A Woman of Excellence

I call your attention to something that was in the next to the last song. That's a modern song. I think that's by City of Light. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. That's got to be the theme of all that we do. That's got to be the theme of all that we are. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. Maybe you write that down. Maybe you make that your prayer. Maybe you memorize that and let that be your heartbeat. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. In all that we are studying this morning, I pray that that will be our motive, our heartbeat, our desire. Yet not I, but through Christ in me. I like that song.

I really like how Brother Keith will lead us through some of the old hymns, hymns that we grew up on. And then also he will lead us through some new, more modern songs. But they are all very rich theologically. A lot of truth and I appreciate that. Well, let's take our Bible and let's turn to the book of Ruth. I usually say turn back to a particular place in the scripture, but we didn't have a scripture reading this morning. But this morning we'll be in the book of Ruth and a little later I will ask you to turn to Ephesians 5. There are a few verses I want you to put your eyes on there.

And then later I'll ask you to turn to Philippians 4 and then Romans 4. It's not that often that I ask you to play Bible drill in the Sunday morning message, but I think this morning it will do us some good to look at these verses. I will reference a verse in John. And what I'm doing is this. I'm really just illustrating what we're learning in Ruth with the New Testament. The New Testament and the Old Testament can commentate on each other. And this is really just going to help the message be that much more powerful. I pray. A couple of comments and then we'll get started in what we're looking at this morning.

You know I don't always preach on Mother's Day or Father's Day. I just kind of wait and see how that is fleshed out in my prayer time and study time. I know last year this time we didn't look at anything pertaining to Mother's Day, but in the summer we looked at a series of messages on the family. I figured I'd cover Mother's Day and Father's Day at the same time with a few messages. But as I was going back through a lot of my information I noticed something. I have preached on Father's Day far more than I have on Mother's Day. It could be that we need it more. It could be that we as men need it more. And in many ways that's not a joke.

Because see if we're leaders of our home, if we're out in front of our home, out in front of our wives, out in front of our families, we'll lead our families alone. But I do think that it's good sometimes to take the time and look at something like Mother's Day and learn from what God's Word would say about this subject of mothers and families and wives, really all that the Lord would say. And I know I said this earlier, there are going to be some times I'll speak to fathers, there will be some times I'll speak to ladies who are not quite mothers yet. So just perk up and I believe the Lord will speak to you this morning.

But we're going to be in the book of Ruth. I'll read a few of the verses throughout the message. It's a short book, you'll be able to follow me. But I want to give a little background about the book of Ruth. Some of you might not be familiar with the book. I'm not going to be exhaustive by no means, but we do need to get the background here. The book of Ruth was written in the time of the Judges. Some of you know your Old Testament history. This was the time in the nation of Israel before they had kings. Of course, the first king was Saul, and then the second king was David, and then came Solomon.

But the book of Ruth was written before that time, during the time that's called the period of Judges. We know this because chapter 1 verse 1 tells us when the book was written. And most traditional sources say that the prophet Samuel wrote this book after David had been born, but before Solomon was born, because at the end of chapter 4, Jesse and David are mentioned, but Solomon is not. Now we need to make sure that we remember the characters within the book. Primarily, we have a godly man named Elimelech and his godly wife named Naomi. They had two sons, Malon and Chelon. And also they had wives, Orpah and Ruth.

Later on in the book, there is a godly man, a godly Jew named Boaz. But it is obvious that early on in the book, the main characters are Ruth and Naomi, and then a little later on, this godly character named Boaz, he's added to the picture. But if we were to name only one main character in the book, of course it would have to be Ruth. Now for those who might not be familiar with the book, I will give you a short overview of the book, and this will help fill in the gaps, and this will help get you started, and hopefully it will whet your appetite to go read the book, as I have read it several times throughout the week.

But in chapter 1, this man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi and their sons, they left Bethlehem, they left Israel, and they made a very difficult and dangerous journey to the east and to the south to the land of Moab. If you look at a map, you will see that Moab is on the other side of the Jordan River. Now an important question that we need to ask here, why did this Jewish family leave Israel and go live in Moab? Moab was a pagan land. If you know your Old Testament, you know that the Moabites were enemies of God. Simply there was a severe famine in Israel. In every way they went to Moab for survival.

Bible scholars tell us that this famine probably was caused by one of the violent invasions into the land of Israel that are recorded in the book of Judges. Of course there are some other scholars that speculate other reasons why they had a famine. But while they were in Moab, their sons, Nalon and Chileon, they married Moabite women, Ruth and Orpah. And while they were living in Moab, Naomi's husband, Elimelech died and her two sons died, leaving only Naomi and her two daughters-in-law. And after about 10 years in Moab, Naomi hears that the famine was over in Israel, so she decides to return home to her own country and to her own people.

And as she begins to leave for Israel, she tries to convince her two daughters-in-law to stay there in Moab. After all, they were Moabites. Moab was their land. The Moabite gods, little G, were their gods. And the Moabite people, they were their people. Orpah, one of the daughters-in-law, does choose to go back to her family and stay in Moab. While Ruth is persistent in going with Naomi to her land, Naomi's land, into her people, Naomi's people. That would be the land of Israel.

And in chapter 1, specifically verses 14 to 22, those verses tell us of this parting, this leaving to go to Israel, and verses 16 to 17 are two key verses that we will cover. So Mark verses 16 to 17 in chapter 1, know that we will get to those verses. Now just continuing with these events, in chapter 2, Naomi is back in her hometown of Bethlehem with Ruth. She is back in Bethlehem there in Israel with Ruth. And in chapter 1 verse 22, that tells us that they came back at the time of the barley harvest. That is a key verse. This is important because it becomes a vital source of food and survival for two destitute widows.

According to the Old Testament law, those who harvested their fields were commanded not to harvest all of their fields. The corners of the fields were to be left unharvested, and any grain that was left in the field after the first cutting of the grain, it was to be left for the poor and the needy in society, especially the widows and the orphans. So Ruth, it was a widow, she was destitute, Ruth goes out to glean or to go out and harvest in the fields for food. And as Ruth goes out to glean, she finds herself in the field of Boaz. And as a result of these events, in chapter 2 verses 8 to 12, we see that Boaz shows Ruth great kindness.

He tells her that he has heard of how she has left her homeland to care for her mother-in-law, Naomi. And after a day's work in Boaz's field, Ruth returns home to find out from Naomi that she had been working in the field of her late husband's very close relative, and that was Boaz. And if we proceed in the events, we will see that in chapter 3 things get very interesting. Naomi works to get a husband for Ruth. You see, children, parents have been jockeying for husbands and wives for a long time. They have. But Naomi works to get a husband for Ruth.

Naomi sought a husband for Ruth according to the custom of the day, but notice the custom of the day came from the Old Testament scriptures. That meant that this was more than a custom, but she was dealing with God's Word here. And in Deuteronomy 25 verses 5 to 10, God made a provision for young widows who were childless by commanding the nearest brother or kinsman to marry the widow. And this was done for several reasons. First, this was done to provide for the widow. And then also this was done to ensure the dead kinsman's name would not be forgotten in Israel, as well as keeping all of the properties within the family.

So there were multiple reasons for this. So Ruth does what Naomi tells her to do. Ruth appealed to Boaz for marriage according to the Word of God. Now what was Boaz? What was his response? We continue in the events. We get into chapter 4, we see that Boaz was willing and he was able to marry Ruth according to the custom, but more than the custom based on what God's Word said. And not only did Boaz marry Ruth, but he bought all that belonged to a limilec, that would have been his relative, and those sons, Chileon and Malon. And near the end of chapter 4, we see that God enables Ruth to conceive. She had a son and he was named Obed.

It's really interesting who named the son. We also see this great heritage that was given to Boaz, that was given to Ruth, that was given to Obed, and we see this in verses 16 to 22 of chapter 4. We'll read those verses a little later on. But now I want to ask us a question. Why do I have us in the book of Ruth this morning? Why do I have us in the book of Ruth? Well this morning is Mother's Day. I've already mentioned that. We know that. And I want us to look at what a wife and a mother should be. I want us to look at a wife and a mother of great excellence. Actually they're two wives.

Actually they're two mothers here that are of great excellence. And we're going to look at both Ruth and Naomi, Naomi and Ruth, and I want us to see certain excellent characteristics of a wife and a mother. And these are characteristics that all wives and all mothers should have and cultivate in their lives. Now right here I want to talk to all females, all girls, all young ladies. You need to listen up. Even though you're not married and even though you do not have children, you should desire these characteristics. You should seek to cultivate these characteristics. And it doesn't matter how old you are.

So this is how I will proceed in the message. I'm going to start with Naomi first and then I will get to Ruth. We're going to look at three major observations out of Naomi's life and then we're going to look at two major observations out of Ruth's life. Now go ahead and tell you, if you study in the book of Ruth, you will probably find something that I missed. As a matter of fact, there were some things in my study this week that I just did not have time to cover. So I had to leave some things off. So with Naomi, first I want us to see that Naomi was a woman who followed her husband. We see this at the beginning of chapter one.

But Naomi was a woman who followed her husband. Let's look at the first two verses of chapter one. Now in the days when the judges ruled, there's your time frame. There was a famine in the land. We do not know why. Scholars can speculate. When a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to Surjern in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. And then the rest of the verse, verse two, gives us their names. Now a question we need to ask here. As a matter of fact, some of you who are scholars in your Old Testament may be asking this question.

Was it wrong for a limilec to take his family and to leave Israel and to go live in a very, very pagan land? Was that wrong? Some may say that a limilec was wrong in doing this. But we need to see that there is no Old Testament scripture that would have condemned this. Some commentators say that they did not intend to stay in Moab very long. Some commentators say that this was a temporary residence simply for survival's sake. I do not have a problem with that position. As a matter of fact, the New American Standard, the English Standard, the King James says that they went to Surjern in Moab. They went to journey in Moab, not to live.

But the situation was this. A limilec led his family on a very long, very difficult, and very dangerous journey into a foreign land for survival. He did not disobey any Old Testament scripture in doing this. He was simply doing the very best that he knew. He was leading his family. He was trying to survive and to keep his family together. Again, I believe he was doing the best that he knew. And also this man, a limilec. We don't know much about him, but it seems that he was a godly man.

His name means, "My God is King." And then also if you do some study, you'll find that Jewish traditions and extra-biblical Jewish writings say that he was a great man of God. He was of the tribe of Judah and he was related to the nobility. And later in the book, we see that he was related to the man of God, Boaz. So I believe he was a man of God. So we have every reason to believe that a limilec was a man of God and he was doing what God led him to do to take care of his family, even if he had to go to Moab for survival. Now question here. What do we need to see here with Naomi? What do we need to see here with Naomi, his wife?

She possessed one vital characteristic for a woman of God. Simply she followed her husband. She submitted to her husband and she followed her husband. Now here is where I want us to turn to the book of Ephesians. And again, I ask you to turn to these verses because I want you to put your eyes on them. I don't want you to just listen to me read these verses. But Ephesians chapter 5 verses 22 to 24. Some of you know right where I'm going. Paul says wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body and is himself its savior.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Now notice what is taught and explained in Ephesians is what Naomi lived and exemplified. Let me say that again. What Paul taught and explained here in Ephesians is what Naomi lived and what she exemplified. In Ephesians Paul gives an absolute command which is applied to all Christian wives. No matter the spiritual maturity or spiritual knowledge she has, she is to be submitted to her husband. No matter her heritage, no matter her education, no matter her personal abilities, she is to be in submission to her husband.

And get this, this is not to be commanded by the husband, no. This submission is to be purposefully, willingly and lovingly given by the wife to her husband. And notice these specifics. This submission is limited in that it is only to her husband, her own husband and no other man. And this submission is unlimited in that there is no conditions laid out here. And this submission is all inclusive in that she is to be submissive in everything. Now get this, this submission is directly related to her relationship to Christ Jesus.

She is to willingly, lovingly submit to her husband and her husband alone in everything and Paul says, "As unto the Lord." Now someone may say that I'm reading the New Testament back into the Old or that I am interpreting Naomi and her life in light of the New Testament. But listen, these standards from the New Testament were expected in the Old as well. And simply Naomi exemplified in she lived this submission to her husband. So what I'm showing you is this, Naomi possessed a vital spiritual characteristic and that is she followed her husband. Now in application I have a question to ask you. Mothers, are you in subjection to your husbands?

That might cut against the grain of what you like, but you can't argue with what the scripture say. Are you submissive to your husband? Are you submissive to your husband in every way like Paul lays out here in chapter 5? Are you submissive to your husband in the way we see it fleshed out in the life of Naomi? There are no conditions here. It's just a command. And you know when we come to faith in Christ there are certain things that should be intuitive. Now we do have to wrestle with the flesh. And so ladies, yes you will have sin and you will have flesh within you that will rebel against what God's word says.

But when you come to faith in Christ this should be intuitive in that you are led by the spirit to live this kind of life. So my question for you is this, are you a woman who follows your husband? Now let me say this before I move on. Wives, listen. If your husband loves God, if your husband is walking with God, and if your husband is in a healthy local church, and if your husband is surrounded himself by men who are doing the same then you should be running to obey this command. You should be running to obey this command. You should be running to obey this command. Now here's where I'm going to aim at you men.

How are you doing in leading your family? There are so many women today they long for a godly man to lead them. They long for a godly man to lead them but their men just don't lead. Now let me go back to what I said. Yes, you should love God, you should walk with God, and if you're not converted to Christ come to faith in Christ. You should love God and you should walk with God. And husbands you should pour your life into a local church and you should surround yourself with men who love God and you should be the man that your wife would want to follow. I really don't believe Naomi had a problem following her husband. He was a godly man.

She was a godly woman. Oh it was difficult, yes. So Naomi was a woman who followed her husband. Then second, Naomi trusted God to provide. Second I want us to see that Naomi trusted God to provide. For this observation there's really no specific verse or text that I want you to see. We must read the entire book. There's four chapters, you can do that, no problem today. And if we read the book we will see that trusting God was an overarching, it was a dominant theme and trait in her life. It was a characteristic in her life and everything that we see about her. And she didn't only trust God when things were easy.

She trusted God through some very difficult circumstances and some horrific trials. And if we read the book of Ruth we will see the fact that Naomi went through some terrible circumstances, circumstances that would have tested the faith of the most godly. That is why it is important to read and to understand the entire book, not just a few verses. But I want to point out a few things about Naomi's life. From the book we see that she lived through many ups and downs and she lived for God's provision in her life in these ups and in these downs.

She had a life with her husband in Israel and then she had to journey to Moab with her family to survive. See the up and down? Most scholars say that Naomi and her husband were very respected people in Israel. See the up? But then she had to move to Moab to a pagan land just to survive. See the down? She had a godly husband, two sons, and ultimately two daughters-in-law. Then she lost all of that except for her two daughters-in-law and they were foreigners. See the up, see the down? She found herself destitute and almost all alone.

And when she did make the dangerous journey back to Israel, she was so broken that she insisted that people not call her by her name. See her name it meant pleasant. Naomi means pleasant. But she insisted on being called Mara. Mara means bitter. She went on to say, "Call me Mara for God has dealt very bitterly with me." See her ups and her downs? And then God provides for both she and Ruth. God provides a husband for Ruth, money from her husband's properties, and a grandson to carry on the family name. Naomi was restored but blessed beyond measure by God in a great way. See the ups and the downs? So what do we need to see here?

What do we need to see here with Naomi? She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a woman of God. Is she trusted God to provide in all of the circumstances of her life? Now here is where I want us to turn to that passage in the book of Philippians. Many of you know this verse. You'll know it when I read it. You've seen many people abuse it to be honest with you. But Philippians 4 verse 11 to 13. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound.

In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthen me. Here with Paul is what Naomi lived and exemplified. In these verses Paul says that he knew what it was meant to be content or to be satisfied in whatever situation that God ordained for his life. Paul knew how to be satisfied in God when he was lacking or even in poverty. He knew how to be satisfied in God when he had plenty. Paul knew how to do all things which meant he knew how to be strong in God in all circumstances. He had the spiritual strength.

He had the spiritual vitality to not just get through all circumstances but to walk with God victoriously in all circumstances. And again some might think that I am reading the New Testament back into the old or that I am interpreting Naomi's life and experience in light of the new. But listen these things are true. What we see and taught here in Paul, Naomi lived and she exemplified. Simply she trusted in God to provide in all of her circumstances. Now mothers do you trust in God to provide in all of your circumstances? In all of them? The ups and the downs?

It is really easy for us to trust in God when things are easy but what about when they are down? What about when things are not easy? What about when tough times come? So I am asking you can you trust God? Do you trust God to provide for you no matter what? And see this is a lesson that you must learn even before you become a wife, even before you become a mother. This is a vital spiritual characteristic that all mothers need, that all ladies need, that even our young ladies need. And so wives, you have to be such a Christian, such a Christian that you trust God and you want with God no matter the circumstances.

This must be a characteristic in your life otherwise when things get tough you will quit. I have seen it too many times. Number three, we are still dealing with Naomi. Third, Naomi obeyed God's word. I want us to see that Naomi obeyed God's word. Now here is where I want us to go back to Ruth and I want us to look at chapter 3 verses 1 to 5. I am not covering all of this. This is just a tease to be honest with you. You need to read all of this. Chapter 3 verses 1 to 5. In Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you that it may be well with you?

Is not Boaz our relative with whose young women you were?" See, he is winnowing barley. He is threshing barley tonight at the threshing floor verse 2 says, "Wash therefore and anoint yourself and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he is finished eating and drinking. But when he lies down observe the place where he lies and then go and uncover his feet and lie down and he will tell you what to do." And she, this is Ruth replied, "All that you say I will do." Now remember this is not just a custom, this is God's word.

Notice here in verse 3 we see what we would think to be something strange. Again, this is cultural and it seems strange and not only was this a cultural custom, but this was a custom according to the word. We see this taught and explained in Deuteronomy 5 verses 5 to 10. But basically this is what was happening here. The law of Moses stated that if a man died childless, a close relative should step forward to marry the widow. There were several reasons, several purposes for this command. I mentioned this earlier in the introduction. First this was to perpetuate the family name. Also this was to keep the family land within the family.

Also this was important in that when a man died without a son, that one in his family should marry his widow so that his son to be born could carry on that name. Well how did this apply to Ruth? She had been widowed and she was without child and because Boaz was a relative of her father-in-law, a limilec, he was eligible to redeem his relative in marriage. And he was indeed willing to redeem Ruth. He did follow the written customs and the written laws of God to redeem and to marry Ruth. So what do we need to see here with Naomi? She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a woman and a mother of God.

She knew God's word and she obeyed God's word. You see? She knew God's word and she obeyed it. She put her trust in God's word so as to find a husband for Ruth and to provide for security for herself and for Ruth. In all of these circumstances, in seeking care for Ruth who was a foreigner, in seeking a husband for Ruth because she was responsible for Ruth, in seeking care and provision for herself, in all of these things, Naomi obeyed God. She led Ruth to obey God and they obeyed God by obeying God's word.

Now here I don't want you to turn to a New Testament passage but I want to read a New Testament passage that is vital for us to see here and it highlights this vital characteristic. We see this in John chapter 14 verse 15. What did Jesus say? Jesus said, "If you love me, you'll keep my commandments." If you love me, you'll keep my commandments. And here we see that Naomi demonstrated that she loved God by obeying God and by obeying God she obeyed God's word. She put her trust in God by putting her trust in God's word. Only she loved God so she obeyed God's word. Now ladies, mothers, all of you ladies, I want to ask you a question.

How are you in your study of God's word? If you do not know God's word, you have no excuse. Do you know how many translations of the Bible that are accurate and at your fingertips? Do you know how many you have around your home? It was a day in which people didn't even have God's word in their own language. Do you study God's word? Do you know God's word? Do you spend too much time on your telephone, on social media? Do you spend too much time talking with friends? Do you spend too much time with TV and entertainment? I don't know if some of you are saying something like this. Well I know what kind of preacher you are.

No I'm not against television. I'm not against social media. I'm not against talking with friends. But we must examine where all of our time goes. Ladies, you've got to look at where all of your time goes. Do you read God's word? Do you study God's word? Do you know God's word? You can't obey God's word if you don't know God's word. You have no excuse. Even if you struggle to read it, you can even find it in an audio version. So somebody will read it to you. And I want you to think about what we do here in the life of the church. Look at all that we give you. Ladies take what we study on Sunday mornings and study that throughout the week.

Ladies take what you study in your small groups and study that throughout the week. Take what we study together on Wednesday nights and study that throughout the week. If you study what you are given from this pulpit, what you learn in small groups, and if you study what's given on the floor here when we're in Bible study on Wednesday nights, if you study all of that you'll grow and you'll learn God's word. And if you study all of that you won't have time for much else. What I'm trying to show you is this, is we feed you well. The problem is you might not be eating well.

So wives, you must be godly enough to know God's word and to obey God's word. That's simple. You can't obey God's word unless you know God's word. And to know God's word you must spend time in God's word. It takes work. Now at this time I do want to leave Naomi. I think there was some information that I had in my notes from the week about Naomi, more information, but I just felt like we needed to move on because of time. I want us to look at Ruth. We really can't study the women of the book of Ruth without looking at Ruth. That really would be a tragedy. Now there are two things that I want us to see here about Ruth.

First I want us to see that Ruth was converted. I want you to see that Ruth was converted. Now for here I want us to go back to chapter 1. I mentioned these verses earlier. Verses 15 and 16. Really 15 to 18 are key, key verses here. I want to read them. Really this is the highlight of her life in many ways. Verse 15. "And she said, 'See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her God's little G. Return after your sister-in-law.'" Let me pause there. Naomi was reasoning with Ruth to do what Orpah did and go back to her people. "But Ruth said, 'Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.

For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me, and more also if anything but death parts me from you.'" Now I ask you to remember that word converted, but I want you to see I am not using that language. I am not saying that, and I'm not using that language to say that she experienced conversion like we see in John 3. That's not what I'm saying. But we do see her becoming a true follower of the one true God.

In these verses she does give a clear testimony of converting from worshiping the pagan gods of the Moabites to worshiping the one true God. And she gives clear evidence of this conversion through all the events of her life after this point in time. So what do we need to see here with Ruth? She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic for a woman of God. She was converted. She had a true relationship with God. Now I want to help you here by asking you to turn to Romans chapter 4. This is going to surprise some of you, and some of you need this more than you know. Romans chapter 4 verses 1 to 3.

Paul says, "What then shall we say was gained by Abraham," here's an Old Testament figure, "our forefather according to the flesh," he's dealing with works here, "for if Abraham was justified by works," justified meaning made right with God, "for if Abraham was justified or made right with God by works, he has something to boast about but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God and it was counted to him or credited to him as righteousness." Now notice what is taught here in Romans about Abraham is what we see lived and exemplified in Ruth.

Here Paul was using Abraham and the Old Testament Scriptures to teach that justification before God is by faith and faith alone. Abraham was not made right before God by any of his works. Paul was also quoting Genesis. He was quoting Genesis 15.6 in saying that Abraham believed God, he was a man of faith. Abraham believed God and he was justified, he was made right before God because of his faith. Again some may think that I'm reading the New back into the Old, but Paul was using the Old Testament to confirm what he is teaching in the New. And the simple fact is this, just like Abraham and what Paul was teaching in Romans 4, Ruth experienced.

Just like Abraham was justified by faith, Ruth was justified by faith. And notice Ruth's own testimony. In verse 16 she declared that she received a new family and a new people. You know when someone comes to faith in Christ they receive a new family and a new people, it's called the church. Then at the climax of her confession when she said she received a new God. And that's what happens when we come to faith in Christ, we receive a new God. And then in verse 17 she trusted God even in death and she trusted God to give her a new life. Kind of has the ring of 2 Corinthians 5, 17.

This was a radical and a dramatic work because she was a Moabite. She was an enemy of God. The Moabites were a cursed people according to Deuteronomy 23, 3 to 6. Simply the Moabites had 4 strikes against them. First was their origin. Would you please go read Genesis 19 verse 30 and I want you to see where the Moabites came from. So the first strike against the Moabites was their origin. Second was their God. Did you know that a part of worshipping their God, the Moabites sacrificed their children in the fire? They threw their babies in the fire? And then the third strike against them was they refused to help the Jews during the Exodus.

And then fourth, the fourth strike against the Moabites is they tried to curse the Jews, the Israelites. But she was converted. She believed she became a true follower of the one true God by faith. So ladies, mothers, I have to ask you a question. Are you, are you converted to Christ? We can't take that for granted. You can't merely possess a profession of faith. You can't merely possess a godly heritage. And listen, you can't merely just live the Christian life. You must know Christ. You must be justified or made right with God by faith to use the New Testament language. John three born again.

So wives, you must be a true Christian in that you must be converted to Christ and you know God. You can't be a cultural Christian. You simply can't just have a Christianity that you inherited. You can't work to be a Christian. You must be a born again Christian. And then second, I want us to see that Ruth had a heritage. I want us to go back to the book of Ruth to the end of the book, chapter four, starting in verse 13. We'll read from verse 13 to the end of the book. Such a big difference from the end of the book to the first of the book. So Boaz took Ruth. She became his wife. And he went in with her and the Lord gave her conception.

Notice that the Lord gave her conception. We're going to talk about that next week. And she bore a son. And when the women said to Naomi, bless be the Lord who has not left you this day without a redeemer and may his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restore of life and a nourisher of your old age for your daughter in law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons has given birth to him. Look at how Naomi is restored. Verse 16, then Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And the women, the neighborhood gave him a name saying a son has been born to Naomi and they named him Obed.

That was very unusual for the neighborhood to name a child. And he was the father of Jesse, the father of David. And if you read verses 18 to 22, you see that Obed was a descendant or a part of the family line of King David. I've mentioned that. Now look at this. Ruth went from being a single widowed pagan Moabite to converting to the God of Naomi to journeying to a strange new land, Israel. She lived as a poor widow in Israel and she moved to being redeemed in marriage by one of the most respected and godly men in the land to bearing a son and not just a son, but one of the forefathers of King David.

She became a part of the genealogy of King David and the promised Messiah. Here's where I want you to turn to Matthew. Matthew chapter one. I think I forgot to mention the fact that we need to turn to Matthew. I do want you to put your eyes on these verses. Matthew chapter one, verses one to six. Matthew being Jewish, writing to a Jewish audience, the genealogy of Jesus was very important because he's trying to prove who Christ Jesus really was. And this is what Matthew starts off with, the book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zera and Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezirah and Hezirah the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amenadab and Amenadab the father of Naishon and Naishon the father of Solomon. Solomon the father of Boaz by Rahab, that would be Rahab the prostitute, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth and Obed the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of David the king. Now here, Matthew gives us the genealogy of Jesus, the promised Messiah.

And then these first six verses, we see the genealogy starting from Abraham all the way to King David, and we see that Ruth was one of the grandmothers of David, King David, and ultimately she was one of the grandmothers of the Messiah. So simply she had a great and wonderful spiritual heritage. So what do we need to see here? She possessed one vital spiritual characteristic of a woman of God. She had a spiritual heritage. But I want to ponder a couple of questions here, and I want you to listen close. Did God give her this heritage? Or did she carve this heritage out? Let me rephrase those two questions.

Did her heritage come from God or did she make her heritage? The answer is yes. It's yes. There were certain things that God did and God did alone. There were certain things that only God could do, but there were certain things that she had to do, and I want you to see that God did what only God could do, but she worked hard in her walk with God. She worked hard for a heritage. Simply the fact is this. She had a heritage and she worked hard and it was given by God. And listen, wives, listen, mothers, listen, all future mothers and wives, you must carve out and work hard for a heritage. It's not going to just be given to you.

You must work hard. You must strive to have a godly heritage for your family. And look, I want to speak straight to the ladies and the mothers of Grace Life Church. This should be a mark of all of you that you leave a godly heritage. Now wives, I want to give you a couple of warnings here. First of all, I want you to be careful of the latest whims and fads. There are all kinds of whims and fads that come into the church that can distract ladies. There are all kinds of whims and fads that can come into this world that we call evangelicalism that can distract ladies. Also be careful of who you follow.

Don't hit your wagon to a lady who is not rooted deeply in the life of a healthy local church. Don't hit your wagon to someone who can't make it in the life of a local church. The third thing is this. Don't focus on those things that are not clearly expressed in the scripture so much. You focus on what God's word clearly says. You focus on what the word of God says. You find out what God's word says about the home and about wives and motherhood. And you do all of that and the other stuff will just fall into place. So wives, what kind of a heritage are you building? What kind of a heritage are you working for?

What kind of a heritage are you working for in your children and in your family? And what kind of a heritage is God giving you? I can show you a heritage that God's given you. A healthy local church. Now at this point I want to step back from the book. I want to step back from the book of Ruth and I want us to notice what we have seen and what we've been studying. Two godly women. We have examined certain spiritual characteristics within these two women that prove and show their godliness. They were godly women, godly wives, godly mothers, right? Naomi and Ruth, both of them.

And right here I want to change the order of these characteristics if I can. And I want to make some application and then we'll conclude with the title of the theme of the message. So let me rearrange the order here and I think you'll see what I'm aiming at. Ruth was converted. She truly had faith in God. Naomi followed her husband. Naomi obeyed God's word and she trusted God to provide in her circumstances. Ruth had a heritage and they both did. Now here's what I'm saying to you wives. Here's the message for you this Mother's Day. Be a true Christian. If you're not a true Christian, seek Christ while He may be found.

There's no shame in repenting of your religion. There's no shame in repenting of your works. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Be converted to Christ. Some of you might not know this but my wife came to faith in Christ after I was in the ministry. Now I didn't meet her at a bar room. I met her at church. She was serving God. I mean she was a phenomenal youth pastor's wife and she taught Sunday school and did it all but she was not converted. So what I'm saying for you is this ladies, be a true Christian. Seek Christ while He may be found. Be converted to Christ if you're not. Follow your husband. Follow your husband.

No, look men if you're not leading your wife, shame on you. Shame on you. And then know God's word ladies and obey God's word. You can't obey it if you don't know it and then trust God to provide in life in the good times and the bad because I promise some bad is going to come. And then work hard to leave a heritage, a godly heritage. Do your part and let God do the rest. Trust in God and leave a heritage because listen, life goes by real fast. So in all of these things, if you do these things, you will be a woman of excellence. That's the pile of the message. A woman of excellence. And my list isn't exhaustive.

You study the book of Ruth and I promise you you'll say, "Pastor, Pastor Christ missed a few." But Brother Christ missed this. How could he have missed that? It might have been in my notes, but I also might have missed it.