HUMAN FAILUR; GOD’S REDEMTION

Ruth 4:1-10; Week 13

Day 1
Invite the Holy Spirit to speak to you:

Ruth 4:1
“Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there; and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by. So Boaz said, “Come aside, friend, sit down here.” So he came aside and sat down.” Are you in any way at a gate, a cross road, a choice to be made:

Proverbs 1:20-21
“Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:”
Jot down any thoughts about wisdom for your situation:

…”Come aside, friend, sit down here..” (Ruth 4:1)
Mark 6:31
And He said to them, “ Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.” For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.” How is your general pace in life?

Is anything you could/ should/ wish to adjust:

Regardless of your season in life, He is inviting you “Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.” (Song of Songs 2:10) Your response:

As Boaz sat down with the relative, is there someone you should sit down with?

As “the close relative of whom Boaz had spoken came by,” is there someone you wish God would bring into your life?

Luke 14:12-14
“Then He also said to him who invited Him, “ When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” What is He showing you?

John 15:13-15
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” How will you act on what He has shown you today?

Day 2
“O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, let me hear your voice;
For your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs 2:14) Your response:

Ruth 4:2
“And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.”
“The number 10 is a very significant number in the Bible. In examining the uses of the number 10 in Scripture it seems to represent human failure and God’s provision.” In your life, where might human failure need God’s provision?

Next to each poetic line, write your own personal prayer:
Psalms 85:10-13
“Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway.”
The elders of the city are those in authority. Who is that in your life?

Proverbs 29:2
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice;
But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”
What kind of authority are you under?

What kind of authority are you?

Matthew 8:8-10
“The centurion answered and said, “ Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘ Go, ’ and he goes; and to another, ‘ Come, ’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘ Do this, ’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “ Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” What does faith have to do with authority?

To what degree does God have authority in your life?

John 16:13-14
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.” What truth has He shown you today?

Day 3
Open your heart to Him:

Ruth 4:3-4
“Then he said to the close relative, “ Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, sold the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. And I thought to inform you, saying, ‘ Buy it back in the presence of the inhabitants and the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am next after you. ’” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
Have you ever left God’s path to go to “the country of Moab”?

What did it cost you?

Has God already redeemed that situation?

Is there a situation you need Him to redeem?

Isaiah 44:24
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who makes all things, Who stretches out the heavens all alone, Who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;”
Does this build your faith? Tell Him:

“If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know” (Ruth 4:4) Is there something you have the choice to redeem or not redeem?

Deuteronomy 30:19-20
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.” How can you choose life today?

Tell Him about your love for Him:

“…And he said, “I will redeem it.” (Ruth 4:4)
Have you made promises to the Lord or to others? What comes to mind?

Have you kept them, or do you need His help with this?

Job 19:25
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;

Day 4
1 Peter 5:6-7
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” Cast your care upon Him:

Ruth 4:5-6
“Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance.”
And the close relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance. You redeem my right of redemption for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
In a nutshell, along with the field came marriage to Ruth. He would have to divide his own inheritance with her descendants. Why do you think the close relative is never mentioned by name?

Have you ever inherited anything?

Psalms 16:5-6
“O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” How is this true for you?

Psalms 33:12
“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.”
What does it mean to you to be His inheritance?

Proverbs 13:22
“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children ‘s children…”
Thinking beyond money, what would you like to pass on to your children’s children?

Ephesians 1:11
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,” Letting your dreams run free, what purpose do you think you are predestined for?

Colossians 3:23-24
“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Day 5
What’s on your heart right now?

Ruth 4:9
“And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, from the hand of Naomi.” In your own words, what was going on:

Why do you think Boaz sought all these witnesses?

Is there anything you would rather keep secret?

Luke 12:2-3
“For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” What would happen if it were revealed?

How is He counseling you?

Ruth 4:10
“Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, I have acquired as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead through his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brethren and from his position at the gate. You are witnesses this day.”
Why do you think that God, our Author, emphasizes “Ruth the _______________, the _________________ of Mahlon”?

Ephesians 2:13
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” Tell Him what difference that nearness makes:

Hosea 2:16
“And it shall be, in that day,” says the Lord,
“ That you will call Me ‘My Husband, ’ and no longer call Me ‘My Master, ’ How do you respond to His longing?

Ephesians 5:8
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” How will you walk as light today?