A Place Of Grace
9-27-26
  • I am looking forward to discovering the book of Ruth with you today. The book of Ruth shows how the providence of God works through the covenant faithfulness of ordinary people to bring redemption out of ruin and advance His plan toward the coming King.
    But before we meet Ruth, we need to understand something about the people from whom she came.
    before Ruth becomes the name of a beloved book of the Bible
    before she becomes the wife of Boaz
    before she becomes the great-grandmother of David and
    before her name appears in the genealogy of Jesus Christ—
    Ruth is introduced to us as a Moabite. And that description carried considerable weight.
    The nation of Moab had a dark and disturbing beginning. Following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his daughters fled to the mountains. Genesis 19 records the shameful circumstances surrounding the birth of Moab, the son of Lot through his oldest daughter. From that beginning came the nation known as the Moabites.
    Their later history with Israel was marked by hostility.
    When Israel approached the Promised Land, Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse God’s people.
    Because Moab had opposed Israel rather than welcoming them, Deuteronomy 23:3–6 placed severe restrictions upon the Moabites’ entrance into the assembly of the LORD.
    And we have already encountered Moab during our study of Judges.
    In Judges 3, Eglon, king of Moab, oppressed Israel for eighteen years until God raised up Ehud to deliver His people.
    Therefore, when the original readers heard the words “Ruth the Moabitess,” they would not have heard a neutral description of her birthplace. The name Moab carried a history of shame, idolatry, hostility, seduction, and oppression.
    That is what makes the opening of Ruth so surprising.
    Ruth 1:1-4 tells us: [read first]
    Ruth 1:1–4 NASB95
    Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.
    “Now it came about in the days when the judges governed…”
    This narrative belongs within the world we have been studying.
    These were the days when Israel repeatedly abandoned the LORD.
    These were the days of: compromise, idolatry, oppression, and moral confusion.
    These were the days when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
    Ruth does not remove us from the world of Judges.
    It takes us into an ordinary home within that world.
    While nations are fighting, judges are delivering Israel, and people are doing what is right in their own eyes...
    God is working quietly in the lives of one family.
    Ruth shows us that spiritual darkness never prevents God from accomplishing His purposes.
    Even during the days of the Judges, God preserved a faithful remnant.
    He was working through:
    The loyalty of a Moabite widow
    The integrity of a godly landowner
    The sorrow of a bitter Israelite woman
    No armies march through the book of Ruth.
    No judge raises a sword.
    No miraculous signs or dramatic military victories.
    Instead, we find famine, grief, ordinary work, faithful obedience, and the quiet providence of God.
    In Judges, we have seen people doing what was right in their own eyes.
    In Ruth, we will see Ruth and Boaz seeking to do what was right in God’s eyes.
    But Ruth is more than an encouraging story about two faithful people. It is the story of a faithful God.
    God is preserving a family
    Continuing His covenant purposes
    Preparing the line of David
    And ultimately pointing us toward Jesus Christ
    Ruth begins with famine, death, and emptiness—but it ends with harvest, life, fullness, and a redeemer. In days when everyone did what was right in his own eyes, Ruth and Boaz, demonstrate lives shaped by covenant faithfulness—and behind them stands the faithful God who is quietly advancing His redemptive plan.
    That brings us to the word that unlocks the message of this book: REDEEMED…

    REDEEMED

    Before we move into the narrative of Ruth, we need to understand the word that stands at the heart of this book: Redeemed
    To redeem means:
    To buy back or repurchase.
    To release someone from captivity by paying a ransom.
    To clear a debt that another person cannot pay.
    To recover, restore, or rescue something that would otherwise be lost.
    Redemption always begins with a need.
    Someone is helpless.
    Something has been lost.
    A debt is owed that cannot be paid.
    Then another person—someone qualified, capable, and willing—intervenes and pays the necessary price.
    In the Old Testament, a kinsman-redeemer was a close family member who could act on behalf of a relative facing poverty, loss, or helplessness. He had to possess the proper relationship, the necessary resources, and the willingness to accept the cost.
    A redeemer is the person who intervenes.
    Redemption is the act of purchasing, rescuing, and restoring.
    That is the beauty of redemption: the helpless person cannot change the situation, but the redeemer can—and willingly does.
    Redemption is costly to the redeemer, but it is an act of grace toward the one being redeemed.
    It is selfless love expressed through mercy, sacrifice, and restoration.
    We observe a redemptive story unfold as we go through this book. Ruth is not merely a love story between a man and a woman. It is a story about those who have nothing, a redeemer who is willing to intervene, and a faithful God quietly working behind it all.

    Overview of Ruth

    Across its four chapters, the book of Ruth gives us a powerful picture of redeeming love:
    In chapter 1, we discover the need for redemption.
    In chapter 2, we encounter the kindness of the redeemer.
    In chapter 3, we see an appeal for redemption.
    And in chapter 4, we witness the price and restoration of redemption.
    Ultimately, every act of redemption in Ruth directs our attention beyond Boaz to the One who would pay the greatest price of all—Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

    Chapter 1

    In the times of the Judges… we see a remnant remain faithful
    This begins when God would have been disciplining the people with the famine
    They leave for Moab for food, marriages happen, as does death! (This is everyday life happening)
    Three women left alone… Naomi encourages the two young widows to go back to their homes as she returns to Bethlehem
    Orpah returns but Ruth, a gentile Moabite woman states this Ruth 1:16
    Ruth 1:16 NASB95
    But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
    This is a powerful statement in itself of love and faithfulness, look closer...
    Ruth had seen something in Naomi, her sons and husband possibly, that drew her and attracted her to Naomi’s God!!!
    In the book of Judges, we repeatedly see Israelites abandoning the LORD to pursue the gods of the surrounding nations. But here, in the middle of those dark days, we see a woman from one of those nations abandoning her gods to follow the LORD.
    What a striking contrast!
    Israelites were repeatedly doing what was right in their own eyes, while this Moabite woman was placing her faith in the God of Israel.
    And yet the narrator continues to call her “Ruth the Moabitess.”
    We are not permitted to forget where she came from, because her background magnifies the grace of God.
    Her past is not hidden; it becomes the backdrop against which God displays His redeeming love.
    Upon return we see the deep sorrow of Naomi as she returns to Bethlehem… Ruth 1:20-22
    Ruth 1:20–22 NASB95
    She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. “I went out full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?” So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
    Mara means bitter… oh how we are so susceptible to allowing life’s struggles, pain, and sorrows to instill bitterness in us… But it is harvest time and that means provision...

    Chapter 2

    This chapter reveals the sweet heart and rich character of Ruth. She goes out to pick up leftovers from the harvesters to get food.
    Now Ruth just so “happens” to glean from the field of Boaz… a close relative. (God’s Providence)
    Boaz… a man of character himself notices Ruth
    He cares for her
    Protects her, don’t let anyone harm her
    Feeds her and provides water
    Admires her strength of character
    Don’t go to other fields
    Look at this man… Ruth 2:14-16
    Ruth 2:14–16 NASB95
    At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. “Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her.”
    Naomi is thrilled and informs Ruth that this man is a close relative…

    Chapter 3

    Naomi gives Ruth in this chapter some interesting instructions… Naomi desired that Ruth have someone to care for her for the long term.
    Ruth gets dressed up nice
    Ruth sneaks into the threshing floor at night and lays at his feet (HUMILITY)
    Ruth request that he lay his blanket over her… i.e. will you marry me? Ruth 3:10-11
    Ruth 3:10–11 NASB95
    Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. “Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.
    Did you notice the testimony of Ruth’s character
    He sends her back home assuring her he will do what is needed and provides once again sending her home with grain
    I think here that Ruth is seeking love, hope, security… not fully aware that all that and so much more would be in store with REDEMPTION!!!

    Chapter 4

    This is such a powerful chapter… Boaz waste not time!
    He meets with the closer kinsman and calls for witnesses Ruth 4:3-6
    Ruth 4:3–6 NASB95
    Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. “So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.” Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.” The closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”
    Interesting… as the closer relative he had the greater responsibility
    He desired an inheritance, a name for himself not another… and today we have NO CLUE WHO this man was!
    There was a beautiful blessing and almost prophetic message as the people rejoiced over the REDEMPTION process!!!
    As the writer closes this narrative you see where the emphasis is… Ruth 4:13-17
    Ruth 4:13–17 NASB95
    So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. “May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
    There is something greater coming… something is unfolding as the pages are closed on this story
    Where there was sorrow and bitterness we now see joy and hope…
    Let’s close today looking briefly at our redeemer and remembering Him...

    Our Redeemer

    As we close this book, let us return to where we began… Ruth was a Moabite.
    She came from a nation with a shameful beginning and a hostile history with Israel.
    Her people had worshiped false gods, opposed Israel, and oppressed them during the days of the Judges.
    Yet Ruth turned from the gods of Moab and took refuge under the wings of the LORD.
    Her identity as a Moabite transforms this narrative into something far more profound than a simple love story.
    Ruth was an outsider.
    She possessed no wealth, no husband, no inheritance, and no apparent future in Israel.
    She could not restore what had been lost, and she could not secure her future by herself.
    She needed a redeemer.
    God brought Boaz into her life. He was a qualified family redeemer who possessed the ability and the willingness to accept the cost.
    But Boaz points us toward Someone far greater.
    We also stood helpless—separated from God by sin and unable to erase our guilt, pay our debt, or restore ourselves to Him.
    We needed a Redeemer… Ephesians 1:7-8
    Ephesians 1:7–8 NASB95
    In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight
    Jesus Christ took on flesh and paid the price we could never pay.
    Jesus paid the price with His own blood to redeem lost sinners.
    His body was given for us.
    His blood was poured out for us.
    He purchased our freedom, bore the judgment our sins deserved, and reconciled us to God.
    The people of Bethlehem declared of Ruth: “May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel.”
    Think of that. Ruth entered this story as a Moabite widow with no apparent future. She leaves it as a wife, a mother, a daughter among God’s people, and an ancestor of Israel’s greatest king.
    Ruth and Boaz had a son named Obed.
    Obed became the father of Jesse.
    Jesse became the father of King David.
    That is where Ruth brings us back to the message of Judges. “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
    But while Israel had no king, God was preparing one.
    While Israel was descending into greater moral and spiritual darkness, God was quietly preserving the family through which David would come. He stood as our sovereign and faithful God, quietly accomplishing what was right in His eyes.
    Judges shows us the desperate need for a righteous king.
    Ruth shows us God preparing the line of that king.
    And through the line of David would come Jesus—the promised Messiah, the rightful King, and the Redeemer of sinners.
    The days of the Judges were dark, but God had not abandoned His plan.
    Our own days may be dark, but God has not abandoned His plan.
    The King has come.
    The Redeemer has paid the price.
    And one day, our King and Redeemer will come again.

      • Ruth 1:1–4NASB95

      • Ruth 1:16NASB95

      • Ruth 1:20–22NASB95

      • Ruth 2:14–16NASB95

      • Ruth 3:10–11NASB95

      • Ruth 4:3–6NASB95

      • Ruth 4:13–17NASB95

      • Ephesians 1:7–8NASB95

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