We always have to be careful about making decisions, BUT IT IS ESPECIALLY EASY TO MAKE A BAD DECISION DURING DIFFICULT TIMES.
Illus: Many people make bad decisions:
• In the midst of a MARITAL CRISIS. People get a divorce, but later they live to regret it
• In the midst of a CHURCH CRISIS. People decide they will join another church and later regret it
• In the MIDST OF A ROMANTIC CRISIS. Some people decide they want to end a relationship, only to regret it later
Life is filled with all kinds of DIFFICULT TIMES, and when we are in the midst of these difficult times, we should only make decisions after much prayer and counsel from those who we know live godly lives.
Why? Because any time we go through a crisis, our emotions are heightened and at that time we are not capable of making a good decision.
Illus: When I think about making bad decisions, I can’t help but think of the story of a young man who had been seeing a young woman for several years. One leisurely afternoon, the two of them are taking it easy.
• He is watching a football game and sitting on the edge of his seat, because he has become emotionally involved in the football game.
• He is cheering for his favorite team, the Broncos. He has become very emotionally involved in this game, and his team is losing. He is yelling, “Run! Run! Tackle him! Kick the ball you idiot!”
• She is reading the newspaper quietly, when all of a sudden she tells him she thinks she really loves him, but, she can no longer bear the uncertainty of not knowing where their relationship is going.
She asks him for a response. WHAT DOES HE SAY? Remember he is emotionally involved in a football game.
He could have said:
• That he sincerely believes the two of them have a future, but he does not want to rush it
• He has strong feelings for her, but he can’t honestly say that he is ready to make a lasting commitment any time soon
But remember, he is emotionally involved in watching his favorite team, the Broncos, and they are losing. So he says, “I can’t believe the Broncos called a draw play on third and seventeen.”
We have to be careful any time we make decisions, but especially:
• When we are emotionally involved in something, because at that time we are incapable of making a good decision
• When it is a major decision that will affect us for life
Naomi was going through a famine. This was a stressful time in her life, and she allowed her physical appetite for food to lead her instead of God. It was a bad decision and a very costly decision.
Today, we are going to shift the attention from Naomi, and place it on Ruth. In fact, this is not called the Book of Naomi, but the Book of Ruth.
Illus: Ruth makes us think of a movie actress that is in a movie with a famous star, and she is playing the supporting role. But as the Book of Ruth progresses, she steals the spot light from the star, Naomi.
WHO IS RUTH? To understand who she is and her significance, we have to understand something of the Jewish history.
• She is a Moabite
• When Naomi came to Moab, one of her sons, Mahlon, married Ruth, but later he died
• When an Israelite man dies leaving a wife behind with no children, then the brother of that man is to marry the widow, and raise up a son to take the dead brother's name
• In this way, the land not only could be kept by the wife, but could also be inherited by the son
• But his brother Chilion (Pronounce as Killion) had also died, so that left no one to take care of this responsibility
• When this is the situation, the responsibility is passed on to the nearest of kin
When Naomi and Ruth returned to the land of Judah, where Naomi had originally lived, Naomi sought the nearest of kin to carry out this plan of God.
Isn't it just like our Heavenly Father:
• TO PUT THE RIGHT PEOPLE
• IN THE RIGHT PLACE
• AT JUST THE RIGHT TIME
Boaz enters the picture. WHO IS BOAZ? He was a wealthy relative of Naomi's deceased husband, who was the nearest of kin.
This is one of the most beautiful love stories ever recorded. It is the story of a foreign girl, whose devotion won her a place in Israel's history, and in the lineage of David.
In chapters 2 and 3, we find Ruth seeking out a relative of her husband, whose name was Boaz.
• She gathers grain in the fields, and Boaz extends kindness toward her
• After deciding to honor the obligation of a relative to take the wife of the dead kinsman, Boaz seeks to give a closer relative the opportunity to marry Ruth. This takes place in Ruth chapter four.
• However, the kinsman refuses, and Boaz marries Ruth, fulfilling this obligation to raise up a name for her husband
This is not only a beautiful love story, it is a true story. Also it is a story with tremendous implications for us, because it shows how the line of King David continues, the line that eventually brings us Jesus, the Messiah.
Naomi has returned back to Bethlehem, bringing her lovely daughter-in-law, Ruth, with her.
III. NAOMI’S NEW DIRECTION
A. GOD BROUGHT THEM BACK TO A PLACE OF GRACE
When Naomi went to Moab, she spent 12 miserable years. Why? Because she was heading in the wrong direction. But now she is heading in the right direction. It is the way of GRACE!
GOD WAS GRACIOUS IN PROVIDING THEM FOOD.
Ruth 2:1-2, "And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. 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."
These verses of scripture tell us some very important things about Ruth, such as-
1. RUTH HAD FAITH THAT GOD WOULD PROVIDE
Look at Ruth 2:2, "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."
Notice she did not say:
• I HOPE I FIND GRACE
• I MIGHT FIND GRACE
She said, “…I SHALL FIND GRACE…”
The word “grace” here is the word “chen”, (Pronounced as khane) it means favor, grace, pleasant, precious well-favored.
Ruth knew that she had caught the attention of Boaz. She already knew that he was a:
• KIND MAN
• PLEASANT MAN
• GRACIOUS MAN
The Bible tells us she was confident.
In verse 2, we read, “…Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I SHALL FIND GRACE….”
But there are two kinds of grace that we need to consider.
(a) THERE IS COMMON GRACE
Even the lost world gleans blessings from God.
Illus: George W. Bush entered the White House as an oil man. When he became president, we were paying some of the highest prices for gas that we have ever paid in this country.
He let OPEC, the Arab nations, know right off hand that he would be drilling for some oil in this country, so we will not be dependent upon foreign countries for supply.
This sent cold chills up the spines of the Arab nations. They have two things they do when their lucrative oil fields are threatened.
(1) OPEC did what they normally do, get the environmentalists in this country to appear on national television programs and frighten people into thinking that President George W. Bush was going to destroy all of the progress we have made in the environment in the last twenty years.
Their campaign strategy began to work. President Bush’s poll numbers began to slide down. But still he made speech after speech saying that we must drill for oil so we are not at the mercy of the OPEC nations.
(2) When OPEC saw that he was not backing down because his numbers in popularity were coming down, they switched to plan “B”. They began to lower the prices of oil again.
WHY DID THEY DO SUCH A THING?
Because they knew that if they temporarily lower the price at the gas pumps, the American people would no longer feel a need to support a president who wanted to drill for more oil and make this nation less dependent on the Arab nations. So in the summer of 2001 the gas prices continued to come down.
Here is the point that I want to make; not only those who voted for George W. Bush have received the blessings of lower oil prices, so have those who did not vote for him.
This is the way it is with God’s blessings. There are blessings that the SINNERS and SAINTS enjoy as a result of God’s grace.
This is what we call COMMON GRACE. That is, God the Father shed his COMMON GRACE on all.
Look at Matt. 5:45, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”
• THE WORLD IS BLESSED WITH RAIN
• THE WORLD IS BLESSED WITH SUNLIGHT
• THE WORLD IS BLESSED WITH HARVEST
You can be a recipient of this COMMON GRACE simply by being born into this world. This is the COMMON GRACE of God to man. But there is another kind of grace.
(b) THERE IS SAVING GRACE
You can only be a recipient of this grace through FAITH in Jesus Christ: To receive this grace, you must be born-again.
Eph. 2:8 “For BY GRACE are ye saved THROUGH FAITH; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
Through COMMON GRACE we receive RAIN and SUNSHINE, but through SAVING GRACE we receive:
• FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS
• A HOME IN HEAVEN
• ANSWERED PRAYERS
• FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD
I thank God for His COMMON GRACE, but I especially thank Him for His SAVING GRACE!
RUTH HAD FAITH THAT GOD WOULD PROVIDE, but also-
2. RUTH HAD FAITH THAT CAUSED HER TO GO
Look at Ruth 2:3, "And she went..." This was no easy thing that she did. She left her culture, family and friends.
This is why many will not come to Christ. They know they will have to give up the sinful things in their lives, and they are not willing to do that.
But Ruth was willing to leave-
• Her friends that she grew up with
• Her family that she had grown up with
• Her gods that she had worshipped
• She left it all to follow Naomi to Bethlehem, and worship and serve God
She had a faith that caused her to move!
3. RUTH HAD FAITH THAT RESULTED IN GUIDANCE
Look at 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 Elimelechher hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz..."
Notice the word “hap”. This is the word “miqreh” (Pronounced as, mik-reh) which meant she “chanced” to find herself in the field of Boaz.
The world would say, “Boy, wasn’t she lucky?” But luck did not have a thing to do with it. We say, “Praise the Lord for guiding her footsteps!”
Prov. 3:5,6 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
GOD BROUGHT THEM BACK TO A PLACE OF GRACE and...
B. GOD BROUGHT THEM BACK TO A FAITHFUL MAN
Boaz was a wonderful man. Look at some of the things the scripture has to say about him.
1. BOAZ WAS A "MIGHTY MAN OF WEALTH"
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.”
Notice, the Bible does not say that he was wealthy, the Bible says he was a “Mighty man of wealth”.
Some Christians think it is a sin to be wealthy. Listen, it is not a sin to have wealth, it only becomes sin when wealth has you.
But he possessed more than money, the Bible records that-
2. BOAZ WAS A GODLY MAN
Ruth 2:4 "And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, THE LORD BE WITH YOU. And they answered him, THE LORD BLESS THEE."
You can tell a man loves the Lord by the way he talks. And you can tell by the speech of Boaz that he loved the Lord. Notice, he said, “The LORD be with you.”
One of the best ways to find out what is in the heart of man is to listen to what comes out of his mouth. If evil is in the heart, it will come out of the mouth.
Illus: We have heard people say, “Why do they make movies with all this filthy language?” They do it because they have filthy hearts.
The Bible says, in Matthew 12:34, “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
You can tell from the conversation of Boaz that he was a godly man. But also-
3. BOAZ WAS A COMPASSIONATE MAN
Look at Ruth 2:5 "...whose damsel is this?"
He took notice of this new woman gleaning in the field. Many would think that to notice a poor woman who gleaned in the fields would be beneath them.
4. BOAZ WAS A HELPING MAN
Look at Ruth 2:8b-9a "...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:...."
Boaz gave specific directions so Ruth would know where to gather.
5. BOAZ WAS A PROVIDING AND PROTECTING MAN
There are several things we need to consider, such as:
(a) THE PROTECTION
Ruth 2:9 “...have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?…”
Boaz recognized that Ruth was under the protection of God.
(b) THE PROVISION
He made sure she had plenty to eat.
Ruth 2:14 “And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime 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 parched corn, and SHE DID EAT, AND WAS SUFFICED, and left.”
He made sure she gathered plenty.
Ruth 2:15-16 “And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, LET HER GLEAN EVEN AMONG THE SHEAVES, AND REPROACH HER NOT: And LET FALL ALSO SOME OF THE HANDFULS OF PURPOSE FOR HER, AND LEAVE THEM, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.”
Not only did Boaz tell Ruth where to glean in the fields, he also instructed his men to drop some of what they were gathering. They were to do this on purpose, and then let Ruth gather it up.
Conclusion:
God is GOOD! God is wonderful in His promises! Naomi is the perfect picture of the backslider living in Moab. The Lord graciously brought her back.
Ruth is the perfect picture of a sinner living in sinful Moab. But God graciously saved her.
We see a beautiful picture of FORGIVENESS, MERCY, GRACE AND BLESSINGS just in this short passage.
I. NAOMI’S NEW HOME (Sermon #1)
II. NAOMI’S HOME-COMING (Sermon #2)
III. NAOMI'S NEW DIRECTION (Sermon #3)
