The Renewal of Life

Ruth 4.13-17

There are times in our journey to heaven when we need to be renewed. Life can bring stress and heaviness.
Things can happen we never anticipated.
We can find ourselves facing loss like Naomi did.
We can be overwhelmed and not be sure what to do.
We can get weary while doing good, not in it but while doing it.
We can feel like Naomi.
Ruth 1:20-21 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
Feelings like that are a dead end, until the LORD renews the soul.

Isaiah 40.31

In His Time, if we look to Him, the LORD will renew our souls when we need Him to.
There were a number of blessings He brought to Naomi, blessings that renew the heart and soul.

Look at them with me...
1. The Kinsman Redeemer
Took some of the sting out of being an orphan and a widow.
The LORD set this up through the law to make sure widows would not be destitute.
Jesus is our Kinsman Redeemer. The Parable of the unjust judge in Luke 18 shows the plight of widows in His time. The church is anything but a widow. We are the most cared for bride on earth.

Ruth got in on this through Naomi. The Kinsman Redeemer was a law of Israel. When she took on the LORD as her God she inherited all the promises of Abraham. .. And so do we!
Galatians 3:7-9, 29 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Ruth is symbolic of the church which Christ purchased.
This was a Willing Redemption. Boaz did not grudge the redemption money. How could he when his heart was set on the purchase of Ruth: He willingly offered the full price, although that price included the gift of himself. So was it with Jesus, our princely Kinsman, who loved us and gave Himself for us, that He might give Himself to us. Nor did He hesitate to pay the awful price of sorrow, suffering, and blood, that He might redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.

Ruth was in a helpless situation. She needed a rescuer-redeemer.
Both Jesus and Boaz did the act of redemption publicly. Boaz inside the city gate, Jesus outside.
Hebrews 13:12-14 And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

When Ruth knew that Boaz had purchased her to be his wife, would she not be anxiously looking for him every moment to come and take her to be with himself ? Is not this the present position of the Church? Working, waiting, watching, till He comes. He has redeemed us by His own Blood, for the Lord Himself shall descend, and when He shall appear we shall be like Him, we shall see Him as He is, and dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

For Ruth it was Boaz.
For us it is Jesus.
God will take care of you.


2. A In-Law Who Remains a relative after the law is fulfilled.
Mahlon died. Ruth was no longer technically related to Naomi. She was a daughter-in-law. With the death of her husband her legal relationship with Naomi ceased. But love and loyalty do not let relationships die.

What a noble woman Ruth was. She understood commitment greater than many of the Israelites. They were doing what was right in their won eyes while this "foreigner" was setting such a beautiful example of Christlikeness.

Being called an "in-law" is a gift.

Ruth went way beyond the law. So should we. We are blessed when it is done to us. Let's bless others.

3. A New Born Child In the Family
It is amazing what the birth of a child can do for a person! New life touches hearts.

Wasn't literally Naomi's grandson. Boaz was a relative. Ruth had been a daughter-in-law. Now she is better than 7 sons! Naomi lost 2. But gained 7.

Hang around with children. They will do wonders for you!

Each one of these points of restoration had to do with family members. God works through families. In the Old Testament the emphasis is on the one family, the physical children of Abraham, the people of Israel, his grandson.
In the New Testament it is the children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ, God's Forever Family. In these days He works through His people to bring restoration to those in great need.

This brings us to be available for the LORD to use us.
Louisa Stead

God has ways of rebuilding devastated lives. He specializes in restoring souls. The Book of Ruth shows us how He can restore and bring blessing upon a weary soul.

I love the way He works.

Psalm 95