Community Baptist Church
November 2 2025

      • 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12HCSB

      • Isaiah 1:18HCSB

  • All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name (Coronation)
  • His Name Is Wonderful
  • Jesus Paid It All (Christ I Owe)

      • Psalm 84:10HCSB

      • Psalm 84:1–2HCSB

  • Better Is One Day

      • Jeremiah 14:20–22HCSB

  • Everlasting God
  • Song
  • I Will Sing Of My Redeemer
  • Sweet Sweet Spirit

      • Luke 18:9–14HCSB

  • Hebrews 11:32–34 HCSB
    And what more can I say? Time is too short for me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the raging of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength after being weak, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
    Ruth, one of two OT books named after women (take that, chauvinists!) focuses on the account of an unbelieving foreigner’s transformation into a believing, godly woman that finds her name mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus, born of a virgin in a small and unremarkable town called Bethlehem.
    Ruth is a powerful example of a person of faith - one through whom God was able to affect the very course of history.
    Her story is told in four short chapters that read more like a short story than a dry and dusty book of the Bible.
    Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Ruth: here iare two quick ways to remember where the book is located - USE THE TABLE of Contents OR remember this: Joshua Judges Ruth (a memory device I learned in graduate school!).
    Ruth 1:1–5 HCSB
    During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to live in the land of Moab for a while. The man’s name was Elimelech, and his wife’s name was Naomi. The names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. They entered the land of Moab and settled there. Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, and she was left with her two sons. Her sons took Moabite women as their wives: one was named Orpah and the second was named Ruth. After they lived in Moab about 10 years, both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two children and without her husband.
    Three place names are worth attention:
    Bethlehem - we know it as the small, insignificant town where Jesus was to be born; literally in Hebrew: House of Bread
    Epraphthites - another name for those who lived in Bethlehem. Ephratha was a earlier name for the town called Bethlehem;
    Moab - this region east of the Dead Sea had been given by God to the illegitmate descandants of Lot and his daughter. As Lot and his family escaped the destruction of Sodom, Lot’s wife turned to look back and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his two daugthers took refuge in the hills surrounding the area. Having no husbands both daughters, one at a time, took advantage of their father and each bore a child - one named Ammon, the other Moab. Though there was a connection to Abraham and his remarkable trust in God it was not hereditary.
    Ruth 1:6–7 HCSB
    She and her daughters-in-law prepared to leave the land of Moab, because she had heard in Moab that the Lord had paid attention to His people’s need by providing them food. She left the place where she had been living, accompanied by her two daughters-in-law, and traveled along the road leading back to the land of Judah.
    What else can Naomi do? A foreigner in a land of people who worship a god named Chemosh, she has few options. She hears of the intervention of God in her hometown and begins to travel there.
    She discourages her daughters-in-law to accompany her. Orpah chooses to return to her family.
    Ruth however declares a different choice:
    Ruth 1:16–17 HCSB
    But Ruth replied: Do not persuade me to leave you or go back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May Yahweh punish me, and do so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.
    If you have been to a wedding conducted by a pastor you have likely heard these words - although they have nothing to do with marriage!

    Notable Words

    Ruth’s declaration is more than a plea to Naomi that she might accompany her to Bethlehem.
    Leaving
    Ruth’s affirmation means letting go her family, her people, and most importantly her faith in a god named Chemosh. Leaving Moab meant leaving whatever support, whatever family resources she might have had is now lost to her permanently.
    A New Found Faith
    Ruth’s choice to go with Naomi is a declaration of faith in Naomi’s God. The Hebrew word translated ‘God’ is ‘elohim.’ Though this word is most often associated with God as revealed in the early chapters of Genesis, the word can be used to refer to lesser ‘gods,’ or idols as we might call them.
    In vs 17 a shift occurs which lets us know that Ruth no longer worships Chemosh, the god/idol of the Moabites (and others). Now she makes an oath not on the name of ‘elohim’ - generic word for God. Here she swears on the name YHWH.
    Yahweh is…
    The Book of Ruth A. Names of God

    …the personal, covenantal name of God, and its usage hints at a consciousness of his presence and activity in this community of faith…

    Her use of the name by which God made Himself known to Moses tells us that she has discovered a personal relationship with God.
    Ruth 4:13–22 HCSB
    Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he was intimate with her, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Praise the Lord, who has not left you without a family redeemer today. May his name become well known in Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. Indeed, your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and took care of him. The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron. Hezron fathered Ram, who fathered Amminadab. Amminadab fathered Nahshon, who fathered Salmon. Salmon fathered Boaz, who fathered Obed. And Obed fathered Jesse, who fathered David.
    After their return to Bethlehem, no longer a place of famine but a place of abundance, Ruth ‘just so happens’ to glean in the field of an unmarried close relative of Elimelech.
    The primary character in Ruth 2 - 4 is not Ruth but Naomi. Since our focus is Ruth you’ll have to read the rest of the story for yourselves.
    There are some key texts that help us understand the rest of the story:
    Boaz stands out as a well-respected man of God
    Ruth 2:2–4 HCSB
    Ruth the Moabitess asked Naomi, “Will you let me go into the fields and gather fallen grain behind someone who allows me to?” Naomi answered her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” So Ruth left and entered the field to gather grain behind the harvesters. She happened to be in the portion of land belonging to Boaz, who was from Elimelech’s family. Later, when Boaz arrived from Bethlehem, he said to the harvesters, “The Lord be with you.” “The Lord bless you,” they replied.
    Naomi’s recognition of the hand of God:
    Ruth 3:1–2 HCSB
    Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of? Now isn’t Boaz our relative? Haven’t you been working with his female servants? This evening he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor.

    REFLECT AND RESPOND

    As the writer of the letter to Hebrews says, ‘Time is too short for me to tell about…’ the faith of Naomi and Ruth.
    There are some things I believe God is challenging us with in this example of faith:

    Your past is past

    2 Corinthians 5:17 HCSB
    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
    Ruth was raised as an idolater. That did not stop God from using her. Whatever your past, it is no hindrance to the ability of God.

    God is working - even in the most painful places in your life

    Ruth 1:19–21 HCSB
    The two of them traveled until they came to Bethlehem. When they entered Bethlehem, the whole town was excited about their arrival and the local women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi. Call me Mara,” she answered, “for the Almighty has made me very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has pronounced judgment on me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?”
    Naomi left Bethlehem due to a famine. But she had a full family. As she returns her husband and two sons are dead. She may have left with very little due to the famine, but she returns empty handed - with a daughter-in-law for whom she takes responsibility (see Ruth 3:1 “Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I find security for you, so that you will be taken care of?” )
    Everyone one of us has experienced loss, grief, pain. God can use those times in our lives - if we allow Him!

    God’s purposes will not be stopped

    Ruth had no idea that her transformation from idol worshiper to one who knows God by His name that she would play a role in God’s eternal purpose!
    We have no idea what God might do…but one thing I know:

    God’s purposes will prevail!

      • Hebrews 11:32–34HCSB

      • Ruth 1:1–5HCSB

      • Ruth 1:6–7HCSB

      • Ruth 1:16–17HCSB

      • Ruth 4:13–22HCSB

      • Ruth 2:2–4HCSB

      • Ruth 3:1–2HCSB

      • 2 Corinthians 5:17HCSB

      • Ruth 1:19–21HCSB

      • John 14:23HCSB

  • 2 Samuel 22

    Only one individual in all of biblical history is identifed as a person ‘after God’s own heart’ (1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22).
    We know him as David. David is described in God’s word as a shepherd, musician, warrior, counselor, military strategist, king, father (often unengaged), adulterer, murderer, liar…and that is not an exhaustive list!
    You might think that the last items on the list would disqualify anyone from such a designation!
    As we look and listen to some of the last words recorded by David we can discover what kind of person is indeed one after God’s own heart.

    One after God’s Own Heart is One Knows God’s Presence Regularly

    David’s words begin with what one writer describes a
    …staccato, machine-gun exuberance…[which] arises from his utter inability to stretch his praise to match God’s splendor. He can’t say enough but he will say much - he will pile up plaudits in his vain quest to overcome his delicious frustration of adequately lauding [praising] Yahweh.
    Dale Ralph Davis 2 Samuel: Out of Every Adversity, Focus on the Bible Commentary Series (Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999, 2009) 284.
    2 Samuel 22:2–4 HCSB
    He said: The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge. My shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold, my refuge, and my Savior, You save me from violence. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies.
    This exuberance was born of David’s myriad experiences of God’s provision and protection. Time and again David found himself surrounded by enemies, sought after by Saul, alone in a wilderness, fighting against overwhelming odds. Every time God delivered him. From the highest places in his homeland to the deepest valleys imaginable David trusted God to act, to be present, to do that which only God can do.
    In vs 7 - 20 David paints a vivid picture of how God operates. These poetic metaphors are David’s way of drawing his listeners in to the activity of God.
    The crucial phrase:
    2 Samuel 22:7 HCSB
    I called to the Lord in my distress; I called to my God. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.
    David called on God because he knew God! As a shepherd he had known the presence and protection of God -
    1 Samuel 17:34–37 HCSB
    David answered Saul: “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”
    Before we leave this let me remind you that far too often you and I expect to experience the presence of God in the comfort of our recliners in front of the TV. David knew God’s presence - in the face of bears, lions, and even a nine foot tall giant named Goliath.
    In the most recently read section of Jeff Iorg’s book, Seasons of a Leaders Life he relates the account of Peter from the gospels as Jesus, walking on water invited the disciples to join Him. Only Peter got out of the boat! Yes, he took his eyes off Jesus, but don’t miss this: HE GOT OUT OF THE BOAT while the others stayed put.
    Iorg asks,
    What are you facing in the future that will require a risk to expand God’s kingdom?
    Iorg, Jeff. Seasons of a Leader’s Life: Learning, Leading, and Leaving a Legacy (p. 40). (Function). Kindle Edition.

    One after God’s Own Heart is One Who Learns to Use God’s Strength to Fight

    In 2 Sam 22:32-46 David explains how he was able to experience victory.
    Look at the tools he used:
    2 Samuel 22:29–31 HCSB
    Lord, You are my lamp; the Lord illuminates my darkness. With You I can attack a barrier, and with my God I can leap over a wall. God—His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.
    2 Samuel 22:33 HCSB
    God is my strong refuge; He makes my way perfect.
    2 Samuel 22:36 HCSB
    You have given me the shield of Your salvation; Your help exalts me.
    2 Samuel 22:37 HCSB
    You widen a place beneath me for my steps, and my ankles do not give way.
    2 Samuel 22:40 HCSB
    You have clothed me with strength for battle; You subdue my adversaries beneath me.
    God’s Word is the guide. David did not have the advantage we do - the word of God he knew was simply the first five books of the Bible, Genesis - Deuteronomy.
    I remember hearing that if all one had were the first eleven chapters of Genesis, one would have an outline of all the truth of God!
    I ran across this earlier this week:
    The goal isn't to read the Bible. The goal is to let the Bible read you.
    Reading plans have their place, but they can become spiritual productivity measures that miss the point entirely. Scripture wasn't meant to be conquered but encountered. Not consumed but absorbed.
    Look what God did through David…
    David used the tool he had - and through God’s word any darkness was dispelled, with God’s word there are no enemies that can stand, with the pure word of God there are no obstacles too big, no challenges to daunting, no problems to large.

    One After God’s Own Heart is One Who Freely Affirms God’s Righteousness

    2 Samuel 22:21–25 HCSB
    The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; He repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness. Indeed, I have kept all His ordinances in mind and have not disregarded His statutes. I was blameless before Him and kept myself from sinning. So the Lord repaid me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His sight.
    Knowing the full account of David’s life as we do these words appear to border on heresy. David committed adultery. He killed the woman’s husband. David ignored his own children. David lied - more than once.
    How does he claim
    2 Samuel 22:22 HCSB
    For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not turned from my God to wickedness.
    There are two important truths to grab on to:
    The righteousness David highlights is God’s, not His
    When Nathan the prophet confronted David after his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, Nathan spoke this word from God:
    2 Samuel 12:10–12 HCSB
    Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own wife.’ “This is what the Lord says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you from your own family: I will take your wives and give them to another before your very eyes, and he will sleep with them publicly. You acted in secret, but I will do this before all Israel and in broad daylight.’ ”
    David confessed. God, in His righteousness acted.
    Now compare what Nathan said to what the Apostle Paul wrote over a thousand years later:
    Romans 3:23–26 HCSB
    For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a propitiation through faith in His blood, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented Him to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus.
    Look at 2 Sam 22:28
    2 Samuel 22:28 HCSB
    You rescue an afflicted people, but Your eyes are set against the proud— You humble them.
    …the ‘afflicted’ are those who know their desperate need for the Lord. God saves people who are not proud, those who know how wicked and broken they are.
    Heath Thomas, J.D. Greear Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary: Exalting Jesus in 1 & 2 Samuel (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 252

    REFLECT AND RESPOND

    Years after David’s death a great…grandson named Asa ruled. During one crisis Asa sought the assistance of Aramites. In response, Hanani, the seer, came to Asa and said,
    2 Chronicles 16:9 HCSB
    For the eyes of Yahweh roam throughout the earth to show Himself strong for those whose hearts are completely His.
    God is still seeking for men and women whose hearts are completely His.
    We can be those people:
    Coming to Jesus for certainty and assurance of our salvation -
    Confessing Him as Savior and Lord
    Fully obeying Him
    Baptism
    Church membership
    Allowing His Word to be our guide, our light in the present darkness…

      • 2 Samuel 22:2–4HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:7HCSB

      • 1 Samuel 17:34–37HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:29–31HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:33HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:36HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:37HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:40HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:21–25HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:22HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 12:10–12HCSB

      • Romans 3:23–26HCSB

      • 2 Samuel 22:28HCSB

      • 2 Chronicles 16:9HCSB

Community Baptist Church
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http://www.winstoncommunitybaptist.com
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