GOD HAS A PLAN

 God has always surrounded me with strong women. My dad’s mom was a tent preacher who planted and built her own church. My mom’s mom was a pioneer homemaker who fed her family out of a covered wagon, getting up long before dawn to make campfire biscuits, work all day in the fields, then prepare supper for eleven children! My mom was raised working in the fields alongside her mom and dad, never getting to go to school before Thanksgiving. She was a wife and mother while working as a successful government employee. She then switched careers and went on to own two businesses. My mother-in-law left the country of her birth to make a new home in America. She worked in the school lunchroom, had her own drapery business, was a pastor’s wife and a missionary. My wife began life as a refugee from Communist oppression. She overcame multiple obstacles, rose to academic achievement, and is now a respected school administrator who travels all over Latin America accrediting Christian schools. My daughter has continued the legacy by being a wife and mother of four while teaching and coaching, running her own business, singing on the worship team, and leading the nursery department at their church. I am one lucky guy!

Women have it tough sometimes. They do not have the esteem that they deserve. They are objectified in art and media and struggle to break through the glass ceiling that keep many of them in lesser positions in business. They work for less than men, yet many live as single moms who courageously make both a living and a home. 

On this Labor Day weekend, I want to speak a word of encouragement to you ladies. And it is simply this, God has a plan for you! More than that, He will work to bring it to pass. Your last chapter has not been written!

Our heroine for the day is Ruth. She was a young widow living in poverty but would rise to wealth and family. In her last chapter she would become the great-grandmother of King David and a progenitor to Jesus!

THE BOOK OF RUTH: “GOD HAS A PLAN!”

I hope you will read the story of Ruth on your own. Because of time, allow me to summarize the key points of the story. Let’s do read some from the first chapter. 

Elimelech’s Family Goes to Moab

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 dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. ² The name of the man was Elimelech, the name of his wife was Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion—Ephrathites of Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to the country of Moab and remained there. ³ Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. ⁴ Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about ten years. ⁵ Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died; so, the woman survived her two sons and her husband.

Elimelech means “My God is King”. He married Naomi, whose name means “pleasure”. They have two sons: Mahlon, which means weak, tired, sickly, and Chilion, who name means pain and destruction. These names are too important to just pass by without talking about them.

The Book of Ruth is a true story; it is not a parable. However, it is more than just the wonderful story of a peasant girl whom God blesses. The late, great Bible teacher, Major Ian Thomas, stated that it is itself an allegory, an extended metaphor that speaks a larger truth. The first observation is simple. Elimelech, “My God is King”, married Naomi, “Pleasure”. They dwelt, were at home, for years in Moab, a pagan place inhabited by God’s enemies. The result was sickness, pain, destruction and death. Eventually, Naomi, “Pleasure”, would change her name to Mara, “Bitterness”. So, the allegory goes, “My God is King” stooped to marry “Pleasure”; the result was pain and destruction and “Pleasure” was turned to “Bitterness”!  

So, all the men have died. Naomi is left with two daughters-in-law: Orpah and Ruth. They are both Moabites, distant cousins to the Hebrews. They are the descendants of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his eldest daughter. They have no heritage or claim in the children of Israel. Such is the lot of our heroine. No heritage, no inheritance, no claim, nothing to be proud of, a product of immorality in the most horrible sense. 

 

But God… Never forget those words: But God… He always has the final say. He determines the objects of His grace.

 

Naomi Returns to Judah

Naomi decides to go home because she heard there was bread in Bethlehem. What a picture. Bethlehem means “house of bread”. It will be the birthplace of Jesus, the bread of God. John 6:33“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

 

She encourages Orpah and Ruth to go back to their families. Orpah starts the journey, but eventually goes back to her family, to their gods. Ruth decides to go all the way to Bethlehem and recites that beautiful vow that many brides want in their wedding. Ruth 1:16-17 But Ruth said: “Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, And there will I be buried. The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

When brides want this in their wedding, I remind them that this vow was spoken to the mother-in-law!

 

Orpah and Ruth are pictures that answer the question, “Why do some people leave faith?” Orpah begins the journey but does not go all the way. Ruth, on the other hand, finishes the journey. Orpah is an awakened soul, but Ruth is a regenerate spirit. Orpah is lost; Ruth is saved. As Jesus said,  “He who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 10:22

 

Ruth Meets Boaz

They arrive during barley harvest. Ruth goes out to glean and catches the eye of the owner, Boaz. He instructs his workers to let Ruth glean in the best places and give her access to food and water. When Ruth tells Naomi about the day, she finds out that Boaz is a close relative to  Elimelech. Naomi assures Ruth that God has brought them here and to stay close go Boaz. 

 

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

Naomi explains that Boaz can be a kinsman redeemer for Ruth and Naomi. Under Hebrew law, the inheritance and family of a man could be redeemed for the widow by the next of kin. Boaz could redeem all of Elimelech’s and  Mahlon’s land and fortune. He could also marry the widow and raise up a linage for his kinsman. 

 

Naomi send Ruth to sleep at Boaz’s feet and then explain who she is and ask him to redeem her. Ruth does just that. When Boaz awakens, Ruth explains herself. Boaz accepts the role and sends her home with a bounty of grain. 

 

Boaz Redeems Ruth

Boaz goes through the ritual of redeeming the inheritance for Ruth and Naomi. More than that, he marries Ruth and gives her a new life, a new linage, and a new hope!

 

Descendants of Boaz and Ruth

Ruth 4:13-17 So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. 

 

From this linage Jesus would come. He is our ultimate kinsman redeemer. He came to the earth He created and He came as a man, related to us so that He could pay the price to redeem us from the slave market of sin and restore to us everything that the enemy had stolen! Can we grasp it? The eternal Son left the eternal present of heaven, broke into time and space, and limited Himself just to be with us. The transcendent God became imminent. The One Who is totally “other” than us became our personal Lord and Savior. To quote Francis Schaeffer, “He is there and He is not silent!”

 

APPLICATION All of us can glean some personal applications from this story. Open yourself and let God show you how you can be Ruth and go all the way with God. Don’t just be an awakened soul, but be a regenerate spirit. Follow Him, cling to Him, honor Him. Allow Him to restore You and to restore all that is yours in Jesus’ name!

 

Let me speak a word to widows and orphans, and I include those that are widows and orphans by divorce, as well as death. You have a special place in God’s heart. In the OT, Israel was commanded to care for orphans and widows. In the NT pure religion is defined as taking care of orphans and widows. 

 

You may be here this morning or listening online and feel hopeless because of your condition. You may be like Ruth and have lost everything that has meaning in your life. But can I tell you this morning, God sees you; He knows you; He has a Boaz waiting for you. Your last chapter has not been written. You don’t have to live in fear of a life spent alone. God has a plan. Surrender to Him and let Him bring it to pass in your life. He is for you. You have a special place in His heart and He will not leave you comfortless! 

 

MINISTRY TIME