Turning back to the book of Ruth this evening and to the passage that we read together. And the book of Ruth from which our gospel text comes is a treasure, a treasure of biblical literature, of the inspired word of God, coming as it does after the book of Judges with its sensuousness and shallow passions. It is a much loved book. It's a relief to come to this little book of four chapters in the Word of God and read this refreshing and wholesome love story that is an excellent illustration of the grace of Almighty God at work, yes, in that Old Testament era. We know that Ruth was from the country of Moab. Her story is one of godly faithfulness and true love. Her story is one also of sacrifice rather than the expression of self-interests so prevalent in our day. Everyone seems to be wanting to get all they can out of life, seeing it as their right and seem to think that they go for everything that life has to offer. And Ruth shows us that life really is about the satisfaction that can be realized in life for what you put into life, for others' benefit. Sacrificing her own home life, going back to her own people, not going back to her own gods, not going back to all that was familiar to her in the land of Moab, She chose instead to go with Naomi to this lady whom she had come to know and love and respect and whose God she had come to embrace, the only wise God, Jehovah, the Lord God. And she did it out of love for Naomi and eventually expressing her love for God. It's been said that love is something if you give it away, you end up getting more. And Ruth demonstrates in this book that bears her name, that very principle. And so most of us, if we know our Bibles, will know the circumstances of this book. We had a famine that caused Elimelech and his wife Naomi and the two sons to migrate to Moab where there was grain. where there was food to feed the family. He went to this conquered land of Moab, for that's what it was occupied by the Israelite people at that time. And so the two sons, they had no Israelite girls to marry, and so they took wives from the Moabitish people, Orpah and Ruth. And the five of them stayed in Moab a further 10 years. But at the end of the period that we have in this book, first of all, Elimelech had died, leaving Naomi and the two sons and two daughters-in-law without means of support except from what the sons could gain. And then they died, leaving Naomi and the two daughters-in-law. and 10 years had gone by. Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem where she had relatives still living. And she had heard the news that the famine had ended in Israel. There was indeed God's blessing again, and grain was being grown and harvested. But she realized that the land of Israel had little to offer these two girls who came from Moab. And so she encouraged them to return then to her own families. And we read that Orpa did return, kissed her mother-in-law and went back, although not without some tears. And she went back to her family and to her gods and those beliefs that were part of her very being. However, Ruth responds to Naomi, using some of the most beautiful language in the Old Testament. How often we've been impressed by those words of this girl, Ruth, in verse 16 of chapter 1. Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. Where thou lodgest, I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God My God, where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. The words of Ruth here are a good example of what the Lord Jesus Christ had in mind when he spoke the words recorded in Matthew 19, where in summary he said, whosoever leaves behind property or family for my sake shall inherit everlasting life. And Ruth had forsaken her own country to follow the Lord God alongside Naomi. And when Naomi saw that Ruth had an unshakable faith in the living God, she encouraged Ruth to accompany her to Bethlehem. Now, my friends, it was a distance of about 75 miles, perhaps not a long distance by our standards with our modern forms of transport. Not great, but you know the descent from the mountains of Moab in through the Jordan Valley, and then the ascent into the hills of Judea around Jerusalem, around Bethlehem, made it a very, very difficult journey for these two women. 4,500 feet are probably involved in the down and the up. Bethlehem itself stands at 3,750 above sea level. And so through those hills of Judah, that final part of the journey was a hazardous journey for them both. But they made it back to Bethlehem. And returning to Bethlehem was a sad event for Naomi. She says that she has gone out full, and returned empty and poor. Her name, Naomi, means sweetness. She asked her friends not to call her that anymore, but Mara, remembering that place in the wilderness when the children of Israel came to water but could not drink it because it was bitter. Bitter waters, bitter experience, sorrowful experience for this lady, Naomi. However, she recognised the hand of the Lord God in her situation and trusted in his might and power to work things together for good for her as one of his people. It must have been very difficult for her to see her friends again and her relations back in Bethlehem, Judah, after those ten years. And people, as in the village, were talking about her returning. Is this not Naomi that went away ten years ago? but she had a testimony which was a credit to her godly character. But now as the story unfolds, as we read together, we can shift our focus to a friend of Naomi's husband. In fact, more than a friend, but a distant relative, the man Boaz. And he is introduced into the story here. He was wealthy, he was valiant, he was strong, he was kind and generous. And when Ruth asked if she could come into his field to glean grain at the corners of the field, as was provided for in Leviticus 19 and 23 and Deuteronomy 24, there she joined the other maidens to take the opportunity to go to the deliberately left handfuls on purpose in the corners of the fields. And the scripture indicates with wonderful language here that Ruth happened to come to a part of the field belonging to Boaz. Verse 3 of chapter 2, she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz which was of the kindred of Elimelech. Lovely old English word this, hap, we get our word happening and happened from it. But the text says in the original Hebrew, she chanced her chance. She took almost a risk by coming into this field of Boaz. And what was chance from a human point of view was a perfect plan from the divine point of view. The sovereignty of God was operating here for this dear girl, Ruth. How often we miss the joy of celebrating the providential planning of Almighty God in our lives, yes, as believers. Sometimes we fail to see the way that circumstances move together for our benefit. And when we see it, then we can see that it is no more than the providential loving hand of Almighty God, the providing hand of our Heavenly Father. My friends, we need to be alert to recognize what God is doing in our lives. Sometimes circumstances are mystifying. Circumstances don't go our way. They're not what we expect. And yet, if we look at it and say, this is God working in my life, these are circumstances providentially ordered by his loving hand because he loves me in Christ, then we can give him credit. and thanks for how he deals with us so tenderly. And again, Boaz was able to give evidence of his godly character. As he walked through the fields, he was respectful towards the men who worked for him, to those reapers. The Lord be with you, he called out to them as he entered into the field. The Lord God Jehovah be with you and prosper you in your work. And they answered him, the Lord bless thee, Jehovah bless thee. I wonder how many factories and firms in our industrial areas, in our even agricultural areas, would prosper more if the management situation was more like this that existed between Boaz and his reapers. And so he spotted Ruth in the corner of the field. And he asked who she was. And already Ruth in this short time had established a humble reputation, a humble testimony. She was known as the kind young woman who had accompanied Naomi back from Moab to Bethlehem. She had established a reputation for being a tireless worker. says so here in the text, from morning only stopping for short breaks, working as hard as she could, not lazy. There was no one else to do the work that was needed for the sustenance of Naomi and Ruth together. And so this impressed Boaz. And he went out of his way to show her kindness, and he showed it to her in the way that he spoke to her and in his actions, insisting that she stay with his own servant girls in the field. Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest 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 that they do reap. Go after them. Have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee, that is, not deal with thee roughly and push thee away? And when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels and drink of that which the young men have drawn. Now our text for this gospel service is the next verse in verse 10. The reply that Ruth spoke to Boaz, her kind benefactor. Look at verse 10 of chapter two. 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 shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? This is a threefold statement, or rather a threefold question that Ruth asks Boaz. And my friends, it is a remarkable gospel text. And we can consider Ruth's words tonight actually in reverse order that we have in the text of scripture, so that we can observe the gospel, the good news in the text. So first of all, the last phrase. Ruth asked Boaz, why have you taken knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger? Ruth was a foreigner. She was a Gentile. She had no rights under the Jewish law of coming into a Jewish community. She was an outsider. She had no entitlement to be married to a Jew, although she was not prevented from doing so. She did not have the same rights as a Jewish woman had. For instance, if her Jewish husband's brother had survived, she would have had the right to request to him to marry her so that the family line could continue with children. But Ruth had no such appeal because she was a Moabitess. And also the rules of strict segregation between Jews and Gentiles meant that the people of God were discouraged from mixing with those who were not Jews, who were not Israelites, who were indeed the others, the Gentiles. For Ruth's part, she knows that she is a stranger, seeing I am a stranger. She does not attempt to disguise the fact or to pull the wool over Boaz's eyes. She knew her position. She knew she was a stranger. My friends, there is a lesson for us and for people today in Ruth's humility. When we come to the Lord Jesus Christ for pardon and forgiveness, we have to come humbly, realistically recognising our unworthiness and undeservedness. What is the connection with us being a stranger when we come as an unbeliever to the Lord Jesus Christ? It is in Psalm 53. that says the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. You see, my friends, we are born strangers to God. We start off that way. God made us, yes, but we are strangers to Him. The sad thing is that so many people come to the Lord God And they virtually demand his favour. They expect his mercy. They presume that just because they have come with some kind of need and a spiritual need at that, that they have the right to expect God to deal favourably with them. Never mind that they've broken his laws. Never mind that they have wasted their lives up until that point in selfishness and self-centeredness and self-seeking pleasure. And this law-breaking has been over and over again, going against their conscience. Never mind that they have had terrible thoughts about God, blasphemous thoughts about God, wicked attitudes, proud opinions, about the ruler of the universe and those thoughts have been totally unjust because they do not know the Lord God as he really is. No, sinners are estranged from the holy Lord God because their hearts and their deeds are evil. And like Ruth, we have to come to God, aware of our estrangement. Oh, my friend, if you're unconverted tonight, are you aware that you are a stranger to God? You cannot be a friend of God. Your sins separate you from God. Your sins have made a separation between you and the God who made you. There is no goodness in you as there was not in me or any who have come to faith in Christ. There is none righteous, no, not one. And you need to come to God as Ruth came to that field that day, in front of Boaz, humbly, and casting yourself at his feet, knowing that you can deserve nothing. That's how Ruth came. She came with no assumption. She came as a stranger into that field. Have you ever come to God in this way? You come even amongst the people of God tonight, and you know that you're not converted, you know that you're not a Christian. And do you feel that strangeness with God? You're not the same as those around you who have the grace of God dwelling in their lives, who have been born again by the Spirit of God, who have had transformed lives, and it hasn't happened for you, and you are a stranger. So with nothing in your hands to offer him, you have nothing acceptable to give to God, nothing at all. With nothing but your sin then, you must come to God as a stranger and trust him to take that away. And you need to come then as Ruth came, humbly to that field, humbly to the presence of God to seek his mercy and pardon. So she asked the question, how are you regarding me? How are you taking notice of me? Because I am a stranger and I know it and I have no rights. But then in the middle of the text, a second phrase. Ruth asked this question, why have I found grace in thy sight, in thine eyes? And I suppose we could interpret these words from the mouth of Ruth as an expression of thanks. Because she recognizes that she has come into Boaz Field, she has been allowed to glean and to gather the grain. But she has found grace. She is giving thanks to Boaz for that. Why have I found grace in thine eyes? And she acknowledges then that Boaz has given her that opportunity to gather as much food as she possibly can during the harvest time. And so by asking the question, she is stating her grateful thanks. Thank you for being gracious to me, one who deserves nothing. She is, of course, saying much more to Boaz. In a few words, she states her belief that she needed grace. Well, there is something very special. She needed someone to favor her. She knew that she was a stranger and therefore a beggar in his sight. She had no hope outside of the benevolence of someone who could just as well have rejected her and sent her packing to ask her to glean in somebody else's field. This man Boaz could have said, off you go, I don't want any Moabites in my field polluting the place where my harvest is going on, affecting what is happening amongst my people. I don't want any Gentile coming in and polluting the reapers in this field. I do not want to bring disrepute to my name as an upstanding Israelite." Oh, he could have said all that, but he didn't. He showed grace. And rather than reject Ruth, Boaz favoured her in such a way that she has cause even to question his goodness. Why have I found grace in thine eyes? I can hardly believe it, she is saying. And as we shall see, my friends, Jesus Christ favours with his grace those who genuinely seek him, who come with their need in their hearts. On the other hand, Ruth could have come with a different attitude. She could have said to herself, well, there's that farmer Boaz. Now I understand he's connected with Elimelech, my father-in-law. And I can expect something of him. I can come to him that he is very well off. He has many fields. He is bound to show favor to the poor of the district for he's supposed to do that. God has told him to do that in the law of the Israelites. So why not to me? But she did not do that. She did not come like so many come to presume in the person of God. Whenever someone comes to church or begins to consider their need of the Lord God, and something prompts them to come, but they come with a presumptuous attitude towards God, then the Lord God sees them coming from a million miles away. They do not get an audience with God because they come the wrong way. God is not interested in those who believe that there is something good in them, to believe they have something to offer God, to believe that they have skills or attributes or energy or time that God can use and that He will be pleased with them when they come because He will be pleased that He has such a person amongst the people of the Kingdom of God. And they say to themselves, well, I have some right to God's kindness. I've done all sorts of helpful things to other people. And that's bound to give me some credit. And they say that in their hearts. See, there are many who are religious people who think just like this. That they presume on God when they think that they have a right to mercy. And they ignore the clear statements of scripture that says such in Psalm 53, God looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back. They are all together become filthy. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. No, my friends, none of us have any right to God's mercy and grace. God shows his mercy and grace to whom he pleases. Ruth shows us this. She did find grace in Boaz's eyes. She believed with all her heart that grace had found her in her desperate need, but she did not presume on him. And that is how you must come this evening, my unconverted friend. The knowledge of your need of grace. Do you have that knowledge tonight? Do you know that there is a situation in your heart that needs the gospel desperately, that needs the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your soul and to save you, to cause you to be born again by the Spirit of God? God will only accept those who come this way to know their need of God, not that they can bring anything to God. Perhaps you think that you're qualified to receive acceptance with God. I wonder if you've been trying to gain God's righteousness in your soul by working and earning your way to heaven. Perhaps that's what you've been trying to do. Perhaps you've said to yourself, well, I know what the Ten Commandments are, so I'll obey them all. I know what it is to be a godly and a good person because I have examples all around me in the Christian community and so I'll try to copy them. I'll try to be following their example and then God will accept me because I've been trying very hard. Is that how you're coming tonight? If you're coming like that tonight then you'll remain a stranger forever. There was a man who had a dream and in this dream It was a reflection of what he was doing in his everyday life. He dreamed that he had a ladder. The foot of the ladder was on the earth and he realized that he could build this ladder and he could keep adding rungs to the ladder so that it would get taller and taller and taller And as he continued to build on the rungs of the ladder it would get higher and higher and it would go up and up and up towards the Lord God and he could keep adding. And so the more he gave, perhaps he gave a big gift to some charity or to some good cause or that earned him several more rungs. Or perhaps he would be kind and generous. Perhaps he could do other good deeds and each time a rung was added to the ladder. Then after many years in his dream the ladder reached right up through the clouds up to heaven and he believed that he was there, he would be reaching God. And then in his dream he died. And he thought that he would step off that topmost rung and come into the presence of God in heaven. And he did climb, and he got to the top, and then he heard a voice. And the voice said this, he that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber. And down he came, ladder and all, and then he woke up. And he realized that if he wanted to get salvation, that he wanted to get right with God, he must look for another way besides his good deeds. And he began to seek the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only way, and was saved by grace. And if this describes you this evening, my friend, then repent of that seeking to earn your way to rightness with God. It does not work. Your work is useless, utterly useless. Your work will get nowhere. You need the work of someone else, the work of someone who has done all that is necessary to bring your soul into heaven, to bring your soul to eternal life. His work is a perfect work, and it is a work that is finished and needs not to be added to. And it is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, that good work that he has done for sinners like us. And he did it at Calvary. Well, then thirdly, the first phrase in the text that we have tonight, we find this, that Ruth fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground. Having said those things that we've thought about, here is the attitude that she comes. There's so much to learn, yes, from certain body postures. Falling to one's knees and bowing in obeisance to the ground is a physical posture of humble contrition and repentance. It's a sign of realization of utter unworthiness before God. It's also a sign of true repentance, of turning from sin and turning to God, of recognising that one needs a change of mind when we repent of our sins. Have you repented, my friend? Perhaps I can explain what repentance is in three easy things. First of all, repentance is a change of mind. It is in my mind I am saying, yes, I am a sinner, because God's Word says I am, that the wicked are turned into hell every day, and therefore I am wicked, I have broken God's and Lord's laws. I've broken them over and over again, and in my mind I have to say, I am a sinner. And it is a change of mind from what I was before, because before I would have said I'm not so bad a sinner, or I'm only a little sinner, and God is sure to accept me. But no, repentance means I am a wicked sinner. I change my mind. But then secondly, it's a change of heart. Because as I realize my sinfulness and my wickedness against God and the breakage of his laws, then I know. that there must be some effect upon my soul. And that soul becomes sorrowful. And I come to ask God the question, if I am such a sinner, how can you possibly accept me? How can you forgive me? I have done so many things wrong. My heart is aching now because I am sorry for my sin. I am sorry that I have caused offense to the living God who has made me and given me so many advantages. And now I feel that sorrow for sin in my heart. My heart is changed as I come in repentance. And then thirdly, my will changes. This will, this stubborn will that said it could do its own job of salvation, becomes now that turning from sin. Instead of willing to do what I want to do, I want to do what God wants me to do. And that is to recognize my sin and turn from it. I come like a soldier. I come like a soldier who is facing in one direction. And the order for him is in his marching to halt, about turn, and quick march in the other direction. That is the change of will in repentance. I am going on the way to hell in my sinfulness. And God, by His Holy Spirit, in that gift of repentance, says, halt, stop where you are, stop doing those things, stop following that way, stop going in the way of sinfulness and wickedness, and stop and turn around and go towards the Lord God. Go in his direction, in the way of righteousness, and receive from God that forgiveness and pardon. A change of mind, a change of heart, and a change of will. And all three need to be there in that process of repentance. And so I ask you, has that been your experience in your life? Are you on that way to hell at the moment? Because you have not. turned away from your sinful life, whether it be public or secret, ask yourself the question, am I accepting? Do I believe that I am a sinner? Do I have sorrow in my heart for what I have done? Am I ready to turn around and go in God's direction and not in my own way? My friends, that is opposite to the world today. You see, in this posture of falling down before Boaz and the realization of her unworthiness, there was no impudent looking at Boaz straight in the eyes as one would an equal. Oh, how much defiance there is in our society today. We've even coined a modern phrase to describe it. We call it, in your face, defiance. It's the attitude which screams, I'm doing what I want to do, and who is going to stop me? And they're saying, are you going to stop me? Well, God has the capability of stopping you in your tracks tonight, my unconverted friend, and will say to you, I am here. I am the God who made you. Bow before me and repent of your sin and believe. but not with Ruth. She did not come defiantly. She came humbly, avoiding his gaze. She bowed down at his feet, wondering in her heart at his great kindness and thankfulness for his mercy. The wise Bishop Hall, two centuries ago, said, gratitude in the recipient is as beautiful as generosity in the benefactor. We need to notice too that Ruth came looking for grace through a family connection. And so I speak to the younger people here tonight. My young friend, do not make the assumption that because you belong to a church family, a Christian family, mum and dad are Christians, you have godly parents, you have siblings and grandparents, that God will accept you for your connections. That is not how the Lord God works. It's a wonderful advantage to be in the church family and to trust in the covenant too. But having said that, you as an individual person need to come to the Lord Jesus Christ yourself and turn to him and believe in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and what he has done at the cross for yourself. Advantage though it is to have a family, you need to come because we're not saved by being in a family, but we are saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that you have to seek. Have you woken up yet to your need to seek it? And sometimes this is a good place to start when you are seeking the Lord, Yes, you may feel a stranger to the Gospel today, but you know a Christian whose life may have been the means of drawing you to Christ. And the bottom line of this text is this, that without Christ we are all strangers. Before we were converted, we were strangers to God, estranged to Him by our sin. And so we came to Him. And we fell at His feet, telling Him what miserable sinners we were, and how we deserved nothing from Him whatsoever. And we come with that attitude. We come confessing our utter sinfulness. having broken his laws, and we bow humbly before him, not expecting any favors from him, but merely wishing to repent and say sorry. And we came feeling the fear of God in our souls, having realized his wrath is upon us because of our sins, and was hanging over us like a sword. But then, then in our experience, he smiled at us, and lifted us up onto our feet and assured us of his forgiveness and of his pardon, and all the time looking at us with a smile of grace and love towards us. And then he shows us his hands and his feet, pierced for us, pierced with those cruel nails at Calvary, and they are the gracious and glorious explanation of how he can show us this grace. And that is where Boaz only points us to Christ, but that's where we look at Christ, for he is the one that saves. He is the one who bore our sins in his body on the tree. He is the one who endured that three hours of darkness as he bore the crushing weight of the sins of his people there at Calvary. when we see that, and he is able to say, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And after that, he is able to say, it is finished, that love's redeeming work was done. We look at him, having paid the debt and the penalty for our sins, doing it at the cross and completing that work for all of his elect people. No, we had no entitlement to grace as Ruth had no entitlement to grace. But he, the Lord Jesus Christ, calls his people to come to him freely without charge. He says, come, glean in my field. That's how you need to come tonight if you're not converted. Come into that field. Come freely. Come because the Lord God calls you. Come, says the Lord Jesus. Come, you are welcome, as Boaz said to Ruth. Come, for no one will harm you, as he assured her. Come, because it is the best thing that you can do in your whole life, to be born again of the Spirit of God, to trust in this dear Redeemer, this Saviour. Come, and you will have the grain, he says. Come, you will have the bread of life to the full. or my unconverted friend. Will you come tonight? Will you come as soon as you can to trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior? Will you come to him? Will you find a place that is quiet? Will you pour out your soul to him? Will you tell him what you know of him? Will you identify your sinfulness and ask him to forgive you? Will you then say that you will turn away from your sins and turn in the other direction from your sinful life and seek him? May he find you tonight. The Lord Jesus Christ is represented partially by Boaz tonight, but it gives us such a picture of the grace of almighty God who comes to this sinful person. like you and like me. And so she fell on her face and she bowed herself to the ground and she said unto him, why have I found grace in thine eyes that thou shouldest take knowledge of me seeing I am a stranger? If you know you are a stranger, then bow before the Lord God tonight and ask him to take you into his family. And if you come honestly believing under the influence of his blessed Holy Spirit, he will indeed save. He will cast no one out. He has promised that. Those who come to me, says the Lord Jesus, I will in no wise cast out. Then come to him, come to him. For he is willing and ready to save. Amen, let's pray together.