And tonight we're coming to the message of the cross. The Lord has laid into my heart a message tonight to do with Calvary, as we think of the Easter weekend, rejoicing in Christ crucified and Christ risen again. And we're going to an Old Testament portion of scripture, and we're thinking about the prophetic word that spoke so clearly and vividly, oh, a thousand years before the incarnation of what Jesus Christ would endure when he came to this earth to be the Savior of men. So thank you, Rebecca, for singing and for leading us to the cross. I can say now that she sat down, she was very nervous. She got up this morning, didn't have her breakfast. My wife made her eat a little biscuit. And if you could see what I saw, and you didn't, and it was good, she was trembling. But she did well, she sang well, and the Lord has been glorified. And that's the important thing, what we sing, that God might indeed be glorified. We're turning to Ruth, chapter 3. For the benefit of those who have not been joining with us Sabbath by Sabbath, maybe you're a visitor today, We are doing a study in the book of Ruth. This is message 21 and it's part 3. We're speaking about Ruth's reputation. The wonderful reputation that she had as a virtuous woman. And as we planned for this message, originally it was to be one message. It kind of spread into two and spilled over into a third. So we're coming to message 3 on the virtuous woman. And we're keeping our Bibles opened here at Ruth chapter 3. We're thinking also of Proverbs chapter 31, because that is the commentary that we have on the virtuous woman. But let's bow together in prayer and ask God's blessing upon these minutes together in God's Word. Father, we thank Thee for leading us to Calvary already. We thank Thee for Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. and for the wonderful work of redemption that He procured there at the cross. We thank Thee because of the cross there is a way opened to heaven. We cannot get there by ourselves, we cannot trust in anything that we could ever do, for there's nothing that man can accomplish would ever get him to glory. But we thank Thee for all that Jesus did the One who represented us, the One who took our place fully, who lived for us, who died for us, who was raised again for us, who ascended into glory and now intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. We thank Thee for the wonderful Saviour today. May our thoughts of Him be sweet. As we come to our study in Thy Word again here in Ruth, we pray that Thou wilt bless us, that Thou wilt direct our way that thou wilt help every believer here to be virtuous in their Christian living, that we might walk with God in holiness in a dark day of impurity and uncleanness. Give help to the preacher. Stand with me, I pray. Bless the congregation. And, O God, together may we benefit from thy word for Jesus' sake. Amen. Just reading the text, which is verse 13, or 11, rather, verse 11 of chapter 3, and the second part of it, this wonderful statement that Boaz makes concerning Ruth. For all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. All the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. I want to begin today by telling you a story about two young women. One was a virtuous, godly young lady. The other, it would seem, was far from virtue and godliness. They were both brought up in the same town, under the same conditions, with the same disadvantages of their godless community and their sinful background. yet by the providence of God, with the same opportunities to hear the gospel and to come to know the true God of heaven. In all likelihood, they played together as children. They enjoyed one another's company as teenagers. And they did many of those things that young people do in the days of vanity. In fact, some believe that these two young women were actually sisters. They belonged to the same family. So they were close, as close, as close as sisters in the flesh could possibly be. And yet one goes down the road of ruin and sin, and the other, by the grace of God, got onto the road of righteousness and salvation. And this often happens. I've seen it many times. Young people growing up together, they go to the same school, they live in the same neighborhood, they attend the same church, they even belong to the same family. And yet, by and by, as life goes on, they go in separate directions. One comes to know Christ the Savior, goes on with God, goes to heaven. The other one goes down the road of ruin and destruction, and their soul is lost forevermore. It is my understanding that both of these young women were introduced to the things of God at the same time. It's good to keep in mind that they grew up in a town where there was little knowledge of God because this was a foreign place where the message of salvation was not known. But a family moved to their country and to their very town, and this family were believers. And they brought with them the truth as it is found in God's Word. And yet one rejects it and the other receives it. An unusual thing happened. Not an impossible thing, because it's happened in this very congregation. These two young women, possibly sisters, married two brothers. It was this friendship relationship, this love ship, this marriage that forged deeper links with a family that knew the Lord. We're not sure whether the young men were saved or whether they were backsliders or whether they were unconverted, because we're not told what these marriages took place. If these young men were saved, were then they married unequally in the Lord? The Bible forbids intermarriage between those who know Christ and those who do not, for obvious reasons. If they were backsliders, they were still marrying with an unequal yoke, as the Bible describes it. And if they were unconverted, well, that's fine in the sight of God, because that's what the Bible teaches. We are to be equally yoked together. These girls introduced to the way of salvation made choices, unalterable decisions. Both of them came to see the right way. Both of them had desires to do the right thing. Both of them were concerned in their soul. Both of them at least outwardly said that they were going to go God's way because there came a time in their life when the challenge of God came to their hearts with power and there were tears. There was outward concern. There was brokenness. There was great weeping. But one of them turned their back and walked away from God forever and entered into a life of sin and pleasure and died without God's mercy and went to hell. The other made a firm and resolute decision to abandon her past life of heathenism and worldliness. And she came to know the Lord. and started from the promised land and never looked back. And for the rest of her life, she enjoyed God's blessing. Through all the circumstances of life's journey, the Lord was there and she went to heaven. And I ask the question in the light of this story, in whose shoes would you like to be? Would you like to be in the shoes of the young woman who rejected it all? have the same upbringing, the same circumstances, even though it was a godless background that she came from, yet she came to hear about the truth, came to hear God's word, the message of salvation. And yet she walked away from it all and died in her sin and was lost. Or would you rather stand in the shoes of the young woman who embraced and received the truth as it was conveyed to her and she came to know God as her savior? In whose shoes would you like to stand? And who were these two young women? Well, you know them. You've read about them. You've heard about them because we've been studying in the book of Ruth. I'm referring to Ruth and Orpah. The name Orpah actually means neck or the back of the neck. I'm told that it could be interpreted, she who turned back. How amazingly appropriate, because she turned back. That's what the scripture tells us. Orpah, with tears streaming down her face, kissed her mother-in-law, and the Bible says that she went back unto her people and unto her gods. She turned her back upon Naomi. She turned her back upon Bethlehem, turned her back upon the promised land, turned her back upon the ways of righteousness. My friend, she turned her back upon God himself. I was more than struck when I was reading some Jewish literature about her, because according to tradition, Orpah was Ruth's sister. And both of them were daughters of the Moabite king Eglon. After the deaths of their husbands, Orpah literally turned her back on Naomi and Judaism, preferring instead to remain in Moab. But her story does not end there. Jewish writers tell us that Orpah went on back into a life of sinful immorality. She had relationships with a hundred men before she conceived and bore four giants. She is identified in history as being the same as Harapha, the mother of these four Philistine giants. Who were they? Well, you read about them in the Bible. One was a man called Goliath. the famous Philistine warrior killed by David. One Jewish writer says that because Orpah walked 40 paces with Maomei before turning back, Goliath was allowed to taunt Israel for 40 days before being slain. A second son was called Sapph. He was a Philistine giant killed by Sibichiah, the Hushaphite, in 2 Samuel chapter 21 and verse 18. The third giant was Madden. He was a Philistine giant who was slain by Jonathan, who was the son of David's brother Shemiah. And you read about that in 2 Samuel chapter 21 as well, verse 20. He was that unusual giant that had six digits on each hand and six digits on each foot as well. The fourth giant was Eshbaibinob. He was the Philistine giant who attempted to kill King David, but instead was slain by Abishai. Jewish literature tells us that Abishai also killed Orpah. She was spinning thread when she saw Abishai approaching. And she threw the spindle at him like a dart, but it missed him. He picked it up and threw it back. Jewish writers tell us, and it said Orpah on the head, and she was killed instead. Both names, Orpah and Haraphah, imply that she was extremely immoral and promiscuous. You do not know where you will end up if you turn your back upon God and refuse Jesus Christ as your Saviour. You don't know where it will all end. Maybe like an Orpah. The name Ruth, as we know, means beautiful, and she was beautiful. Beautiful in her appearance, beautiful to look at, beautiful in the way that she dressed, and beautiful, of course, in her godliness, because that's really what she's known as, being a godly young woman. We've been studying these weeks the path that Ruth followed and how did God bless her, how different she was from her sister. They were poles apart. By the way, Jewish writers make a very powerful application to this story. And this is what they say, sometimes in life we make decisions not realizing that the consequences may be momentous. Such was the case long ago for two Moabite women, Ruth and Orba. Ruth chose the paths of Torah, Torah was the Jewish law, that's the name that is given to it, and was privileged to establish the royal Davidic dynasty. Orpah, on the other hand, returned to a lifestyle of heathen immorality, which led to her ultimate destruction and the death of her four giant sons. Today, each of us, like Ruth and Orpah, are faced with decisions concerning our religious commitment within a secular society, we often find that the observance of Torah and mitzvah clash with the non-Jewish lifestyle all around us. What are the consequences to us, to our family, and to our people when we turn our backs on the Torah in order to fit in with the rest of the world? Now, you and I as Christians can't fail to see the application to that. growing up in life, making decisions in life that are going to be monumental decisions, a decision that could shape you one way or the other, either by rejecting the law of God, by rejecting the things of God, by rejecting Christianity, by rejecting the Christ of the cross, or by embracing Him as your Savior and coming to live by God's truth. Orpah chose the false religion of Moab, the sins of Moab, the men of Moab, the lusts of Moab, the immorality of Moab, the pleasure of Moab, the promiscuity of Moab, the nightclubs of Moab, and she went to hell. Ruth pursued those things, choosing rather the road to Judah the people of Judah, the ways of Judah, the God of Judah, the righteousness of Judah, the purity of Judah, and the godly Boaz himself. And she went to heaven. Which road will you choose? Because a choice you will make. Ruth was a virtuous woman. I need to point out that not all the women of Judah were virtuous women. Just because you said, I'm a Jew, I'm from the land of Bethlehem, Judah, did not make you a virtuous woman any more than those who say that their Christians are virtuous women or virtuous men. It's one thing to say that you're that, it's another thing to be that. But Ruth was, indeed, a godly young woman. The word virtuous, you'll remember, means strength of character, moral character, firmness. We're thinking about holiness. And we've been studying Ruth in the light of Proverbs 31, verses 10 to 31, at least in this message. Look again at the declaration of Boaz. For all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. Ruth had a good reputation. We've been asking ourselves these weeks, what kind of reputation do you have? What are you known as? What do the people of your town, your city, your village, your community say about you? Because we're talking here about your testimony, child of God. We're talking here about your life and your example, and that's important. Ruth was numbered among the pure, among the upright, among the holy women of God, and so should we. Last week we spoke a little bit about the virtues of Ruth as a wife. I don't want to go over old ground because time is rushing on, but just to recap, give me one minute to do that. Boaz heard about how Ruth treated Naomi, chapter 2, verse 11. He heard about the hard work in the field, chapter 2, verse 7. He witnessed her humility and respect, chapter 2, verse 10. He knew the sacrifices that she made, chapter 2, verse 11. He was told about her faith in God and that was vital to him. He wanted to make sure that she was a believer, that she had her faith in the Lord. Chapter 2, verse 12, he saw her gracious ways and her godly manner. He noted her sincerity and desire to do that which was right. Chapter 3 speaks about that. He was convinced about her moral conduct and spirituality. She was not flirtatious, either in running after young men or in throwing herself at rich men. Chapter 3, verse 10. And then as you come to our text, he recognized her splendid testimony that was citywide. Chapter 3, verse 11. And my friends, he thought, this is the woman that I want to have as my wife. This is the woman that I want to bring home. This is the kind of person that any Christian man can be proud of, a godly woman, a virtuous woman that would make a good wife. And we compared all that we saw about Ruth with Proverbs chapter 31, and especially speaking about the wife from verse 11 to 26. And we said, young men, look for these qualities. If you're a saved young man, you love the Lord, And you want to do that which is right before God. Look for these qualities in anyone that you would seek to make your wife. And young woman, you emulate your life upon these qualities. We saw her purity in Proverbs 31 verse 11. The husband of this woman trusted his wife implicitly. We saw her bounty in verse 11 or 12. She wanted God's best for him, her industry, and quite a bit of the chapter spoke about that. Verse 13 to 19, verses 24 and 25, how that she worked hard, and her charity. We said we were going to come back to that, which we will today, in verse 20. And her testimony in verse 23. She was known as a good wife. I want to think about her virtues as a mother. They've seen her virtues as a wife last week. I want you to think just briefly about her virtues as a mother. Ruth was going to make not only a good wife, but with all these excellent qualities and attributes and merits of a virtuous woman, she no doubt was going to make a good mother. And she did. The people in the gate. And the leaders of the city wished her well and they conferred their blessing upon her, if you look at chapter 4 and verses 11 and 12. And all the people that were in the gate and the elders said, we are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that has come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which too did build the house of Israel, and do thy worthily in Ephrathah, and be famous in Bethlehem. And let my house be like the house of Phares, whom Tamar bare unto Judah of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman." They conferred their blessing, and God did bless this family, and God blessed them with a son. In verse 13, Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife. And when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception. And she bare a son. And this son, as you see in verse 17, was called Obed, which means serving, who had a son called Jesse, that means wealth, who in turn had a son called David, that means beloved. And in the due process of time, Jesus Christ, the Saviour of men, was born through this ancestry, through this lineage. What a blessing! that Ruth, in the great providence of God, in the sovereignty of the Lord, was placed into the ancestry of the blessed Son of God who would come into this world in the fullness of time. Now you read, when you read this about Ruth, and you come over to Proverbs chapter 31, you read verses 27 and 28. Of the virtuous woman, It says that she looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up and call her blessed, her husband also, and he praiseth her. This passage is telling us simply that she takes care of her family. A virtuous woman makes a good mother, raises her children well, in the fear and the admonition of God, she will be a shining example in her home. Her children will look up to her. They will admire her. They will follow her godly ways. They will be a blessing to others. Oh, give us such homes with godly mothers, fathers. Do you see what it says there, that she'll looketh well? This little expression means that she keeps watch. The verb means to look out or about. It means to spy, to keep watch. It's a word that is used, for example, of the watchman. Back in 2 Kings, chapter 9 and verse 17, It says, there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came. The word spied is the same word, looketh well. It is used in Ezekiel chapter 3 and verse 17 and chapter 33. Similar passage speaking about Ezekiel, the watchman, looking out, spying, looking carefully. A watchman looks for the enemy. or for anything that will endanger the city. And a godly woman diligently watches over her household. She looks out for the dangers that may hurt her family, evil companions, vile entertainments, dangers from the internet and so on and so forth. She looks out. The godly woman seeks to find out what is going on with her children. Alas, some parents do not keep watch, and they feel in their God-given responsibility to look well to the ways of their household. They don't care where their children are. They don't know what their children are doing. They don't know who they're with. They don't know what they watch on television or what music they listen to. Parents need to be aware of what's really going on so that they can help their children, so that they can discipline them, restrict them when needed, guide them into wholesome and profitable activities. Are you looking well to the ways of your household? Are you making sure that your children are developing the right moral habits? Are you making sure that your children are receiving the right religious education? Are you making sure that your children are attending the means of grace? That they're spending time reading the Word and in secret prayer? Are you making sure that your children are observing the Lord's Day in a proper fashion? Are you making sure that they're watching their manners and giving respect to their seniors and superiors? Or do you not care as a mother, as a father? Do you know where your children were last night? Do you know what they were doing last night? Do you know who they were with? Are you keeping watch as a mother, as a father, who can claim to be a virtuous woman or man? who does not feel this weight of family responsibility, her virtues as a mother. But thirdly, I want you to see her virtues as a citizen, what she was just as an ordinary person, not so much now as the wife of the home or the mother in the home, but what she was in her community. And there's just two things I want you to notice that We're told here in Proverbs chapter 31, her charitableness. We said that we would come back to this verse and verse 20 says she stretches out her hand to the poor. Yes, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. We can certainly say that her liberality is very extensive and reaches many and reaches those that are even at a distance. She is looking to those that are both at home and abroad. She gives with great cheerfulness and readiness. She is not stingy in her giving. I was reading what the law of God tells us in Deuteronomy chapter 15 and verse 7 onwards concerning our responsibility to those that are in need. Let me read these verses to you. Deuteronomy 15 verse 7. If there be among you a poor man, of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother, but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth. that there be not a thought in my wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand, and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him not. And he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him. Because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. For the poor shall never cease out of the land. Therefore I command thee, saying, thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy in thy land." Now you compare that with what we read in 1 John 3, verses 17 and 18. But whoso hath this world's good, and saith his brother hath need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. How can you say, I love the Lord, the love of God is in me, when you see somebody in need and you shut up your bowels of compassion and you don't help that person who is in need? And we're speaking about people that have the wherewith to help others. God gives his virtuous children a liberal hand and heart. If we see a needy aspect of God's work, we rise to the cause. Maybe it's at home, on the home front, the home mission, the home church, and there's a need. We rise to the cause. Maybe it's abroad. Maybe it's the missionary cause. And hardly a week goes by as far as this church is concerned, but there's always a giving. There's always an open hand. and an open heart to the missionary work. And the announcements show that constantly. Even with this trip to Kenya, there's been a gift for the poor children, a gift for the missionaries, a gift for this, that and the other. People have risen to it. They've had an open heart, an open hand. Or we see it down and out. Or the drunk, we don't pass them by. Now, I'm not saying that you should open your purse or your wallet and give them a handout of money. Rather, you should bring them in and give them a meal. You know what they'll do with the money. They'll not spend it on food. They're going to buy drink. They're going to buy cigarettes. They're going to buy things that they will gamble with, scratch cards, whatever it might be. But if they're in need, we're not like the priests. We're not like the Levites. When a man's lying in destitution, we pass by on the other side. No, we've got the heart of the Samaritan. We help that person. We do what we can. This woman, this virtuous woman, is seen by her charitableness. She gives to the poor. She reaches out to them, to those that are in need. But you'll also notice her communications in verse 26. She not only opens her hand, but she opens her mouth. And she opens her mouth with wisdom. Some people open their mouth and, my, you're just wondering what's going to come next. But you see, the virtuous woman, she opens her mouth with wisdom. And in her tongue is the law of kindness. A person's words, language and speech is important. We have talked already in this message about reputation, the reputation that a gossip has, the reputation that a slanderer has. You've heard the expression that you can assassinate a person's character. You know, that's what a gossip does. That's what a slanderer does. People that talk about other people behind their back. Oh, they wouldn't commit murder, at least the physical act of murder, and take a knife and drive it into somebody's heart, or take a gun and blow somebody's brains out. But you know what they do? They murder the character. They assassinate the character. And sometimes it's the character of other Christians that they're assassinating. The critic, the fault finder, the whisperer, those who spread rumor, those who were given to malicious gossip, And just by the way, even if the thing is true, even if the thing is true, you ought not to be speaking about it behind the person's back. The Bible makes that clear, even if it's true. What should you do? You should pray for them. That's your first duty. And by the grace of God, if the opportunity arises, you should go to them to seek to help them, put them right. I often think of Galatians 6, verse 1, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a thought, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering myself, lest I also be tempted. And if they are overtaken by thought, you don't gossip about them. You don't slander their character, assassinate their character. No, you go and seek to restore them and bring them back into the way again. And so if someone comes to you and they want to tell tales, do you know what you want to say? Stop! I am a Christian. I don't want to hear it. And if you want to be blunt, shut your mouth. That's really what we ought to be doing as God's people. We ought not to be either gossiping or parley to the gossip, listening, because you're just as guilty before the Lord. You can consider what James has to say in James chapter 3, in verse 6, when he says that the tongue is a fire. It's a world of iniquity, a world of iniquity. So was the tongue among our members, it defileth the whole body, it setteth on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire of hell. In chapter 4, verse 11, he said, Speak not evil one of another brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law. If thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge. God did not make us judges. God made us doers of the law. And James says we're not to be judging our brother. We're not to be speaking evil of our brother. This is the commandment, brethren and sisters. The virtuous woman, the godly woman, the holy, the beautiful-natured woman is one who speaks well. If we're going to learn anything about her today, learn that she openeth her mouth with wisdom and in her tongue is the law of kindness. You know, this is the only verse in the passage that speaks about the tongue or the speech of the virtuous woman. The words of her mouth. The language of her mouth is wisdom. That word wisdom means discreet, careful, hesitant. The law of her mouth is kindness. And that's a good law to have. Good to be able to say as a Christian, I've got a law that governs my tongue. I've got a law that guards my mouth. It's the law of kindness. The law of love is written in our heart, but it shows itself in our tongue. If we are kindly affectionate one to another, it's going to appear in our expressions. Jesus said that, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. In other words, what comes out of our mouth is an indication of what we are in our heart. Our speech reveals our heart. Out of the wise heart comes wise words. Out of a kind heart comes kind words. And so we ought to be careful when we speak because we are showing our heart to other people. The word kindness is the commonly used word in the Hebrew. He said, H-E-S-E-D, it occurs about 200 times in the Old Testament scriptures and is rendered in various ways. Mercy, goodness, loving kindness. And the thought here is love. In fact, it is steadfast love. The words of a virtuous woman will be characterized by steadfast love. She will be kind. She will be faithful. She will be loving and gracious in her speech. And when she opens her mouth, she says nothing but what is worthy of being heard. How forcible are right words. And so as we think of what this person is generally in the community, leaving aside her being a wife or a mother, this will incorporate us all, what we are among our people. We see her charitableness. We see her communications. And in conclusion, you just ought to marvel in the wonderful testimony that is possessed by this woman. The wonderful testimony that is given by her children, She's a great blessing to her children. They grow up and they call her blessed. They spread a good word about her. They commend her. They thank God for her. They feel indebted to her. Those who know her best praise her most. Who knows you best? People that live with you. And they are the very people that are going to praise you the most if you're a virtuous woman. By her companion, her husband is a happy man. and knows it because he has been blessed with such a good woman. He's ready to speak well about his wife. He's ready to praise her and commend her because she's a virtuous woman. Not only by her children and by her companion, but by her community. If you just look there at the end of verse 30, it says that a woman that feareth the Lord shall be praised. In truth, the whole neighborhood knows. She's a wonderful reputation in the community. This is what Boaz is actually saying in her text. The whole city knows that thou art a virtuous woman. This is what we've been discussing. What does the city know? What does the town know about us? What do we know of them as in our community? And I think that we can, for our benefit, put in the word church here. What she's known as by her church. We're thinking about Christian young women. And you're not only, if you're married, a mother in the home and maybe a wife in the home and living there in the community, but you've got a life to live in the church too, a life of virtue, a life of godliness, a life of holiness. Oh, may we have this testimony, the testimony of the virtuous woman, whether you're a woman or a man, to have a good reputation, to have a good example before others. I trust that God will We'll bless what we've said to you, challenge us all to be what we should be for God.