Lessons from the Book of Ruth

DOING WHAT'S RIGHT... BUT IN WHOSE EYES?

Ruth 1:1
Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.  

The time of Ruth was a period of time when the judges ruled Israel, from Joshua’s death up to Samuel. During this period of time, every man did that which was right in his own eyes. 

You’d think God’s people would realize that the Bible tells us what is right and what is wrong: that it’s not what we think in our own eyes, but what Thus saith the Lord. 

During this time period, the children of Israel scorned Divine authority and leadership - and, as the result, got into a lot of trouble with God.  

Hebrews 13:17
Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

 God has given Divine leadership, and there is a purpose to such leadership: for they watch for your souls. 

As pastors, my husband and I have often warned others that they will fall into a snare if they continue the way they are headed. Some take such a warning, knowing that we watch for their souls. They receive what we have to say, and spare themselves of a lot of problems:  

But then . . . there have been those who don’t want to be told. They might ask for advice as to whether or not they should do a certain thing: but down in their heart it’s already established what they are going to do. 

Since down in their heart they already had their mind made up, why did they ask?  

Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 

We have to be very careful that we don’t go by our own heart. It’s always good to pray about things before we make a decision to jump into something. It might look like it would be exciting, might be something we really would like to do - but then, it might not be the will of God for us. 

If we don’t use wisdom we may do things that could bring hardships on the whole family, all because we failed to place it in God’s hands and let Him make His will known unto us. 

It’s so hard today to speak to people concerning this, because they don’t want any Divine authority over them. They don’t want to listen. 

What a great blessing it is to us when we counsel someone, warning them about something, and then they receive it. It brings joy to our souls, and also brings joy to that one we had counseled. 

Hebrews 13:7
Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. 

If those who are in authority at church have spoken unto you the Word of God, you should follow their faith.  

The children of Israel scorned those who were in Divine authority and leadership.  How often godly pastors have been scorned for their stand in Christ.  

If they are teaching you to live by the Word of God, they are teaching you the truth of how to walk in the ways of the Lord. 

The children of Israel were so disobedient - but we can’t just say that about them. Many of God’s people are disobedient to the Word of God today. They know what it says . . . but they go on to do just as they please. 

What we think is not always what God thinks - for His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. We need to be very careful that we don’t allow ourselves to get into the place where we find ourselves in servitude to Satan. 

GOING TO THE COUNTRY OF MOAB

Ruth 1:2
And the name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah. And they came into the country of Moab, and continued there.  

Moab was a descendant of Lot - Gen 19:30-37. They were idolatrous people, and their god’s name was Chemosh - Num 21:29 & I Kings 11:7.  

Solomon introduced the worship of this god to please his foreign wife. He brought in other gods, introducing them to the children of Israel.

Solomon had taken wives of heathen nations, even though God had warned him to be separate. God had warned not to intermarry - because the gods of the heathen would cause him to be led astray. But Solomon went ahead and did exactly what God told him not to do. It wasn’t that he didn’t know better, but he didn’t pay heed. 

And many times we know it’s wrong, and yet we persist and go ahead to do it just the same - even though it’s against God’s Word. 

Some think they can go ahead doing as they please, and God will just wink at it - but God does not wink at sin.

NAOMI'S LOSS
(see Ruth 1:3-5)

Elimelech and his family went down to Moab to sojourn in the country. They went there because there was a famine in the land of Judah. But, after they got there, Elimelech died. 

The two sons married, and lived in Moab about ten years - and then they also died. So Naomi didn’t just lose her husband, but she also lost her two sons. 

It’s bad enough to lose one loved one, but to lose your husband - and your two sons!  

BEING STEDFAST IN HEART

Ruth 1:6
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread.  

Naomi heard there was food in Judah, so she rose with her two daughters in law to return to the land. She turned to her daughters in law, and told them to return to their mother’s house: 

Ruth 1:8-10
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people.  

They didn’t really want to leave Naomi.  

She spoke to them again to return, and on the third time, Orpah went back to her mother’s place. 

Ruth 1:15, 16a
And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee . .  

Naomi spoke to Ruth to go back with her sister in law. But Ruth was so stedfast and constant in her dedication to her mother in law that she would not turn back. 

We can learn something here:

Ø     being stedfast in our faith,

Ø      being constant in our walk with the Lord,

Ø      and not turning back to the things which God has brought us out of. 

How important it is that we stay stedfast, and not waver in our experience. We need to make up our mind, determined to serve God and love Him with all that is within us. 

Realize that when we come to Christ there should be a separation from worldly people.  

I Corinthians 15:33
Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.  

Make up your mind that you’re not going back - no matter what. Someone may come along and keep after you, Come on, come on - go out with us partying. They might work on you day after day to get you to go do something that would not be according to God’s Word. 

If you yield to them, it won’t be very long before the love of Jesus will have gone out of your heart, and the love for the things that those people love and do will now be your love, too. 

II Corinthians 6:17, 18
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

We must get into the Scriptures, applying ourselves to them so that we can understand God’s Word and grow. 

Ruth 1:16-18
And Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 

Notice, Ruth made a decision, a wise decision. This is the wisest decision that any of us could make - to turn our lives over to the true and living God. 

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

The love and the devotion Ruth had for her mother in law! She had a faith in Naomi’s God. I believe she must have heard about the God of Israel, and it created a faith within.  

GOING ALL THE WAY

To follow Naomi Ruth had to leave her family, her friends, her native land, and her false gods. She wasn’t forced to leave them. She wanted to leave them. I believe the Lord was prompting her to go to Judah with Naomi. 

Sometimes people think they’ve been forced into things. I don’t believe God forces us into things. He asks us - but He doesn’t force us. 

Here we find Ruth giving up everything. She surrendered all. And that’s what God wants of us - to surrender all to Him. 

MOVING TOWARDS GOD'S DIVINE PURPOSE

I believe it was in the providence of God for Ruth to go to Bethlehem-Judah because she was going to become an ancestor of David, through which the lineage of Jesus Christ would come forth.  

Ruth 1:18-20
When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.  

Naomi felt this way because she had lost her husband and her two sons. And sometimes I believe that’s just the human way of thinking about things when we have a tragedy in our life, when we lose a loved one, or lose several loved ones - believing God has dealt bitterly with us.

Ruth 1:21-23
I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. 

Naomi’s husband had a kinsman of her husband’s here in Bethlehem, Boaz. We are told that he was a mighty man of wealth (See Ruth 2:1). 

Ruth 2:2
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. 

Let me go and glean after him in whose sight I shall find grace. This sounds like Ruth had some faith. She believed she was going to find grace in Boaz’s sight - and, you know what? She did! 

Ruth 2:3-8
And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. 

And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.  

Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.  

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens 

BEING FAITHFUL WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED

The adversary ever tries to get us out of the place where God has placed us, out of that field where God has put us, to get us to go into another field - where we will be completely out of the will of God. 

Ruth 2:9
Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. 

Let your eyes be on the field where God has put you. But I have nothing to do there!

Your presence in church, your giving, your picking up people for church - all of that means a lot to God. You are doing something.  

But when people have pride and a big ego they look for recognition: and the devil will work on that. He gets their eyes on another field, making it look so exciting and great - to get them to leave the field where God has placed them. 

We can learn from this - the devil is ever there to entice us to go to another field. He always makes the grass look greener on the other side of the fence: but once we get there we find out it wasn’t as nice as we thought it was. 

Ruth 2:10-12
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?  

And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.  

The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 

Ruth trusted in the Lord. She had a faith in God.  

One thing about Ruth, all that bending over out in the fields: she wasn’t afraid of hard work! 

LOVE IN ACTION

Now, Naomi was up there in years, and Ruth was looking out for her. She was taking care of her. What a love and a dedication she had for her mother in law! 

Thank God for those who have a heart of love, and are concerned to look out for those who are older - even if it means they have to use some of their strength, spend some of their money, give up some of their time. 

Listen! Love is not selfish. Love will go out of its way to help someone in need. Love will care about someone when others don’t seem to care. Love is kind. Love will say, I don’t care what it cost me. I don’t care if it means I have to work and labor to help someone, maybe losing some sleep. I don’t care what it costs. I’m concerned. I love them.  

But today people are so selfish. This is a sign in II Timothy 3 concerning the last days - men will be lovers of their own selves, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. 

FULFILLING OF THE DIVINE PURPOSE

As you read through this story you find where Boaz is getting ready to marry Ruth. In order for him to do this, though, he had to see first if the one who was a kinsman nearer than him wanted to marry her. 

Ruth 4:1-5
Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.  

And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: and I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people.  

If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it.  

Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. 

If this kinsman wanted the land that was Naomi’s he would have to marry Ruth: But he backed off. Now Boaz was next in line, so he was able now to purchase the land - and marry Ruth.  

God had a purpose for Ruth’s marriage to Boaz: Boaz was a Jew, and Ruth was a Gentile. Their son, Obed, was the father of Jesse, who was the father of King David - and through this lineage Jesus came forth in the flesh. 

See Matthew 1
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David . . . and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king . . .

A LESSON FOR US

Take every warning that you hear when God deals with you through the preaching of His Word. Yes, take those warnings to heart. Get your eyes off all those flashy things the devil would put before you, get your eyes off other people and what they’re doing.  

Remain in the field where God has placed you, and faithfully do your part. 

Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.