Shabbat Shalom everyone. Please open your Bibles to the book of Ruth this Shabbat meeting. We are going to read today from Ruth chapter 2 and verse 18 into chapter 3 and verse 5. Ruth is one of the most beautiful books that teaches us about the ways of God's redemption and how God can take a person who is so far away without any hope and how God is able to redeem, to deliver a person. And Ruth is one of the most wonderful books that speaks about the kinsman redeemer. In Hebrew we call it the Goel, the one that in type we see here, the Messiah, Yeshua, who came from heaven to redeem us.

I'm reading Ruth chapter 2 from verse 18. And she took it up and went into the city. And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. And she brought forth and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today? And where wroughtest thou? Blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she answered her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought and said, The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz. And Naomi said unto her, Blessed be he of the Lord who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead.

And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next king's men. And Ruth the Moabite said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with the maidens that they meet thee not in any other field. For she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, To glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest, And dwell with her mother-in-law. Ruth chapter 3, in verse 1, Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

And thou is not Boaz our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing-floor. Wash thyself, therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor. But make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he layeth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie. And thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down, and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me, I will do. And I'm going to stop here in verse 5.

Today, beloved brothers and sisters, I would like to deal with this passage. Now let me remind you, some of you who haven't been with us in the beginning of the Bible study of the book of Ruth. It is amazing that the book of Ruth is so full of information for us to see the way in which God is dealing with his own people. You see, the theme, really, of the book of Ruth is the providence of God. You know, God is in control over the affairs of this world. Specifically, he is in control over the affairs of his very own people. Those that have accepted his son Jesus the Messiah.

Those that have embraced him as their Lord and Savior. There is nothing that God is unaware of in the life of his own people. Well, here is a family. A father, a mother, and two sons left the land of Israel, left the city of Bethlehem, and went to the land of Moab. They lived there for 10 years. The men, Elimelech, died. The two sons, Machlon and Kilayon, died after they have already married two women. One by the name of Ruth, the other one by the name of Opa. Three of the men died. Now, Naomi, the mother, heard that there is no longer famine in the land of Israel, in the city of Bethlehem.

And she began to go towards the homeland, the land of Judah, in the city of Bethlehem. The two women, who were Moabitish women, have began the journey to go back with Naomi. But as they were going on the way, they were standing in a crossroad, and Naomi told them, "Go back to your own land, why will you come with me? And if you are going to come with me, will I have more children to give you to marry them?" And they had to make a decision. Orpa made a decision, and she went back to her own gods. She went back to her own home, and she never mentioned anymore in the word of God.

On the other hand, Ruth made a decision. And you remember this beautiful statement, and if you bear with me as I'm rereading it. Ruth said, "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people. Your God, my God. Where thou diest, will I die. And there will I be buried. So to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me." Ruth made a decision to follow the God of Israel, the God of Naomi. And now they came back to the Promised Land, and as we have studied, if you remember in the previous message, we find out that they have arrived to Bethlehem, and Ruth began to glean in one of the fields that belonged to the family of Naomi and her husband Elimelech.

And lo and behold, she met this wonderful man by the name of Boaz. His Hebrew name Boaz means, "In him there is strength." He was a man of valor. He was a godly man. He was a man that honored the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And if you remember, even though the experience of the book of Ruth happened in the time of the judges, when every man did that which was right in his own mind, in his own will, yet there was a remnant who loved the God of Israel, and they followed after him. And Boaz was one of these men who loved the God of Israel, him and his servants.

And then Boaz, as he was the owner of this field, who does he find out that coming to his own field? This woman by the name of Ruth. She was this Moabitish woman, poor woman, who returned with her mother-in-law Naomi back to the land of Israel. She had nothing, and she ended up coming to this very field that belonged to Boaz. And lo and behold, Boaz showed his love and kindness towards this woman by the name of Ruth. Moabitish woman. Notice what it says in verse 14, 15, 16, and 17, which we've covered. He gave her so much, you can see, the care for Ruth. He told her in verse 14, Boaz said unto her at mealtime, Come hither, eat of this bread, and dip in a morsel, in a vinegar.

And then she sat there by the reapers, and he reached, and he gave her corn, and he met her need. He showed kindness to Ruth. And then he said to her, in verse 15, when she was rising up, Boaz commended his young man. He said to the young man, let her glean among the sheaves. Don't reproach her. Verse 16, let fall also some handful of purpose. In other words, give her, provide for her. Don't give her hard time as she's gleaning this woman by the name of Ruth. In fact, what it says here, in verse 17, she gleaned in the field until even. And she bit out all what she have gleaned.

And it was about an eipah of barley. And that's where we stopped in our previous ministry meeting together in chapter 2 and verse 17. Well, in this portion, we see now some of the counsel that Naomi had given to her daughter-in-law by the name of Ruth. First of all, notice what happened in verse 18 of Ruth chapter 2. Ruth, it says in verse 18, she took up whatever she gleaned and she went into the city. This is the city of Bethlehem. That's where she and her mother-in-law lived. So she's coming out of the field with this eipah of barley in her arm. And now she's bringing it to the city of Bethlehem to her mother-in-law Naomi.

And two things we find out. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned and she brought forth and she gave it unto her what she had reserved after she was sufficed. You see, two things. Number one, Naomi saw so much gleaning that Ruth have done. And then there was so much left over from the food that Boaz had given to her earlier and she gave it to her mother-in-law. She saw and she also received from Ruth what Boaz had given to her. Now can you imagine what went through her mind of Naomi? She said, how is it possible that this Ruth, a Moabitish woman, was sent now to glean in the field?

How is it possible that she brought so much barley with her home? She was amazed and she immediately noticed something is going on here. This women have gleaned so much, that means that the field where she had been at was a field that someone cared for her to provide for her so much food. Secondly, she had left over of the food that Boaz had given to her and Naomi received it from Ruth and she was overwhelmed. She says, really, what you can see here, that something was going on in the fact that Ruth brought so much back home after one day of gleaning in some field.

Now, Naomi didn't know whose field it was, and that's why in verses 19 to verse 23, Naomi began to question Ruth and to give her some advice. And you notice the questions. I want you to notice, first of all, in verse 19, and her mother-in-law, this is Naomi, she gave her two questions. She said unto her, where hast thou gleaned today? And secondly, where wroughtest thou? She asked her these two questions. Where was the place that you were gleaning today? Because she saw that she brought so much of the barley home, she was overwhelmed. She said, really, Ruth, where did you glean that you brought so much? And secondly, she said to her, where wroughtest thou?

The Hebrew word is efo asit, or where did you do what you did? So much work, so much food that you brought us home. And then immediately she noticed that. That's why she says in verse 19b, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. You know, it's such a wonderful thing to see that Naomi understood that something had happened here. Here's a Moabitish woman who comes all the way from the land of Moab, going to glean in the land of Judah, in the field of one of the Jewish people. And she was overwhelmed with the fact that she brought so much. And that's why she said, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee.

And it is interesting that she noticed the fact that this person who cared for Ruth must have been a person that his heart was open to this lady by the name of Ruth. And she showed unto her mother-in-law, it says in verse 19, with whom she had wrought. And she said, the man's name with whom I wrought today, his name is Boaz. Again, I would like to remind you, beloved brothers and sisters, that Boaz is a type of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. His name, Boaz, it's two Hebrew words, Bo means in him, Az means strength, in him, there is strength. His name and this person is one of the most beautiful types of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

You know, you and I can see ourselves just the same like Ruth. We were far from God. We had no hope in ourselves. And we came and we gleaned, you might say, we have heard the message of the Gospel. We have heard the message of the love of God through the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And we have been exposed to this man by the name of Jesus, by the name of Yeshua. Who is a fulfillment of this type, the man that is called here Boaz. And Naomi said, blessed be he that did take knowledge of you. He is a blessed man indeed. So in verse 20, notice that here, we find out that Naomi blesses now the Lord, Jehovah.

She said, and Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, blessed be he of the Lord, who has not left of his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, the man is a near kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. Now verse 20 is an interesting verse because we see that there is a change that happened in Naomi's heart. If you remember, when she returned from the land of Moab, and she had arrived to the land of Israel, back to the city of Bethlehem, she could not say, blessed be the Lord, as she has said here. When she came back, she was so grieved because of the way that she had experienced so much trials in her life.

In the past, she had sensed the judgment of the Lord upon her. But now things are changing. And she see the providence of God. Not only that he have disciplined me when we have gone away from the Lord. Now he is blessing me. And so you see, in verse 20, she is not anymore saying what she said in chapter 1. Notice what she said in verse 13. The hand of the Lord is gone against me. Notice in verse 20 and 21 of chapter 1. She said, "Call me not Naomi, but call me Marah, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me." Verse 21, "I went out full, and the Lord had brought me home again empty." "Why then you call me Naomi, seeing that the Lord has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?" You see, in chapter 1, when she just returned from Moab to the city of Bethlehem, she in a sense felt that the Lord went against her.

But now things have changed. And she see the providence of God. And now God is providing for her and opening the door to restore her and to bless her. And you know, this is so important, beloved brothers and sisters, even for us as believers. When we turn away from the Lord, He loves us. Whom the Lord loves, He chastens us. And He scourges every son whom He received. And sometimes He has to discipline us. But everything is in view of the blessing for His own people. And so that's why now you can see in chapter 2, Naomi is no longer saying, "Don't call me Naomi, but call me Marah, bitter." She doesn't say anymore, "The Almighty have dealt very bitterly with me." She doesn't say anymore, "The Lord has testified against me." She doesn't say anymore, "The Almighty has afflicted me." Now she said something completely different.

Let me read it again, verse 20, chapter 2. She said, "Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be He of the Lord, who has not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead." Who were the living? Naomi and Ruth. Who were the dead? Elimelech, Machlon, and Kilion. God shows His blessing now towards the living and the dead by introducing to them the man by the name of Boaz. I want you also to notice that she used the word "kindness." The Hebrew word is chesed. You know the kindness of God? There is no one as kind and as gracious as our Lord Jesus Yeshua, the Messiah.

Turn with me to the book of Titus for a second. Titus, chapter 3, verse 4. The apostle Paul Shaul wrote to Titus, "But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior towards men appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." You see, Paul wrote the very same thoughts of the kindness of God. You know, brothers and sisters, there is no one that is as kind as our blessed Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. There is no one that is as gracious as our Lord Jesus Yeshua, the Messiah.

When man is going to stand one day before God, no one will be able to say to God, "You have not been kind to me." God is going to tell us exactly what Paul said to Titus, that God's kindness had been proven by the very fact that He had sent His Son. After that the kindness and the love of God our Savior towards men appeared. When did the kindness of God appear? It appeared when our Lord Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, came to this world and gave His life a ransom for many. He died on a cross that you and I, who are sinners by nature, if we only believe on Him, will receive forgiveness of sins.

Here we see Ruth, a Moabitish woman, who had no hope as far as the Bible was concerned in the midst of the nation of Israel. She was not part of that people of Israel, and yet Boaz showed her the kindness of God by the way He treated her. And Naomi recognized it. And now Naomi, instead of speaking hard against the Lord, "Oh, He dealt with me so harshly." Now Naomi said, "Blessed be He of the Lord who has not left off His kindness to the living and to the dead." God has now showed to Naomi that He is going to provide for her a way to be restored and redeemed.

And notice what Naomi is saying also in verse 20. "The second point we find out, that now she said to Ruth, she says unto her, "This man is a near kin unto us. He is one of our next kinsmen." "You know Ruth, this man that you have gleaned in his field by the name of Boaz, he is one who is able to redeem us. He is our next kinsman." He is our next kinsman. That comes from the Hebrew word Goel, a redeemer. He is the one that can redeem us. He can buy back up land. He can now help us to have the name of Elimelech, the name of your husband that died.

Ruth, he can now produce and provide for us an extension to our family. You see, when these two women came back home, they couldn't have now any more extension of their family. Elimelech died, Machlon died, Kilayon died. Well, how will they have any children? How will their names continue on among the people of Israel? Well, when they found out that Boaz was one of the family members, now Naomi understood that it is the Lord in his providence that is working about the way where we can be redeemed. We can receive back our land and we may be able to have children through this man that will extend the name of the family.

Now, turn with me, please, to Deuteronomy chapter 25 for a moment. Let me show you something. There is a law that God has introduced to the people of Israel among our people that is a law that was to be acted upon in the history of the people of Israel. You see, sometime there may be a situation among the tribes of Israel that someone may not be able to have children because their husband died and they will not be able to have their name extended among the people of Israel. So, God introduced a law. And it's called the law of the kinsman redeemer. Deuteronomy chapter 25, look what the Bible says.

Verse 5: "If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger. her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her." Notice that, brothers and sisters. This was a law among our nation, Israel, long before the Messiah Jesus came. And the law was to maintain the name of every family among the people of Israel. Now, the case of Deuteronomy 25 and verse 5: "If a man had a wife, and then he died, and they didn't have children as yet, well, what to do?" "Well, again, one of them died." He said, "I have no child, the wife of the dead is not going to be married outside." "No, there is a responsibility of her." "Husband's brother shall go in unto her, take her to him to be a wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her." And why is it?

Notice in verse 6: "And it shall be that the firstborn that she beareth shall succeed the name of his brother, which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel." See, God had a concern, not only for the tribes of Israel, but also for every family from among the people of Israel. God did not want that the family's name will be erased. And therefore, he provided a means whereby the extension of the family name will happen. And so, Naomi knows that. And Naomi says now to Ruth, she says, "You know what? This man is near of kin. He's a family. He's a relative. He's one of our next kinsmen." And here is the Hebrew word "goel" or "goaleinu." It's a beautiful name.

And they simply mean someone who is able to buy back our property. Someone who is able to bring our names back into line. Someone who is able to redeem us, to buy us back. And again, beloved brothers and sisters, what do you think Yeshua and Jesus have done? He bought us back. You see, we belong to God in two ways. We belong to God by creation. Because God created the universe. And He created mankind. All human beings belong to God. But there was a problem. Sin happened. And sin separates us from God. And because of sin, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

So God had to buy us back. That's where you get the word "redemption." He had to redeem us. And how did He redeem us? He had to pay a price. He sent His Son to die on a Roman cross. And by His death, He was penalized that you and I who deserve to die, we will never die because we have accepted by faith the work that Jesus, Yeshua, the Messiah have done. And that's what Naomi understood here. She, of course, was speaking about Boaz redeeming her possession and extending her family through Ruth. But nevertheless, beloved brothers and sisters, the word "redeemer" mentioned here about Boaz.

It's a picture of our blessed Lord, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. Let me read one more verse in Isaiah, chapter 59, verse 20. Isaiah predicted the Redeemer that was going to come in chapter 59 and verse 20. Listen to what he said: "And the Redeemer, Hagoel, shall come to Zion unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, sayeth the Lord. And as for me, this is my covenant with them, sayeth the Lord. My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed. And out of the mouth of thy seed, sayeth the Lord, from henceforth and forever." Speaking prophetically about the Redeemer, the Mashiach, the Messiah, Yeshua, who would come.

"The Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, sayeth the Lord." And again, the Hebrew word is Degoel, the Redeemer, the Messiah, will come. And so we see here in typology that Boaz is a picture of our Lord, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. He is near kin unto us. He is one of our next kinsmen. And so back to Ruth. And to chapter 2. In verse 21, Ruth tells Naomi what Boaz said unto her. Notice again, Ruth, she is again called the Moabites. Even though she is now believing in the God of Israel, she has embraced the people of Israel. She is following Naomi, her mother-in-law.

She is serving in the fields of Boaz. She is still called a Moabites. Why? Because it's always to remind us where she came from. The Moabites had no hope when it's come to entering into the congregation of the people of Israel. And it reminds us of the grace that had been provided unto her. So Ruth, the Moabites said, He said unto me also, in addition to what you have done for me. He said, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men until they have ended all my harvest. Stay close to the young men. And if they glean, you glean with them. And you can continually come to the field.

Come again, and again, and again. And take what you need. Boaz has been so kind. Stay, as it says to her. You can still continue with the young men. Now notice he used the word young men. In Hebrew the word is Ne'arim. Ne'arim is those young men who served Boaz in his field. You keep fast by my young men. That's what Ruth is saying to Naomi that Boaz said to her. But notice what Naomi, who already understood, who Boaz is a potential redeemer of her family and her possession. And now Naomi, in verse 22, encouraged her to stay, not by the young men, but by the young maidens.

And not to go to glean in another field. Now it is interesting. You see, Naomi was thinking, you know, Ruth is a Moabitish, but a good looking young lady that maybe other men might be interested in her. And so instead of telling her, oh yeah, you follow his instructions. Stay by the young men. Look what it says in verse 22. And Naomi said unto Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens. The Hebrew word is Ne'arot or Ne'arotav. His maidens. Not his young men, but his maidens. That they meet thee not in another field. You see, in other words, don't stay away from the very same field of Boaz.

Don't go with the young men, but stay with the young maidens. Because Naomi had in mind already the potential relationship between Boaz and Ruth in order for Ruth through her and Boaz the future extension of the family name. Now, notice the expression again, they will not be found in another field. I mentioned it already because in chapter 2 and verse 8, Boaz already said to Ruth, Go not to glean in another field. Boaz said, you stay by my field. And spiritually speaking, brothers and sisters, The best place of blessing is to stay at the field of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. You know, sometimes we are trying to glean from here all sorts of views and all sorts of opinion of people.

And we listen to so many things and people's opinion. And instead of sticking to the simple ABC of the word of God, we are trying to find all kinds of fields. And Boaz said to Ruth, you stick around by my field. Naomi said to Ruth, you stick by Boaz field. And you and I can say to each other, The best field to be here is right here at the word of God, where the Lord Yeshua is the center and the object of God's word. He is the one that is able to nourish us and minister to our hearts and encourage us as we walk with the Lord.

We need, like Boaz, like Naomi, to encourage each other, to stay close to the place where we can be nourished and fed and encouraged by the word of God. We should stay close to Yeshua's field, where he can feed us and encourage us in our lives as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. So now notice at the end, chapter 2 and verse 23. Look at the conclusion of this chapter and we're going to move on to the first five verses of chapter 3. It says that she kept fast by the maidens. She listened to her mother-in-law. She stayed close by the young maidens. And then it says to glean, and notice that, unto the end of the barley harvest and also of the wheat harvest.

And she dwelled with her mother-in-law, with Naomi. In other words, every morning Ruth got up. She went to the field of Boaz. She kept fast by the maidens of Boaz. And you know for how long? It says here, all the way to the end of the barley harvest, and yet all the way to the end of the wheat harvest. Now the barley harvest began sometime about March, April. And it ends about May, about two and a half months. And then from about May on, April, May, to June, July, we have the wheat harvest. In Hebrew we call it Ketzir HaSeorim. This is the barley harvest.

And the wheat harvest is called Ketzir HaChitim. It's two periods of time in the history of our people in Israel where there is the gleaning of the barley and the gleaning of the wheat. The barley began in the Feast of Firstfruits, immediately after Passover. And the wheat harvest began in the Feast of Pentacles, Shavuot. And so really what you have is about four or five months where Ruth was faithfully getting up in the morning, going to glean, coming back home. Getting up in the morning, going to glean, coming back home. And she had been so blessed in a field that belonged to the man by the name of Boaz who had helped make sure that she gets enough food so that she can bring to her mother-in-law Naomi in the city of Bethlehem.

Imagine two poor women who had nothing left have been taken care of all along. This is so beautiful here to see how faithful Ruth had been and how obedient she was to her mother-in-law. You know, we learn here the lesson of submission. You know how wonderful it is for us as believers to be submissive to the Lord, submissive to the elders, those who are counseling us and give us a godly advice. We are exhorted in the Word of God to learn from the older one and to be submissive to them because blessings are flowing out of submissiveness. If you turn with me to the New Testament, to 1 Peter 5, let me tell you what Peter wrote there to the younger sisters.

In verse 5, listen to that, beautiful to learn. He said, likewise ye younger, submit yourself unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility for God resisteth the proud but he giveth grace unto the humble. Verse 6, humble yourself unto the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your cares upon him for he careth for you. Beautiful verse to encourage us to learn submissiveness and here we find out how Ruth was submissive to her mother-in-law and she learned from her mother-in-law counsel that she gave her and then lo and behold she was providing barley then she was providing wheat for those 4-5 months.

Boaz and Ruth must have kind of got to know each other a little bit better. In fact, according to Jewish customs, it takes about 3 months before a person who is from the Gentile world who become a believer in the God of Israel could be reckoned as a person who is adopting now the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So, you can see that all this time of 3-4-5 months that was taken by Ruth working in the field of Boaz that by that time they must have known each other a little bit better and they must have been exposed to each other and I'm sure Boaz was observing Ruth and he must have perhaps falling in love with her.

We don't necessarily read it in the text but let me tell you, a woman such as Ruth who is going to be working in one field for 4-5 months faithfully after she left her family, she left her nation, she left her gods, she adopted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. She had been so blessing to her mother-in-law, she had been such a testimony to all those people of Israel as a woman of God and Boaz must have watched it in her as she had been working up to the end of the barley harvest and then up to the end of the wheat harvest probably by the time July had arrived almost now you can see we are getting closer towards the fall seasons of the feasts of Israel and she is still working in the field of Boaz.

Now in Ruth chapter 3 you can see the providence of God there and how Naomi understood the providence of God and she is now following through after all these months giving counsel to Ruth so in verses 1-5 Naomi has a plan for Ruth and for Boaz so in verse 1 Naomi wishes rest for Ruth and Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee? that it may be well with thee? now here that word for rest is the Hebrew word menucha now she doesn't mean to rest like a nap in the afternoon or some rest at night the word rest here is in relationship to marriage when she said shall I not seek rest for thee?

she meant shall I not seek for you to ultimately get married and establish a family if you notice this expression in chapter 1 in verse 9 she wished this already for Ruth in chapter 1 of Ruth in verse 9 the Lord grant you that ye may find rest each of you in the house of her husband you see she already wanted the rest for Ruth earlier but Ruth did not want to have rest among her own people the Moabitish people who worshipped idols she wanted to find rest with the people of the true and living God so now in chapter 3 Naomi is again saying to Ruth you see I wish you rest and here is the opportunity for you to finally get married and have the name of your husband and your father-in-law Elimelech remain among the people of Israel and so she said to her daughter-in-law shall I not seek rest for you that it may be well with thee?

I wish you to get married I wish you to have a family I wish you not to live as a widow the rest of your life that's what she is really saying to her don't forget that Ruth was much younger than Naomi the rabbis believe that Naomi must have been at about 80 years of age and that Ruth by that time had been about 40 years of age and so she is still a younger woman to have a family and so Naomi is saying I want you to have a family I want you to be well and she says this beloved brothers and sisters on a basis of what we read in Deuteronomy chapter 25

where he does say if brethren dwell together and one of them die and have no child the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger but her husband's brother in unto her and take her to him to her wife and perform the duty of the husband's brother unto her she is still saying here that she wishes her daughter-in-law to get married so now in verse 2 Naomi is moved by the providential circumstances and pointing to Boaz as the one that is going to be the kinsman redeemer so notice what she is saying in verse 2 and now is not Boaz our kindred with whose maidens you were behold he winnoweth barley tonight

in the threshing floor and as she says you see Boaz is our relative and you know what he is doing right now he is now winnowing the barley tonight in the threshing floor the threshing floor in Hebrew we call it goren is where after you gather all the harvest and you bring it now from the field there is what you call it a threshing floor where you divide the chaff from the barley and from the wheat so how you do so you go on a certain hill and you have a flat space there you would lift up the barley and the wheat and the chaff will be taken away by the wind and only the

barley and the wheat will remain so at the end of the season Boaz was now by the threshing floor he is there on that mountain on that hill and he is winnowing he is separating the chaff from the wheat and the barley and he is preparing the barley and the wheat to be taken to the barn he has been so blessed now you see he is now doing the end of the season have arrived preparing himself now to separate the chaff from the grain and so she is saying to them he is right now in the threshing floor so listen what she is telling her now in verse 3 Naomi give this advice to root

she is saying wash yourself therefore anoint thee put your raiment upon thee and go down to the floor that is to the threshing floor to the goren and then don't make yourself known unto him and to the men this is to Boaz until he shall have done eating and drinking now remember we are talking about things that have happened here more than 3,000 years ago 3,300 years ago in a biblical account biblical instruction that we have here in scripture Naomi was not telling her daughter-in-law daughter-in-law to do anything wrong there is no sexual thoughts here at all whatsoever Naomi has in mind that Boaz is the kinsman redeemer the one who is able to redeem

Ruth to redeem Naomi to buy back their property and to fulfill the husband brother command that God had given to our people of all the people of Israel so she gave her the counsel how to go about it and approach him and have him understand their need so she said wash yourself she said anoint yourself she said put on your raiment and go down to the threshing floor now the thought here to connect this with a verse that is found in 2 Samuel chapter 12 please I don't know if you remember but when David's child died you remember David had a child with Bathsheba and God was going to take away David's child because David

should not have this child with Bathsheba and in chapter 12 of 2 Samuel when he found out that a child died you notice it says verse 19 when David saw his servants whispered David perceived that a child was dead therefore David said unto his servant is the child dead and they said he is dead then you notice what David did David David arose up from the earth and he did the very same three things that Naomi is saying to Ruth to do he washed first of all himself number one secondly he anointed himself and thirdly he changed his apparel and he came into the house of the Lord and he worshipped notice those three things

he washed himself he anointed himself and he changed his garment because he was mourning he was mourning the fact that his child is sick and may be taken away from him but once God took away this child from him then David now went and he worshipped the Lord but before he went to worship the Lord he did three things he washed himself he anointed himself and he changed his apparel you see we learn from here beloved brothers and sisters the same thoughts we have here in this third chapter of the book of Ruth and verse three Naomi is standing to root number one wash yourself number two anoint yourself number three thy raiment in Hebrew

the word is simla put your dress on and it may very well be that Ruth was still wearing the clothes of her mourning of her widowhood i don't know if you've ever been in the middle east but there is a time when there is a loss of a loved one of a loss of a child or a husband the women will dress with black clothes is a garment that will express their mourning and especially here a widow a woman whose husband passed away yes some months passes by of course but she may have been dressing in the clothes of mourning reminding her of her husband who passed away and now Ruth has to learn that

she can now start her life afresh with a future ahead of her and so she says to her you know wash yourself anoint yourself the anointing may very well be with some ointment or maybe olive oil that had been used for anointing in biblical time and then put your raiment in other words get your dress on the Hebrew word simla a dress that is no longer a dress of mourning just the same like in the time of David he got up he washed himself he anointed himself he put different clothes and he went to the presence of the Lord to worship the Lord here now Ruth is being counseled by Naomi her mother-in-law here is

this one is not Boaz our kinder our kinsman redeemer go aleinu here is the way to go about it you are going to go to appeal to him to be the kinsman redeemer and so she said to her in verse 3 wash anoint put raiment on and get thee down to the threshing floor and so beloved brothers and sisters look at this she continued to give her counsel and she said don't speak to the man until he have done eating and drinking that's why some people think see Boaz was drunk you know Boaz was not an ungodly man eating and drinking simply mean a celebration after the gleaning of all the harvest is in the

winnowing is being done even the threshing floor can you imagine what a celebration it is you know when our people celebrate the feast of first fruits they come into the presence of the Lord with singing because God provided the early gleaning of the harvest and then later on when we have the feast of weeks again the celebration because all the provision of the Lord and there is a rejoicing there is eating and drinking that does not mean eating and drinking to become drunk it's just rejoicing over the provision of the Lord and so here she said don't reveal yourself to him until he have done eating and drinking and now notice verse 4 he said

and it shall be when he lies down that thou shall mark the place where he shall lie and thou shall go in and uncover his feet and lay thee down and he will tell thee and he will tell thee what thou shalt do now here again beloved brothers and sisters sometimes our minds are not thinking right again I would like to say there is nothing wrong and unbiblical in this it is simply an expression of coming to the person who is able to redeem you and notice that she said to her you find where he is laying down when everybody is away when everybody is on their portion to protect all the harvest he said

then you go beside him and notice you uncover his feet in Hebrew margelotav in other words the lowest part of his body the feet just uncover that and lay beside it as it says here in verse 4 and lay thee down and then she said I want to tell you he will tell you what you need to do not this expression I was looking in scripture about the thought of the feet you know when you come before someone's feet bow before the feet of someone is an expression of dependence it's an expression of a need it's an expression of the recognition that you need something from that person and he is able to provide this

for you there is no sexual thought here whatsoever but it's an expression of coming to this person and telling him I have a need of you turn with me to the Gospel of Luke for a moment chapter 7 verse 37 and 38 if you remember the story about this woman who came to the Lord and you remember the Pharisees house that Yeshua went to his house it says and behold the woman of the city which was a sinner when she knew that Yeshua sat to meet in the Pharisees house she brought an alabaster box of ointment and she stood at his feet and she anointed him and she was weeping and began to wash his

feet with tears with tears and did wipe them with the hairs of her head and she kissed his feet not a three time the word feet is mentioned here in this verse 38 she stood at his feet she washed his feet she kissed his feet feet this is an expression of dependence humility humbling herself before this person by the name of Yeshua the Messiah and she took her hair which is the glory of the woman and she wiped his feet with her hair anointed his feet with ointment what she was saying notice she was a sinner according to this passage behold a woman in the city which was a sinner she was a sinner you

see she came to the Lord she realized that he is the only one that can save her she realized that he is the promised Messiah of Israel she understood that he was more than just another man and that he could help her and that's why she came to him and she bowed at his feet recognizing who he was look at chapter 10 of the Gospel of Luke again verse 38 now it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain village and a certain woman by the name of Marta received him into her house verse 39 and she had her sister called Miriam and she also sat at Yeshua's feet and heard

his word again the feet is a place that the believers the people who recognize who Yeshua is are coming there to learn from him to acknowledge him and they sit at the feet of Yeshua the Messiah notice that she sat at his feet that is an expression of her recognizing who he is and we can read other passages like in Psalm 8 which we read even today that speaks about the fact that Yeshua the Messiah himself will be the one that everyone will have to recognize him in fact let me read Psalm 8 and verse 6 verse 6 thou made him to have dominion over the works of thine hand thou hast put all things

under his feet he is in authority he is in control he is Lord of all he is the creator of the universe he is the one that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord to the glory of God the Father well Boaz is but a type the picture of the Messiah in Naomi council root you go to him you make sure that you wash yourself anoint yourself you put your raiment you go down to him and once the time has arrived then you go and you uncover his feet and you lay down by his feet acknowledging your dependence upon him that you need of him and then

it says notice in verse 4 and he will tell you what you shall do you see the moment she would go there and express her dependence upon him Boaz will understand and he will tell you what to do and then you will see that ultimately he will seek you will seek to fulfill the husband's brother law that God gave to his own people the people of Israel and how wonderful to see the advice of Naomi the mother-in-law to Ruth the daughter-in-law to go there and to actually let him know that you want him to fulfill the Redeemer's responsibility and so I'm going to conclude with that and this is verse 5 and she said unto

her all that thou sayest unto me I will do here's Ruth obedience to her mother-in-law whatever you say I'm going to do I know that you mean well for me you want me to have rest you want me to have marriage you want me to have family you have a blessing intended for me and I'm going to submit to your counsel all that you says unto me I will do and so here beloved brothers and sisters in the conclusion of this message you can see the wonderful wonderful providence of God he worked things all around he knows every situation in the life of his people and even though at time he disciplined us like he

disciplined Naomi and he disciplined Elimelech and Machlon and Kilion but ultimately he restored Naomi bring her back to her homeland and he has intention to be a blessing unto Naomi and that's why Naomi could say blessed be he blessed be he of Jehovah who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead and I would like to say this to you today when you and I go through trials in our lives and challenges in our life the Lord has a plan for you and I he has a purpose in our life and he means well for us let's stay close to him let's glean in Yeshua's field and not go any

place else except stay close to our Lord Yeshua the Messiah Yeshua the Messiah