Through The Bible - English - 10 (Judges & Ruth) - Zac Poonen

okay we can begin now let's turn now to the book of Judges the book of Judges Judges chapter 1 now judges is describing the backslidden state of israel immediately after this very powerful victory and triumph they had in the book of Joshua over a period a number of years and again we see the same lesson that we have seen before that everything depends on God's people having a good leader wherever there were good leaders whenever there were good leaders Israel prospered when Moses was leading Israel everything was okay and Moses went up to the mountain for 40 days just 40 days they started worshipping idols made a golden calf even Aaron could not control them most leaders in Christendom are not strong enough to control God's people to keep them in the straight and uncompromising path because those leaders don't know God themselves they seek popularity like Aaron and so a person who seeks popularity didn't never be a man of God he'll never leave God's people Moses never sought popularity neither did Joshua but by the time of the judges Joshua had died and there was nobody there to replace and so what happened we read in chapter 2 and verse 7 the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who survived Joshua who had seen all the great work of the Lord which he had done for Israel and then Joshua died and then verse 10 that generation also died and then there arose another generation verse 10 chapter 210 who did not know the Lord that was the problem nor the work which he had done for Israel the problem was there was nobody who knew God and I want to tell you after many years and years of moving around so many Christian groups I have to say I have seen very few people who know God very few people who can say like Elijah as the Lord God lives before whom I stand most people in Christian work today are professional preachers they studied the Bible somewhere they got a degree and then going out to serve God or they got to see you and maybe sacrifices that may be zeal but all that will not help if you don't know God you can do a lot of work and your statistics may be impressive but the quality of your convert will be poor because you yourself don't know God you know these what Israelites in the book of Judges and we can say our church has got believers but what type of believers the apostles were also believers the people in your church are also believers but what a difference doing spiritual believers and carnal believers a man of God realizes it's better to have a small church of spiritual believers and a large one full of carnal people that's like saying it's better to have one 1000 watt bulb then 2001 bulbs you agree with me or not that's what I mean you're the light of the world the intensity of that light depends on how much you know God and if the leader doesn't know God the people don't know God either that people know the Bible you can study the Bible and tell people all about it and they get to know the Bible just like teaching chemistry or physics or something like that in a classroom but that doesn't get people to know God you can teach people to know God by just giving them information and you can't know God that way yourself you've got to go through trials you've got to humble yourself you've got to have a yearning in your heart it's in the hours of the night that we come to know God not sitting in a classroom we know that we need to know the Scriptures but we need to you go through the Scriptures beyond the scriptures to know God the people who know their God will be strong it says in Daniel 11:32 so these people did not know God and therefore verse 11 the sons of Israel 2:11 did evil and even began to serve other gods so that's the result of Joshua's death and it's happened throughout Christendom we read in the history of Christianity in the last 2,000 years wherever God has raised up a godly man John Wesley here William Booth there a Hudson Taylor here CD stud there they've been able to lead people to some extent and Amy Simpson here at Charles Finney there to some extent they God they're able to lead them but then they die and another generation comes up they hold the same doctrines they take the same denominational name but it's not the same the doctrines are the same their beliefs are the same the theories of sanctification are the same but they are not sanctified like that leader was like that founder was they claimed to have the same baptism in the Holy Spirit that their founder had but the result is not the same it must be some other spirit then see this is what has happened in christen again and again and again and again and again and again God has to raise up a man God has always done his greatest work in the church through single men whom he has raised up in different generations in different lands and around such a man God gathers together a few people who are concerned not so much for size as for quality but the purity of a testimony for God in their generation and I believe that India needs many many many such men and women even women the book of Judges you found find that when God couldn't find a man he found a woman called Deborah that's an encouragement to all the sisters so God is looking and when he finds one in the measure in which that person is yielded he uses him not all were of the same quality and you see that very clearly in the book of Judges there was hardly anybody know one of the quality of Moses and Joshua they were leaders Gideon was a good man when he started out but he declined towards the end of his life so the book of Judges is very relevant to the type of life we see in Israel failed to conquer Canaan and the Lord said to them in chapter 2 verse 3 he says I told you an angel of the Lord verse 1 came and said chapter 2 verse 1 I brought you out of Egypt I led you into the land I said I'll never break my covenant with you I told you you must make no covenant with inhabitants of the land you must tear down that altars but you have not obeyed me you have not obeyed the manufacturer's instructions you followed your own reasoning just like a lot of Christian leaders today they don't preach what God's Word says they always think how will it affect the people is this relevant to our time those are all in the first century now we are in the 20th century we must modify it that's exactly what these people also did they didn't follow exactly what God said and the result is okay you don't listen to me therefore these people you will not be able to drive them out you will not overcome sin you live with your problems on your life and these people will be like thorns in your science verse 3 and their gods will be a snare to you and when the sons of Israel heard it they wept and they sacrificed but they didn't change and a lot of Christians today who fast and pray and get all stirred up and they hear a message like this and they weep but they don't change they go back to their old ways very soon because again they've got their leaders leading them in the wrong direction and there are very few people who say I want to know God and I want to live by the standards of God's Word many of you come from many parts of this land when you go back please remember that God wants you to be a witness for him like Joshua like Moses to lead a number of people in your locality to the truth and if you want to be like that and you don't want to be like the people in the book of Judges be a man of God be a one who knows God be a woman of God in Joshua in the book of Judges we read about 13 judges that God raised up from chapter 3 to chapter 16 you read about 13 judges the 14th one was Samuel that you read off in the book of Samuel they were all together 14 judges 13 of them most of their names are not so well known a few of them perhaps you will know the first of them was a man called opt Neal who happened to be the son-in-law and also the nephew of Caleb you read of him in chapter 3 verse 9 the Lord raised up a deliverer when the Israelites were being enslaved the Lord raised up a deliverer and his name was off Neal the son of kinas Caleb's younger brother and who also married Caleb's daughter as we read in the book of Joshua I think it's chapter 14 there and it says the Spirit of the Lord came upon him verse 10 and he judged Israel now that occurs more than once in the book of Joshua in the book of Judges sorry the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon Spirit of the Lord came upon Samson see this was there the ability in the qualification which enabled them to guide and rule Israel so we see this emphasis that it was not anything else but the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and he judged Israel and that is what must be said about you and me we may be born again the Holy Spirit may have come and done a work in our hearts but it must be said about us the Spirit of the Lord came upon us and that qualifies us to serve and don't be just satisfied with an emotional experience that you got in some meeting don't even be satisfied with speaking in tongues I believe that a lot of people today I will speak in tongues I don't believe the Holy Spirit has filled up I don't know what they got but I don't look I but I look at their life I don't it doesn't it doesn't seem to convince me that this is the Holy Spirit there is not an anointing there's no power they said you have some gift I don't know I don't know how to explain it but they certainly don't seem to have power and don't ever be satisfied without the power of the Holy Spirit you can never never never never never do God's work without the Holy Spirit's power even Jesus who lived a perfect life for thirty years born of the Spirit lived in obedience to the Spirit for thirty years before he stepped out into the ministry he was baptized and he prayed and as he prayed the Spirit of God came upon him and he went out into his ministry follow him follow his example there is no other way in the amount of knowledge any amount of information any amount of certificates we'll never qualify you to serve God it's the anointing is the anointing so that's what we see here but the land had rest for 40 years verse 11 and then Athenaeum died and again the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and when they did evil the Lord allowed the enemy the king of Moab to rule Israel and they they served verse 14 the king of Moab for 18 years in the book of Judges we see seven cycles like this it's a cycle backsliding Gadre punishment backsliding punishment they have to serve the enemies then God raises up a judge deliverance and then the judge dies backsliding again punishment they cry out to God he raises up a deliverer deliverance again backsliding this is a cycle this is the life of many many believers is like this you can call it an up-and-down wave type of experience or a cycle where you just keep going round and round and round and round and round that you come to a meeting perhaps like this and you get all stirred up and you're dedicated and you're stirred by could be anywhere you went for a meeting and some anointed man proclaim the word you got challenged stirred up and you came back to God and then that man moves away or you don't have any more contact with him backsliding again till another man knowing that man comes somewhere you come to a meeting and you get all stirred up and you're all delivered and free and you're rejoicing for a time then you lose contact with him again backsliding should it be like this no today we have the Holy Spirit to be with us all the time every one of us can have the Spirit come upon us in those days the Spirit came upon one man and he led so you were dependent on that one man today the spirit can come on every one of us we don't have to be dependent on one man not at all and we can every one of us can keep that fire of God burning within us all the time and then they were serving more for 18 years again the sons of Israel verse 15 cried to the Lord and the Lord raised up another delivery called Eagle he was the second judge so I'm surprised that they waited for 18 years to cry why didn't they cry as soon as the back slit why does a person have to wait for 18 years of backsliding before he turns back I can't understand that that's how it is and that's how it is even today I see and he would became another King and after that boy was subdued and verse 30 the land was undisturbed for 80 years okay and then he gave a backslidden Shamgar he came up and he was another man on whom the Spirit of God came and it says he killed six hundred Philistines with an ox goad certainly there was another man like Samson we thought Samson was the only one who had supernatural sanction Gaara was not so well known was another man who was equipped with supernatural strength to deliver Israel but then the sons of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord between he who danced Shamgar that doesn't seem to have been much of a gap but after that again they did evil and then the Lord sold him into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan imagine the Canaanites they ruled are now ruling them the condition of many believers were supposed to rule over sin but sin rules them then they cried to the Lord because this man had 900 iron chariots and he oppressed Israel for 20 years chapter 4 verse 3 and then the Lord raised up Deborah I want to say a word here I believe that God has appointed men to be leaders in the church in 1 Timothy 2 in the last few verses of that chapter it says Adam was created first and he was created as a helper for Adam it was not that Eve was created first and Adam was created like a helper for his wife that's how it is in some homes today but that's not the way it should be that's not the way God created man he was to be a helper to Adam secondly it says Adam was not deceived in 1 Timothy 2 he was deceived therefore the Lord says through Paul in 1 Timothy 2 I do not allow a woman to be a teacher in a church she can teach Sunday School she can teach other girls and she can teach her children at home but she cannot be a teacher in a church and she cannot be an elder in a church that is God's will but and it was the same in the Old Testament in fact in Isaiah there's a verse which says what a pathetic condition your Israelites are that women are your leaders but what shall God do when he finds the men are all useless and lazy and lazy and do not do the evangelism they are supposed to do then God will raise up a Debora and that's why through the years he has raised up many Deborah's and I praise the Lord for every one of them sure I agree with God always but I don't believe that's God's first choice but he has used some women mightily through the years he's used the writings of people like madam boo Yong Jesse fan Lewis amazing teaching ministry some of these women like that had I believe when God doesn't find a man he has to use a woman and that's what we learned from the book of never odd I will pour out my spirit on your sons and your daughters it says in acts 2 and your sons and your daughters will prophesy the daughters of Philip we read what prophesy in Acts of the Apostles so though they are not called to be elders they can prophesy and speak for God's Word it's mentioned in Acts chapter 2 and in the example of the daughters of Philip and here is a wonderful example of Deborah who was more than a prophetess she was a prophetess verse 4 she was the wife of lappa dog I don't know what type of brother brother Lapidus was but he was a pretty meat quiet man who was care of his wife that was his address and he just lived there as a with a meek in a quiet spirit and Deborah was the leader okay he couldn't find Lapidus okay he uses his wife and I think in the Acts of the Apostles it appears as though I can't show you're worse but it appears as though Priscilla seemed to know God and the Scriptures better than her husband Aquila because sometimes you don't read that Quillen Priscilla you read Priscilla and Aquila and that's significant so even in the New Testament there are examples of people who know God better than their husbands and one of the scriptures better than the Aspen and then they should but Priscilla is a wonderful lady in the Old Testament she lives in submission to her husband Aquila and guides even a man like Apollo's to a correct understanding of the truth she doesn't get up in the church and denounce the father snow she called him home and sat down with her husband and let her that's a wonderful example of a man of a woman who knew her place but who had the anointing of God upon her life and could help the man like Apollo's who grew up to be a co-worker of the Apostle Paul but the one who helped him first was a woman Priscilla so Deborah here used to sit under the palm tree it was called the palm tree of Deborah verse 5 and the sons of Israel came to her for judgment and maybe her husband lappa dog was cooking the food inside and she was sitting under the tree judging you know that happens sometimes God has to do that because the condition of all the men in Israel was so pathetic at that time and then she sent and summoned Barak see this is the difference she was a a woman who recognized her position she didn't go out of battle she said I need a man just like Priscilla called Aquila she called Barak the son of ABI Nome and said see the Lord has commanded you go in March take 10,000 men with you and go and fight and I'll draw out Sisera and I will give him into your hand the last part of verse 7 such a clear word from the Lord and if you want to know the condition of Israel's men and Barak was the best of them see his listen to his reply he says sister if you come with me I will go I'm scared to go along see the condition of the best man in Israel sister please come with me then I will go otherwise I will not go sister you say you're not coming I am NOT going I'm scared and she said okay I'll come with you better oh thank you sister now I'll go but the Lord says Deborah told Barak because you're like this you're an effeminate man the honor of killing Sisera will not come to you a woman will kill Sisera and you read later on at the end of that story that it was a woman called jail Jia who killed sister on verse 22 a woman see this is the condition of the men in that time and I find that there is a lesson here for men God is disappointed when he doesn't find men to lead but God's work will not be hindered just because the men fail him he will use the sisters and he's used so many sisters as missionaries through the centuries across the land in many many places - even in Africa Mary's lesser and different ones like that who been used of God to do a tremendous work Amy Carmichael here down in South India many godly women like that whom God has raised up because he couldn't find a man so God is not limited he will use a woman if he can't find a man and he news anybody but God is gone determined to do his work and deborah and barak then sing a song in Chapter five it's called a song of deborah and barak and i want you to notice one or two things here in this song it says here in Chapter five in the song verse sixteen he's talking about the different tribes that came to fight in the battle and he says among the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart verse 16 and verse 23 curse me rose why why curse me rose because they did nothing they did not sing they did nothing they did not come to the help of the Lord when the enemy was coming sometimes we may say well I never send anything maybe you didn't sing but you did not go out in the battle to fight that's your sin and there's a curse there's a curse on people who sit back committing no sin and not fighting the battles of the Lord that's not a sin of commission that's a sin of omission there are two types of sins sins of commission and sins of omission sins of commission away you go and do something wrong sins of omission are where you do nothing when you should have done something you know the story of the Good Samaritan the man was lying there fall and beaten up what was the sin of the Levite and the priest who walked by they did nothing that was their sin mirros was like that there was a need for warriors to fight for the Lord they did nothing there's a need for warriors today when you do nothing you're sin when you sit back and say I'm living a good life I'm leading a comfortable life I'm not hurting anybody I'm not having anybody you're living in sin because you do not come to the aid of the Lord's workers who are battling in the battlefront okay now we come to the land was undisturbed chapter 5 verse 31 for 40 years and again chapter 6 verse 1 the Lord they did evil in the sight of the Lord they became captives to the Midianites for 7 years and then God raised up Gideon and it says about Gideon that the Spirit of the Lord came upon him verse 34 the Spirit of the Lord clothes the Gideon the margin says like a dress came upon him that's how it was in the Old Testament like a dress came upon Gideon and hid e'en blew a trumpet and went out of battle and I want you to notice how he selected these men there were 32,000 people who came to fight and the Lord said these people are too many in chapter 7 verse 2 God doesn't want so many people because they are not all cold hearted send them home he says all those that are afraid go home that's what the Lord says are you afraid of the devil go home are you afraid that somebody would call your bad name go home are you afraid that somebody would call your best Beelzebub or heretic or false prophet go home if you're scared of bad names rather go home don't serve the Lord 22000 went home 10,000 were left in verse 3 he says this is also too much these 10,000 are not wholehearted most of them interested money most them interested in seeking their own take them down to the water verse 4 and I will test them there and when they came to the water there were some people who forgot all about the enemy bow down their heads in the water and began to drink like people when they see something attractive in the world forget about the Lord forget about the Lord's battles and bury their head in their job and in their pursuit of money and the Lord says send them home 9700 but there were 300 there when they came to the water they stood up looking for the enemy and just drinking enough water and being alert these are the believers who they need the world they need money but they don't get taken up with it they do their jobs but that's minimum their aim is to live for God the Lord says those are the people I want and there were only 300 1% of that original 32,000 1% it's always like that - Joshua and Caleb out at 600,000 the Lord says that's enough for me and they went down and they took it says here in chapter 7 and verse 20 the three they divided into three companies 100 each each of them carried a trumpet and a pitcher with a light inside now this very significant they broke their pitchers so that the light Sean and they blew their trumpets this is a picture of life and witness with ministry a witness through our life and through our speech through our trumpet we proclaimed the Lord and when Paul said in second Corinthians 4 we have this treasure in earthen vessels and that earthen vessel must be broken through carrying the dying of Jesus 2nd Corinthians 4:7 2:10 he was thinking of Gideon Lee's army carrying an earthen vessel with a light inside which could not be seen until the vessel was broken so God is looking for people who are broken so that the light of the life of Christ can be seen and who blow the trumpet and proclaim the Word of God unashamedly those are the people the Lord is looking for and the enemy was defeated I just want to say one more thing before Gideon went to this battle the Lord told him if you want to let get a little courage verse 9 just go down at night to the enemy camp and listen to what they're saying and he heard that they were scared of Gideon and I would say to you if you go into the camp of the devil and listen you hear that they are scared of Jesus and all those who follow him and that should encourage that's what encourages me to go into this battle that was scared of Jesus Christ my captain and that's how they went into battle Gideon is a picture of Christ here but we read that even Gideon did not endure he they wanted him to rule over them chapter 8 verse 22 and he said no I won't rule neither will my son rule the Lord will rule over you that sounds very spiritual but then some of these people who sound very spiritual in the next sentence they compromise they said but please give me an earring all of you so all the people gave their earrings and when they got getting a Gideon got seventeen hundred shekels of gold verse 26 and what did he do with it he made it into an ephod verse 27 and placed it in the city of Ofra and that became an idol so you see that Gideon back slip we see the story so often even in history mighty men used by God towards the end of their life the anointing is gone they run after money they are collecting earrings gold they didn't start like that we are seeing it even in the 20th century we see examples of that in our own country people who started so well some of you have started very well learn a lesson from these people and then we read of other leaders Abimelech Toula Jer Jephthah hip son Ilan abdon and then we come to the 13th Samson chapter 13 we read of what a family there that didn't have any children and they God said you're going to have a son he's going to be a Nazarite and Samson was born and the Spirit of God came stirred him it says in chapter 13 verse 25 the Lord blessed him the Spirit of God began to move this is the secret of all these leaders and unfortunately the next verse it says Sampson went down chapter 14 verse 1 and saw a woman this was his weakness throughout his life God used him but he had a weakness for women and Samson's example stands in great contrast to Joseph in the old Indian is's many many servants of God have been ruined through women and Samson is one outstanding example of that and he was drawn to women who were not even Jews he than women unconverted women and then it says in verse 5 Samson chapter 14 verse 5 I went down to Timna and in the vineyards of Timna young a lion came roaring towards him and again that expression the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily verse 6 and he caught that lion and tore him to pieces just like we tear a piece of paper he tore him to pieces and then he didn't tell anybody he didn't tell his father or mother and I suppose if you and I have killed a lion we'd pretty telling the whole town about it but Samson was a humble man he knew that it was a Holy Spirit many people start out like this but after a while they've changed he didn't tell anyone it says but next thing it says in verse 10 is he went down to the woman again father went down and Sampson married her and you find this alternate thing in Samson's life he would do a mighty thing and then he would go down in chapter 16 verse 1 he went to Gaza and he saw harlot there and he went to her then he would when he was going to be caught he just take off the gates of the city and walk out and then after that he went somewhere else 16 verse 4 and he loved another woman called Delilah of the Philistines and we know that she was the one who finally this was not the first case I mean God must have spoken to many many times with all these other women be careful be careful be careful sometimes God speaks to you be careful be careful be careful and you keep playing the fool you keep playing the fool to finally one day calamity hits and your ministry is gone that's what happened it's what happened to many many many preachers he finally put his head on Delilah's lap revealed his innermost secrets to her she cut off his hair and that was the end of his ministry what a tragedy a man who was such a mighty deliverer enslaved to his passions Paul says in 1 Corinthians in chapter 9 he says it's possible for me to be to preach to other people and we disqualified myself in verse 27 1 Corinthians 9:27 and he says if I'm not to be disqualified there is only one thing I have to do to prevent myself from being disqualified I have to keep my body in subjection like the living bible paraphrase if i tell my body what it should do i make my body do what it should do not what it wants to do i make my body do what it should do not what it wants to do i make my body eat as much as as it should eat not what it wants to eat i make my body sleep as much as it should sleep and not how much it wants to sleep I control my eyes so that they don't look at the things the eyes want to look at but look at the things they should look at I control my tongue so that it speaks what it should speak not at what it wants to speak if you don't control your bodily passions you can preach wonderful messages and be disqualified that's the message of Samson wonderful ministry so many people blessed but the man himself do you know how many great preachers and healers have fallen a prey to women more in Western countries he doesn't mean it's not happening here here it happens most secretly I think what is happening even among leaders and some of those leaders continuous leaders even though there's immorality in their life that's a sad state of Christendom today pathetic don't look it don't make such people your examples even if they are great leaders of huge organizations God cannot use such a man if you are not faithful with women I'll tell you this don't try to have a ministry forget it don't dishonor God's name by trying to be an elder or a leader if you don't know how to be faithful with women just be an ordinary brother in a church don't try to fool the people that you're a holy man when you not God will expose you one day if you continue you think no no you're clever maybe you're clever but not clever enough for God he will expose you worse than you've ever been exposed so far and it says in chapter 16 how he was defeated by this woman who cut her hair and he lost his power and his eyes were blinded this is what happens when people go after women they lose their spiritual vision they cannot see clearly anymore they understood all the doctrines in their head but spiritual vision is gone and we read that he was enslaved but finally he repented and he destroyed a lot of Philistines in his death but notice there were two lions one was the lion outside and the other was the lion of lust inside his heart which was stronger the lion inside because he could conquer the external lion he couldn't conquer the inward one which teaches us that the lion of sexual lust is more to be feared then even if a huge lion came bouncing at you on the outside what would you do if you saw a lion a fierce lion coming down your way on the road tell me what would you do I know what I'll do I'll turn around and run and I'll probably break a few World Records in that running process I'd be scared do you believe that the lion inside is worse are you ready to run flee immorality there's only one thing to do don't go anywhere near temptation don't go near women who tempt you be with godly sisters don't be don't ever go near a woman who's flirtatious take that warning unless you want to destroy your life now those are some of the important chapters in judges chapter 17 221 speak about a lot of idolatry and immorality and wars and it can be summed up everything can be summed up in chapter 21 verse 25 the last verse of Judges which says in those days there was no king in Israel everyone did what was right in his own eyes you see how it was everyone did what was right in his own eyes that's how they lived in those days it's a perfect it's the verse that describes the book of Judges there was no leader everyone did what was right in their own eyes just like a lot of Christians today who don't have any leadership they don't allow Jesus to lead them and they don't have godly leaders to lead them if you don't have Jesus as your leader you must at least have a garden a leader on earth otherwise you'll end up like this particularly when you are young you will do what you think is right and you will go completely astray so that's how we complete conclude the book of Judges now the book of rules that follows that is a very brief book and I just like to quickly cover that before we finish this session in the Book of Ruth it's a story it's an interesting story because it deals with a woman who was a Moabite as she was not a Jew she was a more abiders now Moab was one of the sons of Lord which came through incest when he committed adultery with his own daughter he got a son called Moyne and from this race this polluted incestuous relationship came a race called the Moabites and from those low bites was this woman Ruth very bad heritage and yet this woman became the great-grandmother of King David and came in the ancestral line of Jesus Christ of Joseph and of Mary the earthly appearance of Jesus so it's amazing and that's why the story is so wonderful about this woman who was a Moabite as with all this bad history see God's love for prostitutes for people who come from incestuous relationships it's a great encouragement for some of you who may have come from a very bad past life maybe your family is a bad family maybe you were born out of prostitution it doesn't matter maybe you were born of south of something worse than prostitution incest like Ruth it doesn't matter you can be a godly woman even now that's the encouragement in the Book of Ruth because of her character God did not judge her because she came from a certain race God looked at her heart and saw that she was interested in you need to see particularly she I don't have time to go into the whole story you must read that for yourself it's a very interesting story you read about how she was married and first of all there was a limb awakened Naomi who when there was a famine they went into Moab they had two sons and the two sons married more white women Elimelech died and naomi was a widow and then the two sons also died and the two daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah also became widows and then naomi was a good lady she said all of you can go back to your own land verse 8 may the Lord deal kindly with you I'm sorry that I brought all this trouble upon you my children and I I'm going back to my homeland of Israel and don't come with me and they both verse 14 lifted up their voices and wept through the normal weapons and Orpha kissed her mother-in-law and said goodbye I have to go home I've got to find another husband I've got to take care of my life but Ruth clung to her she had learned something about the true God or did not care for that there was a fork in the road there or took the wrong one roots took the right one sometimes we come to Forks in the road and we choose the way of God sometimes you hear a message which shows you two ways some of you may be facing that right now our fad chose one root chose the other and it made all the difference you never hear about our fee again those Forks in the road are very important that's the time you take a decision and Ruth said don't tell me to go back I will go where you go verse 16 I will stay where you stay your people will be my people your God my God she took a decision and that was it I'm gonna follow your God is my god your people are my people and when Naomi saw Ruth 1:18 that she was determined she said ok and they both went and came back to Bethlehem verse 19 this is interesting I came from Bethlehem is where Jesus was born the City of David the City of David because that's where Ruth came and she's near me says I went out full but the Lord has brought me back empty if only Naomi knew what lay ahead of her sometimes we complain that the Lord has brought me back empty the Lord is witnessed against media almighty has afflicted me verse 21 how foolish of Naomi to do that but even though she had a mother-in-law like that Ruth did not complain she took care of her mother-in-law and was a very very good daughter-in-law to her mother not God was watching all this God was watching this heathen girl not complaining sometimes the people who come out of hedonism to Christ behave much better than those who have born in Christian families even in believers families and that's what we see here the girl who came out of a heathen background seeing her is a challenges to all of us her devotion to her mother-in-law the way she took care of her and then it says here that Naomi had a kinsmen chapter 2 verse 1 a relative a man of great wealth called boys now there was a law in Israel that if your brother dies you must in you tirana me 25 verse 5 to 9 you read about that law that if your brother dies you must marry the widow and bring her up and if or the closest relative must marry the widow so that the name does not get destroyed and so neomi thought well here is a close relative of mine called Boaz perhaps he's still single perhaps he can marry Ruth now Ruth didn't know all that she did not go looking for a husband she went looking for God it was Orpha who went looking for a husband Ruth went looking for God and found not only God but a good husband and a good future everything because she sought God first it's one of those examples of people who seek God's kingdom first and find all the other things added to them so we see here that Ruth is told let me go and get some do some work in the field you know just like a field worker she was a servant girl let me go and earn some money pick up some grain glean among the ears of grain and pick up something so that we can have food you know there was a law in Israel that when people glean their fields rich people they shouldn't go back a second time to pick everything leave it for the poor so Ruth went to pick up these things he was a poor girl and wanted to take care of herself and her mother-in-law and then she saw boas and Boaz saw this woman gleaning there said who is this woman and they said this is the young mobike woman who has come back with Naomi and she said can you can I please pick up the leftovers and Boaz for such a fine man he went dr. Ruth and said listen carefully my daughter he was scared this younger man be corrupted by other people so he was a godly upright man and said don't go to blame in any other field it's dangerous stay here and let your eyes be on the field and I commanded verse 9 the servants not to touch you and she fell on her face first in bombing down since why have I found favor in your sight she was a very humble girl why did God pick such a girl to be the ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ why did God pick such a girl to be the husband to the wife of boys because she was hard-working she was kind she was gracious she was a woman of faith one who treated her mother-in-law with respect and kindness and love and God chose that was the qualities God looks for even today in a young sister a wonderful example we see Ruth and later on we see her mother-in-law and she came and asked her where did you glean today verse 19 he said I gained in the field of boys and then Naomi said I think I should seek security for you chapter 3 verse 1 Boaz is our relative and do one thing go to his field and just lie down there quietly and she did that and she told her what to say and she must have explained to Ruth about this law which says a relative can marry you and redeem your property which you have sold and so when Boris meets her she says invert chapter 3 verse 9 I'm Ruth you're me you're my close relative please relieve me and boy and said blessed are you my daughter that you did not go after one of these young men boys must have been a much older man and usually young girls like to go for a young man and he said no I'm so happy to see that you didn't grow up to these young men there is another relative who's closer than me I must ask him first whether he will redeem you so the next day Boris went to the gate chapter 4 and asked this other relative see no means come back you're the closest relative are you willing to redeem her redeem her property the land which belonged to our brother Abimelech verse 3 and he said yes I'll redeem it but Boaz said is one more thing when you redeem it you've also got to marry Ruth the more by this and she said he said no in that case I don't want to I don't want to marry this more by this because I will jeopardize my own inheritance and I may have some problems if I marry her her sons will claim an inheritance with my sons and so on he said so I cannot redeem it and there was a custom those days verse 7 the man would take off his sandal and give it to say that verse 7 I'm not going to redeem Ruth Boaz said ok then he told everybody you're witnesses then I'm going to do it I'm gonna buy this land and I'm going to make Ruth my wife now that was a tremendous step for a man like - Maryum Oh virus but he had seen qualities in this girl who had come from hedonism you know sometimes if you want to understand it you see how Christian boys sometimes do not like to marry a girl who has come from indoorsy but some of those girls will come out of Hinduism are more godly then some were born in so-called believers families if you understand that problem you understand boys his problem now Bodi was to take that step and he married her and we read later on at the end of that chapter that - Ruth and Boaz verse 21 they had a son called Obed verse 22 - obut was born Jesse and Jesse was born David were seventeen mobit was the father of Jesse the father of David you see how God honored a woman from a heathen background because she honored God what we learned in Ruth is the truth of 1 Samuel 2:30 those who honor me I will honor and there is no partiality with God so I hope you're encouraged especially your sisters god bless you let's pray

Channel: CFC India

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Length: 54min 17sec (3257 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 02 2013