Ruth 3-4 Bible Study

This morning we're going to be finishing the book of Ruth with chapters 3 and 4 so only 4 chapters in the book

Last time in Ruth chapter 2 Ruth met her future husband Boaz and before we look at this chapter

I just want to read this passage from Proverbs 31 on the virtuous woman or the virtuous wife

Because this really corresponds with Ruth and who she was Proverbs actually some people believe that Solomon wrote

Proverbs 31 and he had Ruth in mind. We'll talk about that in a moment Proverbs 31 10 through 12 says who can find a virtuous wife

For her worth is far above rubies the heart of her husband safely trusts her

So he will have no lack of gain She does him good and not evil

All the days of her life So Ruth is a good example of this perhaps the best example because if there is one thing that comes out about her character is

That Ruth was a virtuous woman. She was a virtuous wife so far in the

Bible next to Maybe Sarah Ruth I would say is the role model for women

I think a lot of women these days, you know After the feminist movement, they might want to look to Deborah as the role model, you know,

Deborah was in charge She was shattering the glass ceiling, you know Barak was weak.

Deborah is telling them what to do Deborah is not the role model. She's sort of the exception to every rule first Peter 3 verse 4 talks about the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit

This the Bible says is very Precious in the sight of God so Ruth is the virtuous wife

Ruth is submissive if we view all of this as the

Old Testament is an allegory or a Story pointing to Christ in the church.

This should be the way we are in relation to Christ I should be submissive to Christ the church should be submissive to Christ All of God's people should have that Submissive attitude towards the

Lord. So Boaz is a type of Christ the kinsmen Redeemer Ruth therefore in this allegory

She represents Christians. She looks to Boaz becomes his bride just as Christians Look to Christ the church being the bride of Christ and just point this out when

I say allegory Obviously, I don't mean to imply that the story of Ruth didn't happen.

It's a true story it all happened, but it also points ahead It points to Christ all of the

Old Testament points ahead to Christ So Ruth is a virtuous woman and not only does

Boaz recognize this in Ruth The Lord sees her virtue and because of it the

Lord blesses this Moabite woman Beyond measure giving her the privilege to be included not only in the genealogy of David Israel's great king.

She is also included in the lineage of Israel's Messiah the

Lord Jesus Christ and One other thing this book does before we start reading in chapter 3

This book really serves as a great picture of God's grace Towards those outside of the nation of Israel.

Remember Ruth was called Ruth the Moabitess Remember Rahab Rahab was not an

Israelite She was of the city of Jericho the Lord redeemed Rahab from the doomed city of Jericho He redeemed

Ruth the Moabitess and brought her into the covenant Family of God.

So this is really a foreshadowing of how Christ will save the Gentiles So many different things can be drawn out of this story

So with all that said let's begin reading Ruth chapter 3 starting in verse 1 Says then

Naomi her mother -in -law Said to her my daughter Shall I not seek security for you that it may be well with you?

Now Boaz whose young women you were with is he not our relative?

In fact, he is widowing barley tonight at the threshing floor Therefore wash yourself and anoint yourself and put on your best garment and go down to the threshing floor

But do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

So what's Naomi telling Ruth? Hey, take a shower put on your best dress put on some perfume go down and meet

Boaz But don't bother him to wait until he's finished eating and drinking verse 4 then it shall be when he lies down That you shall notice the place where he lies and you shall go in uncover his feet and lie down and He will tell you what you should do and Ruth said to Naomi all that you say to me

I will do so Naomi acting as the mother she feels responsible for making sure

Ruth has a bright future and Knowing Israelite customs, of course

Ruth is in the dark about all this stuff and this custom of going in uncovering his feet

And that may seem strange, but you know, there's a lot of things thousands of years ago.

That would seem strange to us but it's a custom and Naomi knows about it.

So she instructs Ruth of what she should do and Ruth Submissive right?

This is her mother mother -in -law, but she views her as her mother. She's honoring her mother

That's another part of her virtue. So now this thing about uncovering Boaz feet lying down You know, it does kind of seem strange to us for her to lie down at his feet

You shouldn't read into this at all There's nothing scandalous going on a lot of things in Bible times.

They seem Odd to us and I'm sure a matter of fact, I'm positive if they could see some of the things that we are doing if some of the customs we have

I'm sure that That would seem strange to them even stranger So Ruth verse 6 went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother -in -law instructed her

So after a long day Boaz, he eats he drinks he falls asleep And scripture is very careful to point out that he's not lying in his bedroom.

This isn't a private chamber He's out in the open. This is the place where he was working. He probably has servants around so there's nothing

Inappropriate happening here. So he wakes up in the middle of the night and realizes that there's someone there.

There's somebody laying at his feet verse 9 and He said who are you?

So she answered I am Ruth your maidservant Take your maidservant under your wing for you are a close relative so Boaz immediately

Knowing the custom He knows why she's there. So let's just briefly explain this

Why is she there? What is the kinsmen Redeemer? So This is a male relative

Who according to various laws in the Torah or the Pentateuch? that's the first five books of Moses Genesis through Deuteronomy according to various laws in the books of Moses the kinsmen

Redeemer as It is called is a male relative who had the privilege or the duty to act on behalf of a relative

Who is in danger or in need? the male relative would then rescue or redeem either a person and or a property and of course this points ahead to Christ as well who according to Hebrews 2 11

Christ is our brother and Through the cross he rescues or redeems us

But Ruth Ruth is in need so she turns to Boaz She says take me under your wing why because you're a close relative

She is looking to him to be to act as kinsmen Redeemer she's asking

Boaz to Marry her essentially So realizing that a young beautiful woman like herself could have chosen any number of younger men stronger men but she chooses instead a godly man and Boaz is willing to marry her and thereby redeem her but according to the law of Moses there was one

Thing that stood in the way there was one relative closer than him so to follow these customs and laws

You had to go about it the right way. So there's somebody who would have a More rightful place.

There's one relative closer verses 11 and 12 Boaz says and now my daughter do not fear

I will do for you all that you request for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman

Now it is true that I am a close relative. However, there is a relative closer than I So Ruth stays the night and just to make this point because people are again tempted to sort of read into this assume the worst just as It said

Boaz ate and drank and was married sometimes people I've heard people say well Yeah, he drank and he was married.

That means he's intoxicated. No, it doesn't Or that they say well, you know Ruth got into bed with him.

No, she didn't She was laying it's careful to say that she was laying at his feet

So I'm just gonna repeat this again If this is what you have in your mind of what's happening get it out of your mind

There's nothing immoral going on. Otherwise, the scripture wouldn't make such a point to highlight

Ruth's virtue Boaz and Ruth did not have relations until after the wedding and just to make sure people didn't talk that there weren't any rumors

Boaz has her leave before daybreak and Then gives word maybe to his servants who were there.

Remember this is Where they were working this isn't his private home This is out in the open where they were working he tells probably his servants.

Hey, don't tell anyone she was here He doesn't want her to get a bad reputation verse 14 so she laid at his feet until morning and She arose before one could recognize another then he said do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor

So not only was there no fornication Boaz wanted to make sure there wasn't even an appearance of that This type of thing is reiterated to all of God's people in the

New Testament where the Apostle Paul tells the Thessalonians to avoid all appearances of evil

That is not only should you not Sin, you should not even put yourself into a situation where it might look like you're sinning

This is part of what it looks like to walk Circumspectly in this world walk in wisdom.

Do not take unnecessary risk Don't put yourself into situations where people would get even get the wrong idea

And I know it's typical today that people have the attitude. Well, I don't care what it looks like I know

I know I didn't do anything wrong. Well, maybe you know that but other people don't know that and We want to be careful not to cause other people to stumble.

So that's Partially what's happening here? That's again another New Testament commandment.

Do not cause your brother to stumble So Boaz point being not only cares about his own reputation.

He wants to protect Ruth's reputation Because once a person gets a bad

Bad reputation or as we say once they lose their testimony It's very difficult to get it back

What takes you years to build can be lost in a matter of minutes if not seconds

So Boaz will redeem Ruth. He will act as kinsmen redeemer But there is first still this other relative who is first in line.

So to make a long story short this closer relative Chooses not to fulfill his duty and this brings us into chapter 4

Boaz speaks with the relative the elders of the city were present It's made official that Boaz will marry

Ruth verse 9 of chapter 4 says and Boaz said to the elders and all the people you are witnesses this day that I have

Bought all that was a limilex and that was Killian's and Malin's from the hand of Naomi Moreover Ruth the

Moabitess the widow of Malin I will I have acquired as my wife to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance

That the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate

You are witnesses this day and all the people who are at the gate and the elders said we are

Witnesses the Lord make the woman who is coming to your house like Rachel and Leah The two who built the house of Israel so they offer this blessing may

Ruth Be like Rachel may Ruth be like Leah.

Why because Leah and Rachel According to them according to how the

Israelis looked at it. They helped build the house of Israel By giving birth to the patriarchs and Isn't that what?

Ruth is going to do she is going to give birth to the man who's going to give birth to the man

Who's going to give birth to the man who is going to be the greatest figure? In Old Testament Israel, you know with the exception of maybe

Moses King David will come I guess let's see

King David would be Ruth's great -great -grandson If if that's crazy great -great -grandson something like that So Ruth is going to be like Rachel and Leah So do we see what the

Lord has done? He has taken tragedy the death of Naomi's husband and her two sons.

And what has he done? He's sovereignly brought about this good result Naomi Once empty is now full

Ruth who is once a widow is now married in the kingly line of Judah is being prepared

To bring about not only David But also David's greater son the

Christ verse 13 so Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife and When he went into her the

Lord gave her conception and she bore a son and isn't it interesting that the

Lord Gave her conception. Remember Rachel for a time. She couldn't give birth and Part of how she was treated compared to Leah God blessed

Leah and Leah was having one child after another after another why because the Lord gave her conception

But the Lord many times in the Old Testament it talks about how the Lord closes a woman's womb and You know, we we don't look at it that way today.

Well, there's medical reasons or it just happens well, according to the Bible the Lord gives conception and The Lord closes the womb so make of that what you will verse 14

Then the women said to Naomi blessed be the Lord after Ruth Has this child?

They all bless her. They bless her mother -in -law Naomi blessed be the

Lord Who has not left you this day without a close relative and may his name be famous in Israel and indeed it was and may he be able or may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age

For your daughter -in -law Ruth who loves you Who is better to you than seven sons?

Has born him So what a blessing Ruth is to her mother -in -law

And I think that every person should want to have Other people say that about them that hey you are a blessing to your

Mother, you are a blessing to your father. You are a blessing to your parents because the other option is, you know, you're

You grew you really grieve your parents. Well Ruth was a blessing and That's something that all of God's people should aspire to as the commandment says you shall honor your father and mother

It's not something that's big in this culture It's obviously our culture has kind of discarded the

Ten Commandments even in churches. They're not really emphasized sometimes But Ruth indeed

Was a great blessing So we see the reversal of events back in chapter 1

Naomi wanted to be called Mara remember that She told the Israelites call me

Mara, which means bitter. She thought that God was against her But in actuality

God was for her sometimes it just takes Time instead of seeing

Naomi as a woman cursed by God now They all recognize her as a woman greatly blessed by God and by having this story immortalized in the pages of Scripture The grace shown to Naomi by the

Lord will never be forgotten So back to this picture of Ruth Fitting the description of the virtuous wife where some people know it the

Proverbs 31 woman This is really interesting So we're gonna compare

Ruth to the virtuous wife of Proverbs 31 You can say that Ruth's strength her strength was her godly

Character, I just want to read this comment by Pastor John MacArthur. He writes the virtuous wife of Proverbs 31 is personified by virtuous

Ruth With amazing parallel they share at least eight character traits one wonders

Because this is also a Jewish tradition If King Lemuel's mother he's the one

King Lemuel Wrote Proverbs 31 people wonder Was his mother

Bathsheba who passed the family heritage of Ruth spotless reputation along to David's son

Solomon? Lemuel which means devoted to God could have been a family name for Solomon who then could have penned

Proverbs 31 10 through 31 with Ruth in mind It's an interesting theory

But here are the eight character traits they share both Ruth and the Proverbs 31 woman woman woman

Were devoted to family number one So both

Ruth and the Proverbs 31 woman was devoted to family

They both delighted in their work They were diligent in labor. They were both dedicated to godly speech

They were both dependent upon God They dressed with care They were discreet with men and both delivered blessings

So compare Ruth chapter 4 the things we read about Ruth to Proverbs 31.

We're just going to read 28 through 30 About the virtuous wife. It says her children rise up and call her blessed her husband also and he praises her

Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing but a woman who fears the

Lord She shall be praised Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her own works praise her in the gates one of the blessings

Ruth delivered Was a blessing upon her mother -in -law whom she loved

Naomi lost her sons, but the grandson that Ruth gave her brought her a great joy verse 16

Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom and became a nurse to him.

Also the neighbor Women gave him a name saying there is born

There is a son born to Naomi and they called his name Obed He is the father of Jesse the father of David At which point we should probably remember that great verse on the sovereignty of God and it's great to see how these

Old -testament stories work out bad things work for good You know the story of Joseph obviously is the best example of that but even with Ruth Romans 8 28 says that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love

God To those who are the called according to his purpose and that has certainly happened here with Naomi and Ruth and now for the most significant thing of all the chapter closes with the genealogy an

Old -testament genealogy that later reappears in the nativity account of Jesus the genealogy and Ruth Is from the son of Judah Perez Going nine centuries later to Israel's great

King David Ruth chapter 4 verse 21 says Solomon or Solomon begot

Boaz Boaz begot Obed Obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot

David and this is how the New Testament begins Matthew chapter 1 the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David the son of Abraham Abraham begot

Isaac Isaac begot Jacob Jacob begot Judah and his brothers

Judah begot Perez and Zara by Tamar Perez begot

Hezron and Hezron begot Ram Ram begot Amenadab and Amenadab begot nation and nation begot

Salmon and Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab and Boaz begot

Obed by Ruth Obed begot Jesse and Jesse begot

David the king so we see here that Ruth who was a Moabite is included in Israel's genealogy leading to the

Christ Matthew Henry writes this about Ruth. She was a witness for God to the

Gentile world That he had not utterly forsaken them But that in due time they should become one with his chosen people and partake of his salvation so in conclusion

What's the application if you would love God if you would trust in the

Lord? God has promised to work all things together for good. So whether you have faced tragedy in your life

Like Naomi or whether you feel like you are outside of the grace of God like Ruth would have been seen originally

The lesson is this Don't give up but all of this is a wonderful picture of Christ and the church

Boaz is a type of Christ the kinsmen Redeemer Ruth a picture of Christians being submissive to Boaz just as we should be

Submissive to Christ and if we do that, he will lead us. He will guide us.