Ruth chapter 1

Sermon notes from Sunday 13 October 2019 am Rev Eric Stewart

Ruth chapter 1

Moab was different to the land of Israel  It was a land of idolatry, they did not follow the way of God.  Elimelech as head of the family decided because there was a famine in Bethlehem to go to Moab with his wife and 2 sons.  They only meant to stay there a short while because it was not a good environment for any of them.  They stayed longer than planned - 10 years in total.  During those years 3 of the men of the family all died.  We now find 3 women - Naomi, Orpah and Ruth left.  Orpah and Ruth were young women from Moab.  Naomi hears there is food again in Bethlehem and decided to return.  She felt like a stranger in a strange land.  She wanted to get back to the land she knew and the people she remembered.  Sometimes people drift from the Lord, they become backsliders from the Lord.  They once loved the Lord and God`s house but something happens.  They find themselves in a strange land.  How wonderful it is to come back to the Lord.  God wants to bring you back - you are not here by accident today but by appointment.  On their journey Naomi stops and talks to the girls.  She tells them they should go back to Moab.  They had a choice to make.  One girl, Orpah decided to go back to Moab and her god.  Sometimes the people of Moab would offer sacrifices to their god, children would be offered by fire to appease or gain favour from their god.  We only have to accept God as our Saviour today, no sacrifices are needed.  Orpah went back but Ruth by the choice she made decided to go on with Naomi.  She made a memorable decision.  Naomi knew that Ruth really meant it.  She was stepping out to follow the Lord.  She said "your God wil be my God."  It is great to make a choice like that when you are young.  The 2 travelled on until they arrived in Bethlehem and it is the beginning of the harvest.  The next morning Ruth says to Naomi "I want to go and work in one of the harvest fields."  So she set off and found a field, helping to harvest some of the grain.  Later in the day a man appeared on the scene.  He looked over the people and saw Ruth. He inquired about who she was.  She must have looked good because he asked about her.  They told her who she was and that she had come with Naomi whose husband was Elimelech from Moab.  Ruth had married Elimelech`s son and Boaz knew that Elimelech and his 2 sons were buried in Moab.  He also knew Ruth was part of his family.  Boaz`s name means strength.  He was well respected in the community, known for his generosity.  He was a kinsman to Ruth.  A kinsman could purchase property that belonged to a relative and that is what Boaz was going to do.  When he bought the property he was also challenged to buy Ruth to redeem her too.  We have today got a redeeming mortgage on a house.  It means when you pay for the mortgage it becomes yours, it belongs to you.  Boaz was going to have to buy Ruth.  This widow became his wife.  In that thought we have the picture of the Lord who came to the same town many years later.  He was God`s Boaz.  He was so rich - the bible says "he became poor that we through his poverty might become rich."  He didn`t have a place to put down his head.  "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."  He went to the Mount of Olives, he borrowed Peter`s boat to sail across the sea of Galilee.  He didn`t have money to pay the taxes but told Peter to go down and catch a fish with a coin in its mouth and that coin would pay for the taxes.  This is the creator of the universe who is strong enough to save all who come and trust in him.  Have you accepted him, do you know him as your redeemer today?  The transaction was made at the gate of Bethlehem.  Boaz bought the ground and Ruth.  She is called Ruth the Moabitess 5 times in this book.  Think about the number 5 and when it occurs in the bible - David had 5 stones when he went to kill Goliath, there were 5 loaves and 2 fishes used to feed the 5000, there were 5 arches where the lame man lay.  5 means grace.  When Ruth left that morning to go to the field she said "I want to meet someone in whose eyes I will find grace."  3 times she says this in chapter 2.  It is the word favour but it is the same word.  Who gives us grace today - Jesus himself.  There is nothing you can do, all your works, prayers, the gifts you bring - it is simply trusting in Jesus that we can come to know him.  She became a notable woman.  She met a remarkable man and became a notable woman.  The sixth time she is mentioned in the book of Ruth she is called Ruth the wife of Boaz.  She had a new name.  When the Lord comes into your life the heavenly Boaz gives you a new name.  His name is in your heart and life.  She became part of a new company of people, the people of God.  When we come to know the Lord we become part of the company of God.  A year later a little boy was born and they called him Obed.  When he grew up and married he had a boy called Jesse who had a lot of boys, the youngest of whom was called David and the Lord was called the son of David because he came from David`s line.  He is mentioned as is Ruth in Matthew 1.  There are 5 women mentioned there.  Ruth is one of them  Jesus is God`s greater son.  Ruth could never have dreamed that the day she stood on the path leading from Moab to Bethlehem that the decision she made would result her name would be remembered all over the world even today.  That many will gather in their different places to praise the name of Jesus who have come to know him as their own and personal Saviour.  You can know what it might mean to you to accept the Lord God as your Saviour.  There is an amazing future for anyone who will come to him and trust him.  It becomes an adventure.  Orpah went into the mist never to be spoken of again but Ruth followed the Lord and became a notable person, a new creation.  How exciting that can be for you too.