Sermon Notes: 11.7.22
God is Faithful
Series: Ruth – Road to Redemption
Message: God is Faithful
Text: Ruth 2:1-23
Date: November 5, 2022
Message: God is Faithful
Text: Ruth 2:1-23
Date: November 5, 2022
INTRODUCTION
John Piper once said, "God is doing 10,000 things in our lives and we may only know 3 of them." No matter what we are going through, God is always faithful! In our text and in the life of Naomie and Ruth, we will see God is Always Faithful in:
A. His Goodness
B. His Grace
C. His Guidance
MESSAGE
A. HIS GOODNESS (19a)
- At this moment, Naomi has no idea who owns the field that produced the bounty of food Ruth has brought home. Even so, she offers a prayer of blessing for this man without knowing who he is. With this prayer, she moves from bitterness to blessing. Already God’s grace has started to heal her hurting heart.
Lyrics: Goodness of God
I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
Psalm 23:6 NASBS [6] Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
"Follow:" רדף (Hebrew) - rawdaf
Meaning: Pursue, chase, put to flight, run after
Quote: Anonymous
“God has never stopped being good, we’ve just stop being grateful.”
Psalm 34:5-8 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
B. HIS GRACE (19b-20)
The word “kindness” comes from a Hebrew word used over 200 times in the Old Testament. It’s a difficult word to translate because it encompasses love, kindness, loyalty grace and mercy. Naomi (who not so long ago wanted to be called “bitter”) sees the invisible hand of God at work in leading Ruth to the field of Boaz. God doesn't roll the dice in our lives. NOTHING is left up to chance.
1. LOOK BACK AT OT LAW
- Old Testament Law close relative was allowed to step in and “redeem” a family member under certain circumstances (Leviticus 25:25-28).
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 allowed a man to marry his dead brother’s former wife (if the brother died childless). That way the man could raise up children for his deceased brother and keep the family name alive.
NOTE: The law of the “kinsmen redeemer” was never meant to apply to foreigners. It was “family law” given by God to guide the Jews in times of family crisis. A Jewish man would marry a Jewish woman to help his deceased Jewish brother. The law was never meant to apply to a marriage between a Jewish man and a Moabite woman, God shows us all are welcome to the table!
Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [a]neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Quote: John Piper
“Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.”
Quote: Anonymous
"Grace means that all of your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.”
C. HIS GUIDANCE
Our passage ends with three signs of God’s guidance. Out of the mass of details that happened on this fateful day, we can trace God’s fingerprints in the seemingly random events of life.
1. Guides us to peace (v21)
Psalm 23:2 NASBS
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
John 14:27 NASBS
[27] Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of the Messiah also rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
2. He guides us to protection (v22)
In any other field, young men might accost Ruth, seeking to take advantage of her because she was a young widow from another country. By staying in the field of Boaz, Ruth would be protected.
Quote
“The safest place in all the world is in the will of God, and the safest protection in all the world is the name of God.” Warren Wiersbe
Quote:
“What feels like rejection is often God’s protection when your heading in the wrong direction.” – Donna Partow
a. God sees what we don’t see.
b. God protects you daily and you don’t even know it.
Psalm 143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; I come to You for protection.
3. He guides to provision (v23)
Note: The barley harvest began in April, and the wheat harvest ended in June. This meant Ruth would be working in the fields along with the other women for at least seven weeks. Note that she stayed “close” to the other women during those long days in the field. That speaks to her loyalty and to her commitment. She wasn’t afraid of hard work. But above all, working the harvest meant she and Naomi would not go hungry.
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Charles Swindoll put it this way:
“The matters we or the world might consider trivial, He cares about and wants to remedy. He longs to relieve our worries and has promised to supply our most fundamental needs.”
The “Prince of Preachers” CH SPURGEON writes, "Each day, though it brings its trouble, shall bring its help; and though you should live to outnumber the years of Methuselah, and though your needs should be as many as the sands of the seashore, yet shall God’s grace and mercy last through all your necessities, and you shall never know a real lack."
CONCLUSION:
Just like in the life of Ruth and Naomi, God is faithful in His Goodness, Grace, and Guidance in our lives. We can trust God in what He's even if we don't understand or even life what He is doing.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Do we trust God today?
John Piper once said, "God is doing 10,000 things in our lives and we may only know 3 of them." No matter what we are going through, God is always faithful! In our text and in the life of Naomie and Ruth, we will see God is Always Faithful in:
A. His Goodness
B. His Grace
C. His Guidance
MESSAGE
A. HIS GOODNESS (19a)
- At this moment, Naomi has no idea who owns the field that produced the bounty of food Ruth has brought home. Even so, she offers a prayer of blessing for this man without knowing who he is. With this prayer, she moves from bitterness to blessing. Already God’s grace has started to heal her hurting heart.
Lyrics: Goodness of God
I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I've been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
And all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God
Psalm 23:6 NASBS [6] Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
"Follow:" רדף (Hebrew) - rawdaf
Meaning: Pursue, chase, put to flight, run after
Quote: Anonymous
“God has never stopped being good, we’ve just stop being grateful.”
Psalm 34:5-8 “Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
B. HIS GRACE (19b-20)
The word “kindness” comes from a Hebrew word used over 200 times in the Old Testament. It’s a difficult word to translate because it encompasses love, kindness, loyalty grace and mercy. Naomi (who not so long ago wanted to be called “bitter”) sees the invisible hand of God at work in leading Ruth to the field of Boaz. God doesn't roll the dice in our lives. NOTHING is left up to chance.
1. LOOK BACK AT OT LAW
- Old Testament Law close relative was allowed to step in and “redeem” a family member under certain circumstances (Leviticus 25:25-28).
- Deuteronomy 25:5-10 allowed a man to marry his dead brother’s former wife (if the brother died childless). That way the man could raise up children for his deceased brother and keep the family name alive.
NOTE: The law of the “kinsmen redeemer” was never meant to apply to foreigners. It was “family law” given by God to guide the Jews in times of family crisis. A Jewish man would marry a Jewish woman to help his deceased Jewish brother. The law was never meant to apply to a marriage between a Jewish man and a Moabite woman, God shows us all are welcome to the table!
Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is [a]neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Quote: John Piper
“Grace is not simply leniency when we have sinned. Grace is the enabling gift of God not to sin. Grace is power, not just pardon.”
Quote: Anonymous
"Grace means that all of your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.”
C. HIS GUIDANCE
Our passage ends with three signs of God’s guidance. Out of the mass of details that happened on this fateful day, we can trace God’s fingerprints in the seemingly random events of life.
1. Guides us to peace (v21)
Psalm 23:2 NASBS
[2] He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.
John 14:27 NASBS
[27] Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of the Messiah also rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body, and be thankful.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
2. He guides us to protection (v22)
In any other field, young men might accost Ruth, seeking to take advantage of her because she was a young widow from another country. By staying in the field of Boaz, Ruth would be protected.
Quote
“The safest place in all the world is in the will of God, and the safest protection in all the world is the name of God.” Warren Wiersbe
Quote:
“What feels like rejection is often God’s protection when your heading in the wrong direction.” – Donna Partow
a. God sees what we don’t see.
b. God protects you daily and you don’t even know it.
Psalm 143:9 Rescue me from my enemies, LORD; I come to You for protection.
3. He guides to provision (v23)
Note: The barley harvest began in April, and the wheat harvest ended in June. This meant Ruth would be working in the fields along with the other women for at least seven weeks. Note that she stayed “close” to the other women during those long days in the field. That speaks to her loyalty and to her commitment. She wasn’t afraid of hard work. But above all, working the harvest meant she and Naomi would not go hungry.
Philippians 4:19 “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Charles Swindoll put it this way:
“The matters we or the world might consider trivial, He cares about and wants to remedy. He longs to relieve our worries and has promised to supply our most fundamental needs.”
The “Prince of Preachers” CH SPURGEON writes, "Each day, though it brings its trouble, shall bring its help; and though you should live to outnumber the years of Methuselah, and though your needs should be as many as the sands of the seashore, yet shall God’s grace and mercy last through all your necessities, and you shall never know a real lack."
CONCLUSION:
Just like in the life of Ruth and Naomi, God is faithful in His Goodness, Grace, and Guidance in our lives. We can trust God in what He's even if we don't understand or even life what He is doing.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."
Do we trust God today?
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