Four Ways the Book of Ruth Is Extremely Important (continued):

(4) DOCTRINAL ASPECTS

When talking about Boaz's love for Ruth, we want to understand that Boaz was not just a good man, he was not just sympathetic toward Ruth, and he was not just kind to Ruth. Boaz did not just love Ruth [although he did]; his love for her was accompanied by the power to redeem her.

Picture: Messiah Jesus did not just sympathize with the human race [although He did]; His love for His own was accompanied by the power to redeem them.

The book of Ruth is set in the time of Judges. Specifically, it happened during the time of Gideon and the Midianites (see Judges, Chapters 6-8), because there was a famine that precipitated the events surrounding Gideon.

The Midianites were the ones who were laying siege on Israel. That is why Gideon was hiding in the mountain cave. The Israelites were afraid of the Midianites who were the cause of their famine.

The book of Ruth was set during the time of that famine.

Apparently, Elimelech and his family went to Moab with a lot of money. Surprisingly, the Moabites did not have a problem with the Israelites coming into their area.

The Moabites were not like the Canaanites, who were bent on enslaving the Israelites. The Moabites were similar to the modern day enemies of Israel; they wanted to wipe out the Israelites whereby the nation would cease to exist.

However, the Moabites had no problem with an Israelite leaving Israel. In fact, they loved it when that occurred because it proved their point. Therefore, it made it pretty easy for the Israelites to go from Israel to Moab. The cream of the crop was going to Moab!

Countless times I have heard the incorrect teaching that the famine in Israel was God punishing the Israelites for their sin. Punishing individuals, by allowing the natural consequences to occur, is not what discipline is.

And that is what happened to the Israelites.

God did not discipline the children of Israel by sending them a famine. He disciplined them by sending judges to redeem them, by teaching them and loving them. But the Israelites did not choose to respond to Holy Spirit.

Application: When biblical believers do not choose Holy Spirit, they choose the flesh [by default] and ignore His gentle voice of discipline. If the regenerate continue to ignore His discipline, they could suffer natural consequences in this life.

During that famine, Elimelech and his family did not say:

Instead, Elimelech and his family chose to reject Holy Spirit and His discipline. Rather than staying in Bethlehem (Hebrew, House of Bread), they went away from the place of [bread that is] sustenance and provision. Therefore, by default, they chose the flesh and they were facing the natural consequences of their sin.

Picture: Going away from Bethlehem is a picture of leaving God's protection — Going Away from the Father's House is going toward Trouble.

Application: After rejecting Holy Spirit's discipline and [possibly] facing the natural consequences, God does not His children to try to maneuver out of their situation. He wants them to:

Even when facing the natural consequences, the safest place to be is in the Father's House, in God's protection. However, like Elimelech and his family, most of His children keep running [away from God].

Most individuals list a lot of things (various thoughts, words, actions), and then say that doing those things is sin and not doing those things is not sin. Actually, the biblical picture of sin is as follows:

There is danger in [wrongly] thinking that there are all of these things over here that are sin and there are all these things over here that are not sin. If that is what the regenerate think, then they will do the very things they do not want to do, or not do the things they want to do. Why?

The danger can be worse than that! If the regenerate think that sin is doing those things, then thinking that will stir up the sin nature and we will have a tendency to do those things.

If we live away from the Father's house, sins are going to be the fruit of where we live.

Living in the Father's House means something different for every one of His children. Basically, it means:

How do you focus on Him?

Importantly, do not worry about:

• That thing is wrong
• This thing is wrong
• This thing is okay
• Do not do this
• I can do this

Focusing on those things will only guide an individual away from the Father.

Paul says that anybody who is a slave to the Law (to performance) is automatically a slave to sin:

Trying by SELF-effort to obey the Law stirs up more sin, and obedience becomes hopeless!

The Good News: When the regenerate are released from the Law, they are also released from the power of sin. Their focus no longer need be on those acts/thoughts, but on where they are.

Notice: There is no punishment possible in our Father's House. Creative talk about God taking His children to the woodshed and giving them a whipping is untrue. There are no whippings in the Father's House. So-called whippings (which are really natural consequences of sin) occur only when His children choose to be away from the Father's House.

When the prodigal son went away from his father's house, he experienced the rod. Away from his father's house, the prodigal son squandered his entire estate with loose living, lived in a country where a severe famine occurred, was impoverished and hungry, and experienced humiliation feeding the swine.

However, when the prodigal son returned to his father's house, he was embraced and kissed by his father. There was no whipping at his father's house. [See Luke 15:11-32.]

So Elimelech and his family moved away from Bethlehem, and inevitably, there was going to be TROUBLE.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the book of Ruth that clearly presents Your love for us. How great it is to have reassurance from You that, to You, love is not just words — it is RELATIONSHIPS. And thank You for not separating Your Love and Redemption so that I can have a personal relationship with You through Your Son, Messiah Jesus.

Thank You for showing me that Grace triumphs over Law, and that I need not be a slave to the Law; instead, I can be a slave to righteousness because of Your grace. And thank You for redeeming me for a price out of the slave market because YOU Love Me!

Father, thank You for helping me to know that sin is where I live and not what I do. Would you please show me the way to focus on You and to stay in Your house, even when I turn my heart away from Your discipline by rejecting Holy Spirit and choosing my flesh.

As I study this important book, would You open my eyes so that I can learn more about You and Your redeeming love.

I pray this in the name of Messiah, Jesus. Amen.

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