Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Open your Bibles to the book of Ruth. We are going to study today from Ruth chapter 3, verse 6 to verse 18. wonderful book that teaches us of this great redemption that God had provided for us through Yeshua the Messiah, whom is a fulfillment of the type of this man by the name of Boaz, the kinsman redeemer that is found here in the book of Ruth. Let me read, please follow me, Ruth chapter 3 verse 6 and she went down unto the floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her and when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry he went to lay down at the end of the heap of corn and she came softly and uncovered his feet and laid her down and it came to pass at midnight that the man was afraid and turned himself and behold a woman lay at his feet and he said who art thou and she answered I am root thine handmaid spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid for thou art a near kinsman and he said blessed be thou of the Lord my daughter for thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning in as much as thou followest not young men, whether poor or rich.

And now, my daughter, fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest, for all the city of my people dost know that thou art a virtuous woman. And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman. How bit there is a kinsman nearer than I tarry this night and it shall be in the morning that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman well let him do the kinsman part but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee as the Lord liveth lay down until the morning and she laid at his feet until the morning and she rose up before one could know another and he said let it not be known that a woman came into the floor also he said bring the veil that thou hast upon thee and hold it and when she held it he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her and she went into the city and when she came to her mother-in-law she said who art thou my daughter and she told her all that the men have done to her and she said these six measures of barley gave he me for he said to me go not empty unto thy mother-in-law Then said she, sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall.

For the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day. And I stop here with verse 18 of chapter 3 of the book of Ruth. beautiful portion again before us brothers and sisters those of you that have been with us from the beginning of the study of Ruth can definitely see the progression as we are moving forward in the study of the book of Ruth those that haven't been with us just reread the text and you will see how beautiful this book of Ruth is but we want to emphasize again in every ministry meeting that really one of the greatest themes that is found in the book of Ruth is the providence of God.

God worked all things out to bring about ultimately redemption for the Moabitish woman, redemption for Naomi because she has lost everything she has had, ultimately to bring about Ruth and Boaz to be together and to have a descendants that ultimately will be part of the genealogy of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah who was born in the city of Bethlehem to become the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of this world. In our previous ministry meeting, we covered also the first five verses of chapter 3. And in those first five verses of chapter 3, we saw the counsel that Naomi gave to her daughter Ruth. Let me just connect you with where we began today.

Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, I am telling you, I am seeking for you to have rest. In Hebrew it says manoach, meaning to have rest in marriage, to have a family established. And therefore here I want you to listen to my counsel. She said to her, wash yourself, anoint yourself, Put your raiment and get thee to the floor. Those four things. Wash, anoint, put raiment, and go. In other words, what she is telling her, Ruth, you have been a long time already in this dress of widow. I'm seeking for a marriage for you, for a rest for you, and I want you to go to the men who have showed you kindness, this goel, this kinsman redeemer by the name of Boaz.

So wash yourself, anoint yourself, put a raiment, the Hebrew word simlah, and ultimately get down to the floor. And then she gave her these instructions that, beloved brothers and sisters, we talked about it in our previous meeting, it has nothing to do with any sexual suggestion here, But one thing there is, Ruth was going to Boaz in order to approach him to become her redeemer. So what is she telling her to do in verse 4? It says here, when the man finished to eat and to drink, then it says in verse 4, you go in, you uncover his feet, and then you lay down, and he will tell you what you ought to do.

Now, uncovering his feet, to lay down by his feet does not have any sexual connotation here. It simply says to lay at his feet, to show him the dependence that this root has upon him and that she wanted his help. And really, beloved brothers and sisters, by doing what her mother Naomi suggested to her to do, He's saying to Boaz, Boaz, you are the Redeemer that is able to redeem our family. We need you to redeem us, Boaz. And therefore, here I'm coming and I'm laying, as it were, at your feet in complete dependence upon you, Boaz. We need you not only to redeem the land that's going to be sold, but also to extend the family name.

Boaz, she was really saying, we want you to act upon your responsibility to act upon the law that is found in Deuteronomy chapter 25. And this is the law of the Kingsman Redeemer. When a man has a wife, and a man has died, according to Deuteronomy chapter 25, and he doesn't have any children, Therefore, if this woman will not have any children, their family will be erased from among the people of Israel. So God introduced a law in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. We're going to read it in a moment, verses 5 and 6. And the law was that there is a responsibility of the husband's brother and a relative to take the wife to marry her and have children with her so the name of the family will be retained among our people, the people of Israel.

So this was really the counsel that Naomi gave her daughter-in-law, Ruth. And we concluded in verse 5 that it says, All that you have said unto me, I will do. Beautiful to see the obedience of Ruth. She was not rebellious against her mother-in-law, the elderly woman. she was submissive as the Apostle Paul encouraged Titus to encourage the older sisters to instruct the younger sisters to follow the ways of the Lord. And we are so thankful for our older sisters who walk with the Lord and give us an example, just the same like older brothers who walking with the Lord and being an example to us in our lives.

So let's move on now. In chapter 3 verses 6 to 9 here is Ruth's doings you see she heard the counsel of her mother-in-law and now she's going to act upon it so we begin in verse 6 look at the obedience it says immediately she went down into the floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her to do look at the counsel of the elder of the older mother-in-law and the submissiveness of Ruth the Moabite obedience came immediately in this life of the person by the name of Ruth. She was an amazing woman, a woman to learn from, a woman that later on she's called a woman of valor, a woman of valor, that the name is mentioned about her later on.

Now notice what it says in verse 7, that Ruth did exactly what her mother-in-law had told her verse 7 and when Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry and he went to lay down at the end of the hip of corn that she came softly and she uncovered his feet and laid her down now you see when the gleaning have ended and there was a time now to prepare the food you might say to winnow in the threshing floor and you know the winnowing always happened on a higher hill where they were beating the wheat the barley then the grain came down and whatever was left when the wind came the wind

kind of separate the chaff from the grain and so he went to the threshing floor and they were working there remaining there until they was separating the chaff from the grain and so he was winnowing in this area so he finished to do the work that evening and according to verse 7 it says and when Boaz have eaten and drunk that his heart was merry now there is no suggestion here that he got drunk the suggestion was simply he ate and he drank he was satisfied from the accomplishment of what he have done the word here his heart was merry simply means his heart was good he was so pleased with his accomplishment the hebrew

word is simply and his heart felt so good after all look at a pile of grain he finished the work and now there's so much plenty in the city of Bethlehem because just previously there was a famine in the land and so now Boaz and those that were with him after they have finished to do their work there the end of the evening it says he went to lay down at the end of the heap of the corn and apparently in biblical time when there was a heap of corn every owner of this corn of the fields would lay down beside the corn to protect the corn, perhaps from those who might come and take

that which does not belong to them.

But also they have remained out there by the fields in order to be there until they finish their job. So they've eaten together and drinking together. They have celebrated because of the provision of the Lord.

And then when they have ended this everyone was going to lay down and to sleep that night and so you notice what she did she came quietly to where he was and then softly uncovered his feet and then she lay down there beside him her head beside his feet you know usually the way that it used to be there is the hip of corn the head closer to the hip the legs is far away from it and therefore she laid right by his feet and really this is an expression of dependence it's an expression of a need again i would like to remind you beloved brothers and sisters or for example the women in the

brit like miriam set at yeshua's feet or the woman who came and poured an alabaster box of ointment at the feet of the Lord and washed his feet it's an expression of love and affection but also an expression of dependence and a need of an assistant from the one that she depended upon and so really when she have done so what she was really saying Ruth was calling upon Boaz to do the responsibility that he had as a kinsman redeemer that which was Boaz's duty according to the law that God had given to his nation the nation of Israel that was the custom in which they would approach a person and ask him to redeem

them and so that's what she did now remember she was a Moabitish woman she was not an ordinary Hebrew so already when she was working in the field of Boaz Boaz did not think about the fact that he would need to marry Ruth because she was a Moabitish woman she was a stranger though she entered into the family of Elimelech through marrying one of his sons so Boaz did not take the initiative yet Ruth by the counsel of her mother-in-law took the initiative and she sent her down to where Boaz is.

And there, by this expression, Naomi and Ruth actually were saying, we are calling you, Boaz, to fulfill your duty as a kinsman redeemer, as a goel. Turn back with me to two passages in the Old Testament. I want to reread those verses to you so you can see the importance of the action that Ruth took in Leviticus chapter 25 verse 23 we have the need of redemption of the land the Lord said to Israel his people the land shall not be sold forever for the land is mine for ye are strangers and surgeons with me and in all the land of your possession ye shall grant a redemption for the land.

Geula for the land. In other words, the land belonged to me and you are with me, Israel, and the land shall not be sold forever. In all the land of your possession, ye shall grant redemption unto the land. In other words, if somebody is not able to maintain his land and he lost his land for a while, he sold his land for a while, well, this land can be redeemed back and bought back and given back to the first original owner. Now notice verse 25. If your brother works in poor and he has sold away some of his possession and if any of his kin, his relative, come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold.

You see, God gave this amazing law To our people, of all the people of Israel, you know, you can never completely lose your land, the portion that I have given to you, even if you became so poor that you couldn't maintain your land, you might for a while sell it, but ultimately one of your family can buy it back on your behalf. Notice what it says in verse 26, and if the man have none to redeem it, and himself able to redeem it, fine, then redeem it. You can buy it back yourself, that's fine, you can do it. But I want you just to notice what it says in verse 27 and 28, Let him count the years of the sale thereof, and restore the overplus unto the man to whom he sold it, that he may return unto his possession.

The ultimate purpose behind it is to return to your possession. Now notice verse 28. But if he be not able to restore it to him, then that which is sold shall remain in the hand of him that had bought it until, underline the word until, until when? Until the year of Jubilee. The Hebrew word is Yovel. Yovel is simply the number 50. In other words, even if you were poor and you sold the land and you don't have a relative to redeem it and there's no way to redeem your land for yourself, well, you're still not going to lose your land because by the year of Jubilee, by Yovel, after 50 years, all the land returned to the first owners that have owned the land.

Look what it says. until the year of Jubilee and in the Jubilee in Yovel in the Yovel it shall go out and he shall return unto his own possession this is tremendous beloved brothers and sisters to see how God cared for the land and for his people Israel even if somebody ultimately was poor and unable to buy the land back or have even a redeemer to buy it back for himself then God said by the time the year 50 comes then the land will be returned to the first owner and the owner will be returning to his own possession. So here is the question of the redeeming of the land.

Now turn to Deuteronomy chapter 25. We read Leviticus 25 now notice in Deuteronomy chapter 25 it doesn't speak so much about the land but it speaks about the extension of the name of the family and so in verses 5 and 6 of Deuteronomy chapter 25 it said if brethren dwell together and one of them die this is the case of Naomi her husband died and have no child the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger, a husband's brother shall go in unto her and take her to him to a wife and perform, and here is this expression, this is called the Leverite law, it is the law of the husband's brother to raise up a seed for the family, it says he should perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.

And why? In verse 6 And it shall be that the firstborn which he bears shall succeed the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. Beloved brothers and sisters, there is a beautiful lesson for us here in these passages. Leviticus 25 Deuteronomy chapter 25 God took care not only of the possession of his people Israel but also of the name of the families and the tribes and I would like to say this beloved brothers and sisters as we're going to see at the end of the book of Ruth that by this activity of Boaz and Ruth ultimately meet each other the extension of the family comes about and ultimately the Messiah will be born into this world.

You know, people celebrated the birth of the Messiah. Well, how did Yeshua the Messiah was born into this world? Just read the genealogy of Matthew chapter 1 and you will find out that in this very genealogy, Ruth the Moabite is mentioned. And all the wisdom of God and the providence of God to bring it all about that the Messiah, Yeshua, ultimately will be born for the reason that he will die and give his life a ransom for many. So please go back to our chapter, and I want you to notice that really what Ruth was saying here to Boaz, I want you to redeem me. Naomi, my mother-in-law, and I are in a need.

We do not have the land, we are not able to maintain the land, and our family name will not be extended and therefore you are the one that is able to be the Redeemer, the Goel. And so that's what she was saying to him when she came to him and she laid down by his feet. And so look at Boaz's reaction and I'm in Ruth 3 and verse 8. Boaz's reaction to her doing, look what Boaz did. It says here in verse 8, It came to pass at midnight that a man was afraid. Now, what would you do if somebody in the midnight, right by your feet there, laying by your feet in the middle of the night, you don't know what's going on.

The Hebrew word is Vayechrad. It's all of a sudden kind of got shaking. What's going on here? And then it says, and he turned himself and behold, a woman lay at his feet. See, Boaz was occupied with his winnowing there by the threshing floor. He had finished the work. He's laying down to sleep at night and at midnight, all of a sudden, what does he see here? His feet were uncovered. Maybe it was cool from the night cooler weather and he was afraid and he turned himself and all of a sudden, what does he see? He sees a woman laying at his feet. He was at awe.

He was surprised because it's not something that normally happens in such a situation such as this. Usually it is the men who go to do the work there at the threshing floor. And all of a sudden there is a woman at his feet. And so he was afraid. It's like a shock that he had received by the fact that he found this woman at his feet. And notice it says in verse 9 that Boaz asked this question with Ruth right now. And he said, who are thou? Mi'at, who are you? And Ruth responded to him. She answered, I'm Ruth. I'm your handmaid. Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid.

Why? Because you are a near kinsman. Atah ha-goel. Four things Ruth said to Boaz here in verse 9. Number one, she says, here's me, I'm Ruth. And of course, he already had known her from over these months that she was picking up the barley and later on the wheat. Some time had passed by. And she's telling him, you know who I am? I'm Ruth. And you notice here it's the time that she doesn't use the name here, Ruth de Moabitish. In the case here, because Ruth by that time was almost part of the family of the nation of Israel. She had entered in to the land of Israel, and she had already been working for a few good months, picking up the barley, picking up the wheat, and she was there for all these months, was very well known among the people of Israel, appreciated by Boaz and all the elders of Israel at that time.

And she said, I am Ruth. And at this point, the name Moab is set aside for a time. Later on, it will be mentioned again. But secondly, notice what she said. I am your handmaid. The Hebrew word here is amah. There are two Hebrew words for handmaid. One of them is amah, and the other one is shifcha. Two Hebrew words. If you go to chapter 2 for a moment, go back. In chapter 2 she said let me find favor in thy sight my Lord for that thou hast comforted me and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid. That's the Hebrew word shifcha. But now she doesn't use the Hebrew word shifcha for handmaid.

Now in chapter 3 in verse 9 she used the Hebrew word amah. Why? Because a shifcha and an amah is like two levels of the servants, of handmaids among the people of Israel. The lowest one is the shifcha, the one that doesn't have any privileges whatsoever among the families, among the people of Israel. But the amah is a woman that is qualified to become a wife, even though she is a handmaid. Do you remember when Yaakov, when he married Leah and Rachel, he also took to him for wives Bilhah, the servants of Leah, and Zilpah, the servant of Rachel, and actually had children with these two servants.

And if you look at the text in Genesis chapter 30, you will notice that they are not called Shifcha, but they are called Amah. Amah means I am a servant, but I am yet qualified to become a wife in order to have children with. And therefore, she doesn't use the word shifcha, she used the word Amah. I am not only root, but I am your handmaid. I am your Amah. I am, you might say, in a position that I can marry you and extend the name of the family of Elimelech. but notice thirdly what she said to him in verse 9 she says I am root, number one number two, I am your ama, amatcha, I am your handmaid but the third thing she said to him spread thy skirt over thine handmaid what does she mean by saying to him spread your skirt over thine handmaid actually what she is really saying that she's asking him on the basis of the Deuteronomy chapter 25 that he will marry her and become the Goel the Redeemer to extend the family of Elimelech that the name of the family will not be erased this is a beautiful expression spread thy skirt you know in olden time the men among our people Israel did not wear pants like you and I wear today they will wear gowns just the same like the women would wear those gowns.

You see that, by the way, when you watch television, perhaps, on Middle Eastern individuals, the way in the desert, in the wilderness, they would wear those dress, almost like a dress, but the men will wear it. And they will have these corners of the garment that they become an expression, cover me with the corner of your garment. Now, this expression of desire to be married. Turn to Ezekiel chapter 16 with me. This expression was used by the Lord when he took Israel to become his bride, his wife. It's a beautiful expression. It says in verse 6, When I passed by thee, God says to Israel, I saw thee polluted in thine own blood.

And I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood live yea I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood live verse 7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field and thou hast increased and waxed great and thou art come to excellent ornaments thy breasts are fashioned and thine hair is grown where is thou wast naked and bare and then he says in verse 8 now when I pass by thee God says to Israel and I looked upon you this is Israel behold thy time was the time of love and I spread my skirt over thee he is speaking to Israel Jehovah Jehovah is speaking to his people Israel and I covered thy nakedness yea I swear unto thee and I enter into a covenant with thee this is the covenant of the marriage covenant that God made with our nation Israel and then he says say yes the Lord God and you had become mine you see when God had embraced Israel to be his people he covered Israel his skirt covered over the people of Israel and God had entered into a covenant of blessing and promises to the people of Israel.

But it is an expression of marriage. The marriage covenant that God made with his beloved nation. That's why oftentimes Israel is called the wife of Jehovah and the body of Messiah. The church is called the bride of Christ, of the Messiah. And we have always to distinguish, yet there's always a link, but we have to understand that the wife of Jehovah, Israel, The bride of Christ, of the Mashiach, is the body of Messiah, the church, the ecclesia. And so God's speaking to Israel, but now here's Ruth, taking this, and she asked Boaz, spread thy skirt over thine handmaid. And then she said to him, finally, in verse 9, why do I want you to spread your skirt over me?

It's simply because, verse 9 at the end, for thou art a near kinsman. In Hebrew, it simply means Goel Atah. You are the Goel. You are the Redeemer. You are the only one that can help me. You are the only one that can help Naomi. You are the Redeemer. You can redeem the land. You can redeem us. And you can extend the family of Elimelech. And I would like to say again, beloved brothers and sisters, I know in the world in which we live in today, there is a suggestion of something that is not right here, But there is nothing whatsoever that is wrong with the action of Ruth.

She was beseeching Boaz to act as the kinsman redeemer to fulfill his husband's brother responsibility to raise up a seed in Israel that the name of Elimelech and his family will not be finished, that it will be retained. So in verse 9, we have this beautiful expression. Her name is Ruth. She was a handmaid. She asked to have his skirt cover her, meaning to marry him. Why? On the basis that you are the kinsman redeemer. And I want you to understand that you and I can see here the beautiful picture of what our Lord Yeshua has done for us. we were those poor individuals without any hope that's why if you remember the text in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9 that it says there for ye know the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah that though he was rich Boaz was a type of Yeshua yet for your sake he became poor that ye through his poverty might be rich How did the Lord Yeshua the Messiah became poor?

He came down from heaven and he went all the way to the altar, to the cross, where he paid for the sin and the sins of this world in order to elevate us and to bring us into a relationship with himself. This is an amazing grace that we will, throughout eternity, will praise God for this. And so now, brothers and sisters, go now to our passage again in Ruth chapter 3. Now from verse 10 to verse 13, we have Boaz's response to Ruth's request. And so look how beautiful. He said a few things about her in verse 10. Verse 10 is very much commending her. Notice he doesn't condemn her.

He doesn't look at her in a negative way. Because immediately he said to her in verse 10, Blessed art thou of the Lord, my daughter. Notice he called her my daughter. In Hebrew the word beti. That suggests that he must have been far in age than her. The rabbis say that Boaz must have been at around 80 years of age and Ruth might have been at around 40 years of age. That's what some of the writings of the rabbis suggest, that Boaz must have been an older man, you might say. That's why he called her my daughter. And also Naomi called her my daughter because they were far advanced in age.

That's why they call her Biti, our daughter, my daughter. So he says, you are blessed of the Lord. God had blessed you. And he says three things about her in verse 10. Number one, you are blessed of the Lord. Number two, that you have showed more kindness in the letter end than at the beginning. Now, the word kindness is the Hebrew word for chesed. And he says to Ruth, you know, you have such a good testimony that you have shown kindness today even more than the kindness that you have shown in the past. What was the proof of her kindness? She left her family, she left her country, she left her people, she left her idols, and she followed Naomi's God and Naomi's people.

She took care of her aging mother-in-law. She could have said, who needs that, I'm going to carry on and have my own way and my own life. She was a really devoted Moabitish woman to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. She was a virtuous woman. She was a woman to be an example to all of us, beloved brothers and sisters. And he commands her. He says, you are blessed of God. You are blessed of the Lord. And then he's saying to her, you have shown more kindness in the latter end than in the beginning. Now that word, in the beginning, if you go back to chapter 2 for a moment, in verse 11, Boaz already said to her, You see, I've heard about what you did to your mother-in-law and so on, how you have left your family.

And now by doing this, requesting of me to act upon my responsibility as a kinsman redeemer, he's saying to her, you showed more kindness in the latter end than even in the beginning. And so you see, the third thing he's saying about her in verse 10, you did not follow after the young man. You see, notice in verse 10 at the end, Inasmuch as thou followest not young men, whether poor or whether rich. You see, Ruth could say this. What's the use? I came already to the land of Israel, and now I'm here. I can forget about my mother-in-law. I can find a young Jewish man in the land of Israel.

And why do I need to start to deal with all the issue of kinsmen, redeemer, and so on? And I'm sure that Ruth might have been a very attractive woman that some of the Jewish men among the people of Israel might have been attracted to her. But Ruth was focused. She wanted to fulfill the needs of her mother-in-law and the family. She was devoted to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because you remember what she says, your God shall be my God. Your people shall be my people. Where you die, I will die. And where you will be buried, there will I be buried.

Ruth was devoted to the Lord and to his word, even though she was a Moabitish woman. She fell in love with the God of Israel, and therefore Boaz commanding her, number one, the Lord blesses you, number two, you have showed kindness now even more than before, and number three, you didn't follow after the young men, even if they were poor, or even if they were rich. a devoted woman to the things of the Lord. Wonderful person to be attracted to you. And you know that expression, kindness. She was showing chesed, kindness, to her mother-in-law and to the family. She was willing to sacrifice all her own will in order to be a blessing to her own mother-in-law.

You have shown more kindness in the latter end than beginning. Now turn with me for a verse just to connect with it so we will apply this to ourselves, brothers and sisters. Kindness is something that we need to practice in our lives as believers. And we need to show this kindness to each other. We need to show grace one toward another. The Apostle Paul said to the Ephesian believers in chapter 4, The last three verses of Ephesians 4, Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and even speaking be put away from you with all malice.

And then he said in verse 32, And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for the Messiah's sake has forgiven you you see the lesson that we learn from the life of Ruth applied to our life here today as believers among the brothers and sisters among the people of God we also need to show the kindness and the grace in our conduct with each other and we should learn from Ruth whose kindness in the latter days was higher, more kindness in the latter end than even the beginning. Beautiful to see this. And what a lesson for us to learn from this woman by the name of Ruth.

We're back to Ruth chapter 3. And now here's the promise that Boaz is making to Ruth. He says to her in verse 11, And now my daughter, again he called her BT, my daughter, the second time here, don't be afraid. Fear not, I will do to thee all that thou requirest, for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. You know, this is so attractive for us. Again, he called her my daughter. Secondly, he said, I'm going to do. And you see, brothers and sisters, he understood very well what she requested from him. He understood that by her coming to the threshing floor, by her laying at his feet and beseeching him to become the kinsman redeemer, she hasn't done anything wrong whatsoever.

And that's why he's commending her. And he says, my daughter, I'm going to do what you ask for me. I'm going to seek to achieve for you redemption. I'm going to seek to take the place of the Goel, of the Redeemer, in order to buy the land from your mother-in-law and to extend the name of the family of Elimelech among the people of Israel. I'm going to do it, he says. And then thirdly, he said to her in verse 11, all the city of my people, which city? Bethlehem my people, the Jewish people all the city, all the Jewish people of the city of Bethlehem they know everything about you I can just imagine everybody speaking, they probably were saying to each other, did you hear of Naomi coming back from Moab, did you hear who she brought along with her, did you hear about this Moabitish woman by the name of Ruth?

Did you hear what she had done? Did you see how faithful she had been to our people? How much she loved the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? All the people heard about this woman. And at the end he says, all the people know that you are a virtuous woman. The Hebrew word here is eshet chayil. A virtuous woman. I want to read a couple of verses from the book of Proverbs. What a blessing it is to have such a woman. Now notice, she was not married yet to Boaz. She was married earlier to Machlon, but she was not yet married to Boaz. But yet, look what we read about her, that she was a virtuous woman.

It's exactly what King Solomon said about the virtuous woman of the book of Proverbs, chapter 31. I'm not going to read the whole passage but from verse 10 it says who can find a virtuous woman eshet chayil miyim tza who can find such a woman as this what a blessing it is to have a virtuous woman in the life of any man for her price is far above rubies but notice what it says in verse 29 and verse 30 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain. But a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. You see what Boaz understood from the life of Ruth, that she was eshet chayel.

She was a true virtuous woman that sought the mind of the Lord. Who can find a virtuous woman? King Solomon said many years ago. And he says that her value is far more than rubies. Her price is far above rubies. Many daughters have done virtuously, but you have excelled them all. What a wonderful statement. It's an encouragement for us all, Brothers and sisters, thank the Lord for our sisters who walk with the Lord and give us an example in our life and encourage us. And what a wonderful testimony to hear about this woman by the name of Ruth. A virtuous woman was known by the people of Israel in the city of Bethlehem.

The Jewish community said, this is a godly woman. May the Lord raise in our midst godly men and also godly women. So Boaz, in verse 12, he said to her something that is interesting because in verse 12 he's pointing now to another kinsman redeemer who is nearer than him. And so he said in verse 12, And now it is true that I am your near kinsman, but, however, how bit, there is a kinsman that is nearer than I. In other words, I'm a kinsman, I'm a goel, I'm a relative, I can redeem you, but we have a little bit of a problem here. There is someone that is closer relative than you.

And some suggest that Elimelech, the husband of Naomi who died in Moab, had another brother that was still alive in the city of Bethlehem. And he was a nearer goel, a nearer kinsman than Boaz. But Boaz was determined, he says, I am going to do what you requested from me to marry you to fulfill the husband's brother responsibility, duty that I have. But I want to let you know, Ruth, however, there is a kinsman that is nearer than I. In fact, I believe that he must have already fallen in love with Ruth, but what could he do? The order of which one can redeem another is, first of all, the one who was nearer, a nearer family member, a brother.

And so therefore, he says, there is a goel, there is a kinsman that is near the unwell. He said to her in verse 13 now, Boaz instruct Ruth and he gives her his plan, what he's planning to do. He says in verse 13, Carry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of the kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman part. But if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth, lay down here until the morning. So Boaz is telling Ruth what he's planning to do.

It's beautiful to see that he's not delaying anything here. You remember when Naomi sent Ruth to the threshing floor? Chapter 3, verse 4. She says, he will tell you what to do. You go to him, uncover his feet, show him who you are. He will tell you what you are to do. And now Boaz is telling her what to do. Terry here tonight? In the morning, I'm going to get up. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'm going to come to this nearer kinsman and if he's going to take the responsibility to act as a kinsman redeemer, fine. But if he doesn't, I promise you, Ruth, I am going to fulfill the kinsman redeemer responsibility for you.

You notice what he said in verse 13. It says in the middle, If he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman well, The word well, it's the Hebrew word tov. And I understood for some of the writings of the rabbi that they gave this to be the name of the man, the nearer kin man, they called him tov, good. As if he will be the one that will be fulfilling the kin man's redeemer responsibility. But then Boaz said, but if he will not do it, I promise to you, I am going to fulfill the kin man's redeemer responsibility. lay down here until the morning.

And the thought is also, brothers and sisters, that in the morning it suggests that he was ready to accomplish the responsibility that he wanted to accomplish for her. He was not going to delay it. He's not going to go in the afternoon or in the evening to the city of Bethlehem. He's going to go first thing in the morning. He's going to get up and he's going to go to Bethlehem in order to fulfill the need that Ruth and Naomi had. No delay whatsoever. And that reminds me of some of the verses in the Bible that we have about God's provision for you and I.

You know, when you and I need something from the Lord, He doesn't delay it. You remember what He said to Israel? Before you ask, I'm going to answer. While you are speaking, an answer will come to you. Sometimes it seems to be like God delayed the answer to our own prayers and requests from him but really the Bible does teach us that God does answer prayer sooner than we think. He might not answer the way we always like it but he does answer prayer. Isaiah 65 he said it to our people of old the people of Israel. I'm going to read that verse in a moment but verses 10 to 13 bore us an answer that he gave to Ruth.

So notice verse 13 he concluded lay down here until the morning. And here she lay down. Verse 14 to 18, this is the last part in this ministry today. Verse 14, Ruth remained there until the morning, ready to depart. It says in verse 14, she lay at his feet. Notice she's at his feet. Until the morning, she rose up before one could know another. In other words, there was no physical relationship between the two of them. He honored her, respected her, and he understood her need to be her kinsman redeemer. And then it says that she rose up before they could know one another. And he said, let not be known that a woman came into the floor.

So they must have risen very early in the morning in order for her to depart, to go back to her mother-in-law, to the city of Bethlehem. And now in verse 15, Boaz sent along with Ruth some barley for Naomi. It says in verse 15, and he said, bring the veil. Apparently she had some scarf, a huge scarf there that she covered herself. The thou has a pandi and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley and he laid it on her and she went into the city. Now, so he gave her plenty of food to bring to her mother-in-law. You see, he didn't want Ruth to go empty back home.

He wanted her to come full. So not only did he care for Ruth, but he also cared for Naomi. So she must have had this long scarf upon her. And she kind of opened it and held it. And he filled it up with six measures of barley. You remember previously when she picked up and collected, She collected quite a lot, but it was not that amount in a far before. But now he gave her six measures of barley, plenty of food to bring home to Naomi, her mother-in-law. Six measures. He laid it on her. It must have been rather heavy. And she went into the city.

Now, the word for she in Hebrew, it's really not she. The word is actually he in the Hebrew here. he actually went into the city. In other words, he sent her away, but he himself very early in the morning was going out towards the city of Bethlehem. There he's going to deal with that subject. He's going to talk to the kinsman redeemer who was nearer than him and challenge him about redeeming Naomi and Ruth, the Moabite woman. And so to conclude, brothers and sisters, verse 16 finally Ruth arrived home to Bethlehem where she came unto her mother-in-law she said this is Naomi ask her who are you?

my daughter and she told her all that the men have done unto her now by the way when she asked her who are you? it's not that she didn't recognize who Ruth was she definitely recognized that Ruth was her because she said who are you? my daughter But the question here that Naomi asked, are you going to be Mrs. Boaz? Did he promise you to fulfill the responsibility of the husband's brother duty? Who are you? Are you now Ruth, the future wife of Boaz? That's what's the whole question here, brothers and sisters. and so indeed you can see when she said to her who are you, who art thou in Hebrew, miat biti who are you my daughter are you now the future wife of Boaz and Ruth gave her all the answers she told her all that the men have told her she told her he promised to go to the city, he promised to talk to the one that was nearer than him, he promised that if the other one will not want to take me to be his wife he is going to fulfill the husband's brother duty so now notice that verse 17 Ruth said these six measures of barley he gave me and he said unto me go not empty unto thy mother in law you see when Naomi came back from Moab she said I have gone full to Moab and the Lord brought me back empty.

But now she cannot say I'm empty because now she had been so blessed by having a so committed daughter. She's so blessed to have plenty of food provided for her by Boaz. And Boaz said, no, no, you're not going back home empty. You take plenty of these six measures of barley. Here it is. This he provided for you, for us. Ruth is saying to her mother-in-law, He didn't want me to go empty. Go not empty unto thy mother in law. And finally, my dear brothers and sisters, in verse 18, Naomi is telling her, look at the words of Naomi to root about Boaz. Naomi knew what Boaz will do, and he knew that he will seek to become the kinsman redeemer.

Beautiful to see. The end, verse 18. Then said she, sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall. For the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day. In other words, he's not going to rest. He's not going to stop. And you know, he just showed you that Naomi understood here that Boaz must have fallen in love with Ruth and that he can, his affection towards her, not only the responsibility that he had, but it's a matter of an affection and love towards Ruth and also towards Naomi. the man will not rest until he will finish the thing this day this day he's going to continue to do it and you know God's word will always come to pass he's going to finish what he began he's going to do what he aimed to do and think about it beloved brothers and sisters again in typology Boaz is a type of Yeshua the Messiah and Yeshua the Messiah said my meat and my drink is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work I came to this world so I can accomplish redemption for mankind Boaz is saying to you see I'm going to do it immediately I'm going to deal with this issue and I'm going to seek to be your kinsman redeemer and indeed he has gone to the city of Bethlehem and now in chapter 4 in the will of the Lord we will find out how things have developed in Boaz becoming the kinsman redeemer the goel of Ruth, the goel of Naomi and the blessing to this family let's remember always as we study the word that the center of the word of God is the person of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah.

And every page, as we open the pages of Scripture, we want to see the person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah in types and in pictures and in shadows, but ultimately we know that everything in the Word speaks to us about the person of Yeshua. And therefore the man, Boaz, is a picture of the Messiah who will not rest until he had finished to do this thing today. Thank God for the work that Boaz have done for Ruth and thank God for the work that Yeshua have done for us.