A Perfect Picture of Grace
Sunday, August 12, 2007 – AM
By Pastor Jim May
Ruth Chapter 2:1-3
The Old Testament is filled with types and shadows of the coming Christ. There are many stories that give us insight into the relationship that Jesus has with his Bride, the church. But there are no better examples that that of the relationship between Boaz and Ruth. I was reading this book again and it occurred to me that perhaps we need to take another look at what happened between Ruth and Boaz so that we could better understand our own relationship with Jesus.
As we look at their story this morning there are some things that I want to point out to you before we begin. As I stated, this book is filled with types and shadows of things to come. So I want to give you a quick list of the types that you will be seeing.
First of all, there is Boaz. Ruth 2:1, "And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz."
Boaz was a near kinsman, a “son” of the family of Elimelech. His roots were established in the beginning and there is never a question of his position or authority to carry out the duties that are about to befall him. Boaz was a man of wealth, power, authority and he was a mighty man. When Boaz speaks, everyone listens, for he speaks with authority.
Just to let you see how this relates to the fact that Boaz is a picture of the coming Christ, over in John 7, when the Pharisees came to question Jesus after he had spoken to the people teaching them of his divine origin, those who stood around said that, "...Never man spake like this man. "
In Mark 1:22, Jesus stood in the synagogue and began to teach. His words and teaching were so powerful that those who stood around recognized that Jesus was not just another teacher, "And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes." In that same meeting at the synagogue, Jesus cast the devil out of a man who was in the meeting. In Mark1:27 the people said, "...What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him. "
Looking at these scriptures we can easily correlate Boaz with being a perfect picture of Christ in the Old Testament, but this is only the beginning. In this 2nd chapter of Ruth, there are many other things that point toward the coming Messiah.
Ruth 2:2-3, "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. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech."
Into the story steps a young lady by the name of Ruth. Now Ruth is a picture of you and me, lost sinners, who have left the life of idolatry, sin and death that was in our past, and have come to seek answers and a new life among the people of God.
Ruth was born in Moab, a country of idolatry. She had no choice in the place of her birth and by default she was among the land of sinners. She had known no other life; had served no other gods but those of her own people. The chief among the gods of Moab was Chemosh.
Chemosh is also identified throughout history with other names such as “Baal-peor”, “Baal-zebub”, “Mars” and “Saturn”. Chemosh was known as Lord of the “Undead” and the “Prince of Bone”. He is the god of death. He is often described as a god of false redemption because he offers life after death but only at the price of eternal corruption. Priests of Chemosh are still around today and they generally wear black robes and white masks that resemble a human skull. The high priest of Chemosh is known as the Deathmaster, and is able to cast powerful spells through calling up evil spirits to do his work. It is occult practice at its worst.
As you easily see, she was living in the land of Satan himself, bound by her birth to live and die in a place of death where their destiny was to live in eternal corruption and death, separated from all that is good and true.
Thus it is made clear who Ruth represents. She represents every lost sinner, born into the world of sin and made servants of the devil by default, with little or no hope of escaping an eternal death without God, never knowing the Truth and the Love of the True God, until someone comes along with a message that will turn us back toward Jesus.
Ruth could have died in Moab and never known the Lord, but God had chosen her, out of all the sinners in Moab, and He had began to bring about the circumstances whereby she could find a place of deliverance. Ruth would be in the lineage of the Savior that would come. She would be a part of the family of God and God’s plan was already in action to bring her home. Though she could not understand all the workings in her life, her path was determined by God. She saw the death of her husband and wondered why. She saw the death of her father-in-law and it troubled her. She saw her friend, and sister-in-law turn back to worship Chemosh, and she considered going back herself, but she didn’t see any hope there. She had a choice and she chose to follow Naomi back to Israel where God was leading her to a place of redemption.
That’s the way it is with every sinner that walks this world of darkness. God established a path that would lead them to the place of redemption and deliverance through the Cross of Christ, but many choose to turn back to serve Chemosh, to serve the devil, and will forever be lost in an eternal corruption, with no hope of deliverance ever again. All they know is sin, and that’s all they will ever know. They never know the love and grace of God as we do once we are Born Again. No one can convince them to turn. There heart is set on living the way they always have and they do so with no thought of eternity at all until its too late.
But out of that world of sin and darkness, God chooses those who will follow Him and makes a way of deliverance through the blood of Jesus Christ. Like Ruth, we must chose to leave sin behind, to flee from idolatry and to follow the path that God puts before us to Heaven.
Ruth chose to follow Naomi, her mother-in-law, back to the land of Israel where God’s blessings and covenant dwelt. In Ruth 1:16 we find her statement of faith. It’s equivalent in some ways to our confession of Christ for she had determined to leave Moab behind and follow Naomi into the place of Truth, "… 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:"
That’s the same idea that we must have when we come to Christ. We must renounce the world of sin through repentance, determine to turn our life around, giving up the old ways, and go in search of a new relationship and a new way of life in following Jesus. We must commit our lives to Jesus, just a Ruth did to Naomi. Wherever the path of life would take her, she was going. That’s what Jesus is still looking for today – a man or woman who will completely sell out to Him and be willing to go wherever the Spirit leads, obeying God and serving the Lord every step of the way. Where we will go, only God knows. But He has laid a path before us that will lead to deliverance and salvation. It’s up to us to walk it, or turn back to Moab and be lost.
Naomi is a picture of the church. Like the church, the Body of Christ, Naomi was constantly trying to meet the needs of Ruth in the little ability that she had as a widow. Though Naomi had wealth so some extent, her resources were very limited. The only real hope that Naomi could give to Ruth was to point her toward Boaz and tell her to go to him to find the answers she really needed.
This church, any church, where Jesus Christ is held up as your only hope is represented in Naomi. Like her, we have some power in this church. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our midst that gives us wisdom and understanding so that we can teach you the right things and lead you to the cross. We have the ability to reach out and pray with you or sometimes to supply a few of your needs. But we don’t have the ability to heal you, to deliver you from sin, to meet all of your needs and especially to redeem you from sin and give you eternal hope. Our job is to meet your needs to the best of our ability and then point you to Jesus.
Only Jesus can satisfy your soul. Only Jesus can cleanse your heart and make you whole. It’s only Jesus who has the power to heal, set you free and save your soul. The church can’t do it. The priest can’t save you. The preacher can’t set you free; only Jesus. Look to him for the answers you need.
When Ruth asked Naomi to go glean in the fields of Boaz, Naomi was quick to say, “Go! That’s where you need to go. That’s where you must go. Boaz is our only hope. Boaz is your only only hope, no me, nor anyone else. It’s Boaz alone who is your source.”
Ruth 2:3, "And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech."
Now we see another character in the story; namely the reapers. Who are these reapers? Who do they represent to you and I today? First of all they are examples of the Holy Spirit, and the angels of the Lord who are helping God’s people to bring in the Harvest of souls. Secondly, the reapers are examples of the preachers, pastors, evangelists, teachers and prophets that God has placed within the church to build the Body of Christ. They are out reaping a harvest, bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the lost souls through the work that they are called to do by the Master. They were the obedient servants of Boaz who were faithfully fullfilling their duties every day. They were workers who Boaz knew he could count on to do what needed to be done to build his house.
The first place that Ruth went to in her search for Boaz, was to the field where his workers were working. She couldn’t find Boaz sitting at home. She had to go where the action was. Boaz wasn’t going to come to her home, she had to go where he was.
That tells me that we must search after Christ. Though God is leading us to the place where we can find him, we must choose to take the next step. God will not force himself upon anyone. He waits for us to make the move once we have learned that there can be a new way of life if we want it.
People say that they can be saved while sitting at home watching TV evangelists. They say that they can stay home and be saved while reading the Bible for themselves. People will try to say that they don’t need to be in church to make it to Heaven.
I say that if Ruth would have had that attitude, she would never have met Boaz and she would have sat at home with Naomi and they would have both starved to death in the end. She had to go where Boaz was.
1 Corinthians 1:21, "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe."
Ruth could have searched for wisdom in Naomi but she would soon come to the end of Naomi’s ability to teach. Ruth could have tried to learn by any other means; through education, through reading, through prayer, or some other ways, but she would never have known Boaz, and never found the path that God had for her, until she chose to go to Boaz’s field to glean the grain left upon the ground after the reapers passed.
Souls are saved by hearing the Word of the Lord as it is preached and no other way. By the foolishness of preaching, a heart is touched, a mind is molded and a man is changed. By the foolishness of a man, or woman of God, standing and doing what God has called them to do, by expounding upon and explaining the way of salvation, and the plan of God through His Word, a soul can be born again.
That’s why we must get people into the House of God. That’s why we must come faithfully ourselves. Nowhere else can you find what you find here. You can come tired and leave energized. You can come sick and leave healed. You can come discouraged and leave refreshed and renewed. You can come lost and leave saved. You can come weak and leave strengthened. Where else can you get that except in the House of God?
This scripture in the Book of Ruth says that Ruth just “happened to light on the part of the fields that belonged to Boaz”.
What do you think? Was this just a coincidence; and accident; just being in the right place at the right time; or just a fluke of nature that Ruth wound up in Boaz’s field?
This was no accident. It was all a part of the great plan of God for Ruth’s life from the very beginning. I don’t believe in coincidence. She was in Boaz’s field by Divine Appointment and by the leading the Spirit of God, not by accident.
Psalms 37:23-24, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand."
It was the grace of God that brought Ruth to Boaz’s field. It was the grace of God that led her to meet her former Israelite husband. It was the grace of God that she chose to follow Naomi. It was the grace of God that led her through the desert back to Israel. And it was the grace of God that led her to a place where she could find deliverance and a life that would be fulfilling.
Ruth’s story is a perfect picture of the Grace of God at work in the hearts and lives of people.
Likewise it is no coincidence that you are in this church today. You are here by Divine Appointment. All of your life has been planned by God to bring to this point. Though, like Ruth, you had no idea what God was doing, He was leading you every step of the way. Today, at this very moment, you have an appointment with destiny. What you decide will determine where you go tomorrow and what the rest of your life will be. It will also determine your eternal destiny. You are not here by accident, or coincidence. You are here because the path that God laid out for your life led you to this very place; to that very chair, in this very church on this very hot summer morning, to hear the Word of the Lord. Today is your chance to make a choice.
God’s perfect plan, through His perfect Grace and His perfect love has led you to a perfect place and time, where you can hear His perfect Word and know His perfect Son, Jesus Christ, who can be your perfect Savior. Now that’s what I can a perfect picture of Grace!
Perhaps we shall continue to preach on this Book of Ruth in the future but for today, will you do as she did and search for Truth in Jesus Christ? Do you know Jesus as your Savior, or are you still looking back toward Moab and serving the devil?
Right now is your perfect time to make a choice. Will you serve the Lord? Jesus is waiting, the church is waiting, all Heaven stands waiting for a soul to come home. Won’t you come today and really make this a perfect day!
