SPEAKER_00: I want us to think about obedience this evening and the motivations.
SPEAKER_00: The motivations that we have for obeying or following, submitting ourselves to the lead of somebody else.
SPEAKER_00: Now, I want to tell you a short story about a time when I was in elementary school, little Tyler.
SPEAKER_00: It was the second grade.
SPEAKER_00: And my teacher had this incentive program where she would pick someone at the end of every day that was following instructions.
SPEAKER_00: She was following instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Her name was Mrs.
SPEAKER_00: Clock.
SPEAKER_00: Now I don't think that's her real name, but that was the name that she gave.
SPEAKER_00: So we called her Mrs.
SPEAKER_00: Clock.
SPEAKER_00: And Mrs.
SPEAKER_00: Clock would give one special person at the end of each school day an opportunity to pick a candy of their choice.
SPEAKER_00: A candy of their choice.
SPEAKER_00: And for most people, for most people, they chose Jolly Ranchers.
SPEAKER_00: If you were in the know, you'd probably pick green apple.
SPEAKER_00: You pick green apple because that's at the time the best flavor because blue raspberry was not a thing yet.
SPEAKER_00: It was green apple.
SPEAKER_00: Green apple was the favorite Jolly Rancher.
SPEAKER_00: And at one point in time, I was uh I was trying to get the attention of Mrs.
SPEAKER_00: Clock.
SPEAKER_00: I was really trying to get her attention to get her noticing me obeying her, doing exactly what she said to do.
SPEAKER_00: Putting my my chair back before I went to recess, picking up my trash, putting it in the trash bin, putting my pencil back in the pencil block.
SPEAKER_00: I was doing all the things to get noticed because deep down, I really didn't care a whole lot about doing what she said.
SPEAKER_00: What I was really caring about was that green Jolly Rancher at the end of the school day.
SPEAKER_00: And eventually I did get notice.
SPEAKER_00: I eventually was caught being good, is uh what she what she called it.
SPEAKER_00: I was caught being good.
SPEAKER_00: I eventually did have a Jolly Rancher in my mouth at the end of the day, and it was sweet.
SPEAKER_00: But um, but I think that's a good illustration for us.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we could be more interested in the outcome of obedience and actually being excited to just obey and do what's expected of us, to do what we're told to do.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're like me and you're thinking of like, well, my parents don't give me Jolly Ranchers.
SPEAKER_00: They don't, they don't really give me things that I would be interested in having in order to obey.
SPEAKER_00: Well, that's that's something in life that kind of fades with time as you get older and older.
SPEAKER_00: The things that you get as a result of your obedience, um, is they they start to look like paychecks and you start to have bills and you start to have things like insurance, you know, and all the fun stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Like, now I gotta pay for my kids' socks that keep leaving at our friend's house.
SPEAKER_00: Like you start spending your money on things like that.
SPEAKER_00: No, but what I want us to drill in and focus on today is Ruth's heart of obedience.
SPEAKER_00: And she's doing it, she's doing it not for a jolly rancher, she's doing it not for the praise of other people, but genuinely, Ruth is seeking to obey the Lord, obey her mother-in-law, because she wants to do what is right.
SPEAKER_00: She wants to do what is honorable, and she's an honorable young woman.
SPEAKER_00: She's an honorable young woman and someone who is worth, she's worth following.
SPEAKER_00: She's worth recognizing.
SPEAKER_00: Um, and she is an excellent, an excellent servant, an excellent person who is going to point us to the heart of God, to the heart that is pleased by an obedient heart that seeks to obey and that seeks to submit their lives to King Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Ruth never met King Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: All she knew was her family in Moab and her new family that eventually was taken from her.
SPEAKER_00: Her husband, her brother-in-law, her father-in-law, and it's just Naomi, and it's just Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: And there's this character named Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: We met him last week.
SPEAKER_00: There's this character who is in this story, this real story of history that we can look to, and he is an upright man.
SPEAKER_00: And today we're gonna see something really special.
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna see, we're gonna see some sparks fly, and it's gonna be kind of weird.
SPEAKER_00: It might sound kind of odd to you.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, wait, they did what?
SPEAKER_00: Huh?
SPEAKER_00: Naomi said what to Ruth?
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna get into that.
SPEAKER_00: So I hope you're ready.
SPEAKER_00: Hoping that this uh obedience that we see in a weird way spurs us on to wait on the Lord and to obey him.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: That's why this title that we see for Ruth, chapter three, for a sermon today, is Waiting in Obedience.
SPEAKER_00: Let's take a look here.
SPEAKER_00: Chapter three.
SPEAKER_00: Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, should I not seek rest for you that it may be well with you?
SPEAKER_00: Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young men you were?
SPEAKER_00: See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
SPEAKER_00: Wash, therefore, and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak, and go down to the threshing floor.
SPEAKER_00: But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
SPEAKER_00: But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies.
SPEAKER_00: Then go and uncover his feet and lie down.
SPEAKER_00: Weird.
SPEAKER_00: And he will tell you what to do.
SPEAKER_00: And she replied, All that you say, I will do.
SPEAKER_00: All that you say, I will do.
SPEAKER_00: You might be thinking of a time in your life where your parents told you something that gave you instructions, and you didn't understand why you're doing it.
SPEAKER_00: You might not understand why you're doing it.
SPEAKER_00: And if we f if we if we hit the rewind button, Ruth is seen at the end of chapter two as someone who is faithful, someone who is following directions.
SPEAKER_00: She is gleaning, she is working hard, and she is noticed and recognized by a man named Boaz, someone from uh a distant family member related to her mother-in-law, Naomi.
SPEAKER_00: And there's a cliffhanger at the end of chapter two.
SPEAKER_00: The end of chapter two concluded with, You're not gonna believe what happened, Naomi.
SPEAKER_00: I got back from the fields, and this guy that I met named Boaz just dropped an entire month's supply of food for me.
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's here, it's for us.
SPEAKER_00: And the the final verse of chapter two reads like this So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, so she continues to glean and glean and glean until the end of the harvest, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvest, and she lived with her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
SPEAKER_00: We got this amazing provision from God.
SPEAKER_00: We have this amazing bounty that God has blessed us with, and now we're just living.
SPEAKER_00: Now we're just living, and that's life.
SPEAKER_00: And now, the next thing we know, Naomi's instructing Ruth to go and go and go and meet and mingle with this man named Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: Wash yourself, go, go wash yourself, anoint yourself.
SPEAKER_00: Sounds a lot like sounds a lot like a date.
SPEAKER_00: Sounds a lot like you're getting ready for something special, for something big.
SPEAKER_00: And our text here is kind of confusing because Naomi is is telling Ruth to go and lay down after he's asleep, after he had dinner.
SPEAKER_00: I'm just imagining this as advice that someone would give as they're trying to meet someone new, maybe trying to find someone to marry.
SPEAKER_00: It's not exactly what you would tell uh someone to do.
SPEAKER_00: It's it's descriptive, probably not prescriptive for for us, meaning this is what happened, but it's probably not something that we should be telling each other to do here in this in this year 2026, right?
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna go on a date with someone, maybe, you know, once you're once you're uh 17 or 18 or even older than that.
SPEAKER_00: You're not gonna go on a date with someone and be like, all right, now when they go to sleep, watch them, watch where they lie down, and go ahead and just cuddle up and just lay down at their feet.
SPEAKER_00: That's not what's gonna be told to you.
SPEAKER_00: But but we can see some important details here, right?
SPEAKER_00: We can see some important details.
SPEAKER_00: Present yourself in a certain way.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Naomi is giving her daughter-in-law instructions.
SPEAKER_00: Go freshen up.
SPEAKER_00: You've been working hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's hot out there.
SPEAKER_00: It's probably a day like today.
SPEAKER_00: You've been you've been sweating hard, you've been working hard, go go freshen up, go go wash, go anoint yourself with oil, and it's not not like cooking oil like you and I would be thinking of, but this would be a very pleasing uh aroma that would be associated with this oil.
SPEAKER_00: Go freshen up, go get yourself ready for this encounter.
SPEAKER_00: Go, go freshen up.
SPEAKER_00: And this is coming from a woman who a couple chapters earlier was really bitter and down.
SPEAKER_00: This woman is sad and in the dumps, and she's saying, Don't call me pleasant, call me bitter.
SPEAKER_00: This is the mother-in-law Naomi.
SPEAKER_00: But now she's saying, Go freshen up, go put oil on your head.
SPEAKER_00: And this is what I'm instructing you to do.
SPEAKER_00: Boaz is gonna be up on that hill over there, and he's gonna be preparing the harvest.
SPEAKER_00: He's preparing the uh the barley and the grain, and he's gonna be winnowing.
SPEAKER_00: And now, if you don't know what that word is, I'm gonna describe it to you.
SPEAKER_00: So, any of you remember that that strong storm that came through a couple like a week or so ago, blew over a bunch of stuff.
SPEAKER_00: Now, in this, in this time, in this in this era, people would go about processing grain in a certain way.
SPEAKER_00: They would harvest it, they would cut it all down, they would beat it, and then when the breeze was just right, they would get forks and different different instruments like yard tools, and they would throw it up in the air.
SPEAKER_00: And all the all the loose and light stuff would blow away with the breeze, and the heavier grain kernels would fall down to the ground.
SPEAKER_00: So Boaz is gonna be working hard.
SPEAKER_00: It's a labor-intensive process.
SPEAKER_00: And after his day is done, he's gonna be up there processing the harvest.
SPEAKER_00: I want you to go up there and and meet with him, but not until he's asleep.
SPEAKER_00: Not until he is, not until he's asleep.
SPEAKER_00: Weird.
SPEAKER_00: Okay?
SPEAKER_00: That's a weird instruction.
SPEAKER_00: That's an odd instruction.
SPEAKER_00: Now, sometimes we can we can laugh and giggle at something like this in our in our sermon, but how how often do we do that when we're at home and mom and dad are telling you something that you don't want to do?
SPEAKER_00: Like I promise you, Naomi telling Ruth, Ruth is like, I really don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of odd, that's kind of uncomfortable for me.
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about this.
SPEAKER_00: I mean, all the while she's looking up to Boaz, like, you're a guy that like could be my husband one day, like you could save us out of this awful situation.
SPEAKER_00: You could be a man that's of high integrity, and you're gonna obey God and and redeem your kinsmen, redeem the people that are in your family.
SPEAKER_00: But but this way, I can't I can't just walk up to him in the middle of the day and be like, hey, like, could you help us out?
SPEAKER_00: Could you marry me?
SPEAKER_00: No, do it, do it at night.
SPEAKER_00: Do it at night.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is an interesting situation.
SPEAKER_00: Now, sometimes we might be in an interesting situation in our own homes, and your parents might be telling you to do something that isn't weird, it's not awkward, it's not uncomfortable, it's just flat out something you don't want to do.
SPEAKER_00: It's something that you don't want to do, like, no, I'm good, mom, no, I'm good, dad, I'm not gonna do that.
SPEAKER_00: All the while on the outside, you're like, you know, I might do it.
SPEAKER_00: I might, yeah.
SPEAKER_00: If I get something out of it, if you give me a jolly rancher, I might, I might try to I might try to get something out of this.
SPEAKER_00: But what is it, what's in there for me?
SPEAKER_00: That that's an attitude that sometimes we can have.
SPEAKER_00: That's an attitude I think that is that not in the heart of Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: Ruth is trying to be someone who is honorable, someone who's looking to take after the God, follow after the God of Naomi, her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: And she's someone that is in this text, in this chapter specifically, is going to see God's favor, is going to see the way that God is responding and working in the background.
SPEAKER_00: And it starts with her following the instructions of her mother-in-law, following the instructions of someone that she is is caring for.
SPEAKER_00: Um, she's going to the fields.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi's not going into the fields.
SPEAKER_00: She's too old for that.
SPEAKER_00: She's an older woman.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi is sent out into the fields because she is the one that is going to care for her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: And this is this is uh kind of like a if you f hit the pr the the fast forward button, if you press the fast forward button, Lord willing, there's gonna be a time in your life you might be having to take take care of your parents.
SPEAKER_00: There might be an opportunity for you.
SPEAKER_00: If you press fast forward like a handful of decades, and all of a sudden you're a a grown man or a grown woman and your parents are getting older, you might find yourself in this situation.
SPEAKER_00: And if your Ruth following these instructions is showing is showing Naomi honor, it's showing her favor, it's it's seeking her needs above your own.
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it looks awkward.
SPEAKER_00: So she says in verse five, all that you say I will do.
SPEAKER_00: Man, what if what if we said that to our parents?
SPEAKER_00: Your parents give you instructions, they give you like a list, probably a longer list.
SPEAKER_00: They might even put it on the refrigerator.
SPEAKER_00: Here's a checklist of the things that I want you to do today.
SPEAKER_00: Visual visual aids are helpful, especially when there's a lot of things that you're tasked to do, right?
SPEAKER_00: If you're doing a workout, you can't just memorize the whole workout.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes you put it on a whiteboard and you check it off, right?
SPEAKER_00: If you have a fitness program or a weightlifting program, you might write down, you might have a log of the things that you're doing.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is Ruth saying, This whole checklist, I'm gonna do it.
SPEAKER_00: Leave it to me.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take care of this.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go there, I'm gonna watch him, I'm gonna see where he lies down, I'm gonna uncover his feet, and then I'm gonna wait.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna wait for Boaz to tell me what to do.
SPEAKER_00: This is what's running through her mind.
SPEAKER_00: Like, that's uncomfortable, that's uncomfortable, I don't want to do that.
SPEAKER_00: Are you sure about that?
SPEAKER_00: She's saying, all, not most, not the things that I prefer to do, not the things that I want to do, not the things that like, oh, that's an easy job, sure I'll do that.
SPEAKER_00: No, she says, all the things that you say, I will do.
SPEAKER_00: And I think we should write this down because it's important.
SPEAKER_00: It's important to kind of have a heart.
SPEAKER_00: It's easy to say it with your mouth, but it's completely something different when you say inside your heart, I will do that.
SPEAKER_00: And you're gonna do it with a heart that's seeking to please God.
SPEAKER_00: Point number one: ask God for an obedient heart.
SPEAKER_00: A heart that says, I'm willing to be led.
SPEAKER_00: I'm willing to submit to your leading, I'm willing to say yes to my authorities.
SPEAKER_00: They tell me the speed limit is 55, I will go 55.
SPEAKER_00: They say, stop at the four-way stop, even if there's no one there, I will stop.
SPEAKER_00: Your mom and dad say, pick up your clothes and put them in the laundry, you do exactly that.
SPEAKER_00: Take out the trash now, exactly that.
SPEAKER_00: An obedient heart shows the people that are over you that you respect them.
SPEAKER_00: You care about their God-given position in your life.
SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, you're telling God, these people that are in my life that you have put over me, that are leading me, that are caring for me, they're telling me what to do.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do it because I know that you put them there.
SPEAKER_00: I know that you put them there.
SPEAKER_00: That is the heart that is pleasing to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And that's the heart that we need to be asking God for.
SPEAKER_00: An obedient heart, a heart that seeks to follow after and obey the commands and the leading of those ahead of us, those who are in authority over us.
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 41, 10, it says this fear not, for I am with you.
SPEAKER_00: Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
SPEAKER_00: I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
SPEAKER_00: Ruth has seen that.
SPEAKER_00: She has experienced this firsthand as she has made a decision.
SPEAKER_00: We see this in chapter one.
SPEAKER_00: Your God will be my God.
SPEAKER_00: Your people are now my people.
SPEAKER_00: And Ruth is stepping out in faith and obedience, and this is just another step in that path.
SPEAKER_00: She's taking another step and saying, Naomi, you're telling me what to do.
SPEAKER_00: You're my authority.
SPEAKER_00: I respect you.
SPEAKER_00: I love you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna care for you.
SPEAKER_00: You're telling me to go have this interaction, go meet this man and wait for his instruction.
SPEAKER_00: I will do that.
SPEAKER_00: I will go.
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't make sense completely to me.
SPEAKER_00: I don't understand the benefit for me all the way.
SPEAKER_00: I don't see the whole picture.
SPEAKER_00: All I need is you to tell me what to do.
SPEAKER_00: You're my authority.
SPEAKER_00: I'm submitting myself to you.
SPEAKER_00: I will follow your lead.
SPEAKER_00: We've seen that step after step after step in this book of Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: She is someone who is admirable.
SPEAKER_00: She is someone who is looking to God.
SPEAKER_00: She's putting putting away the gods of Moab, the false gods of her homeland, and choosing to follow after God in obedience.
SPEAKER_00: It takes faith to do that, it takes a trust and a reverence for this God that she is serving.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the psalm here might be in mind as I'm thinking about Ruth and her heart to pursue after her God, Yahweh, the God of Israel.
SPEAKER_00: Psalm 27, verses 11 through 14 says this Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.
SPEAKER_00: Give me not up to the will of my adversaries, or false witness, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence.
SPEAKER_00: I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living of the living.
SPEAKER_00: Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage.
SPEAKER_00: Wait for the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This takes a lot of courage and faith to wait.
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead.
SPEAKER_00: You don't know what this guy is gonna tell you.
SPEAKER_00: You're you don't know how he's gonna respond to you.
SPEAKER_00: You've been working in his fields, he's only been kind to you, he's only taken care of you, and now you're gonna go and surprise him in the middle of the night by laying at his feet.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi, this doesn't make sense to me, but I I trust God, I trust you.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna do what you say.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go obey.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're a student in this room, this is a verse that I think I've challenged you to memorize, but I'm gonna challenge you again to memorize it.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians 3, 20.
SPEAKER_00: Does anyone have it memorized?
SPEAKER_00: It says this children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: This is the heart of Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: Though Naomi is not her birth mother, it's her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: She is looking to her authority, her position that God has given to her, and saying, I'm gonna I'm gonna please you, God, by obeying my mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 23, 22 says this, and this is also a verse that you should be memorizing.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 23, 22.
SPEAKER_00: Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
SPEAKER_00: There's an opportunity for all of us in this room, adults and students alike, to look to the people that have cared for us, that have instructed us, that have given us wise counsel, and to despise it, to reject it, to say, I know more than you.
SPEAKER_00: I know that you're you're trying to help me, but I don't need your help.
SPEAKER_00: I got this.
SPEAKER_00: Listen, open up your ears to the way that God is gonna help grow and mold you through people who care for you, people who are wanting to use the word of God and help you apply it to your life.
SPEAKER_00: Don't despise your mother when she is old.
SPEAKER_00: Don't do that.
SPEAKER_00: She's the one that helped raise you, that helped shape who you are.
SPEAKER_00: And some of you might be thinking, well, like I really don't have that great of a relationship with my mom.
SPEAKER_00: I wish I had a better one.
SPEAKER_00: The heart of this proverb is this in your youth, look to be the people that are older than you and show them respect.
SPEAKER_00: Show them love.
SPEAKER_00: Give your ear to them.
SPEAKER_00: They're here for your good.
SPEAKER_00: They're here to give you counsel from the Lord, especially those who are following after the Lord with all they have.
SPEAKER_00: Let's move on, shall we?
SPEAKER_00: What is the next step in this mystery meeting?
SPEAKER_00: This mystery meeting in the middle of the night, as Ruth is following after and obeying the instructions of her mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 6, follow along with me.
SPEAKER_00: Let's look to the text.
SPEAKER_00: So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law commanded her.
SPEAKER_00: Check.
SPEAKER_00: Get ready, oil, wash up, check.
SPEAKER_00: Put on your cloak, check.
SPEAKER_00: Don't make yourself known to this man, kind of watch from a distance.
SPEAKER_00: Check, he's done eating, he's had enough food, he's had enough drink for the evening, he's gonna lie down.
SPEAKER_00: Make sure that you see the right guy.
SPEAKER_00: Make sure you know it's Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: It's not some other random guy that you don't know.
SPEAKER_00: Make sure it's him.
SPEAKER_00: So make sure, pay attention, observe where he goes down to sleep, and then go uncover his feet and just lie down at his feet.
SPEAKER_00: So far, she's checking all the boxes.
SPEAKER_00: What happens next?
SPEAKER_00: Verse 7.
SPEAKER_00: Look with me.
SPEAKER_00: And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain.
SPEAKER_00: Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid down.
SPEAKER_00: Softly, calmly, gently.
SPEAKER_00: She didn't disturb him.
SPEAKER_00: He's still sleeping.
SPEAKER_00: She's following the instructions of Naomi.
SPEAKER_00: Go and find him, see where, see where he goes down to sleep.
SPEAKER_00: Wait till he's done eating and drinking.
SPEAKER_00: Go and lay down.
SPEAKER_00: The air temperature is probably changing.
SPEAKER_00: And if you're if you're like me, the best way to get someone who is deep and fast asleep to get them awake is to just take the covers off of them.
SPEAKER_00: My mom did it in a more aggressive way when I was in high school.
SPEAKER_00: And I wasn't responding.
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't listening to my alarm clock.
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't listening to her prompts to like, hey, it's time to get up.
SPEAKER_00: She would just yeet the sheets right off my body, and I would be uncomfortable in the fastest way.
SPEAKER_00: But no, this is this is Boaz waking up.
SPEAKER_00: There's there might be a gentle breeze.
SPEAKER_00: His feet are a little colder than the rest of his body.
SPEAKER_00: And he wakes up and he rolls over, and behold, in the darkness, someone else.
SPEAKER_00: When I went to sleep, this person was not even in sight.
SPEAKER_00: Who are you?
SPEAKER_00: It's me.
SPEAKER_00: It's Batman.
SPEAKER_00: No, it's not.
SPEAKER_00: At midnight, the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman laid at his feet.
SPEAKER_00: He said, Who are you?
SPEAKER_00: Who are you?
SPEAKER_00: And she answered, I am Ruth, your servant.
SPEAKER_00: Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter.
SPEAKER_00: You have made this last kindness greater than the first, and that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
SPEAKER_00: And now, my daughter, do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask.
SPEAKER_00: For all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
SPEAKER_00: And now it is true that I am a redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: Yet, this is some character being revealed again by Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I, closer in the line to you than I am.
SPEAKER_00: Remain tonight and in the morning.
SPEAKER_00: If he will redeem you, good.
SPEAKER_00: Let him do it.
SPEAKER_00: But if he is not willing to redeem you, then as the Lord lives, he's making a vow.
SPEAKER_00: I give you my word.
SPEAKER_00: He says, I will redeem you.
SPEAKER_00: Lie down until the morning.
SPEAKER_00: Strange.
SPEAKER_00: What a str this is something that like is told in like a dream.
SPEAKER_00: Like I had this weird dream, and I woke up and there was this person, and I had this interaction, and then I went to bed.
SPEAKER_00: No, this happened.
SPEAKER_00: This is a real account.
SPEAKER_00: This is this is an account of God working.
SPEAKER_00: And you might be thinking, like, well, huh, Ruth is like, that's it?
SPEAKER_00: They just they just talk like like she just kind of pitches this idea of like, hey, you're my redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: Like, do you think, do you think that you would take me in as your wife?
SPEAKER_00: That's essentially what's happening right here.
SPEAKER_00: This is a proposal.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi is sending Ruth out to say, I'm an eligible woman, you're an eligible man, I'm in line with you and your family.
SPEAKER_00: The law of Moses says that if there's someone that needs to be redeemed in your family, someone loses a husband, the person closest, a brother, would be eligible to take care of that woman in her family.
SPEAKER_00: And if there's not, it's the next closest, the next closest, the next closest.
SPEAKER_00: So Boaz knows, he has an awareness that, yes, I am, I am someone who would be able to obey God, obey the law of Moses, and take care of this and pursue you in marriage.
SPEAKER_00: He says, however, there's someone a step closer.
SPEAKER_00: There's someone in line before me that would have the duty, the responsibility, and the privilege to do this and obey God.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, I'm gonna check on this right away.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not delaying, I'm not like, well, if it happens, it happens.
SPEAKER_00: No.
SPEAKER_00: He's going right away in the morning, he says, it's gonna be settled tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Go to sleep.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take care of this tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: If he doesn't, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: And you gotta be thinking in your mind, I hope that other guy says no.
SPEAKER_00: I hope, I hope Frank, Frank, the neighbor over there, is like, I know.
SPEAKER_00: It's you you're rooting for Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, let it be Boaz, let it be him.
SPEAKER_00: Let it be the man that is so generous and so kind and so well respected.
SPEAKER_00: You want it to be this redeemer, Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: You want it to be him.
SPEAKER_00: You want it to be this kind, strong man.
SPEAKER_00: And he calls her daughter.
SPEAKER_00: You might be thinking, why is he calling her a daughter?
SPEAKER_00: Why would a man marry a daughter?
SPEAKER_00: We have to understand something.
SPEAKER_00: Boaz is someone who has either, A, never been married, or B, someone who was married and now he's a widower.
SPEAKER_00: So he has he has no one, no one, uh, no wife of his own.
SPEAKER_00: And he is someone of great renown.
SPEAKER_00: He is a worthy, respectful man.
SPEAKER_00: He is worthy of uh of fame.
SPEAKER_00: He is a he has a status in the community.
SPEAKER_00: His servants, if you think back to the following chapters, his servants respect him.
SPEAKER_00: They follow him.
SPEAKER_00: They they love Boaz as as their master.
SPEAKER_00: Now, you'd be thinking, well, how much younger is Ruth than Boaz?
SPEAKER_00: We we don't know.
SPEAKER_00: We don't have an exact number.
SPEAKER_00: We don't have an exact number, but we do see that this proposal that Naomi is kind of guiding and directing and navigating, it's an encouragement to Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: It's an encouragement to him, like, hey, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
SPEAKER_00: Like, this is something that you could do.
SPEAKER_00: This is something that would be continuing to obey and follow after God to care for his people, to carry on the family name.
SPEAKER_00: This will be good and obedient for Boaz to do.
SPEAKER_00: Just like Ruth is obeying Naomi and following her lead, Boaz would be obeying God through the Leverett laws, the marriage laws in the Old Testament, the first five books of the Bible.
SPEAKER_00: Speak to this.
SPEAKER_00: Moses is saying, as he hears from the Lord, this is how God's people are gonna care for God's people.
SPEAKER_00: If someone loses a husband, someone's gonna step in and care for that person.
SPEAKER_00: Someone's gonna step in and carry on that family name.
SPEAKER_00: There will be offspring, there will be children as a result of this.
SPEAKER_00: This is how God's people are taken care of, and this is his design.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the redeemer section.
SPEAKER_00: Redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: Now we think about redeeming something.
SPEAKER_00: You might be thinking of like a coupon or something that you might be getting in the mail.
SPEAKER_00: Like redeem for one free snow cone.
SPEAKER_00: Like you get those advertisements sometimes.
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if those are on the internet, if they're on social media.
SPEAKER_00: I know, Sean, you get like redeem for one free box of Pro V1s or like TP5s.
SPEAKER_00: No, if only.
SPEAKER_00: No, you you redeem something.
SPEAKER_00: You you have a certain ticket or something in your possession.
SPEAKER_00: You say, here, I give you this, you give me that.
SPEAKER_00: There's an exchange.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the redeem, the redeemer in this context is is relational.
SPEAKER_00: And as we think, think about who Boaz points forward to, he points forward to uh a greater redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: He points forward to, actually, in his lineage, in his line, is King David.
SPEAKER_00: And beyond King David comes the one who would redeem sinners.
SPEAKER_00: His name is Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: And just like Ruth would go and pursue after and follow after a Redeemer in Boaz, we need to understand who our Redeemer is as sinners in a world that is fallen and broken.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the Redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is the one who purchases sinners.
SPEAKER_00: He takes them as his possession and makes them his.
SPEAKER_00: Let's write this down for point number two.
SPEAKER_00: Follow the greater Redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: The greater Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus purchases, he buys back the captive from slavery.
SPEAKER_00: He lays down his life as the payment and frees the sinner from their bondage of sin.
SPEAKER_00: Every person who calls Jesus Savior, every person is now Christ's possession.
SPEAKER_00: You belong to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: If you've been washed by the blood of Christ, if you have faith in Christ, you are no longer your own.
SPEAKER_00: You belong to Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: He bought you with a price, and that price was his own life.
SPEAKER_00: You ever think about that?
SPEAKER_00: The price for your life, for your eternal security, the purchase price was death, bloodshed, a sacrifice.
SPEAKER_00: That's what the whole Old Testament points forward to.
SPEAKER_00: The sacrifice, the covering of sins, the forgiveness of sins, the atonement.
SPEAKER_00: It's all pointing forward to someone who would make a complete and total end to that system.
SPEAKER_00: And his name is Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: We need to follow the greater Redeemer.
SPEAKER_00: Boaz gives us a great example of someone who's willing to do something about it, who's willing to make the purchase price happen.
SPEAKER_00: If my closer Redeemer doesn't, I will.
SPEAKER_00: There's no one in line in front of Jesus that can purchase a sinner out of their sin.
SPEAKER_00: There's not a single person closer.
SPEAKER_00: There's not a single person that would say, well, I'll save Tyler from his sin.
SPEAKER_00: I'll pay the price.
SPEAKER_00: There's not one who can do it.
SPEAKER_00: And if there was one, there surely wouldn't be the humility.
SPEAKER_00: There wouldn't be the love, the grace, the mercy that we see in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: There's no one else.
SPEAKER_00: There is no one else other than him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Boaz's interaction here, younger woman, middle of the night, you might be thinking, this is kind of risky.
SPEAKER_00: What's really going on here?
SPEAKER_00: No, but Boaz is a man of high character.
SPEAKER_00: He is a man of high integrity.
SPEAKER_00: He is treating Ruth with the utmost respect.
SPEAKER_00: They are not married.
SPEAKER_00: They don't have a relationship outside of, I tell you, you can go and harvest in my field and I'll give you some grain here or there.
SPEAKER_00: That is the relationship.
SPEAKER_00: But now it's it's taking a turn.
SPEAKER_00: Ruth is saying, I'm interested in you for marriage.
SPEAKER_00: She's presenting herself in a way that says, I'm excited to be with you if you would have me.
SPEAKER_00: Ruth is the one who would be dependent on the action of Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: It's all dependent on him.
SPEAKER_00: It's all dependent on his interaction, his intercession, his redeeming decision.
SPEAKER_00: It's up to him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, Boaz is there.
SPEAKER_00: He is giving instructions just like Naomi said he would.
SPEAKER_00: And Ruth is following his lead.
SPEAKER_00: Stay here.
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be settled in the morning.
SPEAKER_00: His interactions with Ruth are honoring to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: They are pure in spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 5, verses 1 through 4 speaks to the kind of character, the kind of moral makeup that Boaz has.
SPEAKER_00: He's not a perfect man in this interaction, though could have gone in a completely different direction.
SPEAKER_00: He chooses to love and respect Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 5, in the first four verses, says this therefore be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us, loved us, and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
SPEAKER_00: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.
SPEAKER_00: Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.
SPEAKER_00: There is nothing said here that would give us any understanding that Boaz made any sinful decisions, anything that is out of line, that would not be pleasing to the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: He's walking in love.
SPEAKER_00: He's seeing his opportunity to obey God, and he is saying, Yes, I will take action on that.
SPEAKER_00: And it's going to happen tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: Now there's no order of operations that are getting mixed around.
SPEAKER_00: There's none of that.
SPEAKER_00: He's saying, I will go and do my part.
SPEAKER_00: I will check up on this tomorrow.
SPEAKER_00: And as the Lord lives, I will redeem you.
SPEAKER_00: If this, if if Frank down the street doesn't do it, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: I will take you in.
SPEAKER_00: I will marry you.
SPEAKER_00: I will redeem you.
SPEAKER_00: This is Boaz's promise.
SPEAKER_00: It's his promise before the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And I'll, 1 Corinthians 10, 31, Paul says this whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
SPEAKER_00: He's giving honor and glory to Yahweh by treating Ruth with respect, by being kind to her, by showing love to her.
SPEAKER_00: He's taking this opportunity to obey and care for her, and he's saying, Yes, I will do that.
SPEAKER_00: Are you ready for another cliffhanger?
SPEAKER_00: Because it's another cliffhanger.
SPEAKER_00: Let's read on.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 14.
SPEAKER_00: You can hear the roosters crowing.
SPEAKER_00: So she lay at his feet until morning, but arose before one could recognize another.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, This is Boaz, let it be not known that a woman came to the threshing floor.
SPEAKER_00: And he said, Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.
SPEAKER_00: So she held it out.
SPEAKER_00: And he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her.
SPEAKER_00: You're thinking to yourself, like, what does this mean?
SPEAKER_00: Is he just like scooping up and like?
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he is.
SPEAKER_00: She's holding out her garment, her cloak, and he's filling her up, her garment up with food.
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's we don't exactly have an understanding of how heavy this is, but it's enough to know that he needs to pick it up and put it on her.
SPEAKER_00: He's placing it on her.
SPEAKER_00: His generosity is continually on display.
SPEAKER_00: His love and his care for Naomi and Ruth is ongoing.
SPEAKER_00: And he said this let it not be known.
SPEAKER_00: Bring out your garment.
SPEAKER_00: So she held it out.
SPEAKER_00: Six measures of barley and put it on her.
SPEAKER_00: Ruth is a strong gal.
SPEAKER_00: She's fit.
SPEAKER_00: She's working in the fields.
SPEAKER_00: She's got some strength.
SPEAKER_00: And this weight has to be something of significance.
SPEAKER_00: Because Boaz is placing it on her.
SPEAKER_00: He put it on her to carry.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was a little too heavy for her to pick up and throw over her shoulder.
SPEAKER_00: This is another extension of love and care and generosity for both of these widows.
SPEAKER_00: The return.
SPEAKER_00: Are you guys ready?
SPEAKER_00: She's going back.
SPEAKER_00: Like, all this while, you gotta be thinking, Naomi's like, go lay down.
SPEAKER_00: And all the while she's like, Yeah, great plan, great plan.
SPEAKER_00: And now she's just waiting for this, like, the report back, like, how did it go?
SPEAKER_00: How did how did my weird plan turn out?
SPEAKER_00: How did it work?
SPEAKER_00: Did it work?
SPEAKER_00: So she went back into the city.
SPEAKER_00: Verse 16.
SPEAKER_00: And when she came to her mother-in-law, here comes Ruth, she said, Honk, how'd it go?
SPEAKER_00: How'd it go?
SPEAKER_00: How did you do?
SPEAKER_00: How did you fare, my daughter?
SPEAKER_00: And then she told all that the man had done for her, saying, These six measures of barley he gave to me.
SPEAKER_00: For he said to me, You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: She replied, Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out.
SPEAKER_00: For the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi, you're not gonna believe what happened.
SPEAKER_00: He said yes.
SPEAKER_00: He said he will marry me if Frank down the road doesn't.
SPEAKER_00: It's him.
SPEAKER_00: And now you're like, well, is Frank gonna say yes?
SPEAKER_00: Is it gonna be Boaz or Frank?
SPEAKER_00: Who's it gonna be?
SPEAKER_00: Spoiler alert, it's not Frank.
SPEAKER_00: Spoiler alert.
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I ruined the whole season for you.
SPEAKER_00: You're welcome, Tristan.
SPEAKER_00: I ruined the whole season.
SPEAKER_00: We jumped in the middle, just we jumped into the middle of this of this season together.
SPEAKER_00: I just ruined the whole thing for you.
SPEAKER_00: I apologize.
SPEAKER_00: She shares of Boaz's commitment to her.
SPEAKER_00: And I remember Boaz says, yes, I will.
SPEAKER_00: If not, if it's not Frank, it's me.
SPEAKER_00: I will do it.
SPEAKER_00: I will redeem you.
SPEAKER_00: I will be your husband, he's saying.
SPEAKER_00: But we have to wait.
SPEAKER_00: We have to wait.
SPEAKER_00: And like we don't, we don't know how it's gonna go.
SPEAKER_00: Like as you're reading this, like we could we could look back.
SPEAKER_00: But if you're Naomi or Ruth in this, you don't know the end of the story.
SPEAKER_00: You're like, you're talking to God, you're praying, you're you're asking God's favor, you're like, please let it be Boaz, please let it be him, let it be him.
SPEAKER_00: Please let it be him.
SPEAKER_00: He's a man of great character.
SPEAKER_00: He's a man that is kind, he's a man that is obedient to the law.
SPEAKER_00: He is going to treat me well.
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna be a man that is humble, that is of high character.
SPEAKER_00: Uh Micah 6, 8 says this.
SPEAKER_00: He has told you, oh man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
SPEAKER_00: That is that is what God is desiring.
SPEAKER_00: A people that are out to follow his lead, to do, to do what is right in God's eyes, to love kindness, to do justice, and to walk humbly.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't desire you just to check the box just to get what you want.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't desire you to do whatever he asks you to do in order that you get the candy at the end of the day, the thing that you want the most, the job that you want, the shoes that you want, the car that you're that you have on your wall.
SPEAKER_00: No, God, God is after a heart that is seeking to humbly walk and obey him.
SPEAKER_00: Follow after him.
SPEAKER_00: What a cliffhanger we we stand.
SPEAKER_00: We stand at the cliff and we look over and say, well, this can go.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know anything about this other Redeemer that's in line.
SPEAKER_00: We don't know anything about his character, we don't know anything about him, but we do know Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: And we're rooting for Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: Lord, please let it be Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: And all the while, Ruth and Naomi are just talking about the what could be, the husband that Boaz could be for her.
SPEAKER_00: Now we we need to have a similar attitude about the way that God's caring and providing for us.
SPEAKER_00: And as we look forward into the future of what is yet to be, we know the character of God.
SPEAKER_00: We know the character of his goodness.
SPEAKER_00: We know the love and the kindness and the steadfast provision that God has poured out on us.
SPEAKER_00: And that should stir in us to be like Naomi, to be like Ruth.
SPEAKER_00: This is so exciting.
SPEAKER_00: How could it be?
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna have to wait because he's gonna go do this today.
SPEAKER_00: God, Boaz is working today.
SPEAKER_00: He is getting busy to figure out if this other man is going to say yes, and if not, it's him.
SPEAKER_00: It's him if it's not.
SPEAKER_00: And we need to be that excited.
SPEAKER_00: We need to be that excited about what God is going to be doing and how he's continually working.
SPEAKER_00: We could tell about his promises.
SPEAKER_00: We could tell about his faithfulness.
SPEAKER_00: Just like you'll be talking about a friend to a friend about a spirit.
SPEAKER_00: Sports game.
SPEAKER_00: You've been watching the World Cup, maybe watching some playoffs here or there.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe they won.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe the card that that guy got.
SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it got overturned.
SPEAKER_00: Now we got to have that kind of excitement about the ways that God is working in our lives.
SPEAKER_00: Let's write this down for point number three.
SPEAKER_00: Show and tell the promises of God.
SPEAKER_00: Show and tell.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi and Ruth were ecstatic.
SPEAKER_00: They were thrilled about the promise that Boaz made them.
SPEAKER_00: Because it's Naomi's in the splash zone.
SPEAKER_00: If Boaz is caring for Ruth, he's also caring for her.
SPEAKER_00: She gets the benefit also.
SPEAKER_00: She gets the care and love and kindness as Ruth's mother-in-law.
SPEAKER_00: We get to be excited about the promises of God.
SPEAKER_00: We get to be excited to tell people that there is a savior.
SPEAKER_00: There is a God that stepped into time as a man and he sacrificed himself for us.
SPEAKER_00: We can be excited about these promises that God lays out for us in his scriptures.
SPEAKER_00: And that is something worth sharing.
SPEAKER_00: That is something worth being excited and telling others about.
SPEAKER_00: Be strong and let your heart take courage.
SPEAKER_00: Wait for the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Naomi and Ruth are waiting for a response.
SPEAKER_00: They're waiting for an answer.
SPEAKER_00: They're waiting on God to provide for them.
SPEAKER_00: They have faith.
SPEAKER_00: They have a hope that Boaz will be the one.
SPEAKER_00: And if you ask them, they would be thrilled to tell you of what God has done.
SPEAKER_00: If you rewind three chapters and go to chapter one, they'd be the first person to tell you our life was flipped upside down.
SPEAKER_00: But now we have this hope in this Redeemer, this man named Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: He is going to go see about this other man.
SPEAKER_00: And if it's not him, it's wedding time.
SPEAKER_00: The wedding plans are starting to churn in their minds.
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a celebration.
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be a party.
SPEAKER_00: It's going to be God's kindness and goodness in an overwhelming way.
SPEAKER_00: God is near.
SPEAKER_00: And they're waiting.
SPEAKER_00: They're waiting and obeying.
SPEAKER_00: Please pray with me.
SPEAKER_00: God, we are looking to your word.
SPEAKER_00: We're looking to your scriptures, and it's at times hard for us to make a connection to a people and a place thousands of years in the past.
SPEAKER_00: God, help us to see our need for a faithful and loving God that is ready and willing to redeem, ready and willing to save and to remove the guilt that our lives carry.
SPEAKER_00: God, we break your law and we sin against you and we are sin stained.
SPEAKER_00: We are in need of forgiveness, in need of a savior to step in our place and receive the punishment that we are rightly due.
SPEAKER_00: God, our sins separate us from you, but Jesus, the Savior, the mighty King of kings, has done something about it and he has made a way to redeem a people for himself.
SPEAKER_00: God, I pray that you would stir in the hearts of these students to see their need for a redeemer, a redeemer that would purchase them and buy them out of their sin and bondage and into God, your family.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see the story, this narrative.
SPEAKER_00: Help us to see the faith of Naomi and Ruth and the obedience of these three characters and Boaz.
SPEAKER_00: God help us to look forward into our lives, look inside of us and see our need to obey, see our need to have faith and to wait on you.
SPEAKER_00: God, we pray in Jesus' name.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.