Good morning everyone and welcome to The Church Ministries 44th Sunday Service, we are all gathered this Sunday to find the truth and to spread the bread of life. We welcome all visitors, and we welcome everyone back, the members and all the brothers and sisters that have shared this bible church throughout the world. I am so very glad that we can bring this church and its teachings and blessings with a anointing of the Holy Spirit upon us all that want to share the love of Christ and the teachings of the word to educate us all to further our relationship and to bring us all closer to the one true God. Let us all praise the Father and the Son our Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
It has been a long haul as we pass through these waves and intricate storms of life, with the ongoing trials and tribulations. We never will know all that God can do for us, until we give all that we are. We all understand that He will use all of our past and present so we may serve Him with our future. The freedom that does remain is a blessing beyond all the pain and extra burdens. I can not complain about anything within these many months, I have been truly taught the ultimate relationship of love and compassion which drives the faithful service for Christ. My true hope is hearing our Lord say, well done good and faithful servant. Basically that is my life, plus to preach the good news, pray, and spread the love of God that intertwines through my heart. I thank God for the technology of the internet, that we are able to reach all of the world. God’s word is not for information, it is for transformation. We need to excel new believers to have a changed purpose, with a new direction, attitude, and behavior. We all have been called for a different purpose, as each of us travels down different winding roads, and we go through many intersections, and crossroads, but all the roads end up at the truth and the light of Christ.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you this day for the element of peace and tranquility. We are here together with our bodies all placed in different parts all over the globe, but our spirits are gathered together here, as we listen and learn the guidance that You have put before us. We all share Your great love and compassion and we don’t know how to praise You quite enough. But each of us will call out Your Name and Praise You, and to praise Your Son Jesus and tell Him that we love Him and we want that love spread into our hearts. We need Your openness we need Your understanding and we all need to repent and to turn around to You, and we ask to forgive us all of our sins, and we realize that we are all sinners, and we all understand that you sent Your Son down to earth to save us, even when we were not even worthy. Our Jesus came and suffered beyond any man upon this planet, and on top of it all He died for us. He gave us the saving grace; He gave us sanctification, reconciliation, and justification even when we were still an enemy towards You. We were all living in sin and were all like filthy rags, but through Christ our inner selves have been changed by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. And all that believe in Him and carry there crosses and have an intimate relationship with You both, have been cleansed to follow within the fellowship of all the other saints and priests of the Kingdom of God. We are all here to worship You in purity of spirit and in truth, we are trying each day to tear the flesh of this world away from our hearts and our inner selves, the pride of life the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh to make us acceptable to stand in front of You with our heads bowed and praising Your name. We love You Lord, Please this day guide us all in the right direction, the proper teaching and to fully understand Your reasoning for our future lives here in this temporal world, and through eternity into the Kingdom of Heaven. In Jesus Name, Amen
As we begin today let us go over last week of the Book of Ruth. In the first chapter we had a lot of introductions. The book of Ruth is a wonderful love story between the Israelite widow Naomi and her Moabite daughter-in-law set around the time of judges. Ruth means “beloved”. During the time a famine hit in Bethlehem Naomi and her husband Elimelech and there two sons Mahlon and Chilion whose names meant sickly or weakly and wasting away or failing. Elimelech meant My God is King, and Naomi meant pleasant or sweetness, anyway they left their homeland which in turn should have prayed and asked for forgiveness and or repented and turned to God, but they ventured into Moab anyway, heading east beyond the Dead Sea to the mountainous plateau. Then Elimelech died, and the sons married Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. During their ten year stay both Mahlon and Chilion died. Naomi decided to return back to Bethlehem but she urged her two widowed daughters-in law to remain with their families in Moab. They both held on to Naomi and cried and she took them aside and explained to them, pointing out the fact that she could not produce more sons to replace their dead husbands. Orpah returned back to her family, but Ruth took a stand and made a statement to stay with Naomi and to help her and give up her own life that she once knew, and pledged her devotion to Naomi, her land and people, plus accepted her God, and made one of the most profound statements in scripture.
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. Ruth 1:16 NASB
So as they entered into Bethlehem the destitute women came at a time of the harvest of wheat and barley. As the women noticed Naomi she did look different, she did go through many trials and pain. She made it a point not to have people call her Naomi anymore, she said call me Mara, which meant bitterness. She did not want to be called Naomi anymore because that meant sweetness or pleasant. At the time she thought that God was behind all these hard times that happened to her, so she carried around bitterness.
Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. Ruth 2:1 NASB
Now as we open today in Chapter two, we have a broad spectrum of Boaz. He was one of the relatives of Elinelech in Bethlehem. Boaz was a rich man, a type of hero always caring for the needs of others, and he treated his employees with grace and respect. He had a noble character and a high standing in the community. His name means “In Him Is Strength”. Boaz is included in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. To go a step further he was the only one named Boaz in the entire bible. We have also come to a point that Boaz was the great, great grandfather of King Solomon, which Solomon named one of the two pillars of the great Temple after him. Let us break this down even further.
Each capital on the two pillars had two hundred pomegranates in two rows around them, beside the rounded surface next to the latticework. Huram set the pillars at the entrance of the Temple, one toward the south and one toward the north. He named the one on the south Jakin, and the one on the north Boaz. 1Kings 7:20-21 NLT
As we analyze the picture of the temples porch, we have two great pillars as you enter. The right pillar was named after Jachin and the left was named after Boaz. Now in Hebrew we read right to left. Now Jachin means “He will establish”, and the left pillar was Boaz meaning “In him is strength”. As you enter the porch or coming upon it you will see the statement from the two pillars from the temple. They read together from right to left it will say “He will establish- In Him is strength”. So this is another beautiful teaching as we enter into the House Of God. That we are nothing within ourselves, it is not what we think or do, it is Gods direction and His plan, and His strength that will establish us. This is another great teaching which is in our hearts even today and was built and given to us as a great reminder centuries ago.
And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1Pet. 5:10 NIV
As Peter tells us no matter what we suffer and what we go through it will only be for a while, and then God will deliver and restore and strengthen us. He will also assure us of eternal life with Christ, where there will be no more suffering.
Before we go into the second verse we have to also pronounce Boaz as a kinsman, this was a sign of hope; a kinsman was a relative that could redeem, (purchase) someone and bring them out of the suffering of widowhood.
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." Ruth 2:2 NASB
As we enter into verse two, we have talked last week about how hard it is for a widow to survive, and now we will turn to Gods law for a basic welfare system in the scriptures.
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God. Lev. 19: 9-10 NIV
‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.' Lev. 23:22 NIV
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. Deut. 24:19-22 NIV
We will see the Lord lays down three provisions for the poor, widows, and orphans.
So as we see this was Gods welfare plan also for the alien or anyone that is poor. The farmers could not pick their fields completely. They had to leave enough behind. We also had to leave the corners of each field untouched. When the poor and needy gathered what was left in these fields, this was called gleaning, and used for food. It is also written we also must not curse, and have complete care for the poor and widows; we are to bless them as the next Scripture.
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deut. 15:11 NIV
The word tells us that we will always have the poor. As an added addition it is also written in the book of Matthew, Jesus knew the Old Testament scripture, so even Jesus focused that there will always be poor among us.
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. Matt. 26:11 NIV
We can look at this even further, why would we always have the poor? The poor go through a different life, not to be cast away. The poor have different values and different personalities; we have to realize the poor are concentrating on survival. They are also in prayer more often than the rich; they have to in order to survive. God supplies their needs with his laws, and his added love and compassion. The poor are also a great example to the completion of the Body of Christ. We need the poor as an added influence and knowledge of their way of life. Their survival is an added grace, which the pieces of the Body form together to make a fullness of all different walks of life, and experiences to form a complete body. As the hand needs the foot and the fingers need the toes we end up with a completion of an established knowledgeable church, with Christ as the head.
Now we have to look at the end of the spectrum, in our time line of today we find a lot of people taking advantage of our system. We have people that kick back and party and wait for there different government checks from all different enterprises. So we will add the scripture;
For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." 2Thes. 3:10 NIV
You see back then you had to work to gather your food, and in turn this forms a complete balance from our Lord. God loved the poor and the needy, the strangers, the orphans and widows and He made a balanced situation for their survival. As we return to the facts of verse two we see that Ruth volunteered to go and glean the fields for both Naomi and herself so they could survive.
As the scripture tells us, as it happened or she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz. Now we all have to realize that Ruth did not set out to go into Boaz’s field. The Lord sent her right on the required path, to the exact field that brought them two together. The Lord always has a plan.
So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. Ruth 2:3 NASB
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. Prov. 16:9 NIV
A man's steps are directed by the LORD. How then can anyone understand his own way? Prov. 20:24 NIV
If Ruth did not go to the right field, the future would have changed and King David and King Solomon would have not been born or exist and maybe Jesus would have not been born in Bethlehem. So we have to know that the hand of God lead her right to the designed field owned by Boaz.
As we see in this verse that the relationship between Boaz and his laborers was a bond of respect and consideration. We can see that Boaz was a godly man with a kind spirit. In all the work I have done I picture within my mind that I had the same devotion during my labor and different types of work, I always had it within my mind that all of my labor or any type of work or project I did, I did for the Lord. So if any of us do a particular job we do not picture ourselves working for any particular person or boss, we should do all our work as if we are doing it for the Lord. This way everything we do or any type of job we have, we will end up doing our best. If you do have a kindly boss it makes everything even better and you can work in a more comfortable surrounding, with less frustration and less stress. In any event we should never change our performance because we are working for the Lord, and it should not matter who we are working for. I wish everyone could have this same outlook. So as we go to the next scripture we can understand this more clearly.
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.
And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him. Eph. 6:5-9 NIV
Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you." Ruth 2:4 NASB
Don’t forget if you are the boss treat your employees with kindness and respect just like Boaz. “May the Lord be with you”.
5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"
6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab.
7 "And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while." Ruth 2:5-7 NASB
Now Boaz is taking notice of Ruth and he questions about her, and the foreman explained to him where she came from, and who she came to town with, and he also added how well she worked and how hard she worked. Ruth was a respectful worker and we should all learn a lesson, and follow the same example, we should not be taking a lot of breaks, and going to the bathroom all day and goofing off here and there, when the boss is not looking or is not around, do not forget the Lord is always watching, and He is always with us. Plus we should always do our best with the time that has been given to us. Remember we are called to do good works, and sustain a good work attitude being conscientious of our timing. This way others will see the light of God within us, and we turn out to be a good witness for Christ.
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. 1Pet. 2:12 NIV
8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids.
9 "Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw."
10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"
11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know.
12 " May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge."
13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."
There is a lot going on within the characters, Boaz started to feel drawn to her. Ruth was showing her good qualities, plus she was a hard worker, loving and kind with an added part of faithfulness and bravery. Boaz must have heard people talking about her in that small town. It seems he knew all about her when they met, and he planned to give her added respect in return for the loyal love and care she has shown to Naomi. He told her he heard about her devotion to her mother-in-law whom she escorted into a strange land leaving her own family and friends, plus taking refuge and devotion to the God of Israel. Boaz was kind to share food and water with her and treat her like one of his own workers. Also we have to look at the reasoning behind his firm instruction for the male workers not to bother her. As a foreigner she did not have a husband or family to protect her, so she was very vulnerable. We are not sure how far the male workers would go as far as harassment and maybe in danger of being molested. There wasn’t many people back then that would travel so far and leave the comfort and protection of family. She did sacrifice a lot and the word did get around quick about the both of them coming in to the little town of Bethlehem. Boaz also made a nice comment with a blessing that the Lord would protect her and that she could take refuge under His wings.
How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 36:7 NIV
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. Psalm 57:1 NIV
I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. Selah Psalm 61:4 NIV
He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4 NIV
We also must remember that Jesus held the same comparison as a bird protecting her young.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Matt. 23:37 NIV
We have to completely understand that the Lord wants to protect us just like a mother hen protects her chicks from the rain and the wind the sun and other animals. Many choose to run away from the protection of God, and many don’t even know about the protection that God gives to all His children. We can, as believers we always know we can seek refuge in the shadow of His wings. Here is another fact that by Ruth choosing to go with Naomi to the Land of Israel she to has also found the God of all comfort.
14 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.
15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her.
16 "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."
Here is a guide to the compassion of godly care and consideration as Boaz goes beyond the letter of the law. He is being more kind and becoming very fond of her, he is letting Ruth eat with him and the other workers plus giving her a great supply of grain, and also letting her glean within sheaves that are already bound and had his workers purposely drop large amounts of grain on the ground in front of her. We can see these beautiful bible characters share in love with expressions of godly living. What a great example to follow.
17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. Ruth 2:17 NASB
The amount of barley was a half bushel and much more than a day’s work. The ephah was also equivalent to about six one gallon jugs filled up. Boaz has also given Ruth a blessing of charity.
When Ruth brought home and showed Naomi how much grain she gleaned and also brought home the remainder of her lunch. Naomi was in shock, she had to ask where did you go, where did you find all this, and what field did you end up at. Ruth began to tell her about the day and the field that was owned by Boaz. Naomi even added a blessing for the one who took notice of her, and also for a plentiful day.
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, " May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives."
21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, 'You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.'"
22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that others do not fall upon you in another field."
23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
As the scene of this great chapter is coming to an end, we see that also for today’s service. We notice a few key points. That both Naomi and Ruth praised God for such a blessing of a day. Plus Naomi started to brighten up in her spirit and she began to have her faith awakened in our Lord thy God. Plus she started to realize that Boaz was their relative or their kinsman redeemer. She started putting all the pieces together and her hope in a relative being alive and also a relative of her husband was such a blessing that there was one alive and well to do, and also very kind and godly, Naomi could feel the future was unfolding into another possible blessing. A kinsman redeemer was a close relative to whom members of the extended family could turn to them for help, in a line of redemption of her husbands’ property and many other things, like the provision of a family member, and all the relatives involved in all different situations. We also know it could any uncle or distant cousins, and she was so pleased that there was still one there, and one still alive willing to help others. Ruth continued to work close to the other maidservants in the fields of Boaz, and sustained happiness in harmony with Naomi.
18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied.
19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed." So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." Ruth 2:18-19 NASB
We also know that Christ is our kinsman redeemer who came to earth to buy us all back from sin and death and to redeem us from the emptiness, suffering, and loneliness with eternal punishment. He suffered and died to release us from sin, and placed us into the family of the living God.
Dear Father in Heaven, Thank you for this day and Your wonderful story, and the wisdom that goes along with it. We don’t even want to stop here; we were learning your great and loving words of truth, prophecy, and history. We all love you Father, Your Son, and the Holy Spirit. O’Lord we are abiding in Your word holding fast to your teachings and living in accordance with them. Please be with us all for the rest of this week, until we all meet again. In Jesus Name, Amen and Amen
