Ruth 2:1-14

[0:00] You all will open your bottles to the book of Ruth in chapter 2.

[0:16] Ruth in chapter 2, Ruth is a much neglected book. In the scripture happens to be one of my favorite books.

[0:33] You ladies, if you've never read through Ruth and you like a really good story of love at first sight, Ruth is a good place to read.

[0:46] Most of us know at least of the account of Ruth. Ruth is right after the book of Judges in our Bible, in our canon of Scripture.

[0:59] It makes it plain that this takes time, that the book of Ruth makes it plain that this takes place. And the time of the Judges, which is something we need to be considerate of as we read through what we will this morning.

[1:17] We're going to read through probably around half of the second chapter of the book of Ruth. Leading up to the second chapter of Ruth, we see a man named Alemalek and we see his wife Naomi.

[1:31] We see that they are from Bethlehem, Judah. And we see that there's a famine that begins to take place there. So Alemalek moves himself and his family off to Moab.

[1:45] And most of us will sneer down our noses at Alemalek for doing so because he left a place called Bethlehem, being the house of bread. And he left that for a pagan nation called Moab.

[1:58] Most of us will look down our noses and say all kinds of bad things about Alemalek about that when truth be known, every one of us would have probably done the same thing, myself included.

[2:10] I've used the example several times while teaching or preaching through or from Ruth, that if I'm out in the desert and I'm out there for two or three days and I had a drink of water, and the first place I come to is Big Buddha's Bar and Grill, me knowing that I have no business inside of a bar, me knowing that I have no business around those people or that crowd.

[2:38] If I've gone two or three days with no water and I come across that place, I'm going inside and I'm asking for water. The problem was when Alemalek moved to Moab, the problem was he and his family, they soldiered there.

[2:54] They continued there. They set up shop and they continued living there. And folks, in the example that I just gave, if I go to this, to a bar or some other place of ill repute and request a glass of water or a gallon of water, for that matter, if it's been a few days, and I drink that but I hang around and I continue hanging around. That's where the problem is going to come in.

[3:23] That's where the problem came in with Alemalek and his family. And we know from the Ruth chapter one that Alemalek eventually died and Naomi's husband died and they had two sons, Maulon and Chillyone, and they both died.

[3:36] Well, before they died, they married these women from Moab. One of them was named Orphe and the other one was named Ruth. And we know from Ruth in chapter one that after Alemalek died and after Maulon died and Chillyone died and basically Naomi was left there with nobody but her daughters-in-law, that she heard that there was bread back in her homeland. There was bread in Bethlehem again.

[4:03] There was bread from where they had originally came from. So she sets her mind to go back home and her daughters follow her out- or her daughters-in-law, I should say, follow her out just a little ways and she tells them to turn around.

[4:18] She tells them to go back and she tells them why. She says, I can't produce you another husband. I'm too old to do this and even if I could, even if I were to get married right now and I were to conceive this very night, would you wait until that child was of age so that you could marry him?

[4:35] She's saying, I can't help you, turn around, go back to your parents, go back to your folks, go back to your gods, go back to the way that you've done things and leave me alone to go.

[4:48] Orpah, we know, turned and went back and we hear nothing else about Orpah throughout the entire rest of the Scripture. The Bible says that Ruth claved to Naomi. She clung to her mother-in-law and she said, wherever you go, that's where I'm going to go. Wherever you lodge, that's where I will lodge. Your people shall be my people and your God my God. These are the words to Ruth, from Ruth to Naomi and Naomi gets back in town, gets back to her hometown there and they say, hey, Naomi's back. Naomi, meaning pleasant. That's the meaning of the name Naomi. She says, call me not Naomi. Don't call me that. Call me, instead, Mara. Mara means bitterness. She says, because the Lord has dealt very bitterly with me. So she's back in her hometown. She's upset.

[5:53] I mean, folks, and rightfully so. Like I said, she's lost her husband. She's lost two children. She's lost the daughter-in-law, which she told to go back and that daughter-in-law just done what she said. Folks, she's brought with her, I should say, her other daughter-in-law, Ruth. And Ruth, we find out towards the end of chapter four, this wonderful book of Ruth. Ruth is actually, even though she was a mullabah, she was a gentile, she was not someone that was born into her, say, the family of God. She was grafted in. We could phrase it like that because she married a man.

[6:33] This man named Boaz will be reading about here in just a little while. She married him and he redeemed her. He was a nearest kinsman redeemer. And we're going to be reading about that here in just a little while. But Ruth is in the very bloodline of Jesus Christ. All because of God's divine providence. All because of that. Now on Ruth's part, it was because she claved to Naomi.

[7:05] And it was because she said, where you go, I'll go. Where you lodge, I'll lodge. And your people will be my people and your God will be my God. That's on Ruth's part. But all that happened because of the providence of God and for no other reason. And we're going to read about that here in Ruth chapter two. So I know that was a little bit lengthy of an introduction, but I want y'all to know the history, the historical context of what we're going to be reading here in Ruth chapter two. So Ruth in chapter two, starting at verse one says, Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a mighty man of wealth of the family of Alimalek. And his name was Boaz. And Ruth, the Moabitus, said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him and whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And her house was to lie on a part of the field belonging into Boaz, who was of the kindred of Alimalek. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, the Lord be with you. And they answered him, the Lord bless thee. Then said, Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

[8:37] And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves, so she came and hath continued even from the morning until now that she carried a little in the house. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Here is thou not, my daughter, Go not to glean in another field. Neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field, that they do reap, and go thou after them, hath I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee. And when thou art a thirst, go unto the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

[9:30] And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shooed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law, since the death of thine husband, and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and are come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. The Lord recompense thy work, and full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord, for thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not locked unto one of thine handmaid. And Boaz said unto her, At mill time, come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, and he reached her, parts corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. That's all, all that we'll read in a continuous manner there. Back to verse 1 in the second chapter of the book of roots, as in Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a mighty man of wealth of the family of Elimalek, and his name was Boaz. So here in verse 1 we have this man Boaz being introduced to us in the scriptures. We didn't see him in chapter 1, but he's brought up here in verse 1 of chapter 2, and it says that he was a mighty man of wealth. Now folks, there is more of a description of

[11:07] Boaz here, other than the fact that he had a lot of money. It says that he was a mighty man of wealth. It doesn't say he was mighty because of his wealth. It says that he was a mighty man of wealth. So yes, he had some money, and yes, he had some clout in the town that he was from there in Bethlehem, and yes, he would have had some influence over some things. It says that he was a mighty man of wealth, and to be mighty in the Old Testament times, folks, if you were mighty, it was that you were mighty in God. It was that you were mighty in the scriptures. You were mighty in the ways of God, and in the things of God, and the scripture here in the very first verse that brings up this man Boaz. It describes him as being a mighty man of wealth, and that he was of the family of a limo leg. So this tells us this kind of sets the stage for us exactly how Boaz will be the kinsman redeemer that Ruth needs, will be the kinsman redeemer that Naomi needs.

[12:13] He's going to be the one to rescue them out of the hardship that they're in, folks. Naomi and Ruth were in hard times. At this time, it was a bad thing to be a widow. It's a bad thing now to be a widow. It's a bad thing now to be without a husband, whatever, but here, folks, you were basically given a death sentence if you were a widow. If you had no one else to take care of you, if you had no one else that could provide for you, that could earn for you, that could provide food, provide shelter, provide protection. Folks, you were out there, and you were just sitting duck for the wolves that would roam about. You were sitting duck for people that did not go by the laws of God.

[12:58] You were sitting duck for your own people that did not abide by the word of God, the people that did not abide by the Jewish law. These women had it hard, but here we see this man, Boas, who describes him as a mighty man of wealth and the sets to stage for him being the kinsman redeemer that was needed for this time and for this hour. And the Bible says in Ruth in verse two, Ruth the Moab, I just said on the Naomi, let me now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him who sat I shall find grace and she said unto her go my daughter folks this tells the type of person that Ruth that Ruth was she's asking permission from Naomi let me now go to the field to glean corns and folks this speaks volumes of the woman Naomi as well how did Ruth know that she could go to the fields that she could glean corn after the reapers that she could go and after the workers had gleaned the corn that she could pick up the she could pick up the ears of corn after then that they had dropped she could go to the corners of the field which they were told in the Levitical law not to touch when they were gathering the harvest how would she have known this the only way she would have known is if Naomi had been rehearsing and residing and telling her about the law and the word of God that's the only way she would have known this that she could go to these fields so this speaks volumes of the type of person that Ruth was and it speaks volumes of the type of person that Naomi was as well we tend to look down our noses at Naomi because of chapter one where she shows back up she says don't call me Naomi you call me Mara for the Lord that dealt bitterly with me folks Naomi was a godly woman she was a godly woman and this this verse here in chapter verse two of chapter two of the book of Ruth it shows that she was a godly woman because she was was conveying things to her daughter-in-law Ruth that Ruth would not have known being a pagan Ruth would not have known these things being from the country Moab

[15:17] Moab they did not teach the law of God and Moab they did not they did not have the Torah and Moab the only way she would have known this is because her mother-in-law had taught her these things so she shows that she's industrious Ruth does she shows she's not afraid to work she shows that we don't have a man Naomi Malimah lekk died my husband died your son he died we have no provider but I am willing to go out and I'm willing to work these fields I'm willing to go glean the corn that you and I will need just to survive in this world just to survive in this town in this region that we live in just to survive just to sustain us for a little while this young lady Ruth was willing to go and to glean from from these hills verse three it says as she went and came and gleaned in the field like of the reapers and her hat was to line on the part of the field belonging to Boaz who was the kindred of Alima that close the Bible here says her hat was to lie upon a part of the field that belonged in the Boaz now in human in human figuring in our own minds and in our own eyes it would have been completely coincidental that that Ruth ended up in a field belonging to

[16:42] Boaz but I know that my God is omniscient and I know that my God is omnipresent my God knows everything and it was my God's divine providence how Ruth wound up in the field belonging unto Boaz you and I might see it as coincidence and we might see it as something that really and truly should have never happened it was a one in a one billion shot that this happened is how you and I would see it but God had his finger in this entire thing God had his finger in the life of Ruth he had his finger in the life of Naomi he had his finger in the life of Boaz and it was because of God's divine will that Ruth wound up in this field belonging unto Boaz it says her hat was to lie on the part of the field belonging in the Boaz who was of the kindred of Alima leg verse four and behold Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers the Lord be with you and they answered him and they answered him the Lord bless thee folks this here we've talked about the volumes that have been spoken of Ruth and her her demeanor and her character we've talked about volumes have been spoken of Naomi but here we need to speak about the volumes that are spoken about this man uh Boaz just in this uh just in these few words that he says the Lord be with you this is what he said to those that were working in his fields this is what he said to the servants that were out there gathering the grain they were gathering the ears of corn he said the Lord be with you they returned the blessing unto Boaz and said the Lord bless thee folks if we would greet one another like this now guys and just say the Lord be with you hey folks it's hard to look at someone who is out in the world and say the Lord be with you it's hard to look at an unregenerate sinner and say the Lord be with you but why can't we as brothers and sisters and Christ look upon one another shoot each other a text give each other a call and greet one another with these words the Lord be with you this is the very thing the very greeting that this man Boaz had for his servants for people that were working underneath him this is what this is the greeting that he had for them and folks another way that this speaks just volumes about Boaz this was the time of the judges we learned that in Ruth chapter one we didn't read it but we learned that in Ruth chapter one it was the time of the judges what was the time of the judges it was a time when every man did that which was wrought in his own eyes according to the book of judges everyone done that which was wrought in his own eyes and folks many of the things that people saw that was wrought in their own eyes were nothing but pure black and dark evil but the Bible says at the time of judges every man did that which was wrought in his own eyes in the eyes of Boaz he was doing here what was wrought in his own eyes and what was wrought in his own eyes was to treat his servants with respect to treat them equally and to greet them in the name of his God he did what was wrought in his own eyes and that's another reason we read it just a little while ago when we read through verse 14 it's another reason that he came to Naomi and he spoke to Naomi and he helped not Naomi but Ruth he came to Ruth and he spoke to Ruth and he helped Ruth the way that he did because that's what was wrought in his own eyes he was doing what the word of God would have instructed him to do he was doing what truly was wrought so we have this greeting from Boaz saying the Lord be with you and the greeting from his service the Lord bless thee verse five then said Boaz unto his servant that was sent over the reapers whose damsel is this? Boaz looks out in his field Lord only knows how many workers he had out there I don't know it could have just been three it could have been five it could have been two chances are though he and he was a naughty man of wealth and then she was going after what the scripture said and Ruth was going after what the scripture says the reapers plural there were many of them out there the Boaz homes in on this one young lady that's out there he says whose damsel is this folks this shows the attentiveness that Boaz had to his field he knew there was one out there that he didn't recognize out of probably more than likely dozens of people he knew there was one there that he did not recognize and he inquires about her whose damsel is this now folks as far as God's field goes God doesn't have to inquire about anybody

[22:05] God knows God knows everybody that's in his field he knows those that belong there those that are truly his servants and truly his workers he knows those that are in the field but aren't his he knows who belongs and who's doing true work for the true truly the right reason he also knows that those there just kind of hanging out in the field doing nothing he knows the ones that belong and the ones that don't Boaz here sees this woman he says who is this damsel that's what we would call here in the south Boaz and looked out there and said well looky here who is this she caught his eye i'm not saying that Boaz had impure thoughts i'm not saying anything along those lines but Boaz knew who should be in this field he knew there was somebody out there not not somebody out there that shouldn't have been but somebody that was out there that wasn't there before that he was unfamiliar with and he asked the question who's damsel is this verse six and the servant that was sent over the reapers answered and said it is the Moabotish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab two times here

[23:26] Boaz just asked the question who's damsel is this and two times this servant refers to this woman as being a Moabot he says this is the Moabotish woman the Moabotish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the land of Moab seems like a little bit of an overkill to me now folks the question here would be was he doing this maliciously i don't think that he was i think he was a servant of Boaz and he was simply telling him who this woman was he said it's a Moabotish woman and she come from the land of Moab well folks hittites didn't come from the land of Moab javasites didn't come from Moab Moabot came from Moab so that's why i said it almost seems like overkill here but this servant is plainly and only answering what his master asked of him he said the servant was and the servant said over reapers answered and said it's the Moabotish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country Moab and she said i pray you let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves so she came and has continued even from morning until now that she carried a little in the house he says this is the Moabot that came back with Naomi out of Moab and she came and she asked can i gather with these people what kind of lock ball do you think went off over Boaz's head when when he heard those words she came and she asked if she could glean in this field how did she know that was part of the law how did she know that was part of the god of Israel's provision that he gave them in Leviticus chapter 19 how would she have come that but it goes on it says verse eight then said Boaz on the roof hear us sound up my daughter go not to glean in another field neither go from hence but abide here fast by my maidens let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap and go thou after and go thou after them have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee and when thou art of thirst go under the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn so here but Boaz asked the question who is this damsel his servant give the answer she's the Moabot that came back with Naomi out of that pagan land of Moab but she came to me and she asked if we could if she could glean in the fields and she's been gleaning from the earliest parts of the day even until now she's been working all day save a little bit of time that she spent over at the house just to get a little bit of reprieve but she's back out there in the fields at this time and she's working and it's almost as if Boaz completely forgets his servant and he begins addressing Ruth after he's heard who she is after he's seen the evidence of what she is and her character and heard him here and he begins to tell Ruth don't you go anywhere else you are about here in this field you work among my people you do my things you work in this field and you will never go hungry hallelujah these are the words that was a few more words i'm not adding the scripture but that's basically what Boaz was telling Ruth here though saying you stay here here amongst my people with my people folks God does the same thing with us when we are saved when we are saved we're out there in the field we're out there in the world and God reaches down and he sees that we're a stranger he sees that we came from from a from a different from another culture he sees that we're sinful he sees that we are empty he sees that we have nothing to do with him but God in his providence and God in his compassion just as Boaz here had and God in his mercy just as Boaz had here he reaches down and he opens our heart and he sends the Holy Spirit to give the gospel to us by means of a preacher from somewhere and we hear the gospel he redeems us saves our soul and God says work in my build with my people folks are we working in the field are we working in the field and even better yet are we working with God's people

[28:14] Boaz here gives strict instruction to Ruth and it is out of sheer compassion and mercy and grace that he did this Boaz could have said she's not a Jew I don't want anything to do with her she's not of my people she's not from Bedlam she's not from this tribe or from that tribe she is a pagan she's a heathen get her out of my field send her back home and don't you ever let her come back again but no Boaz Boaz is a wonderful representation of God of Christ in this scripture when in mercy and compassion he looks down on this woman on this stranger on this Moabot and he tells her you stay here you work these fields don't you go to another field but not only that not only does he does he tell her to work the field he says I will provide for you he says when you're when you get thirsty you go and you take off some of the water that my young men have drawn up out of the well don't you worry about a thing get Boaz here has promised her protection and saying have I not charged the young men that they shall not harm you he has promised provision and saying that he will provide her water and that she could glean from his fields from that day forward he is a wonderful picture of what our God does for us God gives us protection and God gives us provision from the moment we are saved we have these promises from God does that mean that we're going to live forever not in these bodies and I praise God for that nothing these bodies will we live forever but I am promised an eternal home in an eternal body that is lacking in fashion under the Son of man I will have the same top of eternal body that Jesus

[30:14] Christ currently has I'm not saying I will be Jesus Christ and nor will you be Jesus Christ but we will have an immortal body so that we can eternally praise him and we can eternally serve him in heaven we can eternally praise him worship him serve him do all these things forever and forever and forever folks I look forward to the rest that I'm going to have over on the other side but that rest is going to be full of service to my king but that service will be like rest to me as compared with the tolls of this world it doesn't matter how many times I have to shout hallelujah when I'm there it doesn't matter how often I raise my hands while I'm there it will be a restful and a peaceful and a blissful state that I'm in praise God I promise that forever from my God from my God Boaz here tells her stay in my field clean from my fields and charges the young man not to hurt her he says I'll provide for you I'll protect you let that now be on the field that they do reap and go go thou after them have I not charged the young man that they shall not touch thee the window or the thirst go to the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn verse 10 folks this is exactly how you and I should respond to the grace of God she responds to the grace of Boaz the same way that you and I should respond to the grace of God burst in then she fell on her face about herself to the ground and said unto him why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou should take that thou should have taken knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger this is exactly how we should respond to the grace of God with humility and and being all inspired that God would exhibit grace and God would extend grace God knows your sin and God knows my sin and yet despite my sin and despite your sin God still sin has only begun sin to come here and there'll be the propitiation for your sin and for my sin to supper in your place and in my place to bleed where you and I should have planned to die where you and I should have died Jesus cross suffered so that you and I would not have to and yet how do we respond to that do we fall on our face do we say why folks I can tell you the where I got saved I can tell you the when I got saved I can tell you all things about how I got saved I can tell you the why I got saved and it wasn't because I deserved it it wasn't because

[33:11] I was a good boy we're a good fella it was to bring glory to God that's why God saved me he saved me to bring glory unto himself and he saved me for the sake of Jesus Christ Ephesians chapter 4 says forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you he forgave me and he saved me to bring himself glory not because we and not because I or anyone else deserved it the roof response here she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground and said why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest acknowledge of me seeing I'm a stranger she owns the fact that this shouldn't be she owns the fact that she is a stranger that she was a pagan that she didn't even belong there amongst all those Jews she owns that fact too bo has it she says why have I found grace in your eyes verse 11 and bo has answered and said unto her it has fully been shoot me all that thou has done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband and how thou has left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy nativity and are coming to the people which thou newest not here to for the Lord recompense thy work and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust she asked the question why have I found grace in your eyes and in your sight and he gives this long answer in two different verses he says it has been fully shoot me or showed to me how well you've taken care of Naomi oops I've done quoted it once or twice this morning there at the end or toward the end of Ruth in chapter one where the Ruth is cleaving she is hanging on to Naomi and she says I'm going to go with you I will go with you and your people the people of God the people of the God of Israel the covenant people they will be my people and your God my God

[35:34] Ruth said this to Naomi now bo has here is recognizing the fact that she is working to sustain herself Ruth and Naomi her mother-in-law and he commends her for that but folks really and truly what does he commit in her for and all this when he said he says it's been showed him all that's been done to her mother-in-law since the death of her husband and how that has left our father and our mother and the land of that nativity he says this has all been shown me he says and the Lord recompense you for doing this folks what did had Ruth Ruth had taken up her cross she had taken up her cross and she had gone she had left her entire family she had left mother she had left father she had left a left her sister behind an ortho or a sister-in-law behind an orpa she left all of these things to do what to follow Naomi who followed the God of Israel what have we left what have we left as the church have we taken up our cross Jesus says if any man will be my disciple let him take up his cross daily and deny himself and follow me Ruth had taken up her cross and she had gone she had gone the way with Naomi and she was continuing on that way Ruth's cross was different than what yours might be Ruth's cross was that her father-in-law died her own husband had died and her and her mother-in-law come back to this town neither one of them had a provider neither one of them had a protector they were having to fend completely for themselves that was the cross of Ruth maybe you haven't maybe you don't bear that cross maybe you haven't bear it that exact same cross but folks I promise you if you are a born again believer in Jesus cross you will have a cross to bear your cross will be different than mine and mine will be different than yours but we all have a cross that we must bear and that's the saying goes before we get the crown we got to bear the cross we must bear the cross cross and that's the only way to be a disciple of his is to take up your cross daily and follow him that's not a cross a crucifixion for the sins of the world only one could do that and he has done it praise God and he was buried in a baritone he rose again the third day he lives forever to make intercession for those that have repented their sins and believed the gospel in verse 12 the Lord recompense thy work and the full reward be given the of the Lord God of Israel under whose wings thou art come to trust he recognizes the faith of this pagan woman he recognizes the faith of this woman that was not Jewish he recognizes her faith under whose wings you have come to trust under whose wings you have come to live under the wings of God is where Ruth had come to abide and boas a Jewish man noticed this about Ruth I've heard it exclaimed that boas should have never married Ruth because she was a Moabite. Hope's God made provision for that in his law too. Were they supposed to stay within their own blood within their own culture within Jewish people? Yes they were but God made provision for that God made provision for proselytes he said one comes in and they worship me and they follow my law and they love my statutes and they love my judgments they can be part of the family of God that's exactly what this pagan woman Ruth did she was no longer a pagan she she had been proselytes into the Jewish family and boas says the Lord recompense thy work boas says I'm extending grace I'm showing you basically the grace of God in doing this but the Lord will be the one that truly recompenses you boas didn't want a backpack from Ruth he didn't want a backpack from Naomi he didn't want his servant saying hey good job boss that's exactly how you should have handled that boas wanted the glory to go to God and he said the Lord recompense you for these things hallelujah

[40:20] I wish more preachers would get that in their head it ain't them that saves it ain't them that wrote the Bible it ain't them that convict hearts we don't do any of that our job is to go and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ people's response to it is in their own lap that's their own choice that they will make but we can't force anybody to believe we can't force anybody to be saved nor can we save them but the Lord will recompense them either way whether whether they go on for God whether they accept Jesus Christ well they are born again or they are not the Lord will recompense them for the choice that they make it's impossible to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and not make a decision of some kind you either decide that it's true or you decide that you're going to reject it but it is impossible to hear the gospel and not make a choice verse 13 then she said let me find favor in thy sight my Lord for that thou has comforted me and for that thou has spoken friendly unto thine handmade though I be not like unto one of thine handmade she she's saying again here she's done said just a couple verses before this that I'm a stranger why have I found grace in your eyes seeing that I am a stranger and here she says she says thou spoke friendly unto thine handmade though I be not like unto one of thine handmade she continues on with this thing she continues on saying basically she is unworthy of the grace that Boaz is showing her she is unworthy of the provision that he is offering her she says I'm a stranger and I'm not as one of your handmaid but that does not stop Boaz hey folks I don't care what kind of sin you've got in your life I don't care what you've got underneath the rug or put in a closet or anything else my God died for your sin my God died to redeem you my God died to save you he will wash you clean and he will make you whole it doesn't matter how much Ruth went against Boaz here Boaz continued to show mercy and continued to show grace and then praise God he takes it a step further in verse 14 and Boaz said unto her at mealtime come about hither and eat of the bread and dip thy morsel in the vinegar and she sat beside the reapers and he reached her first corn and she did eat and was the thrust and left so after all this grace and after after Ruth seemingly fighting against said grace trying to give Boaz to see I don't deserve this folks that's not anything that Boaz didn't already realize her being a Moabot just like

[43:35] God realized I didn't deserve salvation God realized I don't deserve to be saved I didn't deserve to be washed clean but regardless of that he still extend to grace and then what did he say come fellowship that's exactly what verse 14 is about you've been out in the field all day Ruth you've been out in the field Boaz sent her at mealtime come down hither and eat of the bread and dip thy morsel and she sat beside the reapers and he Boaz himself reached her first corn he says come fellowship with me and my workers and he reached her first corn Boaz served her himself and folks Jesus cross does that for you and I and he doesn't do that for you and I because we deserve it he doesn't do it because that we've earned it he doesn't do it because of how much scripture we memorized or how many songs that we can sing or how how eloquent of prayers that we can pray or anything along those lines he does that because that is his nature God does that because that is his goodness God is good and there is nothing that can change that about God so after the work after she's labored in the field he says come have fellowship folks that's what a meal was it wasn't just a time to fill your belly it was a time to commune with those that were around you the past few Sundays we've been going over the last supper in the gospel of John and that's exactly what that's a picture of his cross communing with his disciples save Judas Iscariot who went out who went out of the picture then but his cross communing communing having fellowship with those remaining 11 disciples and that's what verse 14 is portraying here is fellowship between

[45:42] Boaz and Ruth between the reapers and Ruth between Ruth and these Jews it is fellowship Boaz has told her I will provide for you you can come to these fields don't you dare go to another field and and glean from there you come here you will be taken care of and folks God does that with us when we are saved you come into the kingdom of God and God himself will take care of you but we've got to get in in the only way we can get in is through Jesus Christ the only way Ruth had Ruth had got this invitation was by Boaz it was his field it was his property it was his say whether she got the fellowship with them or not the fellowship she did and he reached her first court and she and she did eat and was so fast and left she ate at the table of Boaz folks I promise you I promise you you eat from the table of God and you will be satisfied you'll be satisfied you'll be satisfied you'll be satiated you'll be pacified you'll be all kinds of things eating from the table of God but even Paul made it plain in one of his letters to the

[47:02] Corinthians he said he said you cannot eat at the cup of the Lord and the cup or drink from the cup of the Lord and the cup of the devil and you cannot eat from the table of the Lord and the table of the devil folks you cannot do both you'll do one or you'll do the other you cannot do both but I promise you when you come into the kingdom when God has extended his grace and showed his mercy and God has removed your stony heart and put in a heart of flesh and God has saved your undeserving soul God invited you to fellowship with his people just as Ruth was invited to fellowship with the reapers and with Boaz himself God not only wants you to fellowship with his people but he wants you to fellowship with him