God is confronting the heathen for their idolatry but is comforting Israel concerning their relationship with Himself. In these 3 verses, God gives us, His children, some reasons to be encouraged. Some may say, “I don’t have anything to be happy about, it just seems that everything is against me.” Thank God, even when we forget His promises, He still remembers. (Old man, who was dying, couldn’t remember God’s promises, but was reminded that God never forgets.) In these verses, God gives you, His children, some precious promises for your journey.
The question may come to mind, “Why does God promise us anything? After all, it is we who ought to be promising Him things.” Well, it doesn’t work like that. When we get saved, we begin to live under the economy of grace. From a human standpoint, nothing God does makes very much sense, (Some things He does.) Why does He do this? Notice verses 8-9, He picked us, we did not choose Him. Therefore, He will do everything to see that we are looked after in our journey.
With this in mind, notice these precious promises that God has given you for your journey.
THE PROMISE OF HIS PRESENCE
A. His Presence Is Powerful – His presence has the power to drive away fear – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Tim. 1:7)
B. His Presence Is Personal – Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matt. 28:20) (Not an angel, but the Lord Himself – But He saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. (John 6:20)
C. His Presence Is Perpetual – Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Heb. 13:5) – Where life can lead, still never alone!
THE PROMISE OF HIS PERSON
A. There Is A Relationship – This is personal, our relationship with God has to be defined on His terms because He has ownership of our past, present, and future. God is faithful to forgive a genuine heart, guide a willing servant and uphold the promises He makes to those who faithfully endure. We can trust in the one who does not change, cannot lie, whose “mercy is everlasting” and whose “truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:5).
B. There Is A Realization – He is GOD! He can do anything! – Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, (Eph. 3:20) – “I know that You can do everything And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. (Job 42:2) – (Luke 1:37) (Psa. 115:3)
C. There Is A Reality – (“Dismayed” – To look anxiously about.) If God is my God, and He is an able God, then why do we need to fear, fret or faint? My God is on the throne! (His mighty deeds. He hasn’t changed! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb. 13:8 ) (We need to remember just who He is!)
THE PROMISE OF HIS POWER
(God’s promise here is three-fold. Yea = “Surely” There are three aspects of His power that we can count on.)
A. He Will Strengthen Us – He will give us the power to see every duty and every day to its the conclusion. There will be grace and strength for every need – (2 Cor. 12:9; And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.)
B. He Will Support Us – He will give us what we need, when we need it, in the exact proportions that we require it – Phil. 4:19. (Psalm 23:1-6 – The statement of verse 1 is explained.) (The Lordis my shepherd; I shall not want.)
C. He Will Sustain Us – God will keep us and get us safely through the journey until we all reach Heaven, Vers. 9, 17. God did not save us to abandon us along the way – 1 Pet. 1:5, (Present, Passive, Participle) (The Egyptian in 1 Sam. 30:11-13 (And they found an Egyptian in the field, and brought him to David, and gave him bread, and he did eat, and they made him drink water; 12 And they gave him a piece of a cake of figs, and two clusters of raisins: and when he had eaten, his spirit came again to him: for he had eaten no bread, nor drunk any water, three days and three nights. 13 And David said unto him, To whom belongest thou? and whence art thou? And he said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me because three days alone I fell sick.) God doesn’t operate like that! Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; (Phil. 1:6) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thes. 5:23) That’s my kind of guarantee!
I praise the Lord for His promises! Don’t you? However, let’s be honest, we do not all live like we believe these things, do we? Today might be a good day for you to come before the Lord and thank Him for His perfect Word and the promises it contains. Just to thank Him for being faithful and dependable.
Our journey may be long, or it might be short. Whatever the length of it, or whatever we may face, I am thankful that we can count on God and His promises during our journey.
I’m trading my sorrows I’m trading my shame I’m laying them down For the joy of the Lord I’m trading my sickness I’m trading my pain I’m laying them down For the joy of the Lord
We sing yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord Yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord Amen
I am blessed but not crushed Persecuted not abandoned Struck down but not destroyed I am blessed beyond the curse For His promise will endure That His joy’s gonna be my strength
Though the sorrow may last for the night His joy comes with the morning
We say yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord We say yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord We say yes Lord, yes Lord, yes yes Lord Amen
We have all have experiences in life that were almost too good to be true. In the midst of that experience have ever said, or heard someone say, “somebody pinch me please! I must be dreaming.”? Well, I suppose that is what Ruth is feeling when you reach the concluding chapters of this book. She finds herself in a situation that is almost unbelievably good!
You see, in the verses of this little book, Ruth has worn the garments of a Widow, Chapter 1; of a Worker, Chapter 2 and of a Woman, Chapter 3. But, in this concluding section of the book, we see Ruth wearing the garments of a Wife! For her, it must have been like a fairy tale! She must have felt like Cinderella as the handsome prince swept her off her feet to live happily ever after, which is just what they did!
Well, this evening as we look at these verses which form the culmination of Ruth’s journey from Widow to Wife, I want you to see that there are some parallels between her experience and ours. If you stop and think of all the redeemed enjoy in Jesus, you could almost feel like you were in a fairy tale this morning. Sometimes, as I ponder all that Jesus has done for me and in me, I just want to say “Somebody pinch me please!” If you will join me for a few minutes, we will look at three experiences that Ruth had in these closing verses that may have left her wondering if she was dreaming. As she pondered all that Boaz had done for her, she may have said, “somebody pinch me please!”
Ruth 3:13-14 – RUTH AND HER WAITING EXPERIENCE
She Waited By Faith -v.13- Boaz told her to “tarry this night.” His promise to her was that when morning came, he would see to her redemption one way or another. (Note: May I remind you that we are in the night right now? We are to wait patiently upon our Heavenly Boaz to “see to” the needs of life! I would just remind you that He is still “Jehovah-Jireh” – “The LORD Will See To It”. Therefore, no matter how dark the way becomes, remember that when the morning comes, He will meet all the needs of life, Psalm 30:5.) (Note: You can trust Jesus to finish that which He has started in our lives, (Phil. 1:6.) Nothing that arises in life will ever stop the fulfillment of God’s plan for you and me!)
She Waited At His Feet -v. 14- Ruth spent the night at the feet of Boaz just as she had been instructed! She knew that as he would do just what he promised! (Note: I would just remind the saints that Jesus Christ is a refuge from the stormy winds and raging seas of life, Psalm 61:1-4; Psalm 46:1; Psalm 62:7-8! There is no better place for the suffering saint to be than near His feet. Stay in that place where you can feel His closeness. Until He comes to mark yourself off a place at His feet and determine in your heart that you will be moved by nothing this life throws at you!)
Ruth 4:13 – RUTH AND HER WEDDING EXPERIENCE
It Was A Time Of Glory For The Groom – Boaz saw his plan completed when Ruth was redeemed and when she became his bride. He paid the price for her because of his love for her and he was magnified as a result, 4:11-12. (Note: The word “took” means “to carry away, to fetch”. What a picture of that which our heavenly Boaz will do for us when He returns for His bride – 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 The. 4:16-17; Rev. 19:1-9. He will catch us away and He will see His plan completed when His bride is safe with Him in glory! Friends, if you are saved, you are going home! On that day, He will receive all the praise He is worthy of today!)
It Was A Time Of Grace For The Bride – In spite of her past, Ruth was accepted in Boaz! When she was redeemed, a legal transaction took place, 4:1-11. When the near kinsman plucked off his shoe as a sign that he could redeem Ruth, Boaz took that shoe and kept it as evidence that he was the Redeemer and that Ruth had been forever redeemed from her past! (Note: In Jesus, and through His blood, we are accepted, Eph. 1:6. The Bible reminds us that in spite of what we were, in Jesus we have been forever redeemed, (1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Pet. 1:18-19.)
His grace has changed everything for those who trust Him for salvation, Eph. 2:8-9; 12-18.) (Note: We do not have a shoe to prove that we belong to Jesus, we have something far better than that! We have the Lord Himself, seated at the right hand of the Father, ever living to make intercession for us, Heb. 7:25. We have an “Advocate” in heaven Who bears in His body the marks of the cross, 1 John 2:1; Rev. 5:6.) (Note: In spite of what we were, and still are at times, we are going to stand in Heavenly places by His grace! In fact, I am already there this morning, Eph. 2:6.)
Ruth 4:14-22 – RUTH AND HER WORSHIP EXPERIENCE
(After the redemption was concluded and the marriage was finished, there was a time of worship that began. Notice what prompted their praise.)
V. 14 – It Focused Itself In A Sovereign – This verse indicates that God received the praise for the transaction! This is justified because He established the plan that brought Ruth and Boaz together, and He is exalted because of it. (Note: May we never forget that all we have in Jesus is because of God’s eternal decree, Rev. 13:8. And, that He is worthy to be praised because of it, Rev. 4:1-11; Rev. 5:8-14!)
V. 15-22 – It Fixed Itself In A Son – The child that Ruth and Boaz had together was named “Obed”. This is a name that means “Worshiping”. This son firmly fixed Ruth’s place in Israel! You see, her redemption gave her legal standing in the courthouse records, but this child gave her a connection with the royal family! Obed was King David’s grandfather! This made Ruth David’s great-grandmother! But, better than that, she is named in Matt. 1:5 as one of the ancestresses of Jesus Christ! This little boy changed everything for Ruth!
So, for Naomi, Ruth, and everyone involved, Obed became a “restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age”. Knowing the son was a blessing to them all! (Note: Genuine worship will always erupt out of a personal relationship with the Son of God! When you know Him, you know One Who is The Restorer of Life and the Nourisher of all Ages! If you know Him, you should rejoice in that fact! If you do not know Him, then you need to know that you can, and to know Him changes everything, 1 John 5:12!)
As her life progressed, there were probably many days when she said to herself, “Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming!” Such is the power of grace in the life all who are pursued and captured of it!
Grace can take you from nowhere as a nobody and it can change your life, redeem you from death and place you in the family of the King! Are you living your life in the grace of God? Would you like to know Him? Do you need to get at His feet this morning? Whatever your need, it will be met by coming to Him and trusting Him to do the amazing in your life!
What can we learn from these verses? I think there are a couple of truths here that we must not miss.
First, these are the traits that characterize Satan. If you will take the time to read Isa. 14, you will find that Satan exhibited all these sins and more in his rebellion against God. Jezebel, the wicked Queen of Israel, also manifested every single one of these sins in her life. If that is true, and it is, then we must do everything in our power to make sure that those things are not found in us!
Second, God hates these things. They are an abomination to Him. If He hates them, we should hate them also. Not a single one of these things should ever be true of any child of God.
Third, Jesus Christ died for every one of these sins. He shed His blood to redeem His people from the influence of these things. Why would any saved person who understands the price Jesus Christ paid in the cross allow these sins in his or her life? If you can do these things with no remorse or sense of a need for repentance, I would say that you could not be saved. Why? When we do these things, we are manifesting the works of the flesh and not the fruit of the Spirit, Gal. 5:16-25. Very simply, we are living contrary to our profession!
These verses speak to me. If you would be honest, they speak to you too. One day, we will all face God and give an account for our lives. We need to understand that there are some things that God hates. We also need that If we allow these things to be a part of our lives; we will answer to Him. That is a reckoning you do not want to face!
If He has touched a nerve in your heart and you know that you are guilty of these or some other sins in your life, now is the time for repentance.
If you have issues with anyone of God’s children, the time to make it right is now.
If you have been hanging around with the wolves, listening to their lies, rumors, and gossip, you need to get that right.
If you are lost, you need to come to Jesus today.
Has He spoken to you about some need in your life? If He has, the time to obey His voice is right now! God hates these sins. God hates your sins. God hates my sins. But, God does not hate you. He loves you and promises to help you if you will come to Him, Matt. 11:28; John 3:16; 1 John 1:9.
