Today, on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. As Naomi said in chapter 1, verse 13 of Ruth, the Lord's hands. has gone out. against me. Yet this emptiness turns to fullness.
All under the wise, fatherly hand of the Lord. It may sometimes be a hidden hand, but it is always a loving hand. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Do you believe in the goodness and the sovereignty of God? It's easy to be overwhelmed by dark days and difficult circumstances.
But today on the verdict, we'll look back over our study of the Book of Ruth and see how God is at work in your life for your good and his glory.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with a message called The Hidden Hand of God. I love the concluding verses in the book of Ruth. Who would have thought that this insignificant widow from Moab would not only experience the amazing grace of God in the midst of unbelievably difficult circumstances, But God would choose her to play a role in His redemptive plan for Israel. And indeed the whole world. But isn't this just like God?
Our gracious God uses ordinary, seemingly insignificant people like Ruth and Boaz and makes them the source of incredible blessings to others.
So in your life In your difficult day, don't be discouraged. God's hand may be hidden. But he's not abandoned you. He loves you. and He's always at work in your life in unimaginable ways of blessing.
Let's take this very personally as we look back over the life of Ruth. On December 11, 1919, the people of the town of Enterprise, Alabama. created a Boll Weevil monument. There it is. Why would anyone build a monument to a beetle?
No, I could understand if they built a monument to the Beatles. The fabulous four from Liverpool. But this was not to the Beatles, this was to a beetle, in particular the boll weevil. It is a destructive pest. Which, as some of you know, destroys the cotton bowl, that seed pod that contains the cotton.
The boll weevil is a parasite, it is a destructive pest, particularly to cotton. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the major livelihood in that region of Alabama was raising cotton. And one year it appeared that there would be a bumper crop of cotton. But the boll weevil invaded the crop. causing such devastation to the cotton crop that it virtually destroyed the economy in that region of Alabama.
But what seemed to be the worst thing that ever could have happened to these cotton farmers turned into a candlelist which resulted in great blessing. But what do the farmers do? when the boll weevil destroyed their cotton crops. Apparently ball weevils like myself don't like peanuts.
So the farmers switched to growing different kinds of crops, particularly peanuts. And that crop not only returned vital nutrients to the soil which had been depleted by the cultivation of cotton, but it resulted in a bumper crop of peanuts. and other produce. Through this diversification then, the economy was rejuvenated. And they called that region, that little town, Enterprise.
Alabama. And sometime later, the grateful citizens erected that rather strange monument that you saw, which apparently still stands to this day, a monument to a pest, to a beetle. to the bull weevil. What initially seemed to be a bitter blow to cotton farmers. became the source of great blessing.
the farmers who stubbornly refused to plant anything but cotton. suffered badly. and in some cases lost the farms. And that story of the ball beevil reminds me of the story that we've been studying the story of Ruth and Naomi. These two women had their share Of ball Weevil experiences difficult, painful, bitter.
unexpected, devastating experiences such as bereavement Such as widowhood, childlessness, famine, loneliness, suffering. Yeah. As Naomi said in chapter 1, verse 13 of Ruth, it is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord's hand. has gone out. against me.
And returning to Bethlehem from Moab. Naomi says to the woman in chapter 1, verses 20 and 21: Don't call me Naomi, call me Mara. Because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi?
Yet this emptiness turns to fulness. The sadness turns to joy. This death comes to life. all under the wise, fatherly hand of the Lord. It may sometimes be a hidden hand.
But it is always a loving hands. Judge not the Lord. By feeble sense, but trust him. For His Grace, Behind a frowning Providence he hides a smiling phase. Paul in the New Testament puts it this way.
God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him. and to those who are called according to his purpose. Do you understand that the most difficult, the most painful, the most devastating, the most bitter, confusing circumstance in your life may be the source? of the greatest blessing. that you'll ever experience to yourself and others.
It is in the darkest of nights that the stars shine in all of their magnificent brilliance. Vance Havener writes in the book It is Towards Evening All things work together for good to the Christian. Even our boll weevil experiences.
Sometimes we settle into a humdrum routine as monotonous as growing cotton year after year. Then God sends the boll weevil. He jolts us out of our groove, and we must find new ways to live. Financial reverses, great bereavement, physical infirmity, loss of position, how many have been driven by trouble. to be better husbandmen.
and to bring forth far finer fruits. from their souls. The best thing that ever happened to some of us was the coming of our boll weevil. Without that, we might still have been a cotton Sharecropper. In this concluding message in the Book of Roth that we've been studying now for nine weeks.
Don't miss this vital truth. In the most difficult circumstances of life, God is still at work. For your good. and for his glory. Do you believe that?
In the most difficult circumstances of your life, in the most unexpected, In circumstances that you would never ever choose yourself. It is in these circumstances. that gods is still at work. For your good? For the blessing of others, and for his Glory.
That is, the sufferings of life find meaning in God's purposes. And God, our great God, is accomplishing purposes beyond our wildest imagination. I've called this title of this final message in Ruth the Hidden Hand of God. Let's turn in our Bibles to Ruth chapter four. and read The concluding section from verse thirteen through twenty two, and learn that above the dark clouds God's hand, hidden it is true, but loving.
His loving hand is at work. in unimaginable ways. Do take your Bible. I hope you come with your Bible. It is important that we see and understand and in this way learn the precious word.
of God.
So Boas took Ruth. And she became his wife. And he went into her And the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son. Then the woman said to Naomi, Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a Redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. May He also be to you a restorer of life.
and the sustainer of your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons. Has given birth to him. Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap. and became his nurse.
And the neighbor woman gave him a name, saying, A son has been born to Naomi.
So they named him Obad. He is the father of Jesse. The father. of David Now these are the generations of Perez. To Perez was born Hezron, and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram Abinadab, and to Abinadab was born Nashon, and to Nashon Salmon, and to Salmon was born Boaz.
and to Boaz Obed. and to Obed was born Jesse. and to Jesse David. We see in this wonderful story of Ruth and the unfolding of God's purposes that God blesses ordinary people. God blesses ordinary people as they trust him.
And they obey him. Putting it another way, God blesses those who find their shelter and their refuge, as we've been singing. Under His wings. And Ruth is a wonderful example of this principle. Ruth is blessed.
when she trusts God and obeys God.
Now there is nothing special or extraordinary about Ruth. She's a Moabitas. She marries a Jewish man, Malon, in Moab. On his death, she travels to Bethlehem with her mother in law Naomi. We know nothing of Ruth's ancestors, nothing of her prior accomplishments.
She must have been one of thousands of young Moabitees around eleven hundred BC. She's not brought up fearing the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Not at all. She is brought up worshipping a pagan god, God such as Chemish, the chief god of the Moabites. Not the best start in life, is it?
Yeah, one of the sixty-six books of the Bible. is named after this young woman. And she shines throughout scripture. As an outstanding example of Of a young woman who trusts the true God and obeys the true God in the most difficult. in the most difficult and confusing.
circumstances of life. Her conversion, as we learned, is absolutely amazing. At the crossroads, at the crossroads of Moab and Bethlehem, when she has to decide, is she going to step out in faith with Naomi or is she going to go back to her family and to the false gods? What does she say? Chapter one, sixteen and seventeen.
As you say, it's the Neomi. Your people shall be my people. and your gods My God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Here is a young woman, her total allegiance is to the Lord and to the people of God.
She is a wonderful example to us of a person who lives by the principle of radical faith. She steps out from the known to the unknown. With a strong Determination that she cannot possibly go back to the paganism, to the idolatry of her native land. Saying that she is not going to be buried in Moab, but she's going to be buried in the land where Nouome is from, is a strong declaration that her total allegiance is to the true Lord. Under whose wings She's beginning to to seek and to find.
her refuge. Once in Bethlehem, she takes the initiative to get food by gleaning in the fields we learned, and it just so happened. that she came into the field of boas. What's happening? in the ordinary lives of ordinary people in ordinary circumstances the hidden hand of God.
Is it work? In the meeting of Boas and Ruth, in the marriage proposal and the subsequent actions by Boas, we again see that the hidden hand of God is always behind the scenes. And when Boas sat down at the gate, as we learned last week, the close relative just happened to pass by at the right time. And when he declines to redeem the land and marry Ruth, the way is now open for Boaz to take Ruth. as his wife.
Who would have thought? At the beginning of the story, That Ruth A pagan. A mobile test. would ever enter into such a marriage. with boas.
And then Ruth. As we see in verse thirteen, Ruth, who had been barren through her first marriage in Moab, conceives. What's the difference? Verse thirteen And the Lord There it is. The Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
Once again, we see the hand of God. It is the Lord who is enabling her to conceive, and she gives birth to a son. God is blessing this ordinary woman. An ordinary woman who finds her trust in an extraordinary God. A woman who trusts in the Lord.
A woman who obeys the Lord. A woman who acts by this radical faith, who finds her shelter not in herself. Not in her own devices, not in her home country, but finds her refuge under the wings of the true living Lord. Have you grasped this truth? My brother, my sister.
that God blesses those who trust him. God blesses those who obey Him. And that God is always pleased. When we live And make our decisions and act in life with radical faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God.
I'll I pause and ask you. Are you trusting God? In your difficult circumstance. Are you trusting God trying to manipulate things? Bitter against God, fighting God, rebelling against God?
Are you obeying God? You want God's blessing? You want God to guide you? But is there rebellion in your heart?
Some disobedience In your life, God blesses those who trust Him and who obey Him and who live by radical faith. Naomi is also blessed. What's our first picture of Naomi? A sad one, a weeping widow. Standing in a mobite graveyard, remember?
Death strikes Inaome's life not once, not twice, but three times. first her husband, then her two sons. The hand of the Lord, she says, has gone forth against me. And as she returns to her hometown to Bethlehem, she asks that she's no longer called Naomi, that means pleasant, called me Mara Bitter. Because the Lord's hand has been against me.
She had gone out full, but she comes back. empty. But as this amazing, beautiful story unfolds, so skillfully told by the narrator, we see behind a frowning providence, God is hiding a smiling face. The clouds over Naome may be very, very dark and foreboding, and indeed they are, but they're about to break. with incredible blessings.
on her head. Boa, as this close relative, takes care of Ruth and Naomi. Naomi, who has been bereaved of her husband and children, seemingly no possibility now of having grandchildren, the family name going to come to an end, it appears. Ah, but a child. is born.
Tarus And boys. Isn't it interesting in verse 7 that the women say, A son has been born, not to Ruth.
Okay. A son has been born to Naomi. You see, God had never ever been against. Naomi? God behind the scenes had always, always been working for the good.
Yeah. Now she's no longer lonely.
Now she's no longer childless. In chapter one, she'd said to Ruth and Arpad, I'm not going to have any more children. No longer saddened by the fact that the family name may be cut off. She too. has come to find her shelter under the wings of the Lord.
And she says that Ruth is better to her than seven sons. And the woman says, in the birth of this wee boy, Obed, she now has a verse fifteen, a restorer. and a Sustainer.
Someone who's going to take care of her. and their old age. And so the Book of Ruth which opens with a funeral ends with a remarkable birth. Where once there was death, there is now life. Where once there was emptiness for Naomi, there is now fullness.
Where once there were ashes, there is now beauty. She has beauty for ashes. And the final picture As the narrator ends this beautiful little story of Ruth. The final picture we have of Naomi is very different from the first one we had. The final picture is of this older woman.
with a newborn baby. in her arms. The smile of God, which once had been hidden, now brilliantly shines in these extraordinary ways. with the fullness. of blessings.
God bless us. ordinary people. as they trust him And as they obey him, But also, we see this principle, we can frame it the same principle in another way, that God is working out his purposes. through the lives of ordinary people. It's really saying the same thing another way.
God is working out His purposes. Through the lives of ordinary Ordinary people. Here, Obed, this little boy is born. What a heritage he has. His godly parents.
Ruth, a woman of excellence. Boaz, a man of excellence. He has a godly grandmother now in Naomi. He is As the woman said, verse fifteen, He's going to be the restorer of life For Naomi, she thought it was all gloom and death. No, he's the restorer of life and the sustainer of Naomi's old age.
God's taken care of her. And this little boy born to Boaz and Ruth, is going to be the grandfather of whom. Israel's greatest king. King David, the man after God's own heart. What a story of God's amazing grace.
Remember that this story, the story of Ruth, takes place at the time of the judges. A dark time spiritually for Israel. A time when everyone does what is right in his own eyes. It is true throughout the judges God raises up godly judges, but whenever they die, the people revert to their idolatry and their immorality. It's a very dark time, and no doubt the godly remnant in Israel are asking of where is the deliverer going to come from?
If they knew their Bibles, they knew that God had promised that one day there would be a king for Israel that would rule over him. Where is this king going to come from? Where is this godly spiritual leader to come from? Is he going to be born in Jerusalem, the capital? Is it going to be the product of some of the great families of Israel?
Ah, but God's as always, there's never panicking. God is working. His mysterious weighs his wonders to perform. What is God going to do? God chooses someone from Moab.
Someone, in fact, who is not part of the chosen people, someone who is outside of the Commonwealth of Israel. He takes a Gentile and an unknown woman at that. Ruth. and Rose This one-time pagan Moabites, this one-time widow, this individual who was barren for ten years, he takes this woman, this most unlikely woman. and she is going to be the great grandmother.
of Israel's greatest king. King. David. And this amazing king that's going to come into the scene. In a few generations, King David is going to be born, of course, not in Jerusalem.
But he's going to be born in this little insignificant town called Bethlehem, the very place. We're all bad. is born. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, and the start of a message titled The Hidden Hand of God. Tomorrow, we'll continue with part two of our lesson as we reach the end of our study in Ruth.
With that in mind, I encourage you to visit our website right away at the verdict. org, where you'll be able to listen to each of these messages from the Book of Ruth and get your free copy of the special listening guide that goes along with our series. In this insightful workbook, John will help you explore the biblical themes, key takeaways, and real-life applications. And with the listening guide in hand, you'll also be able to share what you've learned with friends and family. helping you to make the most out of these daily lessons.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with his closing remarks for today's message.
Well, what's your verdict? Have you been inspired by the lives of Naomi and Ruth? Are you encouraged by the work of God in their lives? The clouds and storms of life sometimes mean that God's hand is hidden. We sometimes feel very alone.
And we've been reminded today that God uses ordinary people for extraordinary things. People? Just like you and me. Where once there were ashes and emptiness, There are now beauty and fullness as God brilliantly shines in unexpected ways. Don't miss tomorrow's final broadcast in our study of Ruth.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
