Covenant Faithfulness in the Book of Ruth

Well, like Brother John David mentioned earlier, it is Mother’s Day, and so Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. And we’re certainly glad to be celebrating Mother’s Day in our family as well. And it kind of reminded me of a story that I’d heard many years ago, I was thinking about it, how that there was a new mother, and she had a new baby, and the husband said, The husband said, well, let’s go out and see a movie. So they went out and went into the movie theater in there, and they were carrying their new baby into the movie theater, and the manager saw them and said, now, you’re welcome to come see the movie, but if the baby cries and you can’t stop the baby from crying, we’re going to have to ask you to leave, but we will give you a full refund.

And so they said, okay, we understand that. So they went into the movie and started watching it, and the baby was being very good, not presenting any problems. They’re watching the movie, and the husband looked at the wife and said, do you like this movie? And she said, not really. He said, pinch the baby. Okay. So, well, sometimes, you know, but… All right. Well, this morning, we’re going to be… Oh, I wanted to talk about one more thing before we move on, and that was camping.

You know, yesterday we had the opportunity, Gavin and Edward and I, to go out to Camp Ida and do some cleanup. And we got a little dusty out there. You might have seen one of the slides for the announcements had a picture of Eddie and Gavin dusting out some carpets. And so it’s a very interesting, very humorous slide.

But anyway, the camp is getting ready. I mean, it’s less than a month until the first camp in June, and then our camp is coming up. We’re the first full week in July. I think our first day is actually like June the 31st or something like that. But we have a great camp that’s scheduled this year. Our theme for the camp is going to be the first 11, and we’re going to be looking at the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis.

You know, very foundational, very fundamental material there for children to learn. And we’re going to be talking about those things. It’s a lot of good stuff there. Really looking forward to Camp Ida this year. And maybe your family is contemplating sending someone to camp for the first time. And if that’s the case, we would love to have them come and be with us at Camp Ida during that week.

And also, let me go ahead and plug our Vacation Bible School that we’re preparing for, and that’s going to be coming up in July also. July the 12th, I believe it is. So put that down on your calendar and make your plans to be with us Saturday, July the 12th for our Vacation Bible School. And we’re looking forward to those good events this summer.

All right, well, let’s get into some thinking this morning about the book of Ruth. And what we have is covenant faithfulness in the book of Ruth. And we’re going to be looking at the story of Ruth and Naomi and thinking about how their story exemplifies for us several very key characteristics that we as Christians need to exhibit within our lives.

And specifically thinking about how their relationship also entails good, positive thoughts regarding motherhood and regarding honoring our mothers. So let’s think about those things this morning as we turn to Ruth chapter 1 and verses 16 through 17 to introduce our text.

But Ruth said, “…and treat me not…” I seem to be having a little bit of a problem with the PowerPoint. It looks good up there, but on my screen it looks kind of bad. So I’m going to tell you what, I’m going to reboot this. See if I can’t get it to be better, because I can’t really, I can’t even read it up here.

But let’s go ahead and look, Ruth chapter 1, verses 16 and 17, while that’s getting booted back up. But Ruth said, Parts you and me. And you know, these particular verses in the book of Ruth stand out to us as verses that indicate such faithfulness on the part of Ruth to Naomi.

And that’s what we’re going to be looking at this morning, covenant faithfulness in the book of Ruth. You know, the story of Ruth is a love story in many ways. There is love shown between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. There is love shown between a man and a woman. And then there is love shown between God and His people.

But this isn’t a love story that anyone in the world today would understand. It’s a different kind of love story, because love in the book of Ruth is about covenant faithfulness, and that’s a very different concept than many people have in mind when they think about love today.

The concept of faithfulness, not romance, is what the book of Ruth highlights in the love story that it tells. And we’re going to see that as we study through the book of Ruth, that it is a relationship characterized by sacrifice, service, and sanctification.

And as we look at the significance of these things, we will come to learn more about what it means to be covenantly faithful to God, to one another, and especially, you know, in our marriage relationship. So let’s think about the significance, first of all, of covenant faithfulness.

There’s a particular Hebrew word that stands out when it comes to covenant faithfulness, and it’s the Hebrew word chesed. And it’s used 249 times in the Old Testament. In the book of Ruth, it’s used three times in three different verses there.

And the significance of it, it can be translated in so many different ways. It can be translated mercy, loving kindness, kindness, faithful love, steadfast love, covenant faithfulness. You know that song, The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases, which comes from the book of Lamentations chapter 3. That’s the word chesed, the steadfast love of the Lord, the covenant faithfulness of the Lord is what is being discussed in that word.

Ruth 1 and verse 8, this is Naomi speaking to Ruth and the other daughter-in-law, Orpah, that she was talking to. She says, Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show faithful love, or covenant faithfulness, or kindness, sometimes it’s translated, to you as you have shown to the dead and to me.

And then another instance in Ruth 2 and verse 20, Naomi there is speaking to her daughter-in-law. She said, Blessed be he of the Lord who has not forsaken His kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said to her, This man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives. So God hadn’t forsaken His covenant faithfulness to them.

And the encouragement that we get from this is that we need to be faithful to one another as well and faithful to the Lord. And so this idea of covenant faithfulness is found in this book, and it really has some great thoughts in it.

You know, when we think about covenant faithfulness, the Lord is really the standard for this covenant faithfulness. And in Psalm 118, verses 1 through 4, this is highlighted. This is this same Hebrew word, chesed, that’s used here when we read, Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy, translated here, it can be translated covenant faithfulness, endures forever.

Let Israel now say, His mercy endures forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, His mercy endures forever. Let those who fear the Lord now say, His mercy endures forever. And so God is really the standard for covenant faithfulness. And as we look in the book of Ruth and think about God being faithful to His people, and then Ruth being faithful to Naomi, and then Boaz and Ruth being faithful to each other, we see the exemplification, as it were, of this word, ahesed.

Ruth 3 and verse 10, then he said, this is Boaz speaking to Ruth, “‘Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter, for you have shown more kindness, covenant faithfulness, at the end than at the beginning, in that you did not go after young men, whether poor or rich.'”

So she was, as we’re going to see, discharging a duty to Naomi to marry Boaz so that the name of her family, the family of Elimelech, would not be forgotten in Israel. And so this was a very kind thing, but really the idea of being covenantally faithful is really the important That’s what Boaz was really recognizing in Ruth and her actions. And then, as we continue to look at this, thinking about covenant faithfulness, we’re going to see that there’s several things that covenant faithfulness produces in our life when we follow it lovingly and kindly.

And the first thing is it produces sacrifices. So there’s a sacrifice related to covenant faithfulness. So maybe you remember the story of Ruth and Naomi and the story of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband. They decided there was a famine in the land. They decided to go to Moab for a period of time and live there.

And while they were there, they had two sons, Malon and Kilion, and those two sons got married. They got married to Ruth and to Orpah. And as they were in that land of Moab, some very bad things happened evidently, and Elimelech died, and then Malon and Kilion both died, and so Naomi was left without a husband and without any sons.

And, you know, for a widow, that’s a tough situation to be in when you don’t have any family to take care of you, especially in those days. And so, Naomi decides, well, I’m going to go back to my home country. And she returns, but then she tells the two girls, the two daughters-in-law who are still alive, you go back to your families and they can find husbands for you. I don’t have any left to give you. And so, one of them, Orpah, decides to go ahead and do that. Go ahead and do that. The other one, Ruth says, no, I’m not going to. I’m going to stay with you. And that’s that quote that we read earlier. Wherever you go, I go. And wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Here from Ruth 1, 16 and 17. And so she ended up making a sacrifice. She loved Naomi and she was going to be faithful to Naomi.

And she sacrificed what she might have had in her homeland in Moab for Naomi so that Naomi then could have someone to take care of her because she recognized, you know, if Naomi is left alone, that’s, in that time, is almost as good as death, you know.

And so she wanted to continue to take care of her and help her. And so she left and then they returned to, she left her home country and they returned to Israel. And when they got to Israel, then there was a need for someone to work. And so Ruth went to work in order to support Naomi.

Now, she could have done a lot of different things. She could have pursued a young man. She could have set up herself in some other situation, but she went to go work so that she could support Naomi. Ruth 2, verses 17 through 18, she gleaned in the field until evening and beat out what she had gleaned. And that’s hard work, you know, to glean barley and then beat that barley out into grain, and then to take that grain into millet, into flour, and then make that flour into bread.

That is a lot of work. You know, that’s making bread from scratch, Gavin, right there, is what she did. So Gavin always teased me, we said, we’re going to make something from scratch. And he says, oh yeah, did you go out and plant the seeds for the grain, you know?

Well, no, but anyway, so, but that’s kind of the way I, I guess I brought that on my own head, so to speak, you know, but anyway, so, but she really did, you know, she was really making things from scratch there, so, so she’s sacrificing, you know, her time, her efforts for Naomi and to take care of Naomi, and covenant faithfulness makes sacrifices for others.

Notice this pledge when she pledged herself to Boaz for the family of Naomi. And Boaz said, “‘Blessed are you, the Lord, my daughter, for you’ve shown more kindness at the end than at the beginning.'” She sacrificed her opportunities for marriage with others so that she could support the family that she came from and support Naomi and support the family of Elimelech here.

And because they would be raising up seed for that family. And so there was sacrifice involved in these areas. Sacrifice in leaving her homeland. Sacrifice in working to get food for Naomi. Sacrifice in pledging herself to Boaz so that she could continue with the same family that she had been with.

And so these sacrifices on her part were very selfless acts. When she could have been doing many other things, she sacrificed so that she could be faithful. And she showed covenant faithfulness. Now, God calls us to make sacrifices in our lives as well. We think about Romans 12 and verse 1.

I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And so, you know, we think about all the sacrifices that our mothers go through and all the sacrifices that we make for children.

And then we think about covenant faithfulness. That’s what motherhood is about, covenant faithfulness. And so we have covenant faithfulness produces sacrifice. But then secondly, covenant faithfulness leads to great service. And we have service displayed in the life of Ruth and her relationship with others.

Think about Ruth 2 and verses 11 and 12 that Boaz noticed how faithful she was and how she was serving Naomi here. Boaz answers there, “…has been fully reported to me all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and have come to a people whom you did not know before.

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. And so Boaz noticed this great service, these sacrifices and the service that Ruth undertook in order to support Naomi.

And Ruth’s service not only provided for her present needs, but also for her future needs. If you think about the commitment that Ruth made to Boaz, it was a lifelong commitment, and then that commitment then translated to supporting Naomi for the rest of her life.

And when Ruth had the child to that marriage, then we read, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a close relative. This is the women who are talking to Naomi here, “…and may His name be famous in Israel, and may He be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.” And so that’s what Naomi really needed, someone to take care of her in her old age, and that’s what she got because of Ruth’s covenant faithfulness and the service that she rendered to Naomi.

And we see that faithfulness also restored the family of Elimelech. So Elimelech, think about the situation in that day and time. His inheritance, his land that belonged to his family back in Israel, it was supposed to go from father to son, you know, and the generations were supposed to inherit the land that was received from their fathers.

But here was Elimelech, he had no sons anymore, and Naomi couldn’t inherit the land on his behalf, but now that Ruth has pledged herself to Boaz, and Boaz can then raise up seed on behalf of Elimelech in this particular context.

And so Ruth marries Boaz, and then what happens? There is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. And so Obed was the grandfather of David. And you see how that turned out. It turned out really well because of Ruth’s service, because of her sacrifice, because of her covenant Faithfulness. And so, we have a king in Israel now named David because of the humble sacrifice of this woman, Ruth.

And covenant faithfulness means service to us also because Jesus Christ became the descendant of David and through Christ, God was able to fulfill the promises that He made to Abraham. In Galatians 3, 26-28, it says, “…For you are all sons of God,” or children of God, “…through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ, there’s neither Jew nor Greek, there’s neither slave nor free, there’s neither male nor female, for you’re all one in Christ Jesus.”

And notice this, if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise. I’m so thankful for Ruth, because of Ruth, David was born, and because David was born, Jesus was born, and because Jesus was born, I get to be part of the family of God.

Now that’s the significance here of covenant faithfulness, and that’s the significance of Ruth’s service to her mother-in-law. But then we see sanctification coming into play also here in the life of Ruth and Naomi and others. When we think about sanctification, you know, sanctification means setting something aside and apart for a particular purpose.

And that’s what Ruth did. She purposed her life in a way that made it holy. Now think about her past. She was from a Gentile nation, the nation of Moab, and she was not part of the covenant blessings of Israel, but because of her covenant faithfulness, Ruth’s covenant faithfulness to Naomi, she then was able to receive those blessings.

She was sanctified then from paganism, away from paganism, and into believing in the one and true living God. Your God will be my God, she said. And she believed that, and she believed in God, and then she became one who was sanctified for her purposes to be given to God.

You know, that’s a great thing that happens when an individual life can be so sanctified so as to produce a great salvation in her life. Look at what Boaz says here at the end of Ruth 2, 11 and 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.

And, you know, maybe there’s some today who have come for refuge under the wings of God through marriage like Ruth did with Boaz. And that produces wonderful sanctification within her life and within their life. And so covenant faithfulness means sanctification. She was sanctified from the pagan roots that she had.

Was sanctified from wandering away from the nation of Israel. Naomi was. She returned. When Ruth went with her, she was able to return and came back to her country, to Bethlehem, Ruth 1 and verse 22. And then Boaz was sanctified to fulfill his role as the near kinsman in marrying Ruth and bringing up seed for the house of Elimelech, something that God had purposed in the law of Moses. And now he becomes sanctified.

He becomes a tool that God can use to further His purposes. And we see God used all of them very greatly to further His purposes. And so, Ruth, the Moabitess, the widow of Malon, I have acquired as my wife, Boaz said, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are our witnesses this day.

And see, as a result, we have David’s birth and the nation of Israel then is sanctified by virtue of Ruth’s covenant faithfulness, Ruth 4 and verse 17. And then finally, the world is sanctified because from David came Jesus Christ and we are sanctified through Him today, 1 Corinthians 6 and verse 17.

So great things happen when we practice covenant faithfulness. And that’s the point that we’re trying to make this morning. Covenant faithfulness leads to so many wonderful things, and we need to be faithful to one another. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful to our congregation. Faithful to one another as Christians. Faithful in our relationships between husbands and wives. Faithful to our children. Faithful to our parents.

All of these relationships need covenant faithfulness, and that’s what the book of Ruth really is all about. And so this morning, do you need to become covenantally faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ this morning? We read earlier that you can be part of the family of Abraham, God’s family, God’s people.

How? By being baptized into Christ, by identifying with Christ, after hearing His word and believing it, Repenting of your sin, confessing Him as Lord, you can be part of God’s family just like Ruth was. She left her people behind and came and adopted a new identity in Israel. And today, you can be part of spiritual Israel, a new family of people of God’s own choice by doing the things that we mentioned earlier to be faithful to Him and then live that covenantally faithful life each and every day.

That life that will bring sanctification, that will give service, and that will offer sacrifices to God. Do you need to become a child of God today? We invite you to do so this morning while together we stand and while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!