1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,800 I appreciated that story, Jennifer. 2 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:20,640 I was thinking about those shark's teeth in southwest South Dakota, eastern Wyoming. 3 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:24,880 They have shark's teeth all over the ground. 4 00:00:24,880 --> 00:00:30,600 In some places you can find them. 5 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:36,200 Several of us were up by a railroad bed. 6 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,760 We were looking for shark's teeth. 7 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,760 We found them. 8 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:49,480 I remember asking my friend, Dr. Chuck Franklin, what kind of sharks do you think these were 9 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:50,480 from? 10 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:53,440 He said, high desert sharks. 11 00:00:53,440 --> 00:01:02,560 Anyway, I digress and I haven't even started. 12 00:01:02,560 --> 00:01:12,360 We're in a strange world, a very strange world where it seems like the whole world goes according 13 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:19,680 to the emotions of the time. 14 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:29,920 So much of politics today seems based on emotion, certainly not on logic. 15 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:42,040 So much of our world, whether it's family relations, governments, the things that, the 16 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:53,800 policies that are put into place, so much of it seems to be based on just pure emotion. 17 00:01:53,800 --> 00:02:01,200 And one, in fact, logic is often turned upside down. 18 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:07,960 It's just, I don't know, maybe you've thought like I have that we're in a crazy world. 19 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:18,200 I think it's interesting to see how things work when we follow God's principles. 20 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:27,120 And there is a book in your Bible, and it's in mine, that's a story, the whole book. 21 00:02:27,120 --> 00:02:29,680 It's only four chapters. 22 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:40,320 And it's about a family where things may have started out on the basis of emotion, but they 23 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:49,480 turned into behaving on principle. 24 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:57,480 And it's fascinating to me to look at it because it's so different in some ways from today's 25 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:06,360 world and yet the people were so much like us in so many ways. 26 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:11,000 It's found in the book of Ruth. 27 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,760 Comes right after 2 Samuel. 28 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:17,440 There's been a lot of discussion about who wrote this beautiful story. 29 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:25,840 I thought it was King David himself, but nobody seems to think that but me. 30 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,320 Probably they think it was Samuel himself wrote it. 31 00:03:30,320 --> 00:03:38,560 It all starts with a man, a husband, and his wife, Naomi. 32 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:51,800 Elimelech was the husband, Naomi the wife, and they had two sons, Malan and Chilion. 33 00:03:51,800 --> 00:04:00,280 And if you're into biblical names, we like biblical names in our home, but I don't think 34 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:08,000 we ever thought of naming either of our children after any of these, except Naomi is still 35 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,760 used today. 36 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:18,920 Ruth, interestingly, does not have a Hebrew name. 37 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:21,240 Can you guess why? 38 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:24,000 She wasn't Hebrew. 39 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,600 She was Moabitess. 40 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:31,580 And she doesn't come into the story until we get into it a little ways. 41 00:04:31,580 --> 00:04:39,320 It all starts with dad and mom and two sons, and apparently they were farmers and things 42 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:40,760 weren't going well. 43 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:43,520 They had a dry spell. 44 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,440 The Bible says they had a famine. 45 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:49,880 That's a bad dry spell. 46 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:58,320 And so they were trying to decide what to do, and they heard that over in Moab they 47 00:04:58,320 --> 00:05:02,120 had food. 48 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:07,800 Apparently Moab was getting enough rain that they were able, and by the way, Moab today, 49 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:09,880 there is no country called Moab. 50 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,000 Today we call it Jordan. 51 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,720 And the Moabites don't seem to be around. 52 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:26,400 But the people of Jordan have that land, and it is today, well, to some degree, what it 53 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:27,400 was then. 54 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,800 It's a good land for sheep and cattle and that kind of thing. 55 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:42,080 Back then it was also good for dry land farming, and they grew quite a bit of, you know, there 56 00:05:42,080 --> 00:05:43,660 was food available. 57 00:05:43,660 --> 00:05:46,480 It was being grown in Moab. 58 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:48,880 And so they decided to go over to Moab. 59 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:58,640 Now whether that was a wise decision or not, I have often wondered why the people of God 60 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,760 would go to Moab. 61 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:09,960 It was a place where we know during the time of, well, from the book of Numbers that when 62 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:17,600 the children of Israel came through there, Balak, the king of Moab, had been very frightened 63 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,280 at the coming of the Israelites. 64 00:06:20,280 --> 00:06:24,140 Even though they did not threaten him, he didn't trust them. 65 00:06:24,140 --> 00:06:26,240 And so you know the story. 66 00:06:26,240 --> 00:06:33,160 He hired Balaam to come and curse them so that if they could be cursed, then he could 67 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,360 make war against them and win. 68 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:37,440 Well, it didn't work. 69 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:39,920 And that's a whole other story. 70 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:48,880 But the two countries were never really close friends, but Elimelech and Naomi and Malon 71 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:57,480 and Chillion all headed for Moab because probably they were hungry and they got to Moab. 72 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:03,860 And the young men, of course, were interested in finding wives. 73 00:07:03,860 --> 00:07:08,040 And what do you find in the country of Moab? 74 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,140 Moabites, right? 75 00:07:12,140 --> 00:07:20,120 And so they married Moabite young women, Ruth and Orpah. 76 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:29,760 And again, that probably wasn't the originally good idea, but they did. 77 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:35,920 And then things went sour for them in Moab. 78 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:44,560 The Bible tells us that the three men of the family all died. 79 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:51,920 Elimelech died, Malon died, Chillion died. 80 00:07:51,920 --> 00:08:00,160 And that left the three women together, mother-in-law and daughters-in-law. 81 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:07,880 And again, we're in a strange time when, well, I grew up hearing mother-in-law jokes. 82 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:12,480 You ever hear any of those? 83 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:20,240 In the biblical culture, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law were expected to be very 84 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,240 close. 85 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:29,000 And Naomi and her two daughters-in-law were close. 86 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,640 And Naomi had been there about 10 years. 87 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:39,080 Now she had two daughters-in-law and she thought it might be better to go back to her people. 88 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:45,120 And she heard that there was bread, as it puts it in the Bible, there was bread back 89 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:46,120 home. 90 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:49,960 And so off they went to Bethlehem. 91 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,680 And you know the story. 92 00:08:52,680 --> 00:08:55,880 They come to the borders of Moab. 93 00:08:55,880 --> 00:09:06,000 And Naomi turns to her daughters-in-law and says, look, I can't do anything for you. 94 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,680 I can't produce any more sons for you. 95 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:12,480 You need to go back to your people. 96 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:14,080 You're still young. 97 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:15,080 Go back. 98 00:09:15,080 --> 00:09:20,080 And they say, oh, no, we don't want to do that. 99 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:21,320 And she urges them. 100 00:09:21,320 --> 00:09:23,760 And finally Orpah goes back. 101 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,000 And Ruth has that famous saying. 102 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:36,000 And I want to point out that this is probably one of the high points of this book. 103 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:41,340 It is a book with several real high points in it. 104 00:09:41,340 --> 00:09:47,960 And she says, by the way, this was sung at our wedding, wasn't it, dear? 105 00:09:47,960 --> 00:09:53,720 These words, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you, for 106 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:59,400 wherever you go, this is what they sing, wherever you go, I will go. 107 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:02,640 And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. 108 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:07,240 Your people shall be my people, your God, my God. 109 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:11,720 Wherever you die, I will die. 110 00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:14,200 And there will I be buried. 111 00:10:14,200 --> 00:10:16,280 The Lord do so to me. 112 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,440 And more also, if anything but death parts you and me. 113 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:29,760 Now this is a presentation of love that we don't hear much in the modern world. 114 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:32,560 This is not emotion. 115 00:10:32,560 --> 00:10:34,760 This is principle. 116 00:10:34,760 --> 00:10:40,280 I'm going where you go, your God will be mine. 117 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:42,000 Where you die, I will die. 118 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,360 This is total commitment. 119 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:52,160 I'm going to take care of you. 120 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:53,640 And she was. 121 00:10:53,640 --> 00:10:59,920 I mean, this is something so pure and unselfish. 122 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,840 It just touches my heart. 123 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:08,560 See there are two stories in the Old Testament that just can bring tears to my eyes every 124 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:11,320 time I read them. 125 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:15,440 One is Joseph and his brothers and this is the other one. 126 00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:25,040 Because when one young lady makes the decision that she is going to do the right thing no 127 00:11:25,040 --> 00:11:34,440 matter what, God is in a position to work mightily on her behalf as well as on behalf 128 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:35,440 of her mother-in-law. 129 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:44,680 Now they get to Bethlehem and it's interesting because in Bethlehem, well it's a small town. 130 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:45,960 It's still not huge. 131 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:52,600 It's about five or six miles southeast I think of Jerusalem. 132 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:59,240 And we all know about Bethlehem, every Christmas we hear about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. 133 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:03,880 We have wise men and shepherds and all of that. 134 00:12:03,880 --> 00:12:08,100 But back then it was just a little farming community. 135 00:12:08,100 --> 00:12:12,040 And it's over 3,000 feet above sea level. 136 00:12:12,040 --> 00:12:19,560 It's a place, maybe I got that wrong, but it's well above sea level. 137 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:28,800 And it's a place where it's been agricultural for millennia. 138 00:12:28,800 --> 00:12:34,640 And they get back and like small towns everywhere, people were talking. 139 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:37,040 They're a little hard up for news. 140 00:12:37,040 --> 00:12:39,560 Hey, have you heard? 141 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:40,840 Have you heard? 142 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:43,720 Naomi is back. 143 00:12:43,720 --> 00:12:45,720 Naomi's here. 144 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:47,440 Wow. 145 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:52,640 And the whole town is a flutter over it because that's the biggest thing that's happened since 146 00:12:52,640 --> 00:12:56,040 Naomi left with her husband. 147 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:58,200 And of course the story has changed. 148 00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:03,040 Now she's back without her husband, without her sons. 149 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:07,760 You ever wondered why they all died so close together? 150 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:11,920 I've wondered if maybe there was a little bit of COVID going through the country or 151 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:12,920 something. 152 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:13,920 Maybe the flu. 153 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:20,320 But the men all died and the three ladies lived. 154 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:28,520 Anyway they're back in Bethlehem and they found a house to live in. 155 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,400 Maybe it was Naomi's old house. 156 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:31,400 I don't know. 157 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:34,080 It doesn't say. 158 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:40,120 But Ruth is determined to do something to support them. 159 00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:47,480 Now you've got to remember these were times when women didn't work outside the home. 160 00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:49,640 I'm not making this up. 161 00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:57,120 It was in fact in parts of the world that's the way it still is when a woman loses her 162 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,060 husband becomes a widow if she's fairly young. 163 00:14:01,060 --> 00:14:05,540 She often doesn't have any way to make a living. 164 00:14:05,540 --> 00:14:13,960 Women can get into very bad lifestyles because there's nothing else they can do. 165 00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:19,160 And we heard the story last weekend at the faith camp. 166 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:23,400 They were talking about this one woman in India who had that happen. 167 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:30,480 She was a widow and when the Jesus for Asia people came they not only led her to Jesus 168 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:36,240 but they taught her how to sew and they bought her a little sewing machine. 169 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:42,200 She set up her own tailor business and her house which was considered a place that good 170 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:49,320 people stayed away from has now become a place where the whole village looks up to her because 171 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:54,960 she's the village tailor and she has been able to support herself. 172 00:14:54,960 --> 00:15:03,280 And she also encourages other women and leads them to Jesus, reads scriptural promises to 173 00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:04,280 them. 174 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,920 I heard that and I said yes, go for it. 175 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:10,840 Jesus can make a difference in people's lives. 176 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:16,360 And in this case Naomi wasn't by herself. 177 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:20,240 She had her widowed daughter-in-law with her. 178 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:29,560 And immediately, well you've got to remember they had in the Hebrew system a plan to help 179 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:36,160 people in Naomi's and Ruth's condition. 180 00:15:36,160 --> 00:15:48,800 When they had a harvest they were told not to harvest, not to pick the vines clean for 181 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:50,960 instance if it's a grape harvest. 182 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:53,600 I don't know if you've ever picked grapes. 183 00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:59,560 My uncle had 25 acres of grapes and I remember picking grapes. 184 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,700 And you can miss some of them that are hidden back in the leaves so after you've done a 185 00:16:03,700 --> 00:16:10,320 vine you go back through and you look under all the leaves and try to get it picked clean. 186 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:11,880 They were not to do that. 187 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:17,640 They were to leave, they were just to go over the vine and leave all those hard to find 188 00:16:17,640 --> 00:16:27,000 ones there for people like Ruth to come and get the extra grapes that were left. 189 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:35,200 And if they were harvesting grain they were not to harvest the corners of the field. 190 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,880 If they dropped a little they weren't supposed to go back and get it because there were people 191 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:43,440 like Ruth who needed food. 192 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:48,280 And of course they had to work to get it but it was there for them. 193 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,200 And that was a good plan. 194 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:52,960 Nobody was just going down and picking up a check. 195 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:57,560 They were expected to get out and work but it was there for them. 196 00:16:57,560 --> 00:16:59,880 I think that's a pretty good plan. 197 00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:04,320 God just comes up with such good ideas doesn't he? 198 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:13,860 And so Ruth goes out to, it's barley harvest, and she goes out to pick up grain and she 199 00:17:13,860 --> 00:17:22,200 ends up in a field that belongs to a relative of Naomi's husband and he's a man of great 200 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:23,720 wealth. 201 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:29,040 Actually the Bible says that mentions one of, I think it was his grandfather was actually 202 00:17:29,040 --> 00:17:32,640 a leader in the tribe of Judah. 203 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:41,200 So it was a family of nobility in the tribe of Judah and he was a fairly wealthy man and 204 00:17:41,200 --> 00:17:44,240 closely related to Elimelech. 205 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:51,480 So Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of 206 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:59,080 grain after him in whose sight I may find favor. 207 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:04,880 And of course she found favor in Boaz's sight. 208 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:10,120 By the way, we don't generally, I knew someone who named their kid Boaz. 209 00:18:10,120 --> 00:18:13,800 He resented it all his life. 210 00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:16,480 Some names just aren't that popular. 211 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:24,800 But the reason he did it, you know when Solomon built his temple he put two big pillars, one 212 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:29,600 each in front of the temple and the one on the left was called Boaz. 213 00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:36,120 They named those pillars and this guy wanted his son to be a pillar in the house of God. 214 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:42,840 So anyway, it's interesting we use some of those names today. 215 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,960 Like I said, Naomi is still one that's around. 216 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:55,520 Anyway, she went out and went gleaning in the field of Boaz and Boaz comes out after 217 00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,520 a while and his workers are out there working. 218 00:18:59,520 --> 00:19:01,520 Who's the young woman out there? 219 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:02,520 She's a stranger. 220 00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,520 Oh, that's Ruth the Moabitess. 221 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,000 Oh yeah, I heard about her. 222 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:10,440 Sure, the whole town was talking about her. 223 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,920 She'd come back taking care of her mother-in-law and everybody thought she was, even though 224 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:20,400 she was a Moabitess, she's still a pretty good young lady. 225 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:25,920 And so he gives them directions. 226 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:30,720 He says, drop a little extra grain for her to pick up. 227 00:19:30,720 --> 00:19:38,560 And when it's time for everybody to eat, they're sitting there and he invites her over. 228 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:43,120 He says, we all have heard how good you are to your mother-in-law. 229 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:47,880 Please join us for lunch and they shared the lunch with her. 230 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:55,440 And he told her she was welcome to dip her bread in the vinegar that everybody was doing. 231 00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,400 And that didn't sound that good to me. 232 00:19:58,400 --> 00:20:01,440 But anyway, their diet was different. 233 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:05,280 A lot of things about their culture was different. 234 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:12,540 But remember, cultures change, but emotions and people are still emotions and people. 235 00:20:12,540 --> 00:20:14,460 You understand that. 236 00:20:14,460 --> 00:20:22,920 And so when she goes home that night, she beats out her grain, takes it home. 237 00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:28,760 Naomi says, you've done pretty good. 238 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:32,440 Whose field were you in today? 239 00:20:32,440 --> 00:20:37,560 And she says, oh, a man named Bo asked, oh, he's a near of kin. 240 00:20:37,560 --> 00:20:39,400 Keep it up. 241 00:20:39,400 --> 00:20:42,200 Don't be seen in anybody else's field. 242 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:46,840 In fact, he had given his workers special directions. 243 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:48,000 Don't you dare touch her. 244 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:49,880 Be good to that young lady. 245 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:51,920 She's a good woman. 246 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:58,200 And so everybody was looking out for her there. 247 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,200 Now the fun really begins. 248 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,760 Naomi says he is a near of kin. 249 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:10,200 And God also had a plan for young widows. 250 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:14,040 You can read about it in Deuteronomy chapter 25. 251 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:21,080 Well, maybe we ought to look at it. 252 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:25,480 The way they word it in the Bible is kind of interesting. 253 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:31,320 It kind of hits you between the eyes. 254 00:21:31,320 --> 00:21:36,160 Deuteronomy chapter 25 starts in verse 5. 255 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:42,480 If brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead 256 00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:47,960 man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family. 257 00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:54,040 Her husband's brother shall go into her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a 258 00:21:54,040 --> 00:21:56,120 husband's brother to her. 259 00:21:56,120 --> 00:22:05,000 And it shall be that the firstborn son, which she bears, will succeed to the name of his 260 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:11,040 dead brother, that the name may not be blotted out of Israel. 261 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:12,880 That was very important. 262 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:20,720 But if the man does not want to take his brother's wife, then let his brother go to the gate 263 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:27,400 to the elders and say, my husband's brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother 264 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:28,540 in Israel. 265 00:22:28,540 --> 00:22:32,760 He will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. 266 00:22:32,760 --> 00:22:37,700 Then the elder of his city shall call him and speak to him. 267 00:22:37,700 --> 00:22:44,880 But if he stands firm and says, I do not want to take her, then his brother's wife shall 268 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:50,120 come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his 269 00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:57,440 face and answer and say, so shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother's 270 00:22:57,440 --> 00:22:58,440 house. 271 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:03,120 And his name shall be called in Israel the house of him who had his sandal removed. 272 00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,440 Boy, that's pretty brutal. 273 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,720 That would ruin the man's reputation big time. 274 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:16,920 And this was the plan that God had in place. 275 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:22,040 And it seems to have been a custom in the Middle East, we find in Genesis, that it was 276 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:28,600 in place during the time of Jacob's sons, Judah, and so forth. 277 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:37,800 So anyway, and if there wasn't a brother, it would be the nearest of kin. 278 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:45,360 Anyway, at the end of the harvest, they have this big pile of grain. 279 00:23:45,360 --> 00:23:54,240 And Naomi takes her daughter-in-law and says, look, I've got to give you some advice here. 280 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,100 Naomi knows her people. 281 00:23:57,100 --> 00:23:58,680 She knows her culture. 282 00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,560 She knows what goes and what doesn't. 283 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:08,440 And she says, tonight, I want you to go down to the threshing floor. 284 00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:13,720 And I want you to look, just kind of stay out of sight in the background. 285 00:24:13,720 --> 00:24:18,800 I want you to pay attention to Boaz. 286 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:24,040 And when he has, they're going to have a party because the threshing will all be over. 287 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,120 They've had a great harvest. 288 00:24:26,120 --> 00:24:27,400 You go down there. 289 00:24:27,400 --> 00:24:35,640 And when he has had enough of the party, and he goes and lies down, pay attention to where, 290 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,440 and go lie at his feet. 291 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:43,520 Now we're getting into something that is totally out of our culture. 292 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:47,080 It's not immoral, but it sure is different. 293 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:59,720 And if he wakes up and wants to know what you're doing there, you just tell him to cover you. 294 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,920 And because he's the next of kin. 295 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:08,440 You follow what's happening here? 296 00:25:08,440 --> 00:25:10,240 And so she does that. 297 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:13,240 And he wakes up with a start in the middle of the night. 298 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:14,840 He's at his feet. 299 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:17,040 Who is that? 300 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,160 I'm Ruth, and you're my next of kin. 301 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:23,040 Would you cover me? 302 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:26,400 Well, he says, go back to sleep. 303 00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,480 In the morning, I'll take care of things. 304 00:25:30,480 --> 00:25:31,480 And he did. 305 00:25:31,480 --> 00:25:33,920 He gives her six bushels of grain. 306 00:25:33,920 --> 00:25:35,400 I've wondered how she hauled. 307 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,200 She must have been a strong lady. 308 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:39,120 Well, it says six ifas. 309 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:40,120 I'm not sure. 310 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:42,200 An ifa's quite a bit of grain. 311 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,480 And she carries it in her garment back. 312 00:25:44,480 --> 00:25:51,120 And he says, there's another relative that's closer than me. 313 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:53,280 And so she goes home. 314 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:58,800 And of course, she's got enough grain to last her and Naomi for a long time. 315 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:02,640 And she tells Naomi what happened. 316 00:26:02,640 --> 00:26:10,240 And Naomi says, well, the man will not rest until he's taken care of that today. 317 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:12,080 She knew men. 318 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:19,040 And sure enough, he waits by the city gate, gets some of the men together, because that's 319 00:26:19,040 --> 00:26:25,320 where all the decisions are made of a legal nature. 320 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:31,840 And when the relative who's nearer than he is comes by, he says, come over here and have 321 00:26:31,840 --> 00:26:33,360 a seat. 322 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:40,360 He said, our brother Limelech left a field, and it needs to be redeemed by the nearest 323 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:41,360 of kin. 324 00:26:41,360 --> 00:26:42,640 The nearest I'm after you. 325 00:26:42,640 --> 00:26:44,040 Will you redeem it or not? 326 00:26:44,040 --> 00:26:45,040 I'll redeem it. 327 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:54,400 He says, you need to know that when you redeem that field, with it comes our brother Malon's 328 00:26:54,400 --> 00:27:00,760 wife Ruth to raise up posterity for Malon. 329 00:27:00,760 --> 00:27:02,880 And the guy says, whoops, can't do it. 330 00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:09,240 I mess up my own inheritance. 331 00:27:09,240 --> 00:27:11,600 Thanks for offering, but I can't do it. 332 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:17,800 And so this is where the scripture gets very interesting. 333 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:25,120 Boaz, remember what we just read in Deuteronomy. 334 00:27:25,120 --> 00:27:33,920 The close relative said in Ruth chapter 4 and verse 6, I cannot redeem it for myself 335 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:35,840 lest I ruin my own inheritance. 336 00:27:35,840 --> 00:27:40,160 You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it. 337 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:46,920 Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging. 338 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:53,320 To confirm anything, one man took off his sandal, gave it to the other, and this was 339 00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,680 a confirmation in Israel. 340 00:27:55,680 --> 00:28:05,000 Well, things had mellowed out some since Deuteronomy was written, but they still took off the sandal. 341 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:11,960 And they made this agreement. 342 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:23,680 And now we see Boaz said to the elders, verse 9, and all the people, you are witnesses this 343 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:30,240 day that I have bought all that was a limanlex and all that was Chileans and Malons from 344 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:31,880 the hand of Naomi. 345 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:41,240 Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Malon, I have acquired as my wife to perpetuate 346 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:47,120 the name of the dead through his inheritance that the name of the dead may not be cut off 347 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:51,700 from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. 348 00:28:51,700 --> 00:28:53,840 You are witnesses this day. 349 00:28:53,840 --> 00:29:00,680 And the people who were at the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. 350 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,880 This is the little ceremony here. 351 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:09,000 The Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah, the two who built 352 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:16,000 the house of Israel, and may you prosper in Ephrata and be famous in Bethlehem. 353 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:24,360 May your house be like the house of Peretz, whom Tamar bore to Judah because of the offspring 354 00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:28,240 which the Lord will give you from this young woman. 355 00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:32,440 Now there is some real issues here that you need to understand. 356 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:35,240 First of all, Ruth is not a Hebrew. 357 00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:38,680 And by the way, Boaz's mother was not a Hebrew. 358 00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:40,780 Did you know that? 359 00:29:40,780 --> 00:29:45,840 His mother was Rahab. 360 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:53,160 She was the one, she and her family were the only survivors of Jericho. 361 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:59,800 So it probably didn't bother Boaz as much as it might have some of the Hebrews to be 362 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,960 marrying someone who was not a Hebrew. 363 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:14,000 And now his wife, like his mother, has become by adoption a Hebrew. 364 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:19,320 She has been taken into the family. 365 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:25,280 Her God is, Naomi's God is Ruth's God. 366 00:30:25,280 --> 00:30:31,280 Her people, Naomi's people are Ruth's people. 367 00:30:31,280 --> 00:30:40,120 Now we have a little, we have some very interesting things here because it tells us about how 368 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:46,000 she bore Obed, who bore Jesse, who bore David. 369 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,400 You've heard of him. 370 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:54,880 I mean this young man, or this old man by the way, you know he said of Ruth when he 371 00:30:54,880 --> 00:30:58,060 woke up that night and she was at his feet. 372 00:30:58,060 --> 00:31:02,240 He said, blessed are you for not going after the young men. 373 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:08,540 So he apparently was quite a bit older at the time. 374 00:31:08,540 --> 00:31:15,020 What is fascinating to me is this whole system of the Redeemer. 375 00:31:15,020 --> 00:31:24,760 He had redeemed Ruth, took on her mother-in-law in the process, and was glad to do it. 376 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,160 And God blessed greatly. 377 00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:34,440 And we find this in the New Testament, a term that is used for Jesus. 378 00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:39,080 He is our Redeemer. 379 00:31:39,080 --> 00:31:46,280 After all, our first father and mother got into trouble. 380 00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:53,600 They could not bequeath to us eternal life because they didn't have it. 381 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,720 They gave it up. 382 00:31:55,720 --> 00:31:57,680 They were tricked. 383 00:31:57,680 --> 00:32:01,880 They were, well they followed their emotions. 384 00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,560 We talked about that in Sabbath school. 385 00:32:05,560 --> 00:32:12,520 And so the whole human race was left without our inheritance. 386 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:15,120 We got cheated out of that too. 387 00:32:15,120 --> 00:32:17,800 And along comes a Redeemer. 388 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:27,360 Did you know that Jesus is called first of all in Job chapter 19 verses 25 and 26? 389 00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:28,720 Have you ever heard that? 390 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:35,480 I know that my Redeemer liveth and he shall appear. 391 00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:39,800 I shall see him in my flesh. 392 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:45,080 That is even though my flesh has been turned to worms. 393 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:50,000 Job was looking forward to the resurrection and the coming of Jesus. 394 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,960 And he knew that he had a Redeemer. 395 00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:58,520 And when Jesus went to the cross, he paid the price. 396 00:32:58,520 --> 00:32:59,800 I looked some things up. 397 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,040 I didn't have room to write them all. 398 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:09,480 For instance, Isaiah follows this theme of a Redeemer who will die for our sins. 399 00:33:09,480 --> 00:33:16,240 Isaiah 53 for instance. 400 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:26,800 Just as Boaz was a Redeemer for Ruth, Jesus is our Redeemer from the results of sin and 401 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:27,800 Satan. 402 00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:34,920 And I don't know about you, but that's the sort of thing that can bring tears to one's 403 00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,600 eyes because this is not based on emotion. 404 00:33:38,600 --> 00:33:48,600 It's based on a very intellectual acceptance on the part of one of the persons of the Godhead. 405 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:56,520 In fact, all three persons of the Godhead because Jesus said to his father, Behold a 406 00:33:56,520 --> 00:34:00,120 body you have prepared for me. 407 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:06,600 And he came down and became one of us and became our Redeemer. 408 00:34:06,600 --> 00:34:15,080 We find for instance in Galatians chapter 4 verse 5, he came to redeem them that were 409 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:16,080 under the law. 410 00:34:16,080 --> 00:34:19,440 You know what it means to be under the law? 411 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:21,080 Do you? 412 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:23,640 Have you ever been under the law? 413 00:34:23,640 --> 00:34:26,360 We all are. 414 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:30,880 And you see that little blue light behind you? 415 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:35,600 You're under the law, right? 416 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:39,160 You get in trouble with the law. 417 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:44,500 Seems like there's a lot of things we can get into trouble and be under the law for. 418 00:34:44,500 --> 00:34:52,360 We are all born under the law. 419 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:58,280 Because Jesus died for us, we don't die. 420 00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:00,760 We go to sleep. 421 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:01,760 And I've said this before. 422 00:35:01,760 --> 00:35:07,100 Do you know what the difference is between sleep and death? 423 00:35:07,100 --> 00:35:10,440 When you sleep, you wake up again. 424 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,160 And because Jesus died for us, we don't die. 425 00:35:14,160 --> 00:35:16,840 We go to sleep. 426 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:21,480 And yes, we will awaken. 427 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,760 That's what Job said, Job 19. 428 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:38,560 Titus, Paul writes, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity. 429 00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:45,760 The idea of a Redeemer to step in on behalf of his people who are suffering because of 430 00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:56,240 death comes all the way down from the time of Deuteronomy and Leviticus and Ruth, down 431 00:35:56,240 --> 00:35:58,520 to our day. 432 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:15,240 We have another brother who has never succumbed to temptation, but has succumbed to the results 433 00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:16,240 of sin. 434 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:21,400 And he died on the cross for you and me. 435 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:27,240 And I don't know where you stand on this, but I think it's the most exciting thing. 436 00:36:27,240 --> 00:36:30,240 He died once for all of us because he made us. 437 00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:33,400 He can do that. 438 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:46,040 We read the word redeemed again in Galatians, he hath redeemed us. 439 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:49,600 Us, that means me. 440 00:36:49,600 --> 00:36:53,680 From the curse of the law. 441 00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:55,920 I don't mind the law. 442 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,120 I believe in the law. 443 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:04,160 I'm driving down the freeway and I'm doing 80 and everybody's passing me. 444 00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:10,560 And some guy goes by me doing at least 100 miles an hour and I say, yeah, I believe in 445 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:14,480 the law, that guy's driving dangerously. 446 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:18,320 But I'm breaking the law too, right? 447 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:19,440 Okay. 448 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,840 We have all broken the law. 449 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:28,600 We have all been born under the curse of the law. 450 00:37:28,600 --> 00:37:37,480 We all without Jesus can look forward to a final and eternal death. 451 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:44,280 But don't worry, we've been redeemed if we want to be. 452 00:37:44,280 --> 00:37:46,920 And I think that's pretty exciting. 453 00:37:46,920 --> 00:37:52,300 That's what gets me so excited every time I read the book of Ruth and I see how she 454 00:37:52,300 --> 00:37:53,300 was redeemed. 455 00:37:53,300 --> 00:38:00,080 Oh, there's so many talks about redemption in the Bible of him. 456 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:17,620 Are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification 457 00:38:17,620 --> 00:38:21,440 and redemption. 458 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:25,360 This is one of the themes that we find in our Bibles. 459 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,960 Actually Leviticus 25, it's easy to remember. 460 00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:34,160 You've got Leviticus 25 talking about the redemption of property and then Deuteronomy 461 00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:40,640 25, the redemption of the wife of the man who died. 462 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:41,640 That's pretty exciting. 463 00:38:41,640 --> 00:38:43,840 It's easy to remember. 464 00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,440 I like things that are easy to remember. 465 00:38:46,440 --> 00:38:47,800 And I could go on and on. 466 00:38:47,800 --> 00:38:54,200 There is so much in our New Testaments about Jesus our Redeemer and it's based on a very 467 00:38:54,200 --> 00:38:59,280 solid Old Testament and New Testament principle. 468 00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:02,160 Jesus has died for you and me. 469 00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:06,720 He has paid the price and now he offers us life. 470 00:39:06,720 --> 00:39:13,460 And if that isn't pretty exciting, I don't know what else is. 471 00:39:13,460 --> 00:39:21,440 Just like Boaz did much greater than what Boaz did for Ruth and Naomi. 472 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:24,680 And he's done it for you and me. 473 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:25,680 Let us pray. 474 00:39:25,680 --> 00:39:33,520 Father in heaven, when we think of what you have done to redeem us, it takes my breath 475 00:39:33,520 --> 00:39:34,520 away. 476 00:39:34,520 --> 00:39:40,040 I'm just amazed at what you have done and your great love for us. 477 00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:46,320 And now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before 478 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:51,080 the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. 479 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:58,920 To God our Savior who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and 480 00:39:58,920 --> 00:39:59,920 forever. 481 00:39:59,920 --> 00:40:00,920 Amen. 482 00:40:00,920 --> 00:40:17,800 Amen.