Flight RUT01 Part 2

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Skip Heitzig: Hey, quick question. What if the Bible came to life right before your very eyes?
Lenya Heitzig: Join us in Israel April 5th through the 16th in 2027 for an unforgettable experience that will change the way you read your Bible.
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Guest (Male): Now, let's dive into today's teaching from Pastor Skip Heitzig.
Skip Heitzig: The name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. And they dwelt there about 10 years. They're there a decade out of the land in this foreign land of Moab. Then both Mahlon and Chilion also also died. It was a matter of time, I'm I'm guessing, you know, sicko and crybaby, they were sort of sort of destined to a short-lived life, I'm guessing. So they died. And so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. Now, there's a lot of heartache compressed in those three short verses. I can imagine them going to Moab. It was great at first. They settled into a nice four-bedroom tent, cook two camel garage, joined the donkey lodge. You know, they were involved in the community. Things were were looking up for them. They were good. Then one day, Naomi gets a phone call from Moab General Hospital, the emergency room. Ma'am, I hate to tell you this, but your husband Elimelech, my God is King, just croaked. He died. Broke her heart. Sometime goes by, her two children died. Now, this woman is in the position of having lost everything. Her covering her husband, her provider, her children, her sons who could provide in his absence. Now, she has two daughters-in-law, no way to earn living in those days. They've walked away from their land in Bethlehem. They're in danger of losing the inheritance that they would have had in Bethlehem. So Elimelech found a grave where he sought a home. He was seeking his livelihood, and he lost his life. Remember Jesus said, whoever seeks his life shall lose it. Whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Now, at this point, it's good to pause and bring up a point. You're a Christian, you trust the Lord, but life has taken a turn for you. It's not what you thought it would be. It's getting pretty bad. And so you start to gripe and complain, and you want you worry and you fret and you wonder, how could a God of love allow me to go through these things? Stop there and just think of Naomi, bereft of her husband, her two sons, left wondering what's going to happen, crushed by the burdens of life. And here's the principle. The worst that God has for you is better than the best the devil has for you or the world, if you will. The very worst circumstance you could be in trusting the Lord is still better than the very worst or the very best that the world would say, here, this is what you need. This is what you want. Chase after this. God's worst is better than the world's best. Just ask Naomi. She'd tell you. Now, fortunately, the story doesn't end here. Be a drag of a dead that said the end or this became a chapter in the book of Judges. But what we see that in the midst of disobedience, in the midst of leaving the land of the Covenant, in the midst of boys marrying Gentile girls, we find out that God rules. But more than that, God overrules. I love that cuz we make choices and we think, oh no, now it's all over. Look what I did. God overrules all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. Verse 6, let's see the all things. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return from the country of Moab, for she had heard in the country of Moab that the Lord had visited his people by giving them bread. Notice the language of God in this verse. I discovered that when a person goes through deep dark trials, you know, they sort of move away from the commitment, from the Covenant of the Lord. They kind of go to the the land, the new land of their own desires, their own will. It's good. God isn't all that important. You know, they they don't go to church as much, Bible study as much, pray as much, fellowship as much, until there's a famine. Until there's a problem, until there's loss, there's death, there's problems, there's issues. Then suddenly a person gets God conscious. All of a sudden, it's interesting how that works. Start seeking the Lord. They get a divorce. They start seeking the Lord. The bottom drops out financially. They start seeking the Lord. David said in Psalm 119, before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your word. It is those trials that God uses to get our attention. Famine gets our attention. They're in their retribution phase, but the retribution phase was, as you remember, followed by the repentance phase as God got their attention. Therefore, because she heard about what God was doing in Bethlehem, therefore she went out from the place where she was and her two daughters-in-law with her. And they went on the way to return to the land of Judah. Now, at this point in the book, and I know I'm kind of moving slow, don't worry, I'll pick it up. But again, there's only 85 verses. At this point in the story, what happens next will be one of the most decisive moments in world history. I realize that's it's an incredible statement to say because you're thinking a few women in Moab going through a bad time, having a little discussion. That's one of the most decisive moments in history. Yeah. In fact, I'll do you one better. If you were to look at all that was going on around the world at the time, there were some pretty significant things occurring at this very moment. This very moment, an era called the Neolithic era was coming to an end, the primitive era of making and using stones as primary tools. It was giving way to the Bronze Age, the early stage of the Bronze Age into the middle Bronze Age. The age of Greece was starting to happen at that time. Over in China, there was a dynasty, a very advanced dynasty called the Zhou Dynasty that was that was just sort of being settled. The Mayan Dynasty in Central and South America was was beginning to flourish. Now, you'd say those are important events on the world stage. Ah, but what happens here in this little conversation in Moab tops all of those because if the right decision isn't made here at this moment, you might as well go tell the Magi not to come to Bethlehem. What do I mean? What I mean is that Jesus is born in Bethlehem, right? He's born in Bethlehem cuz it's called the city of David, his ancestor. It's called the city of David cuz David was born in Bethlehem. David was born in Bethlehem cuz his dad Jesse was born in Bethlehem. Jesse was born in Bethlehem because his dad Obed was born in Bethlehem, and Obed was born in Bethlehem because Ruth and Boaz had Obed in Bethlehem. And because Ruth said to her daughter uh Ruth said to her mother-in-law, wherever you go, I will go. Your God will be my God. Your people will be my people. It's because of that decision that the Magi later on can visit Bethlehem because the Messiah will be born in that city. So verse 11, Naomi said to them, turn back my daughters. Why will you go with me? Are there still sons in my womb that they may be your husbands? So Orpah, one of the daughter-in-law said, bye-bye. She went back home to Moab. Go down to verse 16, but Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people. Your God my God. Where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. The Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts you and me. What a commitment this young gal is making. It's a very steadfast commitment. I'm ready to follow you and die wherever you end up. That's pretty steadfast. It's a steadfast commitment. But it was more than a steadfast commitment. It was a spiritual commitment because the word that is used in this book is Yahweh, the God of Covenant. He what she is doing is saying, I am willing to leave my people, my family, my religion of worshiping Chemosh. And I'm ready to follow you and your God will be my God. This is a conversion that takes place. So they arrive back in Bethlehem. It's been 10 years, but they still recognize Naomi. They go, oh look at that. That's that that lady uh pleasantness. I recognize her. Where's her husband? My God is King. He's not with her. Where's her sons? They're not with her. But she's she's in tow with this young girl who's not Israelite. She's Moabites.
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Skip Heitzig: Verse 20, but she said to them, do not call me Naomi. Don't call me pleasantness. Call me bitterness, Mara. For the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. It 's amazing when bad things happen that we blame God. Now, God is sovereign. God did allow this to happen. It was under the sovereignty of God, but but by the way, I just want to let you know something. In case you didn't know, every person who's ever been born so far dies. Whether middle age or old age or young age, everybody has an expiration day. We just don't know when it is. But it's funny how we sort of know that, but then when it happens, like I can't believe God allowed that person to die because I don't know. I thought they'd live forever and ever and ever. I mean, I've even been with people whose 99 year old grandmother died and they're they're angry at God. I'm going, really? You want her to live to what 130? I don't think she would enjoy that experience. But she 's back and she 's angry. She's better and she's don't even call me pleasant anymore. My new name is bitterness. I went out full verse 21. The Lord brought me home again empty. Why do you call me pleasantness, Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me? So Naomi returned and Ruth the Moabites, her daughter-in-law with her, who returned from the country of Moab. Now, they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. The Holy Spirit puts that there for a very specific reason which I'll show you in a moment. So they come back. It's mid to late April. That's when the barley harvest starts. That's chapter one. Chapter two is romance. It's it's love's response. Ruth will meet her future husband Boaz. Do you remember the first day, first night that you met your spouse? Do you remember it? Can you think back? It's good for you to bring that memory up from time to time, frequently actually. It's a good memory for me. I'm sure it was a good memory for you. I 'm sure you didn't say, I don't go, get out of here. There was an attraction. It's why you're together. So it's good to remember what drew you together. So as life goes on, you won't allow things to draw you apart. Just remember that attraction. Well, you didn't turn out the way I thought he'd turn out. Well, opposites attract, so you're going to have to get used to some of that adjustment. Nonetheless, verse one, there was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth of the family of Elimelech. His name was Boaz. So Ruth the Moabites said to Naomi, please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor. So she said to her, go, my daughter. Now, this is what's going on in in the Old Testament law of the Jews. There was in Leviticus chapter 23 the laws of the harvest, and there was a uh a welfare law that God instituted known as gleaning. And gleaning was the harvesters go through and take the crops at harvest time, but they don't go through a second time. They only go through once. They kind of move quickly with their paces. And when you do that, you leave a lot of stuff behind. In fact, this kind of farming where you would speedily go to harvest crops, you could sometimes leave as much as 25% of the harvestable crop in the field. God said, leave it that way. Don't go back and get the rest. Let the poor of the land go in and glean whatever is left and take it home for themselves. It was a beautiful gracious way of God caring for the poor. It was a welfare law. So the poor could glean in the fields according to Leviticus chapter 23. Then she left verse three and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. Now, watch this sentence. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who is of the family of Elimelech. That's what it seemed like. It seemed like it was it was happenstance. It just happened that way. It was just a circumstance. It's just that she goes out in Bethlehem. There's lots of land owners, lots of fields just happened to go to that field. It didn't just happen. It seemed like it just happened, but God is over ruling. Now, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, the Lord be with you. And they answered him, the Lord bless you. Boy, it does not sound like any of the work crews I've ever been on. My dad was a builder, and he would have me in the summer work on some of those crews, and there wasn't this kind of language. Uh it wasn't God bless you. It was God something else you usually. What a great work crew to be on. You know, the boss comes and and he says, the Lord be with you. And they say, God bless you, man. And then in verse five, he says to the workers, hey, who's this chick? Whose young woman is this? Now, back to the language of the work crews. Boaz obviously is a spiritual man, right? I mean, for the boss to come to the fields and invoke the name of God, God be with you, he says to his workers. God bless you is the response. He is a spiritual centered man. He becomes the husband of Ruth. Gals, if your husband hunting and I would say you probably shouldn't be that way, but you probably are anyway. If you're hunting for a husband, make sure that he is God oriented. That he loves the Lord, that his greatest focus and it's not compartmentalized. Oh, praise the Lord. God bless you and I'm at church, but then when I'm with the work crew, it's foul language. Get somebody who doesn't live the compartmentalized life, but it's the same. That's why it takes time to watch and observe. How are they at work? How are they with their friends? How are they with their family? Do they really love the Lord? That's what she was after, and that 's what the Lord will provide for her. Now, no notice back in verse two, Ruth said to Naomi, please, notice this word, please, that's a gracious term. We don't say it enough. Please let me go to the field and glean heads of grain after him in whose sight I may find favor, not knowing who that would be. And look in verse seven to Boaz. She says, please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. And then verse 10, so she fell on her face. Ouch. Now, that just means she got down as a a term a way a a showing of humility and respect. It was often done. She fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, why have I found favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? But listen to the sweetness. It's always please. Please. Please, mother-in-law, can I go work out in the fields and sweat all day in the hot sun, please? Please, Boaz, can I work and labor as a poor person in your fields and glean? Now, what if your kids came to you and said, mom, dad, can I please clean my room? And then after that, can I can I please straighten out the garage? Then can I go back in the backyard and can I please clean up after the dogs and please? You would have you you you'd need therapy for about a month. What in the world got into my kids? Well, maybe the Holy Spirit. But here's what I chose us. This graciousness is still in her voice. She has lost her husband. She's lost her father-in-law. She's lost her brother-in-law. She has left her home. It's been a long journey, and all of those bitter experiences has not robbed her of a sweetness of spirit. That's unusual. It's awesome. The sorrows of the past haven't robbed her of the pleasantness and the graciousness in the present. Beautiful beautiful testimony. Now, compare her to another woman you know about in the Bible in John chapter uh five, the woman at the four and five, the woman at the well of Samaria. Jesus goes to Samaria. John chapter four, sees a woman who has had five husbands, is living with a man is not her husband, and she has she's just weathered with resentment and bitterness and the kind of language she uses. She's just beat up by life, and it let she let life get the best of her. Compare her with Ruth, totally different spirit. So now I'm turning the corner. We talked about looking for the right husband. Husbands, guys, if you're a wife hunting, look for a gal with the right attitude. Well, I'm looking for a chick that's hot. And she's got to look awesome. That's where we place our focus. A woman who fears the Lord shall be praised. Every part of our physique will change rapidly. There's a law of the universe, folks. It's called gravity. And we all lose. So Peter says, 1st Peter chapter three, it's not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. He says to women, no, your beauty should come from within you. It's the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God. Now, in verse 11, Boaz answered and said to her, it has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband and how you left your father and mother in the land of your birth and you have come to a people whom you did not know before. Your reputation precedes you. I've heard of your kindness. You're the talk around town. Your attitude, your commitment. The Lord repay your work and a full reward. It's one of my favorite verses in scripture, certainly in this book. A full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel under whose wings you have come for refuge. You've lost it all. You didn't go back home and take refuge at your parents' house. You took the risk. You took the step of faith. You went into a new land, a new God. But you have come under the care, the covenant care. And the word he uses is or is used in the sentence here is Yahweh. The word Lord, notice it's capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. Whenever you find that in the Old Testament, that capital Lord is a reflection of the Hebrew tetragrammaton for consonant Yahweh or WH YH or VH Yahweh. It's the covenant name of God. You've left home. You've come under the the shelter, the shadow, the protection of Yahweh, the God of Israel.
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