Ruth

Nothing can separate us from His love

Facts – statements of truth –
Ruth 1
In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land (God gave Israel to inherit)
(Famine is one of the ways the Lord calls people back to Himself out of idolatry
so they can return to the Source of life
and live)
A man named Elimelech (God is my king) took his wife, Naomi, and their 2 sons to stay in the fields of Moab
Elimelech died there, and his sons took wives of the women of Moab: One was named Orpah and the other Ruth
They stayed there 10 years

Both of the sons also died while they were there, leaving Naomi with her 2 daughters-in-law
She heard the Lord had visited His people in giving them food, so she got ready to return to Israel
She said to her 2 daughters-in-law, Go, return to your families

But they said, No. We will go with you
She asked, Why? Can I still bear sons for you to marry? If I were to have a husband tonight, would you shut yourselves up for them and not be with another? Turn back my daughters
Orpah went back home but Ruth said, Don’t ask me to leave you, or to return from following you:

for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay: your people will be my people and your God, my God:
Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried: the LORD let nothing but death part you and me
[I am persuaded,
that not death, or life,
or angels, or principalities,
or powers, or things present,
or things to come,
or height, or depth,
or any other created thing
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord]
Romans 8:38, 39
When they came to Bethlehem all the city said, Is this Naomi? She said, Don’t call me Naomi, but Mara for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full and the Lord brought me back empty. The Almighty has greatly
afflicted me
[Many are the afflictions
of the righteous:
but the Lord delivers them
out of them all]
Psalm 34:19
When they returned it was time of the barley harvest

Refuge in the shadow of His wings

Ruth 2
Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech (my God is king); his name was Boaz

Ruth said to Naomi, Let me go to the field and glean grain after him in whose sight I find grace

And she said to her, Go, my daughter
And she happened to go to the field belonging to Boaz. Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, The LORD be with you

[Jesus said, I will never leave you, or forsake you]
Hebrews 13:5

And they answered him, The LORD bless you

Then Boaz said to his young man that was set over the reapers, Whose young woman is this? He answered, It is the Moabite woman that came back with Naomi out of the field of Moab
She asked to gather after the reapers among the sheaves and has continued from morning until now
Boaz said to Ruth, Don’t go to glean in another field, but stay close by my young women. I ordered the young men not to touch you. And when you are thirsty, go to the pitchers, and drink what the young men have drawn
[Whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never thirst; but the water that I give him will be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life]
John 4:14
She fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found grace in your eyes, that you notice me, since I’m a foreigner?
[...you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you, through His poverty might be rich]
2 Corinthians 8:9
And Boaz answered and said to her, It has fully been shown me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband:

how you left your father and mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know
The LORD be in a covenant of peace with your work, and a full reward be given you of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to trust
[In the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until all these calamities have passed]
Psalm 57:1
She said, you have comforted me; you have spoken to my heart
Boaz said to her, At mealtime come and eat. So she sat beside the reapers and he handed her roasted grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and had left over
Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don’t shame her: And let some of the handfuls fall for her on purpose, don’t rebuke her
So she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned: it was about an ephah (a bushel) of barley. And she lifted it and went into the city
Naomi saw what she had gleaned: and Ruth gave her that she had saved after she had eaten
Naomi asked, Where did you glean today? Blessed be he that took notice of you. Ruth said, The man's name is Boaz
Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, May he be blessed of the LORD, who has not left off His goodness, kindness, faithfulness to the living and to the dead
And Naomi said to her, The man is a near relative to us, he is of our redeemers
[I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He will stand at the latter day upon the earth]
Job 19:25
Ruth said, He also said, Stay close by my young men until they have ended all my harvest

Naomi said to Ruth, It is good that you go out with his maidens, so that men won’t attack you in another field
So she stayed close by the maidens of Boaz to glean until the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother-in-law
[Surely goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever]
Psalm 23:6

Our Redeemer is the Everlasting King

Ruth 3
Naomi said to Ruth, My daughter, I seek a place of rest for you that it may be pleasing, well-placed, joyful for you

[The LORD your God in the midst of you is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over you with singing]
Zephaniah 3:17

Boaz is our relative. He is winnowing barley tonight. Wash and anoint yourself and put on your mantle and go to the threshing floor

[You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever]
Psalm 23:5

Don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. When he lies down, note the place. Go in and uncover his feet and lay down. He will tell you what to do
Ruth did all Naomi told her and secretly uncovered and lay down at Boaz’ feet

At midnight Boaz was startled and turned himself. And behold, a woman lay at his feet

He said, Who are you? She said, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread your wing over your handmaid; for you are a near relative

(He told her the day they met that she had come to trust under the wing, the shelter of the Almighty)
Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter: for you have showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, since you didn’t go after the young men, poor or rich
And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid; I will do all that you require:
It is true that I am your near relative but there is a relative nearer than I. Stay the night, and in the morning, if he is not pleased to redeem you, then I will redeem you

as the LORD lives

[The LORD is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King]
Jeremiah 10:10

And she lay at his feet until the morning and she got up before one could recognize another
And he said, Don’t let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor. And he said, Bring the mantle that you have on, and hold it. He measured 6 measures of barley into it and laid it on her and she went into the city
She came to her mother-in-law and told her all that the man had done

And she said, He gave me these 6 measures of barley; for he said to me, Don’t go empty to your mother-in-law
Naomi said, Sit still, my daughter. The man will not rest, until he has completed the matter this day

[He won't bruise a reed or quench a smoking flax until He sends out judgment to victory
Matthew 12:20

When Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and He bowed his head, and released His Spirit]
John 19:30

We are His inheritance

Ruth 4

Boaz went up to the gate of the city and when the relative passed by, he spoke to him before 10 of the elders saying, Naomi, who has returned from Moab, is selling the field belonging to her husband Elimelech
If you don’t want to redeem it, I’m next after you. The man agreed until Boaz told him, you must also buy it from Ruth to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance (the first male child born would be the heir of the husband who died)

[The Lord's portion is His people; ... the lot of His inheritance
Deuteronomy 32:9

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people He has chosen for His own inheritance]
Psalm 33:12

The man said, I can’t, it will ruin my own inheritance

All the people that were in the city gate witnessed the finalizing of the exchange

They blessed Boaz saying, The Lord make this young woman as fruitful as Rachel and Leah who built up the family of Israel
So Boaz took Ruth as his wife and the Lord gave her conception and she bore a son

[Your Maker is your husband; the LORD of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall He be called
For the LORD has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when you were refused, says your God

For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercies (womb deep love) I will gather you
In a little wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the LORD your Redeemer]
Isaiah 54:5-8

The women blessed Naomi saying, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you without a kinsman redeemer

May his name be great in Israel

The women named him Obed (serving). He became the father of Jesse, the father of David

(God brought this young woman from another nation into the line of ancestry of the Eternal King of Kings and Lord of Lords)

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