Ruth chapter three, and we'd like to look at the last three verses in this passage. We have been considering the subject of God's providence. And here's an example from many years ago of God's providence. This lady in Bedford, England years ago was walking. She had about a three mile walk But she got turned around, the night fell, and she decided just to stop, or she would. She felt like she should just stop at a very specific point. So when she sat down, her feet touched water, and she definitely did not want to go any farther. She awoke to the fact that she was on the bank of a very deep river, one more step the night before, and she would have been in the river. She would have drowned. That's providence. That's God working behind the scenes. That's God giving an impression, stop right now. So we find that truth throughout the Bible. If you want a book in the Bible about providence, read Esther. Everybody is at the right place at the right time. It's just absolutely miraculous. And we find that in the book of Ruth as well. We find her going to the right field at the right time and meeting the right person and it's all gonna work out wonderfully. So we'll just look at a few truths tonight, if we might. Ruth chapter three, 16 says, and when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, who art thou my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. And she said, these six measures of barley gave he me, for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in-law. Then said she, sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall. For the man will not be in rest until he have finished the thing this day. I'd like to speak on the subject, he won't rest till it's done. He won't rest till it's done. Now, the little book of Ruth is about, first of all, Naomi the Jew and her husband Elimelech, and they sojourn with their sons in the land of Moab. Their sons marry, but before too long, the husband dies, Elimelech, and both the sons. And Naomi decides to return to Israel, to return to Bethlehem. Orpah stays in Moab, but Ruth flees to her mother-in-law, Naomi. She has made the God of Israel her God. And so these two widows, Naomi and Ruth, have come to Bethlehem, Judah, and being a widow and being poor and being a Gentile, Ruth has the right to go into the fields and pick up what's been left to make out a living and to do the best she can in these circumstances. But as God would have it, she goes to the field of this rich, godly Jew named Boaz. And before it's all done, Ruth and Boaz will be married and will be a part of the ancestral line of the Lord Jesus Christ and will provide a beautiful picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and his bride, you and me, the Gentile church. So as we find in almost all the Bible, there's more than one level to it. Amen. Don't miss the fact that there's what's being said. There is an application to you. There's probably something about it that pertains to prophecy, if you'll look at it. And it's all about Jesus. Boaz represents Jesus. Ruth represents you and me, Gentiles. And Naomi is a Jew and represents the nation of Israel. So as we approach chapter four and their marriage, I'll remind us last time that we saw Ruth at the threshing floor requesting Boaz to marry her. Throw that skirt over me. You have the right, you have the means and the power to redeem. And I am asking you to follow the word of God, Deuteronomy 25. and to redeem and to marry. She's claiming him. Now, there are a lot of people that err right here, but I just won't be playing about it. If you get saved, you'll have to go to Jesus. He ain't gonna make you get saved. Now, there's millions of people out there, they think it happens when you're a baby, unbeknownst to you, or while one fellow told me it happened while he was arguing with his wife. I thought, man, you're staking your whole eternity on something you supposed happened in the middle of an argument. Whoever told you that needs their elevators not going to the top. That's right. Hey, you got saved because the spirit of God drew you, wooed you, reasoned with you, invited you, and you said yes to God's invitation. Yes, he drew you and you responded and you claimed the Lord Jesus Christ. You came to him because he said, come unto me. All you that labor and are heavy laden. So Ruth has claimed Boaz. She knows that he qualifies as a redeemer. And not only is he powerful enough to do it, he's willing to do it. In fact, he's probably just as willing, maybe more willing, to marry Ruth as she is to marry him. That would fit the topology. I honestly believe, well, I know this, that the day you got saved, God was more willing to save you than you were to get saved. It's amazing how people almost have to be played with. You can't talk somebody into it. You can reason with people. But let's be honest. Why would you not want to be saved and go to heaven? Why would you want to stay hooked up with the devil? He is the biggest liar and loser in the history of the universe. So why would you not want to be saved? Well, just before dawn here, Boaz gives Ruth 60 pounds of barley to take home, six measures. It's the promise of a lot more to come. It's mainly for Naomi because Ruth is fixing to change addresses just in a few hours. She's fixing to get married the next day. And as they talk to one another, Ruth and Naomi and her mother-in-law, Naomi asked her a question, it seems a bit odd at first, she says, who are you? What she means by that is, who are you now, Ruth? You have been to Boaz, are you still just a gleaner? Or did he say yes? Did he say, I will? And are you the bride to be? And the Bible says she told her everything. So that would have been quite a conversation to hear. And she tells the good news, Boaz told me, I will, I will. Don't you worry about anything. All Ruth had to do was claim Boaz and he did everything. Amen. Aren't you glad salvation is so simple? There's nothing in it of human works. There's nothing in it of ordinances or sacraments. There's nothing in it about any denomination, creed or catechism. It's just you hear the gospel, you ask Jesus to save you and he does the rest. Amen. He satisfies God's justice. He honors God's law. Amen. When the Lord saved you, he did not sacrifice his holiness. Jesus took care of that at the cross. All the punishment that everybody deserved. It's not that God canceled that punishment. It's that God put that on Jesus. The debt has been paid. It's all legal. When somebody gets saved, thank God, it's legal. Amen. And it's public. Boaz is gonna redeem Ruth publicly, legally, promptly, and joyfully. Amen. Amen. They've had a four month courtship. They're very godly, virtuous people. And so they're wasting no time. He's obviously a much older man. than she is because he talks about that subject. So, some people say, well, you need to marry somebody exactly your age. Let me tell you, that's not the main thing. Hello? You better marry in God's will. It don't matter who's the youngest and who's the oldest. Of course, if you are the oldest, you'll never hear the end of it. Been, anybody been there? He's a lot older than her, but it's God's will, that's the main thing. Somebody says to me, is it love the main thing? Nope, it's not. You know why? Somebody else could love your wife, that don't mean they should marry her. And half the people don't know the difference between love and infatuation. No, there's more to it than love. Hello, wake up. Amen? You better have God's blessing on it. It better be God's will. It better be God's will. So we hurry on here. Naomi says to Ruth, it's early morning, and Ruth says, he's going to marry me. There's one more kinsman. We've got to get him out of the way, do this all legally. So is there any boxes around here, Naomi? I need to start packing up my stuff." And you know what Naomi says? She says, I need to pack up my stuff too. Because He's not only going to marry you, He's going to give us back all the land that we lost when we left here. He's going to redeem the land. And Naomi said, so I'm moving too. I have paid rent for the last time, says Naomi. Amen. So they're excited and it's all wonderful. And she says to Ruth, she says, you just sit still, honey. Nothing else for you to do. This Boaz, it's a stirring in his heart and he won't rest till this is done. I love that. If you look at that spiritually, you'll see Jesus and the cross. Sit still, my daughter. The man will not be in rest till he have finished the thing." When? Today, this very day, this day. So, this Boaz represents Jesus and the same unrest that possessed Boaz constrained our Lord Jesus, His entire life and ministry. Every step, everything Jesus ever did. He was under the shadow of the cross. It was always uppermost in His thoughts. He always told the disciples about it, didn't He? Months and months before it happened, He'd say, I'm going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be betrayed. I'm going to be crucified. They should have known, He told them, didn't He? It was always on His mind. He always talked about His work. He'd say things like, my father worketh, and I work, and my work is to do the will of Him that sent me, and I must work the works of Him that sent me, and my meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and finish the work. Jesus knew what He was doing. Can you say amen to that? He was working some of these weirdos today on TV. Jonathan was telling me some of them, they say Jesus was out of God's will, half his ministry. How ridiculous. Everything Jesus ever did was right. Amen. He never had to say, uh-oh. He never had to say, I shouldn't have taken that step. He never had to apologize. He never had a wrong thought. He's always headed toward the cross for you and me. This man will not rest until he has finished this thing. It was burning and a churning in his heart his whole life. He never rested till it was done, till he carried the cross through the gate and up the hill. This man, Jesus, will not rest till he's finished the thing this day. So we see our Lord Jesus on the cross, the soldier drove the nails, In his hands and feet, the soldier never seen anybody not fight back, but Jesus didn't fight back. When they arrested him in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus the only one that ever said, go ahead, I'm ready. Amen. He didn't run. He wasn't afraid. He said to the disciples, just leave them alone. It's not about them, it's about me. Amen. I love that. Jesus is in charge. He never acted like a coward. Hallelujah, right there. It was in His heart. It's why He came. Amen? This man won't be in rest till he's finished this thing. And angels watched and women wept and religious leaders mocked. But this man, he won't be in rest till he's finished the thing. And he took time out to save a dying thief and promise him paradise. But this man, he won't rest till he's finished the thing this day. And the sun hit its face and Jesus became sin. And he cried out, I thirst. But this man won't rest till he's finished the thing this day. And when he knew that the victory was won and the law was honored and justice was satisfied and the debt was paid and he cried out, it is finished. Then finally at long last, he could rest. Cause it was done. No more blood ever had to be shed. Not one more sacrifice. Those poor people in the Philippines, every Easter, they nail them to a cross. They ask to be. They think it propitiates for their sins. But you know what's am I ought to tell them? It's done a long time ago. One cross was enough. One payment was enough. And this man, Jesus, could rest because he finished the thing. He didn't leave it half done. Amen. Jesus never did anything halfway. And the Bible says that he shouted it. It was the shout of a victor. Amen. Winning you is all done perfectly, gloriously, and everlastingly. He shouted out to tell us not. And by the way, thank God, he didn't say, I am finished. He said, it is finished. The work I came to do, so I could make you my bride. He didn't say I'm finished, amen. And then he bowed his head upon a falseless chest and committed his spirit into the hands of his father and he was dead. three days and nights. And loving hands took him down from the cross, Joseph of Nicodemus, and wrapped him in linen. And Joseph placed him in his own new tomb nearby. And they set a guard. But after three days and nights, by the power of his own hand, he came walking out of that grave, just like he said he would, because he had power to lay down his life and he had power to take it up again. And before the sun rose, the sun rose. And he could say, I'm he that liveth. I was dead, but I'm alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of death and hell. Amen. Sounds to me like the greatest champion who ever lived. Thank God because he wouldn't rest till it was done, now thank God we can rest because he wouldn't rest. And now I can tell the whole wide world, and you can too, that salvation is free. It's paid for. The doing is done. The paying is paid. Come and be saved. Red, brown, yellow, black and white. They're all precious in His sight. It wouldn't be good news if I had to tell you that you had to do something. You'd never know if you did enough. But when we're resting in something that's already done, that time cannot touch, and history cannot deny, and science cannot explain. Thank God you can have assurance when you're resting in that. Amen. You say, how do you know you're going to heaven? Because you're a preacher? No, I provided a sinner one day and Jesus saved my soul. That's it. Don't try to add to it. If you add to it, you're taken from it. He finished it. Amen. It's wonderful, isn't it? It's not do, it's done. Gloriously done. So it's all done. Last of all, I see in this wonderful passage that when Boaz sent Ruth home that morning, he measured out to her six measures. That was a kind gift. That was for Naomi. But you know what, they were going to get married later that day, and that was the last time she ever got a measured amount. Because when they got married, she got the whole farm. Yeah, she got the whole plantation. She was Mrs. Boaz. Amen. In the morning, in the morning, amen. Morning came and this is the day, this is the great day of her redemption, Naomi's redemption. She might go out in the field again, but she ain't never going again as a beggar. Amen. She'll never be who she used to be. Amen. Folks, right now, we're getting things measured. I thank God for it. It's wonderful. We get a certain amount of joy. We get a certain amount of blessings. Amen. We get a certain amount. God's good to us. Hello. But let me tell you something. One of these days, we're gonna get it all. Blessed are the meek, they shall inherit the earth. Right now we get so much joy, but wait till we get fullness of joy. Amen. Wait till we're in his likeness and we're perfected and we're glorified. Jesus is a mansion builder, amen. That's what he said. So it's all because of our kinsmen redeemer. One day we're going to get it all. This world's not your home. Don't drive your stakes too deep. You might be leaving out today. That's right. So this is the glorious news of the gospel. Love and grace has been bestowed upon a bunch of beggars and nobodies and aliens like us. Fugitives and outcasts. All you were was a guilty sinner. You had nothing to offer. Lost and undone, accursed, unclean, lost. All are lost, but all may be saved. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Amen. Isaiah 53 says. How many can be saved? As many as are lost. Romans 5 says. Amen. Same number. All that are lost can be saved. Hallelujah. This thing is going to get better and better. Amen. Tomorrow is my spiritual birthday. I will have been saved 51 years tomorrow. I have not forgotten. Amen. As Jonathan said in Sunday school, it wasn't the world that gave me peace. It wasn't the world that gave us the victory. It was Jesus. Amen. It wasn't the world that gave you hope. They don't have no hope. It wasn't the world that gave you treasures unseen. It wasn't the world that gave you something that allows you to pillow your head at night and say, Lord, if I live or die, it's okay. If you're with me or I'm with you, it's okay. Amen. It was Jesus that made the difference. It was Jesus that made the difference in your life. I was talking to a fellow recently. His testimony is that he was an orphan. He was an orphan in a communist country. And if it wasn't for the intervention of some Christian, a Christian couple, he'd have probably died or he'd be, who can tell, your chances in a communist country and being an orphan. But he said to me with a tear in his eye, and he was sitting beside of me, and today he's in a fine Christian home and he's a Baptist preacher. And he said, I want to say, I have not forgotten where I came from and what God has done for me. From a communist orphanage to a Baptist preacher. And he said to me, Brother Allen, I am walking in your steps. I said, don't do that. Follow Jesus' steps. You say, I don't have a testimony like that. Well, if you're saved, you've got a big testimony. Amen? If you can say, I once was lost, but now I'm found. That's as high as it goes. That's as good as it gets. and we're on the little end of something big.