Deborah and Ruth

In this Sabbath message, our speaker, Mr. Michael Heiss, talks about two women from the Bible, Deborah, and Ruth, who he considers to be his favorite female Bible personalities. He describes Deborah as a prophetess, judge, national leader, singer, and mother in Israel. He highlights her role as a military commander and discusses how she led the Israelites to victory against the Canaanites. Well, Sabbath greetings, everyone. Always a pleasure to be with you on GoToMeeting. And anytime I get an extra chance to speak these days, I grab at it, because as many of them in the income tax business. So from mid-January to mid-April, even to the 1st of May, I am submerged in tax returns underwater. So I am just incognito. You can't find me. But now that I'm surfacing for air, it's nice to be with you. Years ago, when I first began attending the church, I learned about different people, personalities, and so I decided that I was going to develop a folder entitled Great Personalities. And it would include kings and priests, emperors, captains of industry, musicians, scientists, athletes, people who were successful. I wanted to know why they were successful. What did they do? What made them what they were? And so I did. And in fact, I'm sad to say, and from a carnal point of view, one of my favorites in that file died just recently. And he and I were about the same age. That was Jerry West, the great guard, basketball guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, I first was introduced to him through an article. It was entitled The Toothpick Who Made It To The Tops, because he was a skinny guy. He didn't have the body for an athlete. He was told, oh, come on, Jerry, you're never going to be much of a basketball player. But he wouldn't say no. And to read about what he did and how he trained to become what he became. Marvelous. Well, tonight, we're not going to be looking at basketball players or scientists or kings. We're going to be looking at two individuals from the pages of the Bible, both women. And while I'm not going to sit here and tell you they were the greatest of the great, because God knows how he ranks them, but they are two of my favorites and probably my two favorite female personalities. Their personalities were as different as the night is from day. Their circumstances were as different as night is from day. But both persevered. Both showed loyalty to God. Both came through with flying colors. Amazing stories. So we're going to start first with Deborah. And her story will be found in Judges chapters four and five. So if you'll start to turn there, we will meet each other. Now, one thing you need to realize in the book of Judges, especially chapters four and five. Chapter four is written in prose. Clear narrative. Chapter five tells you the same thing as chapter four does, but it is not in prose. It is in magnificent Hebrew poetry. You have parallelism. You have repetitions. You have what might be considered hyperbole. That's all Hebrew poetry, but it is the same. So first of all, Deborah. Who is she? What did she do? How did she get to be where she was? First of all, we read that she was a prophetess in chapter four and verse four. And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lepidot, judged Israel at that time. Now, being a prophetess wasn't necessarily an amazing thing. Other women were prophetesses. Mary was a prophetess. Huldah was a prophetess. Anna was a prophetess. So the fact that one is a prophetess is not by itself unusual. However, she judged Israel at that time. And what's more important, apparently she was the only one who was actually a judge. You had 11 judges mentioned in the book of Judges. She was the only female, and she was the only one who actually held court. It is not said that of any other. Look down to verse five, the last sentence of verse five. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. She held court under the palm tree of Deborah, there in verse four, between Ramah and Bethel in Mount Ephraim. So that is why she's thought to be of the tribe of Ephraim. Can't tell for sure, but there's an indication there. So here she was. She was a judge. She was a prophetess. And she was more. She was a national leader. Drop down to verse six. This is the beginning of the call to fight the Canaanites. And she sent and called for Barak, the son of Abinon, a national leader. She also commanded army. What other woman did that? Furthermore, she was a singer of songs. Turn over to chapter five, one page over. And we have verse one. Then Deborah and Barak, the son of Abinon, sang on that day, sang. Drop down to verse 12. Awake, awake, Deborah. Awake, awake. Sing a song. So here was Deborah. She was a prophetess. She was a judge. She was a national leader. She was a singer of songs. And she was designated a mother in Israel. That was the title. Chapter five and verse seven. And the children of Israel. I'm sorry. I was in fourth. Got flipped over. Okay. The leader ceased at Israel. They ceased until I, Deborah, arose. Until I arose, a mother in Israel. No other woman in the Bible held those titles. She was remarkable in that regard. And also, she was a national leader and a military commander all in one. There are only two other people in the Bible who held those titles. Military prophet, military commander, all rolled into one leader of armies. Moses and David. There were other prophets. Yes, there were military commanders. Yes. But not all of those in one. So now we look to see where, what Deborah did and what caused it. Verse one of chapter four. And the children of Israel did again evil in the sight of the Lord when Ehud was dead. And this was the history of Israel. Over and over again. Just as soon as they got out of trouble, they went back into it. Some things just don't change. And the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, who ruled in Hazor, the captain of the host of Sisera. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord for he had 900 chariots of iron. And one of the reasons God did what he did here is he needed to take out those 900 chariots of iron. Canaan, the land of Canaan, the Canaanites were on their way to world dominion in that area. No other nation had 900 iron chariots. Oh, Egypt had a good number of chariots, all right, but they weren't made of iron. We'll see what God did. Anyway, he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And in verse six, she sent and called for Barak. There we go. National leader. She was in charge. The son of Ben Olam of Kedesh and said to him, has not the Lord God commanded you saying, go draw toward Mount Tabor, take with you 10,000 men of the children of Naphtali and of Zebulun. And look what God promises to do. I will draw Sisera to you, the captain of Jabin's army at the river Kishon, together with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into your hands. And look what Barak's response is. Can you believe this? God just promised to deliver the Canaanites into his hands. And Barak says, well, Deborah, if you go with me, I'll go. But if you don't go with me, I won't. Hold my hand. Sort of like remember the song that the Beatles had years ago. I want to hold your hand. What happened to the men of Israel? So she said in verse nine, I will go, surely go with you, but the journey that you take shall not be for your honor, for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. Now at first glance, well, that's got to be Deborah. But we'll find out. No, it wasn't Deborah. It was Yael, the wife of Heber. And see what a fighter she was. So anyway, Barak called Debulon and asked to lie to Kadesh. He went up with 10,000 men. And Heber the Canaanite let Sisera know what was going on. They told Sisera in verse 12, and Sisera gathered all his chariots, 900 of them and all the people with them. And Deborah said to Barak, Barak, up. Now, we have to back off here. Because what happened between verse 13 and verse 14? See, Bible doesn't tell us, but Yosef has done. Very interesting. Get my copy here for you. So here we go. And so this is Yosef essentially saying the same thing as the Bible does, but he's adding some points of information for us. Okay, so here we are. Then, oh, Barak. Now let's go, let's go back up again here. Oh, yes. Deborah sent for Barak. This is a section of Josephus. And bade him choose out 10,000 young men to go against the enemy because God had said that number was sufficient and promised them victory. God promised them, but they wouldn't believe Him. How many times do we find that throughout Scripture? That people just wouldn't believe God. They might believe in Him, but believing in God is one thing. Believing God, that's something else. But when Barak said that he would not be the general unless she would arise and go with him, Josephus points out she had indignation at what he said and replied, oh, Barak, are you delivering up manly that authority which God has given you into the hands of a woman? And Deborah went on to say, I don't reject it. So they collected the men. Now, they marched up and they were opposing Sisser and his army. And Josephus says this, they were so affrighted at the multitude of these enemies that they were resolved to march off had not Deborah retained them and commanded them to fight the enemy that very day for that they should conquer them and God would be their assistance. Now, go back to Scripture and we find that is what happened just before verse 14. See, that's where Deborah says to Barak, up for this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sissera into your hands. You've got to get this picture. Here were two armies facing each other. The Israelites about to run and up comes this fiery woman, almost fire coming out of her eyes, screaming, saying, fight, God promises you the victory. It was her bold, dynamic presence that saved the day. A woman, a mother in Israel had to get the job done for no other man would. What a remarkable woman she was. So, then we go, it says, Barak went down from Mount Tabor, 10,000 with him, the end of verse 14, and 15, and the Lord struck Sissera and all the chariots and all the army with the edge of the sword in front of Barak. But that doesn't tell us how it happened. We'll see many times where it says God discomfited them. God did this, God did this. Well, how did God do it? Josephus actually gives us the answer. Because God told them he was going to bring Sissera up to a river. There was a Kishon river. Now, let's read what we have here. So the battle began, and when they were come to a close fight, there came down from heaven a great storm, with a vast quantity of rain and hail, and the wind blew the rain in the face of the Canaanites, and so darkened their eyes that their arrows and slings were of no advantage to them, nor would the coldness of the air permit the soldiers to make use of the swords. And the rain was so heavy, and the water was so deep, that the grass, the hill just sank down in mud. Tanks don't do well in mud, and neither do iron chariots do well in mud. So God immobilized them, took care of the chariots. Sissera had to get out of this chariot and run. He's scared, he's a bully, and bullies usually are cowards. So he ran. And let's continue on here, and we find out that Barak pursued after Sissera. Verse 15, the Lord struck Sissera and all the chariots, yes, with the rain, the wind, with the edge of the sword in front of Barak, so that Sissera got down from the chariot and fled on his feet. The chariot was useless, wouldn't budge. But Barak pursued after the chariot, and all the army of Sissera fell by the edge of the sword, verse 16, and Sissera fled on feet into the tent of Yael, the wife of Heber, the Canaanite, for there was peace between them. So, we won't spend a lot of time here, but Yael went out to meet Sissera, enticed him in, oh come on in, rest yourself, and he says to her, verse 20, stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be when any man comes, asking of you, saying, is there any man here? You shall say, no man. No. Then Yael, this isn't very ladylike what she did, then Yael, Heber's wife, took a peg of the tent and put a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him, struck the peg into his temple, and beat it into the ground for as fast as sleep, and so he died. And Barak was following, caught up, and she said, come in, and I'll show you the man whom you seek. And when he came in to her tent, behold, Sissera lay dead, and the peg was in his temple, and on that day, God subdued Jabin, the king of Canaan, before the children of Israel. Well, I might think, Yael, why did you do a thing like that? That wasn't ladylike, that wasn't savage, really, you shouldn't have done that. Well, look at what God has to say about that. She brought forth butter in a lordly dish, she put her hand to the peg, and her right hand to the workman's hammer, she hammered Sissera, she smashed his head, she pierced and struck through his temple. And now we come into the poetry that I was talking about earlier. Read this. He bowed between her feet, he fell, he lay down, between her feet he bowed, he fell, where he bowed, there he fell down dead. That is magnificent Hebrew poetry, describing what she did. So here was Yael, the glory went to her, because Barak was afraid. Why? Didn't believe God. It took a woman, in fact it took two women. It took Deborah to stand in the breach, and somehow get those men to fighting. She was like Elizabeth I. Remember, Queen Elizabeth, she was some woman. At the Battle of the Spanish Yamato, when the ships were approaching, and her troops were on the beaches, and on the hills overlooking, and of course, Sir Francis Drake and other navy men were out there at sea, and there she was, riding up to them, encouraging them, holding high her banner. The men loved her. They respected her. There was the Queen, with them, not cowering in the castle, not wondering, I don't know what it's going to be like, I don't know what's going to happen. She was out there dynamic and bold. She was a remarkable woman, Queen Elizabeth. In fact, if you know her story, she should never have lived. She should have died. She should have been executed. But God spared her. God knew he was going to use her, and he did, preserving the British Empire, the nation of Britain, against the Spanish Armada. And so, that's what we have. We have Deborah, a woman, strong, resolute, who believed God, never wavered, never thought, I don't know if we can do this or not. God is going to give us the victory. She knew it. And she came through with flying colors. And she was one of the longest reigning judges in the history of Israel. We know she reigned for 40 years, because the land had rest 40 years. But she was judging Israel before that. And according to those who are studying the chronology, I can't prove this, because I don't have that material in front of me. But according to these individuals who have studied it, she could well have judged Israel for close to 60 years. Nor the judge really came that close. A woman in Israel. I love Deborah. She was a fighter. And never, never gave up. Well, that was Deborah. Bold, dynamic. And now, we'll go to Ruth. A completely different picture. A different woman. Different circumstances. Her resolution was just as strong. And God honored her in two specific ways. We're going to see that. So let's turn to the book of Ruth. The book of Ruth. And for those of you who have your faithful version, that's page 826. The book of Ruth took place during the early days of the period of judges. And we'll see that in the chronology. It was very, very thick, very early on. It wasn't very late. And anyway, there was famine in the land, verse 1 of the book of Ruth. And there was a man named Eli Baruch, and had a wife Naomi, and two children. Famine in the land. Not really enough food. So, off they go to Moab. And there, both sons marry Moabite women. But tragedy strikes. Elimelech dies, and both the sons die. And there's Naomi left alone. Yes, she has two daughters-in-law who love her. But what's she going to do? And she heard, via the grapevine, that the famine had eased in Judah. And so she decided that she was going to go back. At any rate, Olney said, verse 8 of chapter 1, to her two daughters-in-law, go, return each one to her mother's house. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me. May the Lord grant that you may find rest each in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and wept. They said to her, surely we will return with you. Olney wondered, what was there about Naomi, that here were these two daughters-in-law? Now these were Moabites. And the Bible doesn't speak too kindly of Moab. And yet they were willing to leave Moab and go to the land of Israel with Naomi. Well, Naomi was pretty much set on saying, no girls, you stay here. So she says again in verse 11, turn again, my daughters, why will you go with me? Are there yet sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? I can't offer you anything. I've got nothing to offer you. If I should say I have hope, I should have a husband also tonight, and should also bear sons. Would you wait for them? No, no, my daughters, for it makes me very sad for your sakes, that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. She knew God was at work. And yes, God was at work, because God had a plan. He knew what he was doing. He always does. It's just that all of us are on an NPK basis. NPK, need to know. God knows what he's doing. Again, he always does. And they lifted up their voice and wept again. And Orpah kissed her mother-in-law, the roof clung to her. And she said, this is Naomi, behold, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people, to her gods. Return back with your sister-in-law. And here comes that rallying cry, that absolute statement, bulldogged determination. How Ruth had it in her, I don't know, but read what she says. We've read this in the past, but read it again. I will stay. Your people shall be my people. And your God, my God. Where you die, I will die. And there I will be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also, if anything, but death parts you and me. Now what she says here, may the Lord do so to me. Now this is an oath, which in a sense she's saying, if I depart from you, Naomi, if I leave you for any reason, if we part company for any reason except death, may God kill me. She is declaring absolute loyalty. Now this, you've got to realize, was unheard of. A person in the ancient world changing religions? Let me read to you part of an article from the Archaeological Biblical Review describing just this situation. And talking about Ruth and repeating her statement. Your people shall be my people and your God, my God is a radical thought because it signals that Ruth is changing her identity in a world where that was inconceivable. The ancient world had no mechanism for religious conversion or change of citizenship. The very notion was unthinkable. Religion and peoplehood defined one's ethnic identity and this could be no more changed than the color of one's skin. A Moabite was always a Moabite, wherever he or she lived. And indeed, Ruth is referred to throughout the story as a Moabitess. But from Ruth's point of view, she's becoming an Israelite. She's joining herself to Naomi, not only on the private level, but on the national peoplehood level. Jesus made a statement. In fact, he had two of them. And let me find out here. Hopefully I didn't put them away somewhere. Oh, here we go. We're going to have it in Luke 14. We'll turn with me there to Luke 14. Luke chapter 14. It is Luke 14 and in verse 26. Ruth did this a thousand years prior to the time when Jesus, as the son of God, uttered them. She sacrificed everything. Father, mother, sister, brother, nation, everything she ever knew. All in the rear view mirror, she set her sights on serving the God of Israel and Naomi, her mother-in-law. Now this, again, was a revolution. Again, it was a hurdle. That was what Ruth was made of. How she knew, what was her, I'm sure the spirit of God was moving. I'm sure she was held that way, although we're not specifically told that. But I think that's true. And when she said that, Naomi was speechless. She couldn't do anything. She just couldn't do it. And so when she saw verse 18 of chapter 1, that she was determined to go with her, then she quit speaking. And verse 19, both of them went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they came to Bethlehem, all the city was moved concerning them. And they said, Is this Naomi? And she said to them, Do not call me Naomi. Call me Marah, which is bitterness, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. Remember the word Marah? Ring a bell with anybody? Exodus 15? The well's water was bitter, poisonous. And God told them, Okay, take this tree over here and put it in the well. And the waters were clean. She says, Call me Marah. She was in a certain amount of bitterness and spirit. Yes, she had Ruth with her, but her coming home was bitter, sweet. I went out full, she says in verse 21, and the Lord has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has afflicted me? So Naomi returned, and Ruth the bold by this her daughter-in-law was with her, returning out of the fields of Moab, and they came to Bethlehem. All right, well, now what happens? Chapter 2, verse 1, And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz. Now why does this appear here? To lead us to the rest of the story, because we're going to learn about Boaz. Boaz is going to play a prominent part in this story. Now Ruth the bold by this said to Naomi, Let me now go to the field and glean ears of grain after him in whose field I may find grace. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come upon a part of the field of Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. Oh, just happened to happen, as luck would have it. No, no, no. This was designed. God was working, and He knew what He was doing. He was going to line up Ruth, she was going to be the ancestor of David, that of the Christ as well. But He's working through this. They didn't know it, and we don't even know it yet. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem in verse 4 and said to the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless you. And Boaz said to his servant, who was over the reapers, Whose young woman is this? Because Ruth was gleaning in his field. So the servant who was sent over the reapers answered and said, It is a young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi out of Moab. And she said, Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves. So she came and has continued until now. And then Boaz goes to Ruth and says, Will you not listen, my daughter? Please listen to me. Do not go to glean in another field. So Boaz wants her safe and sound. These go away from here, but stay here close by my maidens. Let your eyes be on the field that they reap and follow them. Have I not commanded the young men that they shall not touch you? Oh, Boaz read them the riot act. Don't touch her or else. I don't know what the or else would have been, but they got the point. They left her alone. And when you are thirsty, go to the vessel and drink. And this was Ruth. Verse 10. She fell on her face, bowed herself to the ground and said to him, Why have I found grace in your eyes that you should take notice of me since I am a foreigner? I am a foreigner. Now this was not the normal word for foreigner. This was a deprecating word. This was a word that implies filthy foreigner, derogatory. And that's how she views herself. I have no right to really be here. I came with my mother-in-law. I resolved to be here and yet you're really accepting me. And she was dumbfounded. But that was her humility. This is Ruth. How many women would do that? But she did. So she fell on her face and Boaz answered and said to her, It has been fully shown to me all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband. Here it is. What did Jesus say about being a disciple? You left your father and your mother and the land of your birth. You put away everything and have come to a people who you did not know before now. May the Lord repay your work and may a full reward be given you from the Lord God of Israel under whose wings you have come to seek refuge. Little did Boaz know what kind of a reward God was going to give Ruth and what part he was going to play in that reward. Then she said, Let me find a favor for you have comforted me. You have spoken kindly to your handmaid, though I am not like one of your handmaids. And Boaz said, Come eat. We go down here when she's ridden up to glean. Boaz commands the young men, help her, look out for her, watch her. Anyway, she takes up what she gleaned and goes back to Naomi. And her mother-in-law, verse 19, after she had returned, telling her what happened. And her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? Where did you work? Blessed is he who took notice of you. Blessed is he who took notice of you. Yes. And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. The man's name with whom I work today was Boaz. And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed is he of the Lord who has not left off his kindness to the living and the dead. And Naomi said to her, The man is near to us, a close kinsman. And Ruth the Moabite said, He may said to me also, Keep by my young men. Naomi said to the daughter-in-law, Good, my daughter, go. And she kept close. Now, legally speaking, Ruth had no obligation to serve her mother-in-law. And her mother-in-law, Naomi, had no legal obligation to help Ruth. Now, that's just the way it was. They had no obligation to help each other at all. So, but Naomi says to herself, Ruth needs a husband. She needs a husband. So, she knows of the law of when two brothers or when one brother dies before having a child, then the nearest relative is to come in and provide seed for the deceased husband. So anyway, we find that verse 3 of chapter 3. Wash yourself, anoint yourself, put your clothing upon you, go down to the threshing floor, and do not make yourself known to the man until he's finished eating and drinking and he's feeling good. And when he lies down, you mark the place where he lies. You go down, uncover his feet, and lie down, and he will tell you what you shall do. And what does Naomi say? What does Ruth say to Naomi? All that you say, I will do. Subservient. Obedient. Remarkable one is Ruth. Now, the interesting thing is, it says she went down to the threshing floor, did according to all that her mother-in-law told her, and when God had eaten and had drunk and his heart was merry, he was feeling good, all right, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, and she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down. Now, we're not 100% sure what to make of this. It could be that she was uncovering his feet, but feet also is a euphemism for one's organ. What exactly happened here? I'm not so sure. I'm not so sure. But nevertheless, it came to pass at midnight, he was startled. Who are you? And she answered, I'm your handmaid, Ruth, and you shall spread your spirit over your handmaid, for you are kinsmen. Always knew what she meant. In Deuteronomy 25, you can read about that. Talks about two brothers, one doesn't have any children, dies. The other one was to marry the widow, provide the child, so that the name will not be blotted out of Israel. And Boaz recognizes that. So he says, Blessed be you of the Lord, my daughter, you have shown more kindness in the end than at the beginning, in that you did not follow young men who were rich and poor. See, Boaz knows, he's old enough to be her father. They're not going to grow old together. He's going to die before she will. He knows that. And he's marveling at the fact that she, Ruth, was willing to follow the laws of Israel. She said, your God will be my God. Your people, my people. She agreed to obey God in whatever God said. Even if it meant that she would be a widow later on. That was her belief, that was her faith. That was her devotion to the God of Israel. Few people can not be sad. But we could say it. So anyway, and now my daughter, do not fear, I will do all that you ask. But now it is true that I am your kinsman, redeemer, but there's also another one nearer than I. So stay here with me, and I will see what I can do in the morning. And we know the story. The council was meeting. Boaz went up to the gate and sat down. Chapter 4, verse 1. And the nearest kinsman came by. Boaz made the proposal. Look, here's Ruth. Redeem the land. You have the right to redeem the land and Ruth. He says, no, I can't do that. I don't think it was the land so much. For some reason, he did not want to get hooked up with Ruth. For whatever reason. So he backed off. And so, verse 2, he took ten men of the elders of the city and announced that they would be married according to the law. And he would redeem her. Verse 4, Boaz said, in the day you got right. I'm sorry, the kinsman said, verse 6, I cannot do it. So anyway, Boaz said to the elders in verse 9, And all you are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's. And that was Shilhan and Mahlan from the hand of Naomi. Ruth of Moab, the wife of Mahlan, I have acquired to be my wife. Teresa and all the people in the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. And here comes the praise of Ruth. God praised her. But look how the people praised her. And all the people in the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who has come into your house like Rachel and Leah. For these two built the house of Israel. And may you, you, Boaz, do worship Wrigley and Ephrath and be famous as Bethlehem. May this woman, Ruth, be like Leah and Rachel. Now that's an honor. It really is. And let your house be like the house of Phares whom Tamar bore to Judah. The seed which the Lord shall give of this woman. And Boaz took Ruth. She became his wife. She conceived, bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, verse 14, Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a kinsman, redeemer, so that his name may be famous. And he shall be to you as a restorer of life and a nourisher in your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you. Notice that. Your daughter-in-law who loves you. Has borne him. She who was better to you than seven sons. That is a tribute to Ruth. An honor. So Naomi took the child, laid it in her bosom, became a nurse to it. Yes, there is a son born of Noam to Naomi. They called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. And then we have this genealogy. Three genealogies and we'll close. These are the generations of Perez. Perez begat Hezron. Hezron begat Ram. Ram begat Amenadab. Amenadab begat Nasham. Nasham begat Salmon. Salmon begat Boaz. That's our Boaz that we've been talking about. And Boaz begat Obed. And Obed begat Jesse. And Jesse begat David. See what we learn here. Is that the book of Ruth is a bridge. It is a bridge between the era of the judges. When Israel was not a nation. To the United Monarchy. Look at Ruth. Chapter 1. Chapter 1 verse 1. Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled. So the scene of this story is in the days of the judges. And it's in the spring of the year. We talk about the barbie wheat. The barbie harvest. The wheat harvest. Yeah, Pentecost time. And in verse 22 of Ruth chapter 4. And Obed begat Jesse. And Jesse begat David. The United Monarchy. It's a bridge between the two. And it's showing here that Solomon. Not Solomon but Boaz. Boaz was the ancestor of David. Well now let's look at two other genealogies. And we will see how God honored Ruth. First we're going to look at Matthew. Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1. Verse 5 and 6. Matthew chapter 1. Genealogy. And Solomon begat Boaz of Rahab. That's Rahab. Jericho. Was she a harlot? Was she an innkeeper? But she's mentioned. And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth. Ruth. Ruth is mentioned in the genealogy. And Jesse begat David the king. And David begat Solomon. Of the one who had been the wife of Uriah. Is that the best God could do? Does that mention the name? Oh. That wasn't the best God could do. But that was the best that God was going to do. This was a bit of a snub and a put down. Because of what Solomon did. So his mother isn't even mentioned here. But Ruth is. Honored in the genealogy. Which goes all the way back. Going on to the birth of Jesus Christ. So Jesus the Messiah was part Moabite. One of the enemies of Israel. Of whom it is said, not to the tenth generation. Will Solomon be allowed from Moab into Israel. Ruth was the exception. And now. Look at Luke chapter 3. And look at this genealogy. Luke chapter 3. We've got here. Up here. Here we are. We have the son of Jacob. Here we go. In verse 31. The son of Melach. We're talking about now the genealogy. The son of Menah. The son of Matafah. The son of Nathan. The son of David. Solomon's line. Isn't even here. But this also was the line. Of Ruth. Ruth is here. God honored Ruth. By putting her in the chronology. And God also. Honored Ruth in another way. She is one of only two women. To have a name. Name of a book in the Bible. The book of Ruth. The book of Ruth. And that book. Is read. Every Pentecost. In every Jewish synagogue across the world. Because that's one of the megalos. The five books. Each one assigned to a holy day or a holiday. Purim is not a holy day. But it's a holiday. And in two days. This book is going to be read. It's in a way like a movie marquee. And there you are. There's the movie. And there it is. The book of Ruth. Starring Ruth. Her name's up there. God honored her. She was beloved of God. Along with Deborah. Two women. Faithful. Resolved. Steadfast. In a way. Who would not falter. Who would not fall down on the job. Who gave God the credit. That's important. They both gave. Remember Deborah? God is going to give the victory? Yes. And Ruth went and did whatever Naomi told her to do. She followed all the principles. And the law pertaining to Israel. Which of course. Pertained to her. She always obeyed. This quiet. Simple. Handmaid. Who in reality. Was more than a handmaid. Both of them. Now maybe you can see why. They're my favorites. I love them. I read their stories. And I think to myself. As I read them. Am I as good as they were? Am I living up. In my lifetime. To the laws of God. To his principles. Am I sacrificing? Am I doing enough? Am I doing enough as they did? Sometimes I wonder. But they were wonderful women. Gallants. Valued women. And so we should all thank God. For their example. And I would urge you. If you can. Read more. About Ruth. And about Deborah. Only two chapters. In the book of Judges. Four and five. That's all there is. Doesn't take long. Take your time reading it. And four. About four chapters. Of the book of Ruth. We went through it. In a cursory manner. Because there is not enough time. To really dig in. But at least. We get the feel. For these women. And so. I'm thankful for them. And let us all be thankful to God. That we have their example. In his word. And may we be. As righteous. As they were. Two women. Deborah. And Ruth. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.