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Ruth 1 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Good morning. Join me, if you would please, in your Bibles, in the book of Ruth.
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The book of Ruth, four short chapters after the book of Judges, just before 1 Samuel.
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Before we begin today's study of Ruth 1, I want to give you some brief background on
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the book and a brief explanation of the reasoning for spending the next four weeks, Lord willing,
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in this book.
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And I wrote that sentence before I wrote the rest of the introduction, so we'll see
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how brief it is.
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Both the authorship and the date of authorship are uncertain concerning Ruth.
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I most like the tradition that holds Solomon as its author because, as we will see, he
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may have written it as a telling of his family's story.
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However, regardless of who or when the book was written, the reason for its writing can
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be clearly ascertained.
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Verse 1 sets the scene for the book.
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In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.
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We have studied in great brevity the book of Judges the past two weeks.
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We did an overview of it.
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We looked at a single story in it.
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Perhaps we'll revisit it sometime soon.
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But in that time that we spent in it, I noted a pattern for us in the book.
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And you may recall, first the people rebel, then God hands them over to the people of the
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land.
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Then God shows them mercy by raising up a judge.
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And then the judge, by God's help, delivers the Israelites, and they have rest.
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And finally, the judge dies, and the people return to their wickedness.
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So this occurs over and over and over again.
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So when the events we will study over the next month occur, this is God's dealing with
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the nation of Israel.
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Wickedness, judgment, mercy, rest, wickedness over and over.
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In the midst of all the stories of turmoil that occur across a 300-year span in the book
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of Judges, we get this little gem of a story.
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It happens in the days when the judges ruled.
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The bulk of this story takes place across a single harvest season.
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And it zooms our attention in on a widow and her daughter-in-law.
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And the sovereign kindness of God towards them.
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It is proper for us to understand God as sovereign.
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Absolutely powerful.
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If you don't believe that God is sovereign, I'm not sure that we worship the same God.
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The scripture is replete with the expressions of God's absolute power.
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It is also proper for us to understand that his sovereignty takes action.
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It's not just something he possesses, but he actually works sovereignly.
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He is not idle, but he is working at all times in the affairs of men.
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This is a great comfort to those who know God and who belong to him.
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Take, just as an example, the possibility that you have been troubled in this election season
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by who may be our next president.
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I think we have reason to be troubled.
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Either way, to be frank.
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But Daniel chapter 2 and verse 21 says that God changes times and seasons.
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He removes kings and sets up kings.
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As sure as the summer gives way to fall.
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Did we all doubt that this year?
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I did at times.
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And here it is.
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Finally, in November, fall seems to have arrived.
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God is ordering the matters of the world.
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This doesn't always happen in a way that we understand.
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But we do well when we remember that God has the good of his people in mind as he acts.
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It's not always felt as good.
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But if we remember God does, in fact, work for the good of his people, we really do well.
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I want to show you this from two places in the Bible.
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One in the Old Testament and one in the New.
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Briefly, you can mark Ruth and go there or you can just listen to me.
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The first is in Psalm 84, verse 11.
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This is the last half of it.
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There the psalmist says,
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No good thing does God withhold from those who walk uprightly.
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If we are in Christ, then we walk uprightly before God.
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And this psalm tells us that God doesn't withhold anything good from us.
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I don't believe that this means that we are just waiting to receive the good things and the bad things are in a different category.
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But this means that God, in everything he gives us, is working good.
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And I believe this because of a more clear text that we see in the New Testament.
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Romans 8, verse 28 and following.
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There Paul writes,
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And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good.
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For those who are called according to his purpose.
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And then he carefully defines the good that God is working in the first half of verse 29.
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For those who before knew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.
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We see in these texts that God is working, that we would be more like Christ.
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That we could be with Paul in his writing to the Philippians from a Roman jail.
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That for him to live is Christ and to die is gain.
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We call God's sovereign ordering of the world for the good of his people, his providence.
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Most of you likely know that your elders have proposed a name change for our church.
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And were present at or have listened to the proposal and accompanying explanation.
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But allow me a moment more to repeat some of what was said there concerning the word providence.
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In Latin, this word literally means to foresee.
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Pro, before.
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Vite, to see.
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If you put those together, you have simply the English word provide.
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However, to foresee doesn't quite get at how the word is used.
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It will be helpful for you to think of the English idiom, I'll see to it.
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If I say this, I am saying that I will accomplish what needs to be accomplished.
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I'll do everything that's necessary to do the thing I'm promising to do.
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And this is what is meant by God's providence.
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God will see to it.
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What is the it that he will see to?
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All the good that he has promised us in order that we would look like Jesus Christ.
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Recall Romans 8, 28, and 29.
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And stay with me just a bit longer and look with me at one more text.
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And then we will begin looking at Ruth.
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I want you to see a place where we readily see both providential work and the language itself of providence.
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This is Genesis chapter 22, verse 7 and 8.
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God has commanded Abraham to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac.
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And they have traveled to Mount Moriah and have left behind the servants that went with them.
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And verse 7 says,
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And Isaac said to his father Abraham,
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My father, here I am.
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He says that my son.
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He said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
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Abraham said, he responds to Isaac,
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God will provide or see.
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The literal translation of the Hebrew word is,
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God will see for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.
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So they went both of them together.
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And then in verse 14, there's a ram that's provided to be sacrificed in the place of, instead of Isaac.
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And then verse 14, Abraham called the name of that place,
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The Lord will provide or see to it.
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And it is said to this day on the mount of the Lord,
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It shall be provided or seen to.
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God provides.
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He is providential.
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In the giving of the ram as a replacement for Isaac for Abraham's sacrifice.
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This episode is typologically rich as we know that the ram foreshadows the provision of Jesus Christ to die in our place.
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God's providence includes the means of our salvation,
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the subsequent sanctification and glorification,
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but it also includes all the minutia in between.
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Regardless of what troubles you this day,
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if you belong to God in Christ,
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if you are one of his people,
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you can rest in the fact that God is working all things for your good.
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Your highest good.
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That you would look more like Christ.
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In union with your creator.
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A life that is full of peace that surpasses understanding,
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regardless of your circumstances.
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Thankfulness in your heart.
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Confidence in your future glory.
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Now, I have folded in the front of my Bible an origami sparrow.
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Thanks to YouTube, I learned how to make this origami sparrow.
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It serves to remind me to look at the birds of the air.
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They neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,
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and yet my heavenly Father feeds them.
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Am I not more valuable than they?
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Matthew 6 and verse 26.
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Now, assuming that you can see what I am holding,
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this little origami sparrow,
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you can see in this creased paper,
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this form of a sparrow,
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but how it takes this form is not discernible.
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Maybe you are one of those people who do origami,
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and you know how this was created.
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The average person has no idea how this shape was made.
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I had grand plans to unfold it and refold it for you,
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but I am so nervous I will not get it back together,
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that I am not going to.
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It might go terribly wrong if I were to do that,
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but if you were to take it,
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and carefully unfold it,
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and fold it back again,
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perhaps you would begin to understand
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how it has come to take this shape.
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How we understand providence can be a bit like
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this origami sparrow.
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We often don't understand how God is working
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in the circumstances of our lives,
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but often, not always,
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but often we are allowed glimpses
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of how all that he does is for our good
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and for his glory.
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We get to look back and say,
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oh, I see now what he was doing
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on my behalf and for his glory.
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The book of Ruth is a love story.
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I want to be clear on the front end.
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It is that, but it is not only that.
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It is also a story about suffering
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and survival.
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So much more is packed into it
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than the story between Ruth and Boaz.
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The theme of it is not wait on your Boaz,
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to be clear.
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Ruth presents to us the providential work of God
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unfolded and should be of great comfort
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and encouragement to our souls.
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God works in the lives of the characters
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of this narrative,
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in congruence with their human agency,
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to bring about astonishing things.
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Let me show you that by looking at the first five verses
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of chapter one,
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and then I'm going to rush us to the end.
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We're going to look at the end
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before we read the entirety of chapter one together.
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So let me just show you the first five verses
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of chapter one.
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chapter one.
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In the days when the judges ruled,
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there was a famine in the land,
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and a man of Bethlehem in Judah
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went to sojourn in the country of Moab,
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he and his wife and his two sons.
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The name of the man was Elimelech,
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and the name of his wife Naomi,
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and the names of his two sons
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were Malon and Chulion.
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They were Ephraphites from Bethlehem in Judah.
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They went into the country of Moab
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and remained there.
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But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi,
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died, and she was left with her two sons.
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These took Moabite wives.
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The name of the one was Orpah,
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and the name of the other, Ruth.
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They lived there about ten years,
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and both Malon and Chulion died
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so that the woman was left
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without her two sons and her husband.
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So it begins tragically, right?
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Nothing very good is going on
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in these first five verses,
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and we'll see a bit today
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and then in the coming weeks
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how the story unfolds,
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if you're familiar with it.
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But I want to take you to the end,
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the first part of this double ending
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of the book,
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to chapter 4 and verse 17.
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We see that there's a child
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born to Ruth.
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So to be clear,
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a child was born to Ruth.
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Verse 17 says,
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And the women of the neighborhood
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gave him a name,
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saying,
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A son has been born to Naomi.
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They named him Obed.
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He was the father of Jesse,
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the father of David.
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So incapped, right?
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Here's a thing going on
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at the beginning,
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this great tragedy,
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and we can see
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where it's headed already.
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In the days when the judges ruled,
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there was a promise of a king
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whose reign would last forever.
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This promise is temporally fulfilled
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in King David
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and eternally fulfilled
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in King Jesus.
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What an incredible providence.
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We get to see the full display of it
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in these four chapters.
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We have the joy of spending
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the next four weeks
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considering it.
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So let's look at Ruth,
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chapter 1 together.
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Before I read it in its entirety,
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let me remind you, beloved,
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this is God's word to us,
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written for his glory
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and our good.
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And so we would all do well
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to listen to it
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in order to believe its promises
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and obey its commands.
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In the days when the judges ruled,
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there was a famine in the land
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and a man of Bethlehem in Judah
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went to sojourn
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in the country of Moab,
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he and his wife
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and his two sons.
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The name of the man was Elimelech
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and the name of his wife, Naomi,
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and the names of his two sons
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were Malon and Chilion.
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They were Ephraphites
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from Bethlehem in Judah.
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They went into the country of Moab
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and remained there.
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But Elimelech,
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the husband of Naomi,
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died,
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and she was left
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with her two sons.
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These took Moabite wives.
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The name of the one was Orpah
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and the name of the other Ruth.
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They lived there about ten years.
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And both Malon and Chilion died,
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so that the woman was left
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without her two sons
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and her husband.
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Then she arose with her daughters-in-law
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to return from the country of Moab,
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for she had heard in the fields of Moab
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that the Lord had visited his people
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and given them food.
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So she set out from the place
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where she was with her two daughters-in-law,
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and they went on the way
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to return to the land of Judah.
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But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law,
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Go, return each of you
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to her mother's house.
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May the Lord deal kindly with you
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as you have dealt with the dead
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and with me.
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Lord, grant that you may find rest,
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each of you,
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in the house of her husband.
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Then she kissed them,
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and they lifted up their voices
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and wept.
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And they said to her,
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No, we will return with you
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to your people.
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But Naomi said,
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Turn back, my daughters.
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Why will you go with me?
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Have I yet sons in my womb
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that they may become your husbands?
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Turn back, my daughters.
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Go your way,
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for I am too old to have a husband.
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If I should say I have hope,
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even if I should have a husband this night
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and should bear sons,
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would you therefore wait
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till they were grown?
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Would you therefore refrain from marrying?
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No, my daughters,
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for it is exceedingly bitter to me
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for your sake
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that the hand of the Lord
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has gone out against me.
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Then they lifted up their voices
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and wept again.
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See, your sister-in-law
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has gone back to her people
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and to her gods.
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Return after your sister-in-law.
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But Ruth said,
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Do not urge me to leave you
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or to return from following you.
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For where you go, I will go.
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And where you lodge, I will lodge.
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Your people shall be my people
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and your God, my God.
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Where you die, I will die.
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And there will I be buried.
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May the Lord do so to me
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and more also
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if anything but death
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parts me from you.
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And when Naomi saw
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that she was determined
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to go with her,
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she said no more.
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So the two of them went on
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until they came to Bethlehem.
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And when they came to Bethlehem,
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the whole town was stirred
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because of them.
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And the women said,
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Is this Naomi?
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She said to them,
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Do not call me Naomi.
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Call me Mara.
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For the Almighty has dealt
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very bitterly with me.
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I went away full
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and the Lord has brought me back empty.
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Why call me Naomi
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when the Lord has testified against me
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and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
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So Naomi returned
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and Ruth the Moabite
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and her daughter-in-law with her
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who returned from the country of Moab.
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And they came to Bethlehem
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at the beginning of barley harvest.
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Now, I just want to observe
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two things briefly
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from the text today.
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As we go on in our study,
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I'm sure we'll have to access
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chapter one a bit more.
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But I want you to see two things.
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Number one,
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a bitter providence.
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A bitter providence.
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And number two,
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an exceptional faith.
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So verse one begins with tragedy,
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as I've mentioned already before.
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In the days of the judges,
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there was a famine in the land.
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And a man from Bethlehem in Judah
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went to another country,
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went to Moab,
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which is modern-day Jordan,
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so out east of Jerusalem.
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he and his wife
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and his two sons.
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So right at the very outset
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of the book,
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a famine is taking place.
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And for the sake of survival,
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one would presume
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they leave their land
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and they go off
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to another land.
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And then we begin,
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we learn at the beginning
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of verse two,
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the names of those
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in Naomi's family.
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Of significance,
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Naomi means pleasant.
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Perhaps this is why
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her daughters-in-law
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love her so.
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There's a name to her.
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Children,
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Malon and Chilion.
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Malon,
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her oldest son,
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means sickly.
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And Chilion means wasting.
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Sickly and wasting.
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So,
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if we were readers of Hebrew,
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this is not off
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to a very good start
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just in verse two.
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And so the tragedy continues
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in verse three.
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We see that Elimelech,
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the husband of Naomi,
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dies.
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We don't know how much time passes,
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but it doesn't seem to be
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much time at all
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when they've relocated
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in Moab
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and she's left
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with her two sons.
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And then in verse four,
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these two sons
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take Moabite wives,
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one named Orpah
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and the other named Ruth.
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Ruth, interestingly,
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is a Hebrew name,
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so it could have been a name
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that was given to her.
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Orpah,
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which my computer
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tried to autocorrect
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to Oprah again
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and again
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and again.
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the people of Israel
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had been commanded
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not to intermarry
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with foreigners.
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Not for ethnic purity,
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I don't believe,
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but because
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of the potential
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for idolatry.
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Listen to this command
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from Deuteronomy chapter seven,
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verse two and following.
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You shall make no covenant
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with them
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and show no mercy
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to them.
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You shall not intermarry
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with them,
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giving your daughters
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to their sons
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or taking their daughters
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for your sons,
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for they would turn away
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your sons
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from following me
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to serve other gods.
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Then the anger of the Lord
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would be kindled against you
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and he would destroy you
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quickly.
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They were commanded
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not to intermarry
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being compounded upon us.
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Like,
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think of Jewish readers
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of this text.
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They're saying
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you had to move
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from the land
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that was promised to you
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and then your husband dies
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and then your sons
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took foreign wives.
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What tragedy
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is being added upon
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and added upon
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here
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in just these first
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few verses.
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Now,
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some have said
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that perhaps
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these men died
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because of this,
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that it was a judgment
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on them.
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I'm not sure.
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Certainly,
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Naomi seems to think so
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later on
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in the text.
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The way she's reading it
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and understanding it.
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Of interest,
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the name Orpah
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means stubborn.
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Maybe she stays with her
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for a bit
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because she had decided to
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and then she turns back
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and the name Ruth
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means friendship.
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So,
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Naomi now,
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at this point
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in our text,
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has moved to another country,
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a foreign land.
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She's lost her husband.
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Her sons
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have married
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Moabite
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wives
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and then added
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to that
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both Malon
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and Chilion
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die.
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So,
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verse 5 says,
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the woman
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was left
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without her two sons
23:17
and her husband.
23:19
And I'm just
23:20
guessing at this point.
23:22
I don't know for sure.
23:24
But it seems to me
23:24
that the author
23:25
could have said
23:26
that Naomi
23:27
was left
23:28
without her two sons
23:29
and her husband
23:30
but doesn't use
23:31
the word
23:32
pleasant there
23:33
because we don't
23:34
want to see her
23:35
in a pleasant state.
23:37
Right?
23:38
Great
23:38
tragedy
23:39
upon tragedy.
23:42
The patristic laws
23:43
of the day
23:44
meant that
23:45
Naomi's livelihood
23:46
was tied
23:47
to that of her husband
23:48
and or
23:49
her sons.
23:51
So,
23:52
with all of them
23:53
gone
23:53
and hearing the news
23:55
that her hometown
23:56
is no longer
23:57
suffering a famine,
23:59
she decides
24:00
to return.
24:02
We discover
24:02
later that
24:03
she holds
24:04
the rights
24:04
of the land
24:05
of her husband
24:05
slash sons
24:06
if a relative
24:07
will redeem
24:09
the land
24:09
which we'll
24:09
talk a bit
24:10
more about
24:11
in the coming
24:12
weeks.
24:14
The first five
24:15
verses of this story,
24:17
what you need
24:17
to be clear about
24:18
are nothing
24:19
but
24:20
tragedy.
24:23
And note
24:23
how Naomi
24:24
feels
24:25
about this.
24:27
Look at
24:27
verse 19
24:29
through 21.
24:32
So the two
24:32
of them,
24:33
this is her
24:34
and Ruth,
24:34
went on
24:35
until they
24:35
came
24:36
to Bethlehem.
24:38
And when they
24:38
came to Bethlehem
24:39
the whole town
24:40
was stirred
24:41
because of them
24:41
and the woman
24:42
said,
24:43
is this
24:43
Naomi?
24:45
She's been
24:45
gone now
24:46
for years
24:46
and years
24:47
and so
24:47
they're abuzz
24:48
about this.
24:49
Is this
24:50
Naomi?
24:51
And her
24:51
response to
24:52
them is,
24:53
do not
24:54
call me
24:54
Naomi.
24:55
Do not
24:55
call me
24:56
pleasant.
24:58
Call me
24:59
Mara,
25:00
which means
25:01
bitter.
25:02
For the
25:03
Almighty
25:03
has dealt
25:05
very bitterly
25:06
with me.
25:08
I went
25:08
away full
25:09
and the
25:10
Lord has
25:11
brought me
25:11
back
25:11
empty.
25:13
Why
25:14
call me
25:15
Naomi
25:15
or pleasant
25:16
when the
25:16
Lord has
25:16
testified
25:17
against me
25:18
and the
25:18
Almighty
25:18
has brought
25:19
calamity
25:20
upon me.
25:23
Naomi
25:24
rightly
25:24
recognizes
25:25
God's
25:26
hand
25:27
in her
25:28
circumstances
25:28
but she
25:30
has failed
25:31
to remember
25:31
God's
25:32
promised
25:33
goodness.
25:37
No one
25:37
will argue
25:38
that the
25:38
loss of a
25:39
husband
25:39
and two
25:40
sons
25:40
is in
25:41
itself
25:42
a good.
25:44
But we
25:45
now have
25:45
the insight
25:46
an insight
25:47
that Naomi
25:48
didn't possess
25:49
that helps
25:50
us to
25:51
call this
25:52
a bitter
25:53
providence.
25:56
Naomi
25:56
doesn't call
25:57
it providence
25:58
at all
25:59
in chapter
26:00
one.
26:00
She is
26:01
just
26:01
embittered
26:03
toward God.
26:04
She herself
26:05
has become
26:06
bitter.
26:08
She arrives
26:09
home
26:10
weak
26:11
in faith.
26:14
I think
26:15
that each
26:15
of us
26:16
can relate
26:17
in some
26:18
measure
26:18
to Naomi.
26:21
You may
26:22
have
26:22
experienced
26:23
this
26:24
measure
26:24
of loss
26:25
or
26:25
something
26:26
near it.
26:29
You may
26:30
not be
26:30
able to
26:30
imagine
26:31
what this
26:32
kind of
26:32
loss
26:32
would feel
26:34
like.
26:35
Either way
26:36
in some
26:36
measure
26:37
we have
26:37
felt
26:38
what Naomi
26:39
feels
26:40
in the
26:40
phrase
26:41
I went
26:42
away
26:42
full
26:43
and the
26:43
Lord
26:44
has
26:44
mopped
26:45
me
26:45
back
26:45
empty.
26:47
Now
26:49
if you're
26:50
here
26:50
I think
26:50
most of
26:51
you resonate
26:51
you could
26:52
say yes
26:53
I have
26:53
felt this
26:53
way
26:54
at times
26:55
I have
26:56
at times
26:57
been embittered
26:58
toward God
26:59
and I have
27:00
been weak
27:01
in faith
27:02
perhaps you
27:03
have no
27:04
idea
27:05
and I will
27:06
just say
27:06
to you
27:06
and you're
27:06
probably a
27:07
young person
27:08
if that's
27:09
true
27:09
hang on
27:11
things are
27:12
going to
27:12
happen in
27:12
your life
27:13
they're going
27:13
to tempt
27:14
you to
27:15
turn away
27:16
and have
27:17
weak faith
27:18
and to
27:19
become
27:19
embittered
27:20
to
27:21
experience
27:22
things
27:22
and say
27:23
how could
27:23
this
27:24
thing
27:24
how could
27:25
this
27:25
possibly
27:26
be good
27:28
they can
27:31
be
27:32
beloved
27:33
because
27:33
God's
27:35
promises
27:35
are
27:37
sure
27:37
we need
27:40
a rich
27:41
we need
27:41
a thick
27:42
theology
27:43
of suffering
27:44
to bear up
27:45
in this
27:46
world
27:46
you will
27:47
at times
27:48
in your
27:48
life
27:49
have to
27:50
really
27:50
understand
27:52
God's
27:53
providence
27:54
you don't
27:56
need to be
27:56
told that
27:57
if you just
27:57
have enough
27:57
faith
27:58
the difficult
27:58
things in
27:59
your life
27:59
are going
27:59
to go
28:00
away
28:00
oh no
28:01
not at
28:01
all
28:02
you need
28:03
to be
28:04
told
28:04
that if
28:05
you have
28:05
enough
28:05
faith
28:06
you will
28:06
understand
28:07
that God
28:08
is working
28:09
all of
28:10
these trials
28:11
in your
28:11
life
28:11
for
28:12
your good
28:13
and his
28:14
glory
28:14
he is
28:16
working
28:17
for you
28:18
even
28:18
when the
28:19
providence
28:19
tastes
28:20
bitter
28:21
so hold
28:23
believe
28:25
persevere
28:26
one day
28:28
we will
28:28
all see
28:29
the full
28:30
reality
28:31
of his
28:31
purposes
28:32
for us
28:33
Paul says
28:35
that he
28:35
doesn't even
28:36
consider
28:36
current
28:37
suffering
28:38
worth
28:38
comparing
28:39
to the
28:40
eternal
28:40
weight
28:41
of glory
28:42
that's
28:43
going to
28:43
be revealed
28:43
to us
28:44
Thomas
28:46
Watson
28:47
the Puritan
28:47
preacher
28:48
once said
28:48
this is the
28:49
quotation on
28:50
your bulletin
28:50
this morning
28:51
God is to be
28:52
trusted
28:52
when his
28:54
providences
28:54
seem to run
28:55
contrary
28:56
to his
28:58
promises
28:58
so this is
29:01
a bitter
29:02
providence
29:03
that we see
29:03
in the life
29:04
of Ruth
29:05
excuse me
29:06
of Naomi
29:06
not
29:07
not meant
29:08
to embitter
29:09
Naomi
29:10
toward God
29:11
but it
29:12
is a
29:13
providence
29:13
that would
29:13
be
29:13
difficult
29:14
to bear
29:15
up
29:15
under
29:17
I'm so
29:17
grateful
29:17
that we
29:18
have the
29:18
fuller
29:19
view
29:19
of what
29:20
God
29:20
is doing
29:20
in these
29:22
affairs
29:22
so we
29:24
see a
29:24
bitter
29:24
providence
29:25
we also
29:25
see
29:26
in chapter
29:27
one
29:27
an
29:28
exceptional
29:28
faith
29:30
we turn
29:31
your attention
29:31
to verse
29:31
sixteen
29:32
and seventeen
29:33
so Orpah
29:36
has gone
29:37
back
29:37
returned to
29:39
her people
29:39
and to
29:40
her
29:40
people's
29:41
gods
29:42
but Ruth
29:43
says this
29:44
do not
29:45
urge me
29:46
to leave
29:46
you
29:46
or return
29:47
from following
29:48
you
29:48
for where
29:49
you go
29:50
I will
29:50
go
29:50
and where
29:51
you lodge
29:52
I will
29:52
lodge
29:53
your people
29:53
shall be
29:54
my people
29:54
and your
29:55
God
29:55
my God
29:57
where you
29:57
die
29:58
I will
29:58
die
29:58
and there
29:59
will I
29:59
be buried
30:00
may the
30:00
Lord
30:00
do so
30:01
to me
30:01
and more
30:02
also
30:02
if anything
30:03
but death
30:05
parts me
30:05
from you
30:06
may God
30:06
kill me
30:07
if anything
30:07
but death
30:08
parts me
30:08
from you
30:10
I suggest
30:12
to you
30:12
even though
30:13
we have
30:14
seen the
30:14
weakness
30:15
of Naomi's
30:16
faith
30:17
something
30:18
of her
30:19
faith
30:19
is compelling
30:20
to Ruth
30:21
across those
30:23
years that she
30:24
was part
30:24
of her family
30:25
perhaps
30:26
the journey
30:27
itself
30:28
something
30:28
about
30:29
Naomi's
30:30
faith
30:31
has
30:32
compelled
30:32
Ruth
30:34
to turn
30:34
her attention
30:35
to Yahweh
30:37
Ruth
30:39
has been
30:39
exposed
30:39
to the
30:40
worship
30:40
of Yahweh
30:40
in Naomi's
30:41
house
30:42
and we
30:43
see here
30:43
this expression
30:44
of desire
30:45
to worship
30:46
the God
30:47
of Israel
30:48
she declares
30:50
that Naomi's
30:50
God will be
30:51
her God
30:52
in verse 16
30:52
and then notice
30:53
in verse 17
30:54
she calls him
30:56
Lord
30:57
perhaps
31:00
just maybe
31:01
we witness
31:02
the conversion
31:03
of Naomi
31:03
in between
31:04
verse 16
31:05
and 17
31:06
as she is
31:07
being
31:07
pressed to
31:08
depart
31:08
and a
31:09
devotion
31:10
to Naomi
31:11
and Israel
31:12
and God
31:13
well up
31:14
inside her
31:15
perhaps
31:17
whether or not
31:19
that's what
31:19
happens here
31:20
we can
31:21
see her
31:22
faith
31:22
in this
31:24
text
31:24
so why
31:26
do I
31:26
call it
31:27
exceptional
31:28
well first
31:30
all faith
31:32
is exceptional
31:33
faith
31:34
because the
31:35
natural bend
31:36
of mankind
31:36
is not
31:37
towards God
31:38
but away
31:39
from him
31:39
we are all
31:40
born in sin
31:41
with the
31:42
inclination
31:42
to sin
31:43
this is the
31:44
direction
31:44
that every
31:44
one of us
31:45
is headed
31:46
in
31:47
all faith
31:49
is given
31:50
as a gift
31:51
therefore
31:53
all faith
31:54
is
31:55
exceptional
31:56
you or I
31:57
possess faith
31:58
this morning
31:58
we should
31:59
humbly
32:00
praise God
32:00
for it
32:01
because it
32:01
was given
32:01
to us
32:02
by him
32:03
additionally
32:06
in addition
32:07
to that
32:08
reality
32:09
Ruth
32:10
was a
32:11
Moabite
32:12
here
32:13
what
32:14
Deuteronomy
32:14
chapter 23
32:15
and verse
32:16
3 says
32:17
concerning
32:19
her
32:19
no
32:21
Ammonite
32:22
or Moabite
32:24
may enter
32:25
the assembly
32:25
of the
32:26
Lord
32:27
even
32:28
to the
32:28
tenth
32:29
generation
32:29
none
32:30
of them
32:30
may enter
32:31
the
32:31
assembly
32:31
of the
32:32
Lord
32:33
forever
32:34
this was a
32:36
judgment
32:36
because of
32:37
what the
32:37
Ammonites
32:38
and the
32:38
Moabites
32:39
had done
32:39
they had
32:39
dealt
32:40
treacherously
32:40
with Israel
32:42
now I cannot
32:44
be sure
32:44
that Ruth
32:45
was familiar
32:45
with this
32:46
text
32:47
but I imagine
32:48
that she
32:49
was
32:50
she had
32:51
spent some
32:51
years
32:52
under the
32:52
tutelage
32:53
of Naomi's
32:55
house
32:55
exceptional
32:57
faith
32:59
no
33:01
Moabite
33:01
may enter
33:02
the assembly
33:03
of the
33:04
Lord
33:04
even
33:05
to the
33:06
tenth
33:06
generation
33:06
none
33:06
of them
33:07
forever
33:07
may enter
33:08
the assembly
33:09
of the
33:09
Lord
33:10
and yet
33:10
she declares
33:11
in verse
33:11
16
33:12
Naomi's
33:13
God
33:13
will be
33:14
my
33:15
God
33:15
and then
33:16
she calls
33:16
him
33:17
Lord
33:18
she
33:19
believed
33:19
she
33:20
believed
33:21
that
33:21
God
33:21
could
33:21
be
33:22
her
33:23
God
33:24
we
33:25
have
33:25
seen
33:26
that
33:26
God
33:26
sets
33:27
her
33:27
in the
33:27
middle
33:28
of his
33:28
redemptive
33:29
narrative
33:30
as the
33:31
great
33:31
grandmother
33:33
of King
33:34
David
33:34
he certainly
33:36
does
33:36
accept her
33:37
perhaps
33:39
even in
33:40
spite of
33:40
what her
33:41
former
33:42
husband
33:42
had done
33:43
he
33:45
grafts
33:45
her
33:46
in
33:46
to this
33:47
family
33:48
and does
33:49
a significant
33:50
thing
33:50
with her
33:51
she's the
33:52
great
33:52
grandmother
33:52
of King
33:54
David
33:55
and then
33:55
more clearly
33:57
in the line
33:57
of King
33:58
Jesus
33:58
and Matthew's
33:59
genealogy
34:00
of Jesus
34:01
and I think
34:02
you'll appreciate
34:02
flipping with me
34:03
to Matthew
34:04
chapter 1
34:05
this is the
34:22
most extensive
34:22
genealogy
34:23
that we have
34:23
in the
34:24
gospel
34:24
accounts
34:24
I'm just
34:26
going to
34:26
read
34:27
one verse
34:28
and
34:28
half
34:29
of another
34:30
so Matthew
34:31
chapter 1
34:31
verse 5
34:33
and then
34:34
verse 6
34:36
and we
34:36
see the
34:37
addition
34:37
of two
34:39
women
34:40
in verse 5
34:42
this
34:42
additional
34:43
piece
34:44
there's a
34:44
pattern
34:44
being followed
34:45
of so
34:46
and so
34:46
was the
34:47
father of
34:47
so and so
34:47
was the
34:48
father of
34:48
so and so
34:48
but then
34:49
we see
34:49
this addition
34:50
of who
34:50
their
34:50
wife
34:51
was
34:53
so verse 5
34:53
says
34:54
and Sammon
34:55
the father
34:55
of
34:56
Boaz
34:57
play prominently
34:58
in the book
34:59
of Ruth
34:59
by Rahab
35:02
who was
35:03
the Jericho
35:04
prostitute
35:04
who helped
35:05
the spies
35:05
in Joshua
35:06
6
35:07
and Boaz
35:10
the father
35:10
of Obed
35:12
by Ruth
35:15
and Obed
35:16
the father
35:16
of Jesse
35:17
and Jesse
35:17
the father
35:18
of David
35:19
the king
35:20
and then Matthew
35:21
goes on
35:21
to talk about
35:22
this is where
35:23
the Christ
35:24
this is the
35:24
lineage of
35:25
the Christ
35:27
and we see
35:28
this beautiful
35:29
insertion
35:29
of her
35:30
in this
35:31
genealogy
35:32
this Moabite
35:33
woman
35:33
should have
35:34
been outside
35:35
of the
35:36
graces
35:36
of God
35:37
God
35:37
kindly
35:38
brings
35:39
in
35:40
she expresses
35:41
her devotion
35:42
to Naomi
35:44
and comes
35:45
and says
35:45
your God
35:47
will be my
35:47
God
35:48
and she
35:48
calls him
35:49
Lord
35:50
exceptional
35:52
faith
35:53
isn't it
35:54
cool
35:55
that we
35:55
get to
35:55
zoom back
35:56
and see
35:57
the story
35:58
in its
35:59
entirety
36:00
and then
36:01
try to
36:01
understand
36:02
them
36:02
living
36:02
in
36:03
this
36:04
day
36:05
we see
36:07
an improper
36:08
application
36:09
of an
36:09
understanding
36:10
of God's
36:10
good promises
36:11
and his
36:12
sovereign work
36:12
in them
36:13
on behalf
36:14
of Naomi
36:15
she is
36:16
embittered
36:17
towards
36:18
God
36:19
glad to
36:20
see the
36:20
resolve
36:21
of the
36:21
story
36:21
even in
36:22
brief
36:22
this
36:23
morning
36:24
and then
36:24
we get to
36:24
view this
36:24
exceptional
36:25
faith
36:26
of Ruth
36:28
as she
36:28
travels
36:28
back
36:28
with
36:29
Naomi
36:29
to
36:30
Bethlehem
36:30
the
36:32
story
36:32
of
36:32
Ruth
36:33
is a
36:34
story
36:34
of
36:34
providence
36:35
unfolded
36:36
for our
36:38
good
36:38
and for
36:39
God's
36:39
glory
36:40
let's
36:41
pray
36:41
together