It Grieveth Me Much for Your Sakes ~ Ruth 1:10 – 2:2 ~ Welcome to the Spiritual Safari; the only literary journey that takes you through the entire Bible from cover to cover. We cannot believe the Bible if we do not know what’s in it – and I mean ALL of it; every principle, every doctrine, the geography, the theology, the Mosaic Law, the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah, the prophets that prophesied to those kings and at what time, the correlation of the nations around and about Israel, the historical Books, the poetic books and so much more. You will NOT learn the Bible by guessing at it. You will not learn the kings of Israel by thumbing through the Bible and you can NEVER – NEVER – NEVER know the Lord Jesus Christ until you know all those things I just mentioned. There is no shortcut to learning the Word of God. I know there are some quick little seminars that promise to teach you the Bible in a few weeks or a year; friends, that ain’t happening. There is just no way. This so called safari is not just some intellectual exercise. This should be a life changing education that results in a decision to accept, learn about, understand and LOVE the Lord Jesus Christ – and forsake the ways of this world. If you have stumbled across my teaching it was no accident – the Holy Spirit of God is calling you to know Him today! This is the second report in the ‘’brochure of beauty’’ we find in the delightful book of Ruth. Our last report set forth the love aspect of our redemption by God, Who we only love because He first loved us, and it developed the salvation relationship that is our love affair with Christ Jesus. In this first chapter we are still in Moab and we left Naomi – or Mary Sunshine – weeping by the side of the road with her two daughters-in-law. The men in their lives have died now and Naomi is going home to Bethlehem in Judah. We divided the book of Ruth geographically in the last leg of our expedition and, if you did not read that report, I suggest you go back and read it first; along with the whole book of Ruth – it’s only four chapters. We saw a family that lived in Bethlehemjudah and we saw what all of that really means. We saw that family come out of the wonderful place of Bethlehemjudah and go down into Moab – God’s garbage can. We’re looking at the prodigal family here and we saw them receive a whipping down there in Moab; just as the prodigal son in Luke received his whipping in the far country. We also considered the meaning of all the names of these people; so, the first report was very, very important. The two sons of Elimelech married two maidens from Moab, which was totally against the Mosaic Law! Well, when you become a prodigal person the only steps you can take are downward steps! So, the death of all the men in the house left Naomi with two little foreign widows as daughters-in law. Naomi has explained what it would mean for these two girls if they went back to Israel with her; and their lives would not have been good. Naomi lowered the boom on these two girls as she explained their lives would be utterly unbearable. For instance, there would be no future prospect of marriage for either one of them in Israel. The Israelites were forbidden to intermarry – a Moabitess woman was out of the question for an Israelite male. Second, the future held nothing but perpetual poverty. See Naomi had lost her property when she left Israel with Elimelech. His property was back in his family but he was dead – so she was o-u-t out! There may be a kinsman redeemer for Naomi but that wouldn’t mean anything to Ruth or Orpah whatsoever. So, Naomi wisely tells these two that they should stay there and remarry amongst their own people. That’s when they all took out their handkerchiefs and had another good cry! ~ I 10 And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people. 11 And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? 12 Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have an husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; 13 Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the LORD is gone out against me. ~ At first, both women say they will go with Naomi. However, as Naomi explains their future she also blames the Lord for the trouble that has befallen her! Well, the Lord wasn’t the problem here; the problem is that Naomi was out of the will of God and she was being severely punished down there in Moab. Perpetual widowhood in Israel was tantamount to a death sentence because it also meant perpetual and abject poverty. That would be the price to be paid if these two girls went back to Israel with Naomi…. 14 And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. ~ This, my friends, is the stark example of that which is genuine repentance and that which is NOT genuine repentance. Most people think repentance means to shed a few tears for what they have done and that’s the end. See, Orpah shed as many tears as Ruth did – maybe more. Orpah may have been emotional but Ruth isn’t letting go! This is the difference between counterfeit Christians and truly born again believers. The word repentance means ‘’to change your mind.’’ The Greek word for repentance is ‘’metanoia.’’ Tears may or may not be the bi-product of repentance but it certainly is not a part of a requirement for it. Many people are extremely emotional but it doesn’t mean anything; they can shed tears during a sad song or movie as easily as they can for their sins. Those types of tears just do not mean anything at all. These people can sure put on a crying production and they can make some unearthly noises. These people never have any power in the Holy Spirit and God really doesn’t mean anything to them. Orpah wept with them and kissed Naomi but it was as hollow as the trunk of a fallen dead tree. 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. I see many evangelists that just love to make the ‘’congregation’’ weep all the time. People come down the isle to the alter balling their eyes out until their faces swell up. Those people leave the services with eyes so red you would think they were drunk. They all go away thinking they have experienced real repentance. If you ask them how many tears are required before you are genuinely saved they get a little perturbed at you. Of course, they are so totally ignorant of the Word of God that they don’t have the answer to retort – all they can do is become angry. Personally, I enjoy provoking them – and I know that’s not nice – guess what? – I don’t care – it’s just TOO BAD – for THEM! Naturally, they call me absurd at that point; completely blind to their own absurdity! Unfortunately, some people are so stupid they don’t even know they are stupid! Well, if crying tears is repentance for them I think they should know how many tears are required. These people are ALWAYS very legalistic anyways; so, I would think that THEY would want to know when they have met their quota. See, if a dozen tears are required for genuine repentance then, if you only squeeze out eleven tears, you better muster up some more emotion or you have failed God! Again, they call that absurd – and it sure is! No, repentance means to go in a new direction; it means to turn around! Today, all the repentance that is required of us just happens to be all wrapped up in faith – genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. See, if you turn to the Lord Jesus in honesty, friends, you are going to repent of something; because you just cannot turn to Christ without turning away from something. That is how Paul explained it all to the Philippian jailer; and Paul also lifted up the Thessalonians by telling them they had ‘’turned to Christ from idols.’’ That’s how the church at Thessalonica came to serve the True and Living God as they waited for the return of the Son of God from Heaven. Paul ONLY preached Christ in Thessalonica and the Thessalonians were worshipping at the pagan temple of idolatry at that time! Turning to Christ is faith – turning FROM the idols is repentance! Neither comes first and neither supersedes the other in importance – you can argue that all you want to – but - you simply cannot have faith without repentance! See, if you haven’t turned away from something then you just haven’t turned to God, my friends! So, Orpah kisses Naomi good-bye and she exits the pages of Scriptures stage left never to be heard from again! She disappears into the silence of the centuries and we can only assume she returned to her people and joined them in those filthy perversions and false Gods that the Moabites loved so dearly. I’m sure she remarried amongst her own people…. 15 And she said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people, and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law. 16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. ~ We see here seven points in the decision Ruth made to go with Naomi and these are CRITICAL to comprehend. This is also an excellent excerpt to use in a double ring ceremony, by the way, because it’s altogether lovely: (1) Ruth decides to go wherever Naomi was going – period! (2) Wherever Naomi came to live in Israel – that’s where Ruth was going to be found! This was not just a convenience to get into Israel. (3) Ruth wanted Naomi’s people to become her people. Ruth was prepared to be ostracized in Israel. (4) Naomi knew God and Ruth wanted that God – the True and Living God – not the heathen and pagan idols of Moab! A decision has been made for God by Ruth and she isn’t about to renege now. (5) Wherever Naomi was going die is where Ruth was also going to die. This is very important as it begins to develop truth number six; it furthers the hope for the Old Testament saint that we closely examined in Genesis. Remember, Jacob insisted on being buried in Israel – NOT in Egypt. The same was true of Joseph who insisted his bones be taken up from the land of Egypt and not left there. (6) Ruth was determined to be buried where Naomi was laid to rest. The future of the Old Testament saint rests upon being resurrected into the land that will ultimately be the Kingdom of Heaven established here on earth at some point in our future. Well, that’s Ruth’s hope now, by the way! (7) A vow unto death is made by Ruth to Naomi by saying if anything but death do them part then the Lord should forsake HER! Those are seven tremendous truths to grasp and hold tightly, safari friends. Naomi knew Ruth was sincere and serious now! ~ 18 When she saw that she was stedfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. 19 So they two went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, and they said, Is this Naomi? ~ Naomi had left out of Israel very prosperous, having a husband’s arm to hold, and two sons who she loved at her side! Now, these people who knew her way back when just can’t believe the state she is in! The men in the family are all dead and all she has is a little foreign Moabitess girl tagging along to a place where she didn’t even belong! I can see them all scratching their heads now and asking themselves what happened? The poverty of this stricken pair is more than apparent! ~ 20 And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. ~ Alright, ‘’Mara’’ means ‘’bitter’’ – but God hadn’t dealt treacherously nor bitterly with Naomi; it was Naomi who had ventured out with the prodigal family and she is just returned now from her whipping in the far country! The whole family took a severe beating down there in Moab and here they are beaten – but not altogether destroyed! God was still faithful – even though disobedience had been the family plot. Well, Naomi has no one to blame but herself but she ISN’T placing the blame on herself and she sure isn’t confessing her sins! Well, you don’t have to be an expert in mathematics to make the calculus of the next verse. There is a wide divergence that ANYONE knows between ‘’full and ‘’empty!’’ Naomi left with everything a woman could want. She returns now with NOTHING that a woman wants. Everything was utterly lost down there in the far country…. 21 I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me? 22 So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of Moab: and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest. ~ The bright spot here is that the Spirit of God wasn’t about to accept her newly self-appointed name! We can mope around crying about the consequences of our sins but God isn’t going to change anything as a result! See, when we get away from God we are going to become empty – every time! However, as we move along in this little book we are also going to see that some wonderful things are in store for both Ruth and Naomi. At this time, the beginning of the barley harvest had begun; and that’s a good time to return home, too. The famine that caused Naomi to flee in the first place is over and the land has a good crop coming out of the ground. After this harvest there’s going to be a wheat harvest! That lovely interlude brings us to chapter two where we find ourselves in the fields of Boaz! ~ II 1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husbands, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. ~ As our safari continues from here we’re going to get an insight into the awful poverty these two women were facing. Four strange laws will become our focus. We have seen all of these laws before but we have not seen them in action; and we cannot know them until they are impressed upon us in action. Verse one tells us Boaz is a kinsman and that will all develop in the Mosaic Hebrew law ‘’Goel’’ – the law of the kinsman redeemer. This is a mighty man of wealth which also means he was a mighty man of the law. Boaz knows the law quite well, as we shall see. Boaz was also a mighty man of war and was likely away fighting when these two women rolled back into town. Verse two can be summed up as ‘’they were pretty poor!’’ Ruth, of course, is a poor stranger in the land. Gleaning in the field was only permitted in the poverty program of God that He wrote into the Mosaic Law to prevent people from starving to death! Leviticus 19: 9 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10 And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God. Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God. God requires His people to be generous to the poor and to the stranger! However, the poor and the stranger didn’t line up for a charitable hand-out; they had to go out there and get it themselves the hard way! They would be taken care of by going into the field and working! We’re studying a day when all of the reaping was done by hand. Well, we’re going to leave Ruth looking for a place to glean today. The field she just happens to turn into determines her destiny from here! If Ruth doesn’t choose the right field then the wise men won’t be coming to Bethlehem because Jesus won’t be born over a thousand years later! This just happens to be of utmost importance ~
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 00:01:10 +0000
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