Timothy Keller Sermons Podcast by Gospel in Life - An Immigrant’s Courage

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

It takes tremendous courage to leave the land you’ve always lived in and permanently move to another land. People don’t usually do it unless they expect a better life. In the book of Ruth, we have the story of two immigrant women—Naomi and Ruth—who forge an amazing interracial sisterhood. But these women immigrate expecting to have not a better, but a worse life. Naomi’s an old widow without hope, because in that society, she’s bereft of everything that could give her meaning. So Ruth goes with her to Israel, despite knowing that because she’s a Moabite, she’ll be hated. And yet, at the end of chapter 4, there’s joy. Why? Naomi has been redeemed.  If you look carefully, there’s an ambiguity in the text that points us to the secret of the story and the secret of our lives. To see this, let’s look at three redeemers in this story: 1) a formal redeemer, 2) a surprise, hidden redeemer, and then 3) a real redeemer. This sermon was preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on October 19, 1997. Series: Pointers to Christ – Directional Signs in History. Scripture: Ruth 4:13-17. Today's podcast is brought to you by Gospel in Life, the site for all sermons, books, study guides and resources from Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church. If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast and would like to support the ongoing efforts of this ministry, you can do so by visiting https://gospelinlife.com/give and making a one-time or recurring donation.

Welcome to Gospel in Life. This month we're looking at directional signposts through history that point us to Christ. All through the Old Testament from Genesis to Jonah, you see signs that point us to Jesus. Listen now to today's teaching from Tim Keller on pointers to Christ. Turn to the passage in your bulletin which is the climax of the book of Ruth. It's the very last verses of those short little book of Ruth. I'll read it. Ruth chapter four verses 13 to 17. Suboaz took Ruth and she became his wife.

Suboaz took Ruth and she became his wife. Then he went to her and the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. The woman said to Naomi, praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you,

and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth, and Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap, and cared for him. The women living there said, Naomi has a son, and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. And this is God's word. It takes tremendous courage to leave the land you've always lived in and to permanently move to another land, and hold another country, another nation, another culture.

It's a death-defying feat. Kathy's my wife's great grandfather, at the end, sometime at the end of the 19th century, left his pregnant wife behind and went to Western Pennsylvania, left Croatia, left Zagreb, or the vicinity of Zagreb, went to Croatia, and there, I went from Croatia to the Western Pennsylvania, worked in the mines, for eight years didn't communicate with his family, couldn't, there's no way to do it. And so she waited, and she raised her son,

and one day, all that came in the mail were tickets, and the name of a railway station in Western Pennsylvania. And so what did they do? They took essentially a bag, they left everything else behind, but what they could carry. And the tickets and the name of the railway station and they went to the port and they got in steerage and came over, came through Ellis Island. And in a very series of places on boats and trains, they had pinned to the to the coat, the place they were going. That's all they knew. They didn't know language. They had nothing. They had no connections. They had no language. They had no resources. Nothing. And when they showed up at the railway station in western Pennsylvania, believe it or not, even though there was no way to make any kind of communication,

there was Kathy's great grandfather waiting with a wagon. You know why? Because every day for three months, he had hitched his wagon up and come down to meet the daily train. Because who knows? This might be the day his family came. And he was there. And they came. And they worked in the mines and so on.

But now, that kind of story is multiplied many times over today, far more than before, and we live in a city of immigrants. And when you ask the question, why would you do that? Why would you courageously risk everything? And the answer is almost always the expectation and the hope of a better life. People don't leave one country for another for a worse life. They expect a better life. And it takes courage, but that's their hope, and that's their expectation. And of course, therefore, nothing more poignant

in a place like New York and in a time like ours to look at this story, because this is a story of two immigrants, two immigrant women, Naomi and Ruth, who forged an amazing interracial sisterhood, and it's also a story of an interracial marriage, how urban, how contemporary. Naomi was the first immigrant, and you see before the story starts, we see, we're told in just a few verses at the very beginning of the book, before the story actually starts, we're told what happened. And that is, Alemilek, who was Naomi's husband, moved with her and her two sons to Moab because

there was a famine in Israel. And the two sons' names were Malon and Killian. And there was tremendous tragedy at that point. Why? We're not totally sure, but here's some hints. The names of Naomi's true sons, Malon and Killian are Canaanite names, they're not Hebrew names. And they married to pagan Moabite women, Orpa and Ruth. And therefore, there's every indication that what Elimalec did was he turned away from God

to seek safety, to seek, to seek, he was afraid of emptiness, he was afraid of poverty, he was afraid of death, and he turned away from God. At least the men of the family did, which is what often happens. And instead, they went to Moab, they went to a foreign land, they immigrated, and they found instead the very thing that they were trying to avoid. Alimalek, Malonkillion, they all died. They found tremendous poverty and death.

We're told that they had to sell their ancestral land back in Israel, and they still were reduced to poverty, and finally, Naomi is left all by herself, a poor and old widow, with two daughters-in-law, Orpa and Ruth, who if they come back to Israel with her, because Moab and Israel were bitterest enemies, it would mean that they would be hated, they'd be scorned, why their very lives would be in danger. And so there's Naomi. And she is utterly without hope. She's utterly without economic hope, because as you see, as we saw in the little text,

old age, here's the problem. How will she survive economically? And there's only four possibilities. One is, you work in the fields, but she's too old to do that. Second is, you get married, but she's too old to do that. Why? You say, what do you mean, too old? Why, you see, you have to remember this,

and we'll get back to this. This is a society in which family is everything. You didn't marry for companionship. You didn't marry for sex. You didn't marry for, you married for family. You married if this person was going to produce a family for you. We were going to have heirs, and we're going to have inheritance. We're going to have cheap labor and we were going to have a family because the name and the family, that was everything. Family

was everything in that culture and there's plenty of places in the world today that that's still true. And so she couldn't be married. She was too old. She couldn't produce children. Third thing, so you can work, she can't work. She's too old. Marry, she can't marry, she's too old. Third, your children support you, but her children are all dead. And her daughter's not really can't come. Because if they come, they can't be of any help. They're mollabites, you see. They're absolute outcasts.

They're outsiders. And then last of all, the only other possibility would have been to rent your land, but they had to sell their land. They were gone. They had no land. They had no name. She had nothing.

And so she was not only economically without hope, but she was spiritually and emotionally without hope. Because in that society, she was bereft of everything that can give you meaning. She had absolutely nothing because she had no family, because she had no land. Therefore because she had no family, because she had no land. Therefore she had no name. She had no significance. And therefore she comes back. And yet at the end of chapter 4, as we just read, there's joy. Why? She's been redeemed. You see in verse

14, the women, the friends of now, I'm going to get around and say, you have been renewed, verse 15, your life has been restored. You have been what? There's been a, there's a, there's a redeemer. But how did it happen? How is it possible that a woman with absolutely nothing? Absolutely bitter. You know, when she comes back and her friend's seer and she's totally changed. They didn't recognize her even though she's only been away a few years. And she says, don't call me Naomi, which is a Hebrew word for pleasant. Don't call me Naomi. She says, call me Mara.

For I am now a life, I have a life of bitterness. I went away full. I've come back empty. But how is it possible? How is she redeemed? And if you look carefully, and I'm going to make you look carefully, there is an ambiguity in the text as to the identity of the Redeemer. There's an ambiguity. And the ambiguity points us to the secret of the story and the secret of our lives. There's three redeemers in this text.

There's three redeemers in this story. There's a formal redeemer. There's a surprise hidden redeemer, and then there's a real redeemer. First of all, let's take a look at the three and then you'll know the meaning of Ruth and you'll know the meaning of the story and I hope you'll also know the meaning of your own life first of all the formal Redeemer And the word Redeemer here the Kinsman Redeemer is the word go well

Okay, that go well Hebrew word the first person who's clearly the formal redeemer is the man, Boaz. He is the kinsmen by blood, and he is therefore the kinsmen redeemer. He's the formal redeemer. Now, how does that work? And why? Well, we have to do a little bit of background, so let's go at it.

Ruth does come back with Naomi, Orpa does not. So they come back in complete poverty. And the first thing that Ruth does in order to try to support Naomi and herself is she decides to glean. Now according to Jewish law, according to Hebrew law, according to God's law, landowners could not harvest all the way to the edges. Now this is a whole mother's sermon and I'm not getting into it, but there's always question and answer.

They were not allowed to maximize profits. They were not allowed to harvest all the way to the edges, but around the edges, they had to leave some grain so the pork could come and glean it. Now, Ruth decided I'll go glean, but what's very clear in the story is that for Ruth to go out and glean, that doesn't mean we'll find that there we have a solution. No, because Ruth was a mollabytus. All the way through the book, she's called Ruth the mollabytus, the mollabytus. Why?

Because she was taking her very life in her hands to go out and public and do that. And by, she just happened, chapter 2 verse 3 says she happened, you know, taking her life in her hands that first day, she went out and she went into the field of a man named Boaz. She didn't know who he was, she didn't know anything, but she happened to go. And in the field of Boaz, Boaz sees her, goes and learns who she is,

and then says, which just goes to show the incredible danger she was in, he comes and he says, my daughter, don't go into any other field, gather yourself among my working women. I have told my working men not to touch you. Very interesting. What that tells us is a lot. First of all, Boa's knows that she could be hurt, she could be raped, she could be killed. By his own men, he warns his men not to touch her.

She's a moabbitus, she's marginal. The moabbites were the descendants of Sodom. They were seen as horrible wicked people by the Israelites, and the moabbites of course, oppressed the Israelites and so forth. And therefore, he knew that she could be really hurt. But not only that, he didn't even want her outgleening on the edges because the poor that she would be out there with, they might be usur, they might kill her. So he says, I'll tell you what, I want you to stay with my working women.

And so you can glean, not glean, you can harvest. And then you can just take it home for yourself. And she's astounded by the graciousness of the heart of a man who would be open to a poor and racially marginalized woman. And that night she goes home to Naomi, and she doesn't have just a few gleaning. She has an incredible lap full of grain. And Naomi says, where did you get this? This isn't gleaning.

And Ruth tells her the story. And Naomi says, oh my daughter, my daughter, do you know who Boaz is? He's one of our goels. He's a Kinsman Redeemer. Well, what's a Kinsman Redeemer? And the answer goes this way. In Jewish law, there was a formal,

an extremely interesting law, which you can read sometime if you want to in Leviticus 25. When Joshua and the people of Israel came into the land, all the land was divided up amongst families. And God knew that because of the vicissitudes of life and also the variations and ability that some families would fall into poverty and lose their land. But God made two very interesting, two provisions in the law that would make it easy for the

families to get a second chance to get the land back. One of the reasons was simply because he was trying, it was a gracious thing for the families. And other is that God didn't want his society to become characterized by incredible divergences of riches and poverty. And so what he said was, first of all, every 50 years, the Jubilee year, every 50 years, all the land goes back. If some people have gotten richer and some people have gotten poor, some people have bought land, other people have lost land, but every 50 years the land goes back. You get another chance.

The family, in other words, the heirs of the descendants of the people who lost the land, get the land and the family gets a chance back. But secondly, before the 50 years, you have 50 years, it's a long time. The land can be bought back, but only by a kinsman. The land can be redeemed out of debt. The land can be ransomed. The land can be bought, but it has to be by a member of the family that lost it. This is a way of keeping families together and it's a way of making sure the land stays back in that family. It was God's graciousness to families.

And when Naomi realizes that Ruth has happened accidentally, so to speak, to actually find one of the relatives that she has left, she suddenly says, you realize what this might mean? However, the plot thickens, and here's the reason the plot thickens, because the redemption that Boaz would have to do in this case is enormous. First of all, he would have to buy the land. He could, but it would be an enormous debt. But number two, he could take the debt on. But number two, in this case,

the family couldn't really be restored because there's no air, there's no descendants. There's nobody to pass the land on to. For the family to really be restored, he would have to marry the last family member, which would be Naomi, and raise up children. Ah, but let's keep going. In this case, you know, and the law provided for that was called Leveret Marriage,

that you could marry the widow and raise up children who had the name of the dead family. It wouldn't be your errors. It would be the errors of the people who were dead. And that would be enormously, who would do that? That's an enormous sacrifice. But then on top of that, you can't marry Naomi.

She's old, she can't rise up a seed. He'd have to marry Ruth. He'd have to marry a Moabitis. And Deuteronomy 23 says, no ammonite or Moabite or his descendants may ever enter the assembly of the Lord, even down to the 10th generation. Who in the world would do such a thing? But Ruth and Naomi go for broke.

They realize that there's anybody in the world that it looks like it's this one who's got a heart of grace. And so that night Ruth goes and finds Boa as a sleep in the granary. And she uncovers his feet and lays down at his feet. And in the middle of the night something startles him and he wakes up and he sees someone at his feet and he says, who are you? She says, I am thy servant Ruth. Cover me with your garment. For you are my go-well.

And of course, cover me with your garment means in those days. And it's still done, by the way. Marry me. Cover me with your garment. Take me to be your husband. Redeem my family. Give us back a name. Cover me with your garment. Take me to be your husband. Redeem my family. Give us back a name.

Give us back an inheritance." And he looks at her and he says, I will do everything you ask. And so Boaz took Ruth. And what do we see? He is the formal Redeemer. He is the great bridegroom. What he does is two things.

He does not only take on the debt of the family, and out of his, you see, take it on himself, and absorb that, and then, in a sense, pay the debts of the family. But on top of that, he marries Ruth. It's not just he says, I'll give you enough money to get you out of debt, but the minute he marries Ruth, what happens to Ruth?

All his wealth, which she wasn't hers, all of his wealth, which she had never earned or worked for, all of his wealth becomes hers legally, immediately, automatically. Now the words, the sins are not just paid for, the debts aren't just paid for, but a whole new life. He is the great Redeemer, the formal Redeemer, but there is a second Redeemer.

There is a greater Redeemer. Well, how do we know that? Because the name of the book isn't the book of Boaz. The name of the book is the book of Boaz. The name of the book is the book of Ruth. And in verse 15, we see the other Redeemer, the hidden Redeemer. And I'm going to put it in context for you. One of the most startling things you could ever read in an ancient document.

It says, he's renewing your life. He's sustaining your life. Why? Because, forth through, your daughter-in-law, who loves you, and who is better than seven sons. Boy, you know, the reason that we're not all getting goose bumps when we read that is because we don't know enough about traditional society, but let me help you. The story of Ruth is this. How did Ruth come with Naomi? It was pretty simple. And actually, if you've

been to Wedding's lately, you've probably read a little bit about what Ruth said. You see, Naomi says to Orpen Ruth, go away. You know why? You're not going to be of any help to me. Here, you've got fathers. Here, you've got mothers. Here, you've got wealth. Here, you've got standing. Here, you've got connections. Don't immigrate. Here, you've got everything, but if you come with me, you'll have nothing. And Ruth, we're told, clings to her. And in many, many, many, many weddings, we read what she says. It's in the first chapter, and it goes like this, she says, and treat me not to leave thee. For where you go, I will go, where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people and your God, my God. And unfortunately, and I can see why, most, you know, at weddings they like to read that.

It's so beautiful, they put it on the bottom of the bulletin, but they don't go one more verse. And I'll tell you why they don't go one more verse, you can see immediately, but you'll also see, with the second verse, the first verse really makes no sense. And treat me not to leave these, she said, for where you go, I will go, where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God, where you die, I will die. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates parts you and me. Now, what happened here?

Let me tell you what happened here. If you read the first part, you will see Ruth saying, I will go with you, I will lodge with you, and your people will be my people, your God, my God. And it sounds like she's saying, I don't believe in your God, but I like to That's not what she's saying because if that's what she's saying she would never in a million years have done what she's doing Every immigrant Leaves it's very courageous to leave but every immigrant leaves expecting a good life a better life

Why else would you leave you expect a better life you say well? I know it's as hard. I know this is difficult, I know it, I'm taking my life in my hands, but I expect I have hopes in a better life. And what is she saying? She was saying, I'm coming with you and I expect a worse life. She says, the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if I let anything accept death, part me from you, but she expects the anything, she expects all kinds of things. She expects them one after the other after, she's trying to say, I'm going to get them, but that doesn't matter.

She is one of the few immigrants, if not the only immigrant I've ever met, who said, I am immigrating, and I expect a worse life. She's also one like most Christians. Many, many people say, I'm becoming a Christian. Why? Because I now expect a better life. She doesn't expect a better life. Here's why she can do it.

She can do it because she says, may the Lord deal with me now, you know? God is the generic name, Elohim. It's a generic name for God. But whenever the trusting name, the love name, the personal name of God is used in the Bible. The name that God revealed to Moses in the burning bush. The name that God said in the burning bush, this is the name for the people who know me

intimately and personally, not just a far off as a great impersonal deity, but those who are my lovers, those are my friends, those are my family. He says, my name is Yahweh, and in the Bible, in the Old Testament, when you see the word Yahweh, it's translated Lord, but always in small caps. And what she is doing is, she is using the covenant the covenant name Yahweh she could never do such a thing. She is making a baptismal vow in a sense. She would never be doing that unless she had already said, I believe. And because she said, I believe, she knew what she had to do.

Her decision was clear but hard. Listen to that, clear but hard. On the one hand, she knew that if she stays where it's comfortable, where she has a name, where she has a family, where she has suitors, where she has prospects for another husband, where she has safety. Her faith will die. She has to be with the people of God. She can't stay there. She knows dog on well that if she stays, where she'll be materially great and you see power great, status great, her faith will go down to nothing. And if she goes to where she can grow in faith, her status will go down to nothing. It's

a simple decision. One of the biggest obstacles for people to believe in Christianity is that they think they already know all about it. But if we look at Jesus' encounters with various people during his life, we'll find some of our assumptions challenged. We see him meeting people at the point of their big unspoken questions. The gospels are full of encounters that made a profound impact on those who spoke with Jesus.

And in his book Encounters with Jesus, Tim Keller explores how these encounters can still address our questions and doubts today. Encounters with Jesus is our thanks for your gift to help gospel in life reach more people with the amazing love of Christ. Request your copy of Encounters with Jesus today when you give at gospelonlife.com slash give. That's gospelonlife.com slash give. Now here's Tim Keller with the remainder of today's teaching. She knows the right thing to do with regard to God, but then secondly, she knows the right

thing to do with Naomi. She knows that if they both go to Israel, there's a chance that Naomi won't die. But if she doesn't go, she stays home. She knows Naomi will perish. And therefore Ruth knows this. If Naomi is going to have a life and get a life back, Ruth has got to throw her away. If Naomi is going to have a name and a land and a progeny, Ruth has to essentially give up all the sure things she's got. Her own name, her own father, her own wealth, her own family, and so she does. Don't you see? She impoverishes herself so that Naomi eventually can become rich.

She suffers outside the gate. She becomes an alien and a stranger. She leaves the familiar and goes out, not knowing whether she went. But as a result, Naomi is redeemed. Your daughter-in-law, who loves you, is better than seven sons. Now, don't you see, we've got two redeemers, the great mighty bridegroom.

See, the one who marriesries her and his wealth becomes hers. And he goes into debt and their debts are wiped out. And the suffering servant, the one who goes outside the gate, the one who becomes alien, becomes marginalized so that Naomi's marginality and Naomi's poverty can be restored. Now what do we have so far when we look at Boaz and Ruth? And I'll tell you, we've got three things that you just cut us to the quick. First of all, let me help you if you don't see them.

Number one, we learn the spiritual dynamite of friendship. Why is Ruth life changed? It's amazing to hear a mollibite. It's taken the name Yahweh onabite. It's taking the name Yachtway on her lips. And you know why? Because she must have watched Naomi suffer with dignity, suffer in faith. She knew my, no, only, I mean daughter, no, you know,

you know your family. You know the people inside, right? And she wanted the same God as Naomi. Now, what does that mean? Do you see the power of friendship? Now, here's what I'm afraid of. I am very afraid of this. Some of you are saying, oh, yeah, yeah, friendship, right?

Friendship. Okay, I got it. Now, move on. I know. We have to be friends. No, you don't know. I don't know either. What changed Ruth's life?

It wasn't a sermon. It wasn't programs. It wasn't a great book. It wasn't incredible sermon, it wasn't programs, it wasn't a great book, it wasn't incredible arguments, and then let's go backwards. What changed Naomi's life? She was poor. Was it a government program that changed her life? Do you see what I'm saying? All the economic redemption and all the spiritual redemption, it all happened through nothing but a friendship and there's nothing else to it.

It all happened through nothing but a friendship and there's nothing else to it. Friendship is about the only way I know to change somebody's life. And you don't have every, nobody no matter how great a speaker you are, no matter how smart you are, no matter how powerful you are, whether you're the president of the United States, or, you know, is that how you're going to change the ghetto? If you're a great preacher and you really are articulate, is that how you're going to change people's life spiritually? I tell you, listen, if you come here and you don't have a friend with you, you might get inspired by my preaching. Your life isn't going to be changed. If you don't have a friend to think about this with and work it in with,

you're never, you're never going to learn. And when I, over the history of my education, the times in which I've learned the most, the places, the courses, the professors in which I said, that really changed my life. I look back and I realize it wasn't the professors, it was the people I was learning with, the friends, the people I ate in the cafeteria with afterwards, the people that worked it in.

We can only have a few friends in our whole lives. And they're the only people who probably you will be able to see the transforming power of God in through your friendship. And a lot of us are so dog on busy running around doing things we think are going to really make the world a better place when this is the only thing that really will. All the things that I'm doing, all the things that you're doing, all those things you're running around to make the world a better place are nothing but the artillery, this is the infantry. They're used by friendships, they're used in friendships, but it's friendships, that's the place. That's the thing. Think about that.

Wrestle with that, understand that. This is the only way anybody's life is really changed in the end. And what is a friend? It's a definition that is right there. Time and constancy. Where you go, I will go, where you lodge, I will lodge. And you die, I will die. It's not information, it's not a skill, it's being present, being committed, being there, being there for somebody over a long period of time. It's in that context.

Without that, all the information will just roll off you. All the sermons, all the projects, all the movies will just roll off you. Friendship is the way to change the world. You only will have probably in your lifetime about a dozen or a half a dozen opportunities to do it, so think about it. And this church is nothing without friendship. And if you're here and you just come and you sit and you soak and you go to classes even and you haven't made a couple of very close friends, you're not going to find that the channel of God's power, it's not there. Why is her life being renewed? Why is her life being sustained? Look carefully at verse 15, because my daughter-in-law loves you, daughter-in-law loves you. That's why.

Number one, the spiritual power friendship we learn. Secondly, I'll be more careful about, I have to be close on this. Second, I want you to see the barrier, the cultural barriers broken through grace. When it says your daughter-in-law is better to you than seven sons. If you know anything about traditional culture, you'll know what an incredible thing that is. First of all, in traditional culture, family is everything.

And seven sons is a synonym for the perfect family. You can see it, another place is in the Bible. Seven Suns means the perfect family. That's all it means. Seven is the perfect number. And here's what it's saying is, the grace of God, the grace of God in the person's life, and your relationship with people in whom that grace is,

is more satisfying, more fulfilling, more transforming than a perfect family. Then on top of that, traditional culture also says, daughters are not like sons, oh no, sons are better. Sons are much better. Traditional culture is always said that why? Because if you're trying to build a family, sons, not only, even today, but even certainly back then, society gives men access to power.

And so if you want to have power, you'll have suns. What do you think is happening in the lands by the way where you're only allowed one child? What are they doing? They're making sure they only have suns. And this is the way it's always been. But the grace, the gospel breaks through that too. The gospel says, the grace of God in this woman's life is better to you than seven sons. Better to you, the perfect family.

And then, of course, don't forget traditional society not only says, not also says, family is everything. The gospel knocks that down. not only says, not also says, family is everything. The gospel knocks that down. Men are everything. The gospel knocks that down. Your race is everything. The important thing is to stay in your culture

and stay with your race, but no, this is an interracial marriage, this is an interracial friendship. The gospel tries to say, absolutely not the gospel knocks that down too. Here's what it's going on. The Bible says that if you don't understand that if God isn't central in your life, you will be defined by culture.

You will feel like I've got to have a perfect family, for example, and you'll kill yourself to get it. But when the grace of God comes into your life, you're freed from that. You don't need it anymore. Now, I know there's a lot of you who have said, oh, I'm free from that. I have moved into Western individualistic culture.

I'm free from this idea that you have to be married and have children, all that. How patriarchal, how horrible. No. I mean, that may be true, but no, you're not free. I'm not saying that's not patriarchal, horrible. I'm saying, you're not free. What I'm saying is, now it's not a perfect family.

It's not a perfect body you need, it's a perfect career, it's a perfect social calendar, you've got to be in the right parties, you've got to be with the right people, you've got to have the right press notices, you have to have the right reviews, and you've scorned everybody who's not in your circle, just like the people the traditional culture has scorned the women over the men, scorn your race over other races. The gospel comes in and breaks all that apart, totally breaks it apart, and says, if God is in the center of your life, that is better than any of these other things. These things aren't as important, they're just not.

And when the gospel is in your life, you yourself get rid of that condescension, condescending attitude toward the people of the other gender, the other race, the other class. You're free in your heart, and therefore you're free in your relationships. Do you see? That's what the book of Ruth's about. The barrier-breaking power of grace. The ability to break through cultural barriers, and it's astounding that so far back out of ancient times a book like that would come. Amazing. And then lastly, there's three things we see here. We're taught here, use your friendships. The only way to really change the world. Secondly, if God is central in your life, you're not all hung up on culture,

you're not all hung up on having a perfect family anymore, you're not all hung up on culture, you're not all hung up on having a perfect family anymore, you're not all hung up on getting it and you're not all hung up the fact you don't have it. You're not all hung up about your perfect body, you're not all hung up about any of the things that your culture says, you're free to move out of your circles. Other people who don't know God, in your culture, disdain the people on the other side of those barriers, but knew you don't anymore because you're free from those barriers. They don't define you anymore. But then lastly, we see the radical imperative of discipleship. Ruth says, I will obey.

I will do the right thing, and I don't expect a good life. I don't expect to get a husband. I don't expect money. I don't expect. I don't expect to get a husband. I don't expect money. I don't expect. I don't care. Nothing but death will keep me from doing what I ought to do. She knows that if the Lord is her Lord, she can put no conditions on her obedience.

Do you remember the place where Joshua, before the Battle of Jericho, sees a man of war with a sword. And he goes up to him and says, are you on our side or theirs? And the man says, no. But as the commander of the Lord of Hosts, I am come. Now you know what that's God talking. But as the commander of the Lord of hosts I am come. Now you know what that's God talking and you know what God was saying? When you say, Lord I'll serve you, but are you on my side or there side?

When you say that what you're saying is, my side means my goals. In other words, God, I will ask you into my life, but what is sovereign is not you, but my goals. I want you in my life, but I want to be the master and I want you to be the servant to reach my goals. And God says the Joshua and God says to us, when you say, are you on my side or theirs, the answer is neither. I don't come into your life to help you reach your goals.

I'll let you though into my life. You see, not do I come into your life as your servant, where you come into my life God says is my servant. That's the only issue. I can't relate to anybody in any other way. Now friends, if you, some of you right now are saying, I think Christianity, I'd like Christianity, but will it, will, if I get into God, will I be able to have the self-esteem, the confidence, the career I want, the relationships I want, is God on my side or not? And the answer is, that's the wrong question.

As soon as you say, I will obey if, I will obey if, on the other side of the if, is your real reward, and you're just gonna use God as a servant to get there. If there's any conditions on your obedience at all, any, if you say, well, I'll obey, but not if I don't get this and not if I don't get that, and what's the good? Do you see what God says?

Do you see what Ruth is saying? I can't believe it, but it's true. When you become a Christian, the first thing is you expect a better life, and Ruth does not. Every Christian should say what Ruth says. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely. If I expect a great life, all I want is the opportunity to obey. I take the conditions. I take my hands off my life. I take all conditions off my obedience. Come that way or don't come. Now, are you all ready for the sermon to be over? You're saying, wow, I'm real excited

now. I see I can change lives through friendship. I'm going to do better at that. And I really, we have to reach out across cultural barriers. And I'm going to do that. And I have to really obey God, really, really, and put my life away totally changed. I'll be, I'll be so strong. I'm going to do that. If you're ready for this sermon to be ending, ending, and you're not crushed by it, you're not very thoughtful. There's nothing inspiring about this. If you know your heart, you'll never, you'll never be able to do it,

because there's not just two redeemers, there's another one. In verse 14, unless you find this redeemer, you'll never be able to follow the example of Ruth and Boaz. In verse 14 and 15, it says, the Lord be praised, he has not left you without a redeemer, and then it says, he will be great in Israel.

Wait a minute, Boaz is already great in Israel. Who are we talking about? We're talking about the child of promise. The real Redeemer is the child born in Bethlehem. The real Redeemer. Now, you know, there's something very weird. The author isn't really being, isn't being true to the law. The Kinsman Redeemer is a formal legal status, and it's not right to say that the child is redeeming. Even you can sort of see why he would say that, but you see what he's really trying to point to. And what we need to see is that it's a great descendant, a child born in Bethlehem,

who is the real Redeemer, but who looks quite a bit like his ancient father and mother, though as and Ruth. Like Ruth, he left his father's throne above, so free, so infinite, his grace. Like Boaz, he not only paid your debt, but he reaches out and unites with you so that all of his wealth becomes yours. Like Boaz, he is your flesh and blood. Why? See, if Jesus Christ

saved us by simply saying, live a good life, he didn't have to become flesh and blood, he didn't have to become our kinsmen. He could have just sort of elevated down, you know, and said, now, let me tell you how to live, but he didn't do that. And then go back up. He had to become flesh and blood because he didn't save us by telling us how to live a good life. He came by living the good life, being our head, being our, the pioneer and perfective of our faith, being our substitute, being our mediator. And to become a Christian is not to say, I'm going to try to be like Ruth and Boaz. Oh my goodness, no. To become a Christian is to say, there was one who truly went outside the gate, who left a greater name, the greatest name,

who descended the farthest, who became truly alien, cosmically alien. Jesus Christ didn't just say, I throw my life away so you can have one. May anything but death, nothing but death will part me from you. Jesus Christ looked at us and said, I won't even let death part me from you. I will be parted from my father rather than be parted from you. I will die so that I won't be separated from you.

Here's the greatest friend, greater than Ruth. Here's the greatest alien and poor person. It became marginal for us. He was born in a manger. But he left the ultimate name behind. So when you see Jesus, you can say, he left his father thrown above. But when you see Ruth, Jesus and Boaz, you can sing the rest of the hymn.

No condemnation, now I dread. Jesus and all in him is mine, alive in him living head and cloth and righteousness divine. And only if you see him as that will you be able to live like Ruth and Boaz the other way you're going to go out and make good friends and really be there for people and and break barriers of culture and obey God no matter what unless unless you, if you're just trying to emulate these people, you won't have the joy to push and you won't have the peace to regroup when you fail. You'll be trying to prove yourself, you're trying to hope that God will give you favor if you try to live like Ruth and Boas, but unless you see that they're pointing to the real

Redeemer, unless you've seen that he has covered you with his garment and he has ravished with your beauty. And all of his spiritual wealth is now yours. And in the sight of the Father, you are absolutely loved and accepted now. And until you can see yourself as that, until you have that kind of joy and that kind of peace, you'll never live like Ruth and Boaz. You'll never live that way at all. Dear friends, it doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done, it doesn't matter how marginal you are, it doesn't matter what kind of failure you've been, it doesn't matter.

The message of this is a message of grace, and think of this too. Let go out on this note. Naomi has a son. What do you mean she has a son? She lost all of her children. The message of the book of Ruth is not, if you trust God, God will give you absolutely everything you want. Oh no, the message of the book of Ruth. Look at what Ruth did, any of what Naomi did. If you give up your definition of a good life and give it to God and say, God, you do with me what you want. God will

give you back your life and it won't be the same thing God, you do with me what you want. God will give you back your life and it won't be the same thing. It won't be the same definition, but it will be better than good. It'll be great. Naomi, by trusting God, Ruth, by trusting God, brought more wealth and more children into Naomi's life. Bethel Gospel, the pastor up there named Ezra Williams, will tell you this story. Bethel Gospel started years ago when two black ladies went to church in Midtown and got converted, and then they asked to go to that church, and the church wouldn't let them, 80 years ago. Why not? Because they were black. Couldn't come to our church. And a German lady who really kind of was a very strong Christian woman,

met them and befriended them and they said, would you come up to Harlem and start a Bible class for us? And she said she wanted to and she was engaged and she looked at her husband or her fiance and said, I'm going to be going to Harlem and I'm going to be teaching black people and helping them get something started. And he said, if you do that, you're through. We're not getting married, and you'll probably never get married

if you do that kind of thing, we're through. And Ezra Williams tells the story that she was very upset, but she looked down at her Bible and the Lord gave her this verse. Sing O'Baron woman, and you who never bore a child, burst into song shout for joy, you who are never in labor, because more are the children of the desolate woman than of she who has a husband.

And she suddenly realized, if I obey God, I may not have the life I expected, but I'll have a better one. If I give up my definition of good, God will give me back, maybe not the good life I want to put the great life. I can have more children. Naomi has a child. No, she didn't, but she did. If you are willing to give up your life to him, like Ruth did, like Naomi did, he'll give it back. Not the way you expected, greater, better than seven sons. Praise be to the Lord, for he has not left you. There is a Redeemer, let's pray.

Our Father, we ask that you would give it to us. Show us not by emulating Ruth and Boaz, but by believing and receiving the one to whom they point. We also can live great lives, but first there will have to be a surrender. Thank you for joining us today. If you were encouraged by today's teaching, please rate and review it so more people can discover this podcast. And thanks for listening!

This month's sermons were recorded in 1997 and 2017. The sermons and talks you hear on the Gospel and Life Podcast were preached from 1989 to 2017 while Dr. Keller was senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church. you