Sunday Notes: Ruth 3:1-7

• (Rth 3:1 ESV) Then _____________her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek _____________for you, that it may be well with you?
  • Recall Ruth 1:9: The LORD grant that you may find _____________, each of you in the house of her husband!” Then she kissed them, and they lifted up their voices and _____________.
    • That’s the heart of a _____________
      • Always seeking the best for her family
        • Even when it is to her own _____________
      • Naomi’s best laid plans for life laid bare before the world and the future looks rather bleak
        • She seeks to give _____________the very things she is unable to provide.
  • What is your most treasured possession?

_______________________________________

 

• Where did it come from?

_______________________________________

 

• These things hold importance to us not because of their monetary value in the _____________, but because of the special connection to our _____________.

• Naomi is seeking the best _____________of Ruth
  • For her _____________well being
  • She looks to an _____________source to fulfill this need: A hero, savior, _____________
    • Someone who has the ability to give to them what they need that they can never provide by themselves.
  • There is a clear picture of our Savior: Jesus Christ 

• (Rth 3:2 ESV) Is not _____________our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing _____________tonight at the _____________floor.
  • Boaz and Naomi’s deceased husband are both of:
    • Tribe of _____________
    • Clan of _____________
  • _____________is in the position to redeem what was lost
    • In fact, that is one of his responsibilities in their clan
      • Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (devotional this week)
  • Threshing floor: community resource for processing grain.
    • Like we have a co-op _____________for processing cotton grown by local farmers.
• (Rth 3:3 ESV) _____________ therefore and _____________ yourself, and put on your _____________ and go down to the _____________ floor, but do not make yourself known to the _____________ until he has finished eating and drinking.

 

Pick one:
[   ] Ruth went to the mall with Naomi’s Visa Card and bought a whole new outfit complete with a designer bag to match her fancy new pumps. Boaz will be blown away by her outfit!

[   ] Ruth made the best of what she had which was not much and probably wore the same shoes she’d gleaned in that day.  Boaz will be smitten with the character of her heart.

• The fact is _____________had little to nothing.  Likely the set of clothes she had on was it. 
  • Remember:  She and Naomi walked _____________ miles from _____________ to Bethlehem
    • And Naomi is too old to do much
      • So they had what Ruth could carry.
  • And: They _____________ in the fields for food – a _____________ existence at best.  No signs here or a life of extras.
    • Be careful not to read your life into theirs.
• What Ruth has to offer is on the _____________.  A heart of gold, a spirit of _____________, and a devotion to her _____________that is unshaken.

 

• There is a connection we cannot miss:

Pick one:
[   ] God saved me because I am so good looking, so smart, so fast, so good, so wonderful.  He would be crazy not to want to save someone as outstanding as I am.

[   ] God saved me despite my place as a dirty, rotten sinner with nothing of value to bring in light of His perfect holiness.  I am humbled in thankfulness for His mercy and grace.

• Our _____________condition is this same place
• That _____________is completely holy
  • And all He does is entirely _____________
  • In every way _____________
• We, however, Isaiah 64:6 describes less glowingly
  • The best things we can bring before God
    • Are filthy, polluted _____________, dirty rags
      • The literal translation is even more derogatory. If you study up on it you will absorb the substance of it.
  • Ephesians 2:1-10
    • We bring nothing to _____________
      • He grants everything to us.
• Something more is going on here still
  • What is happening here is a turning of life!
    • A change in Ruth: To stop the life of a mourning _____________
    • To move on as an eligible woman for _____________.
  • Illustrative of the life change we see in the Christian
    • Initial obedience to the call
    • Ongoing fruit of a life lived in Christ.

• (Rth 3:4 ESV) But when he _____________down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his _____________and lie down, and _____________will tell you what to do.”
• (Rth 3:5 ESV) And she replied, “All that you _____________ I will do.”
  • As always, Ruth is the obedient and honorable woman
  • Faithful to _____________, Upright in character
    • Even if we don’t understand
    • Even if we don’t know all the factors
      • Obedience requires faith doesn’t it?
        • Hebrews 11:1
• (Rth 3:6 ESV) So she _____________down to the _____________floor and _____________just as her mother-in-law had _____________her.
  • In this book the time shifts are fascinating
    • The detail and intricacy of the conversation and the instruction – It moves so slowly
    • Then the execution  – Happens in an instant.
    • Ruth _____________
      • She _____________as instructed
        • Even when she is unsure, not certain
      • Can you relate to that?  Acting even in uncertainty?
• (Rth 3:7 ESV) And when _____________had eaten and drunk, and his heart was _____________, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of _____________. Then she came softly and uncovered his _____________and lay down.
  • Again, staying the night to _____________his produce from _____________ and animals.
  • How long had Ruth been waiting in the shadows?
    • Watching from the _____________
    • Her heart _____________, mind _____________
    • Unsure of what happens next
      • Just trusting what _____________ had said
        • Obedient to the call
  • The question is one of obedience in your life
    • Is your life marked by an obedience to the call of God or something else?
      • This call He has made for you to come to Him
        • For forgiveness, redemption, new life
      • This call he places on His people to be faithful – to return to your life in Him.
        • A life you never should have left
      • This call to be the people of God daily
        • In a lost and dying world – To shine the light of his grace