Goodness Of God

As a student of God's Word, I am continually amazed of how He (God) works and has worked in the lives of many people, past-present and future, by the way which literally speaking is not future because He (God) has already revealed it to us. As we study His word we can trace throughout the Bible, the many different times that God has intervened in the lives of individuals and nations to spare them from destruction and defeat. This morning we would like to look at another happening in the book of Ruth that would once again help see the goodness of God, which ac-cording to Paul in (Rom. 2:4) leads us to repentance. Notice with me several things about the goodness of God.

1. GRACE- that unmerited favor that God through His love has extended to us.

a.) Notice the characters now changing, Naomi was the focal character, and now things are switching from Naomi to Ruth. (Pictures when Israel would be set aside and the gentiles would be the carrier of the gospel)

b.) We find the kinsmen redeemer mentioned for the first time. (Boaz)

c.) Five times the word "Moabitess" is used five is the number of grace.

d.) Here we have a dispensational change, God was dealing with a Jew and now He is dealing with a gentile.

e.) He now deals with a gentile after He has gotten Naomi safely back home.

f.) Death is what lead to the conversion of Ruth, and so too it was the death of a Jew that led to our salvation.

g.) OH! For the grace of God that leads to repentance, Praise the Lord!

h.) Whether we realize it or not God still has His hand on the nation of Israel, and it would behoove the United States to always be on Her side.

2. SOVERIEGNTY- can be defined as the exersise of His supremacy, God as the ruler of the universe had the right to do as He wants, when He wants, how He wants and never has to ask anybody if He can do it.

a.) As in the case of Naomi and Elimelech, God didn't ask any one if He could take Naomi's family, He did it because of their disobedience, He also did it to save Ruth. God is on the throne and He doesn't have to ask our permission to do any-thing.

b.) Thus we see the Sovereignty of God in this book. God because of other disobedi-ence choose to save another.

c.) Ruth was saved because of God's sovereignty. He had everything fixed so that she could be saved.

d.) God never works a bad in order to do a good thing, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called accord-ing to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28)

e.) It was the sovereignty of God that allows Ruth a gentile to meet Boaz a Jew, for Boaz to take Ruth as His wife, let her glean in his fields and later marry her.

f.) Just as it was for Ruth, think about how God has worked in your life, to allow to be placed in a situation in which you heard the truth and were saved.

g.) It again was His sovereignty that had the unnamed servant to go and help here in the field, as it was the Holy Spirit that came to you inquiring of you, what a blessing it is to know that God is in control. (vv. 6)

3. DIRECTION The act of governing; administration; management; guidance; superinten-dent;

Let us look again at verses 8-12 for some help in the Christian life.

a) INSTRUCTIONS- (v. 8)

1) Go not to another field- remain separate don't go to the world for help.

2) Abide her with my maidens- It is not enough to remain separate, but man should seek Christian fellowship, his maidens were experienced and could help a stranger to another land.

3) Let thine eyes be on the field- don't glance into the world because it might get you r eyes of the right field.

b) PROVISIONS- (v. 9)

1) Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? Protection will He provide for those who remain under His umbrella

2) and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Restoration- when she was thirsting He had a place to go to the wells of truth to help her in the Christian walk.

c) ADORATION (VV. 10-11) The act of paying honors to a divine being; the worship paid to God; the act of addressing as a God. Because of the instructions and provisions she began to adore him.

1) "Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground," immediately struck with humility and reverence she asks, "Why have I found grace in thine eyes, what amazement I wonder and so should you about why God would do this for me, a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel. He answers-