1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,720 You are listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open the Bible. 2 00:00:06,720 –> 00:00:15,520 To contact us, call us at 1-877-Open-365 Or visit our website, Open The Bible.org 3 00:00:15,520 –> 00:00:19,080 Let’s get to the message, here is Pastor Colin. 4 00:00:19,080 –> 00:00:26,500 Well, it is a joy to be back in the pulpit and to be beginning a new series in the Book 5 00:00:26,500 –> 00:00:27,500 of Ruth. 6 00:00:27,500 –> 00:00:35,880 Now, there are two ways to approach a story like the story of Ruth that is before us today 7 00:00:35,880 –> 00:00:38,459 and in these coming weeks. 8 00:00:38,459 –> 00:00:46,200 One is to stand with each of the characters in their loves and their joys, and in their 9 00:00:46,200 –> 00:00:53,619 tears and their sorrows as they progressively move through each stage of their journey. 10 00:00:53,619 –> 00:01:00,759 The other, of course, is to start with the big picture, to see how the story ends and 11 00:01:00,759 –> 00:01:08,300 so better to be able to understand what is actually going on along the way. 12 00:01:08,300 –> 00:01:15,739 And I want us to do both of these things during this series, and so today I want us to see 13 00:01:15,739 –> 00:01:21,400 both how the story begins and also how it ends. 14 00:01:21,400 –> 00:01:28,860 And of course, that’s appropriate for Christian believers because we know how our story ends. 15 00:01:28,860 –> 00:01:34,099 We know that because God has revealed it to us. 16 00:01:34,099 –> 00:01:40,419 In Jesus Christ, whatever the sorrows and loss you are experiencing right now, in Jesus 17 00:01:40,419 –> 00:01:46,300 Christ your story does not end with tears and loss. 18 00:01:46,300 –> 00:01:54,059 Your story in Jesus Christ will end with fullness of joy in your Father’s house where all tears 19 00:01:54,059 –> 00:01:57,820 will be wiped away from your eyes. 20 00:01:57,820 –> 00:02:04,339 God has told us how our story ends and He has told us how our story ends so that we 21 00:02:04,339 –> 00:02:11,699 may be able to live with hope when we face sorrow and when we face loss along the way. 22 00:02:12,000 –> 00:02:17,380 Now, we’re looking together at what is one of the most beautiful stories in all of the 23 00:02:17,380 –> 00:02:18,380 Bible. 24 00:02:18,380 –> 00:02:21,360 And I’ve been drawn to it for at least three reasons. 25 00:02:21,360 –> 00:02:28,559 First, because it is a story about ordinary people that every single one of us can relate 26 00:02:28,559 –> 00:02:29,619 to. 27 00:02:29,619 –> 00:02:36,279 Second, because it is a story about our extraordinary God. 28 00:02:36,279 –> 00:02:40,979 And you know, when you bring ordinary people and our extraordinary God together, you know 29 00:02:40,979 –> 00:02:45,360 what you get is a story of redemption. 30 00:02:45,360 –> 00:02:49,320 And that’s the very heart of what this story is all about. 31 00:02:49,320 –> 00:02:54,259 So, we’re going to look at these three things today as we look at how it begins and how 32 00:02:54,259 –> 00:02:55,259 it ends. 33 00:02:55,259 –> 00:03:00,119 First, then, this is a story about ordinary people. 34 00:03:00,119 –> 00:03:06,979 Now, many of the stories in the Bible, of course, are about unusual people who do remarkable 35 00:03:06,979 –> 00:03:08,240 things. 36 00:03:08,240 –> 00:03:16,000 We read about Abraham offering his son on an altar, Moses leading God’s people out 37 00:03:16,000 –> 00:03:22,740 of Egypt, David slaying a giant by the name of Goliath. 38 00:03:22,740 –> 00:03:27,919 And we read these stories with a sense of wonder, but sometimes we may think to ourselves 39 00:03:27,919 –> 00:03:34,860 when would I ever do anything remotely like any of these people? 40 00:03:35,220 –> 00:03:44,600 But everyone can relate to this story which is about the lives, the loves and the losses 41 00:03:44,600 –> 00:03:48,940 of one ordinary family. 42 00:03:48,940 –> 00:03:54,679 The story begins telling us when it took place. 43 00:03:54,679 –> 00:04:02,520 Verse 1, in the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man 44 00:04:02,520 –> 00:04:10,020 of Bethlehem in girls went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two 45 00:04:10,020 –> 00:04:11,479 sons. 46 00:04:11,479 –> 00:04:19,980 Now these days of the judges where this story took place were really terrible times. 47 00:04:19,980 –> 00:04:24,140 If you know the story of the book of Judges, you will remember that this was a period where 48 00:04:24,140 –> 00:04:31,179 God’s people repeatedly turned to idols and when they did they were overpowered by 49 00:04:31,299 –> 00:04:35,959 enemies who invaded and then oppressed them. 50 00:04:35,959 –> 00:04:40,359 When that happened, God’s people cried out to him for help. 51 00:04:40,359 –> 00:04:44,299 That’s always the first instinct of a believing person by the way, isn’t it? 52 00:04:44,299 –> 00:04:48,619 We may forget the Lord when things are going well, but when we’re in trouble, our first 53 00:04:48,619 –> 00:04:54,700 instinct is to call out to God and ask Him for help. 54 00:04:54,700 –> 00:04:59,579 And when God’s people asked him for help what he did is he raised up judges, they were 55 00:04:59,640 –> 00:05:06,019 really military leaders who drove out the enemies from the land and peace was restored 56 00:05:06,019 –> 00:05:08,059 for as long as the judge lived. 57 00:05:08,059 –> 00:05:12,799 But when the judge died what happened repeatedly was that God’s people turned to idols again 58 00:05:12,799 –> 00:05:18,760 and then enemies invaded the land and you’re back to the start all over again. 59 00:05:18,760 –> 00:05:24,140 So God’s people throughout the time of the judges were just lurching from one crisis 60 00:05:24,739 –> 00:05:25,739 occurrences to another. 61 00:05:25,739 –> 00:05:30,600 And if you think about that you may think well this is perhaps a story that speaks to 62 00:05:30,600 –> 00:05:34,739 our day as well. 63 00:05:34,739 –> 00:05:37,299 This is a story that speaks to our times. 64 00:05:37,299 –> 00:05:44,140 The days of the judges were days of desperately flawed leaders. 65 00:05:44,140 –> 00:05:48,420 None of them had a lasting impact for good. 66 00:05:48,420 –> 00:05:53,299 They did some good and then it all got washed away. 67 00:05:53,619 –> 00:06:01,779 And people, God’s people, lived with a profound sense that life in the promised land should 68 00:06:01,779 –> 00:06:06,140 be better than this. 69 00:06:06,140 –> 00:06:10,779 It’s a story that speaks to our times because it was in the days of the judges, when the 70 00:06:10,779 –> 00:06:13,420 judges ruled, notice what happened. 71 00:06:13,420 –> 00:06:17,959 There was a famine in the land. 72 00:06:17,959 –> 00:06:18,959 Wow. 73 00:06:18,959 –> 00:06:23,059 A famine in the promised land. 74 00:06:23,059 –> 00:06:30,440 This is the land that God gave to his people, a land flowing with milk and with honey. 75 00:06:30,440 –> 00:06:37,959 And notice that this famine was, of all places, in Bethlehem. 76 00:06:37,959 –> 00:06:43,619 Bethlehem simply means, the house of bread, and the little town of Bethlehem was given 77 00:06:43,619 –> 00:06:50,079 its name clearly because the fields in that immediate area were particularly fertile. 78 00:06:50,239 –> 00:06:54,940 A famine in Bethlehem? 79 00:06:54,940 –> 00:06:57,459 Why was there a famine? 80 00:06:57,459 –> 00:07:04,359 Well, the first thing that comes to our mind is that God must have held back the rain, 81 00:07:04,359 –> 00:07:09,980 and indeed that could be the reason for the famine that is stated here, but there could 82 00:07:09,980 –> 00:07:12,519 be another explanation. 83 00:07:12,519 –> 00:07:16,959 In the book of Judges, so from this time in which the story is set, we read these words 84 00:07:17,059 –> 00:07:20,299 Judges 6 and verse 3. 85 00:07:20,299 –> 00:07:26,720 Whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people 86 00:07:26,720 –> 00:07:34,459 of the East would come up against them, they would encamp against them and devour the produce 87 00:07:34,459 –> 00:07:41,720 of the land and leave no sustenance in Israel. 88 00:07:41,720 –> 00:07:50,399 They would come like locusts in number, so that they laid waste the land as they came 89 00:07:50,399 –> 00:07:51,399 in. 90 00:07:51,399 –> 00:08:00,559 Now can you imagine the frustration if year after year you planted your field, you raised 91 00:08:00,559 –> 00:08:10,540 your crop, and just before harvest, the enemy came in like locusts possibly burning your 92 00:08:11,459 –> 00:08:21,079 trampling them down, destroying your crop, and that happened leaving you hungry year 93 00:08:21,079 –> 00:08:25,100 after year. 94 00:08:25,100 –> 00:08:31,519 And one reason for thinking that the famine may have been because the crops were destroyed 95 00:08:31,519 –> 00:08:39,880 by enemies is that while there was famine in Bethlehem, there clearly was food in Moab, 96 00:08:40,039 –> 00:08:50,840 and Moab, as the crow flies, is only, once, less than 50 miles from Bethlehem. 97 00:08:50,840 –> 00:08:58,340 So the book of Ruth begins by telling us that one family finding themselves in this desperately 98 00:08:58,340 –> 00:09:05,159 frustrating situation, they made a decision. 99 00:09:05,299 –> 00:09:11,320 In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem 100 00:09:11,320 –> 00:09:21,140 in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 101 00:09:21,140 –> 00:09:26,760 So this family then, as you think about the location, they left their fields in Bethlehem, 102 00:09:26,760 –> 00:09:35,239 they took a journey around the north edge of the Dead Sea, and then they went down south 103 00:09:35,239 –> 00:09:38,919 until they arrived in Moab. 104 00:09:38,919 –> 00:09:48,200 Now, here we come to a question that will affect how we understand and apply this story. 105 00:09:48,580 –> 00:09:50,500 But here’s the question. 106 00:09:50,500 –> 00:09:59,679 Did Elimelech make a mistake when he moved to Moab? 107 00:09:59,679 –> 00:10:06,599 Should he have stayed in Bethlehem and simply trusted God to provide? 108 00:10:06,599 –> 00:10:17,520 Now, some commentators absolutely castigate Elimelech and Naomi for moving to Moab. 109 00:10:17,580 –> 00:10:27,400 This was, some say, abandoning trust in God, back-sliding, direct disobedience to a biblical 110 00:10:27,400 –> 00:10:28,419 command. 111 00:10:28,419 –> 00:10:36,500 They should have stayed in the land that God had promised to bless and trusted God to provide. 112 00:10:36,500 –> 00:10:43,059 There are many who make that case and make that argument and produce various verses from 113 00:10:43,080 –> 00:10:47,799 the Old Testament law in support of it. 114 00:10:47,799 –> 00:10:57,440 But there are many examples of faithful believers moving in times of famine or other particular 115 00:10:57,440 –> 00:10:58,440 trouble. 116 00:10:58,440 –> 00:11:05,799 So in Genesis in chapter 12, you have Abraham went to Egypt in a time of famine. 117 00:11:05,799 –> 00:11:10,919 In Genesis 26, Isaac went to Girar. 118 00:11:11,020 –> 00:11:17,099 In Genesis 46, you have Jacob, of course, joining and the whole family joined Joseph 119 00:11:17,099 –> 00:11:22,179 who was the means of God’s provision in Egypt during a time of famine. 120 00:11:22,179 –> 00:11:31,659 In First Samuel 22, David took his father and his mother to Moab, and the king of Moab 121 00:11:32,479 –> 00:11:41,900 protected them while David was on the run with the King Saul seeking to take his life. 122 00:11:41,900 –> 00:11:47,580 There’s an occasion in second Samuel chapter eight, where Elisha the prophet says to a 123 00:11:47,580 –> 00:11:51,820 Shunamite woman, now there’s gonna be a famine here and so you want to go to another 124 00:11:51,820 –> 00:11:54,859 country in order to take refuge. 125 00:11:54,880 –> 00:12:05,359 And supremely, our Lord Jesus Christ was taken to Egypt by Mary and by Joseph when King Herod 126 00:12:05,359 –> 00:12:08,679 was seeking to destroy him. 127 00:12:08,679 –> 00:12:14,919 Now the Bible makes no comment on the family’s move to Moab. 128 00:12:14,919 –> 00:12:20,979 It simply tells us that this is what they did. 129 00:12:21,099 –> 00:12:27,900 Now a similar question arises over the marriage of Mellon and Chilian to Orpah 130 00:12:27,900 –> 00:12:30,179 and Ruth. 131 00:12:30,179 –> 00:12:35,979 Was this not a breaking of the Old Testament law? 132 00:12:35,979 –> 00:12:43,940 God has made clear, beyond question, in both the Old and the New Testaments that His people 133 00:12:43,940 –> 00:12:49,960 should not marry those who do not believe. 134 00:12:49,960 –> 00:12:58,359 And it is perfectly possible that Orpah and Ruth had professed faith in the Lord. 135 00:12:58,359 –> 00:13:03,479 After all, they had clearly come under the influence of Naomi. 136 00:13:03,479 –> 00:13:11,219 And even though Orpah turned back, as we will see later in the story, the fact that Ruth 137 00:13:11,219 –> 00:13:17,200 and Orpah accompanied Naomi on her return to the Promised Land seems to indicate that 138 00:13:17,359 –> 00:13:24,380 made some sort of profession of faith in the living God. 139 00:13:24,380 –> 00:13:29,919 One of the most helpful commentaries that I have found on the book of Ruth is by Ludwig 140 00:13:29,919 –> 00:13:32,080 Leviter. 141 00:13:32,080 –> 00:13:40,099 Leviter was a Swiss theologian who served in Zurich during the 16th century. 142 00:13:40,099 –> 00:13:45,679 And I mention that because the 16th century was a pretty harsh time, in which many people 143 00:13:46,099 –> 00:13:48,619 pretty harsh things. 144 00:13:48,619 –> 00:13:55,599 And with that background I was struck by, and found Leviter’s comments to be especially 145 00:13:55,599 –> 00:13:56,599 helpful. 146 00:13:56,599 –> 00:14:02,820 He asks the question, did Elimelech do right in migrating to Moab with his family, and 147 00:14:02,820 –> 00:14:09,340 then he answers, one can argue both side. 148 00:14:09,340 –> 00:14:13,599 So if you’re really big on one side or the other you know, don’t bother sending me 149 00:14:13,840 –> 00:14:20,859 an email because I’ll just say, that’s fine, one can argue both sides. 150 00:14:20,859 –> 00:14:28,099 Then he lays out the arguments on both sides over several pages and then he says this, 151 00:14:28,099 –> 00:14:35,679 when the Scriptures do not accuse men, neither ought we to accuse them. 152 00:14:35,679 –> 00:14:46,140 And when matters are ambiguous, we should rather believe better things about men. 153 00:14:46,140 –> 00:14:54,979 Now friends, that is a very important principle of biblical interpretation and of life. 154 00:14:54,979 –> 00:15:04,900 Where there is doubt about another person’s actions, love chooses to believe the best. 155 00:15:04,940 –> 00:15:15,780 Remember the words of Jesus, with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 156 00:15:15,780 –> 00:15:21,760 So if you have heard that and if you believe it you will always want in life to use the 157 00:15:21,760 –> 00:15:27,440 most generous measure that you possible can. 158 00:15:27,440 –> 00:15:33,239 Writing in the nineteenth century, another fine commentator George Lawson makes a similar 159 00:15:33,239 –> 00:15:37,840 point in regards to the marriages of Mallon and Chelain. 160 00:15:37,840 –> 00:15:44,520 He says this, if Mallon and Chelain had good reason to think that their intended wives 161 00:15:44,520 –> 00:15:47,400 were sincere proselytes to their religion. 162 00:15:47,400 –> 00:15:50,780 In other words that they converted to faith in the living God. 163 00:15:50,780 –> 00:15:54,760 Then they deserve no blame but rather praise then. 164 00:15:55,119 –> 00:16:04,239 Then he says this, why should we pronounce a sentence against any man when we are neither 165 00:16:04,239 –> 00:16:13,059 called to be his judges nor furnished with means for judging? 166 00:16:13,059 –> 00:16:16,840 Christians are called to a life of love. 167 00:16:16,840 –> 00:16:23,799 We are called to love all people, and especially to love one another. 168 00:16:23,799 –> 00:16:29,460 Loving means that we will take the most generous view that we can of the words and actions 169 00:16:29,460 –> 00:16:35,340 of others that we are to think the best of them. 170 00:16:35,340 –> 00:16:45,080 I was greatly helped some years ago by a kindly word from a dear friend following a sermon 171 00:16:45,080 –> 00:16:47,640 that I had preached. 172 00:16:47,859 –> 00:16:53,979 I had spoken on the leper who said to Jesus, 173 00:16:53,979 –> 00:17:00,059 if you are willing, you can make me clean. 174 00:17:00,059 –> 00:17:04,619 And I had drawn attention to the word, if, doubt. 175 00:17:04,619 –> 00:17:11,119 Here’s a man who’s not sure if he believes. 176 00:17:11,119 –> 00:17:19,239 And my friend said, that’s not the most generous view of that verse. 177 00:17:19,239 –> 00:17:25,719 It might have been that he was simply submitting himself to the will of Christ. 178 00:17:25,719 –> 00:17:31,239 If you are willing, you will make me clean. 179 00:17:31,239 –> 00:17:35,599 I had not taken the most generous view. 180 00:17:35,599 –> 00:17:42,719 And he simply said to me, what we owe to others in life, we also owe to characters in the 181 00:17:42,719 –> 00:17:45,479 Bible. 182 00:17:45,479 –> 00:17:48,119 And it works the other way. 183 00:17:48,119 –> 00:17:54,439 What we owe to characters in the Bible, we also owe to others in life. 184 00:17:54,439 –> 00:18:00,560 Never assume the worst, always think the best, and less compelled by evidence to the contrary 185 00:18:00,560 –> 00:18:03,300 that cannot be put in a better light. 186 00:18:04,060 –> 00:18:07,939 Now, why would I take time over this today? 187 00:18:07,959 –> 00:18:16,020 Well, one reason is that we all know what it is to look back at decisions that we made 188 00:18:16,020 –> 00:18:20,819 and wonder if we did the right thing. 189 00:18:20,819 –> 00:18:24,739 You know this in your life, as I know it in mine. 190 00:18:24,739 –> 00:18:29,420 Did I make the right decision? 191 00:18:29,420 –> 00:18:36,719 Was that an act of faith, or was it an act of folly? 192 00:18:36,719 –> 00:18:40,800 But do you see that the focus of this story that we’re going to follow in these coming 193 00:18:40,800 –> 00:18:46,219 weeks is actually not on whether Elimelech made the right decision. 194 00:18:46,219 –> 00:18:53,959 It’s on how God brings blessing to His people in every circumstance of life. 195 00:18:53,959 –> 00:18:58,439 Whatever the decisions you may have made. 196 00:18:58,439 –> 00:19:05,520 So don’t waste your time and your energy reassessing the decisions of your life in 197 00:19:05,520 –> 00:19:07,140 the rear view mirror. 198 00:19:07,140 –> 00:19:11,380 What is done is done. 199 00:19:11,380 –> 00:19:16,719 Have faith in God who works in all things. 200 00:19:16,719 –> 00:19:19,719 For the good of those who love Him. 201 00:19:19,719 –> 00:19:27,199 What that means is that God works for our good when our decisions are wise and God works 202 00:19:27,239 –> 00:19:32,900 for our good when our decisions should have been wiser. 203 00:19:32,900 –> 00:19:41,420 One commentator says very beautifully, God’s kind providence covers even our mistakes. 204 00:19:41,420 –> 00:19:44,560 Aren’t you thankful for that? 205 00:19:44,560 –> 00:19:49,819 God’s kind providence covers even our mistakes. 206 00:19:49,859 –> 00:19:56,560 That’s why you don’t need to live your life in regret and second-guessing. 207 00:19:56,560 –> 00:20:02,199 Because you have a God who works for your good. 208 00:20:02,199 –> 00:20:10,060 Whether your decisions in the past were wise or whether they should have been wiser. 209 00:20:10,060 –> 00:20:18,959 Now, what follows as we get into this story are two weddings and three funerals. 210 00:20:19,040 –> 00:20:23,099 Notice first that after the move to Moab, Elimelech died. 211 00:20:23,099 –> 00:20:31,939 But Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, verse 3, died and she was left with her two sons. 212 00:20:31,939 –> 00:20:37,300 Then we are told that these two sons, Malen and Chileon, married. 213 00:20:37,300 –> 00:20:39,859 These took Moabite wives. 214 00:20:39,859 –> 00:20:45,180 The name of the one was Orpa, and the name of the other Ruth. 215 00:20:45,180 –> 00:20:50,500 Then we’re told that Malen and Chileon both died. 216 00:20:50,500 –> 00:20:59,239 They lived there about ten years and both Malen and Chileon died so that the woman was 217 00:20:59,239 –> 00:21:05,459 left without her two sons and her husband. 218 00:21:05,459 –> 00:21:14,219 So Naomi endured extraordinary sadness, not in one bereavement but in three. 219 00:21:14,219 –> 00:21:23,560 The lights of her life went out one by one and all who grieved the loss of a loved one 220 00:21:23,560 –> 00:21:31,920 will be able to identify with her great sorrow and her great loss. 221 00:21:31,920 –> 00:21:40,599 But I want you to see that this story is about more than the lives, the loves and the losses 222 00:21:40,599 –> 00:21:43,160 of these ordinary people. 223 00:21:43,160 –> 00:21:50,459 It is supremely a story about our extraordinary God. 224 00:21:50,459 –> 00:21:57,300 And we want to do more in this series than simply identify with what is a very moving 225 00:21:57,300 –> 00:21:59,839 story of love and of loss. 226 00:21:59,839 –> 00:22:06,640 We want to learn from it, we want to apply it so that we can grow in faith and in hope 227 00:22:06,640 –> 00:22:07,640 and in love. 228 00:22:07,640 –> 00:22:11,199 And obviously we can’t wait until the end of the series to do that. 229 00:22:11,239 –> 00:22:17,760 So right from the start, what I want us to see is that the lives, the loves, and the 230 00:22:17,760 –> 00:22:25,719 losses of these ordinary people are woven into God’s hidden plan to bring blessing 231 00:22:25,719 –> 00:22:26,719 to the world. 232 00:22:26,719 –> 00:22:30,640 That’s the central message of this wonderful book. 233 00:22:30,640 –> 00:22:40,920 That the lives and the loves and the losses of these ordinary people are woven into God’s 234 00:22:41,020 –> 00:22:46,800 hidden plan to bring blessing to the world. 235 00:22:46,800 –> 00:22:53,380 The story of course revolves around Naomi and Ruth and Boaz who we’ll meet later, at 236 00:22:53,380 –> 00:22:55,319 the end of the story. 237 00:22:55,319 –> 00:22:58,319 And he becomes Ruth’s husband. 238 00:22:58,319 –> 00:23:04,900 But the central character in the story is not Naomi, not Ruth, not Boaz, the central 239 00:23:04,900 –> 00:23:06,520 character is God Himself. 240 00:23:06,579 –> 00:23:13,060 It is the Lord who rewards the faithfulness of His people. 241 00:23:13,060 –> 00:23:15,839 We’ll pick that up when we come to chapter two. 242 00:23:15,839 –> 00:23:20,239 It’s the Lord who brings blessing, that is repeated throughout the book. 243 00:23:20,239 –> 00:23:26,000 It’s the Lord who gives the gift of children, and it is the Lord supremely at the end who 244 00:23:26,000 –> 00:23:28,459 sends the Redeemer. 245 00:23:28,459 –> 00:23:32,680 Everything good in this story comes from the hand of God. 246 00:23:33,520 –> 00:23:40,160 And we’re going to see in this story that God cares about ordinary people. 247 00:23:40,160 –> 00:23:43,500 And that’s one of the most beautiful things about this book. 248 00:23:43,500 –> 00:23:51,040 It’s sandwiched between the book of Judges that’s all about international crises and 249 00:23:51,040 –> 00:23:58,140 the book of First Samuel that’s all about national events and here in the middle of 250 00:23:58,140 –> 00:24:06,219 these books that deal with issues on a massive scale, you have God’s care for a single 251 00:24:06,219 –> 00:24:17,300 family, ordinary people who are struggling to make a living, facing difficult choices, 252 00:24:17,300 –> 00:24:22,640 anxious to do the best they can for their children. 253 00:24:22,780 –> 00:24:30,439 Sometimes we may wonder, you may have had this thought cross your mind, in the vastness 254 00:24:30,439 –> 00:24:39,260 of this universe does God really care about what is happening to me? 255 00:24:39,260 –> 00:24:41,400 Yes. 256 00:24:41,400 –> 00:24:47,699 God cares about you and your family. 257 00:24:47,880 –> 00:24:52,900 Listen to these faith building words of our Lord Jesus. 258 00:24:52,900 –> 00:24:54,579 He said, 259 00:24:54,579 –> 00:24:58,739 are not two sparrows sold for a penny? 260 00:24:58,739 –> 00:25:04,699 I mean a sparrow is not even worth one penny in the market in Jesus day. 261 00:25:04,699 –> 00:25:08,579 It’s two sparrows for one penny. 262 00:25:08,579 –> 00:25:09,579 And Jesus says, 263 00:25:09,579 –> 00:25:17,060 and yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father. 264 00:25:17,400 –> 00:25:20,459 Fear not, therefore. 265 00:25:20,459 –> 00:25:28,219 You are of more value than many sparrows. 266 00:25:28,219 –> 00:25:31,260 You are of infinite value 267 00:25:31,260 –> 00:25:33,680 in the heart of God. 268 00:25:33,680 –> 00:25:37,660 God cares about you 269 00:25:37,660 –> 00:25:39,500 and about your family. 270 00:25:39,500 –> 00:25:45,000 And we’re going to see here that our extraordinary God is at work 271 00:25:45,020 –> 00:25:47,060 even at the worst of times. 272 00:25:48,020 –> 00:25:52,560 When we follow the story, which I realize many of you already know very well, 273 00:25:52,579 –> 00:25:56,739 we’re going to see that Naomi and Ruth return to the Promised Land, 274 00:25:56,739 –> 00:25:59,439 Ruth marries this man by the name of Boaz, 275 00:25:59,439 –> 00:26:02,780 and God gives them the gift of a child. 276 00:26:02,780 –> 00:26:07,219 And that is why we read the end of the story as well as the beginning. 277 00:26:07,219 –> 00:26:13,099 It begins with three funerals, it ends with the birth of a child. 278 00:26:13,239 –> 00:26:17,520 It begins with this woman, Naomi, weeping with terrible loss. 279 00:26:17,520 –> 00:26:20,319 It ends with this woman, Naomi, rejoicing, 280 00:26:20,319 –> 00:26:29,500 as she holds a baby in her arms and this baby turns out to be the grandfather of King David. 281 00:26:30,339 –> 00:26:37,900 And it was into his line of descent that the Lord Jesus Christ himself was born. 282 00:26:37,900 –> 00:26:50,560 The lives, loves and losses of ordinary people are woven into God’s hidden plan to bring 283 00:26:50,560 –> 00:26:58,780 blessing to the world, and remember that is God’s plan. 284 00:26:58,780 –> 00:27:05,660 He said to Abraham, I will bless you and in you all the families of the earth will be 285 00:27:05,660 –> 00:27:07,459 blessed. 286 00:27:07,560 –> 00:27:12,060 I’m not only going to work in you, God says to Abraham, but I am going to work through 287 00:27:12,060 –> 00:27:19,859 you and your life and your loves and your losses will be woven into My hidden plan to 288 00:27:19,859 –> 00:27:25,140 bring blessing to others. 289 00:27:25,140 –> 00:27:30,420 It’s through the lives of these ordinary people. 290 00:27:30,420 –> 00:27:32,359 It’s through the choices they made. 291 00:27:32,359 –> 00:27:34,619 It’s through the places that they lived. 292 00:27:34,619 –> 00:27:36,180 It’s through the people they married. 293 00:27:36,180 –> 00:27:38,680 It’s through the losses that they suffered. 294 00:27:38,680 –> 00:27:45,459 We see in this book that God was advancing His purpose to bring blessing to all people. 295 00:27:45,459 –> 00:27:51,400 And, God will advance His purpose to bless others through your life, through your loves, 296 00:27:51,400 –> 00:27:55,160 through your losses. 297 00:27:55,160 –> 00:28:00,540 He will use these things as means to bring blessing to others too. 298 00:28:00,780 –> 00:28:06,439 And that leads me to the last observation here, which is simply that God works through 299 00:28:06,459 –> 00:28:08,219 the kindness of His people. 300 00:28:08,219 –> 00:28:12,839 This is a big theme that we’re going to keep seeing in this story. 301 00:28:12,839 –> 00:28:19,500 God blessed Ruth through the example of Naomi. 302 00:28:19,500 –> 00:28:24,619 God blessed Naomi through the loyalty of Ruth. 303 00:28:24,619 –> 00:28:29,939 God blessed Ruth through the kindness of Boaz. 304 00:28:30,000 –> 00:28:34,020 God blessed Boaz through the initiative of Naomi. 305 00:28:34,020 –> 00:28:37,260 They’re just all interwoven. 306 00:28:37,260 –> 00:28:44,939 The beauty of this story is that God works for and through each of His people. 307 00:28:44,939 –> 00:28:52,199 Each one receives blessing from the others, and each one brings blessing to the others. 308 00:28:52,199 –> 00:28:57,739 So here we are in these dark days of conflict, the days of the judges, and right in middle 309 00:28:58,579 –> 00:29:04,000 hopelessness and violence and conflict and anger, there is this beautiful story of human 310 00:29:04,000 –> 00:29:17,099 kindness, of faith, of hope, of love, of Naomi, of Ruth, of Boaz. 311 00:29:17,099 –> 00:29:25,420 And their lives, their loves, and their losses shine like a light in the darkness of the 312 00:29:25,420 –> 00:29:27,520 world around them. 313 00:29:28,500 –> 00:29:31,300 God works through the kindness of His people. 314 00:29:31,300 –> 00:29:36,099 Brothers and sisters, we are the body of Christ, that’s what the New Testament says the church 315 00:29:36,099 –> 00:29:37,800 is, the body of Christ. 316 00:29:37,800 –> 00:29:47,319 He’s the head, and the head prompts and works through the members of the body. 317 00:29:47,319 –> 00:29:50,420 We are His hands. 318 00:29:50,420 –> 00:29:53,099 We are His feet. 319 00:29:53,219 –> 00:29:59,959 And that means that God has something to give to you through the brothers and sisters that 320 00:29:59,959 –> 00:30:02,780 He has placed around you. 321 00:30:02,780 –> 00:30:07,619 And God has something to give to the brothers and sisters He has placed around you through 322 00:30:07,619 –> 00:30:11,099 you. 323 00:30:11,099 –> 00:30:18,660 Jesus Christ will work for you, and Jesus Christ will work through you. 324 00:30:18,660 –> 00:30:22,900 God already has future joys prepared for you. 325 00:30:23,020 –> 00:30:24,020 Think about that. 326 00:30:24,020 –> 00:30:29,359 He has future joys prepared for you. 327 00:30:29,359 –> 00:30:37,959 And there are people He has already planned to bless through you as your light of faith, 328 00:30:37,959 –> 00:30:42,160 hope, and love shines in the darkness of this world. 329 00:30:42,160 –> 00:30:46,339 So who is the Naomi that you can befriend and comfort? 330 00:30:46,339 –> 00:30:51,939 Who is the Ruth that you can help and provide for? 331 00:30:52,260 –> 00:30:57,719 Who is the Boaz that you can strengthen and encourage? 332 00:30:59,160 –> 00:31:03,420 It’s a story about ordinary people. 333 00:31:03,420 –> 00:31:08,060 It’s a story about our extraordinary God. 334 00:31:08,060 –> 00:31:14,959 And lastly, here today, it is, of course, a story, supremely, about redemption. 335 00:31:14,959 –> 00:31:25,160 When you bring ordinary people and our extraordinary God together, what you get is a story of redemption. 336 00:31:25,160 –> 00:31:28,619 Look at chapter four in verse fourteen in these last moments, please. 337 00:31:29,140 –> 00:31:37,260 Then the women said to Naomi, blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without 338 00:31:37,260 –> 00:31:43,599 a Redeemer, and may his name be renowned in Israel. 339 00:31:44,859 –> 00:31:54,800 Now, the words redeem, redeemer and redemption are all over this book. 340 00:31:55,660 –> 00:32:04,219 And my friend Jonathan Prime wrote a book about Ruth and he says that these words —redeem, 341 00:32:04,219 –> 00:32:10,599 redeemer, redemption—occur 23 times in just 85 verses of this book. 342 00:32:10,599 –> 00:32:12,560 That’s an awful lot of redeeming. 343 00:32:12,560 –> 00:32:16,880 Twenty-three times in 85 verses? 344 00:32:16,880 –> 00:32:22,640 So to understand this book you really have to meet the Redeemer. 345 00:32:22,640 –> 00:32:28,079 And a Redeemer is very simply a person who brings the best out of the worst at his own 346 00:32:28,079 –> 00:32:29,079 expense. 347 00:32:29,079 –> 00:32:32,199 We’re going to meet the Redeemer in this book. 348 00:32:32,199 –> 00:32:36,400 The person who brings the best out of the worst at his own expense. 349 00:32:36,400 –> 00:32:44,420 That is what Boaz did for Ruth and, of course, that is what the Lord Jesus Christ will do 350 00:32:44,420 –> 00:32:45,619 for us. 351 00:32:45,619 –> 00:32:48,760 He is the great Redeemer. 352 00:32:48,760 –> 00:32:51,939 He brings the best out of the worst. 353 00:32:51,939 –> 00:32:56,160 And he does this by making us his own. 354 00:32:56,160 –> 00:33:00,400 He does this by bringing us into his family. 355 00:33:00,400 –> 00:33:05,439 He does this by giving us the most glorious inheritance. 356 00:33:05,439 –> 00:33:11,199 And he does all of these things at his own expense. 357 00:33:11,199 –> 00:33:21,260 Peter says, You were redeemed, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious 358 00:33:21,260 –> 00:33:24,459 blood of Jesus Christ. 359 00:33:24,459 –> 00:33:28,060 That’s what it costs to redeem us? 360 00:33:28,060 –> 00:33:31,180 The shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 361 00:33:31,180 –> 00:33:39,619 but you know, Jesus did what it took to redeem us by laying down his life on the cross. 362 00:33:39,619 –> 00:33:50,260 As the woman said to Naomi, The Lord has not left you without a Redeemer. 363 00:33:50,260 –> 00:33:56,400 The Lord has not left you without a Redeemer. 364 00:33:56,400 –> 00:34:05,859 The Lord has not left you without one who can bring the best out of the worst. 365 00:34:05,859 –> 00:34:09,060 And he’ll do it at his own expense. 366 00:34:09,060 –> 00:34:15,600 That is why there is hope here for every person this morning. 367 00:34:15,600 –> 00:34:23,379 The losses of your life may be many, the sorrows of your heart may be great, the burdens that 368 00:34:23,379 –> 00:34:27,320 you carry may be heavy. 369 00:34:27,320 –> 00:34:33,699 But there is a Redeemer and there is hope for you in him. 370 00:34:33,899 –> 00:34:36,739 Let’s pray together, shall we? 371 00:34:39,340 –> 00:34:46,300 Father, we come before you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 372 00:34:46,300 –> 00:34:55,820 You know that for many here in this congregation, we carry heavy burdens and know great sorrows 373 00:34:55,820 –> 00:35:02,260 and some are navigating the hard path of great loss. 374 00:35:02,260 –> 00:35:14,280 Thank you, Father, that our lives, our loves, and our losses are woven into your hidden 375 00:35:14,280 –> 00:35:19,500 plan to bring blessing to the world. 376 00:35:19,500 –> 00:35:26,899 So please help us to show your kindness to those you have placed around us. 377 00:35:26,899 –> 00:35:32,219 Help us to be those who bring light in darkness. 378 00:35:32,219 –> 00:35:39,879 Help us to be those who shine with faith, and with hope, and with love. 379 00:35:39,879 –> 00:35:46,939 We count ourselves blessed today because you have not left us without a Redeemer. 380 00:35:46,939 –> 00:35:52,060 You sent your Son Jesus Christ into the world for us. 381 00:35:52,060 –> 00:36:03,639 So help us today and every day to look to Him, and live with the hope, and the confidence 382 00:36:03,639 –> 00:36:12,060 of knowing that we have a Redeemer, and that your Son Jesus Christ is ours. 383 00:36:12,060 –> 00:36:17,820 For these things we ask, in the Savior’s name, amen. 384 00:36:18,179 –> 00:36:22,260 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 385 00:36:22,260 –> 00:36:30,919 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website openthebible.org