And now as we were singing the third hymn just now (Come, Holy Spirit), I just realised that we were not just singing about the Holy Spirit. We were not just singing to the Holy Spirit but we were also singing a summary of church history. You realise that we sung the ministry of the Holy Spirit that came in full at Pentecost. And we also saw how the early Christians were given power although they were martyred and thrown to the lions but yet they marched on in victory.

Then we sang about the period of the church where we called the Dark Ages, the one thousand years of dark ages. Then we sang about the Reformation and the revivals that came after the Reformation up till this day. Now we say that we still need the Holy Spirit to come and revive the church today. I think this is a very meaningful hymn on various fronts. And so let us come and turn this time to God in prayer before we consider our text this morning. Let us pray.

“Our God and our Father in heaven, we pray that You will send the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to descend upon this place today to accompany the preached Word such that it may not just fill our ears but also fill our hearts and our souls and by that Word we will be sanctified. So come, Holy Spirit, and revive the church today. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.”

Now if you remember where we left off the last time we looked at this book (the book of Ruth), we were at Ruth chapter 3. And we’ve looked at the first part of this chapter in Ruth chapter 3. In fact, the first seven verses under the title of “Uncover His Feet (Part 1)”. And we saw the strange direction from Naomi to her daughter-in-law to go straight to Boaz after a long day’s work of hard work at the threshing floor to go towards him in the evening. And while he’s still sleeping, softly uncover his feet and just lie down there. I think you probably detected that from the reading a while ago. And we saw that this was all part of Naomi’s plan for Ruth to propose to Boaz.

But we also said that in the first part that although we may not be able to fully understand the significance of what Ruth was doing with all these rather weird actions so many thousands of years away from our standpoint, but yet we can say that we see the author’s intention in leading its readers (back then the Jewish people or even us today) to think that there may be a possibility of impropriety there. There may be a possibility of impropriety. But yet, we saw also that there was no such thing. There was no immodesty. There was no impropriety between Boaz and Ruth although they were two just alone on the threshing floor.

But rather, what was recorded for us were only godliness and modesty and virtue all around on both the part of Boaz and Ruth. Now for today, we want to pick back up from where we left off. And this morning, I have just two points to close off part two of Ruth chapter 3. And so predictably, the sermon title for this morning is “Uncover His Feet (Part 2)”. In fact, I’ll use the same first point as I did the last time, and that’s this. The first point for this morning is proposing with propriety. Now proposing with propriety.

Now we’ve already somewhat considered the propriety part, now today let us take a look more closely at the proposing part. Look with me at verse 8 of Ruth chapter 3. Verse 8: “Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled, and turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. And he said, “Who are you?” So she answered, “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a kinsman (or you are a near kinsman).” Now there are a lot that we want to unpack in just these two verses, and so we’ll get to it.

But you see I can almost remember many years ago when I was still a young boy back in Ipoh. Now we would go out for dinner with my family like most families would do to the roadside store just for dinner. My mother wouldn’t cook. And there I was sitting with my sister; my parents of course sitting in front of me. And we will be eating. I mean all of a sudden, my sister would jump onto the chair, now sometimes jump onto the table. And we would look at her in shock and in surprise. What’s wrong? And the reason for her response is this. How many of you can relate? And the reason for her response is that the tail of a cat brushed by her feet, and she just couldn’t take it.

She just couldn’t take the fur of a cat or a dog that brushes by her feet. And she was just terrified of cats. In fact, if there’s a cat that was looking at her right across the table, she’d not be able to eat in peace. Now that’s how terrified she was of cats. Again I say how many of us here, especially the ladies, can relate to this. So it is not surprising. But now I know, you all know that she is in a different country in America and she has a cat for a pet. So I don’t know what changed that. Maybe the cats there are more civilised? Maybe that’s the case. Yeah but that’s what happened.

But be that as it may, now can you imagine Boaz’s reaction? Put yourself in Boaz’s shoes as we have read just now in the two verses. There you are, very fast asleep after a hard day’s work on the threshing floor, very tired when gradually you kind of feel your feet becoming kind of colder and colder. And then almost half asleep, half awake, not sure what’s going on, trying to reach down to your feet and try to find something to cover your feet. Still very groggy because you’re still sleeping alright when all of a sudden, you realise that there’s a person lying at your feet. Probably two eyes looking at you. What would you feel? What would your response be? What would your reaction be? What was Boaz’s reaction?

Now we don’t have to guess. The Bible tells us in verse 8. He said: “Now it happened at midnight that the man was startled”. The man was startled. Boaz was startled. Well, he was startled. Now see, this word used in the English word ‘startle’ is I think translated the same word in all your versions, regardless of what version you are using. It can also be translated as the word ‘terrified’. Boaz was terrified. See, this is the same word that is used when Joseph’s brothers were coming back from Egypt because there was a famine in the land and they had to go to Egypt to buy grain for the family.

And as they were journeying back from Egypt, they realised halfway throughout the journey that the money that they used to buy the grain was still in the bag of their youngest brother, Benjamin. And the Bible tells us that they were terrified. This word, they were startled because why? They knew they could lose their lives because of what they see in front of them. They were startled. But see, the same word is also used in Exodus chapter 19. Now we are all familiar with Exodus 20 which is the giving of the Ten Commandments. But right before the giving of the Ten Commandments, God was preparing the nation of Israel.

And we remember that great scene where smoke descended and covered Mount Sinai in smoke, and thunder and lightning and loud voices were heard. And the command was issued that if so much as a living thing touch the mountain, this living thing will be stoned. And the people standing there as they looked at that mountain that day, this is what the Bible said that they were terrified. They were startled. The same word that is used here for us, the same word that’s being translated as startled. They were terrified.

Now see as a side note, maybe some of us this morning whether you’re sitting here in this hall or tuning into the live stream, maybe you too need to be startled. Or perhaps you have been a little bit comfortable with MCO home worship that you may need to be startled or to be awakened to come back and consider the true meaning of worship and to come and join the church in physical worship. Maybe that’s you. Maybe you need to be startled. Or maybe you were once a fervent Christian. You were once a Christian who served the Lord fervently, faithfully, loved Christ and His church. But over the years, your love for Christ and the church may have winned. You may have been distracted. You may have gone along and do something else.

But this morning, maybe you need to be startled to come back this new year and rededicate your love to Christ and to the church. Maybe that’s you. Or maybe you are those who are just going through the motion of life, never giving much thought to what would happen if this night your soul is required of you. I’m just going through the motion- going to work, going to school, doing the same old, same old. Preoccupied with the things of this world. Maybe you need to ask the same question the hymn writer asks: “Where might you be going this fine day, my friend? Are you going off along an aimless road that soon must end?”. This world will end.

Is there an aim in your life? It’s your journey along this world? Are you chasing a dream that is illusive? As I said, maybe some of us need to be startled, to wake up this morning. Now you see, Boaz was startled. Boaz was startled out of his place, wide awake. And he turned in verse 8: “he turned himself; and there, a woman was lying at his feet. (Verse 9) And he said, “Who are you?””. He asked the question: Who are you? Well, that was Boaz’s reaction. Now we see of course he was terrified, startled. On the other hand, you can imagine Ruth probably wasn’t as startled as Boaz alright. Ruth was probably lying down at his feet kind of almost aiming for Boaz, waiting for him to wake up.

So she wasn’t as startled because she was what? She was a lady on a mission. She knows what she wanted to do. And as Boaz as soon as he woke up, now we see that Ruth wasted no time in introducing herself and then quickly making her request first night. After Boaz said who are you, Ruth answered: “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing, for you are a near kinsman”. Now this word ‘near kinsman’ or ‘close relative’. See, this phrase here “near kinsman or close relative” is an extremely important phrase for us to understand what is going on in this chapter. And so we need to look at what is happening and we will come to it.

But first, let’s ask that question: What is Ruth asking for here? What is Ruth requesting of Boaz? What is she trying to say to Boaz? Now you see as I’ve mentioned this is the story of Ruth proposing to Boaz alright- Ruth proposing to Boaz. But nevertheless, we mustn’t think of this proposal here in this story as the modern-day proposals that we are so familiar with alright- the boy falls in love with a girl and the girl falls in love with a boy, and then the boy wants to marry the girl, and then he buys a ring, and then he gets down on one knee and proposes to the girl in the youth retreat behind the door that is unlocked. So you shouldn’t think of modern-day proposals “will you marry me” like that.

That is not what we see in this story here. Now Ruth said: “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing”. Now is that a familiar phrase? Is that a familiar phrase? Now see, that is a familiar phrase. Now where have we heard this phrase before? Now we’ve seen this in this very book in the book of Ruth in chapter 2. Ruth chapter 2, you look with me at verse 12. Ruth 2:12, this is what Boaz said to Ruth the first time they met. Verse 12: “The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.”. Now see the similarity in the word structure used there.

Now you will recall in Ruth chapter 2 that Boaz met Ruth for the first time, and Ruth was gleaning in the fields of Boaz. And Boaz, when they were conversing, Boaz said I know what you have done for your mother-in-law that you left everything, your homeland to follow your mother-in-law. And may the LORD God of Israel repay your work because you have come under his wings for refuge. That was what happened in Ruth chapter 2. But in Ruth chapter 3, we see Ruth repeating this phrase to Boaz. In essence, what Ruth is telling Boaz is this. Now Boaz, now do you remember the blessing that you prayed over me in Ruth chapter 2? Now why don’t you answer your own request and take me to provide for and to protect covenantally?

That is Ruth’s request to Boaz. In essence, that is the proposal request from Ruth to Boaz. Here is Ruth’s request of Boaz to marry her. To marry her. But logically, we must then ask another question. Another question must follow, and that is this. Why? Why should Boaz want to marry Ruth? Why should Boaz want to marry Ruth? Now see, the reason is given for us in this very chapter. In fact, this very verse: “I am Ruth, your maidservant. Take your maidservant under your wing”. For. Now this word ‘for’ can be translated as the word ‘because’. And so Ruth gives the reason for why Boaz would want to marry her. For you are a near kinsman. For you are near kinsmen.

This word ‘near kinsmen’, close relative, kinsmen redeemer. In various ways it can be interchanged in terms of this word is. It’s an extremely important word, so pay attention with me for a while because in essence, Ruth is banking upon this phrase to ask Boaz to marry her. That is from Ruth’s standpoint. That’s why it’s very important for us to know what this phrase means for the context of this story, even in this very chapter itself. And I say it is important not just from Ruth’s standpoint but also when you look at the response that Boaz gave to Ruth. We see how important this is because, look at verse 10.

Just read one more verse with me: “Then he said (Boaz said), “Blessed are you of the LORD, my daughter! For you have shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.”. Get this. Boaz is saying that you asking me to marry you is greater kindness at the end, which is now, which is you asking me to marry you. Then at the beginning, what is the beginning? The beginning is when Ruth left everything- her homeland, her family, her belongings to follow Naomi. Boaz is saying what you’re doing now is greater kindness than at the beginning. Okay, can you imagine what can be greater in terms of kindness than leaving everything to follow this person, her mother-in-law?

Now see, is it just simply because Ruth was asking Boaz who is at this point probably an elderly man, an older man, to marry her instead of all the younger reapers around that is available to Ruth? That’s why you’re showing greater kindness to me you know in asking me to marry you. Some commentators have suggested that, but I think that is not the case. I think that the reason for this revolves around this phrase: “kinsmen redeemer”. Kinsman redeemer. Therefore I said it’s important for us to know what this phrase means. Now, look at this phrase “kinsmen redeemer”. Near kinsman, close relative. Now this word comes from the Hebrew word goel. G-o-e-l. Goel.

Now what is a goel? Now to know what a goel is, turn with me to the book of Leviticus. The third book of the Bible, Leviticus, and chapter 25. Leviticus chapter 25. Now we know that Leviticus consists of laws that were laid down by God to instruct Israelites how they are to live as a community in the Promised Land. So look with me at Leviticus 25:25. Leviticus 25:25, here’s what God has told Moses to tell the people. Now if one of your brethren becomes poor and has sold some of his possession. Now the situation is one of the Israelites or your brethren has become so poor to the extent that he needs to sell his belongings, whether his land, his property. His belongings. And if he is redeeming relative comes to goel, to redeem it, then he may redeem or goel what his brother sold.

So a goel is a person who comes and buys back the land or the possession or the property or the belonging of a poor relative. Now that’s who a goel is. Look at verse 47, the same chapter. Leviticus 25:47: “‘Now if a sojourner or stranger close to you becomes rich, and one of your brethren who dwells by him becomes poor, and sells himself to the stranger or sojourner close to you, or a member of the stranger’s family”. Now see the context here is, here again is one of your brethren who is becoming so poor, but here the brethren is so poor to the extent that he can’t even sell anything. He has to sell himself. So he’s selling himself to a foreigner or a sojourner or a stranger that has become rich. And so he has to sell himself as a slave.

Verse 48: “after he is sold he may be (goel again. He may be) redeemed again. One of his brothers may (goel or) may redeem him.”. You see, now so a goel is a person who comes and buys back someone out from slavery. Numbers 35 tells us that if somebody murders your family, in the entire chapter, in fact, the goel can come and redeem justice for your family. So a goel is a person who comes and kind of buys back justice for the family that has suffered. So do you see the common trend here of who a goel is? Goel is a person who buys back, who redeems, who restores, who gives back the dignity, the protection, the belonging, the honour, the possession of another person, the family name of another person. And that is who a goel is.

A goel is a redeemer, and Boaz- Boaz is a qualified redeemer. Boaz is a qualified redeemer. Why? Because he is a relative and because he has the means. Boaz is a relative and he has the means. And so if you turn back with me to Ruth chapter 3, you would see that for you are a kinsmen redeemer, said Ruth. You qualify. But get this very, very important point. Here’s the turning point of this entire story. Get this very important point. Ruth is a what? Ruth is a Moabite. Ruth is not an Israelite. Ruth has got no claims to any protection. She has got no claims to any possession. No claims to dignity or Israelite honour or any land or belongings et cetera. Remember whatever we read in Leviticus applies to what? The children of Israel.

Ruth is a Moabite. She’s got no claims to any of these things. Oh yes, we know that she once married an Israelite, either Mahlon or Chilion, the sons of Naomi. But they’re both dead and Ruth is still a foreigner. She is still a Moabite. She was a foreigner. So with all that in mind, with all that background in mind, do you see what is Ruth asking of Boaz? What is Ruth asking of Boaz? When Ruth asks Boaz to take her under his wings, what is she asking Boaz to do? Is it simply just to marry me and take care of me? Who was she thinking when she was asking Boaz to take her under his wings? Who was she thinking about? She was thinking about her mother-in-law, Naomi. She was thinking about Naomi primarily.

Now do you see that? I say that is very vital to see. Ruth was not thinking about herself. She was thinking about her mother-in-law because what? Because Naomi is the true Israelite. Naomi is the Israelite to which can be redeemed, to which Boaz can be a goel too because Naomi was the one who was a true Israelite and Ruth was a Moabite. She was a foreigner. I said when you see this, it’s unbelievable alright- it’s unbelievable. That’s why can you see now why Boaz is saying that your last act shows greater kindness than your first act? Now even in this act of asking me to marry you, you are still thinking of who? Your mother-in-law. You’re not thinking about yourself; you’re thinking about your mother-in-law. And Ruth is a picture of selflessness. Ruth here is a picture of selflessness.

Now she is a picture of esteeming others better than herself in the way that she is requesting of Boaz right here. Now turn with me to the New Testament, just to one passage in the New Testament in the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2, here is a letter that Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. Let me read just two verses for you from verse 3 to verse 4. Here’s what Paul is telling the church in Philippi. He’s saying this: “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”.

Now you see, as you read these two verses, do you see Ruth being described here? Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in loneliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Now Ruth is a picture of esteeming others better than herself. She looked out not only for her own interest but also for the interest of others. Now see, this is Ruth. This is a description of Ruth. She’s stuck to her mother-in-law even though her mother-in-law told her many times, Naomi told her to go back- to go back to your home and follow your sister-in-law, Oprah. She is going back, and you go with her. But what does the Bible say? Ruth clung to Naomi. She clung on to Naomi. She was there despite the difficulties back then.

And here in a big decision of her life in asking Boaz to marry her, I think most of the at least the girls here would say that marriage is a big decision. But even in this big decision, Ruth was thinking about who? She is still thinking about Naomi, her mother-in-law. She was not thinking about herself. That we see is the character of Ruth. I said this is breathtaking. Does he think about the last time you were in a position to esteem others better than yourself? Now see, think about the last time you had the opportunity to act or to think for a colleague, a friend, a neighbour, maybe a family member, not even a colleague or a friend?

How about your loved ones? When was the last time you had the opportunity to think and to act for your loved ones, those closest to you, to forego something. Maybe perhaps something that you enjoy because it harms the conscience of someone else and to not do that just once or twice but to kind of do that repeatedly and consistently in some of the lives and some of the big decisions in life. And we see that in Ruth. How many of us can raise our hands and say I’m like Ruth, esteeming others better than myself? Now see, if you were to be honest, we must say that none of us. None of us are like Ruth.

See, Ruth is this model of selflessness that is held up so high for us to see, a model that we cannot attain to. It’s a model that is so high. But here’s the thing. We cannot stop there. We cannot stop at seeing Ruth as this model of selflessness, a picture that we cannot attain to. But rather, we have to see that Ruth here is a picture. Ruth is a picture like an arrow that points forward. Ruth points forward to a person. Ruth is pointing to this person who had more than Boaz could ever have had, had more than King David or King Solomon. All the billionaires in this world put together could never had because this person was a divine being.

Now this person was God, but this person was God-made man. Now He willingly chose to give up the heavenly glories and to associate and identify Himself with us so that He can save us from our sins. Now if you are still in Philippians chapter 2, continue reading with me. Continuing with me in verse 5. Verse 5: “Now let this mind be in you”. Now what mind? Now this mind that is selfless, this mind that is humble. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus”. Now this is the person that we are talking about- Christ Jesus. Jesus Christ. What did Jesus do? Verse 6: “who being in the form of God”.

You see, Jesus is God. He is in the form of God. His being, His very substance is God. Jesus is God. But He “did not consider it robbery to be equal with God”. I think the ESV puts it nicer. He said Jesus “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (or to be held onto)”. Jesus is God, but He didn’t consider that equality in terms of His rights and His privileges and His influence as God something that He would held onto and not let go. Verse 7: “but made Himself”. Can you see that word there “made Himself” of no reputation? Nobody forced Him. Nobody coerced Jesus to become men. Jesus made Himself. He willingly and voluntarily “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men”.

So you see the selflessness of the second person of the Trinity who gave up His rights, coming into this world, and associating Himself with us as men, taking upon Himself the form of a bondservant, and covering the likeness of men. But not just that. Verse 8: “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself”. Again who humbled Him? No one. He humbled Himself. He made Himself. He humbled Himself. That is the selfless nature of our Lord. “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”.

So Jesus who is God came down and associated Himself with us as men, gave up the heavenly glories, the heavenly rights that rightfully belongs to Him, the privileges that He had, confining Himself to a human body to the extent that He was obedient to the Father to the point of death, even the humiliating death of the cross. Now that is who Ruth points us to. Now Ruth points us to Christ, the selfless one. The selfless one who voluntarily gave up everything so that for your sake and for my sake He can deliver us from the bondage of sin. Now, we have to see that. We have to see that Ruth is a picture that points us to Christ, the selfless one.

But here’s the thing. We cannot also stop there. We cannot stop at seeing in Ruth chapter 3 Ruth pointing to Christ the selfless one because there is another character and that is Boaz. Now see, Boaz likewise points us to Christ like an arrow, points us to Christ. Now if Ruth points us to Christ the selfless one, Boaz points us to Christ the kinsman-redeemer. The redeemer, the One who because He was selfless as we have just read, the one who because He gave up all the heavenly glories, came down and associated Himself with us, He qualifies. He qualifies to become that kinsmen-redeemer for you and for me. He became the God-man. He became the God-man. And so He can place one hand on God because He’s equal with God, and can place another hand on man because He’s equal with men.

As Steve Lawson said He is God as if He was not men, and He’s men as if He was not God. He is the God-man, and this is the only person that can bridge the gap between a holy God, a pure God, a righteous God, and a sinful, unrighteous, undeserving mankind like us. This is the only person that can stand in between holy God and sinful men. No angel can stand in between. No prophet can stand in between. No man can stand in between, but the God-man can stand in between and qualifies as the kinsmen-redeemer to redeem you and I from the bondage of sin.

Well, do you see now that this word ‘kinsmen-redeemer’ is just pregnant, filled with meaning? It ties together these two characters, shows us that like a triangle that points upwards, Ruth points to Christ the selfless one and Boaz points to Christ our goel. And these two characters meet in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that is a beautiful and profound picture that transcends just a love story. And everybody knows the book of Ruth as a love story. It is true, it is a love story, but there is a greater and more profound meaning as we kind of deep dive and look at the characters there.

And so with that in mind, the question for you and I is this: Now do you know Christ? Now do you know Jesus? Now this morning, is He your goel? Is Jesus Christ your kinsmen-redeemer? Now you see, those of us who have lived a while upon this earth are beginning to see that there are some things in this physical world that money can redeem you from, but only certain things, not everything. Some things in this world that your status, your connection, your influence, your possessions can redeem you from, but the only function to redeem you from certain things now your soul which is eternal which never dies can never be redeemed from by any of these physical things that you have upon this earth because your eternal soul needs an eternal goel. Your eternal soul needs an eternal kinsmen-redeemer.

And the Bible tells us that there is only one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. So this morning, do you know Jesus Christ? Is He your goel? I say you have to settle this question honestly within yourself even if you’re sitting here in this room or tuning in through the live stream. I urge and I plead of you to consider this very, very seriously because this is the ultimate question for your life. Is Jesus your kinsman-redeemer? If today you stand in judgement in front of a holy God, who will stand for you? Who will redeem you?

Now if you’re burdened by this, then the hope of the gospel is Jesus to extend His hand to you and say: “Come, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take your yoke upon Me, and learn from Me, for I am lowly and gentle in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”. But the truth is if on that Judgement Day you don’t have a goel, then how shall we escape? How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? Well, that day will come, but you have to settle within yourself. Is Jesus your kinsmen redeemer? So that’s the first point this morning, proposing with propriety.

Now the second point and the last point is this, securing with suspense. Securing with suspense. Let’s look at verse 11 in Ruth chapter 3. Here’s what Boaz is telling Ruth: “And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you request, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman.”. Now this word ‘virtuous woman’. Now Ruth’s virtue lies not just in the fact that she is a morally pure and upright woman as we’ve seen and that nothing happened between her and Boaz even though they were alone on the threshing floor. But her virtue also lies in the fact that she was selfless and her willingness to sacrifice her homeland, her belongings, her kindred just to follow Naomi.

And even in this very crucial moment of her life, you know asking Boaz to marry her, she’s still selfless. So that is the virtue of Ruth that is so clear such that even the whole town according to Boaz, for all the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. Not just me, but the people of my town know that you are a virtuous woman. That is who Ruth is. And as the story kind of draws to a close in chapter 3, now what we see is in a sense Boaz accepting Ruth’s request or proposal to marry her. We saw that right: “and do not fear. I will do for you all that you request” in verse 11, which means that Boaz accepts Ruth’s requests. And so he wants to marry Ruth. But. But there is a catch. There’s a catch.

Now although there is an element of security which is the fact that Boaz wants to marry Ruth, yet there is still some suspense. And that’s why I titled the second point as securing with suspense. Securing with suspense. Verse 12: “Now it is true that I am your near kinsman; however, there is a kinsman nearer than I. Stay this night, and in the morning it shall be that if he will perform the duty of a close relative for you—good; let him do it. But if he does not want to perform the duty for you, then I will perform the duty for you, as the LORD lives! Lie down until morning.””. Now yes, Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer, but we find out that there is actually one closer to Ruth and to Naomi than Boaz.

And so that matter has to first be sorted out. And we will see that matter being sorted out in Ruth chapter 4. So you may want to join us again as we consider Ruth chapter 4. But at this point of time, Boaz assured Ruth not to worry. Now there’s a lot of security here. That’s why I say securing that Boaz assures Ruth not to worry. And you look at verse 15. Look at verse 15: “Also he said (which is Boaz. Boaz said), “Bring the shawl that is on you and hold it.””. So Ruth probably has a shawl on her, and she held the shawl. “And when she held it, he measured six ephahs of barley, and laid it on her. Then she went into the city.

(Verse 16) When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “Is that you, my daughter?” But then she told her all that the man had done for her.”. Now we see here Boaz telling Ruth to bring back six ephahs of barley. If you recall the first day when Ruth was gleaning the fields of Boaz, Boaz also gave her some barley to bring back, but Boaz gave her one ephah of barley. Now one ephah of barley is equivalent to modern-day twenty kgs alright. So six ephahs of barley, six times twenty kgs is a hundred twenty kgs. Now first time I kind of made sense of how much an ephah is, I was thinking to myself: How is Ruth going to carry hundred and twenty kgs? Double me, carry back to her mother-in-law. She’s a strong woman.

But more than that, how is the shawl able to hold hundred and twenty kgs? She has a shawl on her. But those are some nagging questions. But yeah anyway, she’s carrying hundred and twenty kgs back to her mother-in-law. Now this is almost like a modern-day dowry, isn’t it? Hundred twenty kgs of barley carry back to your mother in-law. Now that is a lot of security here. A lot of security that Boaz is giving to Ruth. Verse 17: “And she said (which is Ruth told her mother-in-law), “These six ephahs of barley he gave me; for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.”. Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law. Again where have you heard this language before? Have you heard this before?

Now you’ve heard this before in Ruth chapter 1 when Naomi went back with Ruth to Bethlehem and the women looked at her and they asked: Is this Naomi? Is this beautiful? What did Naomi say? Don’t call me beautiful. Call me bitter. Call me Mara, for I went away full and I’m coming back what? Empty. Here in three chapters, we see that Boaz is telling Ruth to not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law. Now it turns out that God has never left Naomi, isn’t it? God has been watching over Naomi all this while. He has never left her. Now in the heat of the moment, oftentimes we cannot see.

When we are going through trials and tribulations, we cannot see the hand of God. But looking back just like how we see in this chapter, we can see that God has never left Naomi. And God, His promise is that He will never leave you and me. And that’s why in times of trials and tribulations also, as we’ve heard we can count it all joy when we fall into various trials because we know. We know that there is something that God is doing in our life- the testing of our patience will produce faith that leads to refining and perfection in our life. So here is what we see. Don’t go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.

Verse 18: “Then she said, “Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will turn out; for the man will not rest until he has concluded the matter this day.””. At this point of time, Naomi herself is fully aware that Boaz will not give up until this matter is finished, is concluded. And I said in Ruth chapter 4 we will see how this matter is concluded. There’s some suspense that must continue only in the next chapter. But at this point, what you and I need to know is this. You see, although there is some element of suspense in this chapter in Ruth chapter 3, but there is never, ever any suspense with God. Your circumstances and situations and things in this life may change (and most often will change), but things in the life to come will never change.

But the question is: Do you know what God has said about things in their life to come that will never change? That part there is no doubt. There is no uncertainty. So just turn with me to one passage in the book of John, New Testament. John chapter 17, let’s just take a look at one of the things that God has said about things in the life to come that never changes. In John chapter 17, it’s of course famously known as the high priestly prayer where Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is praying to the Father, the first person of the Trinity. And here we get a glimpse of the sweet communion between the second and the first person of the Godhead.

John chapter 17, let me read just one verse, verse 3. John 17:3- “And this is eternal life”. This is eternal life. This one thing. Jesus is saying this one thing you can be sure of. There is no suspense, no doubt in this one thing and this one thing is eternal life. Do you want to have eternal life? If you were to ask honestly do you want to have eternal life, I think nobody here in their proper mind would say I don’t want. I don’t want to have eternal life, but there is no doubt as to how you can have eternal life, and this is it. “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

This is it. This is it. If you want to have eternal life, it’s here in verse 3. If you know the true God and you know the true Christ, you have eternal life. If you don’t know the true God and you don’t know the true Christ, you don’t have eternal life. That’s it. It is as straightforward as that. No guessing game, no uncertainty, and no suspense. So again the question we need to ask is: Do you know the true God of the Bible and do you know the true Jesus of the Bible? Not the Jesus that is being thrown around in everyone’s lips so flimsily every day, not the Jesus of Mormonism, not the Jesus of the Jehovah witnesses, not the Jesus of the social justice movement, not the Jesus that is out there, but the Jesus of the Bible.

Do you know the Jesus of the Bible? If you do, you have eternal life. But if you don’t, then you must find out today. Today is the day you must find out. Behold now is the accepted time. Today is the day of salvation. You may never have another day. Today is the day you must find out who the true Jesus of the Bible is. But if you do; if you do, then turn with me to just one last passage also in the book of John also by the same person who is speaking. John chapter 10. John chapter 10, another familiar passage. John 10:27. John 10:27- “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them eternal life”.

The same person speaking about the same topic, eternal life. Jesus is saying: “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”. Now just based upon these few verses, here is the assurance that we can have as Christians if you are His; if you belong to Him today. The assurance is this. No one is able to pry you out of Jesus’ hands. It’s as if Jesus has got hands and He’s keeping you safely in His grip. No one is able to pluck open the hands of Jesus and pull you away.

And just so in case that is not enough, Jesus is saying no one is able to also pluck you out of My Father’s hands. So you have security upon security. You have safety upon safety in that sense. No one is able to pluck you out from the hands of the entire Godhead because not just the Father holds you in His hand, the Son holds you in His hands, the Holy Spirit is given to us as a guarantee of the eternal inheritance that we are to get. And so that is the security and the comfort we have as Christians. There’s no suspense with God. No suspense with God. If you know what is written in His Word, there is only security everlastingly.

So this morning if you are a Christian, you have nothing to fear. You have nothing to fear. What can men do to you? What can the virus do to you? What can the floods do to you? What they can do is they can kill your body. That is it. But your soul which is eternal is eternally secure. It is safe. It is secure like the hymnwriter puts it. We are safe in the arms of Jesus, safe in His hands. Safe in His hands. Nothing can pluck us out and cause our salvation to wayne or to waiver. If you belong to His, salvation is confirmed. Heaven is confirmed. Adoption into God’s family is assured. It is guaranteed if you are a believer.

Yes, you may struggle and you may fall, and that is part of sanctification in this life and in this world. But the promise is this, that one day we will be perfected. We will be made perfect. The bodies that we have, the health that we are experiencing that are failing, financial distress that we may be in, will all be gone. We will be perfected and we will see Christ face to face. There is no doubt about this thing. There is only God and confirmation that this will happen. Believers, you have nothing to fear.

But let me also say this. If you are not a believer, then you have everything to fear because as sure as salvation is, now so sure will judgement come. One day all of us will have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ. Again it is recorded in the Bible we will all have to stand before the judgement seat of Christ and give an account of what we have done in the body, whether good or bad. That will come. That day will come. So on that day, will you stand in front of the judgement seat in terrifying suspense or will you have the joy of full security. Let us pray.

“Our eternal God and our Father in heaven, we want to thank You from the bottom of our hearts for Your Word. Even in this narrative of the book of Ruth, we see the glories of Christ being manifested, being put on display so clearly for us. And for those of us here who are in Christ, may we have this great assurance that we belong to Christ eternally. Nothing can pluck us from the hands of Christ. For those of us here who have yet to see that great privilege of having a Saviour who can redeem us from our sins, may today be that great day of salvation. May You work in our hearts to draw us unto You. Give us the eyes of understanding to see the need for a Saviour. For these, we ask and pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.