie that is before Hallmark went woke. Now the0:57 author of this story keeps you on the edge of your seat with the twist and the turns of Ruth and Naomi's venture, and and not a single word is wasted in this short story of tragedy,1:08 faith, hope, and redemption. Now we know when it took place because the first line of the first verse or the first chapter tells us, verse 1, chapter 1, now it came to pass in the days when the1:20 judges ruled that there was a famine in the land that a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went down to dwell in the country of Moab, he, his wife, and 2 sons. Now this took place during that chaotic time of1:32 apostasy during the 300 year period of the judges, and that provides a very stark backdrop to the faithfulness of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz. And this is 1 of the truths1:44 that we can actually glean from this passage and apply to our own lives. Regardless of the backdrop of our day, we don't we should not be defined by it. We should be defined by our1:56 faithfulness to God just as Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz were. Now famine is seen as a judgment from God. So a famine that would cause this family to leave2:08 Bethlehem, which, by the way, Bethlehem means house of bread, to go to Moab, which was the people who descended from Lot's incestuous relationship with his daughter, is is frankly, it's it's really2:20 not surprising given the moral and the spiritual state of Israel at the time. And there was a there was a famine of bread because there was a lack of appetite for the word of God. Now there's2:32 debate over who the author of the book is, Jewish tradition, says that it was Samuel. But others point to the final verse of the book that connects Boaz to to David.2:44 Samuel did anoint David as king, but Samuel did not live to see David as king. I I think it's reasonable to think that Samuel was the author. Verse 2. The name of the man2:55 was Elimelech, and the name of his wife was Naomi. And the names of his 2 sons were Mahlon and Kilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah,3:07 and they went to the country of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband died, and she was left with her 2 sons. Now they took wives of the women of3:19 Moab. The name of 1 was Orpah. The name of the other, Ruth, and they dwelt there about 10 years. Then both Milan and Kilian also died. So the3:31 women survived her 2 sons. So the woman survived her 2 sons and husband. Naomi has 2 daughter daughters in law who are also widowed now.3:43 Naomi has no prospect of help now as a woman in a foreign land, so she decides to return to Bethlehem as she hears that god has given aid to the people ending the famine. Look at verse 6.3:55 Then she arose with her daughters in law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread. Therefore, she went4:07 out from the place where she was and her 2 daughters in law with her, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. And Naomi said to her 2 daughters in law, go. Return each to her4:18 mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. Now her think about this, and it was hard for us to kind of understand the4:30 cultural context at the time, but a widow was in really bad shape. Okay? They didn't have social security. They didn't have the social nets. And, they were I mean, they were taken advantage of.4:42 That's 1 of the reasons we hear repeatedly in scripture when it comes to justice. We hear about the widow and the orphan because they were taken advantage of. Her daughters in law have no real prospect either beyond4:53 poverty and perpetual widowhood if they do return with her because children of Israel were told not to marry women of other nations, not that they abided by that,5:05 but they they were told nonetheless not to. Naomi tries to convince them to return. Orpah does, but Ruth is determined to go with Naomi. Look at verse 14. Then they lifted up their voices and wept again, and5:17 Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. And she said, look, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods. Return after your sister-in-law. Now5:29 this really, I think, is the linchpin of the entire story. Did did you see it? Orpah went back to to the gods of the Moabites. Now the the god of the Moabites, the main5:41 god, the main deity, the main main demonic power was Chemosh. We're gonna see a lot more about Chemosh. So Ruth but Ruth had seen the light.5:53 Alright? Ruth look at what's verse 16. But Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go, and6:04 wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so6:16 to me and more also, if anything but death parts you and me. When she saw that is when Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped speaking to her. She6:28 knew that Ruth's mind was made up. Verse 19. Now the 2 of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it happened when they had come to Bethlehem that all the city was excited because of them. And the women6:40 the women said, is this Naomi? But she said to them, do not call me Naomi, call me Mara, for the almighty has dealt bitterly with me. I went out full,6:52 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. Naomi7:04 sees her plight as what has happened to her, losing her her her husband and her 2 sons as god being against her. Look at what she said in verse 13. Know my daughters for it grieves me7:16 very much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. Now I will say I've read this many, many times. This really jumped out at me this time as I was reading this passage. Yes. Naomi had7:28 had suffered the loss of her husband, her 2 sons, and her future did not look bright. As I mentioned earlier, widows were helpless. She had nothing. By her statement, she thought that this evil that had7:40 befallen her was from the hand of god. Judgment possibly for leaving Bethlehem and going to Moab. But what god was putting into place was7:51 an amazing story of redemption that would lead to Jesus Christ himself, the redeemer of all mankind. I mean, this is this is the main the the difficulty that she8:03 was experiencing. And so I I I just shared that with you this morning because maybe you're going through something, and you just feel like, man, I just feel like the Lord he's either not protecting me or his hand is8:14 against me. Maybe God is putting into place something amazing. If you continue to follow him and seek him and obey him,8:27 that that moment will come when all of the pieces fall into place like this amazing story. So they return. Right? That sets up chapter 2. There was a relative, a Naomi's husband, aBoaz's Kindness: Refuge Under God's Wings 8:39 man of great wealth of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. So Ruth, the Moabitess, said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may8:51 find favor. And she said to her, go my way go, my daughter. So they had to glean. That is they when they would harvest their fields, they would do it kind of in circles and the edges and the stuff that fell to9:03 the ground. This was a part of the, really, the the system to aid the impoverished. This was, if you will, the welfare system of the day. The the those that needed help would have to9:14 go out and collect it. They would have to glean. They would go out and they would and and the the the owners, the the the farmers were told not to to pick up anything that fell to the ground. That was for the gleaners,9:26 and the corners were for the gleaners. So she go out she goes out to find a field. Alright? Then she went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she hap to come to the part of the field belonging to9:38 Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Now she didn't know this at this point. Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, the lord be with you, and they answered, the lord bless you. Then Boaz said9:49 to his servants who was in charge of the reapers, whose young woman is this? So the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered and said, it is the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the country of10:01 Moab. And he she said, please, let me glean and gather from the reapers gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued from morning until now. She10:13 though she rested a little in the house. 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,10:26 but stay close by my young women. 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 from10:38 what the young men have drawn. See, a young attractive woman was at risk. Remember, this was the period of the lawlessness of the judges. Verse 10. So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and10:50 said to him, why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? And Boaz answered and said to her, it has been reported, fully reported to me, all that you have11:01 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 know11:13 before. Now look what he says next. Okay? Listen. Look at verse 12. The lord repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the lord god of Israel under whose wings you have11:25 come for refuge. Remember what I said before that that that verse that was the linchpin of the whole story? She sought god. She came under the provision and the protection of God. Now remember this phrase, under whose11:36 wings you have come for refuge, because we're gonna see it again. Verse 17. So she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about, ephah of barley. Now this is about 2 weeks'11:48 worth of food, a very good result for a day's work. So Ruth goes home and, and and tells Naomi where she's been, whose field she was in, and they just have this great conversation12:00 as she had kept back some of the lunch that she had given, and she gives this to Naomi. Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, blessed be he of the Lord, who has not forsaken his kindness to the12:12 living and the dead? And Naomi said to her, this man is a relation of ours, 1 of our close relatives. Now before we stop today, because we're gonna have a lot more in chapters 3 and 4,12:24 but 1 more piece of information that makes this story even more intriguing and fascinating, and let me just read from, doctor Haley's handbook, a12:36 comment on this portion of Ruth, which I think helps put it all in context. Boaz was the son of Rahab, the Jericho harlot.12:48 Thus alright? Don't miss this. David's great grandmother was a Moabite. His great grandfather, half Canaanite, outside blood to13:00 form the chosen family within the chosen nation. Just a a a picture of what was to come of a messiah for all nations. I mean, you can't make this up.13:12 What an amazing, amazing story. Father, we thank you for your word and for for the kindness we see here. And and, lord, even when we don't understand what is happening13:24 around us, lord, you are at work putting into place the pieces for those who will faithfully follow you, lord, to use them in ways that they never envisioned or imagined. Lord,13:35 that reach into eternity. That's what we see here with Ruth and Naomi. We thank you for this story, Lord, and we just pray that the holy spirit would continue to lead us on this journey, opening our eyes and our13:47 understanding of the principles of your word and how they apply to our lives in this world around us. For we ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and let me just give you another13:57 reminder. We do have a new resource available as we turn next to first Samuel. If you're interested in that resource, text Samuel to 6 7 7 4 2. That's Samuel to 614:09 7 7 4 2. Alright. Until next time. Keep standing14:13 on the word. Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along14:25 in just a few minutes a day, you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash14:37 bible.In this video 0:00 Famine, Loss, and Ruth's Unwavering Loyalty8:36 Boaz's Kindness: Refuge Under God's Wings
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