Ruth chapter 1, and two verses I'd like to leave with you this evening of those verses 16 and 17. I'm very familiar with these words that came from the lips of Ruth. And Ruth said to Naomi, 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, will I die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me. As we have seen thus far in our study in Ruth, the opening verses of this little book of four chapters deal primarily with Elimelech and with his wife Naomi and their two sons. They had sojourned in the country of Moab at a time when there was a famine in Israel. And there Elimelech died. That sojourn in Moab brought forth disastrous results. Elimelech died sometime after his sons married to Moabites, his women. Soon after that, those two sons died also. And so for Naomi and her two daughters-in-law, the country of Moab was not a country of plenty, what they expected, but rather it was a country of great pain. The country of Moab did not bring them much joy or laughter. Rather, the country of Moab brought great losses. It did not bring them any gain. They had gone there seeking food and to gain food that they felt wasn't in Israel, in Bethlehem, Judah. But instead of bringing them gain, it brought them grief. It didn't yield them any food either. But rather, when they were in the country of Moab, they had to attend three funerals. Elimelech and Naomi made a great mistake leaving Bethlehem, Judah, and going to the country of Moab, that godless, idol-worshiping country. We've already covered that mistake that Elimelech made. We've already seen it as mistakes that backsliders do make. They take things into their own hands. They don't look up to the Lord. They look around them and they base their decisions on their circumstances. Lamelech made that awful mistake in not consulting the Lord as to what to do. The Lord would have cared for Elimelech. After all, he did care for those who stayed in Bethlehem, Judah. Not everybody left and went to the country of Moab. But the Lord did feed those who remained in Bethlehem, Judah. They were the ones who greeted Naomi upon her return and said, Is this Naomi? They didn't leave the country. Elimelech did. Why? Because he was out of touch with the Lord. So having considered Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons, we looked upon them as pictures of backsliders gone away from the Lord, gone back into the world. And after Naomi had lost so much in the country of Moab, she heard that the Lord had visited His people in Bethlehem, Judah, and giving them bread, she decided it was time to return home. Her two daughters-in-law said they would go with her, but then Orpah changed her mind. And she went back. And Orpah is simply a picture of the sinner who starts out for home, who thinks about getting saved, who thinks about receiving Christ and becoming a Christian, but they only go so far and they don't go far enough. So, they return to the world. Now, the focus is upon Ruth. We have eventually come now to Ruth. After seeing Elimelech, and Naomi, and their sons, and Orpah, The Spirit of God directs our attention and our focus upon Ruth. There are four chapters in Ruth. I can give you the four headings of the four chapters if you like. Chapter 1 deals with Ruth's tears. Chapter 2 deals with Ruth's toil. Chapter 3 deals with Ruth's tarrying. And chapter 4, there we read about Ruth's triumph. Whenever we are in the theological hall and sitting under Dr. Douglass's lectures, he took us for English Bible and for the languages. Whenever we would start in to study a new book, he would ask us to summarize each chapter. So that when you thought about a chapter, then you immediately thought about what was in that chapter. And so here we can summarize the four chapters in Ruth in the way that we have just outlined. Her tears, her toil, her tiring, and her triumph. So when you think of the first chapter of Ruth, you immediately think about her tears. And again, when you think about the second chapter, you think about how she toiled. She was gleaning in the fields. When you think about the third chapter, you think about her tarrying. In the last chapter, you think about her triumph. And if Alembelech and Naomi, pictured for us as the backslider, an orb of the sinner rejecting Christ, Ruth, in this first chapter, pictures for us and is the type of the sinner who turns her back upon the world. and presses on to seek Christ who is the bread of life. And this is really a great marvel when you consider the number of things that were against Ruth ever going to Bethlehem, Judah. Never mind. The behavior of Naomi. The things that Naomi said to her. Trying to convince her, no, not to go with her to Bethlehem. Do you know where there was bread and where there was blessing? Trying to convince her to go back to the country of Moab and to the Moabites and to their false gods. And yet, in spite of all that, In spite of, as it were, every barrier that was placed in the pathway of Ruth, Ruth still went on and entered Bethlehem, Judah. Do you know what that shows us? It shows us the wonders of God's grace. For when God begins to work in a soul, and that soul is awakened, and the Spirit of God works, and the grace of God works, nothing but nothing will keep them from coming to Christ. For the Lord will overcome every barrier and every difficulty. Before I got saved, I remember that Monday night, And the dear brother, Tommy Ryans, who was taking a Bible class, spoke to me at the door. The end of the meeting, I was the only unsaved person in the Bible class on a Monday night. And I remember him saying to me, Reggie, why are you not saved? And like a flash, All the things that I knew I would have to give up if I became a Christian came into my mind and I was thinking to myself, I could never give these things up. I loved rock music. You know who my idol was? Elvis Presley was my idol. bought all his records, seen all his films, purchased every magazine or paper that had his photograph in it. And if I was to become a Christian, I would have to give that all up? And that was a barrier. And I thought about it as I stood there at the door. But you know something? The Lord that night, the Spirit of God overcame that barrier. And He said to Tommy, alright, I want to get saved tonight. And the rock music had to go. And praise God, it did go. Whatever barrier, whatever hindrance, that we deem to be a barrier or a hindrance to us ever being a Christian. When the Spirit of God works in the soul, the Lord will remove every barrier and remove every hindrance. For if we are one of His own, He'll make us one of His own, no matter what. And here we have the Lord working in Ruth's heart. She overcame all these barriers. And we read in verse 19, So they too went until they came to Bethlehem. She made it to the house of bread. Oh, my sinners, make it even tonight. to the one who is the bread of life. So let's consider Naomi and Ruth. I want us first of all to consider Naomi and her discouraging of Ruth. How Naomi discouraged Ruth. Ruth was not given any encouragement by Naomi to go to Bethlehem, Judah, the land of promise. The promised land, of course, is a type of heaven flowing with milk and honey. And here we have Naomi, and she never once, never once, not once, did she encourage Ruth to go with her. In fact, in verse 18, when she saw that she was steadfastly minded to go with her, then she left speaking unto her. It was as if Naomi said, well, if you have to go, you might as well come. There was no joy expressed by Naomi that Ruth was indeed going with her. She just stopped talking to her. and trying to convince her to go back to Moab. And here you have the discouraging things that Naomi said to Ruth. You know, it's unfortunate. It's unfortunate when a soul shows an interest in salvation that sometimes there are those who do not give any encouragement to that seeking soul. They seem to have put barriers in their way. And yet it is a sign of the true workings of the Spirit of God in the soul when that individual shows a determination to get to Christ in spite of whatever hindrances are around them. Ruth showed how much she wanted to be in the land of promise in spite of the discouragements. Let's look at some of them. Some of them are very obvious. For instance, the things that Naomi said. But I want you to consider Naomi's bluntness. Naomi's bluntness in speaking to Ruth and in trying to encourage her, exhort her to return To the country of Moab. You know, Naomi was very blunt about it. She certainly showed that she didn't desire her company. In fact, Naomi was very blunt about Ruth returning to the country of Moab, and not going with her to Bethlehem, Judah. Look at verse 12. Turn again, my daughters, go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. We pointed out last week, Naomi was looking at the physical, not at the spiritual. She was trying to work things out, just as her husband had done. She was thinking about husbands for her daughters-in-law. She wasn't thinking about the spiritual. She wasn't thinking about how the Lord had visited Bethlehem or how the Lord had visited His people in Israel. No, she wasn't thinking about the spiritual. But look at what she said and how she said it. Verse 12, Turn again, my daughters. Go your way, for I am too old to have a husband. The two words there, your way, are in italics. We pointed out before in our good authorized version of the Scriptures, the translators put words in to make sense, to give sense to the sentence, but they always indicated where they added words by putting them in italics. And so really what Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters, go. That's blunt enough. Just go. She didn't say, go your way. No, she simply said, turn my daughters and go. There was no encouragement there for her to go to Bethlehem, Judah. You know, this certainly shows us that the Lord was really working in the heart of Ruth when she wasn't put off by this blunt language of Naomi. She was still determined to go on to Bethlehem, Judah. You know, many a soul has been turned away from the Lord by those whose tongue, as we have noted a few weeks ago, by those whose tongue is as sharp as a razor. Seeking sinners don't need to see the fleshly side of a Christian. They don't need to see the carnal side of the Christian. They don't need to hear the blunt language of a Christian. They need to be encouraged. They need to have someone put an arm around them and encourage them to seek the Lord. Encourage them to seek Christ. Because if a Christian is blunt and sharp in their language to a seeking sinner, they're liable to turn that person away from Christianity altogether. And they're liable to say, well, if that's what a Christian is supposed to be, I don't want any part of it. Listen to the words of Solomon in Proverbs 18, verse 19. There Solomon said, a brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city And their contentions are like the bars of a castle. A brother offended is harder to be won. And if a seeking sinner has been offended by the sharp tongue of a Christian or the blunt language of a Christian, that sinner will be harder to win for the Lord. They'll be harder to win. There is a barrier between them and the Lord set up immediately, and it's set up by Christians. But do you know what the best thing for a seeking sinner to do? The best thing for a seeking sinner to do is not to listen or to look at a Christian, but to listen and to look to Christ. Because you'll not find any bitterness in the Lord. He's meek. Isn't that a lovely word to describe the Lord Jesus? He is meek and lowly of heart. You won't need to read the Gospels, and you know them as well as I do, and how the Lord Jesus addressed others and dealt with others. even how He spoke to those who had failed Him and let Him down like His disciples. He was never harsh. He was never blunt. He was never bitter. And that way of the Lord often won back His disciples. Thankfully, Ruth did not take Naomi's blunt words to heart, but instead made her way to Bethlehem. So you have Naomi's bluntness. Then you have Naomi's bitterness. Oh, if ever there was a bitter woman, it was Naomi. I think that's really, really sad. There's nothing that turns a seeking sinner away from Christ and from Christianity than seeing or meeting a bitter Christian. A Christian who doesn't seem to have a good word to say about anybody. And now when a sinner hears that kind of language, it turns them right off. turns them off. It's a wonder of God's grace that Ruth still wanted to travel with Naomi to the land of promise in the face of such bitterness on the part of Naomi. As we've said in this study thus far, it's something we cannot fathom and cannot understand. Why Naomi was like this. Yes, she had got away from the Lord and that contributed to it. She had been ten years down in the country of Moab and that, no doubt, contributed to it. But why was she so bitter? She was bitter with herself. She was bitter with the Lord. She was bitter against the world. Look at verse 13. Would ye tarry for them till they were grown? Would ye stay for them from having husbands? Nay, my daughters, for it grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord is gone out against me. It grieveth me much. Do you know what those words mean? I have much bitterness. At least she admitted it. I have much bitterness for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. See, she was even blaming the Lord. I have much bitterness for your sakes that the hand of the Lord has gone out against me. Oh, Naomi! Oh, Naomi, what bitterness has got into your heart? That's what happens. Whenever the gall of bitterness gets into someone's heart, you know what it does? It just consumes them. It eats them up. They can hardly then find a kind word to say about anyone. that bitterness has eaten them up. Look at verse 20. They went to Bethlehem and came into the city and people said, is this Naomi? And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi. Remember what Naomi means? Pleasant. Don't call me pleasant. Call me Mara. For the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord had brought me home again empty." She's blaming it all on the Lord. It was not only the fault of Elimelech, her husband, it was her fault. If she was going to ever blame it on anyone, she should have been pointing the finger at herself. But instead she says, The Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again empty. Why then call ye me, Naomi? Seeing the Lord hath testified against me, the Almighty hath afflicted me. Is it any wonder? Is it not indeed a wonder that Ruth said what she said. I'm going on to Bethlehem. In spite of the bluntness of Naomi, in spite of the bitterness of Naomi, Ruth went on. As we notice here, that Naomi didn't even have a good word to say about the Lord. That's the saddest part of all. She didn't have one good word to say about the Lord. She blamed everything on the Lord. I have great bitterness for your sakes because the Lord's hand was against me. Yet here we find Naomi saying, entreat me not to leave me or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goest I will go. It's a wonder that Naomi, or that Ruth, was determined to go on in spite of the behavior, the bitterness, and the bluntness of Naomi. Oh, may sinners not spend their time looking at the faults and the failings of Christians. Let them look beyond Christians. It doesn't matter where you look in a Christian's life, you'll see fault somewhere. Look beyond the Christian. Look to Christ, for there's not a fault in Him. Nowhere. He's without failing. He's without failure. I want you to notice Naomi's boldness. Something else that was like a barrier to Ruth, ever going to Bethlehem, Judah. It is difficult to understand the lengths to which Naomi was prepared to go to convince Ruth to return to the country of Moab. Look how bold she was. In verse 15, she said, Behold, thy sister-in-law is gone back unto her people and unto her gods. Return thou after thy sister-in-law. Can you believe that? Orpah had gone back to the country of Moab to her people and her gods, to her false gods. And here you have Naomi boldly exhorting Ruth to go and do the same. Go back to your gods. Why wouldn't you love just to ask Naomi? Wouldn't you love to have her stand in this meeting and say, Naomi, why did you tell Ruth to do that? Sure you know the people of Moab are idol worshippers. Why would you have someone go back there? You know, whenever you look at that, In those words of Naomi, saying, your sister has gone back. You need to go to her. That's the ploy of the devil. That's a well-worn ploy of the devil. There's the soul that has been dealt with by the Word of God. strivings of the Spirit. And like Orpah, who went a little way out of the country of Moab on her way to Bethlehem, Judah, and then she turned back. And that's when the devil says to sinners, what will your mates at work say? What are you going to tell them when you go into your place of employment the next day? Are you going to tell them you've become a Christian? Sure they'll laugh at you. You'd be as well going back to that crowd where you're accepted. That's what the devil says. You'd be as well going back to the country of Moab. You'd be as well going back to the world. But if you do, don't think about becoming a Christian. You go back to your friends. You go back to your gods. To those things that you hold so dear in the world. The devil says, you go back. And unfortunately, many do. And there's Manny and Orpah, and how I wish there were more Ruths. How I wish there were more like Ruths, in spite of all the discouragements, and all the barriers, and all the hindrances, and the lying of the devil, that they would only say, Oh, it's Christ for me. Christ for me." Ruth did not, thankfully, take the advice of her mother-in-law. She had something better to look forward to. She had something better on her mind. The land flowing with milk and honey was before her. She was going on towards the house of bread and the place of praise, Bethlehem, Judah. And so, likewise, why would the sinner listen to the devil? Why? Why would the sinner give any place or time to the devil? Remember what the Lord said about the devil? This is what the Lord said about him. John 8, verse 44. He was a murderer from the beginning. and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it." Would you trust a liar? Would you trust someone who you know is a habitual liar? Would you take them at their word? Not at all. Why, you would say to yourself, you couldn't believe that man. I'll go and ask someone who's will tell me the truth. And yet, how many believe the lies of the devil. How many believe the lies of the devil. And they accept the lies of the devil as though it's gospel truth. You can't trust a liar. You can't trust the devil. But you can trust Christ. You can trust what He says, because His Word is truth. Surely that's what you want to hear. Surely that's what you want. You want to know the truth. I want you to notice then, in second place, Naomi and the desire of Ruth. Oh, she had all these discouraging things to say to Ruth. Now we have the desire of Ruth. And as I've already said, there was nothing that Naomi either said or did that encouraged Ruth to go to Bethlehem. that brings now to our minds what we have said. What was it then? What was it that encouraged Ruth to go on to Bethlehem in the face of such opposition on the part of her mother-in-law? What was it? What was it that put this desire in the heart of Ruth and made her so determined to leave the country of Moab to turn her back upon that idol-worshipping people? To look beyond the bitter spirit of Naomi? Not to take to heart the blunt words of Naomi? To turn a deaf ear to what Naomi said to her about following her sister-in-law back? What was it that enabled Ruth to overcome all of those obstacles when many another person would have said, all right, Naomi, I'm going back. Look at verse 6. Then she arose with her daughters-in-law that she might return, that's as Naomi, from the country of Moab. For she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people in giving them bread. Verse 8. And Naomi said unto her two daughters of Nog, Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. Verse 9. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest each of you in the house of her husband. Naomi mentioned the Lord's name there three times. Now, we have already pointed out in that verse 6, whenever Naomi said that she heard that the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread, Naomi wasn't thinking about the Lord. She was thinking about the bread. But nevertheless, what Naomi said, not intending to give the Lord any praise or any glory, or not intending her words to be a witness to Ruth and to Warpa, Naomi said, the Lord has visited His people in giving them bread. You know what you have there? You have the grace of God. You have the grace of God. The Lord, when He visits His people, it's a sign of the grace of God. And I believe that whenever Naomi heard those words, that the Lord had visited His people, and visited His people in giving them bread, and had done so according to His grace, Ruth said in her heart, I want to know something of that grace to you. I want to know something of the grace of God in my life. That's why. To me, that was one of the reasons why Ruth was determined to get to Bethlehem, Judah, because of the grace of God. Naomi said that she heard that the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread. But at that point, Ruth wasn't one of the Lord's people. She wasn't one of the Lord's people, as we will see in a moment or two. But she had learned that the Lord had visited His people in grace, in visiting them. You know, the Lord were to visit us with an outpouring of His Spirit, you know what we would put it down to? We'd put it down to the grace of God. We would thank God for His grace. We would thank the Lord and say, Lord, we thank Thee for coming to us and visiting us according to Thy grace. And of course, that's how a sinner is saved, isn't it? by grace. 1 Peter 2, verse 3, If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. Well, that's what Ruth wanted. She wanted the taste of the grace of God. And to taste of the grace of God and how He visited His people, she was going to Bethlehem, Judah. And I believe that was one of the reasons or one of the things that convinced her to go. There's nothing else There was nothing else. But you heard about the Lord visiting his people in grace. As Paul said, by grace are you saved. Through faith, not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works which any man should boast. Paul reminds us, Titus 2, verse 11, the grace of God that bringeth salvation. That's what Ruth wanted. She wanted the grace of God that would bring her salvation. There was no salvation, there was no grace in the gods of Moab. She must know the God of Israel. That's why I believe Ruth was determined to go. John Uden Penn, those great words, amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Saved a wretch like me, I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see. And Paul wrote Paul who said he was the chief of all sinners. Romans 5 verse 20, but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. It's grace that saves the soul. There's something else here. Not only the grace of God that convinced her to go, but the goodness of God. Once again, Naomi was not thinking about how good the Lord was in giving His people bread. She was only thinking about the bread itself. And upon hearing about the Lord's goodness, Ruth wanted to know more about that goodness. And that's why she was so determined to go. That's why she didn't want to go back to the country of Moab. She had heard about the grace of God in Bethlehem. She had heard about the goodness of God. Notice the words again in verse 6. For she had heard in the country of Moab how that the Lord had visited His people in giving them bread. It was a gift of God. The Lord gave His people bread. It was free. The Lord gave the bread to them as a gift. And here's Ruth, and she hears about the giving of the Lord, and the goodness of the Lord, and the grace of the Lord. And Ruth is saying, I want to know that gift as well. I want to receive the gift that the Lord is able to give. I want to know more about the goodness of God. I want to know more about the grace of God. As the psalmist says in Psalm 86, verse 5, For thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive. O give thanks unto the Lord. For he is good. Because his mercy endureth forever. Ruth wanted to know more about that. She didn't see it in Naomi. She didn't see it in the country of Moab amongst her idols. But she could see it by faith. In Bethlehem, Judah. That's why Ruth wanted to go. The guidance of God. When Naomi spoke again about the Lord to Orpah and Ruth, she spoke about the Lord guiding them. Verses 8 and 9. Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother's house. The Lord deal kindly with you. Verse 9. The Lord grant you that ye may find rest. The word kindly there means favor. And inadvertently, not knowing. You know what Naomi was really doing? She was giving the Good News of the Gospel to Ruth, and she didn't even know it. Because when the Lord saves souls, when He gives them the gift of salvation, what is He doing? He's favoring them. And whenever they receive the gift of salvation, what do they experience? They experience rest. The Lord give you rest. And here is Ruth in the land of idols, and she hears about the goodness of God, the grace of God, the gift of God. And she wants to know more of this favor, and she wants to know more of this rest. The rest that the Lord is able to give. Ruth was saying, that's what I need. And the Lord has said, the Lord has said, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's what awaits the sinner. They come to Christ. They will experience rest. They will experience the peace of God. all understanding. Psalm 37 and verse 7 says, rest in the Lord. The Lord said again, Matthew 11 verse 29, For I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls. That's what Andrews wanted. And she had heard inadvertently that the Lord would give rest. And the Lord would favor her. That's why she was determined to go. That's what convinced her to go. In the last place, and quickly, you have Naomi and the determination of Ruth. It was that desire. She demonstrates her determination. I know that seeking sinners would demonstrate the same determination as Ruth did to make Christ their Savior. In spite of the distance between the country of Moab and Bethlehem, Judah, Ruth was determined to go. As far as Ruth was concerned, distance didn't matter. But you know the best thing is for the sinner, they don't have to go any distance at all. They don't have to go on pilgrimages. They don't have to climb mountains. They don't have to starve themselves. They don't have to afflict themselves. They don't have to go any distance at all, for the Lord has brought salvation down to them. And when they want to be saved, why, Christ is only a prayer away. A prayer away. And just like the four men that took the man sick of the palsy on his couch and brought him to the Lord Jesus, couldn't get in through the door, so they climbed up on the roof, pulled back the slates, let the man in before the Lord and was healed. That's determination to get to Christ. Notice her plea. Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave me. and treat me not to leave me." Do you know what those words mean? Don't be against me. Do you know what that was? That was really a gentle rebuke. Ruth was saying to Naomi, don't be against me. Everything you have said has been against me. Now Ruth says, don't be against me. Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return from following after thee. Don't try and convince me to go back to Moab. Don't be against me. Ruth was prepared to overcome all the difficulties. The Lord would give her the victory. You have her plea and also her pledge. For she said in those verses, 16 and 17, you needn't read them again, but they're in our text. She said seven things. This pledge was made up of seven divisions. She said, Entreat me not to leave me or to return from following after thee. For whither thou goest, I will go. There's one. Whither thou lodgest, I will lodge. There's two. Thy people shall be my people. There's three. And thy God, my God. There's four. Where thou diest, will I die. There's five. And there will I be buried. There's six. And the Lord do so to me, and more also of aught but death part thee and me. There's seven. Seven parts to this pledge. We have to skip on here, but you'll notice there are seven parts to the pledge. What's the central one? The central one, number four, is, Thy God shall be my God. That was the focus. She wanted to make the God of Israel the center of her life. My, she's learning fast, isn't she? And being seven parts to this pledge, seven is the number of completion. Ruth surrendered completely to the God of Israel. I surrender all. All to Thee, my blessed Savior, I surrender all. And then, in the last place, you have the path. So they too went until they came to Bethlehem. And it came to pass, when they were come to Bethlehem, that all the city was moved about them, And they said, is this Naomi? The point is, she made it to Bethlehem. She made it to the house of bread. In spite of all that had gone before, in spite of all the things that Naomi had said, Ruth said to her, don't be against me. I want to go. And I will go and I will pledge my loyalty to thee. And I will pledge my loyalty to the God of Israel. Because your God will be my God. Now Ruth is saved. She has made the God of Israel her God. She has made the God of Israel her God. What a wonderful book this is. What teaching there is there in that opening chapter? And oh, may sinners today follow in the footsteps of Ruth. May sinners today utter the words of Ruth, Thy God shall be my God. May the Lord bless His Word to our hearts this evening. Let us bow in prayer. O Lord, our God and gracious Father, we bless Thee for this story of Ruth. We thank Thee, O Lord, for her desire and determination, by Thy grace, to reach the house of bread. Lord, may sinners tonight reach the one who's the bread of life. No matter what obstacles the devil places in their way, may they say, it's Christ for me. Lord, be with us tonight as we make our way to our homes. May thy hand be upon us. Watch over us throughout this week. And bless all, Lord, who have as it were, mountains to climb. This week, may the people that say with Caleb, give me this mountain. Give the victory, we pray. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit abide and remain with us now and forevermore. Amen.