Friday, November 5, 2010
God Is At Work - The Story of Ruth Part IV - The Providence of God, Part 8 of 23
TEXT: Ruth chapter 4
IDEA: The action of Boaz points to realities about God.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate that God cares for people that others reject.
Christians say that the Bible is a "revelation." A revelation of what? How does God reveal himself in Scripture?
I. What did Boaz do for Ruth?
He married a woman from Moab who didn't have a strong claim on him. He makes a point of calling her "Ruth the Moabitess." So what?
He went against his own self-interest to marry a woman that another man rejected as his wife.
He brought her from being an outsider into a relationship with God and God's community.
II. What might we learn about the creator of Boaz from the actions of Boaz?
God must feel at least as compassionate toward all the Ruths of Moab and Babylonia and Assyria and Saudi Arabia and North Korea as His creature Boaz felt toward Ruth. Is that hard to believe?
God must actually be the God of redemption with the desire to redeem into a relation with himself all who might seem like His enemies (Acts 13:38, Romans 5:6-8).
Conclusion:
What might others learn about God from our actions? Is it fair to look at us and see God in what we do?
