* A tree is known by its fruit.
* The decisions you make today will affect your future, for positive or negative.
* The problem is that fruit takes time to show up!
* In the meantime, you need
* Determination
* Discipline
* Diligence
* We see this in the life of Ruth, and the opposite in the life of Orpah.
* Backstory - An Israelite, Elimelech, moved to Moab during a time of famine in Israel.
* Naomi was his wife - Ruth and Orpah his daughters-in-law.
* He died. Then his boys died. It was time for Naomi to go back to Israel.
* But she couldn’t go back with Moabite daughters-in-law, showing a mixed marriage.
* Orpah agreed to stay, but Ruth didn’t.
* Orpah went back to her former way of life, but Ruth broke from her past.
* Vs 14-18 - Ruth clung to Naomi, having faith in her God!
* God was pleased with her faith!
* ** Let’s look at the fruit of Ruth’s decision.
* Matthew 1:5 - Ruth was in the genealogy of Jesus.
* She married Boaz, who’s mother was RAHAB!
* She had Obed, who had Jesse, who had DAVID!
* ** Let’s look at the fruit of Orpah’s decision (according to the Talmud and an ancient commentary called a Midrash).
* To start, Ruth and Orpah were the daughters of King Eglon (the fat king of Moab that Ehud killed with a dagger).
* They were the granddaughters of Balak (who hired Balaam to curse the Israelites).
* Orpah and Ruth both had the same upbringing, but two very different reactions to their past.
* When Orpah left Naomi, she became the antagonist of Ruth in the story.
* All the rabbis spoke of her negatively, that she “turned her back on Naomi and Naomi’s God.”
* As a result, she prostituted herself, ultimately bearing four famous sons.
* Their names - Ishibibnob, Saph, Lahmi, and …GOLIATH!
* When you see the most famous battle in the Bible (David and Goliath) you can now see it as the result of decisions made years prior that echoed into eternity!
* So be faithful today - be determined, disciplined, and diligent - and you will have the same fruit to show as Ruth.
Ruth 1:15 (4/29/21)
Faith's Fruit
April 29, 2021 • Benham Brothers
Ruth (4/24/16)
April 24, 2016 • Benham Brothers
- Redeem means “to set free by paying a price" - it's about LOVE. - KEY - Only those who receive this love WTC will experience this freedom. - The book of RUTH is a physical picture of this redeeming love - it's a love story. - BEGIN With The End In Mind - Matt 1:5. - See where you want to be and work backward. - Our scene is BETHLEHEM. - PART 1: (1:1-5) - Famine - Two Types: - 1) God’s leading - He’s moving you to another place. - 2) God’s judgment - He’s punishing for sin. - Pattern - Untruth, Unfaith, Disobedience, Death / Truth, Faith, Obedience, Life. - Which pattern will you choose? - Naomi tells the girls to go find husbands...... - PART 2: (1:14-18) - WTC! - Ruth clung to Naomi - she LOVED Naomi and placed her FAITH in God. - Law - no Moabite could enter the congregation, but Ruth placed her faith in God. - Ruth wasn’t focused on her stuff - she was focused on God and Naomi. - God was busy taking care of Ruth’s stuff in the background. - Naomi and Ruth return to Bethlehem...... - PART 3: (2:1-7) - Work is Worship. - Ruth was a producer, not a consumer - Boaz was watching. - Boaz returns the favor done to his mother, Rahab....... - PART 4: (2:8-15) - Divine Attraction. - They were attracted to each other’s CHARACTER first. - They were drawn to qualities you CAN CONTROL, not those you can’t control. - Nowhere do we see a mention of Ruth’s or Boaz’s physical features. - Naomi tells Ruth that Boaz is a kinsman redeemer....... - PART 5: (3:1-9) - The Plan. - She approached him - we must approach Jesus. - Spread Your Wings (2:12) - The very thing he attributed to God she now attributed to him! - Boaz wants to redeem them....... - PART 6: (3:11-14) - Die To Your Dream. - Boaz wanted Ruth, but he was willing to die to her. - He did what was right even when his emotions were going crazy. - vs 14 - he never touched her - true love WAITS. - Boaz sits in the gate........ - PART 7: (4:1-10) - Fulfillment of A Dream. - Vs 4:13 & 17 - Ruth becomes the mother of Obed - Jesse - http://david..........jesus!
Ruth 1:14 (5/8/13)
May 8, 2013 • Benham Brothers
A woman having a husband was everything in those days * Ruth was more interested in Naomi's God and taking care of Naomi than she was about getting a husband God looked favorably upon Ruth - we hear no more about Orpah Orpah kissed Naomi, but Ruth clung to her Are we just kissing Jesus or clinging? God was watching out for Ruth
Ruth 2:1 (4/18/19)
April 18, 2019 • Benham Brothers
* Remember Rahab? A non-Jewish woman in Canaan and a former prostitute who clung to faith in God and was spared death in Jericho. * She was married to Salmon, who was the father of Boaz (some believe she was the grandmother of Boaz). * Boaz most likely grew up hearing the story of what God did and how He spared her even though she wasn’t a Jew. * So when Ruth showed up Boaz didn’t see a Moabite woman who shouldn’t be a part of the Jews. (Deuteronomy 23:3 - “No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their descendants should enter into the assembly of the Lord, even to the 10th generation) * He saw a woman a lot like his mom (or grandmother) who placed her faith in God and needed mercy just as she did. * Just as the City of Jericho was doomed for destruction, yet God spared one faithful family. * Ruth the Moabite was allowed into the assembly just as Rahab the Canaanite because of her faith. * Faith transforms people - God no longer saw Ruth as a Moabite or Rahab as a Canaanite - He saw them as His kids! * Boaz was uniquely prepared for Ruth, so now we have this great love story. * Their marriage produced Obed, who had a son named Jesse, who had a boy named David who became king in Israel. * Until David’s progeny produced a king named JESUS!