Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Ruth chapter one, verse 22 So Ruth Naomi returned, and Ruth them all by this her daughter-in-law with her, which returned out of the country of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem in the beginning of barley harvest.
And they only had a kinsman of her husband, a mighty man of wealth of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. And Ruth Emobitis said unto Naomi, Let me go now to the field, and glean ears of corn after him, and whose sight I shall find graves. And she said unto her, Go my daughter. And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers, And her hat was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.
Who was of the kindred of Elimelech?
And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee. Then said Boaz unto his servant, And that was sent over the reapers. Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was sent over the reapers answered, and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab. And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.
So she came and half continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, herest thou not, my daughter, Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field, and that they do reap, and go thou after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? When thou artathurs, go unto the vessels, and drink that of which the young men have drawn. Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him.
Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldst take knowledge of may seeing I am a stranger.
Boaz answered and said unto her, It has fully been showed me all thou hast done unto thy mother-in-law since the death of thine husband, and how thou hast left of my father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knowest not heretofore.
The Lord recompensed my work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.
Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my Lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that and thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
And Paul I said unto her, At meal time, come thou hit her, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, And he reached her porch corn, And she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
And when she has risen, was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not, and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them. She may glean them and rebuke her not. So she gleaned in the field until even and beat out that she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley, And she took it off and went into the city. And her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned, and she brought forth and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned today, and where wrought hast thou, blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee? And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz.
Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed and behave the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man who's near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. And Ruth the Moabite said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter.
That thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee, not in any other field.
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest, and dwelt with her mother-in-law.
00:05:07
I was just noticing as we were reading there.
Throughout.
The story? Not completely, but.
Throughout the story, she is Ruth the Moabitess.
It's, it's a constant reminder of where she came from. But when you just go right ahead, just for a minute, uh, in the last chapter 13 verse when she marries Boaz.
It's dropped, so Boaz took root and she became his wife.
New life beginning now.
But the second of Ephesians reminds us constantly the pit from which we have the date, And that's good for us to remember, but also to enjoy our relationship now espoused to Christ, to keep ourselves pure for that day when the marriage will take place.
I think very often there is a purpose to return.
And that's all it ever is, is a purpose.
That is, it doesn't progress and, uh, a purpose to return is good, but it doesn't mean anything unless it results in, in this, uh, completion. And so I think that's why the spirit of God brings before us in verse 22. So she returned and so we have the product of son too. He says, I will rise and go to my father. A lot of people get to that point. I'll do this, I'll do that.
But then what really makes it wonderful is where it says, then he arose and went to his Father. That is purpose translated into active is what counts. I realize it's the Spirit of God that produces both, but the Spirit of God does not produce purpose in our mind for an academic interest. It produces purpose in our mind that it might issue an action.
And so I think it's lovely here to see that you return it. She made that purpose and she returned.
And I just encourage anyone who is in any pathway where it's necessary to return, not to stop short, to go all the way.
Don't let anything stop you on the way. I've seen cases where people.
You're so encouraged to think they've made a turn around and they're coming back to the Lord or coming back to walk in the path that the Lord has marked out. You see that. You hear the purpose, You hear them talk about it.
And then something happens. You don't hear about them.
What happens when the enemy comes in and?
And affects them in this way that he turns them away from completion of them.
It run well. What does hinder you?
Let us go on to the full end of what the per your purpose is. I think it's lovely here. She came back and it was just the beginning of barley harvest. It wasn't anything great. I understand barley was one of the early grains. Is that right? And it was, beg your pardon? Sure, Israel rather than which is the church.
And it was a rather common grave, wasn't it? Yeah. For the board, yes.
But never mind, she came back and the word rewarded her that. At that point I just said you don't stop short.
If the Lord is turning you around in your pathway, I don't care what it is, whether it's ecclesiastically or some other issue. Like don't just take a purpose.
There's a lot of purposes that are made and and then you, you know.
You don't hear any more about it.
I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, but if it doesn't, issue in returning as we have here.
And how blessed to see Ruth wither. That must have been a real encouragement to Naomi to have Ruth with her.
Have we thought of that side of it?
No, I say again. The two of them went together. Yes.
00:10:03
I'm sure it was an encouragement too, but, uh, I just mentioned that sometimes we, we don't realize that the value of fellowship in those things. And here was one who had made-up her mind who really had a purpose. And maybe if there was any faltering on the part of Naomi, No, let's continue on. Let's continue on.
Uh, two are better than one.
That's, uh, scriptural principle, isn't it?
MMM there's been about raised a much more abound. This was a mistake and uh, the life of Naomi and her husband. We see how grace abounds, didn't I? And I was thinking too see you speak of it as a figure that you and the Gentile and casting off of the Jews we have in Romans 11 is the richest of the 10 times we're brought into a wonderful place of blessing, even a nearer place than that which Israel forfeited. And she was too. She was brought in such a wonderful place and to ride a bullet.
God had a perfect timetable, so when they arrived there a harvest, they left in a famine and they returned in a harvest. So it is with everyone on the seat.
Keep me back in the early harvest. And, uh, I've heard it said that guarding is in, in the spiritual way is for beginners and that tweet is for the more learned. So as we see it, she didn't come back. She came back to this one. It was, uh, the beginners to learn, learn as a beginner.
Now the first verse of our second chapter.
Starts the the positive isn't the blessing. God is now entering fully into it. Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Palimelech. His name was Boaz. That means I understand and him his strength.
He didn't have some trouble by the famine.
It was a wealthy man.
Christ, our voice.
I didn't particularly until there was thorough restoration, though the 21St verse of the first chapter I went out full and the Lord had brought me home again, empty.
She acknowledges her mistake. There was no reason for her to go down there. If there was a famine, she wasn't suffering from it because she says I went out full and she doesn't take any credit to herself and said well at least I've come back. She said the Lord has brought me back. That's all we have on the 23rd Psalm. He restoreth my soul. God is always not only willing to say, but also desires to restore. And he alone can save and brethren, He alone can restore. We don't restore ourselves, but.
The Lord doesn't and when is the thorough thing thoroughly judged? The bad decision that she had made and the mistake they had made. Now is the Lord can come in. Often there's a hindrance to blessing because we haven't thoroughly judged them.
So that was really the restoration of Joseph's brethren. When they realized, they asked themselves how could we do this to our father because really it was against him. They later had to deal with what they've done to Joseph and the same thing with the protocol. I will write and go to my father. He was heartless towards his father to divide the inheritance. He couldn't wait for his father to die. That's how you get an inheritance. I mean, he was heartless to his father and said I'll rise and go to my father.
Not to my father's house. And a great mischief is that often we want to undo the damage of what we've gotten into without really getting to the real source of it. And so Mr. Garvey said something that was helpful. We often ask what the will of God is in a situation when the only will of God is that we not be in the situation at all. And so we try to undo the damage of the situation we got into, instead of seeing the point of departure and return, humbling ourselves and returning.
I've enjoyed UH in connection with the thought of famine, the a few couple of verses in Genesis 45.
00:15:08
I think it gives us the secret of what will sustain this. Does God say they'll never be any famine again? I don't believe so, in fact.
Uh, Joseph is telling his brothers.
Uh and uh.
And uh.
Verse 9.
This is what you're to tell my father God has made me Lord of all Egypt. That's really what was to occupy their hearts, wasn't it that the thought of the lordship of Joseph and.
Come down to me, Tarry not.
And thou shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be what near unto me? That's the secret of it. Near to me.
Everything you have.
And there I will maintain it.
That's such an encouragement, beloved, because it goes on to say there's going to be yet five years of famine.
Oh, why would I come down when there's going to be five more years of famine? Because the one who would they were to be near was the one who would sustain them, maintain them.
And if you don't, you're gonna be impondering.
You'll be impoverished.
Well, that to me is a wonderful thought. It's really the person of the Lord that sustains it. And God hasn't said there will be famine. In fact, I think it's quite the opposite. There we're going to be.
As we get closer to the end, I believe there's going to be more and more.
Of what maybe corresponds to famine. All around us we see that there's famine. I I still think of that dear lady down in Lima who said I was hungry. That's why I came back.
I was hungry.
Why there was a Lima assembly, some special place to get fed. Not at the time she came back.
In fact, there were a lot of difficulties in the Assembly and I don't think that we ought to think that all difficulties will disappear when we come back. I think it's quite the opposite, but there is one who will sustain.
And that is that's what's that's what our eyes are to be directed is toward him. And that's what we have this mighty man of wealth that's brought before us in whom is strength. And that's where the the.
Sustenance is. That's the one who will personally take an interest out in this dear lady. Who is she?
He notices, Sir, he cares about her, and you'll notice he provides for her as we go along in the chapter. We'll see. He says leave him 7 sheaves, let her go right in among the sheaves and sometimes pull out some handfuls. It's called in our common translation Handfuls of purpose. It's a lovely expression. I mean stuff left there purposely for it. I think we see the Lord do that for us.
And the first verse we have a person was the second person we have the place.
The field, not a field. The field.
That was the place of blessing. That's the place of blessing for us, too. That's where she was going to meet him.
I think it's still very important to pay attention to those articles from the to the from ah, a little letter A out place to the place. It's so very important to pay attention to those little articles.
35 connection with the truth isn't there. Uh, Dad, reckon yourselves to be dead always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. The the our dead. That's a fact that took place. Our old man was crucified with him. Now we're to lay hold of that in a practical way, reckon ourselves dead. But we can't say that's once for all. We learn the truth of it, I trust. But now it's a continual thing always.
Bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus. And so things may go along well in our lives for some time. We've learned the truth. We've learned that the flash profits nothing. But we've got to continually be reminded of that, don't we?
00:20:08
Every time we lose sight of that, then there's a step back we lose in our souls.
Beautiful to see in my second verse.
She says.
Let me.
Now go to the field and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. Here was God's hand and teaching, teaching her to go to the right field, and not on my soul. But she had that.
Teaching from the Lord, I'm sure that she was going to meet the man there.
This is the language of faith. This is the language of faith. I shall find grace. The thing is, you have believers. Do we believe that? Do we really believe that that that he is for us and that he is going to do that?
The answer to faith is yes. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
I was thinking about that. That is an encouragement to her, isn't there? And I think that's important to see there's moral progress in Naomi. Now instead of saying return, she says go do this. And I think that's just delightful. It shows that God has been working in Naomi's soul too. Because the the end of it all is not just the blessing of Ruth. I believe it's also the blessing of Naomi that God has in mind that if you can, I cheat a little and go over to the last.
Chapter.
Just for a moment, Brother Barry did, so maybe I can do it too. Umm.
In verse 14.
The woman stayed in the army. Blessed be the the Lord, or blessed be Jehovah. Who hasn't left you this day without one? Who has the right of redemption? May his name be famous in Israel.
His blessing for Naomi isn't there, so the Spirit of God is working with the two of them and I That to me is a great encouragement to see that it isn't just bringing Ruth into blessing.
Is it Naomi, with all her failure, God is going to bring her into blessing. And I believe that the blessing that she had in taking into her arms that one who, uh, was given to her, I believe as the fruit of, uh, of, uh, the step of faith that she made in coming back from the fields of Moab and the repentance that God worked in her soul is a delight.
It's a delight.
I think you see the progress in her soul, because in the first chapter thy sister-in-law, and here it's now my daughter. That's lovely, isn't it? Do you remember how Saul treated David?
He said to him, he said the son of Jesse, you know, he was the King's son-in-law, you know, But he wasn't treated that way, was he?
Says that the the mother-in-law said go but notice the next word.
I can't find it there.
Uh, the third verse and she went, but it doesn't say.
It reverses now and says and came.
There was someone, someone waiting for her soldiers, as in the case of the arc. Uh, King James says uh, go into the Ark and the new translation says come into the Ark.
So here's the calm, beautiful word Come.
And pain.
Important too, who we go to for advice, the kind of advice that Ruth gave or that Naomi gave in the first chapter was bad advice because she was away from the Lord. But when she is restored, then she gives good advice. And very often we say, well, I've asked others what they think about this. Well, ask ones that really are going on with the Lord and their soul, because Christians, even we who are Christians, can give bad advice if we get away from the Lord as our brother. I remember John Burton, he.
00:25:01
Pointed out how the last chapter of John.
When Peter was away from, when uh, Peter was away from the Lord, he took all those others, six other men, didn't he, fishing and they didn't catch anything. But he said when he was restored to the Lord, he took six down to the House of Cornelius and there was much laughing. It shows how our lives that the Bible says none of us live up to himself and no man dies to himself. Our lives have an effect on others and they for going on with the Lord. We can encourage others, give good advice to others.
For away from the Lord no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself, for going to affect others, either for good or her otherwise.
Remember your father Gordon is saying so often that luck wasn't in the Bible, you know, and that they said it was somebody say a brother up in the maritime that he knew or something. But, uh, uh, it's true. But here it's seen from the standpoint of, you might say our viewpoint. It says if you happen to light on an allotment that was, uh, was her act like an allotment of Boaz.
Who had control of that?
Go on every circumstance in our lives and we ought to look at it that way because the Spirit of God was directing her toward that person. And what may look like a hat or a happenstance or luck or whatever, somebody might use that word. And I agree with, uh, with, with those who say that Christians should not use the word lucky. Uh, I, I believe that with all my heart, but.
No matter what circumstance, how how it looks, it's gone, gone and everything.
Go ahead. Put POS, put her in that field of Boaz. And as uh, it was pointed out earlier, it was the field wasn't there.
Included in this version says right here it's working. It's blocked in Spanish translation.
That's why I say I know that and that's why I say that it's it's in that sense it is here, but it's only as a from our standpoint, isn't it? From God's standpoint, there's no such thing. God is over that. Who is it that put us in the way? I often marvel brother, and I think back to when I was a young boy was.
About to believe that there wasn't anything left of a of a testimony.
I was about to give up.
I've confessed this before, but maybe I should say it one more time for my own shame. I was about to leave brethren totally and become a a, uh, evangelical pastor of some sort.
But God put me in touch with some who.
Directed me to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And.
And remember thinking it all was lost and somebody put into my hand a pamphlet of Brother Gordon Haydos.
About remembering the Lord and he said God wouldn't tell us to do it and not have a place for us to do it. Didn't you write that, Gordon?
Well, it was in a little pamphlet and I read it and I said, that's right, God doesn't mock us, does he? And he directed us. It's wonderful.
It's grace, isn't it? That's Brother Barry has been reminding us in the ministry lately on the two sides of things, responsibility and grace. God's sovereign.
We are responsible, but when?
When we do, it happens to be in that place.
Is this happenstance that we're there?
Go ahead.
I'd like to pass on the thought. In the end of that third verse it says uh.
The field of the boys, who was of the kindred of eliminating.
00:30:00
Now what was that? What would that mean? Well, I believe.
The proper meaning is that the Lord Jesus is God, but he came right down to.
Man and became a man. So here is boys boy Elimelech is is a a relative and so the Lord has taken that low place to become a man.
I guess I don't explain as well.
Here was the very relative of her father-in-law.
First four is interesting, isn't it? The very first part of the game from Bethlehem? Let's pause and let that sink in for a moment.
The eternal sun.
Became a little child in Bethlehem. Search and look, they said for no profit cometh out of Galilee. No, but they'd never ever taken the time to investigate, did they? That that blessed one became a little child in a Manger. How many years after this approximately the Savior came into the world? Was it 1000 years after this or this story? Yeah, the 1300 the 1300 years. Yeah. Yeah. Amazing story, isn't it? He came from from Bethlehem and yet, you know, he assumed manhood. But I like what one amongst used to say.
In a filming manhood, he never ceased to be God. It's a mystery that our minds can't get around, and we better not try to reason that as many are trying to do today. We simply accept it by faith because that that's it.
I think it's very beautiful to see too, the introduction of Boaz here in verse four. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said unto the reapers, largely with you. First thing he tells them, he blesses them.
He says to the reapers, those that were redeemed, the Lord be with you. And they answered him, the Lord bless thee. Well, if we're thinking of this as a natural thought that not too many boss, someone working for a boss can't always agree with the boss. But here was one who it says that the first thing he said to these people said these reapers, the Lord and the Lord be with him.
And they answered, The Lord blessed thee.
So we see the introduction of Boas here is a very precious thing, the grace of God and the Mer mercy of God. Isn't it that his whole desire is to bless him, come down to judge the world he came to bless. This is a form of greedy.
Lovely, isn't it? And the, the, the, the boss says this to the employee. It's so lovely. That's a bottle of regular management relations, isn't it, brother Perry? That would be quite a model for labor management relations. All our, uh, relations like that in our common world are built on this hostility, grumbling and, and the boss wondering who's cheating him and, and, uh, complaining him.
And, uh, I've got to pay these people and all this sort of thing.
But here, there's a flow of blessing out from him. Uh.
And back in the way of their desire for his blessing. I think that's a practical exhortation for us too. If we're working for someone, do we desire the blessing of that one? We should, shouldn't we? Even if he doesn't come and say to us, the Lord be with you, I think we should desire the blessing of that one. And that'll make us, I think, happier employees.
The thing I was doing in connection with the Lord is the Lord is the harvest, isn't he? And we pray the Lord of the harvest that he would thrust forth laborers into his harvest. And I think in a practical sense it's carried out in the end of the gospel of Mark. And they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. My lovely, our service isn't very much enough. The Lord works with us and gains to use us, but it's nothing unless He works with us.
I think it's good to trace that in the 21St chapter of John. If we can just go over there for a moment, I just want to share a couple of thoughts I've enjoyed recently in that chapter, the 21St chapter of John.
00:35:09
Let's pick it up from the very first verse.
After these things, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples of the Sea of Tiberias, and on this Wise showed himself. There he is. He's not out there on the water with them. He's standing on the shore, as we learn later in the chapter. I just want to call your attention to that second verse.
Their work together, Simon Peter, nothing here said about them being gathered together. I just want to point that out. Sometimes Christians come together, you know, and they expect blessing.
But there's no room for the Spirit of God to operate. They come together, doesn't they have been gathered together? I like that term in Matthew 18 and 20 because the onus is lifted off of man and it's placed on the Spirit of God. So they come together and of course it names them Simon Peter. Thomas called Didymus, Nathaniel of Canaan, Galilee, sons of Zebedee and two other of his disciples. Peter said unto them, I go efficient. I go, well, if you turn them and said Peter, do you have clear direction from the Lord to do this?
He couldn't he would he if he was honest, he would have to say no, I, I'm going, I, I'm going, I, I wanna go out, you know, and I wanna do this. I have all kinds of resources, the boats and and the water and all of these things, but they enter into the ship, as we learn later that might and immediately says what? They caught nothing. But then the Lord later comes into the scene and we find that there's blessed in their soul. But I just wanna point that out because I think it's a it's very interesting. He shows himself a third time. Now one final thing.
They they're fed and then the Lord questions Peter. I think it's very interesting how he does it. He says. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?
Which is interesting. The thought is Lord I'm fond of.
A question among that three times the last time you said Simon son of Jones, lovest thou me? He says yeah, Lord, thou knowest all things thou knowest that I am attached to thee. That's lovely. That's a lovely truth and and you know it's it's so blessed because what we have in this chapter is Peter going forth in service and self will and he doesn't do a thing. It's the truth of John 15 without me he can do nothing but in the end there's blessing because the Lord comes into the picture.
And, uh, and there can't be anything but blessing. You say, Ed, did he have a word, umm, from the word to do it? I think he had just the opposite. Luke 5 Hence worth out your catchment. The Lord had taken him away from that. And in brighter days they ran their ships on the shore and they left all and followed him, but discouraged him and hadn't had any. And, uh, even though the Lord, uh, mercifully and graciously restores Peter.
In this public way.
In the 21St chapter, I believe that there was that.
But, uh, I'm still trusting of the flesh here, wasn't it? We're gonna go out and fish.
The same henceforth rest too isn't there in 2nd Corinthians 5.
2nd Corinthians 5 and verse uh 6/14.
For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead, and that he died for all. That they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them.
And rose again, Wherefore henceforth know We know man after the flesh. He though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. We know Him as the man in the glory now, but there's a henceforth for us too, that we henceforth should not live unto ourselves, but unto Him.
There's, it's very, uh, lovely to see that.
The two points, one is the the lowest his eye is cut by this beautiful girl and he says who is this? But what is the the servants say why? They know the whole story. You know the whole story of the background of this girl. And slowly to realize that the spirit knows all these everything about the life of every one of us here and he's working in here in my life.
Uh, to draw us ever closer to Christ. And so here Boaz asks. But these these, uh, this beautiful answer that the servants say. And it says, it is the more whitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Maya. And she said, telling the whole story, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came.
00:40:29
And have continued even from the morning until now, now that she has tarried a little in the house. She didn't waste time going into the house. She was diligent.
It's so beautiful, isn't it, to see that they know newer background and her diligence. How diligent are we, brother?
How diligent with the truth that we have been given. It's lovely to see you too in verse 5.
Then set one after they had answered the Boaz. Then he says in verse in verse 5. Then he said Boaz unto his servant that was said over the reapers. Whose damsel is this? His eye was not he saw her. Doesn't God see each one of us or that?
Doesn't God see each one of us? Isn't his eye upon his own people? And it's interesting here I believe that the service speaks to the Spirit of God doesn't as you were pointing out.
Speaks to the Spirit of God and because it says under the servant that was sent over the reapers.
And he asked, who is damsel is this? And then the servant said that, uh, that was that was set. The servant that was set over the reapers answered and said it is the mall by his damsel. And it came out back with Naomi out of the country Moab. So God knew all, God knows all about our background doesn't. And yet he comes out in his grace and, uh, love and mercy, uh, to bring us into a place of nearness and blessing.
I was noticing too that the J&D translation at the end of verse seven makes a little different reading than probably.
Would help us in our understanding of it. It says her sitting in the house has been little as yet. In other words, as you were pointing out for the very she doesn't, she hasn't been sitting around. She's been diligent. That isn't exactly evident in our common translation, but it, it's so clear that she wasn't loafing on the job. We do a lot of sitting spiritually, don't we? And, uh, instead of diligently getting at things.
And, uh, I believe the Spirit of God would encourage us through this example of her to keep at it and.
The diligent soul shall be made quiet, he said. And that doesn't put a premium on sitting around and taking coffee breaks.
I'm not condemning coffee breaks, please understand. Uh, but I think that we're built on our whole idea. I have a little pad that somebody gave me those post it notes and up at the top of it, it says when is reset.
And I think that's often our attitude when it's reset. When can we have a little break? Our whole society is built on that. But spiritually it better not be.
Is that the poverty spiritually of itself? It isn't when it's recess. When can we get back to work and get at this and, and see because there's something to be gotten, there's food to be gotten and umm, that's noticed by the.
Service, uh, that's set over the reapers. I like that thought of the Spirit of God being the SER servant said over the reapers. I'm afraid that's forgotten in a practical way.
In the professing church today and brethren were part of the professing church. So let's not, uh, look out there and say, oh, that's over there. If anything gets me upset and a meeting is to say I'll increase in them. They do this and that and the other thing.
I've heard it. It makes me very upset because we are part of it and unless we own our part in it, there's no blessing. I don't say that we're uh, that there isn't a special place the Lord has called us into, and I believe there is.
But we don't take potshots outside. We take potshots at ourselves. And to see, uh, the, the, the failure to give the Holy Spirit.
His place as over the Reapers.
00:45:00
What a beautiful message there is for every one of us here in that eighth verse. It doesn't say come, it says go not. It was departure.
Go, don't go into another field. What was what are what is he saying? Well, he was saying this is the field where you're going to be finding the blessing. So for us, well, not to be narrow butter, but oh, how much we need to realize that. Keep close to the Lord. Don't be dabbling in the other fields. It's only going to add confusion to our life and our thoughts.
It's so beautiful go not to glean in another field, neither go from hand's sake close, but abide here fast by my maidens.
I like the Zod of the Ma, my maiden's wife. Other Christians, Who do we gravitate to when we've got some spare time?
Where do we go? What's our thought of relaxation, Get away or to be with the Lord's people?
But I believe Diligence does not hear and receive that in rooms, umm, where he says in verse, umm, uh, verse 7. But she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.
She was willing to take the low place just to gather, uh, among the sheaves and, and to, uh, be willing to get what she could get. But notice the, what it says. So she came and has continued even from the morning until now, all day long. She gleaned she didn't give up because she couldn't find enough. And I believe there's a lovely thought in that, in that connection that, uh, uh, but then she came. But she, she was diligent in what she was doing, wasn't she?
Uh, we're not always as diligent as that, are we? We sometimes we go along pretty well for a while and we come to a little barrier or there isn't much there. So we give up, we're gonna quit. And that's what's happened among the gathered Saints, much of.
And that's our nine stars as well. Be brought into the assembly and realize you're brought into the presence of someone that knows all about you.
And the, the servant, the unmanned servant here that's over the reapers is in a practical way distributing, you know, a servant is like a, uh, a general foreman. He's, he's the next guy down that kind of directly orders what takes place. And I can recall myself when I was first brought at the assembly, it seemed like somebody had been assigned to follow me around all week long. And then when Wednesday night came and it was a reading meeting and a prayer meeting.
That, uh, these brothers had prepared, uh, what they were gonna give out, uh, to address every situation I was in during the week. Now, I had no relatives or personal friends at that time that were in fellowship there where the Lord's Table was in that place. But it was just an understanding thing every week that I said to myself, this is amazing. And it was the fulfillment of that passage in First Corinthians 14 where a person comes in and makes experience and they observe the.
Manifestations of the Spirit and the assembly, What do they do? They fall down on their faces and they do calmly that God is amongst you of the truth. This is a wonderful thing and many of the experienced it. On the other hand, there are some that have had the privilege of being raised in Christian homes and the brothers that are ministering the word are known sometimes by the term humble. That's humble Bob over there, or Uncle **** or Uncle John, or that's your father, or maybe your older brother.
And don't make the mistake of thinking that.
They don't give them too much credit as if they're going through anything at you or saying, I think I'll bring this out just because Susie needs this or or or loop or God or whatever. Don't fall into that. So no, no man answered the place. Have some com have faith in God that he knows what he's doing in his, uh, his work area and take what you hear in the assembly as irritating it to sometimes can be.
And and you should Potter that and take it from the Lord and benefit from it. How many times have I seen people?
Just kind of slipping at the last minute after the meeting has started, somebody who maybe hasn't been around for 10 years and they slip in and nobody even knows they're there. Half the brothers in the meeting, they don't, they didn't hear somebody come in and they don't even know who's in the background. And sometimes I've seen somebody slip in and I'm mindful of the person's situation and the Spirit of God brings out ministry and I can't believe they're bringing this out. And the Lord brought that person here. This is the thing. And I've seen people leave before the meeting was over because they got offended.
00:50:17
So don't fall into that track. It's a wonderful Christmas to be brought into the presence of one of such a majestic man of wealth, strength as the Lord is, and to think too, that he is the God of all grace. Not only does he know all about us, but he still loves us. And it's a wonderful thing even in this late day.
Everything is under control and he's still providing for us with the gifts, ministering to us nourishment, uh, as it was prayed before this meeting, instruction, correction and all these things and this.
Chapter I think is a beautiful picture. It has been already innovative. Uh, the local assembly where there is so that was just needed even for such a one as as uh, this mollified it, knew all about it. And I gave her a command as brother Berry just said, no, not into another field, not because he wanted to clip her wings, not because he wasn't confident in her. They don't get into trouble again. You've had a rough life. You want to bless her. We stay in this chapter later on this chapter, you see the four hour blessing.
And that's the way we receive our children and with our with our brothers. If we give one another exhortation, it sounds sometimes in a little narrow, a little harsh. Hopefully it's because we have expectation that in that path we'll see this there's going to be blessed. She didn't say, well, it's pretty narrow here. And I can't find too many things like we find in some in some areas and some have said can't find enough here. So I got to spread out. I got to go somewhere else. She didn't do that.
She continued all day long in the field of Boaz. I was thinking of the contrast between uh, uh, Ruth and Dinah. Ruth was to stay by the maidens of Boaz, but in the beginning of Genesis 34, we read a contrast there that Dinah went out to see the daughters of the land.
And to put it bluntly, it resulted in her being violated.
And I just say to the young ladies that are here, you have a choice. You can go out and see the daughters of the land.
But you run that risk and, uh, or you can stay by the mayors of the Lord and there'll be blessing for you there.
Excuse me, very bad. Well, I'm just thinking of the last part of the ninth verse. Thirst.
There's the server says after you're thirsty. Well, that was nice, wasn't it?
Caring not only for the work of the girl was doing, but he says, if you're thirsty.
Go on to the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
Are we thirsty for the truth in the meeting? Am I thirsty to hear more?
For my sale I want something different.
But it's great to have, it's very important business for us to have our hunger and our thirst after righteousness. And here is the book where it is to be found. Ezra was told by King Artaxerxes, the head of the country. The book that you're holding in your hand, this is the wisdom of God.
Satisfy every thirst we'll ever have.
The young man drew the water in it, I guess before realized it when we were young as it time to really get into ministry and to get an outline of sound words because it doesn't No years passed quickly and so it was a young manager that were.
It's interesting too, like years ago, uh, I can go back almost 60 years now that this was given to us as younger believers, you know, about, about the, uh, gleaning and about the thirsting for the word of God. And, uh, it's interesting that what was brought before us was that going back 175 years ago now, there were young men who drank from this precious word and they passed it on to us. They gave us something to drink. They gave us ministry that was very precious. And dear young people, many of you are not reading that precious ministry that was given us.
00:55:03
By those young men back there in in the early 1800s and we need it we need the ministry of the word of God concerning the precious truth that there is one place where the Lord has gathered together his people. And I think to it, it's just very interesting to me as it says, go onto the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn and some some have drank from those precious ministry that those young men drew way back there. And when I read some of those some of that ministry I I can't I can't conceive how that they could ever.
To get all that and but they got it from the Lord and they passed it on to us and I believe it's very important to see that.
The next verse shows us the reaction.
In The Girl.
That's so beautiful. She is so humble about the whole thing and she says me, Why me?
Then she fell on her face.
And.
Herself to the ground.
And said unto him, Why?
Have I found grace?
In thine eyes.
So you're saying this de Bois, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? This is this is the effect, beloved ones, that occupational Christ will have on us. It won't make us proud of our position. It will make us humble, not humbling ourselves, but occupation, the occupation with Christ is what humbles us.
We lose a sense of grace in our souls. We have no way to go on.
That is, we're gonna fall flat on our faces, and I believe it's wonderful to see this sense of grace that are here. May the Lord give us more of a sense of that in our own souls present, the grace that has been shown to us. Why are we where we are?
Why are we saved? Because we're better than someone else. Now we all understand that, don't we? That it was God's grace that reached out to us. Why are we got it? Because we're better than someone else.
Why don't we go astray at a testing time? Because we're better. It's the grace of God, isn't it?
And I believe we ought to keep that before us. I believe if there's any sin that has collectively characterized this and whom the Lord has dealt very heavily with, it is pride of positioning.
Oh, brother **** you're weakening on the position. No, I'm not.
Leaving it with all my heart further, but I believe.
It's a grace that brought us there and grace that keeps us there.
And, uh, I believe we need to have a sense of that.
In our souls.
There's a two sides of it. I've always noticed it's in verse 11 what she had done.
And, uh, he takes note of that. The word will take note of that too, won't he? He understands that. But again.
Uh, it's we were nothing and we are nothing.
And if we set up to be something, the Lord will have to blow on us again.
United States isn't connected with a collective testimony not to be misunderstood. The collective testimony is to the truth of the one body. And when we speak about false and errors, the Lord took up of each assembly in particular difficulty in that assembly. And I think that that's important to realize because Boaz, I think there's a lovely order here in connection with Boaz in directing the affairs in his own field. And so, and the servants that they, she should abide with the maidens and the young men should not touch her and so on. And so I think I really believe that it is the local assembly that is to, uh, is to care for the spiritual state and the, the things that are there that there has to be that care.
The Lord will maintain a collective testimony to himself to the end, and he has promised that the, uh, reference that you made to the pamphlet or that comment concerns that in our hearts. But I believe it's wonderful in this chapter to see how Boaz was both, uh, caring for his servants because he said to them, he spoke to them directly back there in the fourth verse, as you pointed out, brother Charles, uh, this conversation, the Lord be with you.
01:00:14
And they answered him, the Lord blessed thee and then he spoke to the overseer, so to speak for the Spirit of God. They spoke to the overseer and he gave directions there. But there is local responsibility for ***** **** and I think that sometimes you often speak as if we're one giant local assembly and we're not There is a collective testimony to the truth, but there's a local response ability and connection with these things and there ought to be an exercise and then an individual exercise that when we seek and I had my.
Finger at that passage in First Corinthians there when Brother brother Bruce referred to it, and so I think it's worth reading.
In connection with that because it touches on this first with her falling on her face.
Just to confirm with brother Bruce has said and the exercise of those that speak in the assembly 1St Corinthians 14 and verse 24.
But it's all processed.
And there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned. He is convinced of all, he is judged of all. And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest. And so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.
Let me just turn back to, uh, verse 14 in connection with prophecy, verse three. But he that prophesied speaketh on demand to edification, exhortation, and to comfort.
And just say this, because this was written to the local assembly and then to individuals. There is that exhortation.
And the Lord will preserve a collective testimony to the testimony of Corinth, as we know historically wasn't preserved. There is not a testimony, of course, to the truth of the one body today, but he has preserved, he has restored and preserved collective testimony. And so these things, uh, we can generalize them, but I think that we bring them right down connection with Boaz in his field and then individually to the service that he prophesized the edification.
Exhortation and comfort, and then there'd be a desire to speak the mind of God in that way.
Thank you, Neil. That's a good point and I definitely.