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12.4.22 Ruth 1 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, Ruth chapter 1, and I've titled it this morning, Once Upon a Time. Do you believe in fairy tales? You know, I have three sons. I've never had daughters. Perhaps I'll have granddaughters someday, but I've never raised girls, and perhaps that means that fairy tales didn't mean the same thing in our home. They certainly didn't have the same luster that they might have had if I had daughters.
• 0:26
  I and my sons attended the women's tea. We sat upstairs and just listened. We were helping kind of with the behind the scenes stuff, logistics, getting more chairs and cleaning up messes and tearing down tables and resetting the sanctuary yesterday afternoon. You know, to see all of these little girls come in in their dresses that I think are literally made of glitter.
• 0:46
  It's like glitter and Elmer's glue. And somehow they make a dress out of that. It's astounding to me. I mean, there is an aura around them of this glitter dust, like fairy dust. And my boys see these little girls come in and they just sit there looking at them with this quizzical look. Like that's never been a part of our home. We've never had princesses. We've never done any of that stuff. Didn't even realize there were pink Legos until not that long ago.
• 1:12
  I thought they all came in gray and black. That's just what I thought. We never had girls. And many years ago, I took my sons, when they were much, much younger, just little boys, to see the animated Disney movie Frozen for the first time. They and a bunch of their buddies were also boys.
• 1:30
  We were sitting in the middle of the theater. All of the boys were sitting in run row. All of the parents sitting directly behind them. And so our boys were sitting in front of us. We were surrounded by families with daughters. They were the other ones as we watched the new Disney princess movie together. As the families around us were moved to the point of tears, sniffling and so excited and all of that. We could hear our boys cracking jokes and snickering throughout the movie.
• 1:59
  I don't know what they were saying, but every now and again you'd see their little shadow heads move and they're saying jokes and you can hear them kind of laughing and whatever. And when the end credits began to roll and the screen went black and the final song, right, began to blare out, let it go, let it go, right? One of our boys, and I won't tell you which one, just stood up, raised his arms triumphantly and declared, I sure did let it go, just now.
• 2:30
  Kind of hung my head and I thought, I don't think that's what the Disney princess meant. I'm so sorry for ruining this precious moment with all of your daughters. I'm so sorry. The truth is, church, we don't believe in fairy tales because fairy tales never come true. They're not true stories, made up events. There's nothing factual in fairy tales. But what if there were a fairy tale that did come true? What if there were a fairy tale?
• 3:05
  recorded on the pages of scripture a fairy tale that included all of the elements of normal fairy tales but that was a true story the book of ruth has all of those elements it's got an old and bitter stepmother it's got a beautiful but poor damsel in distress there's a real life prince charming
• 3:33
  And as we kick off our study, what will be our study for the month of December, let me just highlight some points of interest regarding the book of Ruth. First, Ruth is one of only two books in the entire Bible named after a Gentile. The other one is Luke. And these two books are significant because they serve as a reminder that God is the Savior of all of mankind and not just the Jews. Second, Ruth...
• 3:59
  really is a love story. Although the word love appears only one time in chapter 4 and verse 15, it's a love story between a damsel in distress and a real-life Prince Charming, a wealthy and noble bachelor who under no obligation chose to marry Ruth in order to save her from poverty and shame because he genuinely loved her.
• 4:23
  He redeemed her because he loved her. And so the story is really about redeeming love. Does that sound familiar? One pastor has said it this way, the perfect timing of divine love and grace become the backdrop in his tale of romance and redemption. Keep in mind, Ruth was a Moabitess. She was a Gentile heathen. She was condemned by the law.
• 4:55
  forbidden from even entering the temple. In fact, Deuteronomy chapter 23 and verse 3 says, no Ammonite or Moabite. Ruth was a Moabite. She was a Moabitess, a woman Moabite from Moab. No Moabite shall enter the assembly of the Lord. They weren't even permitted to come into the temple. And yet Boaz, the most eligible bachelor in town, a wealthy, esteemed, distinguished man, a man well thought of, highly thought of, redeemed her.
• 5:24
  Not because of her grace and goodness, but because of his grace and love for her. Ruth was one of only five Old Testament scrolls read annually during the festival seasons. For instance, Esther would have been read every year in the fall at the Feast of Purim. Ecclesiastes was read during the Feast of Tabernacles. Ruth was read every year at the Feast of Weeks. We would know it as Pentecost.
• 5:52
  It can't be a coincidence, beloved church, that the love of God abounded at the birth of His bride, the church, on that very day, the day of Pentecost. The church, the New Testament church, was born in Acts chapter 2, the day of Pentecost, where the Holy Spirit of God was poured out upon the believers, assembled in His name, a day of redeeming love. Imagine it. Only days after Christ's ascension,
• 6:19
  The first church was sealed with the indwelling Holy Spirit. We know that story well in Acts 2. When that day was done, when the Holy Spirit was given, when Peter had preached that famous sermon, that first church gathered that evening and read the book of Ruth, a story of God's redeeming love.
• 6:45
  There are two key ideas introduced in the story of Ruth that we would be wise to remember. The first is this repeated Hebrew word, chesed. That word is the loyal love of God, often associated with his grace. Grace and love. The grace and love of God are a repeated theme throughout the book. But so is this other Hebrew word, goel. Goel is the concept of a kinsman redeemer. Perhaps you've heard that phrase before. You're going to hear it a lot in the next four Sundays.
• 7:14
  kinsman redeemer, a close relative who would come to a woman in distress and marry her in order to save her. And it is a reflection, make no doubt, it is a reflection of Christ and his relationship with us, his bride, the church.
• 7:32
  The very first verse of the book provides an incredible amount of context for our story. Imagine this first chapter of Ruth, what will be our study, the kind of being that scrolling text preceding a Star Wars movie, right? You guys all saw Star Wars. The screen goes black. There's that John Williams theme kind of play. Right? And you've got this rolling text kind of catching you up. Read all of this and then we'll jump into the story. And that's what the chapter...
• 7:59
  The first chapter of Ruth does. Notice in verse 1, it says, in the days when the judges ruled. Now, as you may recall, the book of Judges chronicles what was perhaps the darkest days in Israel's history. And that's saying a lot, because there were a lot of dark days in Israel's history. The judges were maybe the darkest. The people of God found themselves in the promised land, which is good. And yet they found themselves having failed to fulfill God's command to claim the promised land.
• 8:29
  By conquest, meaning they allowed the ungodly inhabitants of the land to remain. And as God predicted, they became thorns in their sides and a snare to their children. And that's bad. The period of the judges was a 200-year story of rebellion against God. Because of their defiance, the Lord raised up a conquering people to subjugate the Jews and to punish them for their disobedience. Once conquered,
• 8:59
  The Jewish people would repent. Because of their repentance, God would hear their cry for mercy. He would raise up a judge. Now, sometimes those judges had miracle working power, right? Like who? Samson, he's the famous one. That guy did some pretty crazy stuff. He was one of those judges. Sometimes they were just really good and godly leaders like Deborah, Tola, Jair. For 200 years, this cycle continued.
• 9:27
  The people would rebel. They would be conquered. God would raise up a judge. They would repent. They would rebel. They would be conquered. God would raise up a judge. They would repent. And it was during this spiritually and politically dark period when Ruth lived. She lived right in the middle of the judges. Now, the book of Ruth was likely written by Samuel. He was the final one of those judges, the first of the Old Testament prophets of God, if you don't count Moses himself.
• 9:53
  The book of Ruth is perhaps the only ray of sunshine during that dark time. In fact, one pastor has said the book of Ruth is a pearl in the pig pen of the judges. If you think of the judges as 200 years of pig slop, the book of Ruth is a tiny little pearl you find in the middle of the pig sty. Notice it continues. In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land.
• 10:24
  And now this makes sense in a war-torn country. Conquering armies always wreck the landscape. Just like is the case of World War II, when infantrymen from every country started using the Sphinx in Cairo as target practice for their artillery, which is why the Sphinx has no nose. They shot it off in World War II as they were passing through. Everybody took a pot shot at the Sphinx. They ruined the country.
• 10:53
  that they are traveling through. Now there's an interesting irony in the Hebrew that is missed in the English, which the Jews would have picked up on immediately. The name Bethlehem, you notice in verse 1 it says there was a man of Bethlehem in Judah. There was a famine in Bethlehem. The name Bethlehem literally means house of bread. Bet, bait, house, lechem, house of bread. Bethlehem was the bread basket of Israel. Here it says that there was a famine.
• 11:23
  In the bread basket, the land that was once flowing with milk and honey, in which olives and almonds and grapes were plentiful, was now wrecked due to Israel's rebellion. There is no bread in the house of bread. You continue in verse 1, it says, There was a man from Bethlehem of Judah who went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. Moab was a land of desolation and curses.
• 11:53
  Psalm 60 and verse 8 calls Moab a wash basin. It was the bowl that was used to scour a traveler's feet. It was like a foot basin where you would wash off the nastiness from your feet. Now Moab, in contrast to Bethlehem being the bread basket, Moab was a waste basket. And this Jewish man would trade the bread basket for the waste basket.
• 12:23
  Use of the word sojourn in verse 1 seems to imply that his trip was intended to be temporary. At least at first he took his wife and two sons to Moab. Temporarily, he thought. I'm just going to go long enough for the land to recover from war. Or I'm just going to go long enough to escape the ravages of the famine in Israel. But we'll return. And as is sometimes the case, what began as temporary lingered. Verse 2 says they remained there right at the end of verse 2.
• 12:52
  At the end of verse 4, it says they remained there 10 years. What began as a sojourn, as an extended vacation, became a decade of living in the wastebasket. Verse 2 adds an interesting detail. Look at verse 2. The name of the man was Elimelech. The name of his wife, Naomi.
• 13:14
  The name of his two sons were Malon and Kilion. Now I always enjoy studying Hebrew names. I bring them up to you frequently because they are meant to imply something about the name bearers. They reflect something about the character of the man. Elimelech means my God is king. My God is king. And yet at the first sign of trouble, Elimelech disbelieved in his God's provision and bailed.
• 13:39
  He did not follow through on his name. Now Elimelech had two sons, Malon and Kilion. They were purposefully rhyming names. Malon means weak or weak one. Kilion means one who pines or a complainer. So his two sons were named Puny and Whiny.
• 14:02
  I mean, literally what he named his two boys. And these certainly lived up to their names because all three of these men only made it through five verses of the story. By verse 6, even whiny and puny have died. The text says that they were Ephrathites. If you continue in verse 2, they were Ephrathites from Bethlehem and Judah. They went into the country of Moab.
• 14:31
  and remained there. To call them Ephrathites means that they were old school families in Bethlehem. Ephrat is what Bethlehem was called before it was called Bethlehem. This means that Elimelech was well established in Bethlehem. He would have bragged about how many of his ancestors were from there. He could have traced his lineage back for generations. He would likely have been considered old money in the region. Everybody would have known his name.
• 14:59
  He would for sure have sported that green native bumper sticker on his car. You guys all know the one I'm talking about? He would have been like this guy. I was studying this text. I had just written that line, native bumper sticker on his car, and I pulled up behind an interesting license plate this week at an intersection here in town. I took a picture of it because I thought it was funny. All right, there it is. Now, I'll give you guys one guess where this guy was born.
• 15:29
  All right, go home. And I'm sorry if that's your car. If it is, I'm so sorry. But I pulled up right behind this guy and I thought, oh man, it's a Limelech. Hallie, give me my phone. I took a picture of a Limelech's car. You know, he would have been this guy. Go home. I'm from here. I was born here. You weren't. Go back to wherever it is you came from. What a weird thing for this guy to pack up his stuff and leave town. He would have bragged about being from Ephrat.
• 16:01
  I can remember back before this neighborhood was established. I can remember back when this was just cornfields, right? I mean, that was this guy, and for him to pack up his family and leave would have been completely unexpected, and no sooner had he moved his family than disaster struck. Look at verse 3. But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died, and she was left with her two sons.
• 16:24
  After generations of living in Bethlehem, he suddenly uproots his wife and sons and then just as suddenly abandons them by death. They migrated to Moab where they hoped the grass was greener but were met with misfortune. The trials didn't end there. Verse 4 says that Naomi's two sons took wives and then died themselves. All that was left of this once influential Bethlehem family were three graves and three matching widows. Verse 4, they took Moabite wives.
• 16:54
  The name of the one was Orpah, the name of the other Ruth. They lived there about 10 years, and both Malon and Kilion died, so that the woman was left without her two sons and her husband. You know, in the southwest corner of 104th and Sheridan, just right down the road, there's a field where horses are put out to pasture. Perhaps you know the field I'm talking about across the street from the Westminster Rec Center.
• 17:20
  Most of the time, you see these horses out in the middle of that field eating to their heart's content. They're eating all of that green grass in the summer. Every now and then, you'll see one of those horses on that corner stretching its neck through the fencing to eat the exact same grass just on the other side of the fence. And you may drive by and you think, dumb horse.
• 17:45
  Doesn't it know that the grass isn't any greener on the other side of the fence? It's the same grass. Elimelech's hometown of Bethlehem sits up on a ridge overlooking the Jordan Rift Valley, the Judean wilderness. Moab rises up on the distant horizon about 50 miles away. You can see one from the other. Elimelech may have been able to see the green hills of Moab. As he peered across the valley to the other side, he thought the grass was greener.
• 18:15
  He was willing to move his family outside of the promised land and therefore outside of God's provision, but he found only disaster. I heard someone say one time that the grass is only greener directly above a septic tank. And you, beloved friends, may look around and wish your life was different. Like Elimelech, you may be tempted to think that the grass is greener on the other side, that if you just had a little more money or lived in a little bit bigger house or...
• 18:47
  drove a bigger and nicer car while sitting next to a different spouse. If you could just move to a conservative state where they haven't lost their minds, that's the one that I hear most frequently. Maybe the grass would be greener, but listen, church, there's no substitute for remaining where the Lord has called you, for following the Spirit's prompting. There is a possibility that in your pursuit of greener grass, you'll only find yourself living above the septic tank.
• 19:21
  There's one more point of interest as it relates to the first five verses of the text, the first paragraph. You know, the name of God never appears in the first five verses. That first paragraph, God is never mentioned. Did you guys notice that? He finally appears in verse 6. That's the first time the Lord comes up. It reminds me of the description of each of us prior to being redeemed, found in Ephesians 2 and verse 1. Listen to this description. The first three verses of Ephesians 2 are talking about us.
• 19:50
  It says, you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh. He's talking about before Christ, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. He is describing pre-Christ, Christ Danny, that's me, a child of wrath, a child of fleshly pursuits, a child of sin and trespasses. That was
• 20:20
  me. But now look at verse 4. But God. God intervened. God interrupted. That was the day I got saved. That was the day you and I found Christ. But God, being rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. Praise God for what happens to us and in us when God shows up. When you read verse 6 of Ruth chapter 1, you can almost hear that very same
• 20:48
  but God. God is going to intervene, he is going to interrupt, and from this point forward in the story, the Lord's name can be found in every single paragraph. Absent in the first one, the Lord intervenes and interrupts, and he is present for the remainder. Notice verse 6, she arose with her daughter-in-law to return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the fields of Moab that the Lord had visited his people and given them food.
• 21:16
  So she set out from the place where she was with her two daughters-in-law, and they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. You know, Thomas Jefferson once wrote to a friend, the art of life is the avoidance of pain. Right? That's all of life. And man, that is a pretty bleak outlook. I'm not sure if I agree with that. But I do agree with this statement, that 10% of life is what happens to you. The other 90% is how you respond.
• 21:45
  10% of life is what happens to you. The other 90% is your response to what happens to you. And although Naomi, we find in chapters 1 and 2, Naomi would struggle throughout the remainder of her life with bitterness and anger toward the Lord, she nevertheless made the right decision when she was at her lowest. She decided to return to God. She decided to return to God's people. God would bless abundantly her response to the cards that life dealt her.
• 22:14
  I mean, she wasn't in charge of uprooting and moving to Moab. That was her husband's choice. She certainly didn't choose the loss of her husband and sons. Those were the cards she was dealt. She struggled with becoming a bitter Betty. That's what's going to happen in chapter 1. But she knew where to go to restore her joy and peace. And friends, maybe life has dealt you a bum hand. Maybe you've experienced loss, which was outside of your control.
• 22:44
  You're struggling to find answers. Follow the example of Naomi. Even in your lowest and darkest, seek the Lord. He's promised that he's not hard to find. Return to the Lord if you've left him. Return to fellowship with his people. Have your joy and peace restored. These three widows begin to travel together, but before they cross over into Israel and realizing that she literally had nothing to offer these two young women,
• 23:17
  Naomi encouraged them to return to their houses and to seek the support of their families. Look at verse 8. And Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, go, return each of you to her mother's house. And notice she even sends them with a blessing. May the Lord deal kindly with you as you have dealt with the dead and with me. The Lord grant that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. She even wishes that they would get remarried. Right? Go and be blessed. Find a new husband. She kissed them and they lifted up their voices.
• 23:47
  And wept. Their prospects were bleak. So it makes sense that they cried together. They began to plead to stay together. Maybe they even felt like there was strength in numbers. Notice their response to her in verse 10. They said, no, we will return with you to your people. Maybe if we just stick together. And what an unusual band this would be. I have never heard of, in 25 years of pastoral ministry, anywhere, not even just not in my church, I have never heard of three widows bound together in marriage.
• 24:19
  with no children or grandchildren to help care for them. I've never heard of that. They were going to be this little triad of widows, they determined. They were going to stay together. There is strength in us staying together, but Ruth gave a pretty compelling argument for their departure. She says, in verse 11, but Naomi said, turn back. In fact, twice she's going to say, turn back. Turn back, my daughters. Why would you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands? I don't have any other boys.
• 24:48
  Turn back, my daughters. Go your way. I am too old to even have a husband. I can't get remarried and have more kids. I can't start over. And let's just say for a moment, I can if I should have hope. Even if I should have a husband this night and bear twin boys. Would you therefore wait till they were grown? What are you going to do? Wait around for 20 years so that they can get married to you?
• 25:14
  Would you therefore refrain from marrying those 20 years? No, my daughters, it is exceedingly bitter to me for your sake that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. Obviously God's hand is against me. It doesn't have to be against you. Go. Verse 14, they lifted up their voices and wept again. Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth clung to her. Orpah kissed her goodbye. Ruth clung to her. Orpah submitted and returned home. Ruth committed.
• 25:45
  and stayed with naomi verse 15 and she said see your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods return after your sister-in-law now naomi's commitment that we have recorded in verses 16 to 18 have become some pretty famous verses they almost sound like wedding vows i mean you can even hear the until death do us part look at verse 16 but ruth said do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you
• 26:13
  For where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. There will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything but death parts me from you. Right until death do us part. And when Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said, no more. Ruth was going to follow Naomi no matter the cost. And Naomi had nothing to offer, only poverty, shame, even derision.
• 26:44
  Naomi's family had left when times were bad, and now we're returning when times were good. They were fair weather fans. They were bandwagon fans. Right? I haven't seen as many Broncos jerseys recently, church. Right? And when they start winning again, everybody's going to break out that Bronco orange. Be like, where did it all go? It's gone. Well, they're three and nine. Like, you know, it's in the bottom drawer.
• 27:10
  Well, that was this family. Where were you when times were tough? Now you're suddenly coming back when there's bread in the house of bread, right? Their neighbors are all lined up with their we told you so's. We told you it was a bad idea. Ruth would now turn her back on her own citizenship in Moab. She would turn her back on her family's support. She would turn her back on marriage prospects. There were no wedding bells in Ruth's future if she followed Naomi. Who would have her?
• 27:40
  Moabites weren't even allowed in the temple, let alone to marry some nice young Jewish boy, right? That's not going to happen. She was turning her back on everything. My very good friends are missionaries to inland China. They work among a minority people group called the Yi people. There were about 2 million Yi people. It sounds like a lot, but it's in a country of over a billion Han Chinese.
• 28:05
  The Yi are considered ethnically inferior. They are horribly treated by the Chinese population. They live in squalor. Many of the Yi people live in very small one-room homes with mud floors. They grow potatoes. They live on one potato per day, many of them. They are horribly malnourished. They are short. They often die young from sickness and malnutrition. They depend upon their community, that Yi community, for everything.
• 28:35
  because they have nothing and no one else. The E people worship every imaginable spirit, seeking the help of false gods, which actually leaves them spiritually exposed and tormented by demons. It is a dark place. When our friends began living among them, they shared the good news of Jesus Christ, and some of those E people believed. And we rejoiced.
• 29:04
  But consider for a moment what that meant for those brand new believers. I had the privilege of visiting an e-village in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains many years ago when I was a younger man. I spoke with a man, a father, who believed in Jesus Christ, whose whole family followed him, his wife and their kids. He spoke about the joy that he now has because of his faith and the hope that he has in eternity. But then he began describing what he lost. All of his friends.
• 29:34
  All of his neighbors, in fact, the community even forced he and his wife and kids to move out of their village. He lost his job. He lost his little plot of dirt. He lost his source of food. His kids, when they chose to follow Christ, gave up the possibility of marriage. Because consider, who are they going to marry? Who's going to take them and who would they take? They're the only believers in town. They're the only believers that they even know.
• 30:08
  When I consider Ruth's commitment, that man, that E-man is the man I think of. Your God is my God. Your people are my people. Your home is now my home. I'm all in. It reminds me of a J.C. Ryle quote where he said, even if you must go to heaven alone, you must determine that by God's grace you will go. Even if I go alone, even if I'm it, even if it's just me and Jesus, that's enough. I'm all in, Ruth says.
• 30:38
  to naomi verse 19 so the two of them went on until they came to bethlehem when they came to bethlehem the whole town was stirred because of them and all the women said wait isn't that naomi she said don't call me naomi naomi means pleasant one or pleasant friend don't call me naomi from now on call me mara which means bitter call me a bitter old woman that's literally what she says the lord has dealt very bitterly with me i went away full i had sons and a husband the lord has brought me back empty
• 31:09
  Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me? You know, one of my favorite things about the story of Ruth and Naomi is that it is a picture of how God cares for widows. He does have a heart for widows. And Naomi returned, it says, and Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest. It sounds like a fairy tale. We conclude with a bitter old widow.
• 31:41
  following behind her a damsel in distress. And church, I can't wait till next Sunday when I get to introduce you to Prince Charming. His name is Boaz. You find him in the next verse. Let me just give you a little sample as we close. If you remember back in your Bibles to Joshua 2, we're introduced to a woman of Jericho, a prostitute, who risked her own neck for the sake of God's spies who would come into the city. Do you guys remember this prostitute of Jericho?
• 32:09
  She even rescued those spies by sliding them down the city's walls in a basket ahead of Jericho's soldiers who were looking for them and wanted to kill them. And in return, that woman, whose name was Rahab, was spared when Jericho was destroyed. Rahab repented of her sinful lifestyle. She pledged herself to the Creator God. Your God is now my God. She became a believer. Rahab eventually got married.
• 32:39
  to a man named Salmon, like the fish, who was a priest in Israel. She married a Jewish priest. Salmon and Rahab gave birth to a son whose name, according to Matthew's genealogy, was Boaz. That's this guy. Boaz was the son of Rahab and Salmon. Boaz had a mother who was not a Jew. She was from Jericho, who was a prostitute.
• 33:11
  who could not have been thought of any more lowly, who could not have been any worse. I mean, this was an unredeemable human who had been redeemed, who had been restored, who had been married and now gave birth to a son. And I can just imagine Rahab teaching her young son Boaz about her past, when he was old enough to understand, about how God had redeemed her and restored her, and her telling him, can you imagine her words?
• 33:40
  Listen, Boaz, don't you go looking down on people because of where they're from or because of what they've done in their past. You've heard about my past and how the Lord redeemed me. And Boaz, if he can redeem me, he can redeem anybody. And the next time, church, the enemy of your soul whispers into your ears those hateful words that because of your sin, the Lord cannot use you or that the Lord has rejected you because of what you've done in your past. You feel free to remind him of Rahab.
• 34:13
  and her son Boaz. We pray, Lord, thank you for redeeming us. Thank you for your redeeming love. And as we study the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, God, may we be reminded of your great enduring and redeeming love for us in Jesus' name. Amen.