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Sunday, January 17, 2010

They Lived Happily Ever After (Ruth 4:13-22)

A little girl had learned the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." She was telling the story to her mother. When she got down to the place where the prince kissed Snow White and awakened her from her sleep, the little girl said, "Mother, do you now what happened then?" The mother, knowing how the storied ended, said, "They lived happily ever after." The little girl said, "Oh no, they got married."

        We come to the close of the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth is a story that could began with the words, "Once upon a time," and you could certainly end the book with the words, "And they lived happily ever after."

        [Ruth 4:13-22]  
 13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.      
14 Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel.      
15 “May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”      
16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse.      
17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.      
18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron,      
19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab,      
20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon,      
21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed,      
22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.     

In the case of Ruth and Boaz, they got married and they lived happily ever after. Well, I got some good news for you. One of these days we are going to get married and live happily ever after. The last few verses of the Book of Ruth tell us how everything ended up in Ruth's case, and they remind us how everything is going to end up in our case.

We that are the earthly servants of Christ will one day become the heavenly spouse of Christ. Today we are His workers, one day we will be His wife. One day we will move out of the fields and move into His house.

In these closing verses we see:

1. OUR WAITING
In Ruth's case, there was a night of waiting. In 3:13, Boaz said to Ruth, "Remain this night." There was a period of waiting before everything would be legally finalized and personally realized. In our case, we await and anticipate our glorious future and the coming of our Heavenly Bridegroom. He went away and we wait for His return.

As we wait, there is:

A. We Rest on a Promise
Notice Ruth 3:13, “Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

Ruth was to rest in the promise Boaz gave her that he would take care of everything. He said, in a nutshell, "Lie down and rest. I will take of everything in the morning.”

The Lord gave us His promise that He would come again. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

I read about a London bookmaker that accepted a bet against a visit from outer space. The odds had been 100-1, but they lowered it to 33-1 because of a rash of bets from the United States. The firm said it stands to lose nearly $500,000 if somebody drops in. I say they better drop the odds lower, for one day, Someone will drop in and if I were a gambling man, I'd put a bet down on that one.  Here is something on which you can hang your hat. Jesus is coming again! That's a promise on which we rest.

Boaz said “It shall be in the morning" (3:13). We wait in the night, but morning is coming!  Do not despair the sunset, for the sunrise is coming.

C.A. Blackmore, one of America’s pioneer radio preachers, was preaching on the return of the Lord Jesus. He said, "My friend, we have a glorious hope, the Bible calls it a blessed hope for Christians. The Bible tells us that one day the trumpet will sound and Jesus will come back to take His children home! Dear friend, all your suffering and pain will be over, you'll have a new body, arms and legs that are missing will be replaced friend, we'll be like Jesus! You'll have a glorified body someday, some golden daybreak when Jesus comes back."

A few days later, Blackmore received a letter from a woman listener who had been bed-ridden for years. She wrote, "Rev. Blackmore, the message you gave on Jesus coming was such a blessing to me. I've been an invalid for almost 25 years and sometimes I get so discouraged, I can hardly wait for the Lord to come. To think I'll be able to walk again and there'll be no heartaches there. Thank you so much for your sermon."

His son Carl was the pianist and soloist for the broadcast. He too had been moved by what his father had said. Remembering his father’s words, "Some Golden daybreak,"  he gave us the great hymn:

Some glorious morning sorrow will cease,
Some glorious morning all will be peace;
Heartaches all ended, Labor all done,
Heaven will open, Jesus will come.

Some golden day-break Jesus will come;
Some golden day-break battles all won,
He'll shout the vict'ry, break thro' the blue,
Some golden day-break, for me, for you.

As we wait, there is also:

B. We Rest in a Place
In Ruth 3:13, Boaz said, "Remain this night." Then we read in 3:14, “So she lay at his feet until morning." The promise on which we rest is that Jesus will come.  The place in which to rest is at His feet.  We are to look for Him and live for Him. We are to live a life of expectation and a life of consecration.

Pompeii, Italy is an ancient Roman city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Hundreds were buried beneath the ash, cinders, and lava. During excavation, people were found in various places and positions. There were some found in deep vaults, having gone there for security. Some were found in lofty chambers, attempting to get above it all.

But there is one interesting Roman sentinel that was found. He was found standing at the city gate where he had been placed by the captain, with his hands still grasping his weapon. There, while the earth shook and the floods of ashes and cinders overwhelmed him, he had stood at his post, and there 1800 years later they found him. Like Ruth, may we stay at His feet till morning.

Secondly, besides our waiting, in these closing words we are reminded of:

2. OUR WEDDING
The night passed, the morning came, and Boaz kept his word. Notice Ruth 4:13, "So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife." You talk about an honorable Bridegroom and a happy bride. You talk about a sweet, special, significant wedding. This wedding certainly was!

As we look at this wedding we see:

A. A Thrilling Scene
How special this hour must have been to Boaz. He had loved Ruth so much that he had purchased and redeemed her. How special this must have been to Naomi. It was she that first saw the possibilities of all this coming to pass. How special it must have been to Ruth. She was no longer a worker in his field, she was a wife in his arms.

There is an interesting word that is used to describe Boaz taking Ruth to be his wife. Verse 13, says, "So Boaz took Ruth." The word "took" means "to carry away, to fetch."  One of these days our heavenly Boaz will "fetch" us and carry us away.

         I can only imagine what that hour will be like when Jesus comes and we are called home. John got a glimpse of that thrilling scene in Revelation 19:1-9:
       

1 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God;      
2 because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.”      
3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.”      
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!”      
5 And a voice came from the throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”      
6 Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.      
7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”      
8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.      
9 Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ ” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”     

That will be a thrilling scene. That will be a blessed hour. That will be a glorious time.

We also see:

B. A Touching Story
Boaz was as described, "a mighty man of wealth" (2:1). No doubt, Boaz could have married just about any single woman in town. He was Bethlehem’s most eligible bachelor. He would have been a prize catch for any of the Bethlehem maids.  But Boaz fell in love with Ruth, in spite of the fact she was from Moab. Most Jews wouldn't have anything to do with such foreigners. The idea of marrying one was out of the question.

Add to that the fact that Ruth didn't have anything to her name. She was hopeless and helpless. She was having to pick up left-overs in a field just to live. But Boaz fell in love with her and made her his wife.

One day we will enjoy being the heavenly bride of the heavenly Bridegroom. When we stand there, it will be as an undeserving bride. All of us will have to say that we don't understand why He would love us and make us His own. Never will what God has done for us be understood anymore than on our wedding day.

Lastly, in these closing words we see:

3. OUR WORSHIP
        We read in 4:13, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.”

        They had a baby boy. Verse 17 reads, “The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, ‘A son has been born to Naomi!’ So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

        Notice two things in verse 17. First, notice WHO named the baby boy. It was the neighbor ladies. Those who are in Christ should be identified as Christians by the witness of the lost instead of by the words of our lips. In Acts 11:26, the Bible teaches that the early believers in the city of Antioch of Syria were first called “Christians.” The name means “like Christ.” These early believers lived lives that made their neighbors think of Jesus. So, they came to be called “Christians” by the people of that city. We shouldn’t have to identify ourselves as Christians to others; others should be able to identify us as Christians.

        Second, notice WHAT they named him. They named him "Obed," which means worship.  Boaz and Ruth became husband and wife and it wasn't long before  the sound of Worship filled their home.

First, I am reminded that:

A.  Worship Is the Result of Our Love for Christ.
Obed was the result of Ruth's and Boaz' love for each other. Our worship is the result of our love for Him. The more we understand His love for us, the more we love Him. The more we love Him, the more we worship Him.

I am also reminded that:

B. Worship Is the Response of Our Life in Christ.
No doubt Ruth wanted to give Boaz a son. After all he had done for her, this was what she wanted to give him.

One day Jesus will come. We will become His wife for all eternity. He will be the object of our affection and the occupation of our time. He will be worshipped and rightly so. Yes, we will live happily ever after. What a wonderful story is THE LOVE STORY OF REDEMPTION!

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